Tag Archives: Violence

Migrants Clash with Hungarian Police at Border

Hungarian police have used tear gas and water cannons to drive Syrian migrants away from the now closed Hungarian-Serbian border.

The migrants responded by throwing rocks, bottles and other projectiles at the police.

The Hungarian government closed the border on Tuesday and made it illegal to either enter the country or to damage the new razor-wire fencing at the border.  Serbia’s foreign ministry said that Hungary has actually closed the main border crossing between the two nations for 30 days.

Hungary also announced the fact-tracking of trials for migrants who have been arrested for illegally entering the nation.

Serbia has protested the firing of tear gas into their territory.

The same time that Hungary has shut down the borders of their nation, Croatia has said they will allow migrants to cross through their land to make their way to other EU nations.

“We heard that Hungary was closed so the police told us we should come this way,” Amadou, 35, from Mauritania told AFP news agency.  “We don’t know what we should do now. Do we have to catch a boat?”

The EU’s border agency says the total number of migrants entering their borders has passed 500,000.  Only 280,000 entered the EU throughout all of 2014.

A plan championed by Germany to force all members of the EU to take a certain amount of migrants or pay financial penalties collapsed after arguments within the EU leadership.

Heavy Clashes at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem

Muslim youths attacked Israeli police for a second day at the al-Aqsa mosque complex in East Jerusalem.

The site, considered holy by both Jews and Muslims, was raided by Israeli police after Palestinian youths attempted to attack far-right Jews who visited the complex for the Jewish New Year.

“As the police entered the compound, masked youths fled inside the mosque and threw stones at the force,” a police spokesperson said in a statement.

Nine Palestinian youths were arrested.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would be holding emergency talks on the clashes between police and Palestinians that began Sunday.

Netanyahu said in a statement he would “use any means to maintain the status quo and the rule of law on the Temple Mount”.

Police also discovered that the Palestinians were stocking up on pipe bombs and other weapons.  A cache of bombs and weapons was found near to the mosque site and is currently being forensically examined by Israeli authorities.

United Nations officials in the area called for calm saying they wanted everyone to do their share in “ensuring that visitors and worshippers demonstrate restraint and respect for the sanctity of the area”.

Serial Shooter Terrorizing Phoenix Area

Drivers on Interstate 10 in the Phoenix area are in a heightened state of fear because of a serial shooter that has struck at least 11 times.

Local authorities confirmed that 11 vehicles have been hit with everything from BBs to bullets.

A 13-year-old girl was injured by flying glass after the windshield of the car she was riding was struck by a bullet.

The latest incident has the passenger side window of a truck shattered by a bullet.

One Arizona official says the incidents are domestic terrorism.

“Anytime that you have multiple shootings against American citizens on a highway, that’s terrorism,” Department of Public Safety Director Frank Milstead said. “They’re trying to frighten or kill somebody.”

A spokesman for Arizona’s state troopers says that someone needs to come forward to authorities with information on the shooter.

“What we have is a very dangerous situation and somebody knows something,” Raul Garcia said. “You need to let law enforcement know.”

Authorities told the public they have increased amounts of officers on the streets looking for the shooter or shooters.

“We have a number of officers … both uniformed, non-uniformed, plainclothes, undercover vehicles, marked vehicles on the road patrolling, looking for the suspect, looking for leads,” said Bart Graves, another Department of Public Safety spokesman.

Border 40 Percent Secure; 1 in 5 Intercepted Illegals Have Criminal Record

The head of the U.S. Border Patrol testified to Congress that less than half of the southern border is under “operational control.”

Brandon Judd cited violent conditions as part of the problem and added that one out of every five people caught attempting to enter the U.S. has a criminal record in Mexico or the U.S.

In 2014, the border patrol caught around 486,000 illegal immigrants, but only 91,000 were returned to Mexico.

“This is the challenge we are facing at the border today. There are those who will point to lower apprehension rates and tell you the border is secure. Border Patrol agents, however, throughout this nation will tell you the border is not secure and the southwest border certainly is not safe,” Judd testified.

Judd also said that drug cartels are a major issue.

“These cartels are well organized, heavily armed, and pathologically violent. To give you sense of the violence the official death, as quoted earlier, toll from the cartel violence in Mexico is 60,000. This is more than the United States military lost in in Vietnam. However, the unofficial death toll in Mexico is over 120,000 killed and another 27,000 missing and presumed dead,” Judd said.

“In Mexico, the cartels kill without hesitation or fear of prosecution. In May of this year, cartel members shot down a Mexican Army helicopter in the State of Jalisco. Why would we expect them to behave any differently on the U.S./Mexico border?”

New York Governor’s Aide Shot; Fighting for His Life

Gunfire rang out before the start of Monday’s West Indian Parade in New York City, leaving a member of Governor Cuomo’s staff critically wounded and fighting for his life.

Carey Gabay, 43, is a deputy counsel for Empire State Development.  He was in the Crown Heights area during early morning preparations for the parade when he was caught in crossfire between two rival gangs.

Officials at Kings County Hospital say he was shot in the head and that his condition is “grave.”

“I’m the governor of the state of New York, and there’s not a thing I can do,” Cuomo told reporters after he visited Gabay’s family at the hospital. “There’s not a thing I can say, and there’s nothing I can do. And sometimes it just hurts.”

Cuomo also released a statement before his visit.

“Carey is an outstanding public servant who joined our administration in 2011. He is a Harvard-educated lawyer who works for the state because he wants to give back to others and make a difference. He is just 43 years old and is a kind-hearted man.”

The parade has been the target of violence the last three years.  Last year, a man opened fire during the parade killing one and wounding several others.  The prior year, a 1-year-old boy in his stroller was killed by a bullet someone intended for his father.

Murder Rates in U.S. Rising

The murder rates in the United States are rising, with at lest 30 cities reporting violence on the rise.

Three cities, Milwaukee, St. Louis and Baltimore, are showing an increase of over 50% in the number of murders with Milwaukee leading the list with a 76% increase.

One woman had to flee Milwaukee after two of her five children were killed in shootings in a six month span.  Her 20-year-old daughter was shot and killed during a robbery at a birthday party being held at a Days Inn.  Then six months later her only son was shot and killed while sitting in a car.

She persuaded her family to flee the city but her remaining teen daughters only left after the 17-year-old daughter was shot while riding in a car.

“The violence was nothing like this before,” Holmes, 38, who grew up in Milwaukee, told the New York Times. “What’s changed is the streets and the laws and the parents. It’s become a mess and a struggle.”

The BBC said that some senior police officials say with media outlets and activist groups watching every move police make they are withdrawing more from situations and leaving criminals feeling they have more space to commit violent acts.

New Orleans police superintendent Michael Harrison told the New York Times that much of the increase is coming not from gang violence but rather killings involving people who know each other.

“That is not a situation that can be solved by policing,” Superintendent Harrison said. “It speaks to a culture of violence deeply ingrained into a community — a segment of the population where people are resolving their problems in a violent way.”

Venezuela Food Shortage Leads to Violence

Food shortages in the communist country of Venezuela are causing long lines and significant violence and rioting.

In one recent incident, a mob angered by lack of food stormed a National Guard posting in La Sibucara, looting the offices and burning it before slamming military trucks into the building and reducing it to rubble.

The country’s food situation has degraded to the level that people are standing in line for hours just to obtain basic food staples such as rice and milk.  The country’s economy has undergone triple digit inflation which President Nicolas Maduro blames on food smuggling and price speculation.

A survey of Venezuelans found that 30% have two meals or less each day because of lack of food and 70% say they have stopped buying some basic food staple because of excessive cost or lack of availability.

The worldwide fall in oil prices has significantly hurt the country and the government’s ability to control the populace.  When oil prices hovered around $100 a barrel, the government provided subsidized food and personal items such a diapers.  Residents were able to smuggle items like cheap gasoline to neighboring countries as significant profit.

Since the collapse of the market, the government has been unable to provide the cheap goods and have used soldiers to close the borders and intercept any attempts to smuggle goods.

Venezuelan residents told the Wall Street Journal that they have no choice but to attempt to smuggle goods.

“The people that used to give us work—the private companies, the rich—have all gone,” said a woman who identified herself as Palma in La Sibucara.. “It’s not the greatest business but we don’t have work and we have to find a way to eat.”

“I think we’re going to die of hunger,” Yusleidy Márquez said.

Saeed Abedini Viciously Beaten In Prison

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has revealed that Pastor Saeed Abedini has been viciously beaten by other inmates at the brutal prison where he is being illegally detained.

“Unprovoked, fellow prisoners attacked Pastor Saeed as he attempted to leave his cell, punching him in the face near his left eye and nose,” Executive Director Jordan Sekulow wrote. “In addition to physically beating the persecuted pastor, prisoners demolished a small table Pastor Saeed used to study and read.”

“As he was attacked, Pastor Saeed called out for help,” he continued. “Iranian prison guards did intervene and prevent further injury. However, Pastor Saeed suffered injuries to his face—his eyes beaten black and blue. He was able to be seen briefly by a prison doctor, and thankfully he did not receive any broken bones.”

Abedini has been illegally detained by Iranian officials since 2012.

“It is heartbreaking to me and my family that Saeed was again beaten in prison. Saeed’s life is continuously threatened not only because he is an American, but also because he is a convert from Islam to Christianity. It’s time to get Saeed home before it is too late,” Naghmeh Abedini said in response to the news.

This is not the first assault at the hands of other inmates and Naghmeh Abedini has stated she fears his health will continue to decline with each successive beating.

Iranian officials have reportedly told Saeed his sentence will be extended if he does not deny Christ.

“The times they have moved him in and out of solitary [confinement] and the times they have threatened him, they said ‘You will stay here longer than the eight years and your only key to freedom is if you deny your Christian faith and you return to Islam.’ The guards have said that, officials have said that continuously,” Abedini said.

Muslim Mob Attacks Christians In Lahore, Pakistan

A Muslim mob attacked Christians, including attempting to burn a church, after someone claimed a mentally ill man burned pages of the Koran.

Police had arrested Humayun Faisal, a mentally challenged Christian man, after some Muslim residents told police that Faisal had burned the Koran.  He was charged under a Pakistiani law that prohibits the desecration of the Koran.

“Many people gathered on the spot and some of them even tried to burn him alive, however, we saved him and handed him to the police,” one witness told the Express Tribune. “Later a charged mob reached the house of the accused and recorded their protest.”

The mob, chanting “allahu akbar”, looted the homes of 15 Christian families, forcing the Christian to flee out of fear of their lives.  The mob tried to burn St. Joseph’s Catholic basilica but police confronted the mob and dispersed them using tear gas.

“I immediately requested help from some Muslim leaders and local politicians,”  Archbishop Sebastian Shaw told international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. “Thanks to their intervention, the police succeeded in dispersing the crowd by midnight. It is the first time the government has succeeded in acting in time to save both the people and their homes.”

Muslim is Pakistan’s official state religion and 97 percent of the country identifies as Muslim.

Boko Haram Violently Kills Dozens of Christians

Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram has violently killed dozens of Christians to death in their latest raids on villages.

Boko Haram killed 29 people in Adamawa state and most of the dead are Christians.  The killings come a week after the terrorists hacked to death 10 Christians in Pambula-Kwamda.

They destroyed the telephone mast first before invading our community — this was to prevent us from telephoning and requesting help,” said one community pastor.  “They killed 10 members of our church [Church of the Brethren in Nigeria, or EYN] using machetes and then slaughtering them.”

Military officials also say that Boko Haram is the likely source of suicide bomb attacks in a Christian community on May 19th that left nine people dead. They are also believed behind a shooting attack in Wagga.

“The attacks killed 19 people in Garkida and Madagali,” said the Rev. Samuel Dante Dali, president of the EYN. “The bombing signals a renewal of violence by the Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram at a time when Nigerian authorities are claiming victory in many parts of the northeast.”

The town of Gubio was attacked and burned Wednesday night leaving 37 men, women and children dead.  Over 400 buildings were destroyed in the terrorist attack.