Man barges into church during wedding, shoots at bride and bishop
A gunman barged into a church in New Hampshire and opened fire, wounding a bride and the bishop before wedding guests tackled him, authorities said. Investigators want to know if the attack is related to another fatal shooting this month.
Dale Holloway, 37, was charged with first-degree assault after he allegedly opened fire at the New England Pentecostal Ministries in Pelham on Saturday.
The shooting left Claire McMullen, 60, hospitalized with arm injuries at a local hospital. The bishop, Stanley Choate, 75, was shot in the chest and hospitalized in serious condition, the state attorney general’s office said in a statement.
Mark Castiglione, 60, was struck in the head with an object and was treated and released from a local hospital, the release said.
McMullen and Castiglione are the bride and groom, CNN affiliate WHDH reported.
Wedding guests ‘gang-tackled him’
A 911 caller reported a man walked into the church and shot at the presiding bishop, the state attorney general’s office said.
Officers arrived at the church just after 10 a.m. Saturday, and found wedding guests had subdued the male suspect, Pelham Police Chief Joseph Roark said at a news conference.
“From my understanding, they basically gang-tackled him,” he said.
Other wedding guests were treated for minor injuries and nobody was killed, Roark said. A handgun was recovered. Investigators are trying to determine whether the shooting is linked to a previous incident involving the groom’s son, Brandon Castiglione, who is accused of second-degree murder in the killing of pastor Luis Garcia this month. Garcia worked at the same church where Saturday’s shooting took place, and his body was found at a home in Londonderry on October 1, according to the affiliate.
Police say attack does not appear random
When asked if the shooting was related to Garcia’s killing, investigators said they are trying to determine whether there was a connection.
“We are certainly looking into that right now … whether there is in fact a clear connection between these two events that is something we’re trying to put together,” said Benjamin Agati, a senior assistant attorney general.
Roark told CNN affiliate WMUR that it does not appear to be a random attack. A memorial service was scheduled to be held for Garcia, 60, at the same venue after the wedding.
“It’s just surreal,” Donna Maciver told CNN affiliate WCVB. “Luis was shot, and now there’s a shooting at his church.”
A friend of the bishop injured in the shooting said he’s a pillar in the community. “A lot of people in the community look to Bishop Choate for leadership, especially African Americans,” Darius Mitchell told WCVB. ” You hear him preach and he definitely believes in God and God was looking out for him.”
The Pelham Police Department said it had provided active shooter training to members of the church within the past year.
Pelham is 40 miles north of Boston.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/10/13/man-barges-into-church-during-wedding-shoots-at-bride-and-bishop/
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Man charged in sex sting after WALKING hundreds of miles to have sex with teen
INDIANAPOLIS — A 32-year-old faces federal charges alleging he walked hundreds of miles from central Indiana to Wisconsin to have sex with someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl.
The Indianapolis Star cites a Department of Justice statement Friday as saying the person posing as a girl named “Kylee” was a sheriff’s deputy working with the FBI in a sting.
It says Tommy Lee Jenkins, of Whitestown, Indiana, began communicating online on Oct. 1, thinking Kylee lived 350 miles away with her mom in Neenah, Wisconsin.
After deciding to walk, he allegedly sent selfies and photos of exit signs to show he was getting closer. He was arrested in Winnebago County, Wisconsin.
He is charged with attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity, which carries a potential life sentence.
It wasn’t clear if Jenkins had a lawyer.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Fort Worth Cop Pulls An Amber Guyger And Kills Black Woman In Her Own Home
A white police officer killed an unarmed Black person who was only guilty of being home in Texas. Sound familiar?
This time the deadly shooting took place in Fort Worth early Saturday morning after an officer responded to a home because a concerned neighbor requested a wellness check. Atatiana Jefferson died about 2:30 a.m. local time, authorities said after reviewing the officer’s bodycam footage. The Fort Worth Police Department declined to identify the officer and would only describe him as “a white male who has been with the department since April of 2018.” He was placed on administrative leave, but there were no immediate reports of him being fired.
Jefferson was reportedly shot within four seconds of the officer issuing verbal commands to her.
The shooting came just about two weeks after a jury found former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger guilty of murder for giving the same type of lethal treatment to Botham Jean, who she shot in his own home after she purportedly confused his apartment for her own. The similarities between the two cases were striking and was the latest incident of a police officer in Texas being too quick on the draw in circumstances that didn’t require any gunplay at all.
Fort Worth is about 32 miles away from Dallas. Both cities have Black police chiefs.
Saturday morning’s shooting revived the issue of implicit racial bias within police departments.
“Ain’t no ‘perceived threat’ — unless it’s black folk,” local Pastor Michael Bell said Saturday. “Just our presence — we’re the threat.”
Not much information has been reported about Jefferson, who was 28 when she was killed. According to her Facebook and LinkedIn pages, she worked at and attended the historically Black college Xavier University of Lousiana.
If there was any solace to the situation, it was that Guyger’s conviction for a similarly egregious killing theoretically set a precedent for such cases. However, the offending officer was still on the Fort Worth Police Department payroll as of Saturday evening. And all of that was assuming the officer who killed Jefferson will ultimately be charged with murder. Guyger got off with a lenient sentence of 10 years.
The neighbor who called the non-emergency police number in Fort Worth said he only reached out to police because he found it curious that her lights were on and her door was open at such a late hour. James Smith said he was concerned because he said he knew Jefferson’s young nephew was there with her. But now, Smith said he regretted contacting law enforcement about Jefferson, who he called his friend.
“I’m shaken. I’m mad. I’m upset. And I feel it’s partly my fault,” Smith told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “If I had never dialed the police department, she’d still be alive.”
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Woman tells daughter’s murderer in court: ‘I hate you. I want to rip you limb from limb’
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Jared Chance will likely spend the rest of his life in prison, after murdering and dismembering Ashley Young in 2018.
He learned his sentence Thursday after first hearing victim impact statements from members of Young’s family.
“Jared Chance I hate you,” said Kristine Young, Ashley’s mother, during her statement. “You had no right to take her from me – to take her from her family.”
Parts of Young’s body still haven’t been found. Finding her is a fight her family says they intend to keep up, according to WXMI.
“I believe you are evil,” Judge Trusock said before handing down the sentence of 100 to 200 years in prison. That’s far above the state guidelines for second-degree murder. “You are clearly a monster without any conscience whatsoever.”
Judge Trusock couldn’t sentence Chance to life without parole because his murder conviction was on a 2nd degree charge.
The judge explained that Chance will not be eligible for parole until he is 130 years old.
Chance’s parents are facing charges for allegedly helping their son cover up the killing.
Photo Credit: fox2now.com
Man once accused of putting toddler in oven now charged with pouring boiling water on 3-year-old
DELTONA, Fla. (WNCN) – A 3-year-old boy suffered severe burns after police said a 47-year-old man poured boiling water on his back, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.
Terry Man faces a charge of child abuse causing great bodily harm after being taken into custody on Thursday.
On Sept. 27, employees at the boy’s day care called deputies after seeing the burns on the boy’s back.
The sheriff’s office investigated and said May poured boiling water onto the child after the boy accidentally urinated on the floor.
May was previously charged with child abuse in 2018 in DeLand but was ultimately not prosecuted. He was accused of putting a 3-year-old in an oven, the sheriff’s office said.
The girl suffered extensive injuries, including cuts, swelling on her head, a 6-inch scar on her back, WKMG reported. The girl’s ear was burned likely from May putting her in the oven, according to a medical examiner.
May’s bond was set at $250,000 for his charge on Thursday.
Photo Credit: fox2now.com
Kansas 13-year-old girl who pointed finger gun at classmates charged with a felony
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — A student has been charged with a felony following an incident at a Kansas middle school.
“If someone makes a direct threat to another person to do harm to another person, that is considered criminal threat and that would be a felony,” Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe said.
Although Howe couldn’t speak to specifics in this case, he told WDAF what his office takes into account in these kinds of situations.
“Trust that there are a lot of people who do this all the time, making informed decisions based on all the facts,” Howe said.
Police arrested the 13-year-old girl on September 18 after investigators say she made a threat at Westridge Middle School with her finger.
Shawnee Mission School District spokesperson David Smith said there was no actual weapon found — it was a finger pointed like a gun.
Overland Park Police say the girl’s actions were confirmed by two other students. A school resource officer with the department made the arrest.
“In most instances, an individual with that kind of charge would be eligible for some kind of diversion plan,” Howe said. “It would be extremely difficult, almost impossible, under the current juvenile justice system to actually send them to the correctional facility for that type of behavior because it is such a low level offense, it would not meet the criteria needed.”
Howe couldn’t speak on the 13-year-old’s history, like if she had any prior offenses. He did say criminal history and public safety issues are considered when making a decision to file charges.
When asked if charging the teen with a felony seemed extreme, Howe referenced last year’s school shooting in Florida, which left 17 dead.
“I think law enforcement and schools understand that we need to address bad behavior,” Howe said. “Not be heavy-handed but at the same time, address that bad behavior and prevent it from getting worse.”
The Overland Park Police chief said that too often there are reports of violence in schools and inevitably questions about what should or should have been done to prevent the tragedy.
In Kansas, it’s illegal for a juvenile to possess a firearm, Howe said, but even in a school setting that is a misdemeanor. A threat constitutes a more serious criminal charge.
“It seems a little bit of an anomaly that you would think that having the actual gun that would be a more serious charge, but in fact it’s the actual threat,” Howe said. “And it’s something that maybe we need to look at with the legislature and reconcile that.”
Howe said the teen has a closed hearing at the Juvenile District Court within the next couple weeks.
via: https://fox2now.com/2019/10/11/girl-13-charged-with-felony-for-finger-gun-threat-at-middle-school/
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NJ man charged for assaulting infant son, causing skull fracture
HACKENSACK, N.J. — A Paramus man is in custody for allegedly assaulting his infant son.
Avery Foote, 31, is charged with aggravated and assault and endangering the welfare of a child. He was arrested following an investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office after the infant was brought to Hackensack University Medical Center for what turned out to be a skull fracture, broken rib, broken wrist and retinal bleed, all of which were indicative of physical trauma.
The investigation determined Foote, the child’s biological father, intentionally caused the injuries, according to the prosecutor’s office. He was arrested and transported to Bergen County Jail.
The infant is still in the hospital in stable condition.
Photo Credit: Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office
Healthier diet may help lift depression symptoms
(Reuters Health) – Young adults who eat poorly and feel blue might be able to perk themselves up by switching to a healthier diet, a small study suggests.
In a randomized trial, men and women aged 17-35 in Australia who switched to a healthier diet had fewer depression symptoms after three weeks. And those who kept up the healthy eating for three months continued to feel better than at the start, researchers report in the journal PLoS ONE.
“This has 100% reach (since everybody needs to eat), is more cost effective than medications, and is an aspect of treatment that individuals can control themselves,” said lead study author Heather Francis of Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.
“This raises the possibility that making changes to diet can act as a therapy to improve depression symptoms,” she told Reuters Health by email.
Francis and colleagues studied 76 people who scored high on two depression and anxiety scales – indicating moderate or high depression symptoms – and who also scored high on a questionnaire about dietary fat and sugar consumption.
Participants were randomly assigned to a diet-change group or a habitual-diet group for three weeks. The diet-change group received instructions from a registered dietician through a 13-minute video, which they could re-watch as needed. The video provided dietary guidance based on the 2003 Australian Guide to Healthy Eating as well as the Mediterranean Diet eating pattern. This included instructions to increase intake of vegetables to five servings per day, fruits to two or three servings per day, whole grains to three servings per day, lean protein to three servings per day, unsweetened dairy to three servings per day and fish to three servings per week.
The program also recommended daily consumption of three tablespoons of nuts and seeds, two tablespoons of olive oil, and one teaspoon each of turmeric and cinnamon. Participants were also told to decrease refined carbohydrates, sugars, fatty or processed meats and soft drinks.
The diet-change group also received sample meal plans and recipes, as well as a box of food items, including olive oil, natural nut butter, walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, cinnamon and turmeric. They were told to keep their shopping receipts to be reimbursed with a $60 gift card.
After three weeks, average depression scores had dropped into the normal range in the diet-change group, while remaining elevated or severe in the habitual-diet group – and the improvements were maintained three months later, the research team reports.
“Depression is a whole-body disorder, not just a disorder of the brain,” Francis said. “Depression is associated with a chronic inflammatory response, but what is the source of this inflammation? (Earlier research has shown) that poor diet both increases systemic inflammation and is also a risk factor for depression.”
Still, researchers should be careful about suggesting cause-and-effect relationships in studies like these, said Marc Molendijk of Leiden University in The Netherlands, who wasn’t involved in the research.
Molendijk, who studies dietary habits and mental health and also serves on the PLoS ONE editorial board, cautioned against giving the results too much weight.
“There probably are expectancy effects at play, leading to a placebo effect,” he said by email. “It’s also a bad message to depressed people, as they may attribute the responsibility for their depression to themselves.”
On the other hand, noted Joseph Firth of the University of Manchester in the UK, “the age-old saying, ‘Healthy body, healthy mind’ really is true.”
Firth, who also wasn’t involved in the study, told Reuters Health by email, “No secret formula or complicated diets are required. Even simple positive behaviors such as eating healthier and being more active have notable benefits.”
Article via YahooNews
Indiana church wipes out $7.8 million in medical debt for nearly 6,000 families
(Meredith) — An Indiana church helped pay off $7.8 million in medical debt for nearly 6,000 families across the state.
Northview Church teamed up with RIP Medical Debt, a New York-based organization, and leveraged more than $40,000 in donations to wipe out the unpaid medical bills.
RIP Medical Debt negotiates with hospitals, doctors and even investors to purchase debt at pennies on the dollar.
“The debt is then paid off forever, with no adverse consequences to those who benefit,” Northview said in a statement.
The church, which has seven campuses in Indiana, initially raised $20,000 to wipe out $2 million in medical debt for 2,500 families. After Northview announced the debt elimination plan in June, other churches decided to join the cause.
The donations more than doubled and helped Northview erase $7.8 million in medical debt for 5,940 families who live in 10 Indiana communities. Those communities include Indianapolis, Anderson, Carmel, Fishers, Flora, Kokomo, Lafayette, northern Putnam County, Peru, and Westfield.
“This is a great example of churches meeting people’s needs in practical ways, as a demonstration of God’s love,” said Steve Poe, Northview’s senior pastor.
The church said some recipients are not connected with Northview and will be surprised to get a letter in the mail about the canceled debt.
Photo Credit: Northview Church