9 dead in shooting rampage at Texas mall: authorities

WASHINGTON  — A man who went on a rampage at a Texas outlet mall on Saturday shot dead eight people before he was himself killed, authorities said.

"(We) found seven deceased individuals on scene. We transported nine individuals to the hospital... Of those we transported, two have since died," said fire chief Jonathan Boyd of Allen, Texas.

The shooting sparked panic at Allen Premium Outlets, a sprawling shopping complex in Allen, 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Dallas, filled with weekend shoppers.

A police officer was in the mall on an unrelated call when gunfire broke out around 3:30 pm (2030 GMT), said chief Brian Harvey of the Allen police department.

"He heard gunshots, went to the gunshots, engaged the suspect and neutralized the suspect," Harvey said. "He also then called for ambulances."

The identity of the shooter was not released. His body, sprawled on a sidewalk, was one of the seven deaths at the mall when more police arrived.

Among the wounded at area hospitals, "three are in critical surgery, and four are stable," Boyd, the fire chief, said.

Some of the victims were as young as five years old, a hospital official told NBC News.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the mass shooting an "unspeakable tragedy."

President Joe Biden "has been briefed on the shooting," a White House official told reporters.

Local officials hailed the actions of the police officer who charged and killed the shooter.

"We owe a debt of gratitude to first responders that ran toward the gunfire and acted swiftly to neutralize the threat," said Keith Self, a Republican congressman whose district includes the city of Allen.

Video footage aired by CNN showed the shooter getting out of a sedan in the parking lot of the mall, and beginning his rampage.

Authorities believed initially that a second shooter might be on the loose. As police combed through stores in the mall, frantic shoppers and store employees rushed into parking lots.

Harvey later said police believe the unidentified shooter, who CNN said was wearing tactical gear, "acted alone."

Janet St. James, a spokesperson for Medical City Healthcare, which operates multiple trauma facilities in North Texas, said it received eight patients from the shooting, ranging in age from five to 61, NBC News reported.

A father who arrived at the mall after his daughter, who was inside, phoned to tell him about the shooting, also told CNN that police had informed him there may have been a second shooter.

"We saw the police outside the door, and they told us we had to go, and that they are still looking for the person," Jaynal Pervez said, according to CNN.

"There's no more safe places. I don't know what to do."

Pervez later told broadcaster CBS that scenes in the mall parking lot were chaotic.

"I saw the shoes around there, people's cell phones on the street," he said.

With more firearms than inhabitants, the United States has the highest rate of gun deaths of any developed country -- 49,000 in 2021, up from 45,000 the year before.

There have been more than 195 mass shootings -- defined as four or more people wounded or killed -- so far this year in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Agence France-Presse

Paris shooter was 'clearly targeting foreigners': minister

PARIS — A 69-year-old gunman who opened fire at a Kurdish cultural centre and a hairdressing salon in Paris on Friday was deliberately seeking out foreigners, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.

The man, a retired train driver, "was clearly targeting foreigners", Darmanin told reporters, adding however that it was "not certain" that the man was aiming to kill "Kurds in particular".

Darmanin said: "We yet don't know his exact motives."

There was also no information so far on links of the suspect with ultra-right activists, he said.

The man is a member of a shooting sports club "and has several registered weapons", the minister said.

Asked whether any of the victims in Friday's shooting had links to the Kurdish PKK movement, designated a terrorist organization by the EU and others, Darmanin said they appeared not to have been known to France's security services.

Darmanin said he had ordered tighter security at Kurdish meeting places in France, as well at Turkish diplomatic offices.

Officials were to meet to evaluate the likelihood of any further threats to the Kurdish community in Paris or elsewhere in France, he said. 

Agence France-Presse 

'Do something now:' Mourners demand action after US school shooting

UVALDE, United States — A distraught Texas grandmother of a girl killed in the massacre in Uvalde pleaded Thursday for urgent action by US authorities to prevent future school shootings, as the country plunges again into the roiling debate over guns.

Ten-year-old Amerie Garza -- a fourth-grader who loved her classes, drawing, and playing with clay -- was one of 19 children murdered by a teen gunman at Robb Elementary School in an act of evil that has forever changed this small Texas town.

"My granddaughter was in there. She was an innocent little girl, loving school and looking forward to summer," Dora Mendoza told reporters after paying respects at a makeshift memorial outside the school.

But the 63-year-old, who lived with Amerie and saw her at an end-of-year ceremony Tuesday just hours before she was killed, quickly made clear she wanted US officials such as President Joe Biden and Texas Governor Greg Abbott not to shy away from working together on reforms.

Biden, who is due to visit on Sunday, and Abbott are polar opposites regarding restrictions on gun sales. Like many in the Democrat versus Republican divide, the two also differ on the path to take to curb the nation's surging gun violence. 

"They shouldn't just wait for... tragedy to start," she said. 

"They need to do something about it. They need to not forget us, the babies... Don't forget them, please," Mendoza, speaking in a mix of English and Spanish, pleaded through her tears.

"Do something about it, I beg you. I beg you!" she wailed. "All the cries and all these little innocent babies... we don't know what they went through."

Amerie's "abuela" was among several Uvalde residents who came to pray or leave flowers at the school memorial, where 21 small white wooden crosses have been erected bearing names of the 19 children and 2 teachers who were killed.

Among the mourners was Yaritza Rangel, 23, who brought her 4 children to lay flowers.

'WHAT IF HAPPENS AGAIN?' 

"We're all hurt. We never thought this would happen here," where most town residents know each other, she said.

But Rangel, while avoiding politics, did point to 3 reforms she wants enacted: an expansion of background checks for gun purchases, tightening of security in schools, and raising the minimum age for buying firearms.

"It doesn't make sense," she said. "You have to go and wait until you're 21 to go and buy alcohol. Why are they letting 18-year-olds be able to buy rifles?"

Rangel, whose young nephew was in a Robb Elementary classroom that the shooter tried but failed to enter, is now worried about her own children and says she has been traumatized by the attack.

Her son will be going to elementary school soon, and the prospect of violence keeps her awake at night.

"What if it happens again?"

Dozens of relatives, students and friends have been placing flowers, stuffed animals, candles and jewelry at a second memorial in Uvalde's town square, which has become a gathering place for residents to unite in their anguish.

Like the first memorial, it features white crosses with the names of the victims. Meghan Markle, the wife of Britain's Prince Harry, visited the site on Thursday.

The 40-year-old Duchess of Sussex -- wearing jeans, a t-shirt and a blue baseball cap -- reached down with her head bowed and placed flowers between 2 of the crosses.

Some mourners added messages on the crosses, including a young girl who wrote one for victim Jackie Cazares.

"Love you cousin 'till we meet again," it said.

Agence France-Presse 

Gunman in US shopping mall shooting spree dies of injuries

LOS ANGELES— A man who opened fire with a handgun at a shopping mall in Boise, Idaho, killing 2 people and injuring several others, including a police officer, died on Tuesday from wounds sustained during the violence a day earlier, authorities said.

Investigators have yet to determine whether the fatal injuries resulted from an exchange of gunfire with police at the scene, or from a self-inflicted gunshot before he was taken into custody, according to Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee.

The motive for Monday's midday bloodshed remained under investigation, Lee told reporters in a briefing a day after the attack at Boise Towne Square mall on the west end of Idaho's capital.

The suspect was publicly identified on Tuesday as 27-year-old Jacob Bergquist, a Boise resident. Police Chief Lee described him as having had previous run-ins with mall security and police for "disruptive behavior."

"We have had contact with him in the past, we did not have any reason to arrest him," Lee said, adding that Bergquist was not believed to have had any employment history at the mall.

Police also disclosed new details about the incident, saying that the suspect, dressed in black, fired multiple shots inside the mall before he fled the building and was confronted by officers arriving on the scene within 2 1/2 minutes.

He credited the swift response by law enforcement with preventing a "more grave tragedy."

The slain victims were identified by the county coroner as Joseph Acker, 26, a mall security officer who was the first person shot, and Roberto Arguelles, 49, who was gunned down near an elevator and died at a hospital.

Two women, aged 52 and 23, were injured as the suspect proceeded through the mall firing rounds into the floor, and a third woman, 68, was injured in her vehicle outside the building, apparently caught in the crossfire between police and the gunman, authorities said.

A Boise police officer called to the scene was shot at through the window of his vehicle and was injured by shards of broken glass, though evidence shows that gunfire struck the hat he was wearing, police said.

Another man was taken by private vehicle to a hospital and treated for injuries suffered in a fall while fleeing the mall, police said.

None of the wounded people's injuries were considered life-threatening, authorities said.

Lee said the suspect did all his shooting with a handgun, but a police statement online said he was carrying multiple firearms.

-reuters-

1 killed, dozen injured in US drive-by shooting spree

LOS ANGELES - One person was killed and a dozen injured in a drive-by shooting spree Thursday as a gunman roamed the streets in the southwestern US state of Arizona, police said.

Over the course of one-and-a-half hours, a suspect opened fire in at least 8 sites around communities outside Phoenix, apparently at random, before he was taken into custody at a traffic stop.

As well as the fatality, 3 other people were shot while another 9 suffered minor injuries including from broken glass. None of the injuries were thought to be life-threatening.

"We don't know what the motive was, we don't have an idea of what this person was thinking when he went out and did this," said Peoria police spokesman Brandon Sheffert.

"Obviously, we want to figure that out because there's a lot of scared people," he told a press conference held indoors due to sweltering heat wave temperatures of up to 118F (48C) in Phoenix.

The suspect was stopped after firefighters spotted a vehicle matching the description of multiple reports, and he did not resist arrest. One weapon was recovered from the vehicle.

The incident follows recent mass shootings in the nearby states of California, where a rail yard employee killed 9 people last month, and Colorado, where 10 died at a grocery store in March.

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-

Suspect dead after more than 10 killed in Canada rampage: police

MONTREAL  - A gunman who drove a mock-up police car killed at least 16 people in an Atlantic Canada shooting rampage, federal police said Sunday, the worst case of its kind in Canadian history.

The shooter, identified as Gabriel Wortman, 51, was shot dead by officers after a 12-hour manhunt in Nova Scotia province ended Sunday morning.

Among the victims was a veteran female constable with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which also handles municipal and provincial law enforcement in the province.

Police said the suspect had been on the run since Saturday night, when officers were alerted to shots fired in the town of Portapique, around 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Halifax.

Gun violence in Canada is far less frequent than in the neighboring United States, and weapons more strictly controlled, but the killings were the country's worst ever, exceeding the toll in 1989 when a gunman murdered 14 female students at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique.

Public broadcaster CBC quoted RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki as saying police know of at least 16 victims, besides the shooter.

"What has unfolded overnight and into this morning is incomprehensible and many families are experiencing the loss of a loved one," Nova Scotia RCMP Commanding Officer, Assistant Commissioner Lee Bergerman, wrote on the force's local Facebook page.

"That includes our own RCMP family. It is with tremendous sadness that I share with you that we lost Constable Heidi Stevenson, a 23-year veteran of the Force who was killed this morning, while responding to an active shooter incident."

In addition to Stevenson, a mother of two, a male officer was injured and is in hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Bergerman said.

The National Post newspaper said another victim was an elementary school teacher, citing a Facebook post from the woman's sister.

Several victims were discovered both outside and inside a house in Portapique, sparking the manhunt through multiple communities, police said.

"The search for the suspect ended this morning when the suspect was located. And I can confirm that he is deceased," RCMP Chief Superintendent Chris Leather told a press conference.

Leather said that at one point, the suspect appeared to be wearing part of a police uniform and was driving a vehicle made to look like an RCMP cruiser.

FIRES BURNED

RCMP tweeted several times that he was not an officer and warned he was considered "armed and dangerous."

"The initial search for the suspect led to multiple sites in the area, including structures that were on fire," Leather told the news conference.

Another police spokesperson said, without further details, that the gunman was killed after an officer intervened.

An independent agency, the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT), which probes certain incidents involving the province's police, said that it "is investigating the shooting of a male in Enfield by RCMP officers."

SiRT said in a statement that a confrontation had occurred in Enfield, which is near the Halifax airport, "resulting in officers discharging their firearms. The suspect was found to be deceased at the scene."

Police said they had no indication of a motive. Lucki told CBC there was no indication "at this point" of a terrorist intent.

"What I would say is that it appears to be at least in part, very random in nature," said Leather.

"We are in the early stages of an incredibly detailed and complex investigation that has forever changed countless lives," he said. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement that he "was saddened to learn about the senseless violence in Nova Scotia," and he hopes for a full recovery of the wounded.

The National Post quoted Tom Taggart, a councilor who represents Portapique in the Municipality of Colchester, as saying the community was devastated.

He described the community as a "subdivision in the woods where people have acre lots along the shore," and where Wortman owned three properties.

"It's absolutely unbelievable this could happen in our community. I never dreamt this would happen here," Taggart said.

Agence France-Presse

Police task group formed to probe shooting of Kim Chiu's van

MANILA - A special investigation task group was formed for Wednesday's shooting incident in Quezon City involving actress Kim Chiu's vehicle, the local police said Thursday.

The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) created the body to establish the motive behind the incident and to identify and arrest the perpetrators, it said in a statement.

Chiu, her personal assistant, and her driver were unhurt after two unidentified men on board a motorcycle shot her van along Katipunan Avenue in Barangay UP Campus around 6 a.m. Wednesday. The suspects fled towards Commonwealth Avenue.


QCPD director Brig. Gen. Ronnie Montejo said the 10-member SITG "Chiu" will be led by Col. Enrico Vargas, the QCPD deputy director for operations.

He said all possible angles of the incident are being looked into, including a case of mistaken identity.

Investigators have started gathering testimonies from witnesses and CCTV footage to help identify the perpetrators, he added.

Motorists with dashboard cameras who may have recorded the strafing are also being encouraged to come forward.

Chiu was on her way to the taping of her ABS-CBN TV series "Love Thy Woman" when the incident happened.

In an exclusive interview aired Wednesday night on TV Patrol, the actress said she was puzzled over the motive for the strafing.


ABS-CBN condemned the incident and said it will work closely with authorities.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Police shoot man dead after London stabbing incident described as terrorism

LONDON - Police shot dead a man in south London on Sunday after two people were stabbed in what police described as a terrorism-related incident.

Armed officers shot the man in Streatham, a busy residential district south of the River Thames.

"The circumstances are being assessed; the incident has been declared as terrorist-related," the police said on Twitter.

Police said later the man they had shot had been pronounced dead, and two people had been wounded.

"We await updates on their condition," police said, adding the scene of the incident was now fully contained.

Karker Tahir, a man who was working nearby, told Sky News that the man was shot three times. Police had told people in the area to leave because the man had a bomb in his bag, Tahir said.

A Western security source said the incident was related to Islamist militancy.

Armed police cordoned off the area and said people should avoid the area.

Several videos of the scene were posted on Twitter, but not verified by Reuters. In one, filmed from inside a shop across the road, a man can be seen lying on the street while at least two armed police officers point their guns from behind an unmarked car with its blue lights flashing.

At least one helicopter flew overhead and police cars were in surrounding streets, with the area blocked off by tape.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Twitter: "Thank you to all emergency services responding to the incident in Streatham, which the police have now declared as terrorism-related".

"My thoughts are with the injured and all those affected," he added.

The last such incident in London was in November, when police shot dead a man wearing a fake suicide vest who stabbed two people to death and wounded three more before being wrestled to the ground by bystanders.

That attack was carried out by a man with Islamist militant sympathies. He had been jailed for terrorism and released early.

London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, said in a statement after Sunday's incident: "Terrorists seek to divide us and to destroy our way of life - here in London we will never let them succeed." 

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper Writing by Peter Graff and Frances Kerry Editing by David Goodman and Angus MacSwan)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Churchgoers kill gunman who shot 2 during Texas service

HOUSTON - Worshipers in the US state of Texas shot dead a gunman who opened fire during a Sunday service, ending an attack that killed one parishioner and wounded another, police said.

The latest US shooting at a house of worship took place in the suburban Fort Worth community of White Settlement on Sunday morning when the gunman entered West Freeway Church of Christ, officials said.

"A couple of members of the church returned fire, striking the suspect who died at the scene," White Settlement Police Chief J.P. Bevering told reporters.

He praised the "heroic actions of those parishioners" for ending the threat, although he said one of the suspect's victims died at a local hospital and a second has life-threatening injuries.

The FBI said it was working to find a motive for the attack.

"Places of worship are meant to be sacred, and I am grateful for the church members who acted quickly to take down the shooter and help prevent further loss of life," Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement.

"Our hearts go out to the victims and families of those killed in the evil act of violence that occurred at the West Freeway Church of Christ," he added.

Guns kill about 36,000 people a year in the United States -- one of the most heavily armed countries in the world -- through suicides, homicides, police-involved shootings and accidents.

The country has lived through a sharp rise in mass shootings in recent years, alarming the public and triggering new debate on how to control this epidemic of violence.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he will only bring a gun bill to the floor if it has presidential backing, but President Donald Trump has given no clear preference.

In November 2017 a gunman shot dead 26 worshipers during a service at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, outside San Antonio.

Almost a year later, in October 2018, an anti-Semitic shooter killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

FSB agent killed, attacker 'neutralized' in Moscow shootout

MOSCOW—An officer in Russia's FSB security service was killed and 5 people were wounded Thursday when a gunman opened fire near its central Moscow headquarters.

The FSB, a successor to the KGB, said the lone attacker was "neutralized" after the attack outside its notorious headquarters on Lubyanka Square close to a busy shopping area in the heart of the Russian capital.

Footage shot by passersby showed people running in panic while armed officers made their way towards the scene after the late evening incident, taking cover behind parked cars.

"An unknown individual opened fire near building... there are casualties. The identity of the criminal is being established. The criminal has been neutralized," the FSB said.

It added later that "one FSB officer has died," and denied some reports of multiple gunmen, insisting there was only one attacker.

AFP correspondents in the area however heard more gunfire in the area 2 hours later, as police cordons remained around the area.

Witness Andrei Molchanov told AFP at the scene he saw one body and had heard rounds of automatic weapons fire. 

'FACED INEVITABLE DESTRUCTION'

Pavel, another witness who was in a cafe near the scene, said he heard solitary automatic gunfire and questioned why anybody would open fire near the heavily guarded FSB headquarters. 

"They knew they faced inevitable destruction: it's the center of Moscow... a person must be desperate for this to happen."

The ominous grey building, known simply as the Lubyanka after the square where it is located, was the headquarters of the KGB in Soviet times with a fearsome reputation as the location for interrogating prisoners.

Several videos shot from different vantage points showed armed men running out of an FSB reception office located close to the headquarters.

Footage posted on Telegram news channel Baza, shot in the square near the FSB headquarters, showed a man running and being apparently shot in the back after which he laid in the middle of the parking lot.

Another video showed gunfire at the windows of the FSB headquarters.

Russia's Investigative Committee launched a probe into the shooting and "attempt on life of a law enforcement employee," without giving the number of casualties.

The health ministry told Russian agencies that 5 people were being treated for injuries due to the shooting, without specifying the nature of the injuries or whether the casualties were civilians.

PUTIN INFORMED

The incident came on the eve of the Day of Security Service in Russia, which is celebrated on Dec. 20.

President Vladimir Putin also Thursday gave a speech marking a concert for the Russian security workers' day, saying that at least 54-terror related crimes had been thwarted in Russia in 2019, including 33 attacks.

The Russian leader had earlier been in central Moscow for his annual marathon news conference with journalists that lasted almost 4 and a half hours. 

Putin had been informed about the incident, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

Russia has in the last few years been hit by a spate of attacks blamed on Islamist militants, often hailing from the restive Northern Caucasus region.

A Russian court earlier this month sentenced 11 people to terms including life in prison after finding them guilty of a deadly bomb attack on the Saint Petersburg metro in 2017 that killed 15 people and wounded dozens more.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Motive unclear in deadly New Jersey kosher grocery rampage - officials

NEW YORK—Investigators are not sure why 2 people launched a deadly attack at a New Jersey kosher grocery store, state officials said on Wednesday, but a federal law enforcement source said the incident did not appear to be an act of organized terrorism.

Six people, including the 2 shooters, 3 civilians and a police officer, died in a series of events that ended in a police shootout on Tuesday in Jersey City, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City.

The 4-hour gun battle at the Jewish JC Kosher Supermarket erupted after the pair shot the police officer at a nearby cemetery and then fled in a white van. It ended after police crashed an armored vehicle through the wall of the market.

"We are not in the position at this time to say definitively why the suspects stopped in front of the supermarket and began firing," New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal told a news conference.

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop ordered police to be on high alert to protect Jewish neighborhoods following the attack.

The federal law enforcement source said investigators believe mental illness and drug use may have been the primary factors in the attack. He said investigators now view an anti-Semitic message posted online by one of the shooters as a secondary factor.

Officials identified the shooters as David Anderson, 47, and Francine Graham, 50. The 3 civilian victims inside the market were Mindy Ferenz, 32, Miguel Douglas, 49, and Moshe Deutsch, 24, they said.

A fourth person who was in the market when the shooters entered escaped. Officials declined to identify that person.

Police found a homemade pipe bomb in the rented van that the shooters drove to the market.

Some local media reported the initial confrontation between the suspects and police near the Jersey City cemetery, about a mile (1.6 km) from the supermarket, was linked to a previous homicide investigation. The 2 shooters also are suspects in that earlier murder, officials said.

The dead police officer, identified as Joseph Seals, a 15-year veteran of the force and father of 5, was shot at the cemetery shortly before the shootout around the grocery began.

"We are deeply shocked and saddened by the antisemitic attack in #JerseyCity yesterday," the Israeli embassy in Washington said on Twitter.

"This remains a very fluid and fast-moving investigation," said New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. "Based on everything we know, there is no ongoing security concern related to the events of yesterday."

source: news.abs-cbn.com 

Six killed in New Jersey shooting

Emergency personnel are shown on the scene of a shooting that left multiple people dead on Tuesday in Jersey City, New Jersey. In a raging gun battle that by some accounts lasted in excess of an hour, six people - a Jersey City police officer, three civilians and two suspects - were killed in the Tuesday afternoon standoff and shootout across the Hudson River from Manhattan, according to published reports. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Indian police kill 4 men suspected of gang rape, murder; draw cheers

HYDERABAD, India - Indian police shot dead four men on Friday who were suspected of raping and killing a 27-year-old veterinarian in the city of Hyderabad, a police official told Reuters, drawing applause from her family and citizens outraged over crimes against women.

The men had been in police custody and were shot dead near the scene of last week's crime where they tried to snatch the weapons of accompanying policemen, said N. Prakash Reddy, a deputy commissioner of police in Shamshabad, near Hyderabad.

Reddy said that the four men - two truck drivers and two truck cleaners, aged between 20 and 26 years - had been taken to the spot to re-construct the crime around 6 a.m. (0030 GMT)

"And there was a cross-fire. In this, all the four accused have died," Reddy said. "Two policemen have been injured."

No details were immediately available about how many police had escorted the four accused and whether they were handcuffed or roped together as is usually the case.

Earlier, a local police official had put the time of the deaths at around 3:30 a.m. There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy.

Indian police have frequently been accused of extra-judicial killings, called "encounters," especially in gangland wars in Mumbai and insurrections in the state of Punjab and in disputed Kashmir. Police officers involved in such killings were called "encounter specialists" and were the subject of several movies.

During the past week, thousands of Indians have protested in several cities following the alleged rape and murder of the veterinarian.

The woman had left home for an appointment on her motor-scooter and later called her sister to say she had a flat tire. She said a lorry driver had offered to help and that she was waiting near a toll plaza.

Police said she was abducted, raped and asphyxiated and her dead body then set alight on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

Her family welcomed the news of the killings of the alleged perpetrators.

"It has been 10 days to the day my daughter died. I express my gratitude towards the police & government for this. My daughter’s soul must be at peace now," Reuters partner ANI quoted her father as saying.

A crowd gathered at the site of the shooting and threw flower petals at police vans in support of the action. Some shouted "Long live police"; others hoisted police officials onto their shoulders.

UNABATED

Crimes against women have been unabated in India despite tough new laws that were enacted following the 2012 gang rape and murder of a woman in a Delhi bus that led to an outpouring of anger across the country.

Despite the setting up of fast track courts, cases have moved slowly, for lack of witnesses and the inability of many families to go through the long legal process. Some victims and their families have ended up being attacked for pursuing cases against powerful men, often local politicians.

Many Indians applauded the killings on Friday, taking to Twitter to support the police.

"Great work #hyderabadpolice ..we salute u," wrote Indian badminton star and former world No. 1 Saina Nehwal.

On Twitter, #encounter was the top-trending hashtag in India and No. 4 worldwide.

In Uttar Pradesh state, where a rape victim was set ablaze on Thursday while she was on her way to court, opposition politician Mayawati said the police there should take "inspiration" from what happened in Hyderabad.

Indian police registered more than 32,500 cases of rape in 2017, according to the most recent government data. But courts disposed of only about 18,300 cases related to rape that year, leaving more than 127,800 cases pending at the end of 2017.

But some people said the lack of progress in the courts did not mean the police had a free hand to dispense justice.

"This isn't instant justice - this is the absence of justice. We're not going to make women safer by abandoning the rule of law - is that so hard to understand?" said Rukmini S., an Indian columnist, in a tweet.

Supreme Court lawyer Vrinda Grover said the police who were involved in Friday's incident should face an inquiry, but in all likelihood would be rewarded with medals. "Killing accused like this is a short cut, but in the long run this won't work, it will carry its own consequences."

There was no immediate word from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government on the incident, but Maneka Gandhi a lawmaker from his Bharatiya Janata Party said the police appeared to have over-reached.

"You can't take law in your hands, they (accused) would've been hanged by Court anyhow. If you're going to shoot them before due process of law has been followed, then what's the point of having courts, law & police?"

source: news.abs-cbn.com

2 killed in shooting at Pearl Harbor base days before Japanese attack anniversary

LOS ANGELES - A US sailor fatally shot two people and wounded a third at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii on Wednesday before taking his own life, a senior Navy officer said.

The base was locked down for more than an hour after the shooting, according to a statement issued by the facility, while Navy officials said they were investigating what prompted the attack.

"I can confirm that there were three shooting victims. We have confirmed that two are deceased, one is in stable condition in a local hospital," said Rear Admiral Robert Chadwick.

He added that the shooter -- "tentatively" identified as a sailor assigned to the USS Columbia, a Los Angeles-class attack submarine -- had also died after "an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound."

One witness told local media he was sitting at his computer when he heard shots fired and rushed to the window, where he saw three victims on the ground.

The witness, who did not want to be identified, said he then saw the gunman, who was wearing a sailor's uniform, shoot himself in the head.

White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said that US President Donald Trump had been briefed on the shooting and was monitoring the situation.

Hawaii governor David Ige tweeted that the "White House has reached out to offer assistance from federal agencies, and the state is standing by to assist where necessary."

"I join in solidarity with the people of Hawaii as we express our heartbreak over this tragedy and concern for those affected by the shooting," Ige wrote.


Pearl Harbor anniversary

The shooting took place at 2:30 pm local time near the south entrance of the sprawling base located on the southern shore of Oahu.

The base hosts both the Navy and Air Force.

It unfolded three days before the 78th anniversary of the 1941 Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that left more than 2,400 US service members dead.

The worst shooting in Hawaii history took place just over 20 years ago when a Xerox employee killed seven of his colleagues.

While gun violence is common in the United States, shootings at American military facilities in the country are relatively rare.

In July 2015, Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez carried out an attack at two military installations in the US state of Tennessee that killed four Marines and a sailor, with the FBI concluding that the violence was inspired by a "foreign terrorist group."

Two years earlier, Aaron Alexis killed 12 people and wounded eight others at the Washington Navy Yard, just two miles (three kilometers) from the US Capitol building, before being shot dead by officers. 

Four years before that, Major Nidal Hasan, a US Army psychiatrist, killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others at Fort Hood.

He was considered a "lone wolf" who supported terror network Al-Qaeda. 

In 2016, the Pentagon softened rules on US troops carrying firearms while at government facilities in response to a series of deadly attacks on uniformed personnel.

Troops already carried weapons as part of certain job functions, but the new rules permitted commanders to authorize the carrying of privately owned handguns.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Terror returns to London Bridge in 'Black Friday' attack

LONDON—A man wearing a suspected hoax explosive device was shot dead by armed officers on London Bridge on Friday after what police said was a terrorist stabbing spree, reviving memories of another horrific attack 2 years ago that killed 8.

Footage on Twitter filmed by eyewitnesses showed a scrum of people tackling a man on the ground before specialist armed officers arrived and shot him dead as he tried to get up.

It is not known how many people were injured in the stabbing spree before the shooting but London Mayor Sadiq Khan said several people were "seriously" hurt.

Khan said members of the public risked their own safety to try to disarm the suspect. "They are the best of us," he told reporters.

The events came less than 2 weeks before an election at which Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes to win a majority to enable him to take Britain out of the European Union.

The prime minister cut short a visit to his constituency in northwest London to return to his Downing Street office for a briefing by the police.

'Enough is enough,' PM May says after London attackers kill 7
Both Johnson's Conservatives and the main opposition Labour party have both pledged to put at least 20,000 more officers on the streets.

But Britain's impending Brexit has raised questions about the extent of continued cooperation with Europe on security and intelligence matters.

New European Council President Charles Michel said he had been "very saddened to hear the dramatic reports" from London, adding: "The fight against terrorism is a common fight."

Johnson praised the emergency services for their response, adding: "This country will never be cowed or divided or intimidated by this sort of attack.

"Our values, our British values will prevail."

MOTIVE UNKNOWN

The attack happened on so-called "Black Friday," one of the busiest shopping days of the year in the run-up to Christmas, bringing more shoppers onto the streets.

The Metropolitan Police said it was called at 1:58 pm (9:58 p.m. Manila time) to a stabbing near the bridge, which links The City financial district to the south bank of the River Thames.

"A male suspect was shot by specialist armed officers," Neil Basu, the head of UK counter-terrorism policing, told reporters outside New Scotland Yard police headquarters.

"This suspect died at the scene. It has been declared a terrorist incident. We retain an open mind as to any motive.

"We believe a device that was strapped to the body of the suspect was a hoax explosive device."


Several people were seen in video footage apparently surrounding the man on the ground. 

One man, wearing a suit and tie, was seen retreating from the scene, with what appeared to be a large knife in his right hand.

Three armed officers then appeared on the scene and surrounded the scrum. One officer pulled a man away before 2 shots appeared to be fired.

An eyewitness told reporters: "He was on the ground with a knife near him, and a bag near him and then they surrounded him and armed police shot him."

Another told the BBC she and other people in the area rushed into a nearby restaurant and were told by staff to take cover under tables.

The bridge was closed off, with evacuated buses at a standstill, and a white truck straddling the carriageways. Forensics officers were at the scene.

Johnson thanked the police and all emergency services "for their immediate response."

A White House spokesman said US President Donald Trump had been briefed on the attack and was monitoring the situation.

Trump, who has previously criticized Mayor Khan and stabbings in the British capital, is due to visit next week for a NATO summit.

THREAT LEVEL DOWNGRADED

Britain downgraded its terrorism threat level from "severe," the second-highest of 5 levels, to "substantial" on Nov. 4, its lowest rating in more than 5 years.

British officials consider a terrorist attack "likely" when the threat level is substantial, and "highly likely" when it is severe.

The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, an organization made up of government departments and other public bodies, makes the decision after weighing up intelligence and information on known terror groups.

The 2017 attack involved Islamist extremists in a van who ploughed into pedestrians on London Bridge before attacking people at random with knives in nearby Borough Market.

Eight people were killed and 48 others injured. The 3 attackers, who were wearing fake suicide devices, were shot dead by police.

source:  news.abs-cbn.com

Several dead as gunman opens fire at California backyard party

FRESNO - Police in the California city of Fresno were investigating a mass shooting at a football game party on Sunday in which at least nine people were shot, killing several, with others left in critical condition, a police spokesman said.

A gunman started shooting after entering the backyard of a south Fresno home where a gathering of family and friends was watching a football game after 6 p.m., police said, and neighbors flooded 911 dispatchers with calls for help.

The suspect fled the scene and police were combing the neighborhood for witnesses and possible security camera footage.

Police did not release the number of dead at a news conference late on Sunday, but said there were multiple deaths among the nine known to have been shot in the city, about 200 miles (322 km) north of Los Angeles.

Others at the party may have driven themselves to hospital, police said, adding that some victims were taken to a nearby community medical center with gunshot wounds.

A police spokesman was not immediately available to Reuters for further comment. 

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.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

2 killed in California high school shooting

Grieving students from Saugus High School reunite with their parents at Central Park in Santa Clarita, California, on Thursday. A teenage boy gunned down fellow students at a California high school on his 16th birthday, killing 2 and wounding another 3 before turning the pistol on himself. The gunman was taken into custody in "grave" condition, police said, as officers stormed Saugus High School in Santa Clarita -- the latest in a relentless cycle of classroom shootings that have left around 300 youngsters dead over 2 decades.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Teenager kills 1, injures 3 in Russian college

MOSCOW, Russia - A 19-year-old student in Russia's Far East opened fire in his college Thursday morning, killing one classmate and injuring three other people before shooting himself, investigators said.

The male student in a construction college in the town of Blagoveshchensk "murdered his classmate and wounded three using a rifle registered to him," the Investigative Committee of far-eastern Amur region said.

"During (police) attempts to apprehend him, he shot himself dead," investigators said.

The victim was also 19 while the injured students ranged from 17 to 20 years old.

The small college in the town center was surrounded with police cars and some of the streets were closed off Thursday, local website Amur.Info said, adding that the shooter likely used a shotgun in the middle of a lecture attended by 20 people.

Russia has relatively few school shootings due to normally tight security in education facilities and the difficulty of buying firearms legally, but it is possible to register hunting rifles.

Last October a teenage gunman killed 20 people and injured more than 40 at his college in Moscow-annexed Crimea, apparently inspired by the 1999 Columbine high school shooting in the United States.

source: news.abs-cbn.com