Ohio Attorney General Pleads for Patience Around Bryant Shooting Investigation

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has spent a lot of time pleading for patience and talking of the dangers of rushing to judgement in reaction to the shooting death of a 16-year-old girl by Columbus police officers.

Community organizers, however, are calling for a U.S. Justice Department investigation of the Columbus Police Department, and Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said there is lack of trust between the community and police.

Yost consistently has said half-facts lead to half-truths, tweeting two days after the death of Ma’Khia Bryant, “Let’s get all the facts and find the whole truth.”

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Florida Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump Falsely Claims Columbus Shooting Victim Was Unarmed

Tallahassee-based civil rights attorney Ben Crump falsely claimed on Twitter yesterday the victim of the police-involved shooting in Columbus, OH was unarmed. As bodycam footage was released, it found the victim, a 16-year-old black female, Ma’Khia Bryant, was wielding a knife and threatening two other females.

Some on social media were outraged at the lethal use of force by the officer, including Crump who said on Twitter, “As we breathed a collective sigh of relief today, a community in Columbus felt the sting of another police shooting as @ColumbusPolice killed an unarmed 15yo Black girl named Makiyah Bryant. Another child lost! Another hashtag. #JusticeForMakiyahBryant.”

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Defund the Police Movement Contributed to Rise in Violence, Experts Say

Group of protestors

Calls to defund the police have once again been thrust into the national spotlight after a string of high profile police shootings, but data show the rallying cry for police reformers may not hold water.

After the death of Daunte Wright at the hands of police in Minnesota, U.S. Rep. Rashida Talib, D-Mich., made headlines this week for posting on Twitter: “No more policing, incarceration, and militarization. It can’t be reformed.”

Later in the week, Senate lawmakers blasted President Joe Biden’s Justice Department Civil Rights Division nominee Kristen Clarke after reports that she wrote an op-ed calling for defunding the police. Clarke pushed back, arguing that was not the point of her writing.

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Multiple Shooting Victims Reported at Knoxville, Tennessee High School, Police Say

Austin-Magnet High School

by Andrew Trunsky   Multiple shooting victims were reported at a Knoxville, Tennessee, high school Monday, the city’s police department said. One person was confirmed dead at the scene, and a police officer was sent to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the Knoxville Police Department (KPD) said in a statement. The shooting occurred at Austin-East Magnet School, where one person was detained for further investigation. – Officer Involved Shooting at Austin East High School – @TBInvestigation will be the lead investigating agency and provide further information as it becomes available. pic.twitter.com/Hjetzf1vNT — Knoxville Police TN (@Knoxville_PD) April 12, 2021 Multiple agencies are on the scene of a shooting at Austin-East Magnet High School. Multiple gunshot victims reported, including a KPD officer. The investigation remains active at this time. Please avoid the area. pic.twitter.com/ViQirnQSpx — Knoxville Police TN (@Knoxville_PD) April 12, 2021 “Based on the preliminary investigation, Knoxville Police Department officers responded to Austin East Magnet high school on the report of a male subject who was possibly armed in the school. Upon approach of the subject, shots were fired,” the statement said. Knox County Schools Superintendent Bob Thomas confirmed the shooting in a tweet Monday afternoon, but added that the building was secure.…

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DOJ Announces Twin Cities Violent Crimes Task Force In Response to ‘Extraordinary Spike’ in Violence

The Department of Justice announced the formation of a new Twin Cities Violent Crimes Task Force Wednesday in response to an “extraordinary spike in gun violence and violent crimes.”

Erica MacDonald, U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota, said the task force will bring together federal and state resources to assist local law enforcement in investigating, arresting, and prosecuting individuals responsible for gun violence.

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Officer Shot and Killed, Suspect Found Dead in Ohio

Toledo Officer Anthony Dia was shot in the chest just after midnight in the parking lot of a Home Depot, and later pronounced dead at a hospital, Police Chief George Kral said at a news conference.

Witnesses told police the man shot the officer with a handgun and then went into a wooded area. At some point, officers heard a single gunshot coming from the woods, Kral said. The gunman, only described as a 57-year-old white male, was found dead of an apparent gunshot wound to the head around 3:15 a.m.

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Two Dead, Four Wounded After Shooting at California WalMart Distribution Center

A man drove into a Northern California distribution center and started shooting at people Saturday afternoon, killing an employee and wounding four others before he was killed by police, authorities said.

The shooting by a 31-year-old man with a semi-automatic rifle started about 3:30 p.m. at the Walmart distribution center south of Red Bluff, a city of about 14,000 people about 131 miles (210 kilometers) north of Sacramento, California.

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A Third Shooting Reported in Seattle’s CHAZ as Mayor Moves to End the Police-Free ‘Occupation’

Seattle Police Tuesday morning reported the third shooting in Seattle’s Capitol Hill “autonomous zone” since Saturday. In all, four people have been shot in CHAZ, including one victim who died.

The shooting was reported just before 5:00 a.m. just outside of Cal Anderson Park on the edge of the zone, also known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP).

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One Man Dead, 11 People Wounded in Minneapolis Shooting

A shooting in a popular Minneapolis nightlife area early Sunday left one man dead and 11 people wounded in a chaotic scene that sent people ducking into restaurants and other businesses for cover.

The shooting broke out shortly after midnight in the city’s trendy Uptown neighborhood, a nightlife hub with bars, restaurants and retail including Apple and Fjallraven stores.

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Steven Carrillo, the Suspect in Santa Cruz County Sheriff Deputy Damon Gutzwiller, Was Member of Elite Military Team

An active-duty U.S. Air Force sergeant accused of killing a Northern California sheriff’s deputy in an ambush-style attack was a leader for a military base’s elite security force, officials said Monday.

Staff Sgt. Steven Carrillo has been arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting Santa Cruz County sheriff’s Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller and wounding two other officers Saturday. He is expected to be charged with first-degree murder.

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Authorities Investigating Fatal Memorial Day Shooting, Eighth Officer-Involved Shooting This Month

Tennessee authorities announced Tuesday that they are investigating a Memorial Day shooting that resulted in the death of a Washington County man.

According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), deputies with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report around 11:40 p.m. of a male subject threatening to harm himself and a relative at home. Deputies arrived at the scene and encountered Gary Dorton on the front porch, armed with a large knife.

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Suspect in Texas Shooting Reportedly Lost Job Before Rampage

by Matt M. Miller   The suspected gunman in the West Texas shooting Saturday was reportedly fired from his trucking job hours before he opened fire along an Odessa roadway, killing seven people and wounding 22 others. Police pulled over the 36-year-old suspect for a routine traffic stop along a highway connecting Midland to Odessa, Saturday, when the suspect opened fire, killing both law enforcement officers and civilian drivers. Officials stated that the 36-year-old suspect had been fire from his job with a trucking business Saturday morning, only hours before the shooting, the New York Times reports. The 36-year-old man who terrorized 2 West Texas towns with an assault-style rifle Saturday had been fired from his trucking job a few hours before he led the authorities on a chaotic high-speed chase that ended with his death and the deaths of 7 others https://t.co/Hc3IeGjMdb — The New York Times (@nytimes) September 2, 2019 Authorities initially refused to release the identity of the gunman to refrain from giving him notoriety, Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke explained. But later, the department released the identity of Seth A. Ator of Odessa as the sole gunman responsible for the shooting. Police officers shot and killed Ator in the parking lot of a…

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Community Mourns Nashville Musician Allegedly Slain by 5 Youths in Robbery

A memorial service was held Monday at Belmont University to honor alumnus Kyle Yorlets, a musician who was shot and killed during a robbery allegedly committed by five youths, one of them as young as 12. Yorlets, 24, allegedly was shot on Thursday, Feb. 7 by two boys and three girls after he refused to give them the keys to his car, NewsChannel 5 said. Yorlets was in the band Carverton. They posted a tribute on Twitter that said in part, “On February 7, 2019 we lost our brother, best friend, and bandmate Kyle Yorlets. We are in a state of shock and are having to grasp the reality that is now in front of us. We are heartbroken. Our condolences for his family and loved ones and all the lives that he touched. We will never forget Kyle, and though he is gone too soon his legacy is here to stay.” https://twitter.com/CarvertonBand/status/1093899923299405825 At the memorial service, people remembered Yorlets as someone full of wit and talent and who cared about people, Billboard said. The publication also reported: Michael Wiebell is the bassist for Yorlets’ band, Carverton. He said in an interview before the memorial that since Yorlets’ death, they…

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Capital Gazette Reporter: Slain Colleague Who Charged Shooter With Trash Can ‘Saved My Life’

Wendi Winters

by Robert Shimshock   Capital Gazette employees reflected on a colleague Saturday who heroically charged the shooter, buying others time with her sacrifice. Reporter Wendi Winters charged shooting suspect Jarrod Ramos with a recycling bin and trash can during the June 28 attack, The Capital Gazette reported. She had learned at an active shooter training hosted by her church that running and hiding were preferable to fighting assailants. “She may have distracted him enough that he forgot about me, because I definitely stood up and was looking at the door,” Gazette sales consultant Janel Cooley said. “I’m sure he wasn’t expecting … anyone to charge him.” The 65-year-old Winters yelled something along the lines of “you get out of here!” or “no! You stop that!” at the shooter, according to Cooley. “I think that Wendi doing what she did served as enough of a distraction that maybe he didn’t see us,” fellow Gazette reporter Rachael Pacella said. “I absolutely think that Wendi Winters saved my life.” "Wendi Winters saved my life": Capital Gazette staff say their fallen colleague charged the shooter. https://t.co/TnebnAGLUh pic.twitter.com/pQLkhhMtvy — The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) July 7, 2018 Winters had once given Pacella the shirt she was wearing…

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Reports: At Least 5 Killed in Maryland Newspaper Office Shooting

Capital Gazette building

Reuters   A gunman fired through a glass door at a newspaper in the Maryland capital of Annapolis and sprayed the newsroom with gunfire Thursday, killing at least five people and injuring several others, authorities said. The suspect has been apprehended and no motive is known for the attack at the Capital Gazette newspaper, local political leaders said. Law enforcement in Baltimore and New York City deployed protective forces to major media outlets as a precaution, authorities said. “The shooter is in custody and is being interrogated at this time,” Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh told a news conference. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said at the news conference: “It’s a tragic situation. We don’t have all the information yet, and we can’t give all the information yet, but we have had several fatalities.” For now, the Annapolis shooting is being treated as a local incident and not one that involves terrorism, a law enforcement official said. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is on the scene assisting local authorities, the official said. Phil Davis, who identified himself as a courts and crime reporter at the Capital Gazette, tweeted that multiple people had been shot. Davis said a single shooter “shot multiple people at…

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Hero Tackles Gunman in Tennessee Waffle House Shooting, Saving Lives

by Henry Rodgers   A 29-year-old man saved numerous lives after he took down the shooter who opened fire at a Waffle House in Nashville, Tennessee, Sunday morning, according to police. James Shaw Jr. saw a chance to take down the shooter and did not hesitate, he said. The gunman entered naked except for a green jacket, which he later took off and opened fire, killing four people and injuring at least three others before Shaw Jr. was able to get the gun away from the shooter, WBIR 10 News reported.   This is the Waffle House hero, James Shaw Jr. He tackled the shooter and saved so many lives in the process. Thank you James. And thank you TriStar Southern Hills Medical Center for your wonderful doctors and nurses who quickly took care of his injuries. pic.twitter.com/kKORfI24G1 — Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) April 22, 2018 “I was just trying to get myself out. I saw the opportunity and pretty much took it,” Shaw Jr. said in an interview with WBIR 10 News. “I don’t know if it has hit me yet as far as witnessing other people dying,” he continued. “It’s kind of, it shouldn’t have happened. When I was in the ambulance to hospital, I…

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Letter to the Editor: Gun Control, Border Security, and the Flagrant Hypocrisy of the Left

Gun Control

Dear Tennessee Star, The Texas Church shooting is a tragedy. I wish I could think of some realistic idea that would halt this type of horrible event from ever happening again, but I can’t. Over the years I’ve watched the horror of this type of senseless mass killing with the same sense of loss and hopelessness as most Americans. I listen to “experts” point out common factors, guns being the most often noted, and then watch as the discussions sink into a morass of mental illness in its various forms, notification of authorities by mental health professionals, failure to follow up with patients, on, and on, and on, leaving out some killers with no known mental health issues. So,even the “experts” seem at a loss. Now come the Democrats and the Hollywood types. “More gun control laws!” they shout from the rooftops, at any microphone within range of their voices. If I sincerely believed more gun control would work, I would be shouting with them. While these mass shootings merit attention and efforts at resolution, totals of citizens murdered by shootings in strict gun controlled cities, think Chicago, dwarf the loss of life in “mass shootings.” Think of Chicago as a…

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Horrific Church Shooter in All-Black Tactical Gear Killed 26 and Injured Dozens More Before Armed Citizen Engaged and Pursued Attacker

UPDATE: Texas Department of Safety Regional Director Freeman Martin recounted the harrowing crime to a standing-room only press conference, aired live across several media outlets. “We have certain facts we can release to protect the integrity of the investigation. We have to release it in a timely fashion, and collect our information to insure our information is correct,” he began. “At approximately 11:20am this morning, a suspected was seen at a Valero gas station in Sutherland Springs, Texas dressed in all black. That suspect crossed the street to the church, exited his vehicle, and began firing at the church. That suspect then moved to the right side of the church and continued to fire. That suspected entered the church and continued to fire.” He continued: As he exited the church, a local resident grabbed his rifle and engaged that suspect. The suspect dropped his rifle, which was a Rutger A-R assault-type rifle and fled from the church. Our local citizen pursued the suspect at that time. A short time later, as law enforcement responded, that suspect, right at the Wilson-Guadalupe County line – he ran off the roadway and crashed out, and was found deceased in his vehicle. At this…

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More Than 50 Killed in Mass Shooting at Las Vegas Country Music Festival at Mandalay Bay

A gunman opened fire with what witnesses describe as a fully automatic firearm at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas late Sunday night. The numbers of dead and injured are climbing rapidly as FBI and local police assess the scene. Press reports indicated more than 50 concert goers were killed. “The suspected gunman in the Las Vegas shooting has been identified as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock from Mesquite, Nevada,” CNBC reported: Paddock was not known to the federal authorities, but was known to local law enforcement, according to NBC News. He has no known connection to terrorism and police have not called the shooting a terrorist attack, according to the news agency. #BREAKING – Sheriff Lombardo: 100s injured in Las Vegas Strip shooting. 20+ dead. @News3LV — Nathan O'Neal (@nateoneal) October 2, 2017 The Las Vegas Sheriff Lombardo also confirms that at least one of the gunmen is dead. ABC News reports: At least two people were killed and multiple others were injured in a horrific shooting near the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas Sunday night, police said. The “nonstop gunfire,” according to one witness, sent bystanders outside the resort on the Vegas strip…

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1 Dead, 8 Injured in Antioch Church Shooting

  At least one person is dead and eight more are injured after a gunman stormed the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch this morning. WKRN reports: One woman was killed and eight people, including the gunman, were injured in what officials are calling a “mass casualty” incident at a church in Antioch Sunday morning. Metro police responded to the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ on Pin Hook Road at 11:15 a.m. The preliminary investigation shows the gunman, whose identity has yet to be released, arrived to the church in a blue SUV wearing a mask. Metro police said he immediately confronted a woman outside the church, shooting her at least one time, killing her on the scene. Developing… UPDATE: Metro Nashville Police has released the shooter’s identity as Emanuel Kidega Samson.      

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