School / Youth Crimes Archives - Good Shepherd News - Fastest Growing Religious, Free Speech & Political Content https://goodshepherdmedia.net/category/truthful-news/tragic/crimes/school-youth-crimes/ Christian, Political, ‎‏‏‎Social & Legal Free Speech News | Ⓒ2024 Good News Media LLC | Shepherd for the Herd! God 1st Programming Wed, 04 Sep 2024 20:24:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://goodshepherdmedia.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Good-Shepherd-News-Logo-150x150.png School / Youth Crimes Archives - Good Shepherd News - Fastest Growing Religious, Free Speech & Political Content https://goodshepherdmedia.net/category/truthful-news/tragic/crimes/school-youth-crimes/ 32 32 Georgia High School Shooting! At least 4 killed, 9 injured in Apalachee High School shooting! https://goodshepherdmedia.net/georgia-high-school-shooting-at-least-4-killed-9-injured-in-shooting/ Wed, 04 Sep 2024 20:24:53 +0000 https://goodshepherdmedia.net/?p=18594 Georgia High School Shooting! At least 4 killed, 9 injured in Apalachee High School shooting!

WINDER, Ga. —

At least four people have been killed and at least nine have been taken to hospitals with injuries after a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

A suspect has been taken into custody and is alive, GBI said in a statement posted on X.

“Reports that the suspect has been ‘neutralized’ are inaccurate,” the post said.

Neither the victims, nor the suspect have been identified.

 

What we know:

  • At least four people have been killed and at least nine have been taken to hospitals with injuries after a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia.
  • A suspect is in custody and is alive. No information regarding the suspect or their motive has been released.
  • First responders received calls about an active shooter at the high school starting at about 9:30 a.m. ET. source

4 dead in shooting at Georgia high school, 14-year-old suspect in custody: Officials

WINDER, Ga. (AP) — A shooter at a Georgia high school killed four people on Wednesday, authorities said, sending students scrambling for shelter in their classrooms — and eventually to the football stadium — as officers swarmed the campus and parents raced to find out if their children were safe.

At least nine people were injured and a suspect was in custody, authorities said. It was not immediately clear if the shooter was a student at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, about an hour’s drive from Atlanta.

“What you see behind us is an evil thing,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said at a brief news conference outside the school. He declined to give details about the suspect. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said four people were dead and at least nine injured.

The school shooting was just the latest among dozens across the U.S. in recent years, including especially deadly ones in Newtown, Connecticut, Parkland, Florida, and Uvalde, Texas. The classroom killings have set off fervent debates about gun control and frayed the nerves of parents whose children are growing up accustomed to active shooter drills in classrooms. But they have done little to move the needle on national gun laws.

Jacob King, a sophomore football player, said he had dozed off in his world history class after a morning practice when he heard about 10 gunshots.

Shooting at Georgia high school

 

 

 

Four people were killed in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday morning, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Another nine victims were taken to hospitals with injuries, the GBI said.

The suspect is alive and in custody, the GBI said. The suspect is a 14-year-old student at Apalachee High School, multiple law enforcement sources told our News.

]]> UNLV Shooting: 3 killed after gunman opens fire on campus, suspect deceased https://goodshepherdmedia.net/unlv-shooting-3-killed-after-gunman-opens-fire-on-campus-suspect-deceased/ Thu, 07 Dec 2023 03:07:46 +0000 https://goodshepherdmedia.net/?p=16514 UNLV Shooting: 3 killed after gunman opens fire on campus, suspect deceased

LAS VEGAS – The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said three people were killed while one person remains in stable condition after a shooting unfolded at UNLV on Wednesday.

Authorities also said the suspected gunman is also deceased.

Sheriff Kevin McMahill said an armed confrontation with police led to the suspect’s death and prevented more harm to the campus community.

McMahill said investigators know who the suspected gunman is but will not release the person’s identity until the next of kin is notified. The names of the victims have not been released.

They add four additional people were sent to local hospitals for panic attacks.

Police were called about an active shooter on campus at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, said Adam Garcia, a university police official. He said officers found and “engaged” a suspect, who is now dead. It was not immediately clear how the suspect died.

The university said on X, formerly Twitter, that the shooter was at the Beam Hall, Frank and Estella Building, home of UNLV’s Lee Business School, and that police were responding to an additional report of shots fired at the nearby student union.

Las Vegas police posted on X that a suspect “has been located and is deceased” about 40 minutes after the initial alert was posted.

Students and the community were alerted to the emergency by a university post on X.

“This is not a test,” the university wrote. “RUN-HIDE-FIGHT.”

UNLV shooting: Latest police update

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a post on X that there appeared to be several victims. University officials told students to “RUN-HIDE-FIGHT,” and said police were responding to additional reports of shots fired in the student union on campus. FBI agents were assisting local law enforcement and are on the scene, according to a source.

Student John Harris heard what he later realized was a gunshot as he was getting out of his car in the parking garage of an on-campus apartment complex. In the elevator, Harris he got an emergency text alert text from the university.

“I wasn’t sure what to believe,” said Harris, 21, who ended up sheltering at a friend’s dorm. “But as I came down to the street, and I saw there were a bunch of cops in the parking lot at the student union, I knew what I heard was a gunshot and this wasn’t a drill.”

Professor Kevaney Martin took cover under a desk in her classroom, where another faculty member and three students took shelter with her.

“It was terrifying, I can’t even begin to explain,” Matin said. “I was trying to hold it together for my students, and trying not to cry, but the emotions are something I never want to experience again.”

Martin said she was texting friends and loved ones, hoping to receive word a suspect had been detained. When another professor came to the room and told everyone to evacuate, they joined dozens of others rushing out of the building. Martin had her students piled into her car and drove them off campus.

“Once we got away from UNLV, we parked and sat in silence,” she said. “Nobody said a word. We were in utter shock.”

Administrators said the UNLV campus and all other Nevada System of Higher Education institutions will be closed for the remainder of the day.

Authorities also said they do not know a motive for the shooting.

The shooting occurred in a city still scarred by one of the worst mass killings in U.S. history, the Oct. 1, 2017, mass shooting at the Mandalay Bay casino in Las Vegas, in which 60 were killed and hundreds more wounded.

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office said if you are looking for a loved one who was on the UNLV campus, call 702-455-AIDE (2433). A Family Reunification Center will be located at the Las Vegas Convention Center. You can also click here. 

]]> 13-year-old shot, killed in attempted carjacking of off-duty federal officer https://goodshepherdmedia.net/13-year-old-shot-killed-in-attempted-carjacking-of-off-duty-federal-officer/ Thu, 02 Nov 2023 18:16:03 +0000 https://goodshepherdmedia.net/?p=16419 7th Grader – 13-year-old shot, killed in attempted carjacking of off-duty federal officer in DC: Police

WASHINGTON (7News) — An attempted carjacking late Saturday night turned deadly, according to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

D.C. Police said a teenage boy died after he attempted to carjack someone and was shot near 6th Street and D Street in Northwest D.C. just after 10 p.m.

According to police, the victim, an off-duty federal security officer, was waiting in his vehicle for his shift to begin when he was approached by two juveniles. They demanded the victim out of his car, with one holding his hand in his front waistband pocket as if he had a handgun. The victim shot one of the suspects as he was getting out of the car. The other suspect fled.

The suspect that was shot was taken to a nearby hospital where he died, police said. The teen was identified as 13-year-old Vernard Toney, Jr.

Officers are now searching for the second suspect who was caught by surveillance cameras and can be seen below:

D.C. police are searching for a second suspect after a teenage boy died during an attempted carjacking (Credit: Metropolitan Police Department) 

Police said the driver had a legally owned firearm and is cooperating with the investigation.

7News On Your Side had spoken with MPD’s Carjacking Task Force earlier in the week, as carjackings had eclipsed 800 cases so far this year.

We asked the manager of the unit what they were doing to actively prevent these crimes, instead of just responding to them.

Specifically, we are a reactive unit. That’s all we do, is respond. We get cases after the fact. There are other units. We have a robbery suppression unit that’s stood up, and they’re more of a proactive street-based unit,” said Lt. Scott Dowling.

7News On Your Side asked MPD officials on Sunday the following questions:

  1. Did you find a gun on the juvenile who was shot and killed?
  2. Do you have a description of the other carjacking suspect?
  3. Were there any patrols nearby at the time of the carjacking?
  4. Earlier this week, the manager of MPD’s Carjacking Task Force told me there’s a robbery suppression unit designed to stop carjackings and other similar crimes before they happen. Was anyone with the robbery suppression unit nearby when this incident happened?
  5. How many officers are in the robbery suppression unit?

A spokesperson provided the following response:

At this time, all of the information we have available is in the release. MPD does not provide specifics on operations, tactics, or deployments.

Detectives are searching for the second suspect involved in the carjacking.

MPD currently offers a reward of up to $10,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for a violent crime committed in the District of Columbia. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the police at 202-727-9099. Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by sending a text message to 50411.

On Monday at 9 a.m., the D.C. Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety held a public hearing to review the city’s crime reduction programs.

Just after noon on Monday, D.C. Public Schools and Kelly Miller Middle School principal Donnell Cox issued the following statement, concluding it by referring students and parents to the school district’s mental health resources website.

“It is with a heavy heart that I share the recent death of one of our students, Vernard Toney Jr. As a 7th grader, Vernard was a valued member of the Kelly Miller community, and we know he will be greatly missed by our staff and students. Vernard was a smart and talented student who created personal relationships not only with his schoolmates but also with many of the staff here at Kelly Miller.  He had a natural comedic ability and loved to make people laugh, especially when he would joke that he was the principal of Kelly Miller MS. Vernard also loved to play basketball and spend his free time on the court with his friends. This loss will surely raise many emotions, concerns, and questions from our community, especially our students, and we want to support everyone through this time.

source

‘Tragedy’: DC officials share new details on 13-year-old killed during carjacking

After a 13-year-old was shot and killed during a carjacking in downtown D.C., District officials spoke about what happened and who the child was.

Vernard Toney Jr. died Sunday after he was shot on D Street NW, in the Penn Quarter area, the previous night. Police say an off-duty federal security officer shot Toney after he and another young person tried to carjack him. One of the juveniles held his hand in his pocket as if he had a gun, police said, and then the officer opened fire. Toney was shot and the other person ran.

Toney was a seventh grader at Kelly Miller Middle School in Northeast D.C. He was smart, funny and talented, his principal said in a letter to families.

“He had a natural comedic ability and loved to make people laugh, especially when he would joke that he was the principal of Kelly Miller MS. Vernard also loved to play basketball and spend his free time on the court with his friends,” the letter said.

Toney had been accused in a string of previous carjackings. Two sources familiar with the investigation say Toney was arrested in May in connection with a number of armed carjackings in Southeast D.C. He was 12 at the time. It wasn’t immediately clear what happened with the cases.

Mayor Muriel Bowser called Toney’s death a tragedy.

“Guns, carjackings, 13-year-olds: recipe for tragedy. And that’s what we have,” she said Monday.

Acting Chief of Police Pamela Smith said she wanted to be sensitive to Toney’s grieving parents and classmates.

“He was known to the Metropolitan Police Department, and it’s just unfortunate that this particular incident happened on Saturday night that caused him to no longer be here,” she said.

Toney’s family declined an interview request. source

12-year-old arrested in Penn Quarter attempted carjacking that resulted in 13-year-old’s death

Police arrested a 12-year-old suspect in a downtown D.C. attempted carjacking in which an alleged 13-year-old accomplice was shot and killed.

Vernard Toney Jr. died Sunday after he was shot on D Street NW, in the Penn Quarter area, the previous night. Police say an off-duty federal security officer shot Toney after he and another young person tried to carjack him.

One of the juveniles held his hand in his pocket as if he had a gun, police said, and then the officer opened fire. Toney was shot, and the other person ran.

The 12-year-old suspect has been charged with armed carjacking.

Two sources familiar with the investigation say Toney was arrested in May in connection with a number of armed carjackings in Southeast D.C. He was 12 at the time. It wasn’t immediately clear what happened with the cases.

Toney was a seventh grader at Kelly Miller Middle School in Northeast D.C. He was smart, funny and talented, his principal said in a letter to families.

Counseling services were offered to Toney’s classmates. source

]]> 11-year-old arrested and charged in shooting of 2 teens at Florida football practice https://goodshepherdmedia.net/11-year-old-arrested-and-charged-in-shooting-of-2-teens-at-florida-football-practice/ Wed, 04 Oct 2023 07:53:36 +0000 https://goodshepherdmedia.net/?p=16192 11-year-old arrested and charged in shooting of 2 teens at Florida football practice

The young suspect is in custody after Monday night’s gunfire in Apopka, charged with second-degree attempted murder.

An 11-year-old boy is accused of shooting two 13-year-olds after they had scuffled at a youth football practice in central Florida on Monday night, authorities said.

The boy was arrested and booked on a single charge of second-degree attempted murder after the incident at the Northwest Recreation Complex in Apopka, outside Orlando, police said.

“That’s not good,” Apopka Police Chief Mike McKinley told reporters. “We shouldn’t have 11-year-olds that have access to guns and think they can resolve a dispute with a firearm.”

The call for help came at 8:18 p.m., and officers arrived at 8:24 p.m., police said.

The young suspect and the victims had fought earlier in the evening during practice at the complex’s Field of Fame before the dispute spilled into the parking lot, officials said.

The 11-year-old retrieved a gun from his mother’s car and fired one shot, hitting a boy in the arm and another in the torso, McKinley said.

It was a crowded scene, and the gunfire could have led to more dire results, McKinley said. One of the boys remained stable in the hospital, and the other was released.

“We all thank God nobody was hurt more seriously than what they were,” he said. “This could have been a very tragic incident.”

The gun was in a box in the shooter’s mom’s car, but it was not locked as it should have been, said McKinley, who added that the suspect’s parent is also likely to face charges for not securing the gun.

A security camera allegedly captured the incident and showed the victims running from the shooter when he pulled the trigger.

“As a society, we need to reflect on this. We see this way too often in our society now of juveniles — young juveniles, and they’re getting younger every day — that have access to guns,” McKinley said.

“But the more disturbing part is they believe that gun, that firearm, is a resolution to their problems — and it’s not a resolution to anybody’s problems,” he said.

Pop Warner officials are trying to “better understand the circumstances surrounding the shooting, and work to ensure appropriate measures are in place to support the program and its members,” the Mid-Florida league of the youth football organization said in a statement Tuesday.

“We were saddened by the frightening incident,” Mid-Florida Pop Warner said. “The scourge of gun violence is even more disturbing when young children are involved.” source

Police: 11-year-old charged with shooting two 13-year-olds at youth football practice in Apopka

APOPKA, Fla. — Police in Apopka said an 11-year-old has been arrested and charged after two teens were shot at a youth football practice.

Apopka police said the shooting happened at a Pop Warner football practice Monday evening.

Apopka Police Chief Mike McKinley said they received the call around 8:20 p.m. for a shooting at the Field of Fame.

McKinley said three juveniles got into a fight on the football field and carried the fight into the parking lot.

The police chief said the 11-year-old grabbed a gun from his mom’s car and fired one round that hit the two teens, who are both 13 years old.

One of them was hit in the arm and the other was hit in the torso.

Both teens were taken to the hospital, and are expected to be OK.

Police said additional charges could be coming.

See a map of the scene below:

Original report:

Apopka police are investigating a shooting at the Northwest Recreation Complex Monday evening.

A large police presence was reported at the scene near the Field of Fame on Jason Dwelley Parkway.

There will be a news conference shortly.

Channel 9 has a crew at the scene and will update this story as more information becomes available.

Watch Eyewitness News for the latest. source

]]> 14-year-old killed by police suspected of robbing vapes https://goodshepherdmedia.net/14-year-old-killed-by-police-suspected-of-robbing-vapes/ Thu, 21 Sep 2023 22:57:01 +0000 https://goodshepherdmedia.net/?p=16052 14-year-old killed by police suspected of robbing vapes

Neighbors seek answers after police kill 14-year-old armed robbery suspect

Body-camera footage shows Aurora police officers fatally shooting 14-year-old suspect

Aurora police officers shot and killed a 14-year-old robbery suspect seconds after the teenager told the officers, “Stop, please. You got me,” as he was being tackled to the ground, according to body camera footage released Friday.

Jor’Dell Da’Shawn Richardson died shortly after an Aurora Police Department officer shot him in the stomach  June 1 during a chase. Richardson had a pellet gun in his waistband during the chase, but it remains unclear whether he pointed it at officers during the chase or let go of it as officers commanded him to drop his weapon.

Aurora’s police chief Art Acevedo called Richardson’s death a tragedy during the Friday press conference, where he released footage to the public. He also stressed that multiple investigations are still underway to get a full picture of the shooting.

During remarks, Acevedo also commended officers for taking life-saving measures to save the 14-year-old, including performing CPR and calling for medical assistance.

“No matter where we end it is a tragedy because a young man has lost his life,” Acevedo said. “There is still a lot of evidence to gather.”

The footage from two officers’ body cameras show officers with Aurora’s Gang and Robbery Investigation Team responding to a suspected robbery at a convenience store at 4:17 p.m. on June 1. Two officers spot Richardson wearing a white hoodie and medical mask outside of the store.

He runs from the officers, and they chase him into a nearby alleyway, where they tackle and shoot the 14-year-old within a matter of seconds.

As officers chase Richardson down the alleyway, video shows the teenager reaching toward his waistband.

Seconds later, Officer James Snapp tackles the teenager.

“Stop, please. You got me,” Richardson said.

“Gun, gun. Let go of the (expletive) gun,” said Officer Roch Gruszeczka. “I’m going to shoot your ass! Dude, I’m going to shoot you!”

Five seconds later, Gruszeczka fires a single shot into Richardson’s upper abdomen. Video from both officers is obscured by clothing.

Afterward, Richardson pleads for help as he quickly loses consciousness, video footage shows.

Shortly after, another officer begins CPR on Richardson.

Officers called for an ambulance, which took him to University Hospital in Aurora.

Doctors pronounced Richardson dead from his gunshot wound at 5:05 p.m. June 1, Acevedo said.

The Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office confirmed the cause of death was a gunshot wound and classified the death as a homicide.

Kevin Beaty/Denverite

The shooting has prompted multiple investigations, including an internal from APD’s internal affairs bureau, as well as an inquiry from the 18th Judicial Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT). The officers involved in the shooting are currently on administrative leave.

Acevedo asked for patience from the public for the investigations to take place. He said the department has searched for other video of the struggle that led to Richardson’s death, but hasn’t found any.

He also defended his officers actions, stating that it was impossible for them to discern in the moment whether Richardson was carrying a pellet gun or a real firearm.

“How would you respond if someone pointed that at you?” he said during his conference, showing a side-by-side photo of the weapon. “And I’m very proud that our officers began rendering medical aid.”

Richardson’s case is the latest shooting in Aurora to draw community backlash.

The department is under a consent decree to improve practices after several reports released in the past few years confirmed a pattern of racist policing. One 2021 report found that APD used force against people of color almost two and a half times more than against white people, based on their relative percentage of the city’s population.

The report also found that APD arrested Black citizens two times more than white citizens.

In 2019, officers arrested 23-year-old Elijah McClain, an unarmed Black man, on his way home from a shopping trip. Officers restrained McClain while paramedics injected him with ketamine. The young man later died from an overdose.

During Friday’s press conference, Rev. Leon Kelly Jr., executive director of Open Door Youth Gang Initiatives, called the shooting a tragedy, but urged community members to be patient with the investigation.

“This is not George Floyd,” Kelly Jr. said. “This is a completely different thing. This was a robbery.”

Hundreds of protesters gathered at the Aurora Municipal Building before the police press conference. 

“To know that the police didn’t even try to think twice,” said Richardson’s mom, Laurie, while addressing the crowd. “That he was a child. He’s human. People make mistakes. They didn’t give him a chance to redeem himself.”

Police said they believed Richardson was armed with a deadly weapon, but it turned out to be a pellet gun.

“I was a captain in the Marine Corps. The second you pick up a toy gun, you know it’s a toy gun,” Siddartha Rathod, the lawyer for the family, said “They knew right then and there. Their protocol says you have to clear any weapon before you transport it. How do you clear a toy?”

Rathod has represented the families of McClain and Christian Glass, who both died because of their encounters with law enforcement., He believes Acevedo misled the public.

“This chief of police needs to apologize for telling the public that Jor’Dell had a gun,” Rathod said. “That’s the first step. Stand up there and apologize. Be a man. You killed a boy. Stand up there and say, ‘I didn’t tell the public the truth. I lied to the community.’ That’s the first thing we can get.”

Kevin Beaty/Denverite
Jor’Dell’s mother, Laurie Littljohn, speeks to protestors outside the Aurora Municipal Building.

“When he said that my son didn’t have a gun, that it was a fake gun … I knew it,” Richardson’s father, Jameco, said. “Because that ain’t our boy.”

“They didn’t tell the community because they didn’t want the entire city of Aurora here, because that’s what would’ve happened,” Rathod said. “He never touched a gun … And he’s surrendering. Does it make sense that he’s gonna grab a toy?”

During Friday’s press conference, Acevedo also shared updates on the status of the robbery investigation that led to Richardson’s death.

He showed camera stills from inside the convenience store. They show Richardson approaching the front counter and lifting up his white hoodie.

The shop clerk, which Acevedo said police later interviewed, said that Richardson told her that he had a gun. They stole several vape cartridges, Acevedo said.

Two other 14-year-olds are in custody, and several others have been identified. A stolen Kia minivan that several young men used to get away has also been recovered, Acevedo said.

Kevin Beaty/Denverite
Jor’Dell’s father, Jameco Richardson speaks to a crowd gathered outside the Aurora Municipal Building.

Police haven’t said why they believe Richardson got involved with the robbery, but family members interviewed by CPR News said the 14-year-old had a friend who knew some older teenagers and several men who were around 18.

On June 1, Richardson met up with the group and wound up riding along with them in a stolen van, said Lawrence Miles, Richardson’s uncle.

“They sent him into the store to rob the store for vape pens,” Miles said.

The robbery was not typical behavior for the 14-year-old, said Tekyra Miles, Richardson’s cousin.

“He was funny, smart, he had friends,” she said. “We were close.”

“When our lawyers got the information they said, this is going to really hurt even more,” Jameco said. “You can’t kill me twice. You can’t kill us twice. You already took so much from us.” source

AURORA, Colo. — The person shot and killed by an Aurora Police officer on Thursday has been identified as 14-year-old Jor’Dell Richardson.

According to the Aurora Police Department, Richardson was among a group of teens suspected of robbing a convenience store near 8th Avenue and Dayton Street to get vape cartridges. Interim Police Chief Art Acevedo said while officers were attempting to take Richardson into custody, the teen would not let go of his gun, and “at one point, the officer discharges his firearm.”

At the scene on Friday, neighbors were trying to make sense of what happened.

“When they raised that age limit from 18 to 21 for cigarettes, it drove them kids crazy,” neighbor Anthony Whitfield said.

Whitfield said he regularly visits the strip mall where the alleged robbery and shooting occurred. He described the area as “dangerous” because of young people with guns.

“Where I come from, we die over colors and that’s sad. But to die for a vape pen, come on man. Put your hands in the air,” Whitfield said.

“My concern is the wild Wild West mentality of Aurora and where do we go from here?” neighbor Kurt Manzanares said.

Aurora state rep: ‘This is not OK for our community’

State Rep. Mandy Lindsay, D-Aurora, spent Friday morning outside the convenience store the teens are accused of robbing. She said she did not show up to act as a politician but rather as a person worried about her neighborhood.

“I just live a few blocks away. This is walking distance from my house, and I don’t know. I wish I had better answers of how to solve all these things, because this is not OK. This is not OK for our community,” Lindsay said.  She said she feels compelled to understand more about what happened to Richardson and why.

“There was a life lost. A young life. There is a mother who is devastated, and that just hits me really hard,” Lindsay said. “I have children of my own. I have teenagers that live at my house. I have teenagers that walk and ride a bus and drive up and down this street all the time, and it’s just sad.” source

Colorado family of teen killed by Aurora police wants additional video footage of shooting released

Jor’Dell Richardson, 14, was shot and killed by a Colorado police officer following an alleged robbery at a nearby store.

The family of a 14-year-old who was shot and killed by an Aurora, Colorado, officer accused the police department of releasing misleading information about the teen and withholding additional video footage.

On June 9, the Aurora Police Department posted two body-camera videos from officers involved in the shooting of Jor’Dell Richardson. The teen died June 1 after he was shot once in the abdomen area by officer Roch Gruszeczka, authorities said.

Gruszeczka and his partner, officer James Snapp, were placed on paid administrative leave per the department’s policy, a police spokesperson said Friday. They could not be reached at phone numbers listed for them, and the police union did not respond to request for comment.

Jor’Dell Richardson, center, with his mother and brother.
Jor’Dell Richardson, center, with his mother and brother.

The body-camera videos show the officers chasing Richardson through an alley following an alleged robbery at a nearby store. They repeatedly order him to stop. In the video, Snapp tackles the teenager to the ground and Gruszeczka fires a single shot after yelling that Richardson had a gun. It was later determined that Richardson had a pellet gun, according to police.

Siddhartha Rathod, an attorney for the Richardson family, said in a statement Friday that the police department failed to release several other videos, including surveillance footage, and did not release body-camera video showing the moment officers realized Richardson did not have a handgun.

“Why Aurora believes it is appropriate to pick and chose what they release and hide other information from the public is unexplainable,” Rathod said. “Especially in light of the fact that they showed still photos from surveillance cameras and appear to be cherry-picking what they want the public to see.”

During a June 9 news conference, police Chief Art Acevedo acknowledged that there is additional footage but said it would not be released because of an ongoing criminal investigation.

In the two body-camera videos, which the police department posted on YouTube, Gruszeczka orders Richardson to stop running and at one point says he will Taser him. Snapp yells at Richardson to get on the ground and calls him an idiot, the video shows.

In the footage, Snapp tackles Richardson to the ground. Gruszeczka is heard in the video yelling “gun, gun” and orders Richardson to let go of the gun.

“I’m going to shoot your a–!” Gruszeczka says in the video. “Dude, I’m going to shoot you!” A single gunshot is fired by Gruszeczka.

Richardson is heard screaming out. He says he’s sorry and asks to be taken to the hospital.

“I’m sorry. I’m done. Help me. Take me to the hospital,” he says. “Get it. Get it. I can’t breathe. Help.”

As Gruszeczka calls for an ambulance, Richardson continues to speak. “They made me do it. I didn’t know who they were. They made me do it,” he says. source

]]> Horrific moment teens ‘deliberately runs down’ retired police chief riding his bike https://goodshepherdmedia.net/horrific-moment-teens-deliberately-runs-down-retired-police-chief-riding-his-bike/ Tue, 19 Sep 2023 07:59:46 +0000 https://goodshepherdmedia.net/?p=15995 Horrific moment teen driver ‘deliberately runs down’ retired police chief riding his bike

Andreas Probst retired from the police force and moved to Las Vegas to enjoy his golden years.

A teen is under arrest and charged with murder after allegedly recording a video where they deliberately mowed down a retired police chief in .

The New York Post is reporting that 64-year-old Andreas Probst, a former police chief from , was killed after he was allegedly struck down in cold blood by two teenagers speeding down North Tenaya Way, cheering and laughing on social media as they  targeted him.

Probst, who was enjoying a morning bike ride on August 14, was struck from behind.

But it’s what the teens said next on the video that was disturbing.

“Yeah, hit his ass!” encouraged the passenger, who was recording the entire video.

The Hyundai can then be seen speeding up, and the sound of glass can be heard smashing, before Probst’s body rolls to the ground.

“Damn! That [n-word] got knocked out!” said the passenger as the driver is then heard flooring the gas. “We gotta get out of here!”

Probst was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead on arrival.

“He was honestly like a ray of sunshine,” Taylor Probst said of her father. “That just bled through your life.”

“He was an amazing man, a husband,” Probst’s wife, Crystal, added. “A father, a brother.”

No further details about the teen charged with Probst’s murder have been released, and it’s not clear whether the passenger has been charged with any crime. source

 

 

Footage shows teen driver appear to deliberately hit and kill retired police chief Andreas Probst

A retired California police chief appeared to be deliberately mowed down and killed while riding his bike in Las Vegas by a laughing teenage driver whose pal can be heard saying “Yeah, hit his ass,” video of the incident shows.

Andreas Probst, 64, was killed after he was deliberately struck while out for a morning bike ride around 6 a.m. on Aug. 14, according to Las Vegas police.

The unidentified 17-year-old driver of the Hyundai was arrested by police soon afterward, The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

The teen has since been charged with murder, after police discovered a video posted to social media that allegedly showed him deliberately hitting the man.

This weekend, the shocking footage went viral online, showing the driver asking his pals “ready?” as the passenger films, laughing.

“Yeah, hit his ass,” he tells the driver before plowing into the retiree.

The disturbing clip begins with the passengers cursing at other cars as they speed by on the North Tenaya Way, near West Centennial Parkway.

The video shows the car approaching a man in red riding a bicycle on the side of the road from behind. With his friends’ encouragement, the driver pulls into the bike lane behind him, honks his horn, and deliberately smashes directly into his back tire with a loud bang, sending the cyclist flying.

The passenger films the man lying helplessly on the side of the road behind the vehicle.

“Damn that n—a got knocked out!” the passenger says as the driver can be heard stepping on the gas.

Probst was taken to University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, according to the Review Journal.

It’s not clear if the passenger who filmed the killing has been charged with any crime.

The 17-year-old was arrested the same day as the Probst’s death on suspicion of hit and run. He was later charged with murder because of the video, though the date the charges were set was not clear.

Probst retired from law enforcement in 2009 and had moved to Las Vegas.
Probst retired from law enforcement in 2009 and had moved to Las Vegas.
Eva Vlaardingerbroek/Facebook
Probst is remembered as an "amazing man" following his tragic death.
Probst is remembered as an “amazing man” following his tragic death.
Conservative Review/Facebook

The former cop had moved to Sin City after he retired as chief of police in Bell, California in 2009, according to reports.

Earlier this month, a memorial service was held for Probst, who spent 35 years in law enforcement, KLAS reported.

“He was honestly like a ray of sunshine,” Taylor Probst said of her father. “That just bled through your life.”

“He was an amazing man, a husband,” Probst’s wife, Crystal, added. “A father, a brother.” source

US: Teen deliberately hits and kills retired police chief on bicycle, video goes viral

A laughing teenage driver in California, United States deliberately mowed down and killed a retired police chief, who was riding his bicycle in Las Vegas, as his friends can be heard saying “Yeah, hit his ass,” as was seen in video of the incident.

64-year-old Andreas Probst was killed after he was struck deliberately by the teenage driver while out for a morning bicycle ride around 6 am on August 14, as per Las Vegas police.

Soon after the incident, the police arrested the unidentified 17-year-old driver, reported The Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The teen was charged with murder after the police found a video shared on social media in which he can be seen deliberately ramming the man’s bicycle from behind.

Horrific footage of the incident goes viral

The shocking footage of the man getting deliberately hit by the teen went viral this weekend. In the video, the driver asks his pals “ready?” as the passenger starts filming the video.

 

 

The video begins with the passengers throwing abuse at other cars as the speed of the car increases on the North Tenaya Way, near West Centennial Parkway.

The car is then seen approaching a man, who is riding a bicycle on the side of the road. As his friends continue to encourage him, the driver takes the car in the bicycle lane, honks once, and deliberately rams the bicycle from behind, fatally hitting the cyclist. source

]]> Female Chicago cop, 24, is killed ‘fighting off armed robbers’ on her front lawn https://goodshepherdmedia.net/female-chicago-cop-24-is-killed-fighting-off-armed-robbers-on-her-front-lawn/ Thu, 11 May 2023 08:22:24 +0000 https://goodshepherdmedia.net/?p=13964 Female Chicago cop, 24, is killed ‘fighting off armed robbers’ on her front lawn as she returned from work

Female Chicago cop, 24, is killed ‘fighting off armed robbers’ on her front lawn as she returned from work: Four suspects who fired ‘multiple shots’ are arrested after SWAT standoff

  • Four people, two male and two female, have been arrested over the shooting 
  • Officer Areanah Preston, 24, was found dead on her front lawn on Saturday

A female police officer was killed on her front lawn as she was returning home from work in Avalon Park, Chicago.

She had worked at the Chicago Police Department for three years before her death
She had worked at the Chicago Police Department for three years before her death

Officer Areanah Preston, 24, was found dead in front of her home on 81st Street and Blackstone Avenue as she came home from work at 1.42am on Saturday morning.

She died from multiple gunshot wounds and her death is officially being considered a in-the-line-of-duty killing, a CPD spokesperson said Monday.

Four people, two males and two females, have been arrested over the fatal shooting. They were taken into custody after a SWAT standoff Sunday night.

It’s believed that some, or all, of the suspects are juveniles.

Police have not released the names of any of the people arrested after the standoff or said if and how they were involved in the officer’s killing.

Speaking about how Preston’s body was found, Interim Police Supt. Eric Carter said: ‘The officer picked her up, put her in the back of his car, and immediately brought her to U of C hospital where she succumbed to her injuries early this morning.’

Preston was a three-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department.

The Fraternal Order of Police, the officer’s union, stated online that she was killed while defending herself against armed robbers.

They wrote: ‘Though off-duty Officer Areanah Preston was killed while trying to defend herself from armed individuals in an apparent robbery, she died taking police action.’ Police officials have not confirmed the details of what led to her murder.

Preston’s family and friends have paid tribute to the officer. Her father, Allen Preston, told the Chicago Sun-Times: ‘She was trying to make a change on this Earth.’

Areanah Preston, 24, was killed on her front lawn as she was returning home from work in Avalon Park, Chicago
Areanah Preston, 24, was killed on her front lawn as she was returning home from work in Avalon Park, Chicago
Preston's family and friends have paid tribute to the beloved officer
Preston’s family and friends have paid tribute to the beloved officer

source

24-Year-Old CPD Officer Shot and Killed on the Southside

A Chicago Police Department officer was shot and killed early Saturday morning on the Southside after returning from work. According to the CPD and the Medical Examiner’s office, the fallen officer was 24-year-old Areanah Preston.

Preston was reportedly shot in the 8100 block of S. Blackstone Ave. in the Avalon Park neighborhood just before 1:45 a.m., according to Chicago Police officials. No one is in custody.

Preston spent three years with the CPD and was stationed in the 5th District.

Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot said she spoke with the officer’s family members in the incident’s aftermath. Lightfoot also pledged to the family that all resources would be made available to find and arrest those suspects.

 

Mayor-elect Brandon also issued a prepared statement, stating:

“This is a profound tragedy, and my heart breaks for the family of the young officer who was murdered early this morning on her way home from work. I’m outraged and devastated by this horrific violence against a public servant, and I will do everything I can to support her family and the Chicago Police Department through this traumatic time. I pray that her killer is apprehended quickly so that justice may be served.

“That a public servant was killed in the middle of the night underlines the fierce urgency of the public safety crisis in our city. My top priority is building a better, stronger, safer Chicago where all our residents can live and work free from the threat of violence.”

Preston graduated from Illinois State University with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and law enforcement administration. She was set to graduate on May 13 with a Masters of Jurisprudence from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

As news of Preston’s death spread, condolences poured in on social media from the people who knew her. Preston was a member of the National Association of Colored Women’s Club at Illinois State University, according to the organization.

On Saturday, the NACWC posted on its Twitter and Facebook pages that Preston was a light whose smile brightened any room and that she “continued to lift as she climbed by serving and protecting her community as a Chicago Police Officer for the last three years.”

‘It was my work’: Teen bragged to friend after officer Aréanah Preston’s slaying, prosecutors allege

CHICAGO — A 16-year-old bragged to a friend about the slaying of 24-year-old Chicago police officer Aréanah Preston after the shooting, prosecutors allege.

Judge David Kelly granted the prosecution’s request for no bail Wednesday afternoon, citing a “mountain of evidence.”

Several new details were provided during the hearing — including a timeline which Judge Kelly called a “violent crime spree” prior to holding Travell Breeland, 19, Joseph Brooks, 19, Jakwon Buchanan, 18, and Jaylan Frazier, 16, without bail.

(L to R) Travell Breeland, Joseph Brooks, Jakwon Buchanan, Frazier not pictured
(L to R) Travell Breeland, Joseph Brooks, Jakwon Buchanan, Frazier not pictured

 

Just before midnight, prosecutors said Buchanan was contacted by his girlfriend and the girlfriend and another female picked the group up in a white Dodge Avenger. Prosecutors allege all four got in dressed in all black with face masks.

Here’s a timeline of four alleged robberies between the time of midnight and approximately 1:30 a.m.

  • 900 block of East 46th Street — 32-year-old woman was robbed of her belt, phone, wallet and credit cards after the four exited the white Dodge pointing handguns.
  • 4600 block of South Indiana — A red Kia Forte was stolen at gunpoint as the two girls stayed in the Dodge. Prosecutors believe the group ended up setting the Kia on fire after it was used in the deadly shooting of Preston.
  • 10030 block of South Wallace — Prosecutors allege the group drove around “looking for people to rob.” At around 1 a.m., at least three members of the group got out of the Kia and pushed a 62-year-old woman and her son’s girlfriend to the ground. The 62-year-old’s purse and cell phone were taken.
  • 9100 block of South Merrill — Two members of the group got out of the Kia and approached a man sitting in a Tesla. His keys and cell phone were stolen and later recovered in the 9800 block of Stony Island.

The group then made their way to the area of 81st and Blackstone at around the same time Ofc. Preston was coming home from her shift at CPD’s 5th District, still in uniform.

Prosecutors said the Kia was initially behind her vehicle as she parked, then passed her vehicle and turned on 82nd Street while Preston was standing near her home. Then, prosecutors allege three members of the group got out of the Kia and ran toward Preston.

4 charged with murder of CPD officer Aréanah Preston; no bail

(L to R) Travell Breeland, Joseph Brooks, Jakwon Buchanan, Frazier not pictured, TEEN 16 NO PHOTO IMAGE

Several muzzle flashes were visible during the exchange of gunfire with authorities determining two shell casings belonging to Preston’s firearm. She sustained gunshot wounds to the face and the neck, a prosecutor read in court.

The group got back into the Kia, but prosecutors believe one member returned to steal Preston’s firearm as “she laid dying on the sidewalk.”

Nine other shell casings were determined to be fired from the same firearm and one shell casing is still undergoing testing.

After the shooting, prosecutors allege the group abandoned the Kia in the 7200 block Eberhart in a vacant lot — which was allegedly set on fire approximately 15 minutes later.

Later in the day, evidence started to come together.

Police talked to the girlfriend and the white Dodge was towed. In the Dodge, authorities said credit cards were found belonging to the first victim in the alleged spree.

Authorities allege 16-year-old Jaylen Frazier called a friend and bragged about the shooting.

“It was my work,” Frazier allegedly told the friend after asking if they had “seen the news about the cop,” according to prosecutors. Later in the conversation, Frazier said Brooks was the one who fired back at Preston and ultimately killed her.

Frazier would later go on to admit that he stayed in the car when the group went to rob Preston, while Breeland, Brooks and Buchanan got out of the car, and Brooks inevitably shot and killed Preston, prosecutors alleged.

After the call, the friend went to the police.

The arrests were made early Monday morning after Buchanan allegedly called a former girlfriend and got into a rideshare. In the 7600 block of South Bishop, a traffic stop was conducted on the rideshare Sunday night. Prosecutors allege Buchanan was wearing the belt belonging to the first victim of the alleged spree at the time of the arrest.

As he was being taken into custody, Buchanan allegedly screamed and alerted others in the group in a nearby residence. After a long SWAT standoff, the rest of the group was taken into custody.

All four had criminal histories.

Brooks had convictions for armed robbery, robbery and a carjacking dating back to 2019. Buchanan has a pending case that’s still open from a 2021 aggravated vehicular hijacking and is on juvenile probation from a robbery.

Breeland is currently on adult probation for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and was convicted of aggravated battery as a juvenile.

 

 

 

(L to R) Travell Breeland, Joseph Brooks, Jakwon Buchanan, Frazier not pictured, TEEN 16 NO PHOTO IMAGE

]]> The trans movement is targeting Christians https://goodshepherdmedia.net/tucker-carlson-the-trans-movement-is-targeting-christians/ Wed, 29 Mar 2023 22:55:59 +0000 https://goodshepherdmedia.net/?p=12801 The trans movement is targeting Christians

Tucker dissects what is not being said about shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee

It was just last week that we noticed that parts of the transgender movement seemed to be getting militant and possibly dangerous. We did a whole segment about it on Thursday night. That segment was sparked by an NPR segment we had heard and never expected to hear. NPR, as always, as a matter of editorial policy, completely opposed to civilian ownership of firearms, with the possible exception of the IRS agents.

Yet here suddenly was that very same station, National Public Radio, positively urging trans people to buy guns, as many guns as possible and if necessary, to use them. “The world is dangerous,” explained one trans gun owner, “You have to be dangerous back.”

That seems strange to us. Is the United States really a dangerous place for trans people? Well, West Baltimore is dangerous. You could easily get murdered there. But if you’re trans in this country, obviously there are many downsides, but there do appear to be some benefits. It’s a lot easier to get into Harvard, for example. It’s definitely easier to get a job at Citibank or in the Biden White House. If you’re transgender can so much as fly a kite, the Pentagon will happily make you an F-35 pilot just so Hollywood can make a movie about it.

NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED AS HATE CRIME, HAWLEY SAYS

The people in charge despise working class Whites, but they venerate the trans community. People are just responding to incentives. It’s rational in a way. But that does not explain the anger that we heard in that NPR segment. Why are some transpeople so angry, and why do they seem to be mad specifically at traditional Christians? We can’t think of any trans person who’s ever been murdered by a pastor. As far as we know, that has never happened. So, it’s not an actual threat of violence from Christians that’s inspiring some trans people to buy an AR-15. No, it’s got to be more fundamental than that, and it is. The trans movement is the mirror image of Christianity, and therefore its natural enemy.

In Christianity, the price of admission is admitting that you’re not God. Christians openly concede that they have no real power over anything, and for that matter, very little personal virtue. They will tell you to your face that they are sinful and helpless and basically absurd. They’re not embarrassed about any of this. They brag about it. “That saved a wretch like me” goes the most famous Christian hymn ever written in English.

The trans movement takes the opposite view. Trans ideology claims dominion over nature itself. We can change the identity we were born with, they will tell you with wild eyed certainty. Christians can never agree with the statement because these are powers they believe God alone possesses.

That unwillingness to agree, that failure to acknowledge a trans person’s dominion over nature, incites and enrages some in the trans community. People who believe they are God can’t stand to be reminded that they’re not. Christianity and transgender orthodoxy are wholly incompatible theologies. They can never be reconciled. They are on a collision course with each other. One side is likely to draw blood before the other side. That’s what we concluded last week.

Yesterday morning, tragically, our fears were confirmed. A self-identified trans person called Audrey Hale committed mass murder at a Christian school in Nashville. Hale burst into a place called the Covenant School and executed three nine-year-olds as well as three adults. Police have released body cam footage from the end of the massacre. We’re showing you just a small part of it. You can see the rest online if you want. We’re not going to show it because it’s too awful and sad.

But what was almost sickening to see in a far more subtle and insidious way was the media coverage of yesterday’s tragedy. Here’s Terry Moran of ABC News, for example, suggesting that Christians were murdered in Tennessee because they infringed on the rights of transgendered people. Watch.

TERRY MORAN: Audrey Hale… identified herself as a transgender person. The state of Tennessee earlier this month passed, and the governor signed a bill, that banned transgender medical care for minors, as well as a law that prohibited adult entertainment, including male and female impersonators after a series of drag show controversies in that state. 

The state of Tennessee bans the sexual mutilation of children. Children get shot to death in a school. It’s cause and effect. That’s what ABC News is telling you. That’s not far from justifying mass murder, but others took the next step.

A group called the Trans Resistance Network said that the shooter’s death was a complex tragedy that resulted from “anti-trans bias.” The Hershey Chocolate Company’s new trans spokesman, meanwhile, someone called Fae Johnsone, posted messages after the shooting complaining about “trans misogyny.” In Canada, a taxpayer funded trans rights organization put out a statement that ignored the murder of the children in Nashville entirely and instead claimed that there has been an “exponential rise in anti-trans violence.”

That is a lie. It’s a provable lie, and in fact, the opposite is true. We seem to be watching the rise of trans terrorism. The man who tried to murder Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh after the repeal of Roe v. Wade, identified as a “trans gamer girl.” The man who shot up a nightclub in Colorado in this past Novembe,r and murdered five people identified as non-binary, and now this and there could be more.

Antifa has announced this coming Saturday is the Trans Day of Vengeance. Vengeance for what? That’s not explained, but the suggestion is there will be violence in Washington this weekend. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted about this today, because if there is a day of vengeance coming, the rest of us should probably know about it and for doing so immediately at her had her official congressional Twitter account suspended. You’re not supposed to talk about any of this, apparently, and the authorities in Nashville are certainly not planning to talk about it. They’re doing their best not to.

Here’s the police chief of Nashville explaining that while he’s happy to talk about the shooter’s guns, he’s not going to tell you anything about the shooter’s motives. Watch.

JOHN DRAKE, NASHVILLE POLICE CHIEF: So, in the manifesto, there’s several different writings about other locations. There were locations. There was talks about the school. There was a map of the school, a drawing of how potentially she would enter and the assaults that would take place. There’s quite a bit of writing to it. I have not read the whole the entire manifesto. Our team and the FBI has been working on this.  

Well, that’s interesting. Within what seemed like minutes, we saw pictures of the rifles and the pistol. We now have horrifying body cam footage from within the school. So unsettling, we’re not going to show it to you. But somehow we can’t see the manifesto in which the killer explains why she killed. Why is that? It’s not accidental. You know exactly why it is – because it would make the obvious undeniable. The trans movement is targeting Christians, including with violence.

Most Christian leaders in this country don’t want to admit that. Admitting it might force them to take deeply unfashionable positions, but it is true and anyone who’s paying attention knows that it’s true and so, like most true things at this point, it is officially suppressed. Here, for example, is Joe Biden yelping again about how it’s all your fault when these tragedies happen because you’ve got guns at home. This is from yesterday.

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at an event marking the 13th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act in the East Room of the White House on March 23, 023 in Washington, DC. 

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at an event marking the 13th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act in the East Room of the White House on March 23, 023 in Washington, DC.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

PRESIDENT BIDEN: We have to do more to stop gun violence. It’s ripping our communities apart, ripping a soul this nation ripped into a very soul, the nation and we have to do more to protect our schools so they aren’t turned into prisons. You know, a shooter in this situation reportedly had two assault weapons and a pistol, two AK-47s. So, I call on Congress again to pass my assault weapons ban.  

We’re going to prevent you from learning why the shooter did it, and we don’t have to guess because she wrote a whole manifesto about why she did it, and we know that she did that because she told a friend of hers on Instagram that she did it. But we can’t see it. We can only talk about the guns. We can’t know what kind of drug she was taking, what kind of hormones or SSRI or benzodiazepines. We can only guess. We can only talk about the guns. Pass my assault weapons ban. That’ll fix the problem,

But Joe Biden is lying about that. He knows that he’s lying and you know that he’s lying. Yesterday’s massacre did not happen because of lax gun laws. Yesterday’s massacre happened because of a deranged and demonic ideology that is infecting this country with the encouragement of people like Joe Biden. Let’s start by being honest about that.

Tucker Carlson

By Tucker Carlson | Fox News

 

 

 

Nashville school shooting should be investigated as hate crime, Hawley says

Josh Hawley says Nashville school shooting should be called a ‘hate crime’ because gunman Audrey Hale ‘targeted’ Christians

 

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri on Tuesday called on FBI Director Christopher Wray and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to investigate the Nashville school shooting as a hate crime.

The shooting at a Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee that left three children and three adults dead should be investigated as a hate crime, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley said Tuesday.

“We should be clear about what happened in Nashville. Police say the shooting was ‘targeted,’” the Republican lawmaker tweeted. “That makes it a federal hate crime – against Christian children and teachers. Targeting victims on the basis of religious affiliation is a hate crime. It should be investigated as such.”

“All federal resources necessary should be brought to bear,” Hawley added in a follow-up tweet. “And those individuals or groups who have spread a message of hate against the Christian community – which resulted here in horrific violence – should be held to account.”

NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING: OFFICERS WHO TOOK OUT SUSPECTED COVENATN SHOOTER IDENTIFIED

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., grills Colleen Shogan, nominee to be Archivist of the United States, about her twitter feed during her confirmation hearing in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington on Tuesday, February 28, 2023. 

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., grills Colleen Shogan, nominee to be Archivist of the United States, about her twitter feed during her confirmation hearing in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in Washington on Tuesday, February 28, 2023.  (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“I urge you to immediately open an investigation into this shooting as a federal hate crime,” Hawley wrote to FBI Director Chirstopher Wray and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday.

On Monday, an armed gunman went on a rampage at The Covenant School in Nashville, killing six people.

The victims were identified by police as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all age 9, Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and 61-year-old Mike Hill. Koonce was the head of school at Covenant, according to the school’s website.

The Covenant School is a private Christian institution for students up to 6th grade, according to its website.

Police named the shooter as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a 28-year-old Nashville resident who identified as transgender. Investigators were investigating a home connected to her. Nashville police Chief John Drake said Hale possibly prepared for the shooting, including having written a manifesto.

“We have also determined that there were maps drawn of the school in detail of surveillance entry points. At one point she was a student at that school,” he said at a news conference Monday. “There was a vehicle nearby that gave us a clue as to who she was.”

NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING: 6 KILLED INCLUDING 3 STUDENTS, SHOOTER DEAD

A police officer walks by an entrance to The Covenant School after a shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday, March 27, 2023. 

A police officer walks by an entrance to The Covenant School after a shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday, March 27, 2023.  (AP Photo/John Amis)

Police said that Hale was a former student at the school.

The shooting began at around 10:13 a.m. local time Monday morning. According to police, Hale drove a Honda Fit to the school parking lot. She was heavily armed with two AR-style weapons and a pistol, but was not wearing body armor.

Surveillance video released by Metropolitan Nashville Police showed Hale shot her way into the church/school through a set of glass doors at a side entrance of the building.

MNPD Officers Rex Englebert and Michael Collazo were among those who responded to the scene. They encountered Hale on the second floor of the school building and fatally shot her, putting an end to the rampage.

TENNESSEE SHOOTING: NASHVILLE POLICE RELEASE SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE OF COVENANT SCHOOL ATTACK THAT KILLED 6

Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake identified the two officers who fatally shot suspected school shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale on March 27, 2023.

Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake identified the two officers who fatally shot suspected school shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale on March 27, 2023. (Metro Nashville Police Department)

The responding officers neutralized the shooter within 15 minutes of the first shots fired.

The shooting remains under investigation and is being led by several MNPD components, with assistance from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the ATF and Tennessee Highway Patrol.

“The full resources of the federal government must be brought to bear to determine how this crime occurred and who may have influenced the deranged shooter to carry out these horiffic crimes,” Hawley wrote Tuesday. “Hate that leads to violence must be condemned. And hate crimes must be prosecuted.”

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom, Lawrence Richard and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

Chris Pandolfo is a writer for Fox News Digital. Send tips to chris.pandolfo@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @ChrisCPandolfo.

 

Chris Pandolfo

By Chris Pandolfo | Fox News

]]> Nashville Covenant School head of school hailed as hero in wake of shooting: ‘She protected her children’ https://goodshepherdmedia.net/nashville-covenant-school-head-of-school-hailed-as-hero-in-wake-of-shooting-she-protected-her-children/ Wed, 29 Mar 2023 08:47:21 +0000 https://goodshepherdmedia.net/?p=12764 Nashville Covenant School head of school hailed as hero in wake of shooting: ‘She protected her children’

Katherine Koonce gunned down along with custodian, substitute teacher, 3 students in mass shooting

EXCLUSIVE DETAILS: Katherine Koonce, the head of school at the Covenant School who was shot and killed on Monday, went to great lengths to prepare her students and staff for active-shooter situations and immediately took action when a former student opened fire.

Nashville City Councilman Russ Pulley said that Koonce was in the middle of a virtual meeting when the shooting started around 10:13 a.m.

“It is my understanding from a witness at the school that Katherine Koonce was on a Zoom call when she heard the first shot. She immediately ended the call, got up and headed straight for the shooter,” Pulley, a former FBI special agent, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday, noting that he did not have details about the confrontation that ensued after that.

Katherine Koonce, 60, was killed in the Nashville school shooting, Monday, March 27, 2023. (Fox News)
Katherine Koonce, 60, was killed in the Nashville school shooting, Monday, March 27, 2023. (Fox News)

Nashville Police Chief John Drake said at a press conference on Tuesday that he couldn’t confirm exactly what Koonce did but that she was found in a hallway by herself.

“There was a confrontation, I’m sure – you can tell the way she was lying in the hallway,” Drake said.

John Bourgeois, the pastor at West End Community Church where Koonce was a member, notified the congregation of her death in a message on Monday.

“She gave her life in defense of the children under her care,” Bourgeois wrote to church members.

Two other school employees – Cynthia Peak, a 61-year-old substitute teacher, and Mike Hill, a 61-year-old custodian – were also killed in the shooting.

Cynthia Peak, 61, a beloved wife, mother and substitute teacher, was killed in Monday's shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. (The Peak Family)
Cynthia Peak, 61, a beloved wife, mother and substitute teacher, was killed in Monday’s shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. (The Peak Family)
Mike Hill, a custodian at the Covenant School, was killed in the shooting on Monday, March 27, 2023. (Fox News)

Mike Hill, a custodian at the Covenant School, was killed in the shooting on Monday, March 27, 2023. (Fox News)

Hill, the custodian, was shot and killed as the shooter let loose a barrage of bullets into the locked glass doors to get into the school, Drake said.

“I don’t know the details yet. But I have a feeling, when it all comes out, Mike’s sacrifice saved lives. I have nothing factual to base that upon. I just know what kind of guy he was. And I know he’s the kind of guy that would do that,” Tim Dunavant, a pastor at Hartsville First United Methodist Church who hired Hill at the Covenant School 13 years ago, wrote in an online post on Monday.

As soon as police officer Rex Engelbert arrived at the school, an unnamed school employee met him outside.

“The kids are all locked down, but we have two kids that we don’t know where they are,” the employee can be heard saying on body-camera footage as she fills officers in on the layout of the building.

A teacher met the first officer outside the school and immediately started briefing him on the situation inside. (Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)
A teacher met the first officer outside the school and immediately started briefing him on the situation inside. (Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)

The trans movement is targeting Christians

 

NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING: AUDREY HALE POLICE BODYCAMS RELEASED

Engelbert, armed with information from the teacher and a rifle, led a group of officers into the school and quickly started clearing classrooms. Minutes after entering, the shooter opened fire on other responding officers from the second floor. The officers ran upstairs toward the sounds of the gunfire and took out the shooter, who was armed with two rifles and a handgun.

Police bodycam shows officers arrive at Covenant School

Once the scene was secured, teachers and administrators led students to a reunification area at Woodmont Baptist Church.”I was at that scene and observed them calmly handling the children like it was another day at school,” Pulley said. “After all the children were reunited with their parents, the staff became emotional. But while they had their children, they were amazingly doing what teachers and administrators do: take care of their children. And those children seemed to be doing as well as they could under the circumstances.”

Who are the Nashville school shooting victims?

Bodycam footage shows Nashville Police Department officers responding to the Covenant School in Nashville after 28-year-old Audrey Hale opened fire. (Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)
Bodycam footage shows Nashville Police Department officers responding to the Covenant School in Nashville after 28-year-old Audrey Hale opened fire. (Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)
(Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)
(Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)
(Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)
(Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)

NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTER AUDREY HALE: WHO IS 28-YEAR-OLD TRANSGENDER FORMER STUDENT WHO OPENED FIRE AT SCHOOL

National Police Association spokesperson Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith said that the body-camera footage shows officers and school employees worked together to prevent what could have been an even more devastating tragedy.

“There are certain people that are panic-resistant people, teachers, doctors, nurses, cops, firefighters, street reporters, there are certain people who are drawn to certain jobs that are panic resistant. And teachers are in that category,” Smith told Fox News Digital.

“So, what you had is the police response, and then you had these teachers who obviously had trained, obviously discussed this. And they worked so well with the police officers, and they provided the right information at the right time and obviously risked themselves. We have three adults deceased as well.”

A police officer walks by an entrance to the Covenant School after a shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday, March 27, 2023. (AP Photo / John Amis)
A police officer walks by an entrance to the Covenant School after a shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday, March 27, 2023. (AP Photo / John Amis)

A police officer walks by an entrance to the Covenant School after a shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday, March 27, 2023. (AP Photo / John Amis)

Three 9-year-old students – William Kinney, Hallie Scruggs and Evelyn Dieckhaus – were also killed in the shooting.

The shooter, 28-year-old Audrey Hale, conducted surveillance of the school before driving there on Monday morning and opening fire. Police later found hand-drawn maps with detailed entry points to the building, along with a manifesto that may reveal the motive.

Hale bought seven firearms from five different local gun stores in Nashville legally, three of which were used during the shooting on Monday.

Police believe Hale targeted the Covenant School, which she attended years ago, but don’t think she targeted individual victims specifically. source

 

Paul Best

By Paul Best | Fox News

]]> Who are the Nashville school shooting victims? https://goodshepherdmedia.net/who-are-the-nashville-school-shooting-victims/ Wed, 29 Mar 2023 00:55:31 +0000 https://goodshepherdmedia.net/?p=12754

Who are the Nashville school shooting victims?

Three children, three adult victims killed in Nashville school shooting at Covenant School, police say

Memorial for victims of mass shooting set up outside Covenant School

Nashville police have identified the six people, three young children and three adults, who were killed in a mass shooting at a private Christian school on Monday.

TAKE A TIME OUT TO PRAY FOR THEM TO BE IN PEACE WITH GOD.

IMAGINE GOING TO SCHOOL TO TEACH AND TO LOSE YOUR LIFE, IT SURE WAS NOT THE PAYCHECK…. IT WAS THE KIND HEARTS OF GOOD PEOPLE WHO SACRIFICE MONEY FOR FULLFILLMENT. THOSE ARE THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO TEACH! THEY HELPED ME BECOME RICH ONLY TO REALIZE GOD IS MOST IMPORTANT!

IMAGINE BEING THE CHILD, ALL YOU WANT TO DO IS HAVE FUN AND PLAY  WITH YOUR FRIENDS, BUT YOU END UP DEAD!

IMAGINE THE PARENTS, WHAT LOSS THEY FEEL

Below are the victims of the Nashville school shooting:

  • Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9

  • William Kinney, 9

  • Hallie Scruggs, 9

  • Mike Hill, 61

  • Cynthia Peak, 61

  • Katherine Koonce, 60

Mike Hill, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Hallie Scruggs, 9, were killed in the Nashville school shooting, Monday, March 27, 2023.

Mike Hill, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Hallie Scruggs, 9, were killed in the Nashville school shooting, Monday, March 27, 2023. (Fox News)

The victims were shot and killed when Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a 28-year-old transgender former student of the Covenant School, entered the premises with two “assault-type rifles” and a handgun and began firing, police said.

Numerous local churches held prayer vigils Monday evening and several more are scheduled in the coming days to pay respects to the victims and offer the community’s support for their families, according to local FOX affiliate WZTV.

NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING: OFFICERS TOOK OUT TRANNY SHOOTER 

Robin Wolfenden prays at a makeshift memorial for victims outside the Covenant School building at the Covenant Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 28, 2023.

Robin Wolfenden prays at a makeshift memorial for victims outside the Covenant School building at the Covenant Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 28, 2023. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images)

“My heart goes out to the families of the victims,” said Mayor John Cooper. “Our entire city stands with you.”

The following is what is known about the victims so far.

Evelyn Dieckhaus

Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9, was a third-grader at the Covenant School! , WTF is society been teaching, How could someone shoot a innocent little child?

Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9, was a third-grader at the Covenant School! RIP LITTLE ONE, GOD HAS YOU NOW!

Her older sister, a fifth-grader, spoke at a vigil for the victims held Monday night at Woodmont Christian Church, where the family attends worship services.

Evelyn’s sister cried as she said, “I don’t want to be an only child,” according to The Tennessean.

Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9-years-old, was a student at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. She was one of six victims killed in a school shooting on March 27, 2023. 

Evelyn Dieckhaus, 9-years-old, was a student at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. She was one of six victims killed in a school shooting on March 27, 2023.

“One of the 9-year-old victims of the Nashville school shooting goes to my church,” Woodmont church member Sarah Drury wrote on Facebook. “Her name is Evelyn Dieckhaus. She was adorable. I taught her equally angelic big sister in Sunday school.”

“Her mom Katy volunteered in our children’s ministry… such a sweet Christian family,” Drury continued. “We had a prayer vigil tonight at our church. We are, the whole city, saturated in grief. Now. It’s time to marry prayer and grief with action.”

“It has been a hard day,” Woodmont Baptist Church senior pastor Nathan Parker said. “We are sad. Sad for the families who came rushing to our church. Sad for those whose lives will never be the same because of the trauma inflicted on them. Sad because we live in a world broken by sin, suffering and death.”

Parents comfort each other as they wait outside Woodmont Baptist Church for students from the Covenant School to arrive after a mass shooting at the school on Monday, March 27, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Parents comfort each other as they wait outside Woodmont Baptist Church for students from the Covenant School to arrive after a mass shooting at the school on Monday, March 27, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean)

William Kinney

William Kinney was a 9-year-old student at the Covenant School.

Hallie Scruggs

Hallie Scruggs was the 9-year-old daughter of Chad Scruggs, the senior pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church, the pastor told local news station WKRN.

The Covenant School operates as a ministry of Nashville’s Covenant Presbyterian Church.

NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING: 6 KILLED, INCLUDING 3 STUDENTS, SHOOTER DEAD

Hallie Scruggs, 9, was killed in the Nashville school shooting, Monday, March 27, 2023.

Hallie Scruggs, 9, was killed in the Nashville school shooting, Monday, March 27, 2023. (Fox News)

Katherine Koonce

Dr. Katherine Koonce, 60, was the head of the Covenant School.

Her niece, Heather Benge, wrote on Facebook that Koonce “was a kind person and a fearless teacher and I can see by the pure amount of love being shown towards her (and our family) right now that she touched the lives of many.”

“She was a beacon of light, a faithful servant and will be missed greatly,” Benge wrote. “Please keep my family in your prayers as we navigate the coming days and also for the families of the other victims. School shootings MUST stop. NO ONE deserves to feel the pain so many of us are feeling tonight.”

Katherine Koonce, 60, was killed in the Nashville school shooting, Monday, March 27, 2023.

Katherine Koonce, 60, was killed in the Nashville school shooting, Monday, March 27, 2023. (Fox News)

In a statement on the school’s website, Koonce described the mission of the Covenant School as “more than simply educating our students.”

Before coming to the Covenant School, Koonce was academic dean at Christ Presbyterian Academy for seven years and director of learning services at the school for eight years prior. She held a doctorate degree in education from Trevecca Nazarene University, a master’s degree from Georgia State University, and a bachelor’s degree in education from Vanderbilt University, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Emily Anderson, a pastor at New Providence Presbyterian Church who says she was friends with Koonce for more than four decades, wrote in an online tribute that Koonce “died rushing in to protect children.”

“I don’t know that I’ve ever met a more purely decent and loving human being. Certainly no one who was more passionate about children and education,” Anderson wrote on Facebook.

Cynthia Peak

Cynthia Peak, 61, was a beloved wife, mother, and substitute teacher killed in Monday's shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. 

Cynthia Peak, 61, was a beloved wife, mother, and substitute teacher killed in Monday’s shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee.  (The Peak Family)

Cynthia Peak, 61, was a substitute teacher working at the school.

“Our hearts are broken to confirm the loss of our beloved Cindy Peak. Cindy was a pillar of the community, and a teacher beloved by all her students,” the Peak family said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Her favorite roles in life were being a mom to her three children, a wife to her husband, and an educator to students. We will never stop missing her. We are grateful for the hope of Heaven. She never wavered in her faith, and we know she is wrapped in the arms of Jesus. Our hearts go out to all the victims’ families as we grieve this horrific tragedy.”

Michael Hill

Michael Hill, 61, was a custodian at the school, according to police.

Tim Dunavant, a pastor at Hartsville First United Methodist Church who knew Hill, said he hired Hill at the Covenant School 13 years ago when he was in charge of the school kitchen.

Mike Hill, 61, was killed in the Nashville school shooting, Monday, March 27, 2023.

Mike Hill, 61, was killed in the Nashville school shooting, Monday, March 27, 2023. (Fox News)

“I don’t know the details yet. But I have a feeling, when it all comes out, Mike’s sacrifice saved lives. I have nothing factual to base that upon. I just know what kind of guy he was. And I know he’s the kind of guy that would do that,” Dunavant wrote in an online post. “Goodbye Mike, I’m going to miss those encouraging texts out of the blue from you.”

A GoFundMe page for the Hill familywas set up by Nashville resident Anne Puricelli. The page states that Hill was the “beloved father of eight children” and was known as “Big Mike” to students of the Covenant School.

The Hill family said Mike took great pleasure and found tremendous joy in his job and through those students. Money raised by the GoFundMe page will be put toward funeral services and other expenses, according to the fundraiser.

Chris Pandolfo

By Chris Pandolfo | Fox News

Nashville shooting victims included 9-year-old children, head of school

Police have identified the three children and three adults who were killed in a mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville’s Green Hills neighborhood on Monday morning.

Authorities identified the children as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, all 9-years-old, and the adults as Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61.

The Nashville Presbytery confirmed to CBS News that 9-year-old Scruggs was the daughter of Chad Scruggs, the senior pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church.

All three adults worked at the school. Hill worked as a custodian, Peak was identified by authorities as a substitute teacher and Koonce is listed as head of school on the school’s website.

Police have identified the shooter as a former student at the school: 28-year-old Audrey Hale, from Nashville. Authorities released body camera footage Tuesday of police officers responding to the shooting and taking down the assailant.

“We feel that these students who were targeted were randomly targeted,” said Nashville Police Chief John Drake on Tuesday.

Don Aaron, the director of media relations at the police department, clarified that while there is “no evidence that individuals were specifically targeted” in the shooting, “this school, this church building was a target of the shooter.”

“But we have no information at present to indicate that the shooter was specifically targeting any one of the six individuals who were murdered,” Aaron said.

The shooter’s parents were under the impression that the shooter had at one time owned a weapon but sold it, Drake said, adding that the parents did not know the shooter was in possession of other weapons after that.

Police determined the shooter had hidden “several” weapons in the home, he said.

The shooter entered The Covenant School through a side door and traversed the building, moving from the first floor to the second floor and “firing multiple shots,” Aaron said.

Responding officers saw the shooter firing on the second level, and at that point, they “engaged,” Aaron said. The shooter was fatally shot by two of the five responding police officers at the scene, he said.

Covenant, founded in 2001, is a private Christian school with 33 teachers and up to 210 students starting in preschool through 6th grade, according to the school website.

source

Custodian killed in Nashville school shooting had a heart for kids, his family says

“Every last one of us, all seven — we all received those ‘I love you’ texts, those random ‘I love yous,’” Brittany Hill said. “I’m going to miss those, I really am. I’m going to miss those random ‘I love yous.'”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Big Mike. That’s how students of Covenant School in Nashville knew and will remember custodian Michael Hill who was one of six people killed in a school attack Monday.

“My dad loved children, absolutely adored children,” Brittany Hill told NBC News on Thursday.

“All of the messages we have received, through Facebook and Instagram and text messages — were all about how the kids loved Big Mike,” she said.

Michael Hill, 61, was a religious and praying man who was known for corny “dad jokes” and the pet names he adored calling his seven children, they said.

Catie Beck interviews members of Michael Hill's family, from left, Brittany Hill, Tawana Garner, Marquita Oglesby, and Joshua Smith. (NBC News)

Catie Beck interviews members of Michael Hill’s family, from left, Brittany Hill, Tawana Garner, Marquita Oglesby, and Joshua Smith. (NBC News)© NBC News

Hill was one of three adults and three children killed Monday when an assailant armed with two assault-style rifles and a handgun attacked the school.

The 28-year-old shooter was killed by police, and authorities have not released a motive, if one is known.

Hill’s family waited with other victims’ relatives after the incident, until a police chaplain and officers confirmed he had been killed.

“We were actually waiting for it to be confirmed, but we knew prior,” daughter Tawana Garner said Thursday. “I knew immediately when he didn’t answer the phone.”

Although family members never got a chance to say goodbye to Michael Hill, his messages to them remain. He often texted them, and at least every few days, the message would say “I love you.”

“Every last one of us, all seven — we all received those ‘I love you’ texts, those random ‘I love yous,’” Brittany Hill said. “I’m going to miss those, I really am. I’m going to miss those random ‘I love yous.'”

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