Mass Shootings

The Associated Press reports: Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz formally received a sentence of life without parole Wednesday after families of his 17 slain victims spent two days berating him as evil, a coward, a monster and a subhuman. Cruz, shackled and in a red jail jumpsuit, watched intently as Judge Elizabeth Scherer sentenced him to 17 life terms for …

NBC News reports: The shooter who killed two people at a St. Louis high school this week bought the rifle used in the attack from a private seller after he was blocked from buying a gun at a licensed dealer, police said Thursday. Two people — Jean Kuczka, 61, a health teacher, and student Alexzandria Bell, 15 — were killed …

The Associated Press reports: The 19-year-old gunman who killed a teacher and a 15-year-old girl at a St. Louis high school was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and what appeared to be more than 600 rounds of ammunition, Police Commissioner Michael Sack said Tuesday. Orlando Harris also left behind a hand-written note offering his explanation for the shooting Monday at …

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports: Police identified the suspect late Monday as Orlando Harris, 19, a graduate last year of the school, Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, at Arsenal Street and South Kings highway near Tower Grove Park.  One survivor heard the shooter say he was “tired of everybody” in the school. Police said the damage could have …

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports: At least three people were killed, including the suspect, and six others injured after a shooting Monday morning at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School in south St. Louis. A woman died at a hospital, and a teen girl was pronounced dead inside the school, both of gunshot wounds. Injuries ranged from gunshot wounds …

The Detroit Free Press reports: Ethan Crumbley, who 11 months ago penned in his journal “I will cause the biggest school shooting in Michigan’s history. I have fully mentally lost it,” pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree murder and terrorism charges for the bloodshed he vowed to carry out at Oxford High School four days after his parents bought him a …

The Associated Press reports: Two top New York state officials on Tuesday called on lawmakers to outlaw the creation of videos of homicides, citing the viral spread across the internet of footage livestreamed by a gunman as he killed Black shoppers and workers during a racist mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket. Attorney General Letitia James and Gov. Kathy Hochul, …

The Houston Chronicle reports: Texas public school systems are set to distribute DNA and fingerprint identification kits for K-8 students to parents who wish to participate. The state Legislature passed a law in spring 2021 requiring the Texas Education Agency to give inkless in-home fingerprint and DNA identification cards to each public school system in Texas. The kits will be …

ABC News reports: Raleigh Police Department said a 15-year-old was responsible for the mass shooting that killed 5 people and injured 2 others Thursday night. The shooting started around 5 p.m. in the Hedingham neighborhood near Osprey Cove Drive and Bay Harbor Drive. Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson said Friday morning that the crime scene spanned around 2 miles across …

The Associated Press reports: A jury reached its decision Thursday in the penalty trial of Nikolas Cruz, who gunned down 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. The trial was to decide whether to sentence him to life in prison or the death penalty. During closing arguments Tuesday, defense counsel Melisa McNeill told the …

CNN reports: Plaintiffs in the trial included family members of eight school students and employees, in addition to one FBI agent who responded to the scene. Notably, Jones is not present in the courtroom today. Three cases were all condensed into the single trial. While the families did not seek a specific dollar figure in the trial, an attorney for …

ABC News reports: The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Dylann Roof, who challenged his death sentence and conviction in the 2015 racist slayings of nine members of a Black South Carolina congregation. Roof had asked the court to decide how to handle disputes over mental illness-related evidence between capital defendants and their attorneys. The justices did not comment …

ABC News reports: The Uvalde, Texas, school district — still facing withering criticism over its police department’s failings both during the May 24 elementary school massacre and since — announced the suspension of the entire district police force on Friday. The district said it’s requested more Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to be stationed on campuses and at extra-curricular …

Reuters reports: The firearms industry knew this was coming: On Wednesday, an unprecedented coalition of big-name law firms, from both the defense and plaintiffs’ bars, teamed up with anti-gun violence nonprofits to accuse Smith & Wesson Brands Inc of responsibility for a mass shooting at a July 4 parade in Highland Park, Illinois, that left seven dead and dozens wounded. …

ABC News reports: A gunman opened fire in a school in central Russia on Monday, killing 13 people and wounding 23 others before shooting himself dead, authorities said. The shooting took place in School No. 88 in Izhevsk, a city 960 kilometers (600 miles) east of Moscow in the Udmurtia region. Russia’s Investigative Committee identified the gunman as 34-year-old Artyom …

The Washington Post reports: The most prominent forum for men who consider themselves involuntarily celibate or “incels” has become significantly more radicalized over the past year and a half and is seeking to normalize child rape, a new report says. The report, by the Quant Lab, is the culmination of an investigation that analyzed more than 1 million posts on …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Republican attorneys general of 24 states are warning Visa, Mastercard, and American Express not to move forward with their plan to add a new code to identify when purchases are made at firearms retailers. The attorneys general said in a letter that the card companies’ plan could lead to the misuse of consumer data and …

The Texas Tribune reports: The parents of a child who was killed in the Uvalde school shooting met with Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Wednesday and asked him to support a federal ban on semi-automatic weapons. The senator declined and instead suggested increasing law enforcement presence on school campuses. Kimberly Mata-Rubio, whose daughter Lexi was killed in the …

The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports: The 19-year-old police say is responsible for several shootings in Memphis Wednesday evening is in custody, bringing to an end a two-hours-plus crisis that left four people dead and three people injured. The rampage left parts of the city paralyzed, with restaurants on lock down, residents told to shelter in place and MATA bus service …

The New York Post reports: New York City public schools are expanding active shooter training to pre-K, 3-K and other early childhood programs, Department of Education officials said Wednesday. Schools Chancellor David Banks [photo] announced the new prep for staffers taking care of the Big Apple’s learners under 5 during a press conference in Queens ahead of back-to-school on Thursday. …