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 stepmother of a 14-year-old girl who was arrested on charges related to bullying another teen into suicide has been arrested on six counts related to abuse.
Vivian Vosburg, 30, is facing charges related to a video posted on Facebook showing her punching two teenage boys. The Polk County Florida Sheriff’s Office said Vosburg is charged with two counts of child abuse with bodily harm and four counts of child neglect with great harm.
Vosburg’s stepdaughter, 14-year-old Guadalupe Shaw, is charged along with a 12-year-old girl with felony aggravated stalking in the suicide death of 12-year-old Rebecca Sedwick. The two girls reportedly harassed Sedwick in person and online because the girl had dated a boy that Shaw had once dated. Sedwick committed suicide by jumping from the top of a concrete silo on September 9th.
While the charges against Vosburg are not related to the bullying incident with Shaw, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd believes the environment created in Vosburg’s home contributed to the 14-year-old’s depraved mindset.
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Judd said at a press conference.
“Sadness, depression, fear of sterility, guilt,” drug abuse and suicide are just some of the effects suffered by women who have abortions in Mexico City, according to the country’s most eminent newspaper, El Universal. The newspaper ran an article openly acknowledging the psychological trauma associated with abortion on January 21. Continue reading →
A 15-year-old Canadian girl who posted a video plea on YouTube seeking help in her battle against cyber-bulling and stating she needed “somebody” killed herself Wednesday night in her home.
Amanda Todd had been fighting cyber-bulling since 7th grade. She was on an online video chat when someone flattered her into exposing herself. The person then captured the image and threatened to send it to her friends unless she “put on a show” for them. The person had her address, school and names of friends, family and school classmates. Continue reading →
A sharp increase in suicides in Greece is causing social stress leading up to the May 6th elections.
The rise in suicides was punctuated by a 77-year-old pharmacist who said he was reduced to fishing through garbage cans for sustenance and thus found suicide to be a “dignified end” to his life. Continue reading →
Thanksgiving is usually a time that friends and family gather together and enjoy one another. That is, when there is peace in your soul and you have family and friends that care for you. But I also know there are many without that peace and without family and friends to surround you. Continue reading →