Category Archives: Gun crime

Two Democratic members expelled from Tennessee house over gun control protest

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Joe Biden and Barack Obama condemn expulsion of Justin Jones and Justin Pearson from Republican-controlled state house

Two Democratic lawmakers have been expelled from Tennessee’s GOP-dominated House, an extraordinary act of political retaliation for their role in a gun control demonstration after the killings at a Nashville elementary school last week.

Thousands of protesters have flocked to the Tennessee state capitol to support three Democratic members who were facing removal. Only two of the three were ultimately forced out.

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Oscar Pistorius denied parole over killing of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp

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Former Paralympic and Olympic star was automatically eligible for parole consideration after serving half his sentence

The South African former athlete Oscar Pistorius has been denied parole over the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp 10 years ago.

Pistorius killed Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, when he fired four times through the bathroom door of his high-security house in February 2013. The parole board’s decision was taken at a hearing at the correctional facility on the outskirts of the capital, Pretoria, where the 36-year-old is being held.

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Nashville school shooter carefully plotted attack that killed six, say police

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A former student killed three children and three adults at a Christian elementary school in Nashville on Monday, armed with two “assault-style” weapons and a handgun after elaborately planning the massacre by drawing a detailed map and conducting surveillance of the building, police said.

Nashville chief of police John Drake told NBC News the shooter had planned to attack several different places, saying a manifesto belonging to the suspect “indicates that there was going to be shootings at multiple locations, and the school was one of them”.

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Denver teen still at large after shooting two school officials, police say

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One administrator critically injured and another in stable condition after shooting at East high school on Wednesday

A 17-year-old student shot and wounded two school administrators at a Denver high school on Wednesday morning, after a handgun was found during a daily search of the boy that was being conducted because of behavioral issues, authorities said.

Suspect Austin Lyle remained at large following the shooting at East high school and was wanted for attempted homicide. The gun he used was not immediately recovered, the Denver police chief, Ron Thomas, said.

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Edmonton police shootings: teenager kills two officers after shooting own mother

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Constables aged 30 and 35 were gunned down by 16-year-old male who then shot and killed himself in Canada’s Alberta province, say authorities

A 16-year-old has shot his mother and killed two police officers before taking his own life in Edmonton, Canada.

A police official and a senior government official said the male shot and wounded his mother early on Thursday at an apartment in the city in Alberta province. Two patrol officers were shot and killed upon arriving at the scene about 12.47am. There was no indication the officers were able to fire shots.

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Fury in Germany as Hamburg shooting brings ‘lax’ gun laws into focus

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Gunman was given a firearms permit despite several psychological red flags

Gun laws in Germany, where weapon ownership is among the highest in Europe, could be further tightened after last week’s mass shooting in which seven people, including an unborn child, were killed in a Jehovah’s Witness hall in Hamburg.

The attack has thrown up the perennial question of whether the various parts of the country’s federal system are working together, and strengthened the hand of those in the governing coalition who are seeking stronger gun controls.

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Journalist and child killed near scene of fatal Florida shooting earlier in day

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Police say man involved in earlier killing returned to scene and fired on news van before walking to nearby home and shooting girl

A central Florida television journalist and a young girl were fatally shot on Wednesday afternoon near the scene of a fatal shooting from earlier in the day, authorities said.

The Orange county sheriff, John Mina, said during a news conference on Wednesday evening that the police had detained Keith Melvin Moses, 19, who they believe is responsible for both shootings in the Orlando-area neighborhood.

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Los Angeles Jewish community shaken after two alleged antisemitic shootings

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Suspect Jamie Tran was arrested in nearby Riverside county after two men were wounded in separate shootings last week

Los Angeles was left reeling after alleged antisemitic hate incidents in which two Jewish men were shot and wounded as they left synagogues in the city last week.

Law enforcement say that over the course of two days Jaime Tran, 28, shot two men who were wearing black coats and head coverings identifying their faith. Both men survived the shootings. Tran, who had a “history of antisemitic and threatening conduct”, allegedly targeted the victims in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood because they were Jewish. He has been charged with federal hate crimes.

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Calls for radical reform of UK gun laws after Plymouth shooting

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‘Catastrophic’ failings that allowed gunman to kill five people increase pressure to overhaul 1968 legislation

Senior police officers, families of shooting victims and anti-gun campaigners have called for a “radical reform” of the firearms licensing system after an inquest jury found “catastrophic” failings allowed the Plymouth gunman, Jake Davison, to legally possess a shotgun that he used to kill five people.

Pressure is mounting on the UK government to overhaul the 50-year-old licensing legislation and ensure police forces are adequately funded to allow them to fully examine the suitability of gun owners.

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Catholic bishop David O’Connell shot dead near Los Angeles

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Killing in Hacienda Heights being investigated as homicide, LA county sheriff’s department says

A Catholic bishop in southern California who was hailed as a “peacemaker” was shot and killed on Saturday blocks away from a church, stunning the Los Angeles religious community.

Detectives were investigating the death of Bishop David O’Connell as a homicide, the Los Angeles county sheriff’s department said.

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Gunman kills six, including ex-wife and stepfather, in rural Mississippi

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Suspect charged with murder after shootings around Arkabutla, in state’s north

A lone gunman killed six people, including his ex-wife and stepfather, on Friday at multiple locations in a tiny rural community in northern Mississippi, the sheriff said, leaving investigators searching for clues to what motivated the rampage.

The shootings all happened within the community of Arkabutla, the local television station NBC5 reported, citing the Tate county sheriff, Brad Lance. Lance identified the suspect in custody as Richard Dale Crum, according to the Associated Press.

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One killed and three hurt in shooting at Texas mall near site of 2019 mass killing

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One person in custody after shooting in Cielo Vista shopping center, near Walmart where 23 people were killed in racist attack

Police in El Paso, Texas, say one person was killed and three other people were wounded in a shooting on Wednesday in a shopping mall.

One person has been taken into custody, El Paso police spokesperson Sgt Robert Gomez said. No immediate information was given about that person.

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One in 20 US homicides are committed by police – and the numbers aren’t falling

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Police killings of any sort account for nearly 5% of all homicides, with at least 1,192 people killed by law enforcement in 2022

In the US, an estimated one in 20 gun homicides are committed by police, as law enforcement killings have failed to decrease despite years of nationwide protests.

Law enforcement officers killed at least 1,192 people in 2022, the highest number recorded in a decade, according to Mapping Police Violence, a prominent non-profit database of police killings. More than 1,100 people were killed by the police in both 2020 and 2021. The vast majority of these deaths were police shootings.

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Three people killed in shooting on Michigan State University campus

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Suspected shooter found dead off-campus with self-inflicted gunshot wound

At least three people were killed and several more injured in a shooting at Michigan State University, according to campus police. The suspected attacker died from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

University police tweeted on Monday that shots were fired in two locations: near an academic building called Berkey Hall and an athletic facility known as IM East.

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Two men arrested in California shooting that killed a young mother and her baby

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The suspects have been taken into custody – one after a gun battle with federal agents – and charged with six counts of murder

Authorities in California have arrested two gang members suspected in a massacre in central California last month that killed six people, including a young mother and her infant.

The pair were arrested early on Friday, one after a gun battle, the Tulare county sheriff said.

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California gun laws can’t stop mass shootings without federal support

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The Golden State will struggle to stop mass shootings and protect citizens until uniform federal laws on firearms are signed

The recent mass shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay have brought devastation, outrage and shock to Californians. As the state grieves the loss of 19 residents, one question continues to arise: how could this happen in the state with some of the strongest gun laws in the US?

California’s gun laws include bans on the military-style assault weapons and large-capacity magazines that have been used in many mass shootings. It is one of just two states, along with New Jersey, to receive an “A” rating from the gun safety group Giffords, based on the strength of its firearm regulations.

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Washington Circle K shooter apparently kills self as police close in

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Police say 21-year-old Jarid Haddock ‘just walked in and started shooting’, killing three in a ‘random situation’

A 21-year-old man wanted in connection with the random killing of three people at a convenience store in Yakima, Washington, early Tuesday shot and killed himself as officers approached him behind some warehouses several hours later, authorities said.

Yakima police chief Matt Murray said in a video message posted online that a woman called 911 on Tuesday afternoon. The caller reported that the man had used her phone to make a call.

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Biden once again urges Congress to pass assault weapons ban

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Intervention comes after a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California, and a pair of shootings near Half Moon Bay, California

Joe Biden once again called on Congress to pass a bill banning assault weapons, following a string of recent mass shootings in California that in total killed at least 18 people.

“For the second time in recent days, California communities are mourning the loss of loved ones in a senseless act of gun violence,” the president said in a statement released on Tuesday.

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Accused Texas Walmart shooter to plead guilty to federal charges

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Man who allegedly killed 23 people in El Paso in 2019 still faces state-level murder charges and could be sentenced to death

The man who allegedly shot nearly two dozen people to death in a Walmart in Texas in 2019 plans to plead guilty to federal charges after the US government indicated it would not seek the death penalty against him.

Patrick Crusius, nonetheless, still faces state-level murder charges and could be sentenced to death if convicted in the El Paso mass shooting that targeted Mexicans and killed 23 people.

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