Tag: News
Georgia teacher arrested for shooting gun in classroom
GEORGIA — A north Georgia high school teacher was arrested on Wednesday after he barricaded himself in a classroom and fired a shot from his handgun out of a window, police said.
No one was injured in the incident at Dalton High School, except for a female student who injured an ankle running through the school, police spokesman Bruce Frazier said.
The shooting about 85 miles north of Atlanta heightened the already tense debate around guns in schools in the wake of the deadly mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, two weeks ago.
President Donald Trump and the National Rifle Association, among others, have proposed that teachers should be allowed to bring firearms into schools to defend against possible attacks. But critics have said arming teachers would create a host of other dangerous side effects, and pointed to the Dalton shooting as Exhibit A in that argument.
The incident began about 11:30 a.m. when Randal Davidson, a 53-year-old social studies teacher, refused to let students into his classroom while he was in his planning period, Frazier said. When the principal put a key in the door in an attempt to enter, Davidson fired a shot from a handgun through an exterior window of the classroom, Frazier said.
The school went into lockdown, and police quickly arrived and evacuated the immediate area around his classroom. After about 30 to 45 minutes, Davidson agreed to surrender and was taken into custody without further incident, Frazier said.
Frazier said there was no evidence Davidson was trying to fire at anyone.
“It certainly seemed like he didn’t have any intention to harm anybody else,” Frazier said.
Police later tweeted that Davidson would face charges of aggravated assault, carrying a weapon on school grounds, terroristic threats, reckless conduct, possession of gun during commission of a crime, and disrupting a public school.
Dalton police said the school resource officer, who has a close relationship with school staff, was at the junior high school when the incident began and then came to Davidson’s classroom. The officer was able to speak to the teacher and persuade him to leave his room without harming anyone.
“We’re very, very proud of this officer and everything that he did to render this horrible situation safe as quick as what he did,” Dalton police Assistant Chief Cliff Cason said.
Cason praised the school’s lockdown drill as “flawless” and said it made it easier for police to quickly reach the teacher.
“When we got there, they directed us where we needed to go and it made things so much easier for us because it wasn’t mass chaos, as you see at times,” Cason said.
In a lockdown drill, teachers are instructed to gather students into classrooms, lock the room, turn off the lights and move away from windows, Principal Steve Bartoo said.
Davidson has been a teacher at Dalton since 2004 and was the play-by-play radio announcer for the high school’s football team, Frazier said. Police did not release any explanation for what happened.
Bartoo said Davidson was an “excellent teacher” who was “well thought of in our building.”
Classes will resume Friday. Students can go by the school Thursday to claim their belongings.
via: http://pix11.com/2018/03/01/georgia-teacher-arrested-for-shooting-gun-in-classroom-police/
Woman found holding her own eyeballs across from South Carolina church
ANDERSON, S.C. – Horrified churchgoers called 911 Tuesday after a woman tore out her own eyes with her hands, according to WYFF.
“It was across the street, and I could see blood, and could her screaming and I realized something was wrong,” Elizabeth Hiott, who had been working at the South Main Chapel and Mercy Center, told the TV station. “I immediately called 911 and it almost felt like the 911 dispatcher didn’t even believe me. That’s how crazy it was.”
Despite a conflicting report from the Associated Press, Lt. Bowland with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that both eyes were removed, not just one. WYFF reports that after witnesses called 911, the woman, who had been kneeling next to some railroad tracks, ripped out the second eye.
“She didn’t injure anybody, but it took several people to subdue her enough to get her on a stretcher,” Bowland said.
Medical workers rushed the woman to an area hospital by helicopter.
Hiott said she had seen the woman at church before, but not regularly.
The woman is on a respirator but is in stable condition, according to WYFF
via: http://pix11.com/2018/02/07/woman-found-holding-her-own-eyeballs-across-from-south-carolina-church/
Toddler dies on front porch in freezing weather
AKRON, Ohio — Police in Akron, Ohio are investigating the death of a 2-year-old girl who was found out in the cold on her front porch.
The frantic mother called 911 after discovering her 2-year-old unresponsive. The girl was taken to Akron Children’s Hospital where she died.
The temperature for much of Friday remained in the teens.
“You’re gonna carefully tilt the head back, you’re gonna pinch her nose closed and completely cover her mouth with your mouth and blow two regular breaths into the lungs,” says a dispatcher on the 911 call.
Police were called to the apartment around 3:30 p.m. on Friday. The mother told the 911 dispatcher she found her daughter ‘frozen’ outside.
“I cried because I just don’t understand how a 2-year-old could be outside and you not know,” neighbor Crystal Lucas told WJW.
Lucas says the woman who lives in the apartment kept to herself and had two children, the 2-year-old girl and a boy. She was surprised when police officers knocked on her door.
“It was freezing and that was my biggest worry when the cops came, when they started asking about the kids, they didn’t divulge what was really going on, but when he asked about the kids, obviously something was going on and I was worried,” Lucas said.
Neighbors say they would occasionally hear people arguing outside of the apartment. Lucas says she has seen both children outside alone before.
“I’ve had to take the baby home because she’ll be outside playing…it was a few times that I had to take both of her kids home,” she said.
No one answered the door when WJW went to the apartment.
“It’s just a very sad situation, it literally broke my heart,” said Lucas.
Police are not releasing the toddler’s name, but say they are still investigating. The Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office will be conducting an autopsy.
via: http://pix11.com/2018/02/05/ohio-toddler-dies-on-front-porch-in-freezing-weather/
Man mistakes house for his own, kills neighbor thinking he was an intruder
RAYTOWN, Mo. — A Missouri man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter after he allegedly went to his neighbor’s home, thinking it was his own, then choked his neighbor to death on the victim’s front yard.
Police believe Michael G. Augustine was drunk at the time he allegedly killed 60-year-old Clifton King, according to WDAF.
King died in his front yard Friday night, after he came to his door to find Augustine trying to come inside.
Neighbors told WDAF that Augustine, who lives down the block, believed the home was his and that King had broken in.
During the incident, Augustine called 911 to report that he had an intruder in a chokehold.
But when officers arrived at Augustine’s address, no one was there. They later found both men about a block up the street at King’s house.
According to court documents, police believe Augustine was drunk because his speech was incoherent and officers noted a strong smell of alcohol.
A neighbor, who did not want her face to appear on camera because the incident has made her concerned for her own safety, said she watched paramedics try to revive King, a military veteran, for about 30 minutes.
“He served our country and that was not an honorable way to treat him,” the woman said. “I think that it’s sad. It’s sad. Someone had to give up their life because someone was so messed up they didn’t know it wasn’t their home.”
Other neighbors said that King had been homeless at one time in his life because he couldn’t find a job but as long as he lived in their neighborhood, he was friendly and kind.
Some neighbors said they feel guilty about not immediately calling police themselves when they heard the commotion. They said there are often arguments on the block, and some thought it was better for them not to get involved.
Prosecutors have charged Augustine with first-degree involuntary manslaughter. Neighbors said he’s already posted bond and moved out of the area.
There was no answer at his door when WDAF tried to speak with him.
Orlando Brown Arrested For Battery
Looks like Orlando Brown is coming out from the shadows, and not in a good way.
Brown was arrested Thursday on an old warrant, after a heated argument led police to his apartment. Brown was handcuffed in Barstow, California and is on $25,000 bond. He is charged with battery of a spouse, resisting arrest and possession of a controlled substance.
Looks like things are going from bad to worse for Orlando Brown. If he somehow manages to avoid time hopefully he gets his life and act together soon.
Teen Stabbed At New York School
It looks like the year is starting off badly for some, name a high school student at a Westchester County High School.
Police were called shortly before 9:00 Thursday after students reported hearing slashing sounds. They found a 16 year old boy with puncture wounds in his torso. He was was soon taken to the hospital with non life threatening injuries. The suspect was seen leaving the campus and no arrests have been made.
A little more than a week ago, on January 10th another student named Valaree Schwab, 16, was killed. Schwab was stabbed with a steak knife amid a wild lunch-hour fight at a local Dunkin Donuts, local police said. Z’inah Brown, 16, is charged with murder.
It’s sad this these actions are taking place so early in the new year. Hopefully the find the person who did it.
Colorado Woman Charged With Murder After Father’s Body Found Encased in Concrete Inside Crawl Space
The daughter of a man whose body was found inside a Colorado home has been charged with first-degree murder, the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.
Dayna Jennings, 44, was arrested Wednesday in the death of her father, 69-year-old William Mussack, whose remains were found inside a home in the 10000 block of Eliot Circle in Federal Heights, according to KTLA sister station KDVR in Denver.
His body was found in the crawl space encased in concrete and Jennings admitted to pouring that concrete, according to court documents.
Although those documents do not list a cause of death, it does say family members believe Mussack was drugged because of a prior incident where he was found unconscious for 15 hours last December after taking a bite of a hamburger Jennings gave to him.
Jennings has been charged with first-degree murder after deliberation and tampering with a deceased human body.
A preliminary hearing was set for Feb. 15 in Adams County District Court.
Family and friends had been searching for Mussack for two weeks and notified authorities in late December.
Police executed a search warrant on the home on Wednesday where Mussack’s body was found.
The Federal Heights Police Department said Jennings and Mussack shared a house. Neighbors said Jennings’ boyfriend also lived at the home.
Authorities have not said when they suspect Mussack was killed.
Simone Biles says she, too, was abused by former USA team doctor
On the eve of former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar’s sentencing for sexually abusing girls in his care, American gymnast Simone Biles has come forward to say me, too.
“I, too, am one of the many survivors that was sexually abused by Larry Nassar,” she said Monday afternoon in a Twitter post with the hashtag #MeToo.
“There are many reasons that I have been reluctant to share my story, but I know now that it is not my fault.”
Nassar was the team doctor for USA Gymnastics through four Olympic Games, treating young hopefuls and gold medal winners. His case illustrates the drive of the #MeToo movement to call out serial predatory behavior and the forces that enable it.
This experience ‘does not define me’
More than 140 female athletes said they were abused by the once-respected doctor, including Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas and McKayla Maroney, members of the “Fierce Five” US Olympic gymnastics team that won the gold in 2012. Many said they were pressured into silence by powerful institutions, including USA Gymnastics, the sport’s governing body in the United States.
In response to Biles’ statement, the organization pledged “unwavering” support for Biles and others who have “courageously” come forward.
“USA Gymnastics is absolutely heartbroken, sorry and angry that Simone Biles or any of our athletes have been harmed by the horrific acts of Larry Nassar,” the group said. “We are our athletes’ advocates. USA Gymnastics will continue to listen to our athletes and our members in our efforts of creating a culture of empowerment with a relentless focus on athlete safety every single day.”
Biles, now 20, joined the US Olympic gymnastics team in 2016, winning the individual all-around. Though her statement did not include specific allegations against Nassar, she described experiencing abuse under the guise of “special treatment,” a recurring claim from Nassar’s victims.
“This behavior is completely unacceptable, disgusting, and abusive, especially coming from someone I was TOLD to trust,” she said Monday.
She, too, called out USA Gymnastics for its alleged role in allowing Nassar to prey on young girls for decades.
“For far too long I’ve asked myself ‘Was I too naive? Was it my fault?’ I now know the answer to those questions. No. No. It was not my fault. No, I will not and should not carry the guilt that belongs to Larry Nassar, USAG, and others.
“After hearing the brave stories of my friends and other survivors, I know that this horrific experience does not define me.”
Dozens of victims expected to speak
Nassar faces sentencing on Tuesday in Michigan state court after pleading guilty in November to seven counts of criminal sexual conduct. He faces additional sentencing later this month on three counts of criminal sexual assault involving victims in a neighboring county.
He worked at Michigan State University from 1997 to 2016 as an associate professor, and he served as the gymnastics and women’s crew team physician. In his plea, Nassar admitted to sexually abusing patients under the guise of providing medically necessary treatment in instances as far back as 1998, some of which involved girls under 13.
Several days have been set aside in Nassar’s sentencing for victim impact statements. At least 88 people are expected to speak, according to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.
At his plea hearing, Nassar apologized and compared his crimes to “a match that turned into a forest fire.”
Allegations of a culture of complicity
Biles’ teammates and others have repeatedly accused USA Gymnastics of complicity in Nassar’s abuse. In 2017, the organization said it would implement 70 policy change recommendations from an independent investigator.
In a lawsuit, Maroney said USA Gymnastics paid her to be quiet about the abuse, which she said began when she was 13.
University of Oklahoma gymnast Maggie Nichols said she and a coach reported abuse by Nassar to USA Gymnastics in 2015, a few years after Nassar began treating Nichols for a back injury. USA Gymnastics said it hired an independent investigator to look into her allegations.
Raisman said she was first treated by Nassar when she was 15. She called for a thorough investigation of a system that she said enabled a “monster” to thrive for decades by silencing victims.
On Monday, Raisman praised Biles for coming forward and vowed to stand with her.
“I know we will all get through this together,” Raisman said on Twitter.
In her statement Monday, Biles said she hoped for the kind of reckoning that would prevent serial predators from striking again.
“We need to know why this was able to take place for so long and to so many of us. We need to make sure something like this never happens again.”
via: http://pix11.com/2018/01/16/simone-biles-says-she-too-was-abused-by-former-usa-team-doctor/
Doctors warn teens not to eat laundry detergent pods for new internet challenge – Tide Pod Challenge
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — It’s the latest social media challenge that comes with some dangerous risks: participants recording themselves eating Tide laundry pods after social media memes compared the cleaning product to food.
A quick YouTube search returns a thread of videos showing people eating the pods and gagging.
“I think it’s kind of foolish because, No. 1, I think most of the problem comes from the coating itself. If you look at data for liquid soap ingestion, just liquid soap ingestion by itself doesn’t cause too many problems,” Dr. Joe Krug of St. Vincent Health told WXIN.
Krug said eating the pods can cause “burns to the skin, burns to the eye, a lot of problems that are more severe burns to the respiratory tract, burns to the esophagus.”
Tide’s parent company, Procter and Gamble, emailed WXIN a statement on the trend:
“Our laundry pacs are a highly concentrated detergent meant to clean clothes and they’re used safely in millions of households every day. They should be only used to clean clothes and kept up, closed and away from children. They should not be played with, whatever the circumstance is, even if it is meant as a joke,”
In recent years, the company even made the pod containers more childproof after reports of children mistaking them for candy and eating them unknowingly.
Krug said once you eat it, the damage is done.
“There’s nothing you can do once you ingested the issue or the substance, so it’s more of supporting whatever symptoms they have afterward and then hopefully educating them about trying to do more intelligent things in the future,” he said.
LI woman who suffocated newborn, stuffed body in bag sentenced to 8 years
MINEOLA, N.Y. — A Long Island college student who admitted to smothering her newborn daughter after a hidden pregnancy has been sentenced to eight years in prison.
Sharon Seudat was sentenced Monday in court in Mineola, crying while she voiced her regret for her actions.
The 22-year-old could have faced 25 years to life in prison if she were convicted of murder at trial, Newsday reports. She instead pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter.
Seudat previously admitted that in March 2016 she wrapped the newborn in sheets and blankets, placed her hand over the baby’s mouth and then put her body in a garbage bag.
Officers that day responded to woman’s home on Walnut Street in Glen Head to find her bleeding profusely. She was rushed to the hospital where doctors determined she had just given childbirth.
Detective Capt. John Azzata said Seudat, who hid the pregnancy from her parents, initially denied giving birth.
Investigators returned to the home to find the baby’s lifeless body in a black plastic bag on the back deck. Azzata said the child was born alive and was suffocated.
Seudat faces five years of post-release supervision after her prison sentence.