Crime
July 4th: A rooftop shooter killed at least 6 people and wounded 24 more in Chicago
A rooftop shooter killed at least six people and wounded 24 more at a July Fourth parade in an affluent Chicago suburb on Monday, authorities said.
Also, a man arrested on suspicion of killing three people and wounding several others during a shooting at a shopping mall in Copenhagen on Sunday had been remanded in a psychiatric facility for 24 days, Danish police said yesterday.
For the Illinois killings, a rifle had been found and police are searching for a gunman who opened fire at Highland Park police, Commander Chris O’Neill told reporters.
According to NBC News, the city of Highland Park confirmed that there’s “an active shooter incident” and urged all, “individuals are advised to shelter in place.”
“Law enforcement agencies are searching for the suspect; evidence of a firearm has been recovered,” the city said. “Numerous law enforcement officers are responding and have secured a perimeter around downtown Highland Park.”
The shooting happened “in the area of the Independence Day parade route,” the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement posted to Twitter.
Illinois State Police also responded to the scene, “assisting Highland Park PD with an active shoot situation,” according to a statement the agency tweeted.
Police were spotted scouring rooftops around Central Avenue near Green Bay Road and Second Street in the aftermath of gunfire.
“It does appear that he was shooting from a roof,” Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli told reporters.
Fourth of July events in other Chicago suburbs, Evanston and Skokie, were also called off in the wake of the Highland Park shooting.
“Unfortunately as you may know, we have an active shooter situation in Highland Park at their parade,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker told reporters at the Independence Day event in nearby Evanston.
“I’m still getting reports.”
United States Rep, Brad Schneider was at the Highland Park event when shots rang out.
“My campaign team and I were gathering at the start of the parade when shooting started,” the lawmaker said in a statement. “My team and I are safe and secure.”
Witness Larry Bloom said at first people thought the popping sound was part of the parade.
“You heard like a ‘pop, pop, pop,’ and I think everybody kinda thought maybe it was a display on one of the floats and then it just opened up,” he told NBC Chicago.
“I was screaming and people were screaming,” Bloom added. “They were panicking and and they were just scattering and I, you know, we didn’t know. You know, it was right on top of us.”
Suspect in Fatal Copenhagen Mall Shooting Remanded in Psychiatric Facility for 24 Days
Meanwhile, a man arrested on suspicion of killing three people and wounding several others during a shooting at a shopping mall in Copenhagen is being remanded in a psychiatric facility for 24 days, Danish police said yesterday.
The 22-year-old Danish man was known to psychiatric professionals, CNN quoted to have police said earlier.
The suspect was charged with manslaughter, Copenhagen Police tweeted. The court who heard the case yesterday, put a ban on naming both the suspect and 10 victims named in the charge, the force added in a series of tweets.
The shooting unfolded on Sunday at multiple locations inside Field’s, a shopping center in the Danish capital. Social media footage showed people running through the mall and heavily armed law enforcement officers on the scene.
At a press conference, Copenhagen’s Head of Police Soren Thomassen said two 17-year-old Danish citizens, one male and one female, and a 47-year-old Russian national had been killed in the gunfire.
Two other Danes and two Swedish nationals had received gunshot wounds and were in hospital in critical but stable condition, while several others sustained minor injuries while leaving the mall, Thomassen said.
The man arrested in connection with the shooting is currently the only suspect. Thomassen said there was no indication the suspect was acting with others but an investigation was ongoing.
Earlier, the police had said they detained the suspect 13 minutes after receiving the first emergency call, and that he was “carrying a rifle and ammunition” at the time of his arrest.
At the news conference, Thomassen said there was no indication the attack was an “act of terror” nor motivated by gender, and police believe the victims were chosen at random. The suspect was “known to people in the psychiatric field,” he said.
Gun violence is relatively rare in Denmark. Copenhagen’s last major shooting incident was in 2015, when a gunman attacked a free speech forum featuring controversial cartoonist Lars Vilks, killing one man and wounding three others.
As investigators piece together the circumstances that lead to Sunday’s deadly shooting, questions are being asked as to how the suspected gunman could have obtained the weapon and ammunition used in the attack, as Denmark is considered to have some of the most restrictive gun laws in Europe.
Whereas in the United States gun ownership is conditionally guaranteed by the US Constitution, in Denmark, the right to private gun ownership is not guaranteed by law, according to GunPolicy.org, an organisation that tracks international firearm policy.
Through restrictive licensing, Danish authorities attempt to reduce firearm violence by substantially reducing the number of firearms in circulation. An applicant for a firearm license in Denmark must pass a background check which considers criminal and mental health, GunPolicy.org said.
Only licensed gun owners may lawfully acquire, possess or transfer a firearm or ammunition. Applicants for a gun owner’s license in Denmark are required to establish a genuine reason to possess a firearm, for example hunting, target shooting, collection, according to GunPolicy.org.
Crime
Man jailed 3 months for stealing mobile phone
An Area Court in Jos, on Tuesday, sentenced one Jeptha John, to three months imprisonment for stealing a Redmi mobile phone valued at N165, 000.
The judge, Shawomi Bokkos, sentenced the John after he pleaded guilty to the offence.
The judge, however, gave the convict an option to pay N20, 000 fine and N50, 000 restitution to the complainant.
Bokkos said that if the convict defaulted in paying the restitution, three months should be added to his sentence to make it six months imprisonment.
Earlier, the police prosecutor, Insp Monday Dabit, told the court that the case was reported at the B Division Police Station, Jos, on Dec. 1, 2024, by Ms Nerat Danjuma.
He said that the complainant alleged that the defendant trespassed into her house and stole her mobile phone valued at N165, 000.
The prosecutor further told the court that the offence contravened the Plateau State Penal Code, Law of Northern Nigeria.
Crime
Army apprehends 15 over suspected oil theft in Niger Delta
Troops of the Nigerian army have apprehended no fewer than 15 persons over suspected oil theft and illegal oil bunkering activities in the Niger Delta.
Lt.-Col. Danjuma Danjuma, the Spokesman, Nigerian Army, 6 Division, Port Harcourt, said in a statement on Monday that the operations were carried out in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers recently.
Danjuma said that the army apprehended 15 persons, dismantled 32 artisanal refineries and seized 14 boats during operations.
He further said that during the operations, conducted between Jan. 6 and 12, the troops confiscated no fewer than 60,000 litres of various petroleum products
The spokesman said that the operations were part of a broader collaborative effort with other security agencies to combat oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
Danjuma said that the raid commenced in Bille, Degema Local Government Area, and Rivers, where soldiers dismantled seven illegal refining sites, confiscated 20,000 litres of crude oil, and destroyed two boats.
“We also deactivated ten illegal refineries, several crude oil cooking pots, and receivers, and recovered about 19,000 litres of stolen petroleum products along the Imo River.
“In Odagwa, Etche, our troops intercepted three boats carrying about 12,000 litres of stolen crude oil and arrested three suspects in the process.
“Similar operations were carried out in Abiama, Asa, Obuzor, Okoloma, Ozaa, Ukwa, and Oyigbo” he added.
He stated that the soldiers advanced to Nkisa in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers, where they confiscated 1,600 litres of crude oil and 1,200 litres adulterated diesel.
Danjuma said that along Ndoni Road, the troops intercepted a Toyota van transporting an estimated 1,200 litres of stolen condensate.
The spokesman said that in Buguma, Asari-Toru, Rivers, the troops dismantled two illegal refineries, seized 1,500 litres of stolen crude oil, and apprehended five suspects.
“In Baberegbene, Southern Ijaw, Bayelsa, our soldiers dismantled an illegal artisanal refinery and intercepted a wooden boat carrying no fewer than 1,500 litres of stolen
“Similarly, an illegal refining site containing an unquantified quantity of stolen petroleum products was deactivated in Emago-Kugbo and Oluasiri communities in Nembe, Bayelsa.
“The operations continued in Akwa Ibom and Delta, where troops maintained a strong presence and effectively denied economic saboteurs the liberty to operate,” he said.
Crime
2 ladies docked for allegedly obtaining money by fraud
The police in Lagos have dragged two women, Mmesuma Ofunna, and Blessing Adimekwe, before an Ojo Magistrates’ Court in Lagos, over alleged obtaining money by false pretence.
Ofunna, 22, and Adimekwe, 25, were arraigned before the Magistrate, Mr L K J Layeni, on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, stealing and conduct likely to breach peace.
They each, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The prosecutor, ASP Simon Uche, told the court that the defendants conspired with others now at large, to commit the offence on Oct. 26 at the Okokomaiko area of Ojo.
He alleged that they had obtained the sum of N70, 000 from one Faith Ahamefule, with a promise not to post her nude photo on social media.
The prosecutor alleged that the defendants later posted the nude photo of the nominal complainant on social media, knowing that their promise was false.
He alleged that they stole the N70, 0000, thereby conducting themselves in a manner likely to breach public peace.
The offence contravenes the provisions of sections 168(d), 287, 314, and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
The court granted the defendants bails in the sum of N500, 000 each, with two sureties each in like sum.
He adjourned the case until Jan. 8, 2025 for mention.
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