Crime

The Associated Press reports: The leader of a white nationalist militia says Florida school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz was a member of his group and participated in paramilitary drills in Tallahassee. Jordan Jereb told The Associated Press on Thursday that his group wants Florida to become its own white ethno-state. He said his group holds “spontaneous random demonstrations” and tries …

ABC News reports: In what has become a familiar ritual of grief, President Donald Trump planned to address the nation Thursday morning about a deadly mass shooting at a Florida high school, after focusing on mental health, rather than guns, in his early comments. The president’s address comes a day after a former student opened fire at the Parkland, Florida, …

Mediaite reports: A Twitter user believed to be a student at the Florida high school devastated by a mass shooting on Wednesday called President Donald Trump a “fucking piece of shit” for his response to the massacre. In a tweet that has since gone viral, “Sarah,” urged Trump to take action in response to the shooting instead of offering prayers. …

The Hill reports: Former Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.) on Wednesday night argued American voters must flip the House of Representatives to a Democratic majority if they want Congress to address gun control in the wake of a Florida high school shooting that left 17 people dead and others injured. “And so if this is the issue that defines your ideology …

The Associated Press reports: A law enforcement official is telling The Associated Press that a former student who killed 17 people at a Florida school legally purchased his AR-15 rifle about a year ago. The official is familiar with the investigation into the school shooting but not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Federal law …

From the editorial board of the New York Daily News: More than a dozen shot dead in a South Florida high school on Wednesday. Many more wounded by the gunman. Mourn though we do, mourn though we must, it is time to admit a painful fact: As a nation, we do not care. If we cared, we would make at …

CBS News reports: An orphaned 19-year-old with a troubled past and an AR-15 rifle was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder Thursday morning after being questioned for hours by state and federal authorities following the deadliest school shooting in the U.S. in five years. Fifteen wounded survivors were hospitalized as bodies were recovered from inside and around Marjory Stoneman …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Thursday suggested mental illness played a role in a shooting at a Florida high school that left 17 dead. Trump on Wednesday offered his prayers and condolences to the victims’ families, saying “no child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school.” As reports of the death toll came in, …

Mediaite reports: To absolutely no one’s surprise, Florida Senator Marco Rubio thinks gun control isn’t necessarily the answer to stopping the school shooting that killed at least 17 people in Parkland, Florida. Fox News’ Pete Doocy asked Rubio if he thought it was appropriate to be discussing gun control after the events. “It’s not, only because people don’t know how …

The Hill reports: CNN counterterrorism analyst Philip Mudd broke down in tears on Wednesday while discussing the Florida school shooting live on CNN. “I have ten nieces and nephews,” Mudd said, his voice breaking. “We’re talking about bump stocks, we’re talking about legislation. A child of god is dead. Can we not acknowledge in this country that we cannot accept …

The Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reports: Multiple deaths were reported Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and authorities reported a suspect in custody. Coral Springs Mayor Skip Campbell, whose city contracts fire service in Parkland, confirms there were “multiple fatalities.” A television news helicopter report showed several people on gurneys being placed into into fire rescue ambulances …

The Christian Post reports: A California pastor accused of forcing his way into a hotel room and sexually assaulting one of two young girls under the age of 13 who were visiting from China, says he was just at the “wrong place at the wrong time” after surveillance video showed him lurking around at the hotel prior to the attack. …

Pittsburgh’s CBS affiliate reports: A Homestead-area pastor is being accused of open lewdness and indecent exposure, but he says what police say happened is not what really happened. Officers were sent to the 800 block of Beechland Street around 11:30 p.m. Friday for a report of a suspicious vehicle parked outside of a home. According to a criminal complaint, when …

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports: The former commander of the Milwaukee County Jail was charged Monday with felony misconduct in office and obstructing an officer in the dehydration death of Terrill Thomas. Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Major Nancy Evans was charged along with two other jail staffers. Thomas, a 38-year-old inmate with bipolar disorder, went seven days without water in solitary …

Agence France-Presse reports: A suspected poacher was mauled to death and eaten by a pack of lions close to the Kruger National Park in South Africa, police said Monday, adding that little was left of the victim’s body. The remains were found at the weekend in the bush at a private game park near Hoedspruit in the northern province of …

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports: Former Judge Tim Nolan on Friday agreed to spend 20 years in prison for human trafficking. He used drugs, threats of arrest and threats of eviction to force women and girls under the age of 18 into sex acts, according to the charges read in court by Judge Kathleen Lape. Nolan pleaded guilty to 21 counts …

Anchorage’s CBS affiliate reports: Sarah Palin’s oldest son is scheduled for trial in a case accusing him of assaulting his father at the family’s Alaska home. A judge Friday set trial for the week of March 27 for Track Palin after his lawyer said the case would not be ready for a late-February trial as initially set. Palin participated in …

Reuters reports: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday told the International Criminal Court (ICC) to go ahead and investigate him for crimes against humanity, and said he would prefer to face a firing squad than be jailed. However, the firebrand leader notorious for his defiance of international pressure questioned whether the ICC had jurisdiction to indict him over the deaths …

The Toronto Sun reports: Toronto police have now recovered the remains of six individuals in an investigation into what they have described as the work of a serial killer. Bruce McArthur, 66, has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder in the disappearances of Andrew Kinsman, Selim Esen, Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi and Dean Lisowick. Speaking Thursday at a …

Andy Humm reports at Gay City News: A brief cell-phone video captures a harrowing September 27, 2017 assault on gay student Abel Cedeno in his Bronx high school class by Matthew McCree, joined by his friend Ariane Laboy, as Cedeno defends himself with a knife, fatally wounding McCree and slashing Laboy. McCree, in a white T-shirt, can be seen charging …