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Hunt for shooter after healthcare executive fatally shot

Police are on the hunt for a gunman after one of America's top CEOs was fatally shot in New York. The shooter was lying in wait for Brian Thompson, who was shot in the back outside a hotel in Manhattan. Thompson was the CEO of UnitedHealthcare: part of America’s largest insurance company and the country’s fourth-largest company as ranked by revenue. The shooting happened on Wednesday morning when the company's annual investor conference was underway. The gunman fled the scene on foot before taking off on an electric bike through Central Park, with police still searching for the suspect. Thompson was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. “This does not appear to be a random act of violence,” New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. “Every indication is that this was a premeditated, pre-planned, targeted attack.” UnitedHealth Group paid tribute to Thompson, saying he was a highly regarded friend and colleague. “We are working closely with the New York Police Department and ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time,” it said. “Our hearts go out to Brian’s family and all who were close to him.” UnitedHealthcare is the largest US health insurer, providing benefits to tens of millions of people, who pay more for healthcare than in any other country. Image credits: United Health Group

Caring

Heroic fan tackles deadly shooter at victory parade

Three people have been taken into custody after a deadly shooting at a Super Bowl victory parade, where one person has died. At least 21 people have suffered injuries, nine of which being children, at the parade in Kansas City, following the Kansas Chiefs victory over the San Francisco 49ers. As one of the shooters opened fire in the crowd, one heroic football fan was captured on video tackling the gunman to the ground. The video also shows panicked crowds fleeing the sounds of the gunfire, as police ran towards the commotion. Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves confirmed in a second update to media that one person had died after 22 people had been shot. “We have three persons detained and under investigation,” she said. “We are working to determine if one of the three is the one that was in that video where fans assisted police.” She added that “right now we do not have a motive, but we are asking those who may potentially have any kind of information, a witness or video, to contact police”. At an earlier briefing, Ms Graves said she was “angry at what happened today”. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said, “The celebration was marred by a shooting. This is absolutely a tragedy.” Witness Kade Collins, who attending the parade with his dad, described the ordeal to local news station Fox 4 KC. “We heard 10 to 12 gunshots, but we thought they were fireworks, so we didn’t really panic at first or get too worked up. But then everyone started screaming and took off running,” Mr Collins said. Mr Collins said his dad saw police tackle a suspect after the crowd saw the gunman. “When we were walking out, there was someone pointing and saying, ‘He’s right there, he’s right there’, and police ran to the guy the crowd was pointing at and tackled him and put him in handcuffs,” he said. “Everyone took off running and screaming.” The Kansas City Chiefs said in a statement that all players, coaches, staff and their families were “safe and accounted for”, while sharing their condolences for those who were impacted by the shooting. “We are truly saddened by the senseless act of violence that occurred outside of Union Station at the conclusion of today’s parade and rally,” the team said. "Our hearts go out to the victims, their families, and all of Kansas City ... We thank the local law enforcement officers and first responders who were on-scene to assist.” Image credits: Getty Images

Caring

Targeting shooters: technology that can isolate the location of gunshots

Inexpensive microphone arrays deployed in urban settings can be used to pinpoint the location of gunshots and help police respond instantly to the scene of crimes, scientists say. The process works by recognising that a gunshot produces two distinct sounds: the muzzle blast, and the supersonic shockwave that follows it. Luisa Still of Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Germany, told a meeting of the <a href="https://acousticalsociety.org/asa-meetings/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Acoustical Society of America in Denver, Colorado</a>, this week that by using those two signals – in a process akin to that by which seismologists track seismic waves from earthquakes – police departments armed with the right equipment could pinpoint the location of the shot within seconds. It’s not as straightforward as it sounds. In an urban environment, buildings and other structures can reflect, refract or absorb sound waves, causing the sounds of the shot to come at the microphones from any number of directions. But it turns out, Still says, that it only takes two such sensor arrays to locate the source of a gunshot — and a good computer can do so very quickly. In tests, her team began on a rifle range, where they confirmed that a pair of such microphone arrays could indeed determine the location of the shooter to a high degree of accuracy. They then moved to an urban environment, where they repeated the experiment, though in this case the shooter was replaced with a propane gas cannon of the type used by farmers to scare away crop-eating birds. Again, two microphone arrays were all that were needed to zero in on the source of the “shot”. Not that this can work anywhere, any time. Still’s signal-location algorithms require maps of the surrounding buildings, the walls of which might affect the sound and, in extreme cases, create “blind spots” if microphone arrays aren’t properly deployed. <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p192812-o1" class="wpcf7" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> </div> </div> She also notes that research is ongoing as to whether it is better to put microphones at ground level or atop neighbouring buildings. There’s also continuing research around how many might be needed in complex urban cores, where there are a lot of buildings of varying height and echo patterns can become very convoluted. “We still need to evaluate [that],” she says. There’s also the need to weed out noises that sound like gunshots, such as firecrackers, car-engine backfires and anything else that makes a sudden bang. “We are working on classification methods,” Still says, noting that these involve computerised “deep learning” methods that can be trained to distinguish such sounds. Could similar sensors be deployed within a school building in order to locate a school shooter even more quickly that is currently possible? Still was asked. “Oh, yeah,” she said. “I think that would be applicable.” Though she noted that it might also be acoustically “very challenging” to put into practice. Later that same day, 19 school children and two adults were killed in Uvalde, Texas, in America’s worst grade-school shooting in nearly a decade. Would the death toll have been lower if gunshot sensors such as Still’s were widely deployed? Who knows? But it was one of the most stunningly prescient scientific presentations imaginable, because she spoke less than an hour before the Uvalde gunman opened fire. It was far too late for her research to be able to deflect the tragedy that was about to unfold, but close enough to it to underscore the urgency of what she was doing. <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=192812&title=Targeting+shooters%3A+technology+that+can+isolate+the+location+of+gunshots" width="1" height="1" /> <div id="contributors"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/technology-isolate-location-gunshots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/richard-a-lovett" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Richard A Lovett</a>. Richard A Lovett is a Portland, Oregon-based science writer and science fiction author. He is a frequent contributor to Cosmos. Image: Getty Images </div>

Technology

Gunman on the loose after NYC subway shooting

A manhunt is underway after a gunman opened fire at innocent people on the subway in New York on Tuesday morning. The gunman wore a gas mask and a construction vest before setting off a smoke canister during peak hour and injuring at least 29 people at 8.30am. Witnesses said smoke filled the train in between stations before trails of blood were seen on the floor. The man then began shooting and injured 29 people who were all treated at hospitals for gunshot wounds, smoke inhalation and other conditions. It’s believed the shooter escaped the scene on foot and is described as a 165cm man with a heavy build wearing a green construction vest and a grey hooded sweatshirt. “This individual is still on the loose,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said. “This person is dangerous.” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Very dramatic video from the incident as the subway arrived at 36th St Sunset Park in Brooklyn. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/brooklyn?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#brooklyn</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/shooting?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#shooting</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nyc?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nyc</a> <a href="https://t.co/5cOdeYPIb1">pic.twitter.com/5cOdeYPIb1</a> — Kristoffer Kumm (@Kristofferkumm) <a href="https://twitter.com/Kristofferkumm/status/1513883003453333513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2022</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> NOW - Multiple people shot at New York City subway station. Several "undetonated devices" found. Trains halted. Suspect is wearing a gas mask and is on the run.<a href="https://t.co/2hWjvjUXI4">pic.twitter.com/2hWjvjUXI4</a> — Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) <a href="https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1513878331225219075?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2022</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <a href="https://t.co/AHqAhTAAA4">pic.twitter.com/AHqAhTAAA4</a> — Will B. Wylde (@IXIXI_45) <a href="https://twitter.com/IXIXI_45/status/1513881708935974915?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2022</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Its not just smoke, there were blood everywhere at 36st station and people hurt. What happened!? <a href="https://t.co/rNeS119l2i">pic.twitter.com/rNeS119l2i</a> — Ary (@CarbMeCrazy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CarbMeCrazy/status/1513860831322284033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2022</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> I was on the cart of the train with said smoke and explosions. A lot of blood on the floor, this was the only video I can get of the chaos. Sounded like fireworks, I couldn’t tell if it was gunshots, but the smoke made it hard to see anything. <a href="https://t.co/duJjI8RHuY">pic.twitter.com/duJjI8RHuY</a> — Yav (@whoisyav) <a href="https://twitter.com/whoisyav/status/1513865431928475648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2022</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <a href="https://t.co/tje7V0OVHf">pic.twitter.com/tje7V0OVHf</a> — Will B. Wylde (@IXIXI_45) <a href="https://twitter.com/IXIXI_45/status/1513882170405830666?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2022</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> My neighborhood in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Brooklyn?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Brooklyn</a> being turned inside out looking for a perp. Poor Pinkman (our doggo) is freaking out. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NYC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NYC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SunsetPark?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SunsetPark</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/shooting?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#shooting</a> <a href="https://t.co/q0jINMULuZ">pic.twitter.com/q0jINMULuZ</a> — Eamon Loingsigh (@eamonLoi) <a href="https://twitter.com/eamonLoi/status/1513882019494834183?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2022</a></blockquote> The FBI is working with the New York Police Department (NYPD) as they follow “every viable lead”. “The suspect was in the train car, the shooting began in the train car,” NYPD commissioner Keechant Sewell said. “As the train was pulling into the station, the subject put on a gas mask. “He then opened a canister that was in his bag and then the car began to fill with smoke. “After that he began shooting.” Emergency services rushed to the scene and assisted people, with a gun being uncovered on site. It remains unclear if it’s the same weapon used by the shooter. Sewell said the incident is being investigated as an act of terrorism as authorities are not ruling anything out. Image: Facebook

News

Bizarre letter from mother of accused high school shooter emerges

A bizarre open letter written by a US woman to former President Donald Trump has been uncovered after her son was accused of shooting up a Michigan high school. Jennifer Crawley posted the letter to her blog on November 11, 2016, and blamed illegal immigrants and Common Core educational standards for her son’s struggles with maths at school. Ethan, now 15, has been charged as an adult for a shooting at Oxford High School on November 30 which resulted in the deaths of four teenagers and many others injured. In her five-year-old letter, Jennifer thanked the former president for “allowing my right to bear arms” and praised him for being “one of the most successful Business Men in my history”. <img style="width: 500px; height: 411.123227917121px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846104/trump-letter.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/09cb9a252a964a6ebbdbc9ef8eb34001" /> Image: web.archive.org She then asked the then president-elect to end Common Core, a set of educational standards for school students in English literacy and mathematics. “You see Mr Trump, I need you to stop common core,” she wrote. “My son struggles daily, and my teachers tell me they hate teaching it but they HAVE to. Their pay depends on these stupid f***ing test scores.” “I have to pay for a tutor, why?” she continued. “Because I can’t figure out 4th grade math.” Jennifer added that she couldn’t afford a tutor for her son and “in fact, I sacrifice car insurance to make sure my son gets a good education and hopefully succeeds in life.” She went on to complain about “illegal immigrant parents” whose children attend school where her mother teaches. “Most of their parents are locked up. They don’t care about learning and threaten to kill my mom for caring about their grades. “Do you realize Mr Trump that they get free tutors, free tablets from our government so they can succeed? Why can’t my son get those things, do we as hard working Americans not deserve that too?” After detailing her family’s struggles accessing healthcare, Jennifer ended the letter by writing, “Mr Trump, this is why I voted for you. “I see the change that we so desperately need. I see jobs coming back, people having to work for their handouts, money going to [those] who really deserve it. “I believe YOU are the president who will make these things happen. “I have NEVER had this much belief in one person, and you are it.” She signed the lengthy letter as “A hardworking Middle Class Law Abiding Citizen who is sick of getting f***ed in the a** and would rather be grabbed by the p****,” in reference to Trump’s now infamous line about being famous. The letter was later shared to Facebook by Jennifer’s husband, James, according to <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.the-sun.com/news/4190727/ethan-crumbley-mom-letter-trump-school-shooting/" target="_blank">The Sun</a>, with the comment: “My wife can be spot on. Sometimes.” The blog has been deleted since the shooting. A copy of the blog post has been preserved on the <a rel="noopener" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20211201040018/https://justagirlgoignthroughthisworld.wordpress.com/2016/11/11/dear-mr-trump/" target="_blank">Wayback Machine</a> website. The couple have been silent as their son faces charges over the fatal shooting. After more than 100 calls were made to 911 on Tuesday, deputies rushed to the school and arrested the gunman within minutes of arriving. Authorities claim Ethan fired 30 rounds at the school, emptying two 15-round magazines. A third was found at the scene, and he reportedly had more in his pockets. Videos posted to social media also appear to show the 15-year-old impersonating a police officer in order to convince students to emerge from hiding. “Sheriff’s office,” the boy says in the clip. “You can come out.” The teacher responds saying: “We’re not taking that risk.” After the gunman shouts back something inaudible, he called his classmates “bro”, in a moment that made the hidden students realise the person speaking had been the shooter. Three students died during the shooting, and a fourth succumbed to his injuries the following morning. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846102/ethan-shooting1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/5074787100c9424b9264f95b865b0a11" /> Police parked outside Oxford High School following the shooting. Image: Getty Images Prosecutors <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10268829/The-mom-accused-Oxford-High-School-shooter-penned-letter-revealing-sons-struggles.html" target="_blank">announced</a> they would charge him as an adult so he could be convicted and sentenced to life in prison, as Oakland County Prosecutor Karen D. McDonald said there was a “mountain” of evidence against him at a press conference. It was also revealed that the teen had detailed how he wanted to shoot students at the school in a journal found inside his backpack, and that he had recorded a video saying he was planning to attack the school the night before. In the days before the incident, Ethan posted about his father’s new Sig Sauer 9mm handgun on social media and pretended it was his. “Just got my new beauty today. SIG Sauer 9MM. Ask any questions and I will answer,” he wrote in a post last week. The Instagram account it appeared on has since been deleted, and fake accounts began circulating online while he was in police custody. Image: Getty Images

Legal

Christchurch shooter pleads not guilty to 51 charges of murder

Christchurch mosque terror attacker Brenton Tarrant has denied being the attacker and has entered a not guilty plea during a short appearance at the High Court in Christchurch, New Zealand, this morning. As he announced his plea via his lawyer, gasps were heard in the courtroom according to <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/world/pacific/nz-mosque-shooting-accused-to-face-court/news-story/3b53935379a34f4e5e84ab49ed01c316" target="_blank">news.com.au</a>. Tarrant has pled not guilty to 51 charges of murder, 40 charges of attempted murder and one terrorism offence over the Christchurch shootings. This is a total of 92 charges in total. The terror charge laid against him last month will be the first prosecution of its kind in New Zealand and some legal experts say that it could lead to a complex trial, according to <a rel="noopener" href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/christchurch-massacre-accused-brenton-tarrant-pleads-not-guilty-222352860.html" target="_blank">Yahoo! News</a>. Tarrant wore a grey sweatshirt and strained to hear discussions via the audio-visual link from Paremoremo Prison in Auckland. That prison is currently New Zealand’s only maximum-security prison. Prison staff have confirmed that Tarrant has no access to television, radio, newspapers or visitors. The courtroom was filled with survivors and family members of the 51 killed during the March 15 attack at two Christchurch mosques. Two further courts and 200 seats were set aside for the public, who watched the court proceedings via audio-visual link as the main courtroom was full. Police maintained a heavy presence throughout the building. All of the victims kept their eyes glued to the gunman throughout the hearing. Tarrant’s case will return to court on August 16. Amid concerns his trial can be used to further incite hatred and expose far-right extremist views, New Zealand’s major media organisations have agreed to self-imposed restrictions on reporting. Justice Cameron Mander has also declined all media requests to film or photograph proceedings in court, in the interest of preserving the integrity of the trial process and ensure a fair trial for Tarrant.

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