6-year-old dies after reportedly shooting himself in south St. Louis
ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) — Police are reporting that a six-year-old died in a shooting Wednesday afternoon in South City.
The shooting was reported in the 5000 block of South Broadway around 3:15 p.m. Police said they received a call saying the young boy was suffering from a “self-inflicted” gunshot, according to the caller.
Police on the scene said the boy had died. Homicide detectives have been requested for the investigation.
No other information has been released yet.
Photo Credit: kmov.com
Florida mom left 2-year-old daughter in sweltering car to shop
A Florida mother left her 2-year-old daughter in a locked car as she shopped at Macy’s, authorities said.
Thamyres Maria Araujo Ponce, 32, was arrested Monday on a charge of child neglect after a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy smashed the window of a white Nissan parked at the Mall at Wellington Green to free the tot, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.
The temperature in Wellington that afternoon reached 96 degrees, according to an arrest report. The girl, who had a body temp of 102 when she was rescued, was treated by responding paramedics, deputies said.
Security camera video from the mall indicated that the girl was inside the car for roughly 25 minutes. A deputy who found the car busted the driver’s side window to free the child, who was discovered in a car seat, the newspaper reports.
Ponce returned to the car about 10 minutes after the deputy arrived and subsequently confessed to leaving the girl alone as she shopped at Macy’s, the Miami Herald reports.
The arrest report did not indicate what happened to the girl — who was found “crying, sweating and appeared to be in distress,” deputies said — once Ponce was taken into custody, according to the newspaper.
Ponce, of Belle Glade, was released later Monday after posting $1,000 bond, jail records show.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/07/15/florida-mom-left-2-year-old-daughter-in-hot-car-to-shop-deputies/
Photo Credit: pbso.org
Johnny Depp allegedly wrote Amber Heard’s name in pee at their vacation home
Johnny Depp allegedly tried to write Amber Heard’s name in pee inside their trashed rental home while on a bender, a UK court heard Wednesday.
Heard accused the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star of whipping out his privates while being escorted off the Queensland, Australia, property in March 2015 — telling security, “I need to take a f—ing piss, it’s my house,” according to a witness statement in his London libel case.
“He then went back inside and did it right in front of them to nervous laughter,” Heard said, according to UK’s The Sun. “He said was he was trying to write my name on the walls and carpet while peeing in the house.”
But Depp’s estate manager, Ben King, told London’s High Court he was sure there was no urine in the rental home, where he also found the tip of the actor’s severed finger following a row between the pair.
“I did not see any signs of urine, and I did not smell it, as I would have done had someone urinated around the house,” King said, adding that he returned to the house to “chaperone” a cleaning team and they “didn’t mention anything” about pee.
It isn’t the only message the star is accused of scrawling in bodily fluid in the home — he also scrawled “I love you” on a mirror with blood from his sliced finger.
A lawyer representing The Sun newspaper — which Depp is suing for libel after it dubbed him a “wife beater”— asked King if he was sure there was no pee in the home.
“Amongst all this blood and paint, you say you are sure that there was no urine?” Sasha Wass asked.
“Quite sure,” King replied.
Heard has alleged that Depp slapped and shoved her during a booze-fueled fight at the vacation home — evidence offered by The Sun to show he did beat her.
Depp, who insists he has never assaulted Heard, has accused his ex of severing the tip of his finger when she threw a bottle of vodka at him. Heard claims Depp did it to himself when he angrily smashed a phone against a wall.
Photo Credit: nypost.com
NYC cops find decapitated, limbless man in million-dollar condo; electric saw found next to torso
The limbless, headless torso of a millionaire tech entrepreneur was found inside his swanky Manhattan condo Tuesday afternoon — an electric saw lying next to the remains, police said.
Police made the grisly discovery in a building on E. Houston St. at Suffolk St. on the Lower East side about 3:30 p.m. Cops found contractor bags near the torso, sources said, but didn’t immediately open them to see if the body parts were inside.
An NYPD official said investigators believe the victim is tech entrepreneur Fahim Saleh, 33, who bought the condo for $2.25 million last year. Saleh, a website developer turned venture capital, is the CEO of a motorcycle-sharing company in Lagos, Nigeria.
NYPD spokesman Sgt. Carlos Nieves said all of the body parts were found at the scene but declined to give specifics on where.
“We have a torso, a head that’s been removed, arms, and legs. Everything is still on the scene. We don’t have a motive,” he said.
Detectives were waiting for fingerprint and forensics tests on the body, police sources said.
The NYPD went to the seventh-floor condo after the victim’s sister called 911. She came calling Tuesday because she hadn’t seen her brother in a day, then discovered his dismembered corpse, an NYPD spokesman said.
An elevator surveillance camera may have caught the victim’s last moments, sources said. It shows the victim getting into the elevator Monday, followed quickly by a second man, dressed in a suit, wearing gloves, a hat and a mask over his face.
After the victim walked out onto his floor, he fell immediately, possibly shot or stunned.
“The perp had a suitcase. He was very professional,” one police source said.
The curtains were drawn at the newly-constructed apartment building, where condos were sold starting at $2.15 million last year.
Neighbor Daniel Faust, 40, said he saw police lead two women from the building.
“There was one that came first, with short black hair. Then a second one came, a little taller and with long hair. They were just hysterical, I guess in disbelief. And then they left with the detectives,” he said.
Police also brought a dog, a mid-sized Pomsky, out of the building, he said.
Saleh has described his history as an entrepreneur in a series of posts on Medium.com. He got his start creating a prank calling website, then moved on to create a motorcycle taxi company in his parents’ native Bangladesh.
Most recently, he started Gokada, a motorcycle ride-sharing company in Lagos, but the company faced setbacks and mass layoffs after Lagos banned companies like his in January.
Detectives took his sister to the 7th Precinct stationhouse Tuesday night, and ushered her away from reporters.
Later, two of Saleh’s friends, a man and a woman, arrived at the precinct to check on his sister.
“He was extremely smart, ambitious, very kind,” the female friend said. “Always smiling.”
They described him as a self-made millionaire who brought tech companies into nations like Nigeria and Indonesia, an energetic person who loved gadgets and video games.
Though they believe he was targeted, he never acted like he was worried about anything, the friend said.
“He never said he was scared,” the male friend said. “[He was] always very happy-go-lucky.”
They said he had just moved in recently to this apartment – somewhere around the end of 2019. Saleh posted a photo of his new home on Twitter in December.
“I hope they find that person,” he said.
“Very nice guy,” said Susan Jeffers, who lived in Saleh’s last apartment building on E. 28th St. said. “We met him right at the end of him living here…. He was a young dude from Bangladesh.”
Another woman who works in his old building, called Saleh a “big-time person.”
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“No way, that is so sad,” she said after learning about his slaying. “He was a great guy, very friendly, very courteous.”
A worker at a nearby smoke shop, after hearing earlier reports of the gruesome death, said he had nothing but fond memories of Saleh.
“We were open through the (coronavirus) pandemic, he always comes to get candy and beer,” said worker Sam Parakal. “He’s so friendly. It’s pretty sad if he’s the one.”
The 7th Precinct hasn’t seen a killing since 2015.
”It’s shocking and horrifying,” said Jamal Hyman, 51, a longtime E. Houston St. resident. “We don’t have this type of thing around here anymore. It’s just another thing to worry about in the world.”
Photo Credit: nydailynews.com
Disturbing video shows teens beating pregnant mom, kicking toddler
A group of teens pummeled a pregnant Illinois mom — and even drop-kicked her helpless tot — during a caught-on-video brawl, according to footage and reports.
The disturbing confrontation circulating on Twitter showed two young women attacking the woman as she stood with her young daughter outside a home Friday in the village of Brooklyn.
Two of the girls are seen in the footage attacking the woman, pulling her hair and pushing her to the ground.
A third girl filmed the attack on the mom, who is pregnant, The Sun reported.
As the group clobbered the mom, a teen boy suddenly ran over and kicked the toddler in the head, the report said.
He then proceeded to stomp on the mother’s head, as she struggled on the ground.
The mom of the teen boy defended him on her Facebook, claiming the tot kick was an “accident,” the Mirror reported.
“He didn’t try 2 kick that baby he tried 2 jump over the baby on to her and made a mistake…as y’all can see the baby ran from under the girl fighting while he was coming down,” said the mom, who was not identified in the report.
“My kid is not that type 2 kick a baby…accident [sic] happen.”
Brooklyn Police Department said they responded to a “disturbance” involving both adults and minors Friday at Thomas Terrance Apartments.
They were able to speak to a female victim, who had suffered a minor head injury and was able to identify her assailants.
The accused attackers’ names have not been released pending charges.
Police said they are actively investigating and the case will be referred to the St. Clair County States Attorney’s Office.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/07/15/video-shows-teens-beating-pregnant-mom-kicking-toddler/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Las Vegas mom was driving 121 mph before crash that killed her 1-year-old son
LAS VEGAS (KVVU) — Police said a Las Vegas woman was driving 121 mph before a deadly crash that claimed the life of her 1-year-old son.
Lauren Prescia, 24, faces multiple charges including DUI resulting in death, felony reckless driving and abuse, and child endangerment. Her son, Royce Jones, was killed in the crash, according to Prescia’s arrest report.
Police responded to the collision near a Las Vegas intersection around 7:30 p.m. on July 12. Witnesses told police a baby was ejected from the car and showed no signs of life.
Officers said Prescia had bloodshot eyes and smelled strongly of alcohol.
A man at the scene identified himself as the child’s father. He told police he was in the process of a custody exchange with Prescia. The man said he was driving on the same roadway while talking to her on the phone.
He said Prescia told him she would beat him to a house, then began speeding. He said she passed him at one point, and he told her to slow down because their son was in her car. While trying to change lanes, he said he saw her car hit another vehicle.
Because of the force of the crash, the entire right side of Prescia’s 2020 Hyundai Sonata was “sheered from the vehicle,” police said.
Data from the car showed five seconds before the crash, she drove at 120 mph with the throttle at 100%. Police said 2.5 seconds before the crash, the vehicle reached a max speed of 121 mph.
The report said a forward-facing child seat was secured in the right rear passenger seat of the Hyundai. Prescia’s son suffered severe trauma to his head in the crash. A Clark County Coroner’s investigator pronounced the baby dead at 1:10 a.m. on July 13.
Because Prescia received medical treatment at the scene, officers could not conduct a field sobriety check. She had her blood drawn at University Medical Center, and police are awaiting those results.
Prescia is expected in court again on Tuesday for a 72-hour hearing.
Photo Credit: Las Vegas PD
Virginia woman makes history as U.S. Navy’s 1st Black female Tactical Aircraft pilot
The U.S. Navy has welcomed its first Black female Tactical Aircraft pilot.
“MAKING HISTORY!” the U.S. Navy tweeted Thursday in response to a post that Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle had completed naval flight school and would later this month receive the flight officer insignia known as the “Wings of Gold.”
The Naval Air Training Command tweeted that Swegle is the Navy’s “first known Black female TACAIR pilot.”
According to Stars and Stripes, Swegle is from Burke, Virginia, and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2017.
Officials said she is assigned to the Redhawks of Training Squadron 21 in Kingsville, Texas.
Swegle’s milestone comes more than 45 years after Rosemary Mariner in 1974 became the first woman to fly a tactical fighter jet, according to news outlets.
Photo Credit: Anne Owens/U.S. Navy via AP
Ford workers ask to stop making police cars amid brutality protests
Ford employees are prodding the company to stop making cop cars amid a nationwide uprising against police brutality.
Ford staffers made the demand in a letter to Chief Executive Jim Hackett and Executive Chairman Bill Ford that was recently circulated at the company’s Dearborn, Mich., headquarters, according to news reports.
“Throughout our history, the vehicles that Ford employees design and build have been used as accessories to police brutality and oppression,” the letter reads, according to an excerpt published by the automotive news website Jalopnik. “As an undeniable part of that history and system, we are long overdue to ‘think and act differently’ on our role in racism.”
The excerpt also says that a Minneapolis cop killed George Floyd — whose death sparked a massive wave of protests across the country — next to a Ford Police Interceptor. The concerned employees reportedly want Ford to take action by July 15.
In response, CEO Hackett indicated that Ford won’t be getting out of the market any time soon. While he condemned the “systemic repression and racism” evident in some law-enforcement encounters, Hackett said the “issues plaguing police credibility have nothing to do with the vehicles they’re driving.”
He also suggested that Ford could help the cause by using its cars to provide data to “make police safer and more accountable” rather than taking vehicles away, which would do “harm to their safety and [make] it harder for them to do their job.”
While it’s unclear how many Ford staffers signed the letter, the Detroit Free Press reported that at least 100 employees have called on the automaker to rethink its police vehicle program. The issue has come up in at least one virtual town hall as well as a “series of letters” penned in the wake of Floyd’s death, according to the paper.
Ford’s police vehicles account for roughly 62 percent of the law-enforcement market, the company said. While Ford’s Crown Victoria sedan was once a ubiquitous patrol car, the dominant model is now its Police Interceptor Utility, an SUV that outsold all other police vehicles combined in 2017, according to a 2019 news release.
In a letter to Ford employees that was shared with The Post, CEO Hackett said the company will “continue to be a powerful voice for Black Lives Matter, holding ourselves accountable for significant change, while also continuing to help keep communities safe by producing Police Interceptors and partnering with law enforcement in new ways to strongly support the safety for all members.”
Hackett joined the chiefs of the other big three US automakers — GM’s Mary Barra and Fiat Chrysler’s Mike Manley — in skipping a White House dinner with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/07/10/ford-urged-to-stop-making-cop-cars-amid-george-floyd-protests/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Wisconsin driver intentionally crashes into motorcyclist because he was white
A Wisconson man who struck and killed a motorcyclist told investigators he intentionally crashed head-first into the victim because he believed all Harley riders are “white racists,” local officials said.
Daniel Navarro, 27, of Fond du Lac, has been charged with a homicide as a hate crime after he allegedly veered across a road around 6:45 p.m. last Friday to hit former Marine and police officer Phillip Thiessen, 55, on his Harley Davidson, the county sheriff said during a press conference Thursday.
“Navarro told detectives that he believed the person driving the motorcycle was white because in Wisconsin, white people drive Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and the Harley culture was made up of white racists,” Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt said. “He admitted he could not specifically see who was driving this motorcycle.”
Navarro, who is Hispanic, told investigators during a 3.5-hour interview his attack was motivated by increasing instances of racism against him — though Navarro had never previously met Thiessen or known anything about him, Sheriff Waldschmidt said.
“Navorro told detectives he believed he had been intentionally poisoned by coworkers and by a neighbor; that people drive by his house and rev their engines and squeal their tires to try to upset him; and that people make racist comments towards him — all because he’s Hispanic,” Waldschmidt said.
He added that, “Navarro said if President Donald Trump and white people are going to create the world we are living in, he has no choice and people are going to have to die.”
Navorro also allegedly told investigators that he decided to crash into a motorcycle because there was a greater chance that he would kill the victim than if he had crashed into another car.
The suspect also said he “wanted to go to prison” so his parents would not have to take care of him “as his health deteriorates” and so he would be free of the people who harass him, Waldschmidt said.
The sheriff’s office declined to comment on Navorro’s mental or physical health.
Thiessen, a 1983 graduate of L.P. Goodrich High School, was a Marine who later served as a police officer in Fairfax, Va.
He later worked for the Wisconsin Department of Justice Internet Crimes Against Children unit before moving back to Fond du Lac for retirement in 2018, where he volunteered at a local food pantry.
“Phillip was a generous, caring, loyal man that made friends easily anywhere he went, and maintained long-distance friendships for many years,” Thiessen’s obituary reads.
“He believed in giving back to his community and was a volunteer at the Fondy Food Pantry.”
Navarro is being held on a $1 million bond on charges of 1st Degree Intentional Homicide, Hate Crime; Use of a Dangerous Weapon and 1st Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/07/11/wisconsin-driver-intentionally-crashes-head-first-into-motorcyclist/
Photo Credit: Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office
President Trump defends golf as ‘exercise,’ says he gets work done on the course
President Trump on Sunday defended playing golf as his way of getting some “exercise” and said he also managed to work while hitting the links.
“I know many in business and politics that work out endlessly, in some cases to a point of exhaustion. It is their number one passion in life, but nobody complains,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “My ‘exercise’ is playing, almost never during the week, a quick round of golf.”
The president went on to say he golfs less than his predecessor Barack Obama and said the media tries to make a big deal out of his trips to the golf course.
“Obama played more and much longer rounds, no problem. When I play, Fake News CNN, and others, park themselves anywhere they can to get a picture, then scream ‘President Trump is playing golf,” he said.
“Actually, I play VERY fast, get a lot of work done on the golf course, and also get a “tiny” bit of exercise. Not bad!”
The president played a round at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va., on Saturday before visiting Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he visited troops wounded in combat.
According to Trump Golf Count, Trump has visited one of his golf courses 261 times since he became president on Jan. 20, 2017, and was confirmed to have played golf on 125 of those visits.
Obama played 333 rounds of golf during his two terms in office.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/07/12/president-trump-defends-golf-as-exercise-says-he-gets-work-done-on-the-course/
Photo Credit: nypost.com