Those Damn Guns Again

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
Video posted online as DA says case of Georgia Jogger who was chased and killed will go to grand jury




By Angela Barajas,
Amir Vera and
Steve Almasy,
CNN
May 6, 2020


Brunswick, Georgia (CNN)The fatal shooting of a black man -- apparently recorded on video in February and posted online Tuesday by a local radio station host -- will go to a grand jury in coastal Georgia, according to a district attorney.


Elements of the disturbing video are consistent with a description of the shooting given to police by one of those involved in the incident.

Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was jogging in a neighborhood outside Brunswick on February 23 when a former police officer and his son chased him down, authorities said. According to a Glynn County Police report, Gregory McMichael later told officers that he thought Arbery looked like a person suspected in a series of recent break-ins in the area.

After they chased down Arbery, McMichael told police, Arbery and McMichael's son Travis struggled over his son's shotgun. McMichael said two shots were fired before Arbery fell to the street, the report said.



In a letter to police, George Barnhill , one of the district attorneys who has recused himself from the case and who saw the autopsy report, wrote that Arbery sustained three wounds during the struggle for the gun.

Tom Durden, the district attorney for the Atlantic Judicial Circuit, wrote in a news release obtained by CNN on Tuesday that he expects to present the case to the next available grand jury in Glynn County to consider whether charges are merited for those involved in Arbery's death.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, courts are currently prohibited from empaneling grand juries.

Durden did not return CNN's calls for comment, but the local branch of the NAACP provided CNN with the document -- labeled as a press release -- which matches a statement Durden gave to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

S. Lee Merritt, an attorney for the Arbery family, said in a statement that the two men involved in the chase "must be taken into custody pending their indictment."

CNN's attempts to reach the McMichaels on Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Gov. Brian Kemp said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has offered resources to Durden for his investigation. "Georgians deserve answers," Kemp tweeted.

Kemp also retweeted the GBI's post that Durden "formally requested the GBI to investigate the death of Ahmaud Arbery."

State Attorney General Chris Carr said he was "deeply concerned" by the video and news reports.

Wanda Cooper, Arbery's mother, told CNN on Sunday that when police notified her of her son's death, she was told her son was involved in a burglary and that there was a confrontation between her son and the homeowner and a struggle over a gun.

"He was not armed," Cooper said. She said she never worried about him jogging because she said he wasn't bothering anyone.




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QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
Father and son arrested, charged with murder in shooting of Ahmaud Arbery

Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Travis McMichael, 34, were arrested on Thursday for the deadly shooting of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations announced. They have been charged with murder and aggravated assault. On Feb. 23, Arbery was jogging through a a Glynn County neighborhood when the armed McMichaels pursued him in a pickup truck.

Travis McMichael shot and killed Arbery, with the father and son telling police they chased Arbery because they thought he was behind a string of burglaries in the neighborhood. Amid outcry over the lack of arrests, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations said this week it would open an investigation in to the shooting, which was captured on video. No evidence has been presented showing Arbery was involved in any burglaries.


Source: WJCL
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
Police ID 8-year-old shot, killed;
Atlanta mayor: ‘Enough is enough’


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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By Asia Simone Burns
July 5, 2020


After an 8-year-old girl was fatally shot near the Wendy’s restaurant where Rayshard Brooks was killed by a police officer, Atlanta’s mayor gave a harsh rebuke of the armed protesters that have taken the place over.

“You shot and killed a baby,” Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said. “And there wasn’t just one shooter, there were at least two shooters.”

In an evening news conference, Bottoms demanded that the people who have been seen carrying long guns near the University Avenue restaurant leave the area.

“If you want to be a part of a solution and not the problem, you need to clear out of that area,” she said.

The strong words follow the death of Secoriea Turner, who was shot while sitting in a car across the street from Wendy’s parking lot.

Former Officer Garrett Rolfe shot Brooks in the restaurant’s parking lot last month, leading to a slew of protests across the city.

“Following the death of Rayshard Brooks, there have been a number of protests in the area, and there has been a problems with protesters closing the streets off,” Bottoms said.

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Atlanta police last week said they had removed the barriers from the street outside the restaurant.

“Last night, I received a notice the barriers were back up about 45 minutes before I got the message that Secoriea was killed,” Bottoms said.

The girl was riding in a car with her mother and an adult friend on I-75/85 when they exited onto University Avenue shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday, police spokesman Sgt. John Chafee said.
The driver tried to turn into a parking lot in the 1200 block of Pryor Road but was confronted by a “group of armed individuals who had blocked the entrance,” Chafee said.
“At some point, someone in that group opened fire on the vehicle, striking it multiple times and striking the child who was inside,” he said. The driver took the child to Atlanta Medical Center, Chafee said.
Bottoms beseached anyone with information about the fatal shooting to come forward.

"An 8-year-old girl was killed last night
because her mother was riding down
the street,"
Bottoms said. "If Secoriea was not safe last night, none of us are safe."
To the armed people at the restaurant, the Mayor said: "It's over."



 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
4 killed, 22 people injured in 6 different shootings on 4th of July weekend, police say


Atlanta police said they responded to multiple shootings throughout the city during the fourth of July weekend.
Police reported at least 25 people were shot in six separate incidents. Three of the shootings were deadly.
An 8-year-old girl died from her injuries after someone opened fire into a car off University Ave.

24 hours later, police said 3 other people were shot just feet away, killing one person.

Two more people have died after a shooting around 1 a.m. Sundayoff Auburn Avenue in northeast Atlanta.
Police said a large group was watching fireworks when a car hit a pedestrian.

An argument broke out and escalated into gunfire, according to investigators. Police said 14 people were shot and taken to area hospitals. Two people who were in critical condition have since died.


 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
Nearly 80 People Shot In Chicago, 15 Of Them Killed, In July 4th Weekend Violence Since Late Friday

July 6, 2020

CHICAGO (CBS)Nearly 80 people have been shot in Chicago since Friday night this July 4th holiday weekend, and 15 of them have been killed.

Twelve of the weekend shooting victims were under age 18. Two of the 12 were killed.

Among the incidents were a shooting that left a 7-year-old girl dead while she was visiting her grandmother for a 4th of July party in South Austin Saturday night, and two mass shootings – one of which left four people dead and four more wounded.

Around 7:02 p.m. Saturday, Natalia Wallace, 7, was shot in the forehead as she and other children played in the yard in the 100 block of North Latrobe Avenue. She was taken to Stroger Hospital of Cook County where she later died, police said.

Natalia was on the sidewalk when a light-colored vehicle pulled up and an unknown number of people exited. Those people then took out guns and fired shots her direction, police said.

A 32-year-old man was also wounded in the shooting, police said. He transported himself to Mount Sinai Hospital in fair condition with a gunshot wound to the ankle and a graze wound to the leg.

Family describes Natalia as “sweet, shy, loving, and good at math.”

“Kids outside playing, they shouldn’t have to worry about guns and people shooting,” Natalia’s father, Nathan Wallace, told CBS 2’s Marissa Parra.

A person of interest was being questioned Sunday night in Natalia’s death. Charges are pending.

Natalia-Wallace.jpeg


About four and a half hours later, eight people were shot in the 6100 block of South Carpenter Street in Englewood. Four of them – including a 14-year-old boy – died.

There was a large gathering in the middle of the street when police say four men walked up and started shooting.

Police said that boy was shot in the back while playing with two other boys, ages 11 and 15. They were also both struck by gunfire and were reported in fair condition Sunday.

Two others, a 29-year-old man in fair condition and a 35-year-old man in critical condition, were being treated at St. Bernard Hospital Sunday. Three other victims – whose ages have not been specified – also died in addition to the 14-year-old boy, police said.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office has not identified the boy who was killed, but an attorney representing his family identified him as Varnado Jones.

Police also responded to another mass shooting around 1:15 Sunday morning near 15th Street and Millard Avenue in North Lawndale. Police said a group of people were lighting fireworks on the sidewalk when a car pulled up and someone inside started shooting towards the crowd.

Six people were shot in that incident. A 20-year-old woman was shot in the head and abdomen and died at the hospital. Five other victims, all men between the ages of 27 and 44 are being treated at different hospitals in good to critical condition.

Another child was also wounded early Sunday morning in West Rogers Park. At 12:58 p.m., a 1-10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old woman were in an apartment building in the 7400 block of North Artesian Avenue when a man fired shots through the door and struck them both.

The girl was taken to AMITA Health St. Francis Hospital in Evanston in good condition with a graze wound to the right hand, while the women was taken to the same hospital in serious conditions with gunshots to both legs.

And around 10:25 p.m. Saturday, a 15-year-old boy was struck by a stray bullet in the 3000 block of South Tripp Avenue in Little Village. He was wounded in the knee and was taken to Stroger Hospital of Cook County in fair condition.

Police believe the bullets were fired a couple of blocks away in an alley behind the 2800 block of South Keeler Avenue by someone in a passing vehicle. A 23-year-old man was shot in the shoulder and a 27-year-old man was shot in the leg. Both were in fair condition Sunday.

And around 2:30 p.m. Sunday, four people were in an alley in the 3700 block of West Jackson Boulevard near the park of Garfield Park, when they heard shots and held pain. A 16-year-old girl was shot in the side, a 19-year-old man was shot in each thigh, a 35-year-old man suffered a graze wound to the buttocks, and a 55-year-old man was shot in the buttocks.

All were either in good condition or refused treatment.


 

Deezz

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
Nearly 80 People Shot In Chicago, 15 Of Them Killed, In July 4th Weekend Violence Since Late Friday

July 6, 2020

CHICAGO (CBS)Nearly 80 people have been shot in Chicago since Friday night this July 4th holiday weekend, and 15 of them have been killed.

Twelve of the weekend shooting victims were under age 18. Two of the 12 were killed.

Among the incidents were a shooting that left a 7-year-old girl dead while she was visiting her grandmother for a 4th of July party in South Austin Saturday night, and two mass shootings – one of which left four people dead and four more wounded.

Around 7:02 p.m. Saturday, Natalia Wallace, 7, was shot in the forehead as she and other children played in the yard in the 100 block of North Latrobe Avenue. She was taken to Stroger Hospital of Cook County where she later died, police said.

Natalia was on the sidewalk when a light-colored vehicle pulled up and an unknown number of people exited. Those people then took out guns and fired shots her direction, police said.

A 32-year-old man was also wounded in the shooting, police said. He transported himself to Mount Sinai Hospital in fair condition with a gunshot wound to the ankle and a graze wound to the leg.

Family describes Natalia as “sweet, shy, loving, and good at math.”

“Kids outside playing, they shouldn’t have to worry about guns and people shooting,” Natalia’s father, Nathan Wallace, told CBS 2’s Marissa Parra.

A person of interest was being questioned Sunday night in Natalia’s death. Charges are pending.

Natalia-Wallace.jpeg


About four and a half hours later, eight people were shot in the 6100 block of South Carpenter Street in Englewood. Four of them – including a 14-year-old boy – died.

There was a large gathering in the middle of the street when police say four men walked up and started shooting.

Police said that boy was shot in the back while playing with two other boys, ages 11 and 15. They were also both struck by gunfire and were reported in fair condition Sunday.

Two others, a 29-year-old man in fair condition and a 35-year-old man in critical condition, were being treated at St. Bernard Hospital Sunday. Three other victims – whose ages have not been specified – also died in addition to the 14-year-old boy, police said.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office has not identified the boy who was killed, but an attorney representing his family identified him as Varnado Jones.

Police also responded to another mass shooting around 1:15 Sunday morning near 15th Street and Millard Avenue in North Lawndale. Police said a group of people were lighting fireworks on the sidewalk when a car pulled up and someone inside started shooting towards the crowd.

Six people were shot in that incident. A 20-year-old woman was shot in the head and abdomen and died at the hospital. Five other victims, all men between the ages of 27 and 44 are being treated at different hospitals in good to critical condition.

Another child was also wounded early Sunday morning in West Rogers Park. At 12:58 p.m., a 1-10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old woman were in an apartment building in the 7400 block of North Artesian Avenue when a man fired shots through the door and struck them both.

The girl was taken to AMITA Health St. Francis Hospital in Evanston in good condition with a graze wound to the right hand, while the women was taken to the same hospital in serious conditions with gunshots to both legs.

And around 10:25 p.m. Saturday, a 15-year-old boy was struck by a stray bullet in the 3000 block of South Tripp Avenue in Little Village. He was wounded in the knee and was taken to Stroger Hospital of Cook County in fair condition.

Police believe the bullets were fired a couple of blocks away in an alley behind the 2800 block of South Keeler Avenue by someone in a passing vehicle. A 23-year-old man was shot in the shoulder and a 27-year-old man was shot in the leg. Both were in fair condition Sunday.

And around 2:30 p.m. Sunday, four people were in an alley in the 3700 block of West Jackson Boulevard near the park of Garfield Park, when they heard shots and held pain. A 16-year-old girl was shot in the side, a 19-year-old man was shot in each thigh, a 35-year-old man suffered a graze wound to the buttocks, and a 55-year-old man was shot in the buttocks.

All were either in good condition or refused treatment.


This is unbelievable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 80 PEOPLE SHOT and 15 KILLED!!!!
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
63 Shot in NYC Over Fourth of July Weekend


By Spectrum News Staff New York City
PUBLISHED 5:56 AM ET Jul. 06, 2020 UPDATED 10:41 AM ET Jul. 06, 2020


The Fourth of July holiday weekend saw a dramatic rise in shootings compared to years past.

Between Friday and Monday, 44 shootings with 63 victims occurred across the five boroughs, according to police. This same time last year there were 16 shootings over the holiday weekend, with 21 victims.

Just Sunday alone, there were 30 shooting incidents with at least 10 people killed.

Leaders from inside the NYPD are pointing fingers to try and get things under control.

The Manhattan District Attorney and a Manhattan Commanding Officer for the NYPD are in a public fight over the violence in the city this weekend.
Yesterday, NYPD Manhattan South on Twitter called out District Attorney Cy Vance for his absence as the community is being attacked.


 

lk2thousand0

♛lightskin king ♛
Registered
This is an interesting topic to me, but it seems that the debate here has degenerated to rock throwing...so lets get down to brass tacks..stats mean a lot but stats for or against mean nothing in that terrible instant when it is you and yours at the business end of a bad guys gun. In my earlier days when I thought owning a gun was unnecessary,I was held helpless at the business end of a bad guys gun..it was , shall we say, most unpleasant, so I am looking for real world solutions. There were a plethora of laws on the books already making the bad guys every move illegal..felon in possession of the weapon, illegal..weapon to my head, illegal...holding me against my will, illegal detention, helping himself to my property, illegal..the woman he shot prior to putting gun to my head, illegal...the car he jacked, illegal...plenty of laws which he clearly held no regard for. With that in mind..MY question is this... Since there are roughly 270 million guns in the country...http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/08/28/us-world-firearms-idUSL2834893820070828 how will stricter gun control do anything other than hamstring the good guys? How will we stop bad guys from acquiring or constructing restricted weapon tech. Bad guys will not decide to carry a smaller capacity weapon or a different weapon altogether because their state happens to have a certain class, caliber, or capacity restricted. So now here I am Joe Citizen, and my very meager home in the hood is being invaded by armed thugs. I know that police response time is measured in minutes when seconds count...but since I am very law abiding, I decide to purchase only officially sanctioned small caliber and capacity firearms for my home defense ...unfortunately for me, the thugs dont seem to share my zeal for the law...Gun control has now put me at a terrible disadvantage. Right now in states with more open gun laws, at least we can achieve a form of parity with the bad guy...perhaps it is cold war-ish but until someone comes up with a way to make the restrictions actually apply to the bad guys who dont care about them..i prefer to at least be able to achieve a stalemate.

Aurora might be a different story if that theater werent a gun free zone. The fact that he had body armor and used gas obviously compounded the problem, but my current concealed carry handgun (yes I carry it everyday, and it is perfectly legal uh for now anyway)
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[/IMG]has a 30+1 round capacity and the rounds can penetrate 40 layers of kevlar...and I am now a highly proficient shooter..of course adrenaline dump negatively impacts fine motor skills, so yes I wouldve still been outgunned with my shorter sight radius vs his AR15, but I could have at least given him something to think about...and I genuinely implore some of the well reasoned and erudite members of the board who argue on the side of gun control to give me something to think about ...please explain to me how we can actually leave the good guys with an advantage at the end of gun control. I know bad guys personally, and they know bad guys who sell a disappointingly stunning array of guns illegally...how do new laws stop what old laws didnt, and make it so that I dont need to have these (which I own legally)in my home to keep the playing field level
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if you’re gonna get shot= u need to get them first since you didn’t start the aggression. It’s your right and if anyone lived in/lives in a bad neighborhood they would understand
 
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thoughtone

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
source: New York Daily News


Three men — longtime partners in crime — charged with gunning down dad in front of his young daughter in Bronx drive-by

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Anthony Robinson, 28, was shot and killed while walking in the Bronx with his 7-year-old daughter on Sunday, July 5.


They were partners in crime, and when a 24-hour wave of murder and violence gripped the city earlier this month, they were involved in bloodshed that touched the life of a seven-year-old girl who saw her dad mortally wounded on a Bronx street.

Three Bronx gang-bangers were busted Thursday in the daylight drive-by shooting of Anthony Robinson, who was gunned down as he walked hand-in-hand with his daughter.

Just hours after Robinson’s slaying, a fourth suspect in the case became a murder victim himself, authorities said.

Davon Delks, 21, Devon Vines, 27, and Laquan Heyward, 25 — members of the violent “Sev-O” gang, an offshoot of the Bloods — were charged with murdering Robinson, who was one of nine men shot dead in the city on July 5.

The fourth suspect — Joel Baba, 22 — ended up dead two hours after Robinson was killed when he was slain in a double-homicide in a Bronx apartment building.

Delks, Vines, Heyward and Baba were all arrested in a gang take-down in 2016 that ended with all of them doing prison time.

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On Thursday, July 16, 2020, members of the Bronx Violent Felony Squad with the assistance of Bronx Warrants, 44 Pct Squad, the Criminal Enterprise Investigations Section, and TARU apprehended and arrested Davon Delks, Laquan Heyward, and Devon Vines for the murder of Anthony Robinson. (NYPD)

Robinson, 28, had traveled from Brooklyn with his 6-year-old daughter Khloe to spend the July 4 weekend in the Bronx with friends and family, his girlfriend said.

The unsuspecting pair was holding hands and crossing the street near Sheridan Ave. and E. 170th St. shortly before 6 p.m. when a dark sedan slowly rolled up to them, officials said.

A passenger leaned out and started shooting as the dad and his little girl crossed the street.





Video of the daring daytime shooting shows Robinson, shot in the chest, falling to the ground as tiny Khloe lets go of her dad’s hand and dashes down the street to safety.

Cops said four shots were fired. Miraculously, none of them hit the little girl or anyone else.




Cops identified the three suspects in the days following the shooting and arrested them at their homes early Thursday. A motive for the killing was not immediately disclosed.

The fourth suspect, Baba, was beyond the NYPD’s grasp.

At about 8 p.m. on July 5 — when cops would still have been working the scene of Robinson’s slaying — two men gunned down Baba and Eghosa Imafidon, 27, inside an apartment building on E. 171 St. and College Ave. in Claremont. A third man, 29, survived the barrage with a gunshot to his arm.

Just as surveillance footage captured Robinson’s last moments, chilling video showed how Baba and Imafidon died.

Three men stood in the hallway of the apartment building. One looked down a stairwell, then turned and ran.

A gunman in a white shirt climbed the stairs and started shooting, and a second gunman in a dark hoodie appeared from around the stairs to also open fire.

The victims cowered, trapped at the end of a hallway, as the second gunman approached them and kept firing.

Detectives were looking into whether Baba’s slaying was retaliation for Robinson’s death, police sources said.

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(L) Joel Baba and (R) Eghosa Imafidon. (Handout)

Delks, Vines, Hayward and Baba were all busted in Nov. 2016 when cops took down 12 members of the Sev-O gang in four shootings, three robberies and a scam that netted the crew more than $200,000 from ATM machines.

Another alleged member of the group caught up in that sweep, Rashaun Pope, was shot dead in Harlem in July 2018. He was 21 when he died.

In that case, prosecutors said the gang members of bragged about their exploits and posing with wads of stolen cash on social media.

Baba and another member of the gang, Deiondre Harris, were involved in a shooting that left a man grazed in the head with a bullet, proseuctors said. Harris posted a news article about the shooting on Facebook, and joked, “We going to jail … I hit something in the head,” prosecutors said.

Baba, who was convicted of weapon possession in 2018, was paroled June 11, less than a month before he and Robinson died.
Hayward and Vines were out on parole at the time of the July 5 murders.


Hayward was convicted of assault in 2018 and sentenced to three years behind bars, and was paroled last August. Vines got three years for attempted criminal weapon possession in 2018, and was paroled in September.

Delks was sentenced to one to three years for conspiracy in 2017. He was released from prison in October 2018 and finished his parole in December.

The three suspects in Robinson’s killing were busted by the NYPD’s Bronx Violent Felony Squad with help from the Bronx Warrants Squad, the 44th Precinct, the Criminal Enterprise Investigations Section, and the Technical Assistance Response Unit, said NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison.

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Shooting victim Anthony Robinson is pictured with his family in an undated photo.

Robinson’s girlfriend hadn’t heard about the arrests when reached by a Daily News reporter Thursday, and was elated by the good news.
“I’m so happy!!” said Stephanie Quinonez. “I’m crying happy tears. Thank you so much!”
 

thoughtone

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
source: WSB TV

5 UPS employees arrested, accused of stealing guns from packages



LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — Sheriff’s deputies in South Carolina arrested five UPS employees last week on suspicion of stealing guns out of packages at the company’s hub in West Columbia.

Officials with the Lexington County Sheriff's Department said Byron Burke, 19, Jalen Green, 19, Dishon Kinney, 18, Kenyon Peters, 18, and Tre'von Williams, 19, face charges of breach of trust. Deputies said Kinney and Peters were also charged with criminal conspiracy.



Authorities said they were called by members of UPS' security team after the shipping company realized guns were being stolen from incoming trucks.
"Once we started our investigation, detectives determined Kinney and Peters devised a plan to steal guns from incoming packages at the UPS hub," Sheriff Jay Kroon said. He added that the suspects sold or gave away the guns while on company time.

Authorities arrested the suspects July 16 at the UPS hub in West Columbia. The suspects have since been released on bond.
 

MCP

International
International Member
'This Must End Today,' Sayegh Declares After Four Shot Dead, Three Others Injured
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PATERSON, NJ - An investigation is underway into a Tuesday night shooting that claimed the lives of four Paterson men and left three additional victims injured.

Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Paterson Police Chief Ibrahim Baycora announced that the incident took place at approximately 11:04 p.m. in the area of Carroll Street and Governor Street.

Upon arrival responding officers discovered seven men who had sustained gunshot wounds. The victims were transported to Saint Joseph’s Regional Medical Center for treatment with a one released and two others in stable condition. Al Malik Williams and Otis Smith, both 37, Unique Jones, 22, and Nygier Barrett, 25, all succumbed to their wounds and died at the hospital.

"This must end today," Mayor Andre Sayegh stated in a Wednesday statement.

“The severity of this incident speaks to larger problems than urban violence that needs to be addressed in the immediate future,” Sayegh continued. Vowing to engage personally in efforts to bring an end to the violent acts that “steal our young residents and instill fear in the community at large,” Sayegh said he is working with community leaders in an effort to put “the young people who are engaging in this dangerous behavior in a room and explain the gravity of their actions.”



Some of those community leaders, including a local elected official, and a businessman/activist, also spoke to TAPinto Paterson about the tragedy.

Even over the phone the profound sadness felt by Councilwoman-At-Large Dr. Lillisa Mimms was evident as she lamented the loss of more lives. Asked why the “cycle of violence” she spoke of seems to be on a continued upward trajectory Mimms responded “that’s the question.”

“We need to have more conversations, we need to save our children,” Mimms said, calling for an “all hands on deck” effort that includes elected officials and police, parents and youth, clergy and counselors, and more. “Prayer is important,” the ordained minister added, “but we need to pray and take action.”




Doubling down on her statement that everyone has to be a part of the solution, Mimms referred to the well recognized “see something, say something” approach, a difficult strategy, she acknowledged, when those that speak up are seen as snitches.

While himself no stranger to responding to the violence that has too often plagued his community, longtime community leader and business owner Casey Melvin said that the multiple casualty incident left him “paralyzed.”

Melvin pointed to societal issues plaguing urban communities across the country, such as lack of jobs, improper guidance, and a dearth of activities and positive leadership, as those that need to be dealt with to bring about any change. “Hanging out on the street corner shouldn’t be something young people look forward to” he said, renewing his call for increased resources that could go towards increasing employment opportunities, recreational activities, and utilizing the services of trauma specialists.

“It’s snowballing out of control,” he said before adding a more hopeful note that even as Paterson contends with the “jaw-dropping” number of victims, all is not lost. “When we start believing there is nothing we can do it’s over,” he said. “It’s not lights out yet, there’s hope, there’s opportunity.”
 

MCP

International
International Member

San Francisco council calls NRA 'domestic terrorist organisation'

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The San Francisco city government has formally labelled the pro-gun lobbyist National Rifle Association (NRA) a "domestic terrorist organisation".
The condemnation of the most powerful gun-ownership advocacy group in the US was unanimously passed on Tuesday by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

It follows a shooting attack against the Gilroy Garlic Festival, south of the city, which killed three in July. Democrats have often blamed the NRA's rhetoric for fuelling mass shootings.

The resolution says the US is "plagued by an epidemic of gun violence" and accuses the NRA of using "its considerable wealth and organisation strength to promote gun ownership and incite gun owners to acts of violence".

"All countries have violent and hateful people, but only in America do we give them ready access to assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, thanks, in large part, to the National Rifle Association's influence," the resolution says.

The bill also urges the city and county to reconsider its relationship with companies that do business with the NRA.

The NRA responded by calling it a "ludicrous stunt" that is intended "to distract from the real problems facing San Francisco, such as rampant homelessness, drug abuse and skyrocketing petty crime, to name a few".

District Two Supervisor Catherine Stefani, who wrote the resolution for the Democrat-controlled city, said, "the NRA has it coming to them".

She told KTVU-TV: "The NRA exists to spread dis-information, and knowingly puts guns into the hands of those who would harm and terrorise us."
She told the station that she began writing the resolution after the attack against the Gilroy Garlic Festival in which a gunman killed three people before killing himself.

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The resolution was met with fierce criticism from conservative Republicans, who oppose most efforts to restrict private gun ownership, and disagree with many of the policies passed by one of the most liberal cities in the US.
In July, the city Board of Supervisors passed a non-binding resolution calling for the city to cease using terms - such as "felon", "offender", "convict", "addict" and "juvenile delinquent" - and instead use "person first" language.

Instead officials are asked to use language such as "formerly incarcerated person", "justice-involved" person or "returning resident".
That effort was swiftly mocked by conservatives and others, who said the change was unlikely to affect the city's crime rate.
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
New York Attorney General Sues N.R.A. and Seeks Its Closure

video

The New York attorney general, Letitia James, alleged that years of corruption by National
Rifle Association executives undermined its ability to operate as a nonprofit.Credit...Image
by Mike Segar/Reuters

By Danny Hakim
Aug. 6, 2020


New York’s attorney general issued an existential challenge to the National Rifle Association on Thursday, arguing in a lawsuit that years of runaway corruption and misspending demanded the dissolution of the nation’s most powerful gun rights lobby.

While the legal confrontation could take years to play out, it constitutes yet another deep blow to an organization whose legendary political clout has been diminished by infighting and financial distress.

The suit was swiftly followed by two others: The N.R.A. struck back with a federal lawsuit against the office of the attorney general, Letitia James, claiming her action was politically motivated and violated the organization’s First Amendment rights. And the attorney general of Washington, D.C., filed suit against the N.R.A. and its charitable foundation, alleging that the N.R.A. misused millions of dollars of the foundation’s funds.

Ms. James — who has special jurisdiction over the N.R.A. because it was chartered as a nonprofit in New York 148 years ago — also sued four current or former N.R.A. leaders, seeking tens of millions of dollars in restitution. In addition to Wayne LaPierre, the longtime chief executive, they are John Frazer, the organization’s general counsel; Josh Powell, a former top lieutenant of Mr. LaPierre; and Wilson Phillips, a former chief financial officer.


While allegations of mismanagement and lavish spending by Mr. LaPierre and others have emerged from the N.R.A.’s internecine warfare over the last year, the New York suit lays out a broad litany of new allegations of corruption and greed from executives who Ms. James said “looted” the N.R.A.

Mr. LaPierre is accused of raiding N.R.A. funds to bankroll an extravagant lifestyle, even though he was already paid millions in direct compensation by the organization.

Over six and a half years, the suit said, a personal travel consultant for Mr. LaPierre was paid $13.5 million, largely on no-bid contracts. Private flights were chartered for Mr. LaPierre’s wife and his niece. He took frequent trips to the Bahamas on the N.R.A.’s dime, often decamping to a 108-foot yacht called “Illusions” that was owned by an N.R.A. contractor and included a chef and four staterooms. He lavished gifts from Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman on his inner circle, and once put his niece up at a Four Seasons hotel for eight nights at a cost of more than $12,000, according to the complaint.


The lawsuit accuses the N.R.A. and the executives of “violating numerous state and federal laws” by enriching themselves, as well as their friends, families and allies, and taking improper actions that cost the organization $64 million over three years. Ms. James is also seeking to oust Mr. LaPierre and Mr. Frazer, and to bar all four men from serving on nonprofit boards in New York again.



The lawsuit, which was filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, is a civil action, and it outlined a number of alleged tax violations. Ms. James said during a news conference that she was referring the matter to the Internal Revenue Service in addition to taking her own action, and did not rule out making a future criminal referral.

“It’s an ongoing investigation,” she said. “If we uncover any criminal activity, we will refer it to the Manhattan district attorney. At this point in time we’re moving forward, again, with civil enforcement.”


In a statement, Mr. LaPierre said: “This is an unconstitutional, premeditated attack aiming to dismantle and destroy the N.R.A. — the fiercest defender of America’s freedom at the ballot box for decades. We’re ready for the fight. Bring it on.”

President Trump, in comments Thursday, said, “That’s a very terrible thing that just happened,” adding that “the N.R.A. should move to Texas and lead a very good and beautiful life.”


The N.R.A., however, cannot move its assets to another state amid the investigation, and even if it is dissolved, it would have to start over largely from scratch.

N.R.A. officials have denounced Ms. James, a Democrat, since she referred to the group as a “terrorist organization” during her 2018 campaign and vowed to investigate it. As they have often done when under attack in the past, the N.R.A. officials are likely to step up their fund-raising efforts by stoking anger about the investigation among their more than five million members.

“You could have set your watch by it: the investigation was going to reach its crescendo as we move into the 2020 election cycle,” the N.R.A.’s president, Carolyn Meadows, said in a statement.


She also called the inquiry “a power grab by a political opportunist” and said “we not only will not shrink from this fight — we will confront it and prevail.”


The attorney general’s office previously presided over the dissolution of President Trump’s scandal-marred charitable foundation, but the N.R.A. is a far larger organization that is expected to put up a more prolonged fight.

The N.R.A. has long wielded immense power in the nation’s politics. But amid its deepening troubles, it has taken an unusually low profile during this election season, though it said Thursday that it would spend tens of millions of dollars this year in battleground states.

Its finances have been strained by internal strife costing tens of millions of dollars in legal fees, including a messy divorce from Ackerman McQueen, the advertising and strategy firm that was its most important contractor for decades.

The organization’s finances have also been badly damaged by the pandemic, which forced it to cancel its annual convention and a number of fund-raising events. And it has faced a revolt from some donors, who disagree with Ms. James’s politics but would also like to oust Mr. LaPierre and his team.

Ms. James’s lawsuit is the culmination of an inquiry that began in February 2019 and played out amid revelations in the news media regarding the organization’s spending and governance practices.

Among the numerous alleged violations laid out by Ms. James’s office, some were related to false reporting of annual filings both to the state and the I.R.S. Her office also cited “improper expense documentation, improper wage reporting, improper income tax withholding” and failing to make required excise tax reporting and payment, among other issues.

Mr. LaPierre is also said to have secured a post-employment contract without board approval worth more than $17 million.

There were allegations of incompetence as well. Mr. LaPierre hired a convicted embezzler as a personal assistant who, according to the complaint, went on to be repeatedly accused of using N.R.A. funds for her own expenses. Mr. Frazer, the general counsel, was described as overmatched by his job; he had only 18 months in private practice, and no corporate legal experience. Mr. Frazer did not comment.


Mr. Phillips, the former treasurer and chief financial officer, presided for years with Mr. LaPierre over the N.R.A.’s governance practices. He failed to disclose a personal relationship he had with the chief executive of a company paid $1.4 million by the N.R.A., and after his retirement was paid $30,000 a month for consulting work he did not perform, according to the complaint.

His lawyer, Mark Werbner, disputed the last point, saying Mr. Phillips “definitely did work as part of the consulting agreement,” but offered few specifics. Mr. Werbner added that Mr. Phillips “acted in good faith and is very surprised these transactions are being characterized differently.”

Like Mr. LaPierre, he made use of a contractor’s luxury yacht, though with a slightly different name — it was called “Grand Illusion.”

The lawsuit also claims that testimony by the chairman of the N.R.A.’s audit committee indicated that he had little awareness of its governance role and no knowledge of state law concerning such committees and was unfamiliar with the committee’s own charter, which states that it oversees the organization’s financial integrity.


N.R.A. officials have conducted their own internal audit and defended many of their practices, though several top officials have been forced out amid an internal dispute over how it is run, including Oliver North, its former president, and Christopher Cox, the former top lobbyist. Mr. North, a right-wing pundit, is referred to in the complaint as “Dissident No. 1,” and is said to be cooperating with the inquiry.

A number of accusations were leveled at Mr. Powell, a former top aide to Mr. LaPierre who was dismissed for allegedly misappropriating N.R.A. funds. The complaint says that a consulting firm called McKenna was hired by the N.R.A. to oversee “Project Ben-Hur,” which aimed to restructure the organization and its banking relationships. The firm paid Mr. Powell’s wife $30,000 a month as an independent contractor, through a newly formed company called SPECTRE, a conflict that Mr. Powell took steps to hide, according to the complaint.

In a statement, Mr. Powell’s lawyer said his client “was fired by Wayne LaPierre and the N.R.A.’s lawyers for his efforts to correct much of the misconduct cited in the attorney general’s complaint,” adding that “allegations directed at him in this lawsuit will be shown to be the result of false accusations made by Wayne LaPierre and others.”

Legal experts said that while Ms. James’s complaint was serious and exposed vast problems, dissolving the organization would face challenges in court.


Sean Delany, a former head of the charities bureau in the office of the attorney general — the same division now handling the case — said, “I think the facts are very strong, but I think the remedy of dissolution is a stretch, because the A.G. would have to prove that the organization is so rife with fraud that there isn’t anything sufficiently substantial in the organization’s charitable programs to make it worth saving.”

But David Samuels, a former deputy chief of the same bureau, said, “It appears that they have a strong case under New York law for dissolving the N.R.A.” New York’s law on conflicts of interest and related party transactions was tightened in 2013, he noted.

“The current lawsuit cites, in part, violations of these provisions designed to prevent misuse of charitable assets,” Mr. Samuels said.

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and John Ismay contributed reporting.


 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
The Yachts, the Private Jets, the Safaris: NRA Grift Exposed

The Beast’s Harry Siegel breaks down AG Tish James’ case against the NRA and a COVID data whistleblower from Florida has more dirt to share.

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Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Getty



National Rifle Association boss Wayne LaPierre rails against the elites trying to take real Americans’ guns Meanwhile, the NRA is taking gun-owners donations—to fund LaPierre’s ultra-lux lifestyle.

That’s the crux of New York Attorney General Tish James’ landmark lawsuit against the NRA. “And it looks like they're in a ton of trouble,” The Daily Beast’s Harry Siegel tells Molly Jong-Fast and Rick Wilson on this episode of
The New Abnormal.

“Tish has the receipts”—from the 107-foot yachts to the complimentary safaris to the private charters to the gazillion-dollar wardrobe, Siegel says.

Then! Rebekah Jones, the former Florida state government data geek and whistleblower, talks about how she was pushed to juke the COVID stats by Ron DeSantis’ cronies.

“We changed how we count cases. We changed the criteria itself. So pneumonia was originally one of the surveillance criteria—we had ER, data for pneumonia, influenza, and COVID-like illness. And one of the first things they did was cut out pneumonia. It was too high,” she says.

Jones is convinced a similar game is going on throughout the country: “We really don't know how many COVID cases we have in America; we’ll probably never really know.”

Plus! Vote America founder Debra Cleaver debunks the difference between voting-by-mail and absentee ballots and Molly rolls out a new campaign slogan: “Vote for Trump, even if we kill you.” Rick opines on drool buckets. And Alexa orders a rat stick for Molly.

Listen to The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher.



 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
A new video shows another Black man in custody pleading, 'I can't breathe,' before his death
https://www.cnn.com/profiles/tina-burnside
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John Elliott Neville


CNN
By Tina Burnside,
Jennifer Henderson
and Jamiel Lynch
Saturday, August 8, 2020


(CNN) Video that shows a Black man in apparent medical distress repeatedly telling officers, "I can't breathe," days before he died in a hospital was released this week following a North Carolina judge's order.

John Elliott Neville, 56, of Greensboro, also can be heard telling officers, "Let me go!" and "Help me!" and calling out, "Mama!" during the episode a day after his December 1 arrest. He became unresponsive during the incident and died later at a hospital.

The five corrections officers and the nurse who attended to Neville leading up to his death have been charged with involuntary manslaughter by Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O'Neill. They have been relieved of duty, the sheriff's office said.

The case marks the latest chapter in an unfolding, nationwide reckoning over how police treat Black people. Protests from coast to coast have continued since the May death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, who cried out that he couldn't breathe as an officer knelt on his neck; Floyd also pleaded for his mother's aid in his dying moments.

Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough Jr. apologized to the Neville family on Wednesday, following the court order to release the footage.
"I want to take this opportunity to say how much I appreciate the class in which you have handled the passing of your father," Kimbrough said. "I have stood with you from the beginning and will continue to stand with you."

CNN has reached out to the district attorney's office and the attorney for Neville's family.


He fell from a top bunk to the floor

Neville was arrested by the Kernersville Police Department on a charge of assault on a female out of Guilford County, according to the sheriff's office.

While in custody at the Forsyth County Law Enforcement Center, he experienced an unknown medical emergency while he slept that caused him to fall out of his top bunk to the floor, O'Neill said last month during a news conference.

Corrections officers and a nurse were dispatched to his cell, where they found Neville disoriented and confused, O'Neill said. The decision was made to move him to an observation cell to see what was causing his distress. Over the next 45 minutes, Neville sustained injuries that caused him to lose his life, O'Neill said.

Videos taken from body and handheld cameras inside the detention facility on December 2 show at least five officers attending to Neville in his cell where he is on the ground. Officers can be heard in the 45-minute video asking him to stay down and informing him that he'd just had a seizure.

Neville can be heard screaming, "Hold on, let me up, and let me up," while officers restrain him on the ground and he struggles with them. Neville yells, "Help me, help me," several times and can be heard yelling, "Mama! Mama! Mama!" and several expletives.

An officer can be heard telling him several times, "John, Listen to me. You are having a medical problem. You need to calm down." Neville continues to yell and struggle saying, "Let me go! Let me go! Move your hands, let me up! Come on!"

As Neville continues pleading with officers, he is told to relax and to stop resisting. For several minutes, officers are seen attempting to take handcuffs off Neville, who is seen lying motionless on the ground with a white bag on his head meant to protect the officers from his spittle. Neville is eventually wheeled out of his cell by officers and down the hall.

While walking him down the hall, an officer can be heard asking, "John, you doing OK, buddy?" Neville responds, "No, help me." The officer said, "We're helping you. We've got medical here. You've got a medical condition going on, you need to calm down, OK?"

Neville is wheeled to another room where a nurse checks his blood pressure. The nurse asks Neville if he knows where he is, and he says he does not. The nurse can be heard telling him to "stay relaxed," and Neville continues to struggle and yell, "Help me, somebody! Help me, somebody!" The nurse tells him they are helping him and to calm down.

Moments later, Neville is moved into another cell where he is placed on the ground and restrained by officers who appear to be trying again to take handcuffs off him. Neville continues to yell, "Help! My wrists! Help me! Help Me. I can't breathe." An officer tells him, "I hear you. You're talking, you can breathe."

Neville continues, saying, "Please. I can't breathe. Let me go! I can't breathe, let me go. Please."

An officer responds, "John, Relax."

Neville continues to cry out in despair, saying, "I can't breathe" several times.

One officer is heard telling Neville, "You need to settle down. We are trying to get these cuffs off you, and you're making it hard. You are breathing because you are talking, you're yelling, and you're moving. You need to stop. You need to relax. Quit resisting us. The quicker you relax the quicker we'll be out of here, man."

Officers continue to try to remove the restraints from Neville, who at this point is no longer yelling and appears to be unresponsive on the ground.
An officer says, "Alright, John, we're almost there. We are almost there, bud," as the others continue to work to remove the cuffs.


Lawyers for 5 defendants respond
CNN has obtained statements from the attorneys for the five officers charged with involuntary manslaughter -- Lavette Williams, Antonio Woodley, Edward Roussel, Christopher Stamper and Sarah Poole.

David Freedman, attorney for Roussel, says his client has worked 30 years in law enforcement.

"The video shows there was no criminal activity," Freedman said. "My client was acting consistent in how he was trained and they were acting under supervision of the health care provider on staff. While the events were tragic, the results to Neville were accidental."

Woodley's attorney, Niles Gerber, said the situation should not be compared to the George Floyd case.

"My client did everything he could to try and help this man who is clearly having medical or emotional episode, in my opinion," Gerber said. "I don't know what else they were supposed to do. ... I believe there were intervening circumstances that contributed, including the key breaking and the bolt cutters not functioning."

Williams' attorney, Karen Gerber, said her client has worked 17-20 years at the jail. The detention officers followed their training, she said.
"And though the death is a tragic, they dealt with this situation under adverse circumstances, following the training provided by the agency," Gerber said. "The equipment they were given broke. The handcuffs broke. All the while they were doing the best they could do to help this man out."

J.D. Byers, lawyer for Stampers, said the video "shows that the officers were doing exactly what they were trained to do. There was no intention of harming Mr. Neville. It is an incredibly sad incident for everyone involved. I am confident that the court of law will determine the case and I hope people view the video fairly."

Terrence Hines, lawyer for Sarah Poole, said the defendants were just trying to do their job.

"Her intent and everyone else's intent was to help Mr. Neville, not harm him," Hines said. "They were trying to do their job to make sure he wasn't going to harm them or the nurse trying to assist him. It was a sad situation that no one wants to see someone lose their life and honestly, they were doing everything they could to help. It's an unfortunate and tragic situation."

CNN has reached out to the attorney for the nurse who was charged, Michelle Heughins, and has not head back.


'Prone restraint' mentioned among causes of death
Neville became unresponsive at some point while officers were attempting to remove the handcuffs, according to an investigation report from the Forsyth County Medical Examiner. CPR was started by medical personnel, and EMS was called.

Upon EMS arrival, Neville's pupils were dilated and nonreactive, the report states. He was taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, where he died December 4.

Neville's cause of death is listed as "complications of hypoxic ischemic brain injury due to cardiopulmonary arrest due to positional and compressional asphyxia during prone restraint," according to the autopsy report released by the medical examiner's office. Other significant conditions were listed as "acute altered mental status" and asthma."

CNN's Kaylene Chassie and Giovanna Van Leeuwen contributed to this report.


 

MCP

International
International Member

US gun control: What is the NRA and why is it so powerful?

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It is one of the most powerful players in one of the most hotly-debated issues in the US - gun control - but what exactly is the NRA? Here's a quick guide.

What is the NRA?

NRA stands for National Rifle Association. The group was founded in 1871 by two US Civil War veterans as a recreational group designed to "promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis".

The NRA's path into political lobbying began in 1934 when it started mailing members with information about upcoming firearms bills. The association supported two major gun control acts, the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) and Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA), but became more politically active following the passage of the GCA in the 1970s.

In 1975, it began attempting to influence policy directly via a newly formed lobbying arm, the Institute for Legislative Action. In 1977 it formed its own Political Action Committee (PAC), to channel funds to legislators.

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Wayne LaPierre has been an aggressive defender of the NRA

The NRA is now among the most powerful special interest lobby groups in the US, with a substantial budget to influence members of Congress on gun policy. It is run by executive vice-president Wayne LaPierre.

In August 2020, prosecutors in New York and Washington DC announced that they would seek to dissolve the organisation over allegations that senior leadership misused a charity fund, redirecting the money for lavish personal spending.

How big is its budget?

The NRA spends about $250m per year, far more than all the country's gun control advocacy groups put together. But the NRA has a much larger membership than any of those groups and disburses funds for things such as gun ranges and educational programmes.

In terms of lobbying, the NRA officially spends about $3m per year to influence gun policy - the recorded amount spent on lobbying in 2014 was $3.3m. That is only the recorded contributions to lawmakers however, and considerable sums are spent elsewhere via PACs and independent expenditures - funds which are difficult to track.

Analysts point out that the NRA also wields considerable indirect influence via its highly politically engaged membership, many of whom will vote one way or another based on this single issue. The NRA publicly grades members of Congress from A to F on their perceived friendliness to gun rights. Those ratings can have a serious effect on poll numbers and even cost pro-gun control candidates a seat.

But since the election of Donald Trump in 2016, NRA spending on campaigns in the states has plummeted. The drop came amid the rise of pro-control groups, who have received millions of dollars from backers who oppose most NRA policies. It was estimated that gun control groups may have outspent the NRA for the first time ever in 2018.

How big is the NRA?

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Attendees look at a display of shotguns during the NRA's 2013 annual convention

Estimates of the NRA's membership have varied widely for decades. The association claimed that membership surged to close to five million in response to the mass shooting at Sandy Hook school in 2012, but some analysts put the figure at closer to three million. The organisation has been accused of inflating the figure.

The NRA has boasted some high-profile members over the years, including late former President George HW Bush. He resigned from the group in 1995 after Mr La Pierre referred to federal agents in the wake of a bombing attack on a government building in Oklahoma City as "jack-booted thugs".

Current members include former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, and actors Tom Selleck and Whoopi Goldberg. The late actor Charlton Heston was president of the NRA between 1998 and 2003. Heston famously held a rifle over his head at an NRA convention following the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 and told gun control advocates they would have to take it "from my cold, dead hands".

Why is it controversial?

The NRA has lobbied heavily against all forms of gun control and argued aggressively that more guns make the country safer. It relies on, and staunchly defends, a disputed interpretation of the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, which it argues gives US citizens the rights to bear arms without any government oversight.

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Protesters outside the NRA headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia

The association faced criticism from both sides of the political spectrum in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, when Mr La Pierre said that the lack of an armed guard at the school was to blame for the tragedy.

It staunchly opposes most local, state and federal legislation that would restrict gun ownership. For example, the NRA has lobbied for guns confiscated by the police to be resold, arguing that destroying the weapons is, in effect, a waste of perfectly good guns.

Likewise, it strongly supports legislation that expand gun rights such as "open-carry" laws, which allow gun owners to carry their weapons, unconcealed, in most public places.
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
Protests break out in Wisconsin after police shoot Black man multiple times


Hundreds of protesters gathered at multiple locations in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday night after a Black man was shot by police officers. The man, later identified by Gov. Tony Evers (D) as Jacob Blake, is in serious condition at a Milwaukee hospital, the Kenosha Police Department said.

Cellphone video captured by a witness shows two officers with their guns drawn following Blake as he walks to an SUV, and when he opens the driver's side door, shots are fired.

The Kenosha Police Department said officers were called to the scene for a domestic incident, and the Wisconsin Department of Justice will investigate the shooting. As word of the incident spread, demonstrators arrived at the scene of the shooting and the Kenosha County Public Safety Building, where the crowd yelled, "No justice, no peace!" Video shows police spraying tear gas at the protesters, and soon after Kenosha County declared an emergency curfew, in effect until 7 a.m. Monday.


Source: The Washington Post, Kenosha News
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
Jacob Blake SHOT by police officers while entering his vehicle

Warning very Graphic



 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
2 teens killed in Brevard deputy shooting; few details about what led to gunfire
18-year-old Sincere Pierce, 16- year-old Anthony Crooms fatally shot on Nov. 13

Emilee Speck, Digital journalist

November 16, 2020,
Updated: November 18, 2020




COCOA, Fla. – Three days after a Brevard County deputy-involved shooting in Cocoa, the sheriff’s office has confirmed two teenagers were killed during the incident.

Few details were released by the Sheriff’s Office, Cocoa police or the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on Nov. 13 after gunfire erupted in a Cocoa neighborhood around 10:30 a.m. The sheriff’s office didn’t confirm the deaths of 18-year-old Sincere Pierce and 16-year-old Angelo “AJ” Crooms until Monday.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, deputies were investigating an earlier incident near U.S. 1 and State Road 528 when deputies tried to make contact with two people in a car near Stetson Drive and Ivy Drive.

No information about what happened in the moments before the shooting was provided.

“At that time a deputy involved shooting incident occurred,” a news release from the sheriff’s office reads.

Crooms and Pierce, both of Cocoa, were taken to the hospital where they were pronounced dead.


 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
2 teens killed in Brevard deputy shooting
18-year-old Sincere Pierce,
16- year-old Anthony Crooms, fatally shot


Mother of slain Cocoa teen, Sincere Pierce,
shot during burial service
Sincere Pierce, 18, and Angelo Crooms, 16, had been shot
to death Nov. 13 by a Brevard County Sheriff’s deputy.



COCOA — An unknown gunman fired into a crowd gathered at a Saturday afternoon burial service of a teenager who was fatally shot by a Florida sheriff’s deputy earlier this month, officials said.

The deceased teen’s mother was wounded by the bullet, Florida Today reported.

The shooting happened as guests gathered at Riverview
Memorial Gardens to pay their respects to 18-year-old Sincere Pierce. Pierce and 16-year-old Angelo Crooms were killed Nov. 13 by a Brevard County Sheriff’s deputy.

The shot rang out as the pastor had just finished his prayers and the teen’s friends and loved ones were placing flowers on the casket, the newspaper reported. The loud popping sound was followed by stunned silence before Quasheda Pierce screamed that she’d been hit.

The newspaper reported that mourners were at first slow to react before realizing what had occurred. They began rushing to nearby cars and leaving the funeral quickly.

Friends and family members helped Quasheda Pierce into a minivan before ambulances arrived. Deputies carrying rifles arrived a short time later in response to multiple 911 calls.

The mother was taken to a hospital, but the severity of her injury was not immediately known.

Detectives and crime scene investigators remained at the cemetery throughout the afternoon Saturday, the newspaper reported.

The teens were killed when Deputy Jafet Santiago-Miranda fired multiple shots into their car when the teens didn’t pull over. Sheriff Wayne Ivey had said the deputies thought the vehicle might have been stolen, but the teens’ families and lawyer, Natalie Jackson, said they had permission to use the car and called it a case of mistaken identity.

Their deaths captured national interest, with well-known civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump working on behalf of the families in what he called a bid for justice.

Ivey has released dashcam footage from the Nov. 13 shooting that showed the teens pulling into a driveway after being followed by two sheriff’s cars without lights. Crooms, who was driving, then backed out of the driveway and drove forward in the direction of a deputy, who, gun drawn, repeatedly shouted at the teen to stop the car.


The sheriff said in a Facebook post that the deputy “was then forced to fire his service weapon in an attempt to stop the deadly threat of the car from crashing into him.”



Mother of slain Cocoa teen shot during burial service (tampabay.com)
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
100 bullets fired in mass shooting that left 2 dead, 20 injured at Florida birthday bash: Police
The suspects were allegedly armed with high-powered rifles and handguns.



By Jon Haworth,
Bill Hutchinson, and
Joshua Hoyos
May 30, 2021, 5:24 PM
• 7 min read


At least 22 people were shot -- two who were killed instantly -- early Sunday when three assailants unleashed a barrage of gunfire on a crowd standing outside a birthday party concert at a rented banquet hall in suburban Miami, police said.

The shooters, armed with high-powered rifles and handguns, arrived and fled in an SUV that police were still searching for Sunday evening. The gunmen waited outside the party for about 40 minutes before opening fire just as revelers were leaving the celebration, Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo "Freddy" Ramirez told ABC News on Sunday afternoon.

About 100 shell casings were collected at the scene by investigators, Ramirez said, adding that some party-goers under attack returned fire.

The motive for what Ramirez described as a "cowardly act" remains under investigation.

Three of the wounded victims are in critical condition and two of them are on life support, Ramirez said.

No arrests have been made in what was the 17th mass shooting in the United States in May alone, and the second to rock the Miami area since the start of Memorial Day weekend, according to the Gun Violence Archive, an online website that tracks shootings across the country.

On Friday, one person was killed and six were injured in a drive-by shooting in Miami's Wynwood arts district. That came two days after nine people were killed in a workplace shooting in San Jose, California, in which the suspect died by suicide.

The latest carnage in what officials, including President Joe Biden, have called a gun-violence "epidemic" in America, occurred between midnight and 1 a.m. Sunday in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County near Hialeah, about 11 miles northwest of Miami.




PHOTO: Miami-Dade police investigate where a mass shooting took place outside of a banquet hall on May 30, 2021 in Hialeah, Florida.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Miami-Dade police investigate where a mass shooting took place outside of a banquet hall on M...Read More


The deadly fusillade erupted when a white Nissan Pathfinder pulled up to the El Mula banquet hall that was being rented for a birthday concert for a local rapper, three armed occupants exited the vehicle, aimed at the crowd and fired, according to preliminary information from a law enforcement briefing that was reviewed by ABC News. Ramirez said investigators suspect the gunmen waited patiently nearby before committing the ambush.

"This is a despicable act of gun violence," Ramirez said at a news conference early Sunday. "This is targeted. This is definitely not random."

Ramirez said investigators are combing through surveillance footage of the incident, hoping to identify the attackers.



PHOTO: Miami-Dade police investigate where a mass shooting took place outside of a banquet hall on May 30, 2021 in Hialeah, Florida.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Miami-Dade police investigate where a mass shooting took place outside of a banquet hall on M...Read More
MORE: Woman's body found in duffel bag hidden inside a storage unit for several months
Ramirez called it "a terrible tragedy for the community" and offered condolences to the families of those killed.

Two victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while eight injured people were taken to hospitals by ambulance and more than a dozen of those hurt were rushed to hospitals in private cars, according to the Miami-Dade Police Department. Investigators are monitoring hospitals for other possible victims.

MORE: 10-month-old baby killed in attack by family's 2 Rottweilers: Police
Angelica Green told ABC affiliate station WPLG-TV in Miami that her 24-year-old son was among those who were injured.

"He called us in ... frantic, telling us he had been shot, that it hurts, that he loves us," Green said. "My husband is like, 'No, stay with us. Stay with us.'"

Green said her son was shot in the stomach.



PHOTO: A Miami-Dade police officer stands near where a mass shooting took place outside of a banquet hall on May 30, 2021 in Hialeah, Florida.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Joe Raedle/Getty Images


A Miami-Dade police officer stands near where a mass shooting took place outside of a banquet...Read More
"He said the guys came with ski masks and hoodies and just started shooting up the crowd," Green said.

None of the suspects are in custody and detectives are asking for assistance from witnesses in identifying them and their whereabouts.

MORE: 9 juveniles injured in gunfight that broke out at 12-year-old's birthday party
"I am at the scene of another targeted and cowardly act of gun violence, where over 20 victims were shot and 2 have sadly died," Ramirez added in a statement posted on Twitter. "These are cold-blooded murderers that shot indiscriminately into a crowd and we will seek justice."

Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact CrimeStoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477) or (866) 471-8477.

ABC News' Josh Margolin contributed to this report.
 

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At least two people have died and more than 20 were wounded in a shooting outside a concert hall in Florida.

The shooting took place between 24:00-01:00 local time (04:00-05:00 GMT) in Hialeah, a city north of Miami.
Three people climbed out of a white car "with assault rifles and handguns and started firing indiscriminately into the crowd," police director Alfredo Ramirez III told reporters.

At least one of the wounded is in a critical condition, police said.

"These are cold blooded murderers that shot indiscriminately into a crowd and we will seek justice," Mr Ramirez tweeted.



Between 20 and 25 victims have been taken to nearby hospitals, local media report.

The Associated Press news agency reports the shooting took place outside the El Mula Banquet Hall, which had been rented out for a concert. The suspects fled the scene shortly after the shooting.
As yet there have been no arrests.
Mr Ramirez called the shooting "a despicable act of gun violence, a cowardly act".
"This type of gun violence has to stop. Every weekend, it's the same thing. This is targeted. This is definitely not random," he told reporters.
It comes just days after an employee at a train yard killed nine people on the other side of the country in California.
Thousands of people are killed by guns in the US every year. In April President Joe Biden announced new actions to tackle gun violence.
 
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