Tag Archives: Gun Violence

Philadelphia police keep watch on neighborhood where officer was shot

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – Police were out in large numbers on Monday in the Philadelphia neighborhood where a man inspired by Islamic State militants last week shot a police officer, with officials investigating a tip that the gunman may have been part of a larger group.

Police said on Sunday that a man stopped officers patrolling near the site of the attack and warned that suspected gunman Edward Archer, 30, had been part of a group of four men who may pose a danger to police. But a federal law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, on Monday cautioned that it was not clear how credible that threat was.

Archer, who friends said worked in construction and went by the Muslim name Abdul Shaheed, lived in Yeadon, a suburban town just over the Philadelphia border. He appeared to maintain roots in West Philadelphia, and stayed at times in a vacant home owned by a relative, near the mosque where he worshipped and just two blocks from the scene of an attack that police have called an ambush.

In an attack caught on video, a gunman police say was Archer was seen shooting into a patrol car driven by Officer Jesse Hartnett, 33, who was shot in the arm but managed to fire back. Archer, who sustained a bullet wound to the buttocks, was arrested at the scene and charged with attempted murder.

Archer, police say, told them that the attack was done “in the name of Islam.”

On Monday morning multiple police cruisers, including one SWAT unit and two units assigned to the department’s counter-terrorism unit, could be seen in the neighborhood.

Jacob Bender, the director of the Philadelphia chapter of the Council for American Islamic relations said that local leaders, wary of the increased scrutiny that acts of violence brings on the community, are quick to report threats of violence.

“People running around shooting police cars is the last thing the community wants,” Bender said.

(Editing by Scott Malone and Andrew Hay)

California Man Offers Free Gun Safety Classes to Church Personnel

A Northern California man is reportedly offering free gun safety classes to religious leaders.

Geof Peabody, who owns a gun range in Placerville, near Sacramento, told CBS News that he’s provided the training to some 500 ministers and church security teams over the past eight years.

“Safe and saved,” Peabody told CBS News. “We can accomplish both with the right training.”

Sacramento television station KOVR also covered Peabody’s story, reporting that the owner saw “a dramatic increase” in interest in recent months. Peabody told KOVR a recent class attracted nine different churches, who collectively sent about 25 students to learn introductory training.

The classes cover more than firing weapons. Peabody told KOVR he also teaches his clients certain defense techniques, which can be used to stop someone else from shooting.

The news comes at a time when America is feeling particularly jittery.

A recent Public Religion Research Institute poll, conducted in the wake of the San Bernardino mass shootings, found that 47 percent of Americans believe they or someone in their family will be the victim of a terrorist attack. And data available on Google’s website indicates that more Americans have performed searches for concealed carry permits, which allow people to carry hidden handguns in public, this month than they have at any other point in the past 11 years.

CBS News reported Peabody’s graduates can carry concealed weapons, and many of them bring their guns to church. In addition to San Bernardino, another incident is undoubtedly fresh in the minds of some of the church personnel who receive training from Peabody. Nine people were killed when a gunman opened fire at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, back in June.

But there is conflicting evidence on whether concealed carry permits actually curb gun violence, particularly in chaotic active-shooter situations like those in San Bernardino and Charleston, as well as conflicting ideologies about whether firearms belong in church under any circumstance.

Interest in Concealed Carry Permits Hits New High after California Shootings

More Americans have performed Google searches for concealed carry permits this month than at any other point in the past 11 years, according to data published on the company’s website.

The spike in concealed carry permit searches comes in the wake of the Dec. 2 mass shooting that left 14 people dead and 21 more injured in San Bernardino, California. The husband-and-wife team of Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik opened fire during a holiday party for Farook’s coworkers in what President Barack Obama has declared an act of terrorism.

People who possess valid concealed carry permits can carry hidden handguns in public areas.

The previous all-time high for concealed carry searches came in December 2012, the month in which Adam Lanza killed 20 schoolchildren and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The total concealed carry searches in that month were about 60 percent of what they were in the first 11 days of this month, according to Google Trends data.

There’s also been a documented rise in the number of people who actually obtain the permits.

The Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) says that about 12.8 million Americans held concealed carry permits in July, nearly tripling the 4.6 million million who held such permits in 2007. The CPRC says that 1.7 million new concealed carry permits were issued in the past year alone, and the 15.4 percent year-over-year increase was the largest ever recorded in history.

Near the site of the shooting, some people wasted little time to get new concealed carry permits.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the San Bernardino County sheriff’s department received 75 applications for concealed carry permits the weekend following the shooting, which was seven times higher than usual. In neighboring Orange County, sheriff’s deputies told the newspaper that they received about 100 additional applications the weekend after the attack.

The news comes amid a new survey released Thursday by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) that found that 47 percent of Americans fear they or someone in their family will be the victim of a terrorist attack. That’s a 14 percent increase from one year ago. The PRRI survey also indicated 3 in 4 Americans said terrorism was a “critical issue” in the nation.

As permit interest surged, some were trying to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands.

Connecticut’s governor, Dannel P. Malloy, said Thursday he would sign an executive order that prohibits selling firearms to anyone on a government watchlist. It still needs federal approval.

California Shooting Suspects Had Arsenal of Bombs and Ammunition

The suspects who allegedly killed 14 people and wounded 21 more during a mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., on Wednesday had a dozen explosive devices in their home, police said.

San Bernardino police chief Jarrod Burguan said at a Thursday news conference that “12 pipe bomb-type devices” were found at the home of the two deceased suspects, along with “hundreds of tools” that the two could have used to manufacture other explosive devices. That’s in addition to an unexploded pipe bomb that Burguan said police discovered at the scene of the shooting.

One day after the violent attack, the nation’s deadliest mass shooting since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in 2012, authorities were still working to piece together the precise set of circumstances that surrounded the carnage. But there were some details that emerged.

Burguan said the suspects, who police have identified as Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, allegedly sprayed between 65 and 75 bullets during a rampage at the Inland Regional Center before fleeing in a dark-colored SUV. They were later killed in a shootout with police.

The chief said police also discovered at least 4,500 additional rounds of ammunition at the home of the married couple, fueling speculation about what the suspects might have been planning. Police had not released an exact motive as of Thursday afternoon, though CNN quoted Burguan as saying that the two “were equipped … and they could have done another attack.”

According to numerous published reports, Farook was an employee of the San Bernardino County Public Health Department, which was hosting a holiday party at Inland Regional Center at the time of the shooting. Burguan is quoted in several reports as saying that Farook left the event angrily and abruptly, then he and his wife returned in tactical gear and began shooting.

Speaking from the Oval Office, President Barack Obama told reporters that the attackers might have had “mixed motives.” The Los Angeles Times quoted a federal law enforcement source as saying that a “combination of terrorism and workplace” was what investigators were focusing on, and they were trying to determine if the act was inspired by or directed by a terrorist group.

Multiple media organizations report that Farook was Muslim, though it’s not clear if he had been radicalized or had any links to religious extremist groups. Co-workers told The Los Angeles Times that he seldom discussed his religion at work, and had attended the same holiday event last year.

A relative told the New York Times the suspects met on an Internet dating site. Farook was born to Pakistani parents in Illinois and Malik was a Pakistani native living in Saudi Arabia. A relative told the newspaper that Farook flew to Saudi Arabia twice, including once to marry Malik. They had been married for about two years, according to an NPR report.

Citing family members, CNN reported that the suspects had a six-month-old daughter that they left at a grandmother’s house sometime on Wednesday. They claimed to be going to the doctor. Instead, police say they went to the party at about 11 a.m. and opened fire. Police believe they were the only two gunmen, and earlier reports of a potential third shooter were inaccurate.

Residents of the Redlands, California, neighborhood where the suspects lived spoke to the BBC and described it “peaceful” and home to “a bunch of innocent people.” The neighbors said there was no indication that the suspects were planning or capable of committing such a shooting.

It was the deadliest mass shooting in the United States since a gunman killed 20 children and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012.

California shooting the latest in a long list of deadly U.S. rampages

REUTERS – Fourteen people were killed and 14 were wounded on Wednesday when at least one person opened fire at a social services agency in the Southern California city of San Bernardino, the latest of many deadly rampages in the United States.

Below are some of the worst shooting incidents in recent years, ranked by the number of dead, including the gunman:

Virginia Tech

April 16, 2007 – A gunman slaughters 32 people and kills himself at Virginia Tech, a university in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Sandy Hook

Dec. 14, 2012 – A gunman kills 20 children and six adults and himself at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Columbine

April 20, 1999 – Two heavily armed teenagers go on a rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, shooting 12 students and a teacher to death and wounding more than 20 others before taking their own lives.

Immigration center

April 3, 2009 – A Vietnamese immigrant opens fire at an immigrant services center in Binghamton, New York, killing 13 people and wounding four. He then kills himself.

Fort Hood

Nov. 5, 2009 – A gunman opens fire at Fort Hood, a U.S. Army base in Texas, killing 13 people and wounding 32. The gunman, an Army major and psychiatrist, was sentenced to death for the rampage.

Washington Navy Yard

Sept. 16, 2013 – A former Navy reservist working as a government contractor kills 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard. Eight people are injured. The gunman was killed by police.

Colorado movie theater

July 20, 2012 – A masked gunman kills 12 people and wounds 70 when he opens fire on moviegoers at a midnight premiere of the Batman film “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora, a Denver suburb. A former graduate student is sentenced to life in prison for the rampage.

Washington, D.C., snipers

October 2002 – Two men ambush 13 people, killing 10 of them, in a string of sniper-style shootings that terrorize the Washington area.

Oregon College

Oct. 1, 2015 – A gunman bursts into Umpqua Community College in southwest Oregon and opens fire, killing nine people and wounding seven others before police shoot him to death.

Charleston church

June 17, 2015 – A white supremacist gunman kills nine black churchgoers during a Bible study session at a historic, predominantly black church in Charleston, South Carolina. The suspect is awaiting trial.

Waco bikers

May 17, 2015 – Rival motorcycle gangs kill nine at a restaurant in Waco, Texas. More than 170 people are arrested.

Grandfather kills family

Sept. 18, 2014 – Man kills his daughter and six grandchildren in Bell, Florida, and then kills himself.

Oikos University

April 2, 2012 – A former student kills seven students at Oikos University, a small Christian school in Oakland, California. The suspect is awaiting trial.

Sikh temple

Aug. 5, 2012 – A white supremacist walks into a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, shoots six worshippers and wounds four others, including a policeman. The gunman kills himself after being shot by a police officer.

Florida apartment

July 26, 2013 – A man goes on a shooting spree at an apartment complex in Hialeah, Florida, killing six people. The shooter is killed by police.

Congresswoman assassination attempt

Jan. 8, 2011 – Then-U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords is the target of an assassination attempt by a gunman in Tucson, Arizona, in which six people are killed and 13, including Giffords, are wounded.

Planned Parenthood

Nov. 27, 2015 – A gunman storms a Planned Parenthood health clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado, killing three people and wounding nine. Police arrest the gunman.

Television journalists

Aug. 26, 2015 – A reporter and a cameraman are fatally ambushed by a former employee of their Roanoke, Virginia, television station while they are interviewing a woman on live TV. The woman is wounded. The gunman later kills himself as police pursue him on a highway hours after the shooting.

(Compiled by Lisa Shumaker in Chicago; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)