The gunman who walked into a Maryland shopping mall and shot two people inside a skateboard store reportedly was just looking to kill.
Police say that Darion Aguilar had a journal where he wrote that he was looking to kill people and that he was ready to die. The journal didn’t name anyone specifically that Aguilar wanted to kill but he mentioned having a “general hatred of others.”
He also wrote in the journal that he needed to seek help from a mental health professional but that he had not talked with his family about that need.
Detectives who have been going through Aguilar’s computer, cell phone and journal say that there is absolutely no connection to the two people he gunned down. There is also nothing that indicates why he chose the skateboard shop Zumiez for his rampage.
Police released new information yesterday that said Aguilar assembled his shotgun in the dressing room of the store and then opened fire.
An eighth grade social studies teacher at Berrendo Middle School in Roswell, New Mexico is being hailed as a hero for stepping in front of the gunman who wounded two students in a shooting Tuesday.
John Masterson stepped in front of the gunman after he started firing in the gym with a 20-gauge sawed-off shotgun.
“He stood there and allowed the gun to be pointed right at him so there would be no more young kids hurt,” Gov. Susana Martinez told a prayer vigil Tuesday.
Two students were wounded in the shooting. Kendal Sanders, 13, is hospitalized in serious condition and her family told reporters that she is improving. An 11-year-old boy is in critical condition after two surgeries and hospital officials have not updated his condition.
Police authorities have said they do not know the motive for the shooting but discovered that the shooter apparently warned other students to stay home Tuesday.
A gunman opened fire at a New Jersey mall Monday night before hiding in a back room and killing himself.
Richard Shoop, 20, was found near 3:30 a.m. in a distant part of the Westfield Garden State Plaza mall.
Shoop had fired at least six shots without hitting anyone in the mall causing the entire building to go into lockdown for hours. Thousands of shoppers were trapped inside businesses while police searched store to store for the shooter who reportedly was wearing black body armor.
Police suspected this was a case of what they call “suicide by cop” where someone waves a gun around in an attempt to get police to kill them. The police cited the fact Shoop fired at random and at security cameras rather than people.
Shoop had a note on his claiming that “the end was near.”
The man believed to have carried out a gun attack at Los Angeles International Airport could be facing the death penalty if convicted of the charges against him.
Paul Ciancia, 23, has been charged with murder of a federal agent, violence at an international airport and multiple other charges. He remains hospitalized after being shot in the mouth and legs by police.
LAX has reopened fully after the investigation on-site was completed.
Police reported that the gunman did not initially kill 39-year-old TSA agent Gerardo Hernandez, the first TSA agent killed in the line of duty. Ciancia had wounded Hernandez before shooting at other agents then returned to kill the fallen agent.
The FBI says Ciancia carried a handwritten note stating he made the conscious decision to kill TSA employees to “instill fear into their traitorous minds.”
He pushed through screening gates and was 100 yards into the secure area before law enforcement reached him and he opened fire near a food court.
A gunman with an assault rifle opened fire in a crowded terminal at Los Angeles International Airport Friday, killing a TSA employee and injuring at least six before being wounded and taken into custody.
Late Friday, the shooting suspect was identified by Associated Press, citing law enforcement officials, as Paul Ciancia, 23.
The shooting incident, which sent passengers in the airport scrambling for cover, disrupted flights nationwide as planes headed for Los Angeles were temporarily grounded.
“The situation at LAX is very fluid,” the FAA said in a statement. “There is currently a ground stop for flights that are scheduled to depart for LAX. This means those flights are temporarily being held at their departure airports. Arrivals and departures are still occurring, and some flights may be diverted. The FAA is closely monitoring the situation and making adjustments to arrival and departure flows as needed. Passengers should contact their airline to determine the status of their flight.”
Source: FOX News – TSA employee dead, at least 6 injured in LAX shooting; gunman wounded and in custody, officials say
Authorities investigating the Monday shooting at a Nevada middle school say they have not ruled out the possibility of filing charges against the parents of the shooter. Police say that the boy was likely to have obtained the handgun used in the assault from his home.
Officials in Sparks, Nevada have refused to name the boy who shot and killed a teacher and wounded two classmates before taking his own life.
A classmate told CNN that she believes the gunman was responding to repeated bullying.
Amaya Newton said that the shooter was a “nice kid” who liked to help cheer up people having a bad day but was repeatedly bullied. She said that she believes he brought the gun as a way to protect himself from the bullying happening on the playground and in school.
Police praised slain teacher Michael Landsberry on Tuesday saying that his actions likely saved the lives of many students. The Marine veteran, who served two tours in Afghanistan with the Nevada Air National Guard, approached the gunman with hands up in an attempt to get him to lay down the weapon. He was backing away from the student as ordered when the gunman shot Landsberry in the chest.
Landsberry leaves behind a wife and two daughters.
The 12-year-old student who shot and killed a teacher and wounded two other students killed himself before he could be captured by authorities according to police reports.
Witnesses reported that the gunman was yelling at other kids who were taunting him.
“He kept saying ‘why you people making fun of me, why you laughing at me,” student Michelle Hernandez told the Reno Gazette-Journal.
The teacher who was killed was, 45-year-old Michael Landsberry, a Marine veteran who served multiple tours in Afghanistan. Witnesses say that he tried to stop the student from shooting others or injuring himself but the gunman told him to back off. As the teacher moved back, the gunman shot him.
Despite the witness reports that say the gunman was screaming about being taunted, police say they have no speculation on the motive behind the shooting. Classes at the school have been canceled for the rest of the week and counselors are being provided for students and staff.
A student opened fire at a middle school in Nevada killing a teacher and wounding two other students.
The student shooter also died.
“As you can imagine, the best description is chaos,” Tom Robinson, deputy chief of the Reno Police Department, told CNN. “It’s too early to say whether he was targeting specific people or just going on an indiscriminate shooting spree.”
A 13-year-old student told the Reno Gazette-Journal that the shooter pointed a gun at a teacher who told him to drop the weapon. The student then shot the teacher causing students to panic.
Law enforcement says they cannot tell if the shooter killed himself or if he was killed by officers.
A Kenyan intelligence official says al-Shabab ran a store for almost a year in the upscale mall where they launched a terrorist assault last week.
The revelation could explain how the terrorists were able to get so many weapons into the mall. Continue reading →
Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta says the four day siege by Islamist terrorists at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi is over.
In a televised statement to the nation, Kenyatta said that 5 terrorists had been shot and killed during the battle with police and 11 other terrorists have been taken into custody. Continue reading →