List of All Articles with Tag 'crime'

The parents of a South Carolina college student are mourning the loss of their son after he was fatally shot when he entered the wrong house by mistake. Nicholas Anthony Donofrio, 20, was a student at the University of South Carolina and lived at the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity house, his parents told local news station WTNH. According to the City of Colombia Police Department, Donofrio was mistaken for a burglar and shot in the early morning hours of 26 August after he tried to enter a residence a few houses away from the fraternity on South Holly Street. Authorities said that a 911 call was initially made regarding an ongoing burglary, but it later escalated to a shooting situation. Donofrio was pronounced dead at the scene. The young man had recently moved into the fraternity’s off-campus home ahead of the start of his junior year at the university. Donofrio, a Kinesiology and Exercise Science major, was looking forward to living at the fraternity home with four close friends. ”[Nick was] a great son, loving, compassionate, all the traits you would want in a son,” Donofrio’s grieving parents said in a statement to WTNH. Donofrio was originally from Madison, Connecticut and graduated high school in 2021. “When officers arrived on the scene, they found a deceased male on the front porch with a gunshot wound to the upper body,” the City of Columbia Police said in a statement. “Preliminary information indicates that Donofrio who resided on South Holly Street attempted to enter the wrong home when he was fatally shot.” Classes at the University of South Carolina resumed on 23 August. “Our Student Affairs team is providing resources and support to those who may be affected by this tragedy, and we remind all of our students that help is always available to them,” the university said in a statement to The State. In South Carolina, individuals have no obligation to retreat and are allowed to use deadly force if they’re not engaged in unlawful activity and are in a place where they have a right to be — such as their home or place of business. The state’s “stand your ground” laws also limit law enforcement’s ability to immediately arrest the shooter if they claim they were attacked first or acting in self-defence. The City of Columbia Police Department said the investigation remains ongoing and it will consult with the solicitor’s office regarding the circumstances surrounding the case and whether charges could be filed. Read More Ron DeSantis booed at Jacksonville vigil as police say racist Florida shooter bought weapons legally – live Who is Ryan Palmeter? What we know about the racist 21-year-old Dollar General shooter Judge to decide if father of man accused in parade shooting will stand trial too

An attorney for the sole suspect in Andrea Vazquez’s kidnapping and murder has said that his client is “scared” after being hit with multiple felony charges. Gabriel Sean Esparza, 20, is facing charges of murder, kidnapping and attempted rape in the death of 19-year-old Andrea Vazquez, according to a criminal complaint submitted in Los Angeles Superior Court. Mr Esparza is accused of randomly kidnapping Vazquez last week while she was on a date with her boyfriend at Penn Park in Whittier, California. Vaquez was shot and yanked out of a parked car as her boyfriend rushed for help but she was nowhere to be found when he returned to the scene. Her body was found days later by Whittier Police detectives in Moreno Valley. Mr Esparza’s attorney Ambrosio Rodriguez told FOX11 that his client was “scared” and “just beginning to understand what is going on.” “Everyone in this case is in shock, and everyone who knows him can’t believe that he has been charged with this crime,” Mr Rodriguez said. Mr Esparza, the son of an LA fire captain, has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and is being held without bond. Read More Ambushed at an LA park, kidnapped and her body dumped in a field: What happened to Andrea Vazquez? Andrea Vasquez: California woman shot and kidnapped from boyfriend’s car found dead Son of LA County fire captain pleads not guilty to Andrea Vazquez murder

Florida governor Ron DeSantis was heckled at a vigil held for the three victims of a racially motivated mass shooting in Jacksonville. Two men and one woman were killed on Saturday afternoon at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville by a white gunman carrying a weapon decorated with swastikas. The gunman, identified as 21-year-old Christopher Palmeter, shot and killed himself at the scene. Mr DeSantis, who is running for the GOP nomination for president, has been criticised for easing gun laws in Florida and initially staying silent on the shooting. In April this year, the governor signed a bill into law that allows people to carry concealed weapons without a government permit. As the governor began speaking at the vigil on Sunday, many members of a crowd of over a hundred people booed Mr DeSantis, forcing him to step back from the microphone. Ju'Coby Pittman, a Jacksonville city councilperson who represents the neighbourhood where the shooting took place, stepped in and asked the crowd to listen. "We are going to put parties aside because it ain’t about parties today," she said, adding: "A bullet don’t know a party." Mr DeSantis shared a video on social media condemning the violence, while calling the gunman a "deranged scumbag". "Casey DeSantis and I stand with the families impacted by the tragic shooting in Jacksonville," the governor wrote on X, previously known as Twitter. "The people of Florida stand united in condemning the horrific, racially-motivated murders." Mr DeSantis said that on Monday the state would be announcing financial support for security at Edward Waters University, the historically Black college near where the shooting occurred, and to help the affected families. Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters identified those killed as Angela Michelle Carr, 52, who was shot in her car; store employee AJ Laguerre, 19, who was shot as he tried to flee; and customer Jerrald Gallion, 29, who was shot as he entered the store in a predominantly Black neighbourhood. The gunman entered the store armed with an AR-style rifle, Glock handgun and “outfitted with a tactical vest" shortly after 1pm on Sunday. He first went to the campus of Edward Waters University, where he refused to identify himself to a security guard and was told to leave the campus. The gunman’s father then received a text from his son, telling him to check his computer. His parents then found “several manifestoes” written by the gunman, intended for his parents, law enforcement, and the media. The sheriff called the writing “the diary of a madman”. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has opened a civil rights investigation and says it will pursue the incident as a hate crime. "Hate crimes are always and will always remain a top priority for the FBI because they are not only an attack on a victim, they're also meant to threaten and intimidate an entire community," said Sherri Onks, special agent in charge of the Jacksonville FBI office. Read More DeSantis is silent on whether he will visit Jacksonville after racially-motivated mass shooting Biden demands US do better on racism amid Jacksonville shooting: ‘Hate must have no safe harbor’ Jacksonville shooter in racist attack is named as it’s revealed he bought weapons legally - latest

Florida governor Ron DeSantis was heckled by mourners at a vigil held in Jacksonville for the three victims killed in a racially motivated attack. Two men and a woman were killed on Saturday by a 21-year-old white man named Ryan Palmeter, who “hated Black people”. The victims were identified as Angela Michelle Carr, 52, Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr, 19, and Jarrald De’Shaun Gallion, 29. As the governor began speaking at the vigil on Sunday, many members of a crowd of over a hundred people booed Mr DeSantis, forcing him to step back from the microphone. Ju'Coby Pittman, a Jacksonville city councilperson who represents the neighbourhood where the shooting took place, stepped in and asked the crowd to listen. The shooting took place at a Dollar General store just blocks from the historically-Black Edward Waters University. Shortly before the gunman went on a killing spree, his parents called law enforcement to say they had found a manifesto. The gunman had reportedly called his parents ahead of the attack and told them to look at his computer. Sheriff TK Waters described those writings as a “disgusting ideology of hate”. Read More Florida shooting victim planned to spend Saturday with his daughter. He was killed before he could. Biden demands US do better on racism amid Jacksonville shooting: ‘Hate must have no safe harbor’ Chilling CCTV shows Jacksonville shooter entering Florida store during deadly rampage Everything we know about the Florida Dollar General Shooting

Jerrald Gallion planned to spend the weekend with his 4-year-old daughter but the devoted father was instead one of three Black people gunned down Saturday afternoon at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida. Gallion, 29, was shot as he entered the store's front door with his girlfriend in a predominantly Black neighborhood. The killing marked him as another victim in the latest racist attack in the US. “My brother shouldn’t have lost his life,” his sister, Latiffany Gallion, said Sunday. “A simple day of going to the store, and he’s taken away from us forever.” The gunman, 21-year-old Ryan Palmeter, opened fire Saturday using guns he bought legally despite a past involuntary commitment for a mental health exam. Authorities say he left behind white supremacist ramblings that read like “the diary of a madman.” The other two people slain were identified as Angela Michelle Carr, 52, who was shot in her car, and store employee Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre, Jr., 19, who was shot as he tried to flee. On Sunday, family members recalled Gallion's sense of humor and work ethic. He saw his job as a restaurant manager as a way to provide for his daughter, Je Asia. Although his relationship with the child’s mother didn’t last, they worked together to raise Je Asia. That earned him lasting affection from Sabrina Rozier, the child’s maternal grandmother. “He never missed a beat,” Rozier told reporters Sunday evening after a prayer vigil near the shooting scene. “He got her every weekend. As a matter of fact, he was supposed to have her (Saturday).” Gallion attended St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Bishop John Guns told a crowd during the prayer vigil. “In two weeks I have to preach a funeral of a man who should still be alive,” Guns said. “He was not a gangster, he was not a thug — he was a father who gave his life to Jesus and was trying to get it together." As the child sat nearby in a pink dress with long braids in her hair, Rozier said the girl last spoke to her father at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday when she was having trouble falling asleep. “We’re trying to decide how to tell his one and only daughter that he’s not coming back,” Rozier said. “I’m her grandmother and I don’t know how to tell her. I don’t have the words.” Read More Ron DeSantis booed at Jacksonville vigil as police say racist Florida shooter bought weapons legally – live Everything we know about the Florida Dollar General Shooting Ron DeSantis is booed by mourners as he attends Jacksonville vigil after racist shooting

Two men and a woman were killed in a racially-motivated shooting in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday. The gunman, a white male in his twenties, “hated Black people”, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said. He was identified on Sunday as 21-year-old Ryan Palmeter by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office; the sheriff called him a “maniac.” The victims were identified as Angela Michelle Carr, 52, Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr, 19, and Jarrald De’Shaun Gallion, 29. The shooting took place at a Dollar General store just blocks from the historically-Black Edward Waters University. The gunman was initially seen near the library on the campus but security guards tried to take him into custody and he escaped. Shortly before the shooting took place, the gunman’s parents called law enforcement to say they had found a manifesto, reported WJXT. The gunman had reportedly called his parents ahead of the attack and told them to look at his computer. Sheriff Waters described those writings as a “disgusting ideology of hate”. He also confirmed that the three victims were Black. The shooter, who had entered the store with an assault rifle covered in swastikas, took his own life. “His sickening ideology is not representative of the values of this Jacksonville community that we all love so much,” the sheriff said, adding that we “reject this inexcusable violence.”

The former Navy SEAL who claims to have shot and killed Osama bin Laden has been arrested in Texas. Robert O’Neill, 47, was booked into jail in Frisco on Wednesday and released later that day on a $3,500 bond, reported The Dallas Morning News. He was charged with a Class A misdemeanour of assault causing bodily injury and a Class C misdemeanour charge of public intoxication. Mr O’Neill was a member of SEAL Team 6 during the famed 2011 mission and subsequently claimed that he had fired the shots which killed the al Qaeda leader and September 11 mastermind at his Pakistan compound. Mr O’Neill had been in the Dallas area to record a podcast at a cigar lounge, according to The New York Post. It is not Mr O’Neill’s first run-in with law enforcement. In 2016, he was arrested in Montana on suspicion of driving under the influence after police said they found him asleep in the driver’s seat of a vehicle with the engine still running, reported The Montana Standard. He blamed a prescription sleeping pill that he told officials he took to deal with insomnia and prosecutors dropped the charges. He was instead charged with negligent endangerment and the prosecution was deferred while he underwent treatment. Mr O’Neill, who is from Montana, was banned from flying on Delta Air Lines after he posted a photo of himself without a mask, when it was still required because of Covid-19. He first made his claim that he was the person who killed Osama bin Laden in a 2014 interview with The Washington Post. The US government has never confirmed nor denied his claim, and different accounts of the operation have clouded who actually pulled the trigger. Some in the special operations community have criticised Mr O’Neill for breaking the code of silence associated with Naval Special Warfare. The official version of events will likely not be de-classified for decades. Read More Plea negotiations could mean no 9/11 defendants face the death penalty, the US tells families Afghanistan is moving into a darker future – and we are letting it happen A top lawyer’s son, a FBI raid and ‘weapons of mass destruction’: How a Philly teen allegedly turned ‘aspiring terrorist’

For more than nine years, Russian tourists vacationing in Crimea didn't need to give much thought to the fact that their country was waging war on Ukraine - or that their sun lounger was parked on occupied territory.

Two men and a woman were killed by a gunman who then shot himself, in a "hate-filled" attack, officials say.

Multiple people were killed as an active shooter barricaded himself inside a Dollar General store in Florida. Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan confirmed that there were “a number of fatalities” caused by the shooting at the store on the city’s Kings Road on Saturday. “This is unacceptable. One shooting is too much but these mass shootings are really hard to take,” she said, according to WJXT. And she added: “It’s a heartbreaking thing for our community. It’s awful and it has happened in this community way too many times.” State Representative Angie Nixon, who represents the District 13 neighbourhood called the incident “tragic.” “These are things that we want to try to avoid by making sure that our communities are fully resourced, making sure we’re creating a climate of love and not tension,” Ms Nixon told WJXT. Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman said she was devastated to see yet more violence unleashed. “I’m tired of seeing all the shootings. The people in this community are hurting,” she said. The shooting took place near the city’s Edward Waters University campus, which issued a campus-wide stay in place order.

Multiple people were killed as an active shooter barricaded himself inside a Dollar General store in Florida. Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan confirmed that there were “a number of fatalities” caused by the mass shooting at the store on the city’s Kings Road on Saturday. “This is unacceptable. One shooting is too much but these mass shootings are really hard to take,” she said, according to WJXT. And she added: “It’s a heartbreaking thing for our community. It’s awful and it has happened in this community way too many times.”

As new students arrived on campus for the fall semester at Yale University, they were given flyers containing "misleading ... disturbing and inflammatory rhetoric" about the school's safety, according to university officials.