Gun violence Archives

Special counsel in Hunter Biden case responds to president’s accusations

January 14, 2025

Special Counsel David Weiss, who investigated President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, issued his final report Monday, Jan. 13. In the 280-page report, Weiss criticized the president for making “gratuitous and wrong” accusations that politics tainted his years-long case.

Weiss charged Hunter Biden with tax and gun crimes, but the president pardoned his son this past fall.

Weiss pointed to Joe Biden’s words when pardoning Hunter, claiming Hunter was the victim of an “unfair” prosecution and a “miscarriage of justice.”

He said while other presidents have pardoned family members in the past, none have “taken the occasion as an opportunity to malign the public services at the Department of Justice based solely on false accusations.”

Weiss said he ignored political opinions during his investigation and that his decisions were “based on the facts and the law and nothing else.”

Alex Jones-aligned company offers $7 million for Infowars after failed auction

January 13, 2025

A company doubled its offer to purchase Alex Jones’ Infowars platform, which is at the center of several defamation lawsuits after a federal judge blocked a previous auction. First United American Companies, a firm tied to Jones, now wants to pay more than $7 million for it.

The new offer comes after the parent company of satirical news site The Onion outbid First United American in November. However, a judge rejected that deal, citing a lack of transparency and concerns that the sale did not generate enough money.

Jones’ financial troubles stem from defamation lawsuits filed by the families of the victims who died in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Jones made false claims that the tragedy in Connecticut was a hoax to push a gun control agenda. As a result, a judge ordered Jones to pay $1.5 billion in damages. It forced him to put up Infowars as collateral to help settle the judgments.

The trustee handling Jones’ bankruptcy case announced Monday, Jan. 13, that First United American made the new offer despite no formal request for a rebid following the failed auction.

The Onion’s parent company, Global Tetrahedron, previously bid nearly $2 million to purchase Infowars and make it a parody site. In contrast, First United American initially offered $3.5 million in cash, with the intention of letting Jones continue Infowars.

The trustee is expecting a new offer from Global Tetrahedron.

Most of the Infowars sale proceeds will go toward paying off defamation damages for the families of Sandy Hook victims. Any remaining funds will be distributed among Jones’ other creditors.

Georgia teen arrested for bringing gun to school where 4 killed in past shooting

January 9, 2025

Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, canceled school and all extracurricular activities on Thursday, Jan. 9, after a 14-year-old student brought a gun to school just months after a gunman killed four people in September 2024. Local police arrested the teen Wednesday, Jan. 8, for bringing the weapon to the same school.

Authorities charged the student, who is not being identified due to his age, with two counts of possessing a weapon on school grounds, theft and being a minor in possession of a gun.

Barrow County deputies said they arrested the boy “without incident” Wednesday afternoon at the school and said there had been “no reports of the student threatening anyone with the gun.”

Police did not disclose the type of gun or what led up to the boy’s arrest.

In September, then-14-year-old Colt Gray allegedly shot and killed two students and two teachers at the school. Police said several others were wounded during the shooting.

Prosecutors charged Colt Gray as an adult, indicting him on 55 counts, including malice murder and aggravated assault.

Colt Gray pleaded not guilty.

His father, Colin Gray, also faces more than two dozen charges, including two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors claimed he gave his son access to guns despite “sufficient warning” that the then-14-year-old would hurt others.

Colin Gray also pleaded not guilty.

Details emerge about New Orleans suspect’s actions in weeks before attack

January 6, 2025

More details emerged about the man authorities said killed 14 people and injured dozens more when he drove a rented truck into a crowd of revelers in New Orleans on New Year’s Day. The FBI said Sunday the attacker, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, visited the city twice in the weeks leading up to the deadly act of terrorism and recorded video of the area using Meta Smart Glasses.

The glasses allow users to record video hands-free and can also livestream on Meta platforms.

Investigators said Jabbar wore the glasses to capture video while he rode a bicycle through the city’s French Quarter. He reportedly wore the glasses during the attack on Bourbon Street but was not livestreaming.

Authorities also believe Jabbar set fire to a short-term rental house in New Orleans where investigators found bomb-making material. They said he planted two bombs in the French Quarter before the truck attack but neither detonated.

Jabbar was killed after opening fire on responding police officers.

Parents of alleged school shooter in Serbia sentenced to prison

December 31, 2024

In Serbia, the parents of a teenage boy who allegedly carried out a school shooting in 2023 were convicted and sentenced in connection with the crime on Monday, Dec. 2024. Police said the boy, Kosta Kecmanovic, committed the first mass school shooting in the country’s history.

The suspected killer was 13 years old when he allegedly shot and killed nine children and a school security guard and injured six other people. He was too young to be charged for the murders under Serbian law.

Authorities said that the teen used his father’s guns to carry out the shooting on May 3, 2023.

The Belgrade court sentenced the teen suspect’s father, Vladimir Kecmanovic, to more than 14 years in prison for “grave acts against public safety” and child neglect.

The teen’s mother, Mijana Kecmanovic, was sentenced to three years in prison for child neglect. However, she was acquitted of other charges.

Additionally, a shooting instructor at a range where Kosta Kecmanovic reportedly practiced was sentenced to 15 months in prison for false testimony during the trial.

The parents’ lawyer, Irina Borovic, argued immense public pressure led to the conviction and sentences of the couple, and she vowed to appeal the verdicts.

Ninela Radicevic, whose daughter was killed in the mass shooting, told the Associated Press that the victims’ families “are not satisfied because no one was held responsible for the murder of nine children” and a school guard.

The teenage boy, now 14, is reportedly in a “specialized institution.”

Mozambique prison riot leads to nearly 3 dozen deaths, more than 1,500 escapes

December 26, 2024

Authorities say a prison riot in Mozambique’s capital on Wednesday, Dec. 25, killed at least 33 people and left at least 15 other individuals injured. The riot comes as violence continues to rise following October’s disputed election.

Mozambique’s top court confirmed the victory of long-ruling party Frelimo in the election on Tuesday, Dec. 24, which ignited new nationwide protests by demonstrators who say the election results were rigged.

The country’s police blame the protests outside the prison for encouraging the riot and eventual prison break.

However, Mozambique’s justice minister disputed that notion, saying the incident began inside the prison and is unrelated to the protests.

The South African Broadcast Corporation (SABC) reported the prisoners overpowered guards and stole AK-47s during the riot.

Officials say more than 1,500 prisoners escaped during the riots but 150 have since been caught. Authorities believe crime and violence will rise over the next two days as a result of the prison break.

Police also say there were two different prison break attempts at two other facilities on Wednesday.

The prison break follows civil unrest after the top court’s decision on Tuesday confirming the election results, which reportedly led to 21 people being killed, including two police officers.

Before Tuesday, a civil society monitoring group reported at least 130 people killed in clashes with police since the Oct. 9 election.

Iran hiring kids to attack Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe: Report

December 23, 2024

Intelligence officials said Iran is paying teens as young as 13-years-old to attack Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe, and there are concerns Tehran’s efforts may spread, according to a report from Bloomberg on Saturday, Dec. 21. Investigators said that several attacks in 2024 across Sweden, involving the Israeli Embassy and an Israeli defense firm, are linked to Iran-backed networks recruiting local criminals, including teenagers.

Authorities are concerned that the recruitment is part of a larger effort to attack Jewish and Israeli targets throughout Europe. In fall 2024, both Swedish and Norwegian authorities warned of Tehran-funded operations and, in October 2024, Norway raised its terror alert from medium to high.

Earlier this year, law enforcement agencies in Brussels found kids as young as 14 plotting an attack on the Israeli Embassy. European intelligence said Iranian proxies are reaching out to mercenaries on social media platforms like Telegram, TikTok and WhatsApp.

The proxy groups are offering nearly $1,600 for a murder and 120 euros for a “petrol attack,” according to what a person familiar with the illegal trade told Bloomberg.

Authorities believe that while some young immigrants may be lured to join Iran-backed proxies over frustration with Israel’s war in Gaza, other young migrants are driven by the need for money, not knowing what they are signing up for, and unaware they’re “acting on behalf of a foreign power,” according to Swedish authorities.

A recent study shows that 40% of migrants in Swedish society don’t feel integrated. The study also said immigrants in the country experience higher rates of poverty, making recruitment for gangs and Iranian proxies easier.

While it remains to be seen if Iran’s recruitment efforts will spread to other countries in Europe, in March 2024, government officials from Sweden, Norway and Denmark met to talk about the recruitment of young people into criminal networks, and how to minimize the threat.

The Swedish minister for justice noted that cooperation among Nordic neighbors would be key.

“We must do all we can to break the trend of children and young people being recruited into gangs,” Swedish Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer said in a statement.

18-year-old planned terror attack on Israeli consulate in New York: FBI

December 20, 2024

FBI agents arrested a Virginia college student, who they said was plotting a terrorist attack on Israel’s consulate in New York City. As reported on Thursday, Dec. 19, the agency said that 18-year-old Abdullah Hassan, a freshman at George Mason University, told an undercover informant about his plan to pull off a mass casualty attack.

Authorities said Hassan sent an Islamic State-themed video promoting the killing of Jewish people to someone claiming to be a terrorist sympathizer. However, the person Hassan sent it to was an undercover agent.

The FBI said Hassan shared several plans for the attack to the undercover agent. Some plans included using a high-powered rifle, a suicide vest or a backpack stuffed with a homemade bomb.

The informant said Hassan sent him a detailed video on how to make a bomb. He also told the informant he wanted to attack the Israeli consulate in New York. Hassan allegedly described the consulate as a “goldmine of targets.”

The FBI claimed Hassan praised 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden on his X account. They also said he shared antisemitic and terrorist propaganda online.

FBI agents previously interviewed Hassan in 2022 after they said he shared Islamic State propaganda online. However, the agency did not file charges in that incident.

Hassan now faces a charge related to showing the FBI informant how to make a bomb with intent to “murder internationally protected persons.” That charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison alone. However, prosecutors may reportedly add more charges.

George Mason University banned Hassan from campus after these charges were made public. Hassan is an Egyptian national and is currently detained while he undergoes the deportation process. The FBI investigation is expected to delay that process.

George Mason University also faced criticism over a separate incident. Recently, a pair of sisters, one current and former president of a pro-Palestinian group on campus, were banned from campus for four years after police searched their family’s home last month.

Investigators said they found relatives’ guns, ammunition and a symbol calling for death to Jewish people.

Campus police called the ban a safety precaution. However, a coalition of organizations representing students condemned the move. The groups argued the ban effectively expels the sisters from the university because they are unable to attend classes on campus.

The coalition also noted the decision was apparently made without due process.

Calif. man shared planned attack with teen Wis. shooting suspect: FBI

December 19, 2024

The FBI detained a California man on Tuesday, Dec. 17, that officials said was plotting an attack during conversations with the 15-year-old girl suspected of committing a deadly school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin. Police and FBI agents reportedly swarmed the home of 20-year-old Alexander Paffendorf in Carlsbad, California, on Tuesday to seize his guns and ammunition after a judge’s order under the state’s red flag law.

The court’s order came following allegations that Paffendorf was planning a mass shooting with Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, the suspected Wisconsin shooter.

Officials said, during the interview with FBI agents, that Paffendorf admitted that he told Rupnow he planned to arm himself with explosives and a gun in an attack on a government building.

The FBI did not provide further details on the pair’s communication. It’s also unclear if authorities arrested Paffendorf or if he faces any charges.

However, law enforcement said there is no current threat to the local community. Madison Police said Rupnow opened fire at a private Christian school on Monday, Dec. 16, killing a teacher and student and injuring six others.

Police found Rupnow’s body at the scene with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A motive for the shooting is still being investigated.

Over 2 million Nigerians kidnapped, more than 600,000 killed in one year: Report

December 19, 2024

A new report is shedding light on rampant violence in Nigeria. The findings from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show on Thursday, Dec. 19, that more than 2 million Nigerians were kidnapped and more than 600,000 were killed between May of last year and April of this year.

The report also notes that 7 out of 10 households in Nigeria reported murders to law enforcement and kidnapping victims paid out more than $1.4 billion in ransoms over the same time period.

The NBS said the killings and kidnappings are mostly from armed gangs in the northwest and north-central part of the country, while terrorism occurs largely in the northeast of the West African nation.

The news comes as security concerns continue to rise, and security forces are stretched thin as they try to rein in gang violence and terrorism. Security analyst Saheed Shehu says the latest number should be a wakeup call for the Nigerian government to take action now.

Nigerian defense authorities say they are making progress, saying two weeks ago, the military killed 8,000 terrorists and arrested 11,000 suspects, while rescuing 6,000 victims. However, Shehu says he is skeptical of those numbers given the recent findings in the NBS report.

Shehu said, “It does not balance with this report. So, something must be wrong somewhere.”

Quelling gang and terrorist activity has been a major challenge for Nigeria’s government. The country invested 12% of this year’s budget, or around $4 billion, to defense, the largest allocation to any department of government.