SHOTS IN THE DARK 2 students hurt in overnight shooting at Md. high school

Feb. 4, 2015: Officials enter Frederick High School. (AP)

Two students were shot outside a Maryland public high school Wednesday night while a basketball game was being played inside causing panic as parents rushed to the scene to make sure their children were OK.

The Frederick High School students were flown to a Baltimore hospital. The injuries they suffered did not appear to be life-threatening, Frederick Police Capt. Richard Hetherington said. He did not know the ages or gender of the students.

Hetherington said the shooter or shooters were still at large early Thursday.

Frederick Police Department Lt. Bruce DeGrange told FoxNews.com the shooting took place at 8 p.m. and the authorities immediately locked down the building.

Officers took about 200 people who were at the game into the cafeteria. Police secured the building and questioned witnesses, Hetherington said. Students were released to their parents in the parking of a nearby bowling alley.

Frederick High School junior Sofia McCluskey said she was watching the game and heard a muffled shot. “Someone yelled, `Yo, they’re shooting,”‘ she said. “And we just ran as fast as we could.”

She and her friend, Stephanie Sanchez, said they ran to the locker room and were taken to the cafeteria, where they waited and were briefly interviewed by police.

Sanchez said it was a frightening experience. “I was, like, shaking the whole time. I still am,” she said.

Dejuan Jones, a sophomore, said, “You would expect it to happen at a varsity game, but it was like a JV game,” he said. “Nobody hardly comes to those.”

Frederick County Public Schools officials tweeted that all other staff and students were safe and accounted for.

The high school has about 1,300 students. The district said that the school would be closed Thursday for students.

FoxNews.com’s Karl de Vries and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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SHOTS IN THE DARK 2 students hurt in overnight shooting at Md. high school

"WORST I"VE EVER SEEN" 7 people shot, 5 dead in shooting near Atlanta

Feb. 7, 2015: Police stand in the doorway of a home while investigating the shooting scene where authorities say five people are dead, including the gunman, in Douglasville, Ga. (AP)

A gunman killed five people Saturday, including himself, after a shooting in near Atlanta that also left two children injured, authorities said.

Authorities arrived at the Douglasville subdivision of two-story homes, about 20 miles west of Atlanta, after receiving a 911 call around 3 p.m., Douglas County Sheriff’s Lt. Glenn Daniel told The Associated Press.

Daniel said a man came to a house and shot his ex-wife and several children. Investigators have not released the names of the suspect or the victims because their family members have not yet been notified.

Daniel told Fox News that the gunman was among the five killed, and that the shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. MyFoxAtlanta.com reported that two additional children were injured, and taken to a nearby hospital.

It was not immediately clear when the couple divorced or whether the family had prior contact with police.

“I’ve been in law enforcement out here 20 years and this is the worst I’ve ever seen,” Daniel said.

Daniel said that neighbors apparently heard or saw the shooting and came outside to assist the victims until rescuers arrived. Some victims appeared to have been shot inside the residence while others were apparently shot outside.

Investigators obtained a warrant to enter the home, now surrounded by crime scene tape, on Saturday so they could take and exam evidence from the crime scene.

Kenya Beyah, who lives about four doors down from the home where the shooting began, left flowers at the scene Saturday evening. She didn’t know the family but said she saw kids playing outside from time to time, she told The Associated Press.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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"WORST I"VE EVER SEEN" 7 people shot, 5 dead in shooting near Atlanta

Another Albuquerque police officer involved in shooting - Mistrial in case of police chief who shot black man

Jan. 12, 2015: Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg announces that her office is pursuing charges against two Albuquerque officers accused of fatally shooting a homeless camper in March 2014 (AP)

Just a day after a district attorney announced murder charges against two Albuquerque police officers, authorities said another city police officer fired his weapon Tuesday night. But authorities declined to say if anyone was killed or if anyone was shot.

Albuquerque Deputy Chief Robert Huntsman told reporters that an officer fired shots and that multiple suspects were connected. But Huntsman said no officers were seriously injured, and he gave no details on what led to the shooting.

“There are no outstanding suspects,” Albuquerque police spokeswoman Celina Espinoza said. “The department’s multiple taskforce is in route.”

Police closed part of an eastern Albuquerque street while officers combed through the area.

Officer Tanner Tixier told the Albuquerque Journal that at least one suspect was taken into custody and police weren’t searching for anyone else.

Patrick Dowless, who lives near where the shooting took place, told that Journal that he saw what he believes is a body lying near the scene of the shooting.

“I heard 11 to 14 shots and heard screeching tires and sirens, so I knew something was happening,” Dowless said. “I went outside and saw lots of officers running towards a body and some running the other way. The officers were standing over the body but when the paramedics arrived they stood up right away.”

Tuesday’s shooting marks the department’s third this year and comes a day after Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg announced that she was seeking murder charges against two officers for the March shooting of James Boyd, a 38-year-old homeless man who authorities said suffered from mental illness.

Last week, police say Lt. Greg Brachle shot and critically wounded by a fellow officer during an undercover drug bust. Police Chief Gordon Eden said preliminary information shows both officers were working undercover and were in plain clothes when the shooting happened.

Earlier this month, Albuquerque police officer Lou Golson fired his weapon after he was shot and wounded during a traffic stop. Authorities say Golson is in stable condition at a hospital. The suspect, who was not injured in the shooting, is being held on attempted murder and other charges.

The shootings also come as the city of Albuquerque and the U.S. Justice Department are working to finalize an agreement to overhaul the police department following a harsh report on its use of force. The agreement now is before a federal judge, and both sides are working to approve a monitoring team.

In addition, Albuquerque police had been under scrutiny for more than 40 police shootings since 2010.

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Another Albuquerque police officer involved in shooting - Mistrial in case of police chief who shot black man

Angry protesters face off with riot police in St. Louis over shooting of 18-year-old

Oct. 9, 2014: Protesters lock arms as they block a street a day after Vonderrit D. Myers was shot and killed by white, off-duty St. Louis police officer in St. Louis (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

ST. LOUIS –  Protesters angered by the fatal shooting of a black 18-year-old by police faced off with officers in south St. Louis for a second night as accusations of racial profiling prompted calls for a federal investigation ahead of a weekend of planned peaceful rallies.

State and city leaders have urged the Justice Department to investigate the death of Vonderrit D. Myers in the Shaw neighborhood Wednesday night, fearing he was targeted because he was black. Police say the white officer who killed Myers was returning fire, but Myers’ parents say he was unarmed.

“This here was racial profiling turned deadly,” state Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, a St. Louis Democrat, said at a news conference Thursday.

Myers’ death comes two months after the Aug. 9 fatal shooting of Michael Brown, a black unarmed 18-year-old, by a white police officer in nearby Ferguson. Brown’s killing sparked dozens of often violent protests in the St. Louis suburb. A state grand jury is deciding whether Officer Darren Wilson will face charges in his death.

Late Thursday night following a quiet candlelight prayer vigil for Myers, hundreds of people joined a more rowdy gathering in Shaw to protest his death.

Police in riot gear lined up on a high street, flanked by brand name stores and restaurants. Protesters yelled abuse and profanities to taunt the officers, who silently stood their ground. Police helicopters buzzed above the neighborhood. Officers used pepper spray to force the crowd back.

Some protesters burned the American flag, while others banged on drums and shouted “This is what democracy looks like!” Some slammed the sides of police vans. Broken glass littered the street.

Eventually the protesters backed off, moving a couple of blocks away. Riot police remained in the area.

Activists and other protesters from around the country have been preparing for four days of rallies, marches and protests over the Ferguson shooting. Organizers say the events, which start Friday and include a march Saturday in downtown St. Louis, have taken on added urgency in the wake of Myers’ death.

“This is a racial powder keg,” said Jerryl Christmas, a St. Louis attorney who was among more than 20 black leaders who joined Nasheed at a news conference Thursday outside police headquarters. “All this is going to do is escalate the situation.”

Police say Myers was both armed and aggressive, using a stolen 9 mm gun to shoot at the officer.

Syreeta Myers said her son was holding a sandwich, not a gun. “Police lie. They lied about Michael Brown, too,” she told The Associated Press by phone Thursday.

St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said the officer spotted Myers and two other males around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday while working a security job and patrolling a neighborhood near the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Dotson said the officer, who was off-duty but wearing his uniform, became suspicious when one of them started to run.

He chased them, first in his car and then on foot, Dotson said.

During the chase, he got into a physical altercation with Myers, who ran up a hill, turned and fired at the officer, the chief said. The officer, who wasn’t hurt, shot back.

Ballistic evidence shows Myers fired three shots before his gun jammed, Dotson said. Police said they recovered the 9 mm gun, which was reported stolen on Sept. 26.

The officer fired off 17 rounds. Preliminary autopsy results show a shot to the head killed Myers, according to medical examiner Dr. Michael Graham.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Graham said Myers was shot six or seven times in the lower extremities and the fatal shot entered his right cheek.

Authorities have not released the name of the six-year veteran of the St. Louis Police Department. The 32-year-old officer is on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.

An attorney for the officer told the newspaper that his client served with the U.S. Marines in Iraq and was “shaken up” by the incident. He called claims that Myers was carrying a sandwich not a gun “ridiculous.”

Online court documents show Myers was free on bond when he was killed. He had been charged with unlawful use of a weapon, a felony, and misdemeanor resisting arrest in June.

Myers’ was the third fatal shooting of a black male by St. Louis-area police since Brown’s death.

“It’s imperative that we began to heal this community,” Nasheed said. “This community has been broken down. We have too many deaths at the hands of police officers.”

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Angry protesters face off with riot police in St. Louis over shooting of 18-year-old

Boy, 15, guilty of shooting girl dead

29 September 2014 Last updated at 17:23 A 15-year-old boy is cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter

A teenage boy has been found guilty of shooting his 15-year-old girlfriend dead after she went to give him a birthday present.

Shereka Fab-Ann Marsh died after a single bullet from a counterfeit 1930s Italian Beretta pistol struck her in Hackney, east London, in March.

The boy, 15, was cleared of her murder but found guilty of manslaughter.

He was also found guilty at the Old Bailey of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

‘Negligent actions’ Continue reading the main story

Shereka’s life was tragically cut short because of the negligent actions by one of her peers”

End Quote Shyrine Mills Shereka’s mother The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was remanded in custody for sentencing on a date to be fixed.

In March, Shereka had gone to give the boy a birthday present, the court heard.

After the shooting the boy called 999 but Shereka had suffered serious internal bleeding and could not be saved, jurors heard.

Following the verdict, in a victim impact statement, Shereka’s mother Shyrine Mills said: “Shereka’s life was tragically cut short because of the negligent actions by one of her peers who took it upon himself to involve himself in activities that no child should ever be involved with.

“Guns are not toys and should only be handled by trained professionals in extreme circumstances.”

In court, the boy recreated the moment the incident happened, holding his hands together and pointing his fingers towards jurors from the witness box.

Under cross examination, he showed how he was holding the gun with both hands and “waving it” around when he “accidentally pulled the trigger”.

He denied that he was posing with the weapon and that was why he had to have his fingers on the trigger.

‘An accident’

The boy had insisted that he loved his girlfriend and had no reason to hurt her.

On his arrest at the house, the boy told officers it was “an accident” and exclaimed: “Am I going to hell?” and: “My girl died on my birthday.”

Officers went on to examine the boy’s mobile phone and found two pictures of him posing with handguns, one of which was pointing at the person who took the photograph.

A search of the boy’s bedroom uncovered a stab vest and body armour, but the boy said it was not his.

Jurors were told how the boy initially lied to police about how the shooting happened.

He claimed to have found the gun on Hackney Marshes but later admitted he had been given it to hide for a man in his 20s he refused to name.

It can now be reported that the gun which killed Shereka was “hot property”, according to prosecutor Jonathan Rees.

It had been used in a shooting in Finsbury Park the month before in which a car passenger was injured.

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Boy, 15, guilty of shooting girl dead

Chaos at Curacao airport: Two dead, six injured in drive-by shooting

a terrified traveller is comforted in the arrivals hall after the shootings.

WILLEMSTAD, Curacao, Thursday July 17, 2014, CMC – Two people were killed and others injured in a drive by shooting late Tuesday at the Curacao international airport.

Dolfijn FM said the shooting occurred just outside the arrivals area at Curacao International Airport. It said one of the dead was a young man from the Buena Vista neighborhood of Curacao.

Terwijl net een driveby shooting heeft plaatsgevonden @ Curacao Airport, hoor ik vliegtuigen landen/stijgen as usual. pic.twitter.com/aRu1Z4CjlI

— Adir Ayubi (@AdirAyubi) July 16, 2014

The police report that suspects in a white car were waiting for the victims and fired multiple shots, killing two and injuring six others.

The airport police engaged the suspects in a shootout, however they managed to flee the scene.

According to the Associated Press, last year, Curacao had 22 homicides, down from 45 in 2002. Among the 2013 slayings was the unsolved assassination of influential lawmaker Helmin Wiels, who was shot to death on a beach as he socialized and sipped a beer.

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Chaos at Curacao airport: Two dead, six injured in drive-by shooting

Coroner's inquest to be held into controversial hotel shooting death

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has ruled that a Coroners Inquest be held into the controversial shooting death of a man at a hotel in the central parish of Manchester in 2011.

The ruling was handed down two days ago.

The man, said to be a supporter of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) was shot at a cocktail reception.
The event was attended by several JLP officials and activists, following a mass meeting in Central Manchester.

The Mandeville Police reported that a group of persons was at the hotel, when an argument developed and the man was shot.

Investigators collected statements from several JLP members who were present at the reception.
They are expected to give testimony at the Inquest.

Meanwhile, the real estate developer at the centre of the hotel shooting, is now in police custody.

He was picked up earlier this week by investigators from the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Task Force(MOCA).

The cops are investigating him for a recent shooting in Brown’s Town, St Ann.

He’s scheduled to face an identification parade on the weekend.

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Coroner"s inquest to be held into controversial hotel shooting death

Police shooting in St. Lucia being investigated

The authorities in St. Lucia are investigating the circumstances under which a mentally ill man was shot dead by the police in Vieux Fort on June 16.

The police reported that officers attached to the Vieux Fort Police Station responded to a report of a suspected mentally challenged male causing a disturbance at La Ressource. Upon arriving on the scene, officers reportedly encountered a man “behaving erratically.”

Stones

The police statement continues that, on approaching the suspect, the officers observed him pick up two stones, one in each hand, and threatened them.

The officers reportedly responded by calling on him to put down the offensive objects; he refused and continued advancing towards them. The police again called upon him to stop but still he did not heed the warnings of the officers.

At that point, the officers discharged two non-lethal rounds of ammunition in his direction in an effort to subdue him. It was only when this failed that the police discharged a weapon containing regular ammunition, which hit him in the process.

Family pleaded

However, the family of Gabriel told the St. Lucia Star that they pleaded with the police not to shoot their son. They said it had not been the first time that the police had been called to assist in taking him in for treatment, but that he was never violent. They are also questioning why the police shot Gabriel in the chest and not possibly his leg to subdue him.

This latest incident has once again raised calls about police handling of mental patients. It is the second such incident in just over ten months, the newspaper reports.

SOURCE: St. Lucia Star

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Police shooting in St. Lucia being investigated

UPDATE: Police probing shooting death of "Shortman" at Tarrant Primary school

Wednesday, January 29, 2014 | 4:13 PM    

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Detectives from the Half Way Tree Police Station have commenced a probe into the circumstances surrounding the Wednesday morning shooting death of a man at Molynes Road, Kingston 10.

The man, identified as 36-year-old mechanic, Rohan Newman, otherwise called ‘Shortman’, of Dumbarton Avenue, Kingston 10, was shot and killed after he dropped off his children at the Tarrant Primary school. 

Information received is that about 8:10 am Newman reportedly went to drop off his children at school, when he was pounced upon by an unknown assailant, who opened gunfire hitting him. The Police were summoned and on their arrival, Newman was seen slumped over the steering wheel of his motor car with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

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UPDATE: Police probing shooting death of "Shortman" at Tarrant Primary school

Returned resident"s shooting a contract killing, say police

BY PAUL HENRY Co-ordinator — Crime/Court Desk henryp@jamaicaobserver.com

Tuesday, January 21, 2014    

THE murder last Friday night of a 75-year-old returned resident in St Elizabeth is believed by the police to be a contract killing.

Robert Campbell was attacked and shot near his two-storey home on Baptist Road in Middle Quarters by a gunman who called out to him before opening fire. Campbell’s household helper, who was travelling with him in his van, wasn’t injured.

A police source told the Jamaica Observer about the suspicion of a hit, while adding that the ‘trigger man’ and two other men had been in the area for two days interacting with residents of the quiet district in west St Elizabeth, before committing the crime.

The men were travelling in a Toyota Camry motor car. It was after the incident that residents started coming forward with the information.

According to Deputy Superintendent Lanford Salmon, Campbell’s murder could have been prevented had residents been more vigilant and reported the presence of the three strange men in the area.

“The citizens of St Elizabeth need to realise that the landscape has changed,” said Campbell, who is head of operations for the parish.

“St Elizabeth people are nice people and welcome [all] in their home, but they should look at strange men in the area as suspects and check them out with the police. We have intelligence that migrant criminals are coming into the parish seeking safe haven. The people are too friendly and need to wise up,” he added.

Campbell’s murder came a week after his wife died of natural causes in hospital. He leaves behind five grandchildren.

Meanwhile, grieving relatives and residents had nothing but kind words about Campbell, who reportedly returned to live in the island in the late 1990s after spending approximately 50 years working in the United States of America.

He’s been described as friendly, kind, helpful and a person who likes to give advice and a listening ear.

His grandson Kemar Campbell told the Observer that these qualities may have led him to stop when flagged down by a stranger around 8:45 on that fateful Friday night.

Speaking of Campbell’s kindness, Kemar said that whenever there was a shortage of water in the area, Campbell would allow people to catch the commodity from his tank, free of charge.

Residents said that on occasion when he was leaving his house in the morning and saw children on the road he would pack them into his van and take them to school.

“I always watch it on TV and my heart would sink,” Campbell’s sister, Gracelin Wilson, said in relation to news reports of murders, “but I never knew it was coming right at our door.”

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Returned resident"s shooting a contract killing, say police

Fort Hood shooting trial set to open

5 August 2013 Last updated at 22:27 ET A military judge has blocked Maj Hasan’s “defence of others” strategy The military trial of a former US Army psychiatrist who killed 13 and injured more than 30 in a 2009 rampage at a Texas army base begins on Tuesday.

Major Nidal Hasan, who is defending himself, has admitted the killings, but argues he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

However, a military judge has already rejected his “defence of others” claim.

If convicted on 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder, the 42-year-old faces the death penalty.

The killings are viewed as the deadliest ever non-combat attack on an American military base.

Witnesses say that on 5 November 2009, Maj Hasan entered a crowded Fort Hood medical building, where deploying soldiers were awaiting check-ups and vaccines.

He then climbed on to a desk, shouted an Islamic benediction and opened fire with two handguns, pausing only to reload, witnesses said.

His trial will take place at the same military base, near Killeen, Texas, where he carried out the attacks.

‘Workplace violence’

A jury of 13 – nine colonels, three lieutenant colonels and one major – will consider evidence in the case.

Maj Hasan was about to be deployed to Afghanistan when he carried out the attacks.

The prosecution is expected to present evidence of the US-born soldier’s radicalisation, including internet searches for “Jihad” and “Taliban” hours before the shootings.

Retired US Army Staff Sgt Shawn Manning is among the wounded who will testify at the trial

The Pentagon has treated the case as workplace violence, rather than an act of terrorism, a legal distinction that has angered victims and family members, says the BBC’s Nick Bryant at Fort Hood.

Many of those wounded in the attack are expected to testify.

Maj Hasan will represent himself at the court martial, which means he will have the opportunity to cross-examine his own victims.

He uses a wheel chair after being paralysed when he was shot in the back by a base police sergeant who responded to the shootings.

Judge Colonel Tara Osborn has denied him the “defence of others” strategy, in which he would have argued that he was protecting insurgents fighting American soldiers in Afghanistan.

She ruled there was no evidence of “any immediate threat to others” from US soldiers on base.

Judge Osborn has also said he will not be able to make speeches about his beliefs or try to testify himself when he is questioning witnesses.

The trial has been delayed by a series of requests for preparation or other issues, including an objection to Maj Hasan’s beard, which was ruled to violate military regulations.

Analysts say the military prosecutors are being extra cautious in order to avoid anything that could lead to a reversal of a guilty verdict.

If found guilty and sentenced to death, Maj Hasan would have multiple automatic appeals available to him.

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Fort Hood shooting trial set to open

South Africa marvels at James Bond-style shooting

News

Friday, July 26, 2013

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) — It was a lethal gadget right out of a James Bond movie: Remote-controlled gun barrels rigged behind the rear licence plate of a car that can spray bullets at an unsuspecting target.But South African police say it was a possible attempt to kill Radovan Krejcir, a Czech fugitive who was sentenced in his country last year to 11 years in jail for tax fraud and has been linked to underworld figures in Johannesburg.Krejcir emerged unscathed from Wednesday’s episode, which peppered his bullet-proof Mercedes Benz with impact marks and shocked veteran observers of South Africa’s organised crime who thought they had seen it all. The empty, parked vehicle where the weapon was hidden burst into flames after the shooting, possibly destroying evidence.“All my life is like James Bond stuff,” Krejcir said with a chuckle in an interview with Eyewitness News, a South African media outlet. “That’s how I live my life.”And who might want to kill him? At first, Krejcir reportedly said he didn’t know. Then he said that if he had any theories, he wasn’t saying.The episode was the one of the most outlandish chapters in the long saga of the underworld in Johannesburg, where turf battles over drugs, fraud schemes and other spoils sometimes turn deadly. Over the years, South Africans have been riveted by this fringe universe of hit men, corrupt cops, sleaze merchants and grisly murders.No one, however, tried to take out another guy with something that Q, the hi-tech whiz in the British secret service of the Bond movies, would devise in his laboratory. The getup on the car outside Krejcir’s gold and diamonds pawn shop evoked “Goldfinger,” the Bond movie in which 007 drives an Aston Martin with gun barrels behind the front indicators.Photographs of the stolen red VW Polo in Johannesburg show a dozen gun barrels, some of them melted or contorted by the fire that followed the shooting. It was an accurate effort. About 10 bullets hit the driver’s window, but Krejcir was out of the vehicle at that point, talking on his phone.Security consultant Rory Steyn said on Radio 702 that there could be “any number of motives” for the incident, whether it was an attack on Krejcir or even something that he set up himself to appear like an assassination attempt.JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — A parked partially burned vehicle with remote-controlled gun barrels rigged behind the licence plate that sprayed bullets at Radovan Krejcir in Johannesburg, South Africa yesterday. (PHOTO: AP)

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South Africa marvels at James Bond-style shooting