Crime

Texas School Shooting: A 9-year-old Describes Escaping through a Window

Published

3 years ago

May 30, 2022

Salman

Texas School Shooting: A 9-year-old Describes Escaping through a Window

(CNN) – Texas School Shooting – A student said the wounded teacher texted 911 for help as a gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and started firing.

The gunman, who couldn’t enter Daniel’s classroom, fired several shots into it after being unable to get in, says 9-year-old Daniel and mother, Briana Ruiz. Despite his teacher locking the door, the bullets struck both him and another student.

Just in the first five months of this year, Robb Elementary has been the scene of at least 30 school shootings. Those shootings were the deadliest since Sandy Hook in 2012.

Daniel said he was able to see the gunman from the door’s window as he first crawled under a table next to the wall.

“I could still see his face,” he said. “I could see him staring at people.”

The two people injured in Daniel’s class survived after he escaped through a broken window, cutting his hand on some glass.

MUST READ: Netflix Adds Warning Card To ‘Stranger Things 4 Premiere’ After Texas School Shooting

His cousin, Ellie Garcia, was in a different class. It was the deadliest school shooting in a decade that took the lives of 19 children and two teachers, and less than a week later, major questions remain about the effectiveness of the law enforcement response and whether more children could have been saved.

Texas Department of Public Safety has released a timeline of what happened during Tuesday’s shooting, showing the gunman was in a classroom with students for more than an hour before he was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents. Even as children locked inside the room with the gunman called 911, the commander on scene decided to wait over an hour for reinforcements.

A US Department of Justice inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the shooting was launched at the request of Uvalde’s mayor.

In a statement, the DOJ said it aims to identify lessons learned and best practices regarding responding to active shooter incidents through an independent review.

The father of a victim in the shooting, Alfred Garcia, told CNN he was “disbelieving” how long elapsed between the shooting and its conclusion and expressed frustration with the authorities’ response.

“Anyone who can read knows that it took too long to get in there and, you know, if someone had acted immediately, there may have been more children here today, including my daughter,” he said.

Two funerals set for today

Funeral services will be held Monday at local funeral homes for two victims. Those attending Amerie Jo Garza’s visitation and rosary will do so at Hillcrest Memorial Funeral Home, while those attending Maite Yuleana Rodriguez’s service will do so at Rushing Estes Knowles.

In Uvalde, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden attended mass and laid flowers at a memorial for the victims as part of their memorial services. They also met privately with first responders as well as family members of the victims.

In the interview, Gutierrez asked, “What kind of world do we live in that legislation was created to raze these schools?”.

Moreover, Biden also promised Gutierrez, “I’m not going anywhere … I’m gonna bring you resources … we’ve only got one psychiatrist in Uvalde.” Gutierrez said there is only one psychiatrist in Uvalde.

Response of law enforcement called into question

For those who say that more should have been done during the shooting, first responder actions — or lack thereof — have been a focal point.

CNN obtained a copy of the state’s commission on law enforcement 2020 training manual in which officers are instructed on how to intervene quickly in an active shooter situation. An officer should move in and confront their attacker first, according to the manual.

According to the timeline provided by DPS, they did not enter the classroom for another 30 minutes. According to the source, because Border Patrol functions as a support agency, they will defer to agency commands.

DPS reports that a girl in one of the classrooms where students were shot called 911 at 12:16 p.m. to inform the operator eight or nine students were still alive.

“The subject was believed to be stationary and barricaded at the time,” McCraw said, adding that “no risk was present to other children” when asked Friday why police didn’t move in sooner.

On retrospect, McCraw said, “It’s obvious there were kids in the room, clearly they’re in danger.”. He added, “There could be injured children, whether or not they were shot, and it’s essential to provide lifesaving aid immediately.”.

Community comes together

An outpouring of support is being provided to those affected by the shooting.

“I can’t possibly open my kitchen with a broken heart and have fun,” Hernandez wrote on Facebook hours after the shooting.

Hernandez cooked for his community on Thursday, his 33rd birthday, whether it was wings, mac-and-cheese or fried fish tacos.

Martha Carreon, children’s librarian, sang, read to, and giggled with dozens of children just one day after the shooting, taking the children away to a safe place far from the school where they had been witnesses to horror.

Mendell Morgan, director of El Progreso Memorial Library, told CNN that the building is meant to be a refuge that is a peaceful, calm, and cool haven.

In addition to psychologists who are available for children and adults every weekday to speak with, there will also be massage therapists, volunteers for arts and craft activities, musicians who will play soothing music, and magicians who will perform magic tricks.

“This is a strong community where we have true care and concern for one another,” Morgan said. “Many, if not most here, hold fast to their faith believing in God, that good is stronger than evil and light is stronger than dark.”

Crime

Police Officer Being Ordained at Temple Arrested for Running Scam Call Center

Published

5 months ago

July 20, 2024

Thomas3940

Police Officer Being Ordained at Temple Arrested

Police in Northern Thailand have arrested a fellow officer as he was being ordained at a temple in Ngao district of neighbouring Lampang province.

Pol Lt Col Bandit Khonkan chief inspector from the Hang Dong police station was disrobed and taken to the Chang Puak station in Chiang Mai. He was arrested on charges of running a call centre scam gang in Chiang Mai Province.

According to Thai Media Chiang Mai Provincial Police Region 5 obtained an arrest warrant for Pol Lt Col Bandit on Friday from the Chiang Mai Provincial Court for procuring illegal telecom equipment, setting up a station and using public airwaves to run a telecommunications business without permission.

Pol Lt Col Bandit reportedly told investigators that he was not the ringleader and was only a member of the gang with Chinese partners.

His arrest followed the apprehension of his 26-year-old daughter, Miss Wanuchapond, 26, and three others during raids at three housing projects in Chiang Mai on Friday, Pol Maj Gen Weerachon Boontawee, deputy chief of Provincial Police Region 5 told Thai media.

During the raids police police discovered around 12 GSM gateways, or SIM boxes, which are devices used for converting cellular networks into mobile phone numbers used domestically.

The chief inspectors daughter Miss Wanuchapond told the arresting officers that she was paid 8,000 baht a month at each of the three locations for renting thr rooms and monitoring devices.

She claimed she had no idea what the devices were and accepted the job because the pay was attractive.

Police investigators working with telecom regulators used a special tracking device to monitor the gang’s communications and learned that its base was in Myanmar opposite Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai.

The call center gang used the GSM gateways to make calls over the internet to scam people in Thailand out of million of baht.

The GSM gateways transmitting signals via SIM boxes to convert them into domestic phone numbers, duping victims into thinking they were being called from Thai government agencies.

Pol Maj Gen Weerachon said that each SIM box held 32 SIM cards, with a capacity of up to 300,000 calls a month. The seized devices had made fraudulent calls over 3.6 million times.

He said the their investigation is ongoing and they are working to track down the remaining conspirators, including Chinese and other Thai suspects.

Authorities are still deciding whether Pol Lt Col Bandit will be dismissed from the force, he said, adding that so far, no other officers are known to have been involved.

Police in Chiang Rai Launch Crackdown on Cyber Criminals in Golden Triangle

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin has authorized the establishment of an emergency cyber center operated by the Royal Thai Police to combat transnational crimes committed by call center gangs along the Thai border in Chiang Rai province.

On July 19, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin directed the Center to combat information technology crimes. The Royal Thai Police (Royal Thai Police) will crack down on call center gangs in Myanmar, Laos, and along the border.

His directive comes as call center gangs ratchet up their scams to defraud people of their money, causing concern among Thais and jeopardizing the country’s economic and social stability.

Related Police News:

Machete Wielding Man Shot an Killed by Police in Chiang Rai

https://www.chiangraitimes.com/chiangrai-news/machete-wielding-man-shot-an-killed-by-police-in-chiang-rai/

Crime

Thai Immigration Police Arrest Colombian Tourists Over Home Invasions

Published

5 months ago

July 20, 2024

Thomas3940

Thai Immigration Police Arrest Colombian Tourist

Immigration police officers have arrested four Colombian nationals in connection with a series of home burglaries at luxury housing complexes in the Bangkok metropolitan area and Chiang Buri Province.

Pol Maj Gen Panthana Nuchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, told a press briefing that three of the suspects were apprehended in Nonthaburi Province and the fourth in South Pattaya, Chon Buri Province.

According to the Bangkok Post, the Colombians were charged with stealing conspiracy and seized around 3 million baht (US$82,500.00).

According to Pol Maj Gen Panthana, the criminals rode motorcycles through housing estates, scoping out the properties and waiting for the owners to depart before committing their crimes.

He stated that all four of the accused denied any involvement in the home break-ins, but the arresting squad discovered evidence that implicated them.

Police called to home invasion

Meanwhile, police were dispatched to a luxury housing development in Tambon Nong Prue, Chonburi Province, after a Chinese man was attacked during a house invasion.

When they arrived, they discovered the house owner, Mr. Qian Peng Yi, visibly scared and with marks from being tied up with a cable. He informed police that three Chinese males broke into his home at 9 p.m., one of whom brandished a gun at him and directed him to his bedroom.

They bound his hands and feet, gagged him with fabric, taped his head, and forced him into the bed. The intruders then attempted to compel him into transferring 10 million baht in cryptocurrencies to them, endangering the life of his 33-year-old cousin who was in a second-floor bedroom.

While they scoured the house in search of riches, Mr. Peng Yi managed to flee and hide; he subsequently observed them leave with his cousin. Officials investigated the property and analyzed security camera footage from the incident and surrounding areas.

Around 9 p.m., a 30-year-old van driver came at the Bang Lamung police station after being contacted by an agency to carry Chinese customers from Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The driver informed authorities that he was supposed to pick them up at a motel about a kilometer from the Chinese businessman’s home. He then drove them to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, arriving at 1 a.m. and receiving 1,800 baht.

The driver took a snapshot of the group smoking at the airport gate and identified one of them as the victim’s cousin. Police suspected coordination between her and the three suspects in her cousin’s heist, who all departed Thailand on the same aircraft.

Other Bangkok News:

Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel

Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel

Crime

Son of Thailand’s Leading Legal Scholar on Corruption Arrested for Running Online Gambling Network

Published

5 months ago

July 17, 2024

Thomas3940

The son of a former senator and leading economist and expert on corruption and gambling in Thailand has been arrested for on charges of running an online gambling network and its payment system.

Police from Thailand’s Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) have confiscated assets worth more than (US$ 11.1 million) 400 million baht.

Narote Piriyarangsan, 33, was arrested following crackdowns in three sites around the city, according to Pol Maj Gen Athip Pongsiwapai, commander of the police Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD).

Mr Narote’s father, Sangsit Piriyarangsan, is an economist who has written articles and books about corruption and gambling. He was one of the appointed senators that were investigating the government’s intention to legalize casino gaming before their terms expired.

Police also detained 39-year-old Narayut Narakaew, the owner of the gambling website 69pgslot.com. The Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the couple for operating an internet gambling service and money laundering.

According to the Bangkok Post, police seized two desktop computers, one laptop computer, 14 mobile phones, 21 bank passbooks, 53 ATM cards, and four high-end cars — a Ferrari 926 GTS, an Aston Martin, a Lexus, and a Subaru — totaling more than 400 million baht.

Police launched the inquiry after discovering the online gambling site, which accepted funds via an automatic deposit-withdrawal system through bank accounts and deposits in the AskMePay system. Players scanned the VPay QR code as well as the QR codes for Heng Online 888 or Heng Pay Company.

Police also discovered that payments received via QR code scans were transferred to the account of Heng Pay Co and then to the gambling website’s mule accounts using AskMePay, which did not use banks’ face recognition scanning. An inquiry indicated a monthly turnover of approximately 5 billion baht.

According to investigators, the website has been up and running for around four years, with the payment mechanism in use for roughly eight months.

According to Pol Maj Gen Athip, Mr Narote owns the gaming website’s payment systems and is the director of Heng Pay Co. After gathering evidence, authorities requested arrest warrants for 14 people.

Thailand does not allow almost any kind of gaming. Even though the law doesn’t say anything specific about online gaming, it is still considered gambling. The country has pretty strict rules about gambling. Thai punters can bet on the national lottery and horse races, but they can’t bet on any other types of games.

But it’s not a secret that there is a huge illegal gaming business in Thailand, even though it’s illegal.

The illegal casinos, online betting shops, underground lotteries, and pop-up bookies that take bets on everything from cockfights to Muay Thai make a shadow economy that is worth billions of dollars every year.