Shooter kills 6 at Nashville school in targeted attack

WASHINGTON  — A heavily-armed former student killed three young children and three staff in what appeared to be a carefully planned attack at a private elementary school in Nashville on Monday, before being shot dead by police.

Chief of Police John Drake named the suspect as Audrey Hale -- a 28-year-old female, who the officer later said identified as transgender.

Hale had maps of the school, left behind a manifesto, and was "prepared for a confrontation with law enforcement," the police chief told reporters following the latest outburst of gun violence to stun the United States.

Armed with at least two assault rifles and a handgun, Hale entered the Christian Covenant School from a side entrance, allegedly shooting through a door -- firing multiple shots while advancing through the building, according to police.

They said officers were on the scene within about 15 minutes of receiving the first emergency call around 10:00 a.m. (11 p.m. in Manila), engaging the shooter who returned fire before being shot dead.

Police identified the six victims, saying one of the three children was eight years old and two were age nine, while the adults killed were age 60 to 61.

Television images showed young children holding hands as they filed out of the school, and one searing photograph showed a child sobbing through the window of her yellow school bus as it pulled away from the crime scene.

Avery Myrick said her mother, a pre-kindergarten teacher at Covenant, hid as shots rang out through the school.

"She said she was hiding in the closet, and that there was shooting all over and that they had potentially tried to get into her room, and just that she loved us," Myrick told WSMV4 television, an NBC local affiliate.

When she heard her mother was safe it brought "a ton of relief."

"But you know, you're still hurting for the people out there who might not get that call," she said.

School shootings are alarmingly common in the United States, where the proliferation of firearms has soared in recent years.

President Joe Biden described the latest shooting as "sick" and said gun violence was tearing the nation's "soul," as he urged Congress to pass a ban on the assault weapons commonly used in mass shootings.

"It's ripping our communities apart, ripping the soul of this nation, ripping at the very soul of the nation," he said.

A Nashville fire department spokesperson, Kendra Loney, said all unharmed students were escorted out of the building with faculty and staff.

"But we are sure that they heard the chaos that was surrounding this, so we do have mental health specialists and professionals that are at that reunification site for both the students and the families."

AN AMERICAN EPIDEMIC

The Covenant School is a private Presbyterian institution with just over 200 students in preschool to roughly age 12.

Local newspaper The Tennessean quoted a police spokesperson as saying the suspect Hale, a former student at the school, was now an illustrator and graphic designer who used he/him pronouns. Police had initially identified him by his birth gender.

Drake said investigators were working on a possible motive but said it was "not confirmed."

Asked whether Hale's gender identity may have been a factor, Drake said: "There is some theory to that, we're investigating all the leads."

There have been 129 mass shootings -- defined as incidents in which four or more people were shot or killed -- so far this year, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.

Biden's calls for Congress to reinstate the national ban on assault rifles, which existed from 1994 to 2004, has run up against opposition from Republicans, who are staunch defenders of the constitutional right to bear arms and have had a narrow majority in the House of Representatives since January.

Just hours after the shooting, pro-firearm organization Gun Owners of America assailed Biden as "the man responsible for making schools soft targets," and repeated their call to allow teachers to arm themselves in classrooms.

"When will we start to have conversations about real solutions for hardening schools & protecting kids? Armed teachers are a 100% effective deterrent!" the group tweeted.

The deadlock in Washington has come despite public uproar over high-profile massacres such as the one at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut in 2012, when 26 people, including 20 children, were killed.

Last year a shooter in Uvalde, Texas, killed 19 students and two teachers.

Between those two tragedies, the murder of 14 students and three staff members in Parkland, Florida in 2018 fueled a nationwide movement, led by young people, to demand stricter gun controls -- but failed to spur significant action in Congress.

Agence France-Presse

Walmart manager kills six in latest US mass shooting

CHESAPEAK, United States A 31-year-old overnight manager at Walmart shot and killed six people at a store bustling with Thanksgiving holiday shoppers before turning the pistol on himself, authorities said Wednesday, in America's second mass shooting in four days.

Four other people remained hospitalized in unknown condition following the Tuesday night rampage in Chesapeake, Virginia, police chief Mark Solesky said.

The gunman is believed to have died of a "self-inflicted gunshot wound," Solesky told reporters, adding that the motive behind the country's latest outburst of gun violence was not yet known.

City authorities identified the shooter as Chesapeake resident Andre Bing, saying he was armed with one handgun and multiple magazines. Walmart confirmed in a statement that Bing was an overnight team lead, employed with the company since 2010.

An employee named Briana Tyler -- who survived the attack -- earlier described scenes of terror as a store manager entered a staff break room, and opened fire. 

"He wasn't aiming at anybody specifically," Tyler told ABC's "Good Morning America" program. "He just literally started shooting throughout the entire break room and I watched multiple people just drop down to the floor, whether they were trying to duck for cover or they were hit."

She said the gunman looked right at her and fired but missed by mere inches. "He didn't say a word, he didn't say anything at all," Tyler said.

The assault came two days before the quintessential American family holiday, which falls on Thursday, and on the heels of a weekend gun attack at an LGBTQ club in Colorado that killed five people.

It was also the second mass shooting in the state of Virginia this month: three students at the University of Virginia who played on its football team were killed November 13 by a classmate after a field trip.

President Joe Biden called the attack senseless and said "there are now even more tables across the country that will have empty seats this Thanksgiving."

'Extremely crowded' 

In the Walmart attack, emergency calls were first made just after 10:00 pm Tuesday (0300 GMT Wednesday) while the store was still open. Chesapeake is about 150 miles (240 kilometers) southeast of the US capital Washington.

Officers entered the store a few minutes later, Solesky said.

The shooter and two victims were found dead in the break room, while another body was found next to the front of the store, the city said. Three people taken to hospital with gunshots wounds later died.

Terri Brown, who was in the Walmart but left just before the shooting, said the store was packed with holiday shoppers.

"It was extremely crowded," Brown told the local ABC affiliate 13NewsNow. "All of the checkouts were extremely busy. They had most registers open. There were long, long lines at the self-checkout."

In the store parking lot on Wednesday, a makeshift memorial of flowers and small white electric candles sat against a tree beneath crime scene tape. White, blue and golden balloons tied to a tree blew in the wind. 

Gun attacks in grocery stores in America have become increasingly common in recent years. A teenage gunman killed 10 people, most of them Black, at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York in May.

Last year a shooting at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado also left 10 dead. And in a particularly gruesome attack in 2019, a young gunman killed 23 and wounded 26 as he stalked shoppers at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas.

An advocacy group called Guns Down America has reported that from January 1, 2020 to May 14 of this year there were 448 "gun incidents" and 137 deaths at 12 large national retailers.

So far in 2022, the Gun Violence Archive website has tracked more than 600 mass shootings in the United States -- defined as an incident with four or more people shot or killed, not including the shooter. 

Tyler, the store employee, told ABC that the manager in question had a reputation as a difficult character.

"He was the manager to look out for because there was always something going on with him, just having an issue with someone," she said. "I would've never thought he would do something like this."

The incident occurred three nights after a gunman opened fire inside an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, killing five people and injuring at least 18.

Lawyers for the 22-year-old suspect in that attack, Anderson Lee Aldrich, said in court documents that the suspect identifies as non-binary, and uses they/them pronouns.

Aldrich on Wednesday made a brief court appearance by video, in which no charges were levied, and no pleas entered.

Agence France-Presse

Five killed, 18 wounded in Colorado LGBTQ nightclub shooting

WASHINGTON, United States - At least five people were killed and 18 wounded, police said Sunday, in a mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in the US city of Colorado Springs.

The attack came as partygoers appeared to gather for an event marking the Transgender Day of Remembrance, held annually on November 20 to honor the memory of trans people who were killed in acts of transphobic violence.

The shooting is the latest in a long history of attacks on LGBTQ venues in the United States, the deadliest of them in Orlando, Florida, in 2016.

"It's with a heavy heart I have to tell you that we had a shooting at a local club this evening," said Colorado Springs Police Department spokesperson Pamela Castro.

"We have 18 injured and five deceased. That number is subject to change as the investigation continues," she said. "The FBI is already on the scene and assisting."

Castro said police received an emergency call just before midnight on Saturday (0657 GMT Sunday) saying that there was an active shooting at a local club known as Club Q. 

She said medical teams and officers responded and "they did locate one individual who we believe to be the suspect inside," adding that the suspect was in custody and being treated at a local hospital. 

Club Q responded by saying it "is devastated by the senseless attack on our community." 

"We thank the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack," it posted on Facebook Sunday.

The club had posted earlier on Saturday about an LGBTQ event starting at 8:00 pm. 

"We're celebrating Transgender Day of Remembrance with a variety of gender identities and performance styles," the post read.

An emergency medical team including 34 firefighters and 11 ambulances was dispatched to the scene of the shooting, according to Colorado Springs Fire Department spokesperson Mike Smaldino. 

"Unfortunately these are events we do train for, as far as what we call a 'mass casualty,' so that is why we had such a big response," Smaldino said.

Smaldino added that some ambulances had to carry two or three victims to multiple nearby hospitals.

The Colorado Springs Police Department said there would be an 8:00 am news conference on the shooting.

600 MASS SHOOTINGS IN 2022

The US Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as a single incident in which at least four people are wounded or killed.

On June 12, 2016, a gunman opened fire inside the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, killing 49 people and wounding more than 50 in what was then the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history. 

US President Joe Biden marked the fifth anniversary of the Orlando shooting last year, taking the rare step of saying he would designate the club as a national memorial.

Gun violence is a major problem in the United States, where more than 600 mass shootings have occurred so far in 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive website.

Mass shootings have repeatedly reignited debate on gun control, a hot-button issue in the country, though little headway has been made in Congress on calls for reform.

Agence France Presse

Shot grandmother, acted alone: police profile Texas gunman

UVALDE, United States — Before he opened fire in a Texas elementary school -- killing 19 small children -- teenager Salvador Ramos first shot his grandmother, officials said.

The 18-year-old, who died when police tried to arrest him, was a US citizen and a student in Uvalde, a small community near the Mexican border where the tragedy took place.

A mugshot of Ramos that circulated in local media showed a young man with brown hair, looking in front of him with an expressionless gaze.

"The first incident was at their grandmother's residence where he shot the grandmother," said Erick Estrada of the Texas Department of Public Safety, adding she was later airlifted to a medical facility.

A 66-year-old woman was admitted to a hospital in San Antonio in critical condition following the shooting, according to health-care officials, who did not provide any further details.

After firing at his grandmother, Ramos fled the scene in a car wearing a bulletproof vest and armed with a rifle, Estrada said.

He then crashed near a ditch outside Robb Elementary School, got out, and headed for the school, where law enforcement officers tried, but failed, to stop him.

At around 11:30 a.m. local time (1630 GMT) Ramos burst into the school and opened fire.

"And then from there, that's when he went on and entered several classrooms and started shooting his firearm," Estrada said on CNN. 

END OF SCHOOL YEAR

Thursday was meant to be the last day of the school year for the 500 students at Robb Elementary, who are aged 5 to 11 and mostly Hispanic.

Estrada said no car chases had been reported in the area, suggesting that the traffic accident was unprovoked.

Two police officers suffered minor injuries in the shootout, Abbott said. 

Investigators were working to obtain "detailed background information on the subject, his motive, the types of weapons used, the legal authority to possess them, and conduct a comprehensive crime-scene investigation and reconstruction," Abbot said.

It is unclear whether Ramos had previous run-ins with law enforcement, according to Estrada.

Pete Arredondo, the Uvalde School District Police Chief in charge of the investigation, said Ramos acted alone.

An Instagram account associated with the suspect, which has since been taken down, showed several photos of the young man.

In two black and white selfies he is wearing what looks like a hoodie, with his hair down to his shoulders.

Other photos showed a magazine and semi-automatic rifles.

Agence France-Presse

At least 13 injured in Brooklyn subway shooting

At least 13 people have been injured in a shooting incident at a subway station in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, where "several undetonated devices" were recovered, authorities said Tuesday.

A New York police spokeswoman told AFP officers responded to 911 call of a person shot in the Brooklyn subway at 8:27 am (1227 GMT).

The city's fire department gave a toll of "13 injuries at this time," while ABC News quoted police sources as saying at least five people were shot in the incident at the 36th Street subway station.

The police department tweeted that there were "NO active explosive devices at this time." 

"Please stay clear of the area" the NYPD tweeted, urging witnesses to contact a police tip line with any information.

New York governor Kathy Hochul said she had been briefed on the "developing" situation.

"First responders are on the scene and we will work with @MTA & @NYPDnews to provide updates as the investigation continues," she tweeted.

ABC News reported that police were investigating whether a smoke device was detonated, and that police are hunting for the suspect. 

According to NBC, citing NYPD officials and senior law enforcement officials, a man in a gas mask and orange construction vest may have tossed a smoke canister on the platform to distract the rush hour crowd. 

Mass casualty shootings happen with relative frequency in the United States, where firearms are involved in approximately 40,000 deaths a year, including suicides, according to the Gun Violence Archive website.

The incident came just a day after US President Joe Biden announced new gun control measures, increasing restrictions on so-called "ghost guns", the difficult-to-trace weapons that can be assembled at home.

Lax gun laws and a constitutionally guaranteed right to bear arms have repeatedly stymied attempts to clamp down on the number of weapons in circulation, despite greater controls being favored by the majority of Americans.

Three-quarters of all homicides in the US are committed with guns, and the number of pistols, revolvers and other firearms sold continues to rise.

Agence France-Presse

Man suspected of planning mass shooting at Walmart store arrested in Texas

A man suspected of planning a mass shooting was arrested in Texas after authorities intercepted a message that indicated he was "preparing to proceed," the Kerr County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) said in a statement on Sunday.

Coleman Thomas Blevins, 28, made a specific threat to target a local Walmart store, KCSO said in the statement posted on Facebook.

The Sheriff's Office posted an image of evidence apparently collected from Blevins' apartment that showed a rifle with multiple magazines, a flag with Nazi party symbols and the national flag of Saudi Arabia. Books and hand-written documents were also seized by investigators.

The statement did not specify what kind of message had alerted authorities, but after intercepting it KCSO confirmed, with the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), that Blevins had the capability to follow through with the threat.

Blevins was arrested on a warrant for a "Terroristic Threat to Create Public Fear of Serious Bodily Injury," the statement said.

Blevins is currently on active felony probation and is prohibited from possessing firearms. He is booked into the Kerr County Jail where he remains.

The FBI or other federal authorities may seek federal charges in this case, KCSO said.

-reuters-

8 killed by employee in California rail yard mass shooting

SAN JOSE, Calif.  - A public transit worker shot dead eight people at a California rail yard Wednesday before turning his gun on himself as police arrived, officials said, in the latest mass shooting to hit the United States.

Multiple victims were also wounded in the attack at the train maintenance compound in San Jose, just south of San Francisco, which has once again shone a spotlight on the country's raging gun control debate.

"What the hell is wrong with us, and when are we going to come to grips with this?" said California Governor Gavin Newsom at a press conference, where he praised the swift response of law enforcement. 

Law enforcement officers had rushed to investigate multiple early morning 911 calls reporting gunshots, and entered the compound during an "active shooting," said Russell Davis, a Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputy.

They did not exchange gunfire with the shooter, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

"I know for sure that when the suspect knew that law enforcement was there he took his own life," said Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith. "Our deputies were right there at that time."

Bomb squads were deployed after dogs detected "some type of explosives material at the crime scene," and were continuing to scour the site Wednesday afternoon, Davis said.

US President Joe Biden called the incident a "horrific tragedy" and ordered flags to be flown at half-staff, saying in a statement: "There are at least eight families who will never be whole again."

"Once again, I urge Congress to take immediate action and heed the call of the American people, including the vast majority of gun owners, to help end this epidemic of gun violence in America.

"Every life that is taken by a bullet pierces the soul of our nation. We can, and we must, do more."

'HORRIFIC'

The suspect -- identified by multiple media outlets as Samuel Cassidy -- was an employee of the Valley Transportation Authority, which provides rail and bus services for San Jose, a Silicon Valley tech hub of almost a million people.

Victims including VTA employees were found shot in two different buildings on the site. The authority's chairman Glenn Hendricks called the shooting a "horrible tragedy."

Dozens of police cars and fire engines lining the streets near the rail yard were joined at the scene by FBI officials. Special agent Craig Fair warned the "fairly sizable crime scene" would take a significant amount of time to process.

Nearby, anxious families of employees waited at a county building for word about the safety their relatives.

"This is a very dark moment for our city and for our community," said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.

Many of those killed or wounded were essential workers who had "helped us get through this horrific pandemic" by keeping public transport operating, he added.

San Jose police were also investigating a house fire believed to be linked to the shooting. According to multiple US media reports, the blaze began at the suspect's home shortly before the attack.

Local officials said the shooting -- which was initially reported before 7:00 am local time (1400 GMT) -- had taken place at an employee meeting, with at least 80 staff on site at the time.

GUN 'EPIDEMIC'

The United States has a long and painful history of deadly gun violence, in the form of a steady daily toll of shootings as well as high-profile mass killings that have targeted schools, work places and shopping centers.

Homicides, mostly gun-driven, have surged in the US over the past year. 

Mass shootings have occurred in recent months at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, an office building in California, a grocery store in Colorado and at several spas in Atlanta.

In August 2019, another mass shooting in the Bay Area left two children and a 25-year-old man dead at a garlic festival in Gilroy, around 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of San Jose.

Biden last month branded US gun violence an "epidemic" and an "international embarrassment."

There were more than 43,000 gun-related deaths in the United States last year, including suicides, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Agence France-Presse

Four dead, 2 wounded, including suspect, in shooting near Los Angeles

ORANGE, California - Four people were killed, one of them a child, in a shooting on Wednesday at an office building in suburban Los Angeles before the suspect, wounded in an exchange of gunfire with police, was taken into custody, police reported.

The bloodshed in the city of Orange, about 30 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, marked the third deadly mass shooting in the United States in less than a month. Authorities offered no explanation as to a possible motive.

Orange Police Department Lieutenant Jennifer Amat told reporters that police officers arrived on the scene at about 5:30 p.m. local time as shots were being fired and "engaged with the suspect."

She said three adults and one child were found shot dead, and two other people struck by gunfire, including the shooter, were transported to area hospitals.

Audio of Amat's on-scene briefing with reporters was played for Reuters afterward by the video news service OnScene.TV. The police department said in a message posted to its Facebook page that the situation had since been "stabilized" with no further threat to the public.

The shooting erupted in a two-story office building that opens onto an inner courtyard ringed by several businesses. The larger neighborhood consists of homes, apartments and other commercial properties.

Officials had no further details of the incident immediately available.

The shooting came a little more than two weeks after eight people were shot to death by a gunman who went on a rampage at three Atlanta-area day spas on March 16. Ten people were killed on March 22 when a man opened fire at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado. The lone suspects in both those shootings were arrested.

Reacting on Twitter to Wednesday's events in Orange, California Governor Gavin Newsom called the latest bloodshed "horrifying and heartbreaking." 

-reuters-

Thai army chief tearfully apologizes for mass shooting by soldier

BANGKOK - Thailand's army chief apologized on Tuesday for a rogue soldier, whose 19-hour shooting rampage killed 29 people and wounded 57 over the weekend, stunning the country.

At times wiping away tears, Thai Army Chief General Apirat Kongsompong said during a 90-minute press conference that the army will help compensate all the victims and their families.

"I, as army chief, would like to apologize and say how sorry I am for this incident which was caused by a staff of the army," Apirat said.

"In the minute, the second that the perpetrator pulled the trigger and killed, in that minute he is a criminal and no longer a soldier," he said.

The soldier, Sgt. Maj. Jakrapanth Thomma, was shot dead by security forces on Sunday after he had stormed Terminal 21 shopping center in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima the day before.

The 32-year-old had started the killing early on Saturday, shooting his commanding officer and the commander's mother-in-law over a business dispute.

He then drove to his army base, stole more assault weapons and ammunition and shot his way through a Buddhist temple before going to Terminal 21 shopping center, where he randomly fired at shoppers and held off police for more than 12 hours.

Apirat said the military would investigate the commanding officer who was killed, Col. Anantharot Krasae, 48, and the housing deal apparently brokered by Anantharot's mother-in-law Anong Mitchan, 63.

Apirat said the commanding officer took advantage of the shooter in a land deal where a "promise was broken" over money matters.

He said authorities will find out who else was involved in the scheme and he promised a new line of communication so that army personnel could complain directly to the army chief.

"The army and I have already instructed this," he said, adding his mission before retirement in October was to make things fairer for army staff.

"I don’t think any Thai people would like this incident to happen again, so please don't blame the army or berate soldiers," Apirat said.

"If you want to blame someone, you blame General Apirat Kongsompong. I accept all criticisms and opinions. You can blame me because I am the army chief," he said. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Thai mall shooting leaves 21 dead

Thai security forces evacuate people who were stranded inside the Terminal 21 shopping mall following a gun battle, to try to stop a soldier on a rampage after a mass shooting, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand on Sunday. The Thai soldier who killed at least 21 people and holed up in a mall overnight was "shot dead" Sunday morning, police said, ending a near-24-hour ordeal which has stunned the country. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Thai mall gunman 'shot dead' after rampage: officials

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand - A Thai soldier who killed at least 26 people before being shot dead in a mall by commandos went on the rampage because of a debt dispute, the kingdom's premier said Sunday, offering the first official speculation for the motive of an "unprecedented" shooting spree.

After a night which seesawed between heavy exchanges of gunfire and terrifying dashes for mall exits by trapped shoppers, sharp-shooters brought an end to the 17-hour-ordeal when they killed the gunman on Sunday morning in Nakhon Ratchasima, also known as Korat.

Twenty-six people including civilians -- the youngest a 13-year-old boy -- and security forces were killed by the rogue soldier, Thailand's prime minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha said.

"It is unprecedented in Thailand, and I want this to be the last time this crisis happens," he said outside a hospital where victims, including at least two undergoing brain surgery, were being treated.

Prayut, a gruff former army chief, blamed a "personal problem" over the sale of the house for the soldier's rampage, which began on Saturday afternoon near an army barracks and was for several hours relayed by the gunman via Facebook posts.

The attacker, a junior army officer identified as Sergeant-Major Jakrapanth Thomma, used a stolen M60 machine gun, rifles and ammunition from one of Thailand's largest barracks as well as a military humvee to carry out the attack.

Prayut said he overpowered security at the barracks' arsenal.

"This was not carelessness. We don't leave the arsenal depot alone -- we had people guarding it."

Most of the dead were killed in and around the mall.

Volleys of gunfire rang out as the siege ran into dawn, hours after Thai security services stormed the ground floor and freed scores of stunned, terrified shoppers from a bloody rampage.

Frightened shoppers sent cascades of messages to friends and family on social media from cupboards, toilets and under tables as the gunman stalked the mall.

Shocked evacuees recounted how an ordinary Saturday at the busy shopping center descended into horror as the gunman entered, sparking an hours-long ordeal.

"It was like a dream... I'm grateful I survived," Sottiyanee Unchalee, 48, told AFP, explaining she hid in the toilet of a gym inside the mall as she heard the gunfire.

A Filipina teacher Aldrin Baliquing said he was ushered into a storeroom by staff as the shooting began.

"We were there for six grueling hours... I'm in shock," she said.

Scores of people made a dash for it as police and soldiers in masks and wielding assault rifles took control of the ground floor following a gun battle and scoured the fleeing crowds for the assailant.

Hours later he was shot dead. Photos showed smiling elite units of soldiers and police emerging from the mall.

Purported video from the scene -- shared on social media -- showed snipers in webbing on elevated walkways, aiming their rifles downwards as heavy gunfire echoed across a concourse below.

STOLEN WEAPONS

The gunman relayed his shooting spree through Facebook posts which charted the attack from an army barracks to the city mall.

Despite the prime minister's speculation, Jakrapanth's exact motive remained unclear as Korat -- a sedate and mid-size town -- tried to digest the scale of the atrocity.

The bloodshed began Saturday afternoon when he shot three people -- among them at least one soldier -- at a senior officer's house and then at the nearby army barracks, before driving a military vehicle to the town center.

There the gunman used the stolen weapons to unleash carnage in the town center.

Throughout the day, he posted images of himself and wrote several posts on his Facebook page as the attack unfolded.

In one Facebook video -- since deleted -- the assailant, wearing an army helmet, filmed from an open-top jeep, saying, "I'm tired... I can't pull my finger anymore" as he made a trigger symbol with his hand.

There were also photos of a man in a ski mask holding up a pistol.

A Facebook spokesperson said: "We have removed the gunman's accounts from our services and will work around the clock to remove any violating content related to this attack as soon as we become aware of it."

The city is home to one of the largest barracks in Thailand, a country where the military is enmeshed in politics and society.

The nation also has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world, and several shootings at courthouses last year renewed concern about gun violence.

Agence France-Presse

No Filipinos hurt in Thailand mall shooting spree

MANILA - No Filipinos were hurt after a gunman killed at least 21 people in a Thailand shopping mall on Saturday afternoon, the Philippine Embassy there said Sunday.

The embassy, in a statement, urged Filipinos in Nakhon Ratchasima, a 4-hour drive from Bangkok where the besieged Terminal 21 mall is located, to heed local officials' advise to stay indoors.

"We offer our prayers and solidarity with our Thai brothers and sisters in this time of grief," the embassy said.

According to a report of ABS-CBN News correspondent Goldie Saurin, six Filipinos were evacuated from the mall at around 2 a.m., Sunday.

"Wala na po siyang hawak na hostage. Siya ay naglalakad sa loob ng mall. Lahat ni-lockdown ang rooms at dahan-dahan nailabas ang customers at staff," Saurin told radio DZMM on Sunday morning, describing earlier activities of the gunman and those trapped inside the mall.

("He doesn't have any hostage anymore. He is just walking around inside the mall. All rooms in the mall have been locked down, and customers and staff are slowly being brought out.")

First Secretary and Consul General Val Roque was on his way to the area to check the condition of the Filipinos who were rescued from the mall, according to the Philippine Embassy.


Authorities earlier identified the gunman as a junior army officer named Sergeant-Major Jakrapanth Thomma, who was killed after a nearly 24-hour ordeal.

The city - better known as Korat - is known to be frequented by Filipinos and is home to one of Thailand's largest barracks in a country where the military is enmeshed in politics and society.

Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world.

Several shootings at courthouses late last year renewed concern about gun violence in the Southeast Asian country.

--With Agence France-Presse

At least one killed, several injured in Seattle mass shooting

LOS ANGELES - At least one person was killed and seven others, including a child, were wounded on Wednesday after gunfire broke out in downtown Seattle near a popular tourist area, police and hospital officials said.

Police said at least one suspect was being sought in connection with the mass shooting that took place near a McDonald's fast food restaurant, just blocks away from the Pike Place Market.

It was the third shooting in the area in less than two days, and the latest incident of gun violence that has affected churches, cinemas and other public places in the United States.

"Officers investigating shooting near 4th and Pine," the Seattle Police Department said in a tweet. "Multiple victims. The suspect has fled, and police are searching for him. Officers and medics are providing first aid to the injured."

Police chief Carmen Best told reporters at the scene that one person, a woman, had been killed and several others were wounded in the shooting that occurred shortly after 5:00 pm (0100 GMT).

Officials at Harborview Medical Center, where all the wounded were transported, said seven people were being treated at the hospital, including a nine-year-old boy.

Police ordered people to stay out of the area and shut down a subway station as they searched for one or more suspects.

Tyler Parsons, an employee at Victrola Coffee Roasters, told The Seattle Times that he was working when he suddenly saw victims falling to the ground as shots rang out.

He said several people ran into his shop to seek cover and he saw two people with gunshot wounds.

"The shooting was just kind of terrifying. Terrifying it's so close," he told the paper.

One body covered with a white tarp could be seen in TV images lying on the sidewalk in front of the McDonald's two hours after the shooting.

It was unclear if any of the victims were tourists.

Susan Gregg, a spokesperson for Harborview Medical Center, said a 55-year-old woman shot in the abdomen was rushed into surgery and the boy, who was shot in the leg, was in serious condition. The other victims -- five males -- are in satisfactory condition, she said.

Gregg added that the nature of the injuries varied from grazing wounds to life-threatening injuries.

One witness interviewed by local media said he had seen two men arguing loudly before they started shooting at one another, hitting bystanders.

Around 40,000 people died from various firearms-related incidents, including suicides and homicides, in 2017 in the US, according to government figures.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Fil-Am families affected by Santa Clarita high school shooting

SANTA CLARITA, California – Filipino-American families were among those affected when a 16-year-old student opened fire in a campus just before classes started on Thursday.

Attorney Ed Allan Lindain just dropped off his son at his elementary school when he got word from his older daughter that there was a shooting at a nearby high school.

“We got scared. We got terrified. We immediately got in contact with the school. The elementary school has been in close contact with the parents of the children,” Lindain said.

Schools around the area, including Lindain’s son’s elementary school, was placed on lockdown while the suspect, a student at Saugus High School, was still at large.

At least two have been killed and several others wounded, some of whom in critical condition.

The shooter was described as an Asian male, dressed in black and carrying a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol.

Reports of the shooting prompted a massive and immediate response by law enforcement and school officials.

Students who were taken to a reunification center at a local park after the lockdown said they heard a loud bang causing panic and triggering protocol based on the mass-shooting trainings practiced every semester.

By 9:45 a.m., local reports said that the suspect was taken into custody and brought to a local hospital for treatment.

“During the time that the suspect was still at large, everyone here in the community was very nervous and we were really scared. Now that the suspect is in custody, there’s a sigh of relief for all of us but the whole community is still grieving with what happened,” Lindain added.

Lindain said this "new norm" of mass shootings, even in the safest neighborhoods, is deeply concerning.

“Santa Clarita has always been a peace-loving community. We take pride in the peace and order situation here. For this thing to happen is really terrifying,” he said.

Anti-gun violence organizations reported that this year alone, Thursday’s incident is the 38th shooting with injury or death at an American elementary or secondary school.

Read more on Balitang America.

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Mexico convulsed by second mass shooting in 2 days

MEXICO CITY - A gunfight between security forces and armed civilians in Mexico's southwestern state of Guerrero killed 15 people on Tuesday, authorities said, the second mass killing to shake the country in as many days.

Guerrero state public security spokesman Roberto Alvarez said 14 civilians and one soldier died in the shootout in the municipality of Tepochica, near Iguala, a city notorious for the 2014 disappearances of 43 student teachers.

A photograph of the aftermath seen by Reuters showed two slain civilians, one of them hanging limply off the side of a battered pick-up truck that had been riddled with bullets as security forces patrolled the area.

Defending his security strategy after suspected cartel gunmen killed 13 police a day earlier in the neighboring western state of Michoacan, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador blamed past administrations for Mexico's chronic violence.

However, the latest carnage is likely to increase pressure on Lopez Obrador to get a grip on a problem he pledged to tackle when he took office last December.

Guerrero and Michoacan are two of Mexico's most violent and lawless states, where rival drug gangs have battled to control smuggling routes to the Pacific and interior of the country.

The leftist Lopez Obrador told a news conference the ambush in Michoacan was "very regrettable" but reiterated that his commitment to greater spending on security and fighting the root causes of violence would eventually pay dividends.

"I'm optimistic we'll secure peace ... we're completely dedicated to this issue, but (past governments) allowed it to grow," said Lopez Obrador, who has criticized past efforts for taking a confrontational approach to battling crime.

Homicides in Mexico this year are on track to surpass last year's record.

Photos of the Michoacan crime scene on social media showed bullet-riddled police vehicles set on fire, as well as bodies of dead officers on the ground.

After taking office, Lopez Obrador created a militarized National Guard police force to contain the violence.

But many of the National Guard have instead been deployed to police Mexico's borders to placate U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened to impose tariffs if Lopez Obrador does not reduce the flow of U.S.-bound migrants from Central America.

The city of Iguala pitched Mexico's chronic security problems into the glare of international media after the 43 trainee teachers were abducted by a drug gang in cahoots with corrupt local police on the night of Sept. 26, 2014.

The resulting scandal battered the reputation of Mexico's former president and helped propel Lopez Obrador into office.

The last government said the drug gang killed and incinerated the youths, although investigators only ever definitively identified the remains of one of them.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Texas shooting toll rises to seven

WASHINGTON - The death toll in a chaotic mass shooting in Texas has risen to seven, the local police chief confirmed Sunday, adding that it might have been far worse had the shooter not been stopped before entering a crowded movie theater.

On Sunday, police identified the shooter as a local man named Seth Aaron Ator, age 36. 

Police had said Saturday that five people died in the frantic shootout spread out over several miles on roads between the cities of Midland and Odessa in the west of the state. 

They said Sunday that two more people had died. The dead ranged in age from 15 to 57, and the 22 injured included three police officers and a 17-month-old girl who was shot in the mouth but was recovering. 

At the end of the shooting spree, the assailant -- whose identity police said they were not ready to release -- died in a shootout with police outside an Odessa movie theater.

Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke told reporters Sunday that he could not be absolutely certain of the suspect's intent, but then added, "He showed up at a movie theater, which would tend to show his motives."

Gerke said that on a Saturday afternoon in Odessa, the theater would have been one of the most crowded venues.

At the time, the chief refused to publicly name the shooter so as not to give him notoriety. He said there was "some criminal record attached to his driver's license," but no active warrants. 

On Sunday afternoon Odessa police, on their Facebook page, named the shooter as Ator and said he was from Odessa.

Gerke said the shooter used an "AR-type" weapon -- an assault-style arm such as has been used in several other mass shootings.

Reports said Ator is a white man in his mid-30s. Police gave no details, only his name and age.

Firing at random 

FBI special agent Christopher Combs said at the briefing that authorities did not believe there was any connection to domestic or international terrorism.

The incident began when troopers tried to pull over a gold-colored passenger vehicle on the Interstate 20 highway. Gerke said the driver had failed to signal a left turn.

Before the vehicle stopped, "the male driver (and only occupant in the vehicle) pointed a rifle toward the rear window of his car and fired several shots toward the DPS patrol unit," the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a statement.

One trooper was wounded, and the suspect fled, leading police on a wild chase during which he hijacked a US postal truck and opened fire at random.

Coming less than a month after a gunman killed 22 people in the Texas city of El Paso -- less than 300 miles (480 kilometers) west of Odessa -- the latest bloodshed has ignited fresh calls for steps to stem the US scourge of mass shootings.

'Tired of the dying'

Texas Governor Greg Abbott spoke repeatedly at the briefing about what he said were urgent legislative efforts to reduce gun violence. 

"I have been to too many of these events," he said, listing four mass shootings in the state. "I'm tired of the dying... too many Texans are mourning."

US President Donald Trump, in a tweet Sunday, congratulated law enforcement and first responders for their response to "the terrible shooting tragedy yesterday."

But later, speaking to reporters on the White House lawn, he said that while discussions on curbing gun violence were underway with lawmakers, "This really hasn't changed anything."

While he himself spoke after the El Paso shooting of requiring "strong background checks" to prevent unstable people from purchasing guns, Trump said Sunday that recent history showed that "as strong as you make your background checks, they would not have stopped any of it."

But former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, bluntly disagreed, telling CNN that "if we're not able to act decisively, then we will continue to have this bloodshed."

Combs, the FBI agent, noted that this was not the first mass shooting his team had responded to.

Once the Odessa investigation concludes, he said, "We'll get ready (for) the next active shooter, which is an unfortunate statement to make -- but it seems like that's what we do.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

At least 5 dead, 21 wounded in Texas shooting: police

WASHINGTON  - At least five people have been killed in a mass shooting that left 21 victims in the US state of Texas on Saturday, police said.

"We have at least 21 victims, 21 shooting victims and at least five deceased at this point in time," Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke told reporters.

Three police officers were injured in the incident which began with a traffic stop, he said.

The suspect was shot dead in an exchange of fire with officers.

The shooting comes less than a month after a gunman killed 22 people in the Texas city of El Paso, close to 300 miles (480 kilometers) west of Odessa.

Police in Odessa had earlier reported that "a subject (possibly 2) is currently driving around Odessa shooting at random people."

They added that "the suspect just hijacked a US mail carrier truck" and urged people to stay off the road and use extreme caution.

Some of the shots were fired on the Interstate 20 highway linking Odessa and Midland, where cars were left with bullet holes.

President Donald Trump tweeted that he had been briefed by Attorney General Bill Barr.

"FBI and Law Enforcement is fully engaged," Trump said.

The latest incident came after the mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart, where many victims were Hispanic.

In that case, officers arrested Patrick Crusius, 21, a white Texan, who told police that he was targeting "Mexicans," according to an arrest warrant published by US media.

The tragedy in El Paso was committed on the basis of "racist" anti-Mexican rhetoric in a country that "has always been a land of opportunity for every newcomer," Jesus Seade, Mexico's foreign ministry undersecretary for North America, said during a memorial after that shooting. 

Critics of Trump have accused him of stoking such hatred.

The shooting in El Paso came hours before a gunman in Dayton, Ohio killed nine people, reigniting calls for gun control in the United States where firearms were linked to nearly 40,000 deaths in 2017.

"We need to end this epidemic," former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke reacted on Twitter.

O'Rourke, a Democratic presidential hopeful, also expressed sympathy with "everyone in West Texas who has to endure this again."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Gamers take aim at Trump's criticism of virtual violence

Gamers at the industry's biggest fair in Europe have taken aim at US President Donald Trump's assertions that violence in video games was partly to blame for recent mass shootings.

Experts and fans alike at the Gamescom trade fair in the German city of Cologne rejected the link between popular first-person shooter games and real-life massacres that have become tragically common especially in the United States.

"We must stop the glorification of violence in our society," Trump said after 31 people were killed in two separate back-to-back mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, earlier this month.

"This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace -- it is too easy for troubled youth to surround themselves with a culture that celebrates violence."

But Pascaline Lorentz, an expert on the sociology of video gaming, charged that "Donald Trump's argument is totally outdated".

"It has been more than 20 years since studies on violence in video games and films completely deconstructed this argument," she told AFP.

"These studies say that there is no causal link between violence in games and violent acts perpetrated by players."

The sociologist argued that playing violent video games is even a healthy way to let off steam.

"It feels good to let go of yourself," she said, adding that people need to "cry, scream, run or strike to bring out some negative emotions".

"What is dangerous is blocking the process of emotional and sensory balancing."


- Shoot'em up -

It's a sentiment shared by Celina Bausch, 22, who was waiting to try the latest version of the "Call of Duty" series on show at Gamescom.

"As a player, you're used to hearing this kind of criticism, but I don't really take notice as it's not serious," she said.

The goal of the gun-totting game is "not to kill" for the sake of killing, but to use tactics to progress through the levels, insisted another queuing fan, Tim Koehler, 21.

Julien Villedieu, from French gaming industry body SNJV, argued that given the diversity of types of games, "reducing video games to violence is a mistake".

The video gaming industry has long been accused of having a negative impact on the behavior of gamers, especially young people.

In the United States, the issue first came under the spotlight after the release of violent first-person shoot'em-up games "Wolfenstein 3D "(1992) and "Doom" (1993), which popularized the genre.

Criticism intensified after the murder of 12 pupils and one teacher during the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 in Colorado, committed by teenagers who were fans of Doom.

In comparison, shooting massacres are rare in South Korea or Japan, pioneers of the gaming industry where Nintendo, Sega and Sony originated. Both Asian nations spend more per capita on video games than the United States.

Koehler, the gamer, said he feels Trump's criticism of gaming aims to distract from liberal US gun laws and the right to bear arms, a cornerstone of the US Constitution.

"Video games are played all over the world, but the main shootings take place in the United States," he said.

"Maybe we should look at the problem differently."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Lawyers: El Paso shooting suspect's mother called police over son's gun

The mother of a young man suspected of gunning down 22 people at a Walmart in the US state of Texas called police weeks before, concerned about a military-style weapon he owned, the family's lawyers told CNN.

The report comes with bipartisan sentiment for action on gun safety appearing to grow after the killings in El Paso and another mass shooting hours later in Dayton, Ohio that left nine people dead.

CNN reported that the mother of the El Paso suspect, Patrick Crusius, had called police in the Dallas suburb of Allen weeks before the attack because she was concerned about his owning an "AK"-type firearm, the network quoted family lawyers as saying.

AK usually refers to a Kalashnikov, a type of semi-automatic rifle.

The lawyers, Chris Ayres and R. Jack Ayres, of Dallas, told CNN that Crusius's mother was worried given her son's age, maturity level and lack of experience with such a weapon.

They added that, during the call, a police officer told her that -- based on what she described -- her 21-year-old son was legally able to purchase the weapon.

But the mother's call was "informational" and not motivated out of a concern that her son posed a threat, the lawyers said, adding the mother did not give police her name or her son's name.

"This was not a volatile, explosive, erratic behaving kid," CNN quoted Chris Ayres as saying. "It's not like alarm bells were going off."

Chris Ayres could not immediately be reached when AFP contacted his law office.

Asked about the CNN report, Sergeant Jon Felty, of the Allen Police Department, told AFP: "I have nothing in our database to support this claim."

About 20 minutes before the rampage with a semi-automatic weapon, Crusius, who is white, posted a four-page white supremacist "manifesto" on the online forum 8chan that railed against Hispanics.

Several of those killed were Mexicans.

After the shootings, US President Donald Trump faced protests that his rhetoric on race has fuelled extremism.

In an address to the nation on Monday, Trump rejected racism and white supremacist ideology, and said he supported "red flag" laws allowing authorities to confiscate weapons from people believed to present grave risks. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Racism, misogyny: US authorities probe motives of 2 gunmen

One was fueled by racist hatred of immigrants and warned of a "Hispanic invasion." The other's motives are less clear but he apparently resented women and compiled a "hit list" of girls in high school.

Police and the FBI were trying to piece together on Tuesday what drove two young American men to commit unspeakable acts of carnage over the weekend.

Patrick Crusius, a 21-year-old unemployed white man from the Dallas suburb of Allen, opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon at a Walmart on Saturday in El Paso, Texas.

About 20 minutes before the rampage, which left 22 people dead, he posted a four-page white supremacist "manifesto" on the online forum 8chan that railed against Hispanics.

In the document titled "The Inconvenient Truth," Crusius wrote that the attack "is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas."

Crusius claimed he was "defending" the US "from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by an invasion" and made references to the Christchurch shootings in New Zealand, where a white gunman killed 51 worshippers at two mosques in March.

El Paso police chief Greg Allen said Crusius has not shown any remorse since his arrest and "appears to be in a state of shock and confusion."

According to court documents, Crusius has been unemployed for the past five months and living with his grandparents.

In a statement, his grandparents said he had lived with them while attending classes at Collin County College but moved out of their home about six weeks ago.

According to CNN, a Twitter account linked to Crusius frequently shared tweets by President Donald Trump including one with Trump's name spelled out with guns.

In a LinkedIn profile, Crusius wrote, "I'm not really motivated to do anything more than what's necessary to get by.

"Working in general sucks, but i guess a career in Software Development suits me well. I spend about 8 hours every day on the computer so that counts towards technology experience I guess."

El Paso is about a nine-hour drive from the Dallas area and Crusius appears to have deliberately selected the city because of its heavily Hispanic population.

El Paso lies on the Rio Grande River which marks the US border with Mexico, and has a population of 680,000, of which 83 percent are of Hispanic descent.

- 'An oddball' -

The motivations of the other gunman, Connor Betts, 24, are less clear but several former friends told US media that he had a history of disturbing behavior, particularly towards women.

Also armed with a semi-automatic weapon, Betts killed nine people including his sister, 22-year-old Megan Betts, in Dayton, Ohio, early Sunday morning. He was shot dead by police within a minute.

Investigators have found no evidence so far to indicate that the shooting was motivated by racial hatred.

"Just based on where we're at now we are not seeing any indication of race being a motive," Dayton police chief Richard Biehl said.

Betts was white and six of his nine victims were black.

Mika Carpenter, 24, who has known Betts since she was 13 years old, told The New York Times "he was kind of hateful to women because they didn't want to date him."

The Dayton Daily News reported that Betts had been suspended from Bellbrook High School for drawing up a "hit list" of girls.

According to Buzzfeed News, Betts was a member of a "pornogrind" heavy metal band called Menstrual Munchies which performed songs with themes of sexual violence.

Demoy Howell, a friend of Betts, told the Dayton Daily News that Betts was "always a bit of an oddball."

"He had a dark sense of humor -- jokes about people dying," Howell told the newspaper. "He would wear all black. I remember sensing a dark energy around him.

"I think this is less of a hate crime and more of an 'I hate everybody' crime," Howell said.

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