unnamed accused serial rapist demanded tougher gun control laws from his hospital bed in suburban Philadelphia

unnamed accused serial rapist demanded tougher gun control laws from his hospital bed in suburban Philadelphia earlier today, just hours after being admitted by police for a gun shot wound incurred while attempting to assault a local woman. Lawyers for the alleged rapist charged their client was “the real victim of this assault,” and warned that easy access to legal firearms was “[Making] committing a rape or other violent crime nearly impossible in many suburban areas.”
“She shot me in the privates,” bemoaned the wounded accused. “I was just trying to hold her down so I could have my way with her without her consent, and she just shoots me in the privates! How and I ever going to commit a rape again?”
In addition to a complete ban on private gun ownership, the accused lawyers demanded an investigation into hate crimes allegations against the shooter who, allegedly, uttered disparaging comments toward her attacker of a racially insensitive nature, and unfairly questioned his sexual orientation during the attempted assault. “Some guy’s trying to rape her, and she attacks his sexual orientation? What more proof do you need that she’s dangerous and insane,” asked the lawyer.
According to police reports, the gun shot victim was reported by the shooter to police for allegedly following her home from work, attempting to block her access into her apartment, and exposing himself to her through her bathroom window over a two week period beginning last month. Police sources said they “were getting around” to investigating the charges however were delayed due to excessively high workload caused by “[An] unprecedented wave of broken tail lights, people parking near fire lanes, and the maintenance of three new speed traps on local roads.”
“We just do not have the time to run out and follow up on every call made by someone who’s worried that something bad might happen to them. If the department was to go out and try to protect people from crimes before they happened, that’s all we’d do,” defended a police department spokesman. “Call us after you are the victim of a crime, then we can give it the proper lip service it deserves. Anything else is pretty much just a waste of our time.”
A prominent gun control advocate made additional charges against the shooter by claiming inside information that the firearm used in the shooting, “Was purchased just days before from a local gun shop after the mandatory three day waiting period.” “This vigilante just decided on her own to take the law into her own hands all because some poor man was pounding on her door at three in the morning shouting, ‘Let me in or I’m going to kill you.’ Well, a few days later he did break in, and you see the terrible consequences. As is always the case in these situations, it is not the home owner who gets hurt, but, the intruder who wants nothing more than to commit a little random violence who is the victim of gun crime. You know, just because you don’t want to get injured or killed does not give you the right to defend yourself.”
A close associate of the injured accused rapist warned that the attack on his friend was far from an isolated incident, “There are just too many guns on the street. This kind of thing happens day in and day out. I mean, I go through all the trouble of breaking into a house; I’m tense, I’m nervous, of course I’m going to want to attack the people inside like some kind of animal. What else do you expect me to do? I used to love home invasions… Now, I have to worry about getting shot every time I climb through a kitchen window naked. If this keeps up, there won’t be any more opportunities for violent psychopaths like myself to take my rage out on the innocent around me. They what will we do?

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68-YEAR-OLD pensioner and her three grandchildren were gunned down while asleep

68-YEAR-OLD pensioner and her three grandchildren were gunned down while asleep at their home at Gonzales, Belmont shortly after midnight on Sunday.Four-year-old Zara Sylvester and her aunt Jehial Roberts, 22, were also shot and wounded. Those murdered were Carmen Mc Hutchinson, 68, and siblings Asha Roberts, 23, Javon Roberts, 18, and LL Roberts, 13. Up to late yesterday little Zara, who was shot in the chest, was warded in a critical condition at the Wendy Fitzwilliam Paediatric Hospital in Mount Hope. Asha was her mother. Jehial is warded at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital (PoSGH) in a stable condition. She is under police guard. Mario Mc Hutchinson, 43, the father of Asha, Javon, LL and Jehial, was at home at the time and managed to escape by jumping through a window of the house. Carmen was his mother. Yesterday, he was counting his lucky stars for being alive, but was grieving the deaths of his mother and three of his four children. “I had to jump through the window to save myself and one of the other children. It was a horrific ordeal, one that I will never forget, and one I will not talk about,” Mc Hutchinson said.

Mc Hutchinson’s wife Eunalia Roberts, cried for justice for her mother-in-law and children yesterday. “My husband had to throw my daughter through the window and jump to get away. I work hard. I am building my home for my family. And this is what I get in return. I don’t do anybody anything. I know if I don’t get justice from the police, I will get it from God,” Eunalia said in a television interview last night.
Eunalia is a security guard and was stationed at WASA’s compound in Laventille on the night of the murders. She had to be consoled by relatives at the Forensic Science Centre in St James, where her sister Pamela Roberts-Glasgow blamed the killings on gang violence.

“Massacre, massacre, massacre. Oh God! They kill my niece and two nephews. They shoot the little child too, and she now fighting for her life. Oh God! This is just a massacre,” Roberts-Glasgow cried.

According to a police report, at about 12.30 am yesterday three gunmen broke down two doors of the house where the family lived at Hubert Lane, Gonzales and entered. The gunmen went into the bedrooms and opened fire on the sleeping occupants, killing four and wounding two. Up to 10.30 am yesterday, a team of officers led by Insp Sahadeo Singh was still on the crime scene carrying out investigations, while police and soldiers patrolled the area. Roberts-Glasgow told reporters she believed the murders occurred because two teenagers from Bath Street, East Dry River, Port-of-Spain went to Hubert Lane to have their hair braided by Jehial on Carnival Monday.
Roberts-Glasgow said members from the Gonzales gang on seeing the Bath Street boys, became angry and began threatening Jehial. “They felt she should not allow the boys from Bath Street to come into the area because they said the boys from Bath Street killed the father of one of them.

The Bath Street gang and the Gonzales gang always warring against each other, but this has nothing to do with them and that nonsense,” Roberts-Glasgow said.

“Imagine just because the two little boys came to get their hair done people want to get vex. We don’t meddle with anybody and if Jehial and them don’t have anything against people from Bath Street why they have to get threats, and even get shot and killed by other people who don’t like it? That is not their business who talks to who,” she added. Roberts-Glasgow said yesterday’s tragedy was the second to strike the family in the last five years. She said on August 5, 2005, her sister, Sherma Roberts, 30, and her neighbour Donna George, 47, were each shot once in the head at Sherma’s home at Carnelian Gardens, Diamond Vale. The trend of gangs killing entire families is reminiscent of the Dole Chadee murders, where members of the Baboolal family were massacred in Williamsville in 1994. The only survivors were two children, a boy Osmond and his sister Hematee, and they were spared by one of the killers, Levi Morris. Chadee and nine others were convicted and hanged by the State for these murders in 1996. More disturbingly, is the unrepentant killings of children under 18 in recent cases such as the murder of Quantia Hyndman, eight, who was shot dead at his home in Five Rivers, Arouca. His sister Dinesha Hyndman, 12, was also shot and survived. No one has been arrested for this brutal assault on the children which investigators said was an act of revenge for three drug-related murders.

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judge in Peru who pulled a gun on a photojournalist

judge in Peru who pulled a gun on a photojournalist is now saying he confused him for a thief.Perhaps he thought Carlos Saavedra was going to steal his soul with the camera.Either way, the photo made the cover of Caretas this month, the leading newsweekly magazine in Peru.And the incident is now being addressed by the Committee to Protect Journalists.The incident occurred February 13 when Saavedra was attempting to photograph Judge Raul Rosales Mora over the appointment of a controversial judge to the country’s Constitutional Tribunal.Rosales was leaving home in his car in the Lima neighborhood of Lince when he asked Saavedra to come closer.When the Caretas photojournalist approached, the judge pointed a gun at him and told him to be careful, according to Caretas.Rosales later said he thought Saavedra was a thief. But nobody is buying that story.

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gang-related shootout Monday afternoon.

Two Visalia schools were on lockdown, after a gang-related shootout Monday afternoon. It happened on Conyer and Tulare Avenue near Mount Whitney High School.Investigators said a van drove by an apartment complex -- and someone inside the van started shooting. At the same time, they said people at the apartment shot back at the van.
No injuries were reported -- but Mount Whitney High School and nearby Conyer School were on lockdown for about forty-five minutes.Police said they've recovered a gun believed to be involved in the shooting and expect to make arrests soon.

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Aidan Byrne, undeterred by the threats against his life, Byrne had also agreed to act as a gun for hire on behalf of major gang bosses.

Aidan Byrne, undeterred by the threats against his life, Byrne had also agreed to act as a gun for hire on behalf of major gang bosses.The sordid life of the father of one, who was lured to his death, was revealed yesterday as gardai stepped up the hunt for his killer, who made off on foot after shooting him 10 times in the chest, stomach and upper body as he sat in the passenger seat of a parked car on the northside of Dublin city.Byrne (33) was aligned with one of the factions involved in the deadly north-inner-city feud, which had already claimed four lives. This feud was ignited after groups took sides when gang leader Christy Griffin was charged with the rape a young girl.Gardai believe the feud connection is the most likely motive for the cold-blooded murder on Saturday night.But they are also looking at a number of other possible theories. Byrne's most high profile "contract" was to carry out the murder of a notorious gang boss in Finglas and he was arrested along with another suspect after he was spotted with a firearm near his target's house last year.
According to intelligence, a "contract" was then put on his head and taken up by another criminal.Although he was said to have agreed to carry out a number of shootings for money, gardai have no convincing evidence that he ever followed through.But his behaviour as a hardened thug resulted in an accumulation of enemies and persistent underworld tip-offs led to gardai warning Byrne several times in the past couple of years that there was a "price" on his head and advised him to take security precautions.Last year he survived an attack on his life at Fairview Park on the northside of the city when shots were fired at him.He was in trouble again earlier this month in Cloverhill Prison, where he was on remand after being charged in connection with the theft of a large haul of electrical goods.He was slashed on the side of the face by another inmate and had to receive 60 stitches. That attack was thought to have been linked to a five-year jail sentence he had served previously for raping two prostitutes in a brothel.In the past fortnight he had successfully applied for bail and on his release had been regularly wearing a bullet-proof vest.
But he had decided to dispense with it on Saturday night after he arranged to meet an unknown associate to discuss a business deal.He contacted a friend, who agreed to drive him to the meeting and parked the grey Toyota Corolla car at Drumalee Avenue, off the North Circular Road, shortly after 8.30pm on Saturday.His friend jumped out of the car and walked into a nearby house. The gunman had apparently been lying in wait and ran towards the Corolla, where Byrne was sitting in the front passenger seat.He fired 10 shots from a semi- automatic pistol and then ran off down a laneway, either into Drumalee Park or Aughrim Street.Detectives arrested the driver of the car for questioning on Sunday afternoon and he was taken into custody at the Bridewell garda station.He was still being held there last night under the Criminal Justice Act 2007 and can be held without charge for a maximum of seven days.

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Authorities are searching for a man who they say robbed the Anderson Township Sunoco and fired a gun at a witness

Authorities are searching for a man who they say robbed the Anderson Township Sunoco and fired a gun at a witness Sunday evening. No one was injured.According to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, the suspect entered the gas station, 6090 Sutton Road, around 7:40 p.m. He approached the counter with a bottle of Vodka and asked the clerk a question, then showed a handgun and demanded cash. He took an undisclosed amount of cash and several packs of cigarettes and ran south on Sutton Road, according to the sheriff’s office.
When a man who saw the robbery began to chase the suspect, the suspect turned and fired one gunshot at the man, according to the sheriff’s office. The witness was not hit. The suspect then got into a dark-colored vehicle and fled north on Interstate 275, according to the sheriff’s office.
The suspect is described as a white man, 18 to 25 years old. He is 5-feet, 5-inches to 5-feet, 8-inches tall and weighs around 160 pounds. He was wearing a gray long-sleeved shirt, dark jeans, a red hat and a black scarf over his face

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man who they believe attacked a UW student on a downtown bike path over the weekend

Madison Police are searching for a man who they believe attacked a UW student on a downtown bike path over the weekend.The victim, a 20-year-old woman, told officers she was walking on the bike path in the 100 block of N. Mills St. Saturday around 7:40 p.m. when a man approached her with a gun and grabbed her purse.She says the robber fled west on the bike path.The suspect is described as a man possibly of Asian ethnicity between 20-25 years old, 5'6", 150 lbs. medium build with dark eyes and heavy dark eyebrows, wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt with hood up, black knit mask covering his nose and mouth and dark pants.The gun was black with a long barrel. The victim's purse is dark brown with a light brown trim, rectangular with a peace sign decoration.

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Heavily armed gunman has killed himself after an eight-hour siege in central Queensland.

Heavily armed gunman has killed himself after an eight-hour siege in central Queensland.Police have refused to confirm if the man opened fire on a marked police car while holed up in a house in the coal mining town of Moranbah.
Officers say the man broke into the home on Monday afternoon and while alone inside fired a weapon several times.Negotiators were unable to talk him out and he shot himself, reportedly in front of officers, about 10pm (AEST).The incident will be investigated by the Ethical Standards Command.A report is being prepared for the coroner.During the drama, police prevented some residents from returning home, while others were instructed to stay locked inside their houses.

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Javaris Crittendon, the “other” player involved in the infamous Showdown at the OK Corral style standoff in the Verizon Center locker room

Guard Javaris Crittendon, the “other” player involved in the infamous Showdown at the OK Corral style standoff in the Verizon Center locker room, plead guilty to a misdemeanor gun charges Monday in D.C. Superior Court.Reports of the possibility of Crittendon being charged with a gun crime began to pop up on multiple websites early Monday morning, with the Washington Post first reporting confirmation that Crittendon would be charged Monday afternoon.The charges come on the heels of reports that have surfaced in the weeks following the incident and related charges for guard Gilbert Arenas that seemed to suggest that Crittendon may, in fact, not be charged with a crime at all after investigators interviews with teammates turned up contradictory reports and a search of his Arlington home failed to produce the weapon in question. It is unclear exactly how or when investigators decided to proceed with prosecution of Crittendon despite the absence of the weapon as evidence and the conflicting testimony from teammates.Crittendon plead guilty to one misdemeanor count of possession of an unregistered firearm after early reports suggested he might face a felony count of unlawful possession of a firearm and a misdemeanor count of attempting to carry a pistol without a license. Crittendon was able to work out a plea agreement with prosecutors to drop one of two misdemeanor charges and recommend no jail time for the infraction, which carries a maximum charge of one year in jail. Presiding Judge Bruce Beaudin fined Crittendon $1,250 and sentenced him to one year of unsupervised probation.Following Crittendon’s appearance in court, his attorney, Peter H. White, issued a statement suggesting that the 22 year old guard brought the gun to the Verizon Center “only because he legitimately feared for his life” and that the gun was not loaded, nor did Crittendon threaten anyone with the weapon, as some reports have suggested.
While Crittendon’s legal troubles are effectively placed in the past with his plea agreement, his troubles with the league and the Wizards could be just beginning.
Crittendon has not appeared in a game for the Wizards this season while nursing an injury sustained late in training camp during the offseason. While the team has been standoffish in its approach to disciplining Arenas, a possibility made difficult by the fact that Arenas has not yet been sentenced and by a “double jeopardy” clause in the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement that would prohibit the team from disciplining Arenas for an infraction for which the league has already imposed punishment, there will likely be swift movement in disciplining Crittendon as the team looks to work past what has been a terribly embarrassing situation for the organization.This afternoon the Wizards’ organization released the following statement. "The charges filed today against Javaris Crittenton and his subsequent plea represent another disappointing development in what has already been a long and frustrating process for the team, the NBA and, most importantly, our fans. Javaris clearly used very bad judgment in this situation and will now face the consequences of his actions.”While Arenas’ contract and status as the face of the franchise make releasing him a near impossibility, Crittendon’s much smaller rookie deal isn’t quite as prohibitive. Washington could, conceivably, release Crittendon without taking a significant hit to the team’s salary cap – a possibility that, according to Internet chatter, could become reality. Kavanaugh said Crittenton voluntarily surrendered his gun to authorities. Police had searched his apartment Jan. 14 but didn't find it.Crittenton's lawyer, Peter H. White, said his client was scared of Arenas. He emphasized that Crittenton, in his third year in the NBA, did not have the stature on the team that Arenas enjoyed.
White said that after Crittenton tossed one of Arenas' guns on the floor, Arenas said: "If I'm giving you these three guns, imagine what I have in my car."
Arenas has said repeatedly that the situation was a misguided attempt at a joke and that he never intended to hurt anybody.White told reporters after the hearing that Crittenton wouldn't make any more statements because he is scheduled to meet with NBA officials Tuesday.Crittenton faces a suspension or fine from the NBA because possession of a gun at an NBA arena is a violation of the league's collective bargaining agreement.NBA spokesman Tim Frank said the league had no immediate comment on Crittenton's plea.The Wizards said in a statement Monday that Crittenton used "very bad judgment.""The charges filed today against Javaris Crittenton and his subsequent plea represent another disappointing development in what has already been a long and frustrating process for the team, the NBA and, most importantly, our fans," the team said.A spokeswoman for Arenas' lawyer declined to comment on Crittenton's plea. Arenas, who is in the second season of a six-year, $111 million contract and has been suspended indefinitely by the NBA, is scheduled to be sentenced March 26. Washington Wizards guard Javaris Crittenton pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge Monday, explaining he had a pistol because he feared teammate Gilbert Arenas would shoot him or blow up his car after the two argued over a card game.The hearing marked the first time authorities confirmed Crittenton was the other player involved in the confrontation with Arenas, who pleaded guilty Jan. 15 to a felony gun charge.D.C. Superior Court Senior Judge Bruce Beaudin sentenced Crittenton, 22, to a year of unsupervised probation after Crittenton pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of an unregistered firearm. Beaudin ordered Crittenton to mentor young people in Washington and to help with relief efforts for Haiti.Beaudin didn't order a specific amount of community service but said his lawyer must report regularly on the work.Crittenton must also pay a $1,000 fine and $250 into a victims' fund.
"I accept full responsibility for my bad judgment, my terrible mistake," Crittenton, who appeared in court wearing a gray suit and glasses, told the judge as he entered the plea. "I'm deeply sorry to the city of Washington, to the Wizards, to my family and to the NBA for this embarrassment."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Kavanaugh said the two players first clashed Dec. 19 over a card game on a team flight back from a game in Phoenix. Arenas said he was too old for a fistfight and threatened to shoot Crittenton in the face, and Crittenton replied he would shoot Arenas in his surgically repaired knee, Kavanaugh said.Later, Arenas said he would blow up or burn Crittenton's car, Kavanaugh said.
Two days later, Crittenton put his legally owned, unloaded handgun into his backpack before he left his apartment in Arlington, Va., for practice at the Verizon Center, Kavanaugh said.Crittenton put the backpack in his locker and went to see team trainers, Kavanaugh said. When he returned he saw several guns - Crittenton's lawyer said there were three, not four, as previously reported - on a chair in front of his locker with a sign saying, "Pick 1."Crittenton tossed one of the guns on the floor and told Arenas to get the weapons off the chair. Then, fearing for his safety, Crittenton took the handgun out of his backpack and showed it to Arenas, Kavanaugh said.However, Kavanaugh said there is no evidence Crittenton ever threatened anyone with the gun.Prosecutors said Arenas told Crittenton: "You are going to need more than that little gun."Kavanaugh said Crittenton voluntarily surrendered his gun to authorities. Police had searched his apartment Jan. 14 but didn't find it.Crittenton's lawyer, Peter H. White, said his client was scared of Arenas. He emphasized that Crittenton, in his third year in the NBA, did not have the stature on the team that Arenas enjoyed.White said that after Crittenton tossed one of Arenas' guns on the floor, Arenas said: "If I'm giving you these three guns, imagine what I have in my car."
Arenas has said repeatedly that the situation was a misguided attempt at a joke and that he never intended to hurt anybody.White told reporters after the hearing that Crittenton wouldn't make any more statements because he is scheduled to meet with NBA officials Tuesday.
Crittenton faces a suspension or fine from the NBA because possession of a gun at an NBA arena is a violation of the league's collective bargaining agreement.
NBA spokesman Tim Frank said the league had no immediate comment on Crittenton's plea.The Wizards said in a statement Monday that Crittenton used "very bad judgment."
"The charges filed today against Javaris Crittenton and his subsequent plea represent another disappointing development in what has already been a long and frustrating process for the team, the NBA and, most importantly, our fans," the team said.A spokeswoman for Arenas' lawyer declined to comment on Crittenton's plea. Arenas, who is in the second season of a six-year, $111 million contract and has been suspended indefinitely by the NBA, is scheduled to be sentenced March 26.

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man suspected of attempting to rob the TwinStar Credit Union in Centralia on Monday morning escaped and should be considered armed

man suspected of attempting to rob the TwinStar Credit Union in Centralia on Monday morning escaped and should be considered armed, police said. “He went out the same window he came in,” Centralia Police Chief Bob Berg said. “We should assume he’s armed, because he presented a gun to the employee.”
The man was shot at by Centralia police officer Neil Hoium, but apparently was not hit. He might have been cut when climbing through a broken window, police said, because a small amount of blood was found inside.He did not get any money.
The credit union on Gold Street quickly became a major crime scene, with officers blocking Gold and Kresky streets until around noon.The discovery that the man had escaped came shortly after four explosions were heard at the credit union, which had been locked down after an attempted robbery shortly before 7 a.m.According to a witness at a nearby diner, police threw what appeared to be four flash grenades through the same open window into which they had earlier thrown a hostage negotiation telephone.Police thought the man was still inside the credit union based on remotely viewed video footage, but later discovered that what appeared to be legs under a desk in the video was not the suspect.Around 10 a.m., police broke out a window and threw in a “hostage rescue phone” that picks up all sound in the building. Sounds captured by its microphone revealed that KITI radio was playing in the building. Police went on the radio broadcast to ask the suspect to pick up the phone.Law enforcement originally responded to 1320 S. Gold St. at 6:42 a.m. after a report of suspicious circumstances. Centralia Police Department officer John Panco said that when an officer arrived he was met by an employee near the front door of the building. Part of her arm was hidden behind the door frame, and her position was awkward, as if someone were holding her.“She mouthed the words ‘he has a gun,’” Panco said.Officer Hoium then pulled the woman away from the door, at which point the suspect became visible, police said. The officer fired two shots, but wasn’t sure if he hit the man.The woman was not injured, but police say a knife was held to her neck and a gun “That employee saved our police officer’s life, and that officer in turn saved her life,” Berg said.TwinStar issued a statement via its Facebook page indicating that no employees were harmed during the attempted robbery.The incident has similarities to another bank robbery at the same credit union Jan. 2, 2009.In that robbery, a masked man confronted two employees and forced them into the vault approximately 6:45 a.m. The suspect stole an undisclosed amount of money and fled, leaving the female tellers in the vault.Police tracked the suspect a short distance in the snow before the tracks disappeared. No arrests were made.“It keeps escalating and escalating,” said Kelly Pennington, owner of Kelly’s Diner adjacent to the credit union.

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Drug smuggler Shaheed Roger Khan was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment on charges of drug smuggling, witness tampering and gun possession

Drug smuggler Shaheed Roger Khan was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment on charges of drug smuggling, witness tampering and gun possession in Vermont at 3 pm today at the US Eastern District Court in Brooklyn.Justice Dora L. Irizarry, imposing the sentences after a one-hour summation, said that they would run concurrently, which means that Khan will only serve 15 years in prison.Prior to handing down the long-awaited sentence, Justice Irizarry read three letters from Sheila Waddell, Harry Rampersaud and an anonymous person, which pleaded with her to impose a longer sentence than the 15 years offered to Khan as part of his plea bargain deal, given the heinous crimes he had committed. However she said that while she considered their pain and that of others affected by his operations, it should be recognized that in Khan’s case an acquittal was also possible had it gone to trial.
Prosecutor Shannon Jones had earlier said the same thing, noting that it should not be viewed as 15 years as opposed to 25 or 40 years, but 15 years as opposed to an acquittal.Before imposing sentence, Justice Irizarry asked Khan to make a statement.
Standing, the cleanly-shaven convict smiled and waved to his family and relatives in the courtroom. Addressing the court, Khan apologized to the citizens of the United States of America for the pain his actions might have caused them. Turning to his family, he apologized to them as well for any pain he might have caused them. He did not as much as mention Guyana or Guyanese.He then thanked his attorneys John Bergendahl and Diarmuid White for “being men of integrity” and said the US should be proud of them.As he left the court, Khan waved to his wife who said “Rog, I love you.”

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Police found a semi-automatic pistol in Titus Dawson’s bedroom

police found a semi-automatic pistol in Titus Dawson’s bedroom March 6, he initially claimed a burglar must have placed it there.That defense only went so far.
At his trial in Albany County Court this week, he took another route — that the weapon was being held for a friend to be returned to a gun buy-back program in Albany.Both Dawson, 26, and the friend are convicted drug dealers, the gun was found next to marijuana residue, as well as digital scales, $8,000 in cash and a ninth-month old newspaper article, but the defendant’s pal still took the stand and made his case.It was just not one a jury would believe .Dawson, 26, of Lark Drive, was convicted late Thursday of third-degree weapon possession, a felony carrying 3 1/2 to 7 years in prison.Police had noticed the gun while responding to a burglary alarm at Dawson’s home. When they arrived they spotted the pistol, as well as a large amount of marijuana in the bedroom.They returned and arrested Dawson after getting a search warrant. The gun and other belongings (which prosecutors say showed evidence of a homegrown marijuana operation) were discovered near a nine-month old Times Union newspaper article about gang shootings in Albany.The defense argued Dawson’s friend, a convicted crack dealer, stumbled upon the gun a day earlier while outdoors in Albany — and decided to leave it with Dawson. He said they planned to give it to the Rev. Charlie Muller of the Victory Christian Church in Albany, who runs the buy-back program.But Assistant District Attorney David Gonzalez, who prosecuted the case, noted no effort was ever made by either man to contact Muller.
“There is only so much that we can do with the legal system,” Gonzalez told jurors in closing arguments. “Use common sense.”Dawson, who has a past conviction for third-degree drug dealing, will be sentenced by acting Supreme Court Justice Dan Lamont on Dec. 11.

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Weapons of choice for gangsters are the Russian-made 9mm Baikal pistol which is smuggled into the UK from illegal factories in Lithuania

Weapons of choice for gangsters are the Russian-made 9mm Baikal pistol which is smuggled into the UK from illegal factories in Lithuania and the Mac-10 sub-machine pistol.
A sub-machine gun is believed to have been used in the suspected gang war murder of 21-year-old Turkish shop worker Cem Duzgun two weeks ago.
There have also been warnings about girls and children carrying weapons for boyfriends or older gang members. Earlier this year a 14-year-old boy was convicted of possessing a gun, a silencer and ammunition. The weapon was found in his bedroom in Lewisham when he was just 13.
The number of guns being seized in London has risen steadily in recent years. In the whole of 2002 just 1,000, including imitation guns, were recovered. This year, up until the end of July 985 were seized. Police say that by this month the total will have reached more than 1,000.
Of the 985, 217 were 'live-firing' weapons - 136 handguns, 72 shotguns and nine sub-machineguns. The rest are believed to be BB guns, replicas or other 'non-live firing'

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'respect' shootings where it seems the gunmen do not intend to kill.

Gun crime in London has soared due to a new wave of teenage 'respect' shootings, the Metropolitan Police said today.Crimes where teenagers choose to use firearms to settle disputes over slights to their reputation or other minor disagreements are becoming increasingly common.
The new phenomenon sees gunmen intending to injure their victims rather than kill. Criminals aim at a rival's legs and leave them with 'war wounds'.
Police figures say that there have been 72 such shootings, double the number for last year. Commander Martin Hewitt said the inclination to use 'extreme levels of violence for seemingly very little reason' was a new phenomenon.
He said that when Operation Trident began investigating gun crime in the black community most shootings were an 'offshoot' of criminal activity.
Police have seized more than 1,000 guns in London so far this year. While overall youth violence is falling, police say there is a rise in gun crime and, in particular, the number of non-fatal shootings involving turf wars.
Met Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson linked rising gun crime in the capital with feuding gangs. Met figures show a 14 per cent rise in gun crime in London over four months during the summer.
There has been a spate of 'drive-by' and other targeted shootings, apparently connected to gang and other criminal disputes. Many offences are said to be 'intimated' where someone claims or threatens to have a gun but a weapon is not seen.
However, police are highlighting a new trend of 'respect' shootings where it seems the gunmen do not intend to kill.

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Bullets flying from the Morro dos Macacos ("Monkey Hill" in Portuguese) slum in northern Rio de Janeiro tore into the helicopter and hit the pilot

Bullets flying from the Morro dos Macacos ("Monkey Hill" in Portuguese) slum in northern Rio de Janeiro tore into the helicopter and hit the pilot in the leg as he hovered above the shootout, causing him to lose control and crash.
Two officers died, while the pilot and three other policemen escaped after the craft hit the ground on a football field and burst into flames. The pilot and a second officer suffered burns and bullet wounds. The other two officers also were burned, one gravely, said Mario Sergio Duarte, head of Rio state's military police.
Officials did not know whether the gangs targeted the helicopter or whether it was hit by stray bullets, but the event underscored security concerns that have dogged Brazil's second-largest city for decades.
Despite the mayhem, officials defended Rio's ability to control violence ahead of the Olympics as well as before 2014, when Brazil will host the World Cup soccer tournament with key games in Rio.
"In choosing the city, they already knew about the work that's being carried out and will continue in the area of (crime) prevention," Justice Minister Tarso Genro told the state-run Agencia Brasil news agency.
Rio state Gov. Sergio Cabral grimly told reporters that Rio's security challenges can't be cured "by magic in the short term," but he said money is being poured into programs to reduce crime and authorities are prepared to mount an overwhelming security presence at the sporting events to ensure safety.
"We told the International Olympic Committee that this won't be an easy thing, and they know that," Cabral said. "We can put 40,000 people on the streets — federal, state and municipal police — and pull off the event."
Duarte said it was unlikely that traffickers fired an anti-aircraft missile at the helicopter, though such weapons have been found in the hideouts of Rio's drug traffickers along with other heavy, military-grade arms such as grenade launchers and .50-caliber machine guns.
The pilot was able to make a somewhat controlled, though extremely rough landing, which would have been unlikely if the aircraft had been hit by a heavy weapon, Duarte said.
Police said 10 presumed traffickers were killed during the fighting in the slum, including three suspects found dead inside a vehicle. Officials gave no details on how the other seven died.
They said at least eight buses were set on fire in nearby slums as the shootouts raged. Television images showed motorists fleeing for cover as automatic-weapons fire crackled in broad daylight amid the worst violence the city has seen in months.
Images broadcast by Globo TV showed flames shooting from the helicopter wreckage, with little more than charred pieces and an intact tail remaining after the fire was doused.

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Drug traffickers shot down a police helicopter during a gunbattle between rival gangs Saturday

Drug traffickers shot down a police helicopter during a gunbattle between rival gangs Saturday, killing two officers and injuring four in a burst of violence just two weeks after the city was chosen to host the 2016 Olympic Games.
Ten suspected drug traffickers were also killed during the fighting in a shantytown, and two bystanders were injured, officials said.

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Gunmen started shooting as they entered the bar in Toa Baja, near the capital San Juan,

Gunmen started shooting as they entered the bar in Toa Baja, near the capital San Juan, prompting several customers to pull out guns and return fire. Seven people were killed and some 20 injured, including a pregnant woman who lost her eight-month-old unborn child. It is one of the most violent single incidents in Puerto Rico in many years. Three people were found dead inside the nightclub and another three were killed just outside, prosecutor Wanda Vazquez said. The seventh victim died in hospital. Investigators suspect the killing was linked to a turf war between drug gangs. "We can't be certain that this was drug-related, but the way it played out appears that it was," Ms Vazquez said. Puerto Rico is a key shipment point in the Caribbean for illegal drugs being smuggled into the US, because as a US territory it is free from customs checks.

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Jamaica handguns, rifles and bullets that stoke one of the world's highest murder rates.

Handguns, rifles and bullets that stoke one of the world's highest murder rates.
The volume is much less than the flow of U.S. guns into Mexico that end up in the hands of drug cartels -- Jamaican authorities recover fewer than 1,000 firearms a year. But of those whose origin can be traced, 80 percent come from the U.S., Jamaican law enforcement officials have said in interviews with The Associated Press.
And as the Obama administration cracks down on smuggling into Mexico, Jamaicans fear even more firearms will reach the gangs whose turf wars plague the island of 2.8 million people.''It's going to push a lot of that trade back toward the Caribbean like it was back in the '80s,'' said Vance Callender, an attache at the U.S. Embassy in Kingston for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).U.S. authorities are beginning to target the Jamaican gun-smuggling network as part of a broad effort to boost security in the Caribbean.But they have a long way to go. Jamaican authorities have confiscated only 100 guns coming into ports in the last five years, along with 6,000 rounds of ammunition. That in turn is just a fraction of the 700 or so weapons confiscated on the streets each year.Authorities know they're only seeing ''the tip of the iceberg,'' said Mark Shields, Jamaica's deputy police commissioner.With arsenals to rival police firepower, the gangs are blamed for 90 percent of the homicides in Jamaica -- 1,611 last year, about 10 times more than the U.S. rate, relative to population.Unlike in Mexico, the vast majority of Jamaican guns seized are submitted for tracing. Jamaica and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives find most of the seized weapons come from three Florida counties -- Orange, Dade and Broward -- all with large Jamaican populations, according to Shields.X-ray scanners were installed two years ago at Jamaican ports, but the gangs use bribery and intimidation to get their shipments past inspectors.In April, a newly hired customs supervisor had his tires slashed and days later was shot at on his way home from work, authorities say. The man was known for his strict scrutiny of cargo coming into a gang-infiltrated warehouse on the Kingston wharf.When the gangs apply pressure, ''no one says no,'' said Danville Walker, Jamaica's commissioner of customs.

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Darren John Bridgeman, 37, from Malvern, Worcestershire sentenced to life in prison by a judge in Florida.

Darren John Bridgeman, 37, from Malvern, Worcestershire sentenced to life in prison by a judge in Florida.In June 2006, Darren John Bridgeman, 37, from Malvern, Worcestershire, killed Tracy Bennawit, 33, because he discovered that she had a new boyfriend. He then fled back to the UK and tried to join the French Foreign Legion to avoid being caught.Bridgeman, who said Bennawit "threw me out like garbage" when their relationship turned sour, eventually gave himself up after a manhunt across Europe. He was extradited to the US, where a jury took less than six hours to convict him of murder on Friday night after a week-long trial."It's the verdict he deserved," said Adam Strickland, Bennawit's boyfriend, who was shot in the chest and seriously wounded in the ambush. Bennawit's son, Caelin, 14, witnessed the attack but was not hurt.Lawyers for Bridgeman, who was also Bennawit's business partner in a failed video game shop, argued unsuccessfully that their client was guilty only of manslaughter because he acted in the heat of passion.

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Oscar Segura, 23, of Santa Ana.shot to death Thursday afternoon

A man shot to death Thursday afternoon was identified today by police as Oscar Segura, 23, of Santa Ana.Police were called to South Standard Avenue and Beverly Place just before 3:30 p.m. with reports of a person shot. They didn't find anyone at that corner, but did find a wounded man in the 800 block of East Normandy Place, a block to the south.Segura was taken to Western Medical Center, where he died around 45 minutes later.Police are investigating the shooting as a gang-related attack.Norma Prado, who is Segura’s cousin once removed, said that Segura was going to the store to get ready to watch the Los Angeles Lakers game with friends and his uncle when he was hit by a bullet.One of the shots hit his liver and then pierced his heart, Prado said. “He was always very loving, a very likable person,” Prado said. “I don't think he had any enemies that I knew of.”“At the hospital, the doctors did everything they could, but he had lost a lot of blood and nothing could be done for him,” Prado said. “All I can say about him is that he was a wonderful person – never was disrespectful to any one of us, very polite.”Segura’s neighbor Amanda Gallegos was shocked to hear the news. She used to say hi when she’d see Segura taking a walk with his daughter.Segura was known for helping out senior citizens in the neighborhood, she said.“Everybody really liked him,” Gallegos said. “He’s not a person I’d say was in a gang. He wasn’t full of tattoos, and you’d never see him with that type of crowd. He was very helping to the neighborhood and never expected anything in return.”

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17-year old suspect in the shooting deaths of two men during a running gun battle on Interstate 75 in March was arrested today

17-year old suspect in the shooting deaths of two men during a running gun battle on Interstate 75 in March was arrested today, Evendale police said.Details on where the teen was taken into custody were not immediately available. The teen's name has not been released by authorities. He lives in Springdale.The shootings occurred after a dispute early March 18 in Garage Sports Bar & Grill in Sharonville. The argument continued on the highway. Evendale police have said the teen was nearby and became involved in the highway chase and shootings.Two 25-year-old Westwood men, Keith Cobb and Scott Neblett Jr., were found dead inside a Chevrolet Blazer that had been riddled with bullets. Both had extensive criminal records, mostly involving drug offenses.The SUV flipped twice and landed upright. Marijuana and a 9 mm gun were found inside.When Evendale police announced charges against the teen last month, they said another arrest was expected. It was not clear today if that second suspect has been caught.

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victim has not been named 28-year-old man with gunshot wounds who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police were called to Fulham Court, a block of flats on Fulham Road, Fulham, at around 7pm on Thursday night after reports of shots being fired.Armed police and ambulance crews found a 28-year-old man with gunshot wounds who was pronounced dead at the scene.No arrests have been made in connection with the death.
The victim has not been named.

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Jamaican hitman has been brought to T&T to assassinate head of the North Eastern Divisional Task Force Sgt Roger Alexander.

Jamaican hitman has been brought to T&T to assassinate head of the North Eastern Divisional Task Force Sgt Roger Alexander. Members of the Special Anti-Crime Unit (Sautt) and officers of the Repeat Offenders Programme (Rope) reportedly unearthed the plot. Yesterday, Alexander confirmed that he had been informed of the plot and a report has been submitted to acting Police Commissioner James Philbert and head of the North Eastern Division Senior Supt Theophilus Cummings.Police sources said they received information last Friday that a prime suspect, implicated in the killing of Sean “Bill” Francis, was responsible for hiring the hitman. Investigating officers believe the hitman had been hiding out somewhere in Laventille Road, San Juan. Police were up to late yesterday searching for him. Investigators said the plot was unearthed after the Morvant Police Station was flooded with calls regarding the Jamaican national. The callers, police said, warned that a “hefty” price had been put on Alexander’s head.“The calls became more and more disturbing...They described how Alexander would be killed and it was definitely not something we could have ignored,” one investigator said. He said lawmen were also told that police officers in Jamaica were “dealt with differently.” Alexander, who worked at the then Organised Crime, Narcotics Unit (OCNU) has been instrumental in the arrest of several murder suspects within the North Eastern Division. Last Friday, Alexander and his team of officers recovered the gun which they believed had been used in the killing of Francis’ 25-year-old nephew Nathaniel. The younger Francis, of Vegas in Morvant, went on a robbery with another man at Cipriani Avenue, Morvant, but was instead confronted by irate villagers and shot and killed with his own gun.
There had been several attempts in the past by unknown people to kill Alexander. In one instance black magic was used to issue a warning. Alexander’s name was written in blood on a piece of paper which was tied to rotting chicken feet and nailed to a utility pole in Morvant. But the threats have had no impact on Alexander. “At the end of the day, the work must go on and I am definitely not afraid. I will continue to do my duty and continue to bring criminals to justice,” Alexander said.

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Handgun, ammunition and cannabis were recovered in the 5am raid at an address in Olympic Close

Police in Luton have arrested four people after a dawn raid as part of a crackdown on gun crime in the town. A handgun, ammunition and cannabis were recovered in the 5am raid at an address in Olympic Close and three men aged 19, 21 and 28 and a 19-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm. All four are now being held at Luton Police Station for questioning. Leading the raid this morning, Det Chief Insp Irene Meehan, said: "Beds Police and the people of Bedfordshire will not tolerate gun crime. The success of this operation today is a credit to those members of the community who have shown bravery and given information that the police have been able to act upon. "I would encourage anyone with information about gun crime to either speak to the police or if they are not comfortable in doing this then they can contact Crimestoppers, completely anonymously, and be assured that all information received will be acted upon."

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US Airways employee and passenger are being questioned after an unloaded handgun was discovered aboard a Phoenix-bound flight

US Airways employee and passenger are being questioned after an unloaded handgun was discovered aboard a Phoenix-bound flight originating in Philadelphia, reports CBS News correspondent Bob Orr. Souces say a passenger allegedly handed a bag containing the weapon to an airline employee, who bypassed the security screening before giving it back to the passenger, reports Orr. Ammunition was also found on the plane. Another passenger saw the suspicious hand-off and alerted authorities. The gun was found during a subsequent search of the plane. The flight taxied back to the gate and all the passengers were removed, reports Orr. Sources says the incident appears to be isolated and is not related to terrorism. Investigators do not believe the suspected passenger intended to use the gun on the flight but was simply trying to elude security in order to carry the weapon to Phoenix, reports Orr. The FBI, Transportation Security Administration and Philadelphia law enforcement are investigating the incident. No charges have been filed.

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Ernesto Murillo, 26 Southern California gang member was sentenced to 110 years in prison for shooting a 6-year-old boy last year.

Southern California gang member was sentenced to 110 years in prison for shooting a 6-year-old boy last year.The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that Ernesto Murillo, 26, pleaded guilty in March to three counts of attempted murder, five counts of assault with a firearm and one count of shooting at an occupied vehicle in connection with the shooting.Murillo also admitted he was a gang member, the newspaper said.Laverya Elzy was shot in the head. Five adults and two other children in the vehicle were not hurt in the incident. The (Torrence, Calif.) Daily Breeze reported that Lavareay attends school, and still has significant pain from the bullet that is still in his brain. "You can't ever erase what happened," Lavareay's mother, Trina Cooper, said. "I'll forgive him, but never forget," she said of Murillo.

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Trinidad Cuecass, 20, of the 8300 block of South Brandon Avenue, was shot on the 8300 block of South Brandon Avenue

Trinidad Cuecass, 20, of the 8300 block of South Brandon Avenue, was shot on the 8300 block of South Brandon Avenue and died early Wednesday, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. The medical examiner’s office did not have a pronouncement time immediately. Cuecass was shot about 1 a.m. and was dead on the scene with a gunshot wound to the head after an unknown black man walked up behind him, shot him in the head and fled to a waiting black vehicle, according to a release from police News Affairs. No one was in custody and Calumet Area detectives are investigating the shooting, which appears gang related, according to the release.

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Niranjan Das and Sant Rama Nand — underwent operations for gunshot wounds, but Nand died early Monday

Sikh preacher died Monday after being wounded in an attack on his temple by a group of fundamentalist Sikhs armed with knives and a handgun, police said. India's prime minister appealed for calm as riots protesting the deadly shooting spread to several northern Indian cities.Witnesses said the Vienna temple attended by lower-caste Sikhs had been attacked by fundamentalist Sikhs from a higher caste, who accused one or both of the preachers of being disrespectful of the religion's Holy Book.
The attack set off a brawl that wounded 16. It was not clear whether some of the weapons used were kirpans — ceremonial daggers that may legally be worn by Sikhs in Austria.Two preachers — identified by Indian diplomats as Niranjan Das and Sant Rama Nand — underwent operations for gunshot wounds, but Nand died early Monday, according to a police official who declined to identify himself on the telephone, in line with Austrian custom.

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Australia woman's account of a late night shooting in Sydney has turned her into an Internet sensation with T-shirts, mugs and a dance remix made

Australia woman's account of a late night shooting in Sydney has turned her into an Internet sensation with T-shirts, mugs and a dance remix made in her honor but there's just one problem -- she made it up.Sydney woman Clare Werbeloff's dramatic account of a shooting, with her "chk chk boom" firing of a gun and imitation of the men involved, made her an overnight hit on video sharing website YouTube, prompting about 500,000 viewings.The 19-year-old has since received invitations to appear on various TV shows and even the offer of a bikini photo shoot.But the Australian media were left red-faced when the first task of Werbeloff's newly hired agent Adam Abrams was to admit his client did not actually witness the shooting, and told police that she made the story up for a TV camera on site.Abrams told Australian media that Werbeloff would not detail her reasons for fabricating the story but denied the video was an advertising setup. Werbeloff had gone into hiding after media camped outside her home.The 27-year-old victim of the shooting, Sydneysider Justin Kallu, was not amused as he nursed a wounded knee."I'm just a bit upset about the fact that I've been shot and that I almost lost my life and there's this girl all over the news getting popular, all because she has no brains," Kallu said in emailed comments to newspapers.

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Man shot multiple times Saturday night in North Philadelphia.

Homicide detectives said yesterday they were investigating the death of a man who was shot multiple times Saturday night in North Philadelphia.The man, whom authorities did not identify, was shot about 8:30 p.m. at 20th and Susquehanna Streets. He was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he died at 6:02 a.m. yesterday.The death marked the 111th homicide in Philadelphia this year, police said.

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Three men were shot in Tacoma late Friday after being confronted by another man

Three men were shot in Tacoma late Friday after being confronted by another man while walking along a street and are in stable condition in local hospitals, Tacoma police reported.Three men were arrested and jailed in connection with the shooting, police spokesman Mark Fulghum said Saturday.The shooting occurred around 11:20 p.m. Friday in South Tacoma along South 51st Street, between Pine and Junett streets.
Fulghum said the shooting appears to be gang-related but he would not say why police believe that’s so.The three men, all 21, were walking along South 51st Street when they were confronted by another man, Fulghum said. After a brief exchange, the man shot all three men – one to two times each in the torso – with a handgun, Fulghum said. About a half-dozen shots were fired.A vehicle then fled the scene. About 25 minutes later, Lakewood police stopped that vehicle at 92nd Street and South Tacoma Way. Tacoma police arrested three men who were in the vehicle, two 18-year-olds and a 19-year-old, on suspicion of first-degree assault. They were booked into Pierce County Jail. Police believe one of the three was the shooter, Fulghum said. Two of the shooting victims were taken to St. Joseph Medical Center and one was transported to Madigan Army Medical Center. Fulghum said the three are expected to survive.

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19-year-old man was shot in the neck during what appears to be a gang-related attack

19-year-old man was shot in the neck during what appears to be a gang-related attack, police said.The shooting occurred at 8:30 p.m. in the 1800 block of West Neighbors Avenue, near Euclid Street and La Palma Avenue, said Anaheim police Sgt. Juan Reveles.Officers responding to the area regarding an assault with a deadly weapon didn't find the victim. He had been taken to a hospital by a female resident. The hospital called police regarding a shooting victim and he was taken to a trauma center, Reveles said.The victim's injuries were non-critical and his condition has stabilized, Reveles said.Police said the victim was walking on Neighbors Avenue when a vehicle pulled up and two men jumped out. The men approached him and one of them shot the victim in the neck as he was running away, Reveles said. The suspects are described as having shaved heads and wearing baggy clothing. A description of the vehicle was not immediately available, Reveles said.

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Four men have been arrested after a home robbery in south Wichita left two victims with gunshot wounds

Four men have been arrested after a home robbery in south Wichita left two victims with gunshot wounds sometime after 1:30 a.m. today, police said.Police patrolling the area after receiving a report of shots overheard near Harry and Washington at about 1:42 a.m. heard more shots and then spotted a vehicle speeding from the area, Lt. Todd Ojile said.A brief chase ensued before four suspects bailed from the vehicle and were taken into custody near Ida and Zimmerly with the help of a Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office K-9 dog, Ojile said.At about the same time, a caller reported a shooting victim at 1450 S. Mosley. A 56-year-old man was hit by a bullet after he saw people taking property and yelled at them to get out of the neighborhood, Ojile said.As police were investigating the robbery, they learned that the resident of the house, a 20-year-old man, ran from the house after the robbers burst in. He was shot in the leg as he fled.Both men are expected to recover from their wounds, Ojile said.

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Brooklyn man was in critical condition after he was shot several times in the chest during a morning fight inside a bodega

Brooklyn man was in critical condition after he was shot several times in the chest during a morning fight inside a bodega, police said.The victim got into an argument with another man inside the Church Avenue Grill in East Flatbush just before 9 a.m., police said. The disagreement soon became physical, and the two men began shoving each other inside the store, a bodega employee said. "Are you pressing me?" one man said to the other, the bodega worker recalled. That man then pulled out a handgun and fired several shots, hitting the victim in the chest. The bodega worker called 911, and paramedics rushed the bleeding man, who was not identified, to Kings County Hospital. The gunman ran from the store and remains at large. Investigators were not immediately certain if the men knew each other before their violent encounter, police said.

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Steve Weber is suspected of fatally shooting his ex-wife, 47-year-old Francesca Weber, at her Fitchburg apartment last Saturday.

Dozens of federal and local agents, some wearing camouflage, set up a perimeter around a Madison park Tuesday after a murder suspect's vehicle was discovered nearby. Police say a pickup truck believed to be owned by Steve Weber was found Tuesday morning near the wooded Hoyt Park. Staff, children and others at the Madison School & Community Recreation building in Hoyt School near the park were ordered to stay inside with doors locked. Weber is suspected of fatally shooting his ex-wife, 47-year-old Francesca Weber, at her Fitchburg apartment last Saturday.

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Former Gypsy Jokers bikie president Lennard Kirby and associate Alexandro Scilio shooting

Five people are being questioned by police over the shooting of former Gypsy Jokers bikie president Lennard Kirby and associate Alexandro Scilio.Assistant Commissioner (Specialist Crime) Wayne Gregson said the five were "helping police with their inquiries'' over the bikie shooting in Jandakot.Two of the five are injured and have been taken to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. It is not known how badly hurt they are, or how they sustained their injuries.A man and a woman went with police to Curtin House, the City detectives headquarters in Stirling Street.A fifth person remained with police at the hotel in Joondalup. Police detained the five people at the Joondalup City Hotel earlier today. Mr Gregson said police had been speaking with the five people since 1.30pm today, but no charges had been laid. Kirby, who has served time in prison for drug offences, was shot three times in the chest and is in a stable condition in Royal Perth Hospital. The other man, Alexandro Scilio, was shot in the arm. The injury is not life-threatening.Scilio is an associate of Kirby and has also been convicted of drug offences.The men were shot at a house in Jandakot at about 4.20pm yesterday and were taken to hospital in the back of a ute by club associates.Mr Gregson said police do not believe the incident was as a result of gang conflict.He would not say if police had recovered a firearm. ``At this stage of our investigation it would appear the parties are known to each other and the matter is a dispute over drugs,'' he said. ``Both victims are convicted criminals relating to illegal drugs. ``There is no suggestion that this incident is a result of bikie gang conflict. ``It is not a bikie war. "It would appear that this incident, although involving a member of a bikie gang, is unlikely to escalate.
"However, it must be remembered that outlaw motorcycle gangs are organised criminal groups that are unpredictable.'' Police were called to the house in Peppworth Place, a semi-rural street in the southern suburb, after reports of gunfire.Tactical Response Group officers completed a search of the property about 9pm.``Investigations of this type are often very difficult because of the level of co-operation, or should I say the lack of co-operation, that you often get from both parties involved,'' Mr Gregson said.

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Two men fired shots at a group of people last week, including deputies interviewing witnesses after a fight near Elkton.

No one was injured when authorities said the men opened fire from a car in the 1300 block of E. Old Philadelphia Road around 10:30 p.m. Thursday.The sheriff's office said 18-year-old Jeremiah Bedwell of Elkton and 24-year-old Raymond Chadwick had been involved in the fight earlier and returned to the scene. The fight was the latest incident in an ongoing feud between two non-gang-related groups, according to authorities.Bedwell and Chadwick were arrested a short time after the shooting and charged with two counts of first-degree assault, six counts of second-degree assault and weapons charges.

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Warrant issued charges 30-year-old Donald Donnell Brown Jr. with second-degree murder, reckless endangerment, assault and a weapons charge

Harford County Sheriff's Office has issued a warrant charging a Baltimore man in the shooting death of an Edgewood man. The warrant issued Sunday charges 30-year-old Donald Donnell Brown Jr. with second-degree murder, reckless endangerment, assault and a weapons charge in the death of Yamar Martin. Authorities say Brown shot Martin in the area of Mayberry Drive in Aberdeen on May 5. The sheriff's office says friends were driving Martin to Harford Memorial Hospital when they crashed near Havre de Grace on Route 40. Martin was taken to Shock Trauma, where he died.
The sheriff's office says detectives have obtained information linking Brown to the fatal shooting, but they are still investigating a motive.

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15-year-old boy died Sunday evening in a street shooting

15-year-old boy died Sunday evening in a street shooting possibly prompted by an earlier fist fight, Richmond police say.The victim, Oscar Hernandez, visited friends in the city's Fairmede/Hilltop neighborhood during the afternoon, Detective Sgt. Lori Curran said."We know he went swimming at a community pool," Curran said. "We also know there was a fight earlier in the day. He might have been involved."
Hernandez, a De Anza High School student who lived in the unincorporated Tara Hills neighborhood near San Pablo and Pinole, hung around with at least six other young people that afternoon.The group headed to the 2300 block of Aberdeen Way, where one lived, police said, and were hanging around in front of an apartment building about 6 p.m."We know there was a loud conversation. It might have been an argument, or they might have just been peacocking around about the fight," Curran said.A group of boys walked around the block for a while, talking loudly, before the shooting, police said.Detectives received conflicting information from witnesses, including about who was there. But they suspect a man, possibly wearing a blue hat and sports jersey, walked up while Hernandez stood with others on a sidewalk near an apartment building and shot him several times.He was taken to a hospital where he died, becoming Richmond's 18th homicide victim of 2009, and the eighth West Contra Costa Unified student to die violently this year."Unfortunately, we're getting used to this, how to intervene," said Marin Trujillo, school district spokesman.The district dispatched crisis teams Monday to De Anza and Pinole Middle School, where Hernandez started the year before being promoted to the ninth grade in November.Trujillo said Hernandez's family came to the De Anza office Monday to tell the school what had happened."We've seen that in the past, where the family comes (to the school) sometimes," Trujillo said. They want to have an essence of their child. They want to talk to people who knew their kid."

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White residue found on the gun used to kill supervising Fire Marshal Douglas Mercereau tested out as salt

White residue found on the gun used to kill supervising Fire Marshal Douglas Mercereau tested out as salt, a forensics scientist told jurors today.But former NYPD criminalist Kristen McDonald didn't know where the salt came from, or how the murdered fire marshal's stainless Smith & Wesson 9mm service weapon wound up with rust inside the slide, behind the muzzle and in front of the trigger guard."The source [of the white residue] cannot be conducively determined," Ms. McDonald testified as to what she wrote in her report that documented her findings.No tests were conducted on the rust found on the gun, Ms. McDonald said.
Prosecutors charge that Janet Redmond-Mercereau shot her husband three times in the head with his service pistol as he slept in his bed inside their Oakwood home on Dec. 2, 2007, then tried to cover her tracks by running the gun through a dishwasher to wash away prints.On Monday, Crime Scene Unit Detective Charles Reiss told jurors he lifted a print from the empty magazine inside the murder weapon. The print was sent to the Department's Major Case lab for analysis, but so far test results of that print have not come out during trial.Defense attorneys Mario Gallucci and Joseph Benfante maintain the print does not belong to Mrs. Redmond-Mercereau.
Today, Benfante attempted to pin the source of the rust on investigators' handling of the weapon after it was recovered following the shooting.

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18-year-old man was accidentally shot to death by his roommate

18-year-old man was accidentally shot to death by his roommate Tuesday afternoon in east Portland, police said.Portland police were called to the house at East Burnside and 117th Avenue at 2:30 p.m. When they arrived, they found the body of 18-year-old Chance Caron inside, said Mary Wheat of the Portland Police Bureau.
Wheat said Caron's roommate, 18-year-old Andrew Perez, was inside the house when Caron was shot. After serving a search warrant at the home, police recovered a gun used in the incident and they arrested Perez, authorities said.Perez pleaded not guilty in court Wednesday to one count of criminally negligent homicide and friends gathered outside the courthouse to show support. They said they knew Caron and Perez and can't believe what happened. "(Perez) is a great guy. I can't even begin to explain. He's like a brother to me. I can't see him in there like this," said William Zeller, who is a friend of Perez and Caron. "This is a big accident, one big accident. This is not Andrew."Detectives said Caron appeared to have died from a single gunshot wound and they believe Perez accidentally fired the gun. So far, police haven't said what led up to the shooting.Perez's next court date is set for next month

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One man is in custody after Shreveport Police say he was in possession of a firearm illegally.

One man is in custody after Shreveport Police say he was in possession of a firearm illegally. Officers were called to East Dudley and Alexandria Avenue around 3:30pm. Neighbors heard a gunshot and called police. Officers arrived to find two men had been fighting, and one pulled a gun. The man accused of pulling the gun already had a warrant out for his arrest, so Shreveport Police took him into custody. No one was hurt.

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Two people are hospitalized with gun shot wounds

Two people are hospitalized with gun shot wounds Tuesday night, Reno Police Sgt. Tom Robinson said.RPD officers were alerted that a victim of a gun shot was dropped off at a local hospital, Robinson said. The van that left the man took off, but officers stopped it near 4th and Arlington downtown, he said.Inside, he said officers found another person with a gun shot wound and took him to the hospital.RPD is investigating if the incident is connected to a report of shots being fired during a fight near Saddlier and Wells. That report was ten minutes before the call from the hospital about the gun shot victim, Robinson said.One victim needed surgery, but Robinson said neither man's wounds appear life-threatening.

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Police in St. Cloud are looking for a second suspect in a fatal shooting

Police in St. Cloud are looking for a second suspect in a fatal shooting that led to the lockdown of several schools in the area.
Police say a 46-year-old man died in the Wednesday afternoon shooting. He has not been identified. One man was arrested immediately following the shooting at about 3:15 p.m. Several schools in the area were locked down for about two and a half hours. They were the Area Learning Center, St. Cloud Technical College and Saints Peter, Paul and Michael Middle School.

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Huntsville Police are investigating a shooting

Huntsville Police are investigating a shooting that occurred about 9:45 p.m. HEMSI Paramedics were called to a convenience store near Sparkman Drive and Executive Drive after a person reportedly suffered a gunshot wound to the ankle. It was not immediately clear where the shooting actually occurred and the victim was taken to Huntsville Hospital with what was thought to be non-life threatening injuries.

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Two men, who allegedly shot and robbed a schoolgirl of her laptop on Saturday

Two men, who allegedly shot and robbed a schoolgirl of her laptop on Saturday, were yesterday charged with the indictable offence of robbery under arms and with discharging a loaded firearm.
The men appeared before Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton yesterday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
It was alleged that Ade Doobay, on April 25, with the intent to maim, disfigure or cause grievous bodily harm, discharged a loaded firearm at Samantha Hollingsworth. He pleaded not guilty.
It was further alleged that Ade Doobay and Odel Chase, while being armed with a gun, robbed Samantha Hollingsworth of a laptop computer valued at $300,000.
They both pleaded not guilty. Both Doobay and Chase were represented by attorney-at-law Mortimer Coddett, who in an unsuccessful bid to secure bail told the court that both defendants have an unblemished record.
The lawyer further told the court that Hollingsworth had given a statement saying that the bandits were on a silver motorcycle. He, however, told the court that neither of the men in court owns a sliver motorcycle. He contended that this raises a lot of questions as to who really committed the crime.
Police Prosecutor Robert Clement objected to bail.
Both defendants were remanded and are expected to make another court appearance on May 18.
On Saturday last, the school girl and 13 other students from the North Ruimveldt Multilateral School were studying in the Botanical Gardens when the bandits pounced on them.
Hollingsworth was shot in the right ankle and thigh.
The two defendants were apprehended in the Albouystown area about an hour after the incident and taken to the hospital for a confrontation with the victim.

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Authorities say a man with a rifle opened fire on a group of people eating at a Los Angeles-area taco truck

Authorities say a man with a rifle opened fire on a group of people eating at a Los Angeles-area taco truck, killing a 59-year-old man and wounding five other people.Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Byron Ward says the shooting occurred Wednesday night in Lennox, an unincorporated area near Los Angeles International Airport.
Ward says one victim died at the scene and the others were taken to hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to serious.
Among the wounded were two men, a woman and two boys — one 12 years old.Authorities are searching for the gunman.

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Thirteen people were killed at a university in Azerbaijan when a gunman went from floor to floor firing on teachers and students

Thirteen people were killed at a university in Azerbaijan when a gunman went from floor to floor firing on teachers and students after the bell rang for morning classes. The gunman, a Georgian citizen of Azeri origin described as a loner by local media, was among the dead.The government said it did not see a political motive behind the shooting at the prestigious State Oil Academy in Baku, capital of the mainly Muslim former Soviet republic which exports oil and gas to Europe from the Caspian Sea.Witnesses said the shooting began shortly after classes began at 9am. (5pm NZT).
"He climbed from the first floor to the sixth, shooting people mainly in the head from a Makarov pistol," the state prosecutor's office said. The Makarov is a Russian-made semi-automatic pistol.
Thirteen people were killed and 13 wounded. Blood stained the steps to the university and staff and paramedics carried out bodies in bags.A witness said one student had tried to stop the gunman, approaching him and shouting: "Don't shoot, don't shoot!" He was shot in the head.

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Tokoroa takeaway shop owner who shot a burglar is a hero

Tokoroa takeaway shop owner who shot a burglar is a hero and shouldn't be charged, says a man last year prosecuted for firing a gun at fleeing burglars. Garth Gadsby, 62, was fined $3000 last year for recklessly discharging a firearm at a car carrying two burglars in the coastal Wairarapa village of Ngawi in September 2006.Mr Gadsby said today Zhuo Feng Jiang, 26, had "every right" to shoot an armed man who entered his South Waikato family-owned restaurant and takeaway store on Monday night, demanding money.
"When someone enters your home or shop like that intruder did, armed, then he has every right to shoot him," he told The Waikato Times.Mr Zhuo was in the restaurant's chiller when the balaclava-clad man walked in the backdoor and threw a bag on the floor, demanding Mr Zhuo's cousin, Chun Peng Jiang, fill it with money.
After he fired two shots, the store owners wrestled the gun off him.
Mr Zhuo fired two shots – one into the ground and the second hitting the man in the knee.Police have not decided whether Mr Zhuo would face charges.Mr Zhuo said he shot the robber in the leg to prevent being attacked.He was not scared and would do it again.
"I hate these people. I will never give them any money."The alleged robber had surgery on his knee yesterday afternoon and was due to face a bedside court sitting today.

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Police have found the bodies of six people who were shot to death in western Mexico

Police have found the bodies of six people who were shot to death in western Mexico, most bearing signs of torture emblematic of drug violence.Police say four of the victims were found in a car in the city of Apatzingan, along with a message from one criminal gang threatening another. The bodies had signs of having been tortured.
A slain man was found in the port city of Lazaro Cardenas, also with a threatening message.The sixth man was found on a highway in the city of Morelia. He had been shot in the head three times and left with a T-shirt pulled over his head and his hands handcuffed behind his back.The victims were all found Saturday.Mexico's drug violence has killed some 9,000 people since 2006.

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Bandidos bikers murdered gruesome photos of the men's bullet-riddled, bloodied faces were shown

Gruesome photos of the men's bullet-riddled, bloodied faces were shown during the testimony of OPP Const. Ross Stuart in the trials of six men connected to the Bandidos Motorcycle Club, who are charged with the largest mass murder in modern Ontario history.
Mr. Justice Thomas Heeney of the Superior Court of Justice cautioned people in the high-security courtroom before the photos were shown."These photos – some of them – will be of a gruesome nature," the judge warned. "Steel yourselves for them."
Court earlier heard that Durham Regional Police surveillance officers had no way of knowing that murders were going on – virtually under their noses – the night eight Greater Toronto Area Bandidos bikers were murdered."From where they were, all seemed quiet," Elgin County Crown Attorney Kevin Gowdey told the trial, which started yesterday.In his opening remarks to the jury, Gowdey noted that some of the men who were murdered on the night of April 7-8, 2006 were themselves suspects in the murder of Shawn Dowse of Keswick.The victims drove to the Iona Station farm of Wayne (Weiner) Kellestine, 59, a fellow member of the Toronto chapter of the Bandidos, which was nicknamed "The No Surrender Crew," Gowdey told court."They (Durham Regional Police) carefully followed some of the deceased right up to the Kellestine farm," Gowdey said.
Kellestine lured his fellow members to his farm, about a half hour's drive southwest of London. Members of the Winnipeg probationary chapter of the Bandidos were waiting there, court heard. There were deep tensions between the Winnipeg probationary chapter of the Bandidos and the Toronto chapter, with the Toronto chapter opposing the promotion of the Winnipeggers to full club status, Gowdey said."Wayne Kellestine was actively encouraging the Toronto (area) members to attend his farm," Gowdey continued. "They were told that it was really important.""They were supposed to go back (to Toronto) that night," Gowdey continued. "They never did."
Throughout that night, Kellestine sang, danced and prayed as he helped slaughter his clubmates, one by one, Gowdey said.
"There was no gun-fight," Gowdey said. "There was no flurry of bullets ... One by one, the Bandidos were led to their deaths."
Kellestine faces eight charges of first-degree murder, along with Winnipeggers Marcello Aravena, 32, Brett (Beau) Gardiner, 24, Michael (Taz) Sandham, 39, and Dwight (Big D) Mushey, 41; and Frank (Frankie) Mather, 35, of no fixed address.The bodies of the Toronto chapter members were found early in the morning of April 8, 2006 in vehicles abandoned on a country road about a 10-minute drive from Kellestine's farm, court heard.In the vehicles were the remains of George (Pony) Jessome, 52; George (Crash) Kriarakis, 28; Luis Manny (Chopper, Porkchop) Raposo, 41; Frank (Bam Bam, Bammer) Salerno, 43, all of Toronto; John (Boxer) Muscedere, 48, of Chatham, Ont.; Paul (Big Paul) Sinopoli, 30, of Sutton; Jamie (Goldberg) Flanz, 37, of Keswick; and Michael (Little Mikey) Trotta, 31, of Mississauga.
They were all members or associates of the Toronto chapter of the Bandidos."Only one of The No Surrender Crew is with us now: Wayne Kellestine," Gowdey told the jury. "He set up the plan to ambush the Toronto Bandidos, his own chapter."Kellestine was briefly promoted to president of the Canadian Bandidos after betraying his Toronto clubmates, the court heard.Gowdey told the jury they can expect to hear from a Winnipeg biker who became a police informer and who was with the killers the night of the murders."He was not charged," Gowdey said. "He will be here as a witness in this trial."
Gowdey said the original plan was to kick the Toronto bikers out of the club, which bikers call "pulling patches." The order to do this was given to Kellestine from officers from the Bandidos headquarters in Texas in a meeting in B.C. a month before the murders, Gowdey said."Head office was upset," Gowdey said, reportedly because of a lack of communication from the GTA members.
Kellestine suspected this could end in bloodshed, and armed members of the Winnipeg probationary chapter with guns when they arrived at his farm in late March 2006, Gowdey said."Pulling the patches was a big deal," Gowdey said. "It represented taking their power away."

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Sean McGovern, 25, blasted shots outside a pub in a chilling warning to a rival

Sean McGovern, 25, blasted shots outside a pub in a chilling warning to a rival, a court heard yesterday.Drinkers dived for cover as Sean McGovern, 25, fired two shots at the Gauntlet Bar in Broomhouse, Edinburgh.His driver Terry Scott, 26, from the city's Pilton area, admitted the same charge as he was acting in concert.
The High Court in Glasgow was told McGovern, from Liberton, Edinburgh, wanted to frighten rival Jamie Hyland, who was drinking in the bar with his family.He also admitted being concerned in the supply of heroin along with Darren Elliot, 32, from Niddrie, Edinburgh.The court heard McGovern was caught because cops had bugged his house in an undercover drugs operation.That led them to the gun, which had been dismantled and dumped in a park.Paul Kearney, prosecuting, said McGovern was dealing at a level where profits of tens of thousands could be made.Sentence was deferred until next month and all three men were remanded in custody.

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Mexican drug gangs like the Gulf cartel and the Sinaloa alliance are armed with AR-15 assault rifles and AK-47s bought legally in the United States

Mexican drug gangs like the Gulf cartel and the Sinaloa alliance are armed with AR-15 assault rifles and AK-47s bought legally in the United States and smuggled into Mexico."Ninety-five percent of the weapons (in Mexico) come from the United States," said Aldo Fasci, police chief of northern Mexico's Nuevo Leon state, where the Gulf cartel is active. "The drugs are there and the violence is here in Mexico, and it is permeating the border with the United States."Mexican military officials and federal police say corruption is a major problem at Mexico's border posts, with officials taking bribes to wave weapons and drug cash through.In the United States, several Customs and Border Protection agents were arrested last year and accused of taking money from drug gangs to turn a blind eye to smuggling.Drug cartels are also experts at avoiding detection of their goods and cash."If they know there is a particular search program in place in one port, they will immediately divert their efforts to smuggle arms into Mexico to a different port," said Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard.

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Parents of Stephen Willis, the armed suspect who was shot dead by Fresno Police officers on Saturday, held a news conference.

Parents of Stephen Willis, the armed suspect who was shot dead by Fresno Police officers on Saturday, held a news conference.

"Our son was a happy 23-year-old, he had his whole life ahead of him; he had a scholarship to ITT, he was top of his class, he hadn't missed one day," said Chris Willis, through his tears.

They say their son did not have a criminal background.They say Willis was target shooting the day before, and was taking his gun from the trunk of his car when police confronted him."I never thought that the police shot him, it doesn't make any sense. Why would he aim a gun at officers? He hadn't done anything," said Chris Willis.The Willis' say they don't believe Chief Dyer's account of what happened at the Stoneybrook Apartments and have hired two local attorneys."We have done an investigation and we are secure that there was serious wrongdoing by the police department," said Fresno Attorney Rick Berman."They were shooting wildly, they were shooting uncontrollably, there was no proper training or supervision... I know everybody's nerves are on edge. Everybody's nerves are raw after the terrible tragedy in Oakland. I saw the helicopters flying back after the officers' funeral, but that does not allow our officers to do something like this," said Berman.Meanwhile the Willis' say they don't wish their tragedy on any other family."Nobody should have to go through this; the police are here to protect us, not to execute our children," said Chris Willis.Attorneys are planning to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the Fresno Police Department in the future.They are also calling for an independent police auditor who has the power to conduct their own investigation into high profile events.Two officers went to investigate and minutes later, shots rang out. Police shot and killed the 23-year-old driver of the car. Over thirty rounds were shot by police. At least one round was fired by Stephen Willis. One officer was shot in the leg. Willis was killed.
Chris Willis woke up Saturday morning to find out his 23-year old son was shot by Fresno police.
"It doesn't make any sense. They just murdered him," cried Willis.
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Willis said his son was headed home to his Southeast Fresno apartment complex from a day at the shooting range.
"He was just taking his gun in from the trunk of his car and they started shooting," said Willis.
Police Chief Jerry Dyer said the department's investigation reveals Willis had been drinking when he erratically drove into his apartment complex.
Two police officers went to investigate. That's when they found Willis with a 6-shooter holstered outside his car.
"It didn't have to turn out this way but unfortunately when the officers gave commands, repeated commands for the firearm to be dropped the individual refused to do so," said Dyer.
A gun battle broke out.
"Officers at that time felt like they were about to be shot," said Dyer.
Bullet holes shredded this van. Investigators said Willis tried to crouch and hide before he was shot and killed. One officer was grazed by a bullet in the left leg. Neighbors said it sounded like the shoot out at the O.K. Corral.
"Bullets! Nothing but shots firing. One right after the other," said Maria Vargas.
"I was laying on the couch and heard heck of gun shots and I got on the floor," said Porsha Smith.
The Willis family said this was gross over-reaction by the Fresno police.
"The police are here to protect us, not execute our children," said Willis.
Police are not sure who fired the shot that hit the officer. He was treated at the scene and released. Willis family lawyers are investigating this shooting on their own.
This is the 5th officer involved shooting in the last three months. 7 officers were involved in shootings last year.

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Boston Police are reporting that 3 people have been killed from gunshot wounds in Dorchester, Massachusetts.

Boston Police are reporting that 3 people have been killed from gunshot wounds in Dorchester, Massachusetts.At approximately 4:00am Sunday morning, officers were called to 41 Mt. Ida Road in Dorchester for a person shot. Upon arrival officers located three individuals suffering from gunshot wounds. All three victims were rushed to Boston Medical Center. One male in his late teens and one female in her early twenties were pronounced dead as a result of their injuries. A second female also believed to be in her early twenties has been pronounced.Preliminary information suggests that the victims were sitting in a vehicle outside a party that was occurring on Mt. Ida Road.

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Three people injured one critically during an early morning shooting in Hempstead

Nassau police are looking for a man who they say injured three people one critically during an early morning shooting in Hempstead.
The suspect had been assaulted at 100 Terrace Ave. by a group of five people, police said. He then returned to the area and began firing a gun into a group gathered on Terrace Avenue, police said.
A 19-year-old victim was struck in the torso and transported to a hospital where he was listed in critical but stable condition, police said. A 16-year-old female victim, who shot in the calf, was treated and released from a hospital, police said.The third victim, a 16-year-old male who was pistol-whipped, was also treated and released from a hospital, police said. Police declined to name the victims.

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One man has been shot and critically injured, and his bloody clothing still lay in the driveway

One man has been shot and critically injured, and his bloody clothing still lay in the driveway now, neighbours say. Police have confirmed he was taken to Royal Columbian Hospital for treatment.The investigation continues on the scene in Surrey
The area around the shooting is known to locals as being a hot-bed of drug-related activity, and there have been several shootings in the vicinity in the last few weeks, that are leaving locals like myself- on edge.And if I read things right, things are about to get worse for those of us living in what we call ” the war zone”, because while Mayor Dianne Watts was being given a standing ovation for her economic stimulus plan for the city of Surrey, Delta Police announced plans of their own.The Surrey Leader is reporting that Delta police are undertaking a radical and ” in your face” campaign to rid the city of gangsters.” Officers are visiting the homes of residents with gang connections, checking those on parole to make sure they are meeting their release conditions and otherwise making sure they know police are watching them.“We want to make it uncomfortable for these guys”, Sidhu said.“We want to keep the pressure on, to say ‘you guys are not welcome here’.”
The goal is to get them to move somewhere else.Sidhu called it a “displacement strategy” that all Lower Mainland police should adopt.“If we each take care of our own house, these guys are not going to have places to go.”

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Police are seeking 17-year-old Dante Ravon Williams, who police said is one of two suspects who actually fired shots.

Statesboro Police made a third arrest Friday in connection to a shooting incident that happened Tuesday, but are still seeking 17-year-old Dante Ravon Williams, who police said is one of two suspects who actually fired shots. One victim, a 15-year-old, remains in critical condition after suffering multiple gunshot wounds. Friday, police charged Reginald Kentay Hagins, 18, Harvey Wilson Road, Portal, with participation in criminal street gang activity, aggravated battery and two counts of aggravated assault, said Capt. Scott Brunson.Officers are still aggressively hunting Williams, who has been rumored to be hiding in Savannah, Statesboro and other areas of Bulloch County, he said.Williams “will be found,” he said. "We will continue to look for him. We will continue to turn over every rock and knock on every door until he is located.”Police searched areas around Butler Homes on Johnson Street and other locations Williams had been said to be hiding Thursday, he said. Citizens have been phoning in tips and Brunson said he hopes the information will continue.
Anyone helping Williams hide is breaking the law and will be prosecuted, he said.
“Anyone found harboring Williams will face criminal charges brought forth by our department.”Brunson said a third victim has surfaced during active investigation of the shooting, which took place around 8:23 p.m. Tuesday at Luetta Moore Park on Church Street.A 15-year-old remains in critical condition and was transported to the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta Thursday, Brunson said. He is in the hospital’s shock and trauma unit with gunshot wounds to his leg and abdomen.
All three victims are brothers, he said.Gregtavian Wallace, 19, is listed in stable condition, and a third victim, Garrett Consetion Taylor, 21, James Street, suffered a “superficial flesh wound in the side,” he said.
So far, police have made four arrests in the shootings: two 16-year-olds, one charged with aggravated battery, aggravated assault,
possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, carrying a concealed weapon and participation in a criminal street gang
and the second charged with aggravated battery, aggravated assault, giving false statements to police officers and participation in a criminal street gang.
Both are being held at the Claxton Regional Youth Detention Center, according to Statesboro Police Chief Stan York.In addition to Hagins and the juveniles, police also arrested Myron Eugene Johnson, 17, on charges of aggravated battery, aggravated assault, giving false statements to police officers and participation in criminal gang activity.Brunson said additional charges of aggravated assault will be added to each suspect due to Taylor’s being identified as a third victim. Taylor did not immediately report his minor injury to police because he was concerned about his brother’s more serious injuries, he said.

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David Zander, 30, of North Canton, was sentenced Friday by Summit County Common Pleas Judge Robert Gippin after being convicted of aggravated murder

David Zander, 30, of North Canton, was sentenced Friday by Summit County Common Pleas Judge Robert Gippin after being convicted of aggravated murder. He is eligible for parole in 25 years.Co-defendants Terry Wilson, 42, and James Ware, 34, have not yet gone to trial. Police said Zander participated in the Aug. 20 killing of Jason Reid, 27, of Akron. Reid was found dead behind a Barberton printing business with several dozen packs of heroin in his pocket.Police alleged that Reid was a regular drug customer of Wilson's. During a summer visit, police said, Reid stole the drugs that were found with his body.Police contend that the suspects went out to recover the stolen drugs and found Reid at a Barberton tavern.The four left together. Reid was shot once in the back outside the printing company.Police found 63 bags of heroin in Reid's pockets.Barberton police said last summer that Reid's murder led them to Wilson, which led them to his home and the discovery of a far-reaching drug trafficking network operating in Barberton.A search of Wilson's apartment at 113 Norton Ave. revealed more heroin, two ounces of powder cocaine, three grams of crack cocaine, numerous prescription drugs and more than $6,000, police said.A 9 mm pistol believed to be the murder weapon was also recovered at the home, police said.

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Amado Lopez allegedly pulled a .40-caliber handgun and pointed it at cops who were chasing him after responding to reports of a man with a gun

Amado Lopez allegedly pulled a .40-caliber handgun and pointed it at cops who were chasing him after responding to reports of a man with a gun at 5th and Somerset streets.Police shot first, striking Lopez in his right arm, causing him to drop his weapon. He kept running but was caught soon after, police said.After being treated for his injuries at Temple University Hospital, he was released into police custody and charged with aggravated assault, weapons offenses and resisting arrest.Three days later, a bail commissioner set Lopez's bond at 10 percent of $8,000, or $800, which he immediately posted.At the time, news of the low bail riled the police community, which was reeling from the Nov. 17 death of Sgt. Timothy Simpson, who had been killed in a car crash by an allegedly intoxicated career criminal.Lopez, of Roosevelt Boulevard near B Street, also was no stranger to the law. He was arrested in June 2007 for attempted murder and aggravated assault, but the charges were eventually withdrawn. He also had several prior arrests on drug charges, and an arrest for driving under the influence of intoxicants, but the charges either were dropped or were pending.Police officials categorized Lopez's bail at the time as "mind-boggling" and "disgraceful." According to court documents, Lopez's bail was raised to 10 percent of $200,000 - or $20,000 - on Dec. 3, which he was also able to post immediately.Lopez was free on that increased bail on Thursday when he stopped in at the 300 West Bar, on Lehigh Avenue near 3rd Street, for a round of pool in the bar's back room, where he played three or four times a week, Wilkins said.About 9 p.m., two men with their hoodies pulled up tightly around their faces entered the bar and walked directly back to Lopez, Wilkins said. One of the men opened fire, striking Lopez 14 times. He was pronounced dead soon after at Temple University Hospital."If not for the bail, he'd still be in [jail] and he wouldn't be a number today," Wilkins said. *

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Gang-related shooting in Burien

man suffered a non-life-threatening wound during a drive-by shooting at 8:15 p.m. Saturday in the 13600 block of Ambaum Way shooting in Burien According to the King County Sheriff's Office, the man was shot by suspects in what was described as an older red Honda sedan. Gang signs were displayed by the suspects before the shooting, and the Sheriff's Office said the incident appears to be gang-related.

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L.A. Gang Wars

L.A. Gang Wars

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One man was killed on Sunday night in Amager, another shot and killed on Friday and yet another shot and seriously wounded on Saturday in Copenhagen

One man was killed on Sunday night in Amager, another shot and killed on Friday and yet another shot and seriously wounded on Saturday in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen as a spate of shootings in the capital continues. Police remain without clues as to the attackers in all three cases, and three men who were detained in connection with Saturday’s episode were released again. The three, who were all wearing bulletproof vests, were driving near the scene of one of the attacks in a black Polo vehicle, but police said they could not be connected to the shooting.
In Sunday evening’s shooting, two masked men forced a man outside a café to lie on his stomach after which he was killed with two shots. The two then fired into the café, hitting three people all of whom are said to be in a stable condition.
“Two people were in front of the café and stopped a victim. He was simply laid on his stomach and shot twice,” Police Investigation Chief Tommy Keil tells TV2 News.
In Saturday evening’s shooting, two men coasting in a rented vehicle looking for a parking space prior to going to a concert, were accosted by three cyclists. Shots were fired and one of the two men in the car took a bullet in his back. His condition is described as critical but stable. In Friday’s episode a 25-year-old man was killed when unknown assailants let loose a rain of automatic weapons fire.
Police say that neither of the victims of the weekend’s shootings in Nørrebro had any connection to an ongoing gang war between bikers and immigrant gangs, with police suggesting the attacks were a mistake.

Sunday’s episode appears less clear, as the café in question is close to a Hells Angels Club and is known to be a haunt of AK81 members. AK81 is a support group of the Hells Angels, but police have not released details of those targeted in the attack.

The current gang war between bikers and immigrant gangs has been going on for several months and has prompted the Copenhagen police to set up a dedicated 35-man task force to attempt to stop open-street attacks. But the extra patrols do not seem to have been enough, and the Copenhagen police is considering applying for reinforcements from other police districts. “One of the first things we will be doing on Monday is to find out whether we should be doing things differently,” says Copenhagen Police Chief Superintedant Per Larsen. But he adds that it can be almost impossible to find perpetrators. “If you really want to do something as crazy as what’s going on at the moment, it’s like finding a needle in a haystack. However many officers we put on the job, we cannot guarantee it won’t happen again,” Larsen says. At the same time it seems that victims of shootings may have to wait longer for rescue services to attend to the wounded. Inhabitants at the Mjølnerparken Estate in the Nørrebro district have complained that a medical ambulance waited up to ten minutes before attending to a victim. The ambulance waited until police arrived and secured the area. But the police, fire and rescue services are in agreement that in cases of serious danger, ambulance personnel should wait for an area to be secured before attending a victim. “If rescue personnel are hit, they are unable to help anyone,” says Parliamentary Health Committee Chairman Preben Rudegaard.

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