Shootings in the UK & Around the World

Half Moon Bay: Suspect held after another California mass shooting..

ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/D6F5/production/_128392055_mediaitem128392054.jpg

The US state of California is reeling from its second mass shooting in days after a man shot dead seven former co-workers south of San Francisco.

The attacks took place in the coastal city of Half Moon Bay. The victims were all Chinese-American farm workers.

Suspect Zhao Chunli, 67, was arrested after driving to a police station.

It comes as the state mourns the death of 11 at Monterey Park - about six hours south east of Half Moon Bay - during Lunar New Year celebrations.

California Governor Gavin Newsom tweeted that he was at a hospital meeting with victims of the earlier mass shooting when he was pulled away to be briefed about the second attack, describing it as "tragedy upon tragedy".

The latest bloodshed to hit the state took place at two farms around the Half Moon Bay community.

Four victims of the shooting attack were discovered at a mushroom farm while the other three were later found at a nearby trucking business. An eighth victim is being treated in hospital and is in a critical condition.

A number of children who had recently been let out of school and lived on the rural property saw the attack take place, San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said.

"This kind of shooting is horrific. It's a tragedy we hear about far too often, but today it's hit home here in San Mateo County," the office said.

"For children to witness this is unspeakable."

After carrying out the killings, the suspect drove to a local police station where his arrest was caught on camera.

US news channels showed Zhao Chunli being pinned to the ground and arrested by police.

He was found with a semi-automatic pistol that may have been used in the attack, and was co-operating with police, Sheriff Corpus said.

San Mateo County Board of Supervisors President Dave Pine told the Associated Press news agency that the attacks were committed by a "disgruntled worker".

"We are sickened by today's tragedy in Half Moon Bay," Mr Pine said in a statement. "There are simply too many guns in this country and there has to be a change."

Just hours after the attack, seven were injured and one person was killed in a shooting in Oakland - about 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Half Moon Bay.

The Half Moon Bay attack is the 37th mass shooting in just 24 days according to US not-for-profit Gun Violence Archive.

They define a mass shooting as four or more people injured or killed.

Even as details of the deadly attack in Half Moon Bay were coming in, detectives in the south of the state were still hunting for a motive for the killings in Monterey Park.

There, an elderly Asian immigrant murdered 11 people in a suburban dance hall, before killing himself as police closed in.


Unfortunately the gunman never killed himself.

Daniel Harris: UK teen sentenced over videos linked to US shootings..

ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/170FF/production/_128436449_danielharrisbackground.png

A British man who posted far-right videos that influenced the gunman behind a US mass shooting has been given an 11-and-a-half-year sentence.

Daniel Harris, 19, uploaded racist videos calling for the "total extermination of subhumans", Manchester Crown Court heard.

They were shared by Payton Gendron, who killed 10 people in Buffalo, New York.

Harris, from Glossop in Derbyshire, was found guilty of terrorism offences following a trial last year.

As well as serving his sentence in a young offenders institution, he must also serve three years on extended licence once released.

The court heard Harris, of Lord Street, made videos about the Christchurch mosque shootings, the killer of MP Jo Cox and other far-right figures.

The videos were uploaded to the internet between February 2021 and March 2022.

On Thursday it emerged some were shared online by Payton Gendron, who has pleaded guilty to fatally shooting 10 black people at a supermarket in May.

Links between Harris and Anderson Lee Aldrich, the only suspect in a mass shooting at a gay bar in Colorado, were also made while Harris was on trial.

Harris's video was posted on a website with links that appeared to show Aldrich preparing to carry out the attacks, in which five people were killed and 25 were injured.

Harris was convicted in December of five counts of encouraging terrorism and one count of possession of material for terrorist purposes.

Judge Patrick Field KC, sentencing, said Harris "created a series of videos" where he "glorified mass murderers" and "encouraged other people to emulate them" having "provided specific instructions".

"In these videos you expressed and repeated vile antisemitic, racist, misogynistic and homophobic views," he said.

"You intended to encourage terrorism, and it's plain that what was being encouraged was lethal, racist and anti-Semitic violence, as well as violence against the gay community."

At the sentencing hearing on Friday, the court also heard Harris was producing his videos after he had been sentenced for defacing a memorial in Manchester of George Floyd, who was killed by an American police officer in 2020.

Judge Field said the defendant had portrayed the incident as "no more than a blip" and told "a series of lies".

The judge also referred to an incident where Harris attempted to make a firearm through a 3D printer, which he said could have been used in a deadly attack.

"That you failed in this task was a matter of good fortune," he said.

"I have no hesitation in coming to the conclusion that you are highly dangerous."

Det Insp Chris Brett, from Counter-Terrorism Policing in the East Midlands, said Harris was behind "a concerted effort to generate a following and influence people".

"On the face of it, [he] presents as an unassuming, quiet young man, but scratch the surface and it's a more sinister picture," he said.

"While efforts were made to support him - with a referral to establish if he had been groomed, and attempts to engage with him through the Prevent programme - the extent of his views and intentions were exposed through his continued efforts to post and create online content of an extreme nature throughout.

"Harris was ultimately deemed not to have been groomed, rather his provocative words and inflammatory films were potentially radicalising others.

"The threat he posed became such that we had to act in order to ensure the safety of the wider public."

Nick Price, head of special crime and counter terrorism at the Crown Prosecution Service, also welcomed the sentencing.

"Harris sought to encourage others to commit terrorist acts through his violent, anti-Semitic and racist videos which would have been watched by many," he said.

"These videos were not harmless entertainment - in them he glorified mass murderers."

Bodycam footage of 29-year-old father Tyre Nichols calling for his mother as he is beaten by police in Memphis has been released.

Mr Nichols died in hospital three days after being pulled over for alleged reckless driving. He was pepper sprayed, kicked and punched by five officers who have since lost their jobs and been charged with his murder.

Video of the arrest, taken from body cameras and a surveillance camera mounted to a pole, was released in four instalments made public on Friday.

The BBC has reviewed the footage, which is graphically violent and full of expletives.

This article contains descriptions that some people may find distressing

Only a small number of people had seen the videos before Friday evening, including Mr Nichols' family, their legal team and several officials.

Rapper Nipsey Hussle's killer Eric R Holder Jr gets 60 years in prison..

ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/74CE/production/_128720992_gettyimages-1080924940.jpg

The man convicted of killing rapper Nipsey Hussle has been sentenced to at least 60 years in prison.

Eric R. Holder, Jr. was found guilty of first-degree murder last July for killing Hussle - whose real name is Ermias Asghedom - outside Hussle's South Los Angeles clothing store in 2019.

Hussle, a Grammy-nominated artist, died aged 33.

Two bystanders were also hit and injured in the incident.

Superior Court Judge H. Clay Jacke announced Holder's 60 years to life sentence on Wednesday after hearing from one of Hussle's friends as well as reading a letter from Holder's father.

Holder was found guilty of murder as well as two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter for the two bystanders injured in the shooting after a months-long trial.

He was not eligible for the death penalty and was widely expected to receive a life sentence.

Wearing orange jail attire, he did not react when his sentence was read out.

Holder's attorney told ABC News he planned to appeal the verdict.

"It was always going to be tough given the high-profile circumstances surrounding the case," the attorney, Aaron Jansen, said.

Prosecutors said during the murder trial that the attack was premeditated, while Holder's defence team argued it was a heat-of-the-moment decision.

Holder's defence attorney said he was provoked by a conversation he had with Hussle about rumours that he was cooperating with police.

Hussle was struck by gunfire at least 10 times, after which Holder kicked him in the head and fled the scene, Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney John McKinney told the court, according to the Associated Press.

Hussle grew up in South Los Angeles, where he was a member of the Rollin' 60s street gang as a teenager.

He opened the Marathon Clothing store as a way of investing in his community. Before his death, he had also reached out to the Los Angeles Police Department to discuss ways to help prevent gang violence in the neighbourhood.

The rapper, who won two posthumous Grammy awards for best rap performance and best rap/song collaboration in 2020, had two children with actor Lauren London.

He was also awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Hussle's murder has sparked an outpouring of support from fans across the country who have posted tributes to the rapper.

Florida TV journalist & 9yr old Girl killed at murder scene..

A TV reporter and a nine-year-old girl have been fatally shot near Orlando, Florida, close to the scene of a murder that took place hours earlier.

A second reporter and the girl's mother were shot and injured by the same gunman, who is also suspected of the other homicide, police say.

The two Spectrum News 13 journalists were covering the killing of a woman in the area that morning when the teenage suspect returned, police say.

It is unclear if they were targeted.

The suspect was armed when he was arrested and was not co-operating with police, said investigators.

None of the three people killed in Wednesday's two attacks in Pine Hills, a suburb west of Orlando, have yet been identified.

In a news conference, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said the journalists were "in or near their vehicle", which he said did not look like a TV station's official vehicle, when they were attacked at around 16:00 local time (22:00 GMT).

He said the journalists had been reporting on a shooting that took place earlier in the day at around 11:00 local time, which saw a woman in her 20s fatally shot inside a car, when the suspect returned to the crime scene and opened fire.

After attacking the journalists, the alleged gunman - Keith Moses, 19 - went into a nearby home and shot the girl and her mother, the sheriff said.

The mother was in hospital in a critical condition, he added.

Other journalists nearby helped provide first aid to the victims, according to local reporters.

Spectrum 13 continued live coverage after the death of their reporter was announced.

Greg Angel, a news presenter for the station, said the injured journalist had "been able to speak with investigators and colleagues".

The suspect, Mr Mina said, "has a lengthy criminal history, to include gun charges, aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft charges".

He described him as an "acquaintance" of the woman shot in the morning, "but as far as we know, he had no connection to the reporters and no connection to the mother and the nine-year-old".

Asked about the possibility that the gunman purposefully targeted the reporters, Mr Mina said "it's something we'll be taking a look at".

He added that it was also possible the suspect mistook the journalists for police.

A reporter for Orlando TV station WESH 2 reported that she and her camera operator had left the crime scene only moments before the shooting.

"We got a gut feeling" and decided to leave for their own safety, said Senait Gebregiorgis.

Charter Communications, the company that owns the TV station, released a statement calling the attack "a terrible tragedy for the Orlando community".

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and the other lives senselessly taken today," the company said.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted condolences, saying: "Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the crew member injured in Orange County, Florida, as well as the whole Spectrum News team."

There were 40 journalists killed in 2022, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Only one of those killed was in the United States.

They've already arrested three men from the "New IRA", whatever that is.

Deadly shooting at Hamburg Jehovah's Witness hall..

ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/490/cpsprodpb/185A/production/_128943260_504416109f042e50acc65cbd06bf4e8b264475790_367_5311_29881000x563.jpg

A number of people have been killed in a shooting at a Jehovah's Witness meeting hall in the north German city of Hamburg.

Police say a gunman is believed to be dead. It is unclear if the attacker is among six or seven fatalities reported by German media.

As yet, "there is no reliable information on the motive", police say.

A number of people were also injured in the shooting on Deelböge street in the city's Gross Borstel district.

Police spokesman Holger Vehren said investigators had "indications that a perpetrator may have been in the building and may be even among the dead", the Associated Press news agency reports.

Police did not have to use their firearms during the incident, he said.

Mr Vehren said that police had heard a "shot coming from the upper floors of the building". There were no indications of a perpetrator on the run, he added.

Mr Vehran also said he had no information on the severity of the injuries suffered by the wounded, who had been taken to hospital.

An alert was sent on the federal warning app, NINAwarn, at around 21:00 (20:00 GMT) telling locals that "one or more unknown perpetrators shot at people in a church".

Residents nearby were told not to leave their homes amid the ongoing police operation.

Footage showed police escorting people out of the meeting hall, some to ambulances.

Hamburg's Interior Minister, Andy Grote, said on Twitter that police special forces and a large number of officers had been deployed to the scene.

Police have appealed to the public not to share assumptions or to spread rumours.

Jehovah's Witnesses are members of a Christian-based religious movement.

The denomination was founded in the USA towards the end of the 19th century, under the leadership of Charles Taze Russell. The headquarters of the movement is in New York.

Bloody Christians,

Another tragedy Chesh.