Tag: mass shootings

Police Release Person of Interest After Questioning in Brown University Shooting

Law enforcement will be releasing the person of interest in the Brown University shooting.

The manhunt for the Brown University shooter is still underway.

Two people are dead and nine are injured after a gunman opened fire at Brown University on Saturday.

Overnight Saturday and into Sunday morning, police took Benjamin Erickson into custody as a person of interest to question him.

Erickson, a Wisconsin native, was not enrolled as a student at Brown.

Later Sunday, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley announced law enforcement would be releasing Erickson from custody.

Officials do not have enough evidence to prosecute Erickson.

Police Chief Oscar Perez said the FBI “followed through with” a tip and located a person of interest.

Law enforcement looked into Erickson’s alleged history of mental health issues.

“We will be releasing the person of interest who had been detained earlier today,” said Providence Mayor Brett Smiley.

“We know that this is likely to cause fresh anxiety for our community. And we want to reiterate what we said earlier, which remains true… we have not received any credible or specific threats to the Providence community,” he added.

“And so the status of safety in our community remains unchanged. And we believe that you remain safe in our community,” he said.

Keep reading

Australian Prime Minister Albanese Proposes Tougher National Gun Laws After Mass Shooting in Sydney

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday proposed tougher national gun laws after a mass shooting targeted a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, leaving at least 15 people dead.

Albanese said he would propose new restrictions, including limiting the number of guns a licensed owner can obtain. His proposals were announced after the authorities revealed that the older of the two gunmen—who were a father and son—had held a gun license for a decade and amassed his six guns legally.

“The government is prepared to take whatever action is necessary. Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws,” Albanese told reporters.

“People’s circumstances can change. People can be radicalized over a period of time. Licenses should not be in perpetuity,” he added.

At least 38 people were being treated in hospitals after the massacre on Sunday, when the two shooters fired indiscriminately on the beachfront festivities. Those killed included a 10-year-old girl, a rabbi and a Holocaust survivor.

The horror at Australia’s most popular beach was the deadliest shooting in almost three decades in a country with strict gun control laws primarily aimed at removing rapid-fire rifles from circulation. Albanese called the massacre an act of anti-Semitic terrorism that struck at the heart of the nation.

He pledged swift change, planning on Monday afternoon to present his gun law proposals to a national cabinet meeting that includes state leaders. Some of the measures would also require state legislation.

“Some laws are commonwealth and some laws are implemented by the states,” the Australian leader said. “What we want to do is to make sure that we’re all completely on the same page.”

Christopher Minns, premier of New South Wales where Sydney is the state capital, agreed with Albanese that gun licenses should not be granted in perpetuity.

Minns said his state’s gun laws would change, but he could not yet detail how.

“It means introducing a bill to Parliament to—I mean to be really blunt—make it more difficult to get these horrifying weapons that have no practical use in our community,” Minns told repoters.

Keep reading

Iran’s Response to Australia’s Bondi Beach Terror Attack Raises Questions

The mass-casualty terror attack targeting a Hanukkah gathering at Sydney’s Bondi Beach was the predictable outcome of a global environment in which antisemitic incitement is normalized, rationalized, and, in some cases, actively encouraged by state actors.

In the hours following the attack, attention has turned to Iran—not because Tehran immediately claimed responsibility, but because of how Iranian officials, state media, and regime-aligned commentators have responded.

Iran’s reaction follows a familiar pattern. There has been no direct praise for the murders.

Instead, Iranian outlets have worked to reframe the attack as an understandable—or even defensible—reaction to the Israel-Hamas war, while redirecting outrage toward Israel and the West.

This strategy allows the regime to distance itself from operational responsibility while sustaining the ideological climate that fuels antisemitic violence worldwide.

Iranian state media coverage was notably clinical on the surface. The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Tehran’s official media, reported the basic facts: a shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration, multiple fatalities, and ongoing investigations by Australian authorities.

Missing, however, was any moral condemnation of the attack or recognition of antisemitism as a motivating factor. Instead, IRNA quickly pivoted, characterizing Israeli reactions as “harsh” and “unprecedented” and situating the massacre within the broader narrative of Gaza.

Iranian coverage repeatedly emphasized claims about civilian deaths in Gaza, citing figures from Hamas-run authorities and presenting them as uncontested fact.

The implication was clear: violence against Jews abroad should be understood through the lens of Israel’s military actions, rather than as terrorism targeting a religious minority.

By embedding the Bondi Beach attack within a Gaza-focused narrative, Iranian media effectively shifted blame from the perpetrators to Jewish collective identity itself.

That narrative was taken further by regime-aligned commentators. Lebanese journalist Hadi Hoteit, who identifies himself as a correspondent for Iran’s state-run Press TV, posted on social media questioning whether the attacker should even be labeled a terrorist.

Keep reading

Father and son terrorists were armed to the teeth with SIX guns when they launched their deadly Bondi Beach rampage, killing 15 and injuring dozens more – as police reveal they were ALL legally-owned

The father and son terrorists who opened fire onto a crowd of innocent people, killing 15 at Bondi Beach had six guns with them at the scene, police have said.

The older gunman Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead by police while his son Naveed Akram, 24, suffered critical injuries and remains in hospital under police guard following the horrific shooting at a Jewish Hannukkah celebration on Sunday night.

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon confirmed the 50-year-old, who is yet to be formally identified, held a gun licence and all firearms registered to him were legally owned. 

Police have since seized all six firearms linked to him which are understood to have been at the scene of the terrifying shooting.

‘He has six firearms licensed to him. We are satisfied that we have six firearms from the scene yesterday, but also as a result of the search warrant at the Campsie address,’ Mr Lanyon said.

‘Ballistics and forensic investigation will determine those six firearms are the six that were licensed to that man, but also they were used in the offence yesterday at Bondi.

‘We will continue to investigate this matter thoroughly.’ 

ASIO has also admitted that one of the shooters was on their radar.

Keep reading

Brown University Shooting Suspect Who “Yelled Something Unique” Before Attack On Jewish Studies Classroom Traveled From Wisconsin

It has been nearly 24 hours since a gunman stormed a Brown University classroom taught by Jewish professor Rachel Friedberg, who teaches the intersection of economics and Jewish studies, and reportedly “yelled something unique” before using a handgun and unleashing a hail of bullets in the classroom.

The suspect was apprehended earlier today, but authorities have not released the suspect’s name or a front-facing photograph. Given that Brown is one of the most heavily surveilled campuses in the nation, with more than 800 cameras, the absence of released footage raises questions, especially since the suspect reportedly “yelled something unique” before killing two people and injuring nine others in a Jewish econ-studies classroom.

New details from CNN, citing multiple law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation, say the suspect apprehended earlier today traveled from Wisconsin.

Keep reading

Let’s talk about…the Bondi Beach attack

Earlier today, two gunmen allegedly opened fire on attendees of a Chanukah by the Sea event on Bondi Beach in Sydney.

So far, authorities have claimed 12 people are dead, eleven civilians and one gunman, with a further twenty nine in hospital, includ8ng the second alleged gunman.

One suspect has been named as Naveed Akram, a 24 year old living in Sydney. Authorities also claim to have discovered an “explosive device” in a car “linked to” the attacker.

It’s only been a few hours, but the Independent has a personal opinion piece headlined:

Bondi was my safe haven – after today, Australia will never be the same

This is a common sentiment. Surprisingly common.

That feels like narrative talking point to me. But, assuming this is psy-op on some level, what might the final aim be?

It can’t be guns, because Australia’s guns are long gone.

If it’s about anti-Muslim sentiment, it’s a finely modulated game since one of the heroes of the hour is also a Muslim immigrant.

Keep reading

Trans Teen Confesses to Planned Valentine’s Day Mass Shooting in Honor of Parkland Shooter

A transgender teenager has admitted to planning a mass shooting attack at an Indiana high school back in February meant to take place on Valentine’s Day.

Trinity Shockley, 18, is planning to plead guilty to felony conspiracy to commit murder and will receive 12 and a half years in prison, along with five years of probation, The New York Post reported.

Police said Shockley was arrested after they received a tip that she had an AR-15 and had bought a bulletproof vest.

The tipster added that Shockley was obsessed with the idea of mass shootings.

Shockley identifies as a man and uses the name “Jamie,” according to The New York Post.

Authorities performed a search of her home and found a bizarre shrine dedicated to Parkland, Florida shooter Nikolas Cruz, among other gunmen.

They also discovered she chose Valentine’s Day for the attack because it synced up with the day the Parkland massacre occurred, back in 2018.

The Post reported that Shockley will be “barred from researching school shooters for life” and will have “all her electronic devices” monitored by special software.

In addition, she will be unable to ever own a gun and must pay for counseling.

Shockley is expected to make an official plea on Nov. 24.

Keep reading

Man Who Planned to Shoot up Atlanta’s Airport Is Arrested in a Terminal Following a Tip, Police Say

Police arrested a man at Atlanta’s bustling airport on Monday after getting a tip from his family that he was planning to shoot up the place, and found an assault rifle and ammunition in his truck outside, the city’s police chief said.

Billy Joe Cagle, of Cartersville, Georgia, had described his plan to shoot up the world’s busiest airport on a social media livestream, Chief Darin Schierbaum said during a news conference.

“The Cartersville Police Department was alerted by the family of Mr. Cagle that he was streaming on social media that he was headed to the Atlanta airport, in their words, to ‘shoot it up,’ and the family stated that he was in possession of an assault rifle,” Schierbaum said, describing Cagle as a “convicted felon.”

Cagle, 49, arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in a Chevrolet pickup truck that was parked right outside the doors to the airport terminal. When police went to the vehicle, they found an AR-15 with 27 rounds of ammunition, Schierbaum said.

“We’re here today briefing you on a success and not a tragedy because a family saw something and said something,” the chief said.

Cartersville police Capt. Greg Sparacio, whose department received the initial tip from family members, said Cagle “had the intention to inflict harm to as many people as he could.”

Keep reading

Motives Behind Mormon Church Shooter Becoming Clearer – May Have All Started Over a Woman

The tragic shooting inside a Michigan Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is already being politicized.

The left desperately needs this tragedy to be political because of the violence on that side of the aisle, but the facts point to something else entirely.

According to the New York Post, shooter Thomas Sanford had a long-standing, deranged fixation on the Mormon church.

Friends said the military veteran believed Mormons were going to “take over the world.”

That obsession appears to trace back to a soured relationship with a deeply committed Mormon woman in Utah.

A former landlord told The New York Times that Sanford was pressured by the woman to join the church.

“He wasn’t so sure that he wanted to become a member of the church, but he really wanted to be with this woman,” Sandra Winter said.

Sanford had moved to Utah after serving in the Marines, including a deployment to Iraq.

There, he reportedly began using methamphetamine, which friends say changed him.

“Mentally he was in rough shape,” Peter Tersigni told the New York Times.

By the time Sanford returned to Michigan, he was said to have been openly hostile toward Mormons.

“He got this whole fascination with Mormons, and they are the Antichrist, and they are going to take over the world,” Francis Tersigni, Peter’s twin brother, said.

His fixation was so extreme that at Peter’s wedding, “all he could talk about was Mormons.”

Burton, Michigan, city council candidate Kris Johns said Sanford approached him just a week before the massacre in which he was killed in a shootout with police.

“He was venting. He was going off …The Mormon Bible had additional books. He did not like that at all,” Johns told the New York Post.

Johns recalled Sanford calling Mormons the Antichrist in a calm, casual tone.

Days later, according to police, Sanford drove his truck into a church in Grand Blanc, opened fire, and burned the building to the ground.

Keep reading

Former Friend of North Carolina Shooter Says He Tried to Warn People Suspect Was Suffering Mentally: ‘This Was 100 Percent Predictable’

As the Gateway Pundit reported over the weekend, a young man named Nigel Max Edge was arrested and charged with three counts of first degree murder after opening fire on the American Fish Company restaurant dock in the North Carolina coastal town of Southport.

Edge is a Marine veteran who served in Iraq. Unfortunately, he was battling some personal demons.

One of his former friends is now speaking out and saying that he tried to get help for the man and that his warnings to authorities went unheeded.

It’s a tragic reminder that we have a serious mental health crisis in the country right now.

RedState reported:

We’re learning more about Sean DeBevoise, a/k/a Nigel Edge, the man suspected of killing three people and injuring many others in Southport, North Carolina on Saturday night, from a post one of his best friends made to Facebook on Sunday.

DeBevoise, a Purple Heart recipient, is a Marine sniper who served in combat in Iraq and was severely injured. Since that time he has had major mental health issues, and according to Marc Simmons’ post, DeBevoise had been “diagnosed with delusional disorder, after a short stay in a mental hospital.” Simmons and his wife, who’d asked DeBevoise to be their son’s godfather, distanced themselves from him around 2019, when DeBevoise’s “paranoia grew.”

A few years later, DeBevoise showed up at Simmons’ workplace and accused him of being part of conspiracies against him. Simmons eventually got a no contact order and “notified the courts that this was a person that was not only mentally ill, but was also a trained SNIPER and steps should be taken and taken serious.”

Keep reading