Latest news with #gunviolence
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Wetin we know about di attack for Oko Community of Anambra State wey claim lives
Authorities for Anambra, southeast Nigeria, don confam say unidentified gunmen do shooting wey kill pipo and injure some for Oko Community for di state on Thursday night. Police tok-tok pesin for di state Tochukwu Ikenga for statement say di incident na cult clash and add say na two pipo die from di incident. However, local reports say at least five pipo don die while some dey for hospital dey collect treatment. Videos wey BBC News Pidgin sight show at least seven pipo on di ground wit wetin resemble gun shot injuries. Di incident cause major kasala all over di community as plenti pipo scamper to safety. One lecturer for di school wey speak to our reporter in confidence say di attackers kidnap two lecturers of Federal Polytechnic Oko, wey dey within di community. E also confirm say one staff of di polytechnic dey for hospital dey recuperate from gunshot injury. Ibe Nzimako wey be di tok tok pesin of Federal Polytechnic Oko tell BBC Pidgin say di incidents happen inside di school, say na within di host community e happen. "We don confirm say di pipo dem kidnap na lecturers, we dey sure of one. Di victims of di shootings no be students" na so e tok. E say kidnapping issue na something wey don dey ravage evriwia across di kontri. Similar cult related incident happun for October 2024 for Nibo community wia over ten pipo die from gunshot wounds. Dis latest incident dey happen few months away from di state govnorship election wey go happun soon. Oko community dey few kilometers away from di hometown of di sitting govnor Charles Soludo wey from Isuofia community.
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The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Family's plea after loving father shot dead in ‘case of mistaken identity'
The 'devastated' family of a father shot dead in a reported case of mistaken identity in north London have made a desperate appeal for information about his murder. The Metropolitan Police said Mahad Abdi Mohamed, 27, had spent the evening shortly before the shooting with his friend at their home on 20 March. They were breaking their fast outside on Waverley Road, Tottenham when a stolen Mitsubishi Outlander approached and the suspects inside opened fire. Mahad was struck multiple times at 8.45pm and he died from a gunshot wound to the head. DCI Rebecca Woodsford said the suspects got out of a stolen Mitsubishi Outlander, which was later found burned out, and fired the gunshots that killed him. Police previously said they had arrested four adult men on suspicion of murder who were subsequently bailed. Mr Abdi Mohamed's younger sister, Amal Abdi Mohamed, 23, said he was a 'loving father' to his son and was planning to get married in the summer. She added that her brother had worked at Waterloo Station, as well as part-time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Royal Ascot as a security worker. Appealing for information on her brother's death, the 23-year-old said: 'My beloved brother is gone, and we still don't know why. 'Someone knows what happened to him, and yet we are here with no answer, no justice, and just a family torn apart trying to navigate through the pain. 'He was taken away from us through gun violence. A bullet didn't just take his life, it tore through our family, through our heart and it's truly shocking, it's devastating, and it's so senseless, because this type of violence should never be normal. 'It should never be something a family ever has to expect, prepare for, or live with.' Amal said Mr Abdi Mohamed was the 'kind of person who can light up any room without even trying'. She added: 'He had this rare gift of making people feel seen, heard and loved, and if you were having a bad day, you would just want to be around him. 'He was funny, he was honest, and he was just a good person.' Many of Mr Abdi Mohamed's family members were in tears as they visited the scene of his murder as part of the appeal for information. Amal said that Mr Abdi Mohamed's five-year-old son 'looked up to him like a superhero'. She added: 'How do you look at a child who adored him day and night, and tell them that he's gone and you don't have the answers why? That boy will have to grow up with no dad. 'If you think you may know anything or have seen anything – you may think it doesn't matter, but it might be the key to giving us an answer, and it might be the thing that finally lets our family take a breath. 'To stay silent is to be complicit.' DCI Woodsford, the senior investigating officer into the murder, said Mr Abdi Mohamed was a 'much-loved son, brother and father', adding that his family were 'devastated' by the murder. Appealing for information, DCI Woodsford said: 'We believe he is a completely innocent person in this and actually this is a case of mistaken identity. 'I believe this was a pre-planned shooting, although I also believe that Mahad was killed mistakenly, those suspects were out that night to murder someone and cause serious harm. 'And I truly believe that somebody does know some information about this.' The police officer added: 'If you think you have information about the people that could be involved, the people that might have helped or burned the vehicle out, I'm appealing for people to come forward. 'What's crucial to us are witnesses and ultimately we need that evidence to place before the Crown Prosecution Service, and be able to charge people and put them in front of the courts.' Anyone with information can contact the police by giving the reference CAD7426/20March, or to remain anonymous, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
New York Times
3 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Times
We Encourage Political Violence When We Look the Other Way
The surge in political violence during the Trump years has imperiled not only American lives but also our country's collective memory. The details of a new atrocity overwrite the old. Even the names of the fallen evade our best efforts to retain them. Before the next act of political violence seizes our attention, let us pause and preserve in memory Melissa Hortman, a member of the Minnesota State Legislature, and her husband, Mark. The couple became the latest casualties of our nihilistic politics on Saturday after a gunman killed them in their home, authorities say. Let us also keep in mind John Hoffman, a state senator, and his wife, Yvette, who were wounded in the same series of attacks. Prosecutors say that the gunman, who carried a target list of other Democratic politicians, wanted to inflict fear. The Minnesota attacks join a grim catalog of political violence in recent years. In 2017 a gunman shot four people, badly wounding Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, at a Republican practice before the annual congressional baseball game. On Jan. 6, 2021, hundreds of rioters attacked Congress as it was meeting to certify the presidential election result. In 2022 an attacker broke into Nancy Pelosi's home and fractured the skull of her husband, Paul, with a hammer. Last year two would-be assassins separately tried to kill Donald Trump. In April a man set fire to the home of Gov. Josh Shapiro while he and his family slept inside. Fear has become a fact of life for politicians. Mark Rozzi, a former speaker of the Pennsylvania House, wore a bulletproof vest for several months because of harassment he had received. Some unelected public servants live with similar anxieties. Many federal judges have taken new precautions in recent months because of the threats against them. Why are attacks on public officials any more worthy of space in our national memory than other acts of violence? The Hortmans and Hoffmans were hunted because of their distinct role in American life. They were parts of a government by the people. In a different era, the country might have taken time to express its collective grief about the horrors in Minnesota. One can imagine the president and a bipartisan group of congressional leaders visiting and making a unified statement that political differences do not excuse violence. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CNN
4 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
Minnesota lawmaker who survived shooting shares harrowing account of how the attack unfolded
Crime Gun violenceFacebookTweetLink Follow Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, shared details of the harrowing morning nearly a week ago when a man in a silicone mask who knocked on their door and identified himself as a police officer shot them repeatedly. In a statement released Thursday night and obtained by CNN affiliate KARE, the couple publicly describes for the first time the targeted shooting in their Champlin, Minnesota, home that left them critically injured. The night before the shooting, the Hoffmans had returned home from a dinner hosted by the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and went to bed, the statement said. But they were awakened around 2 a.m. Saturday by someone pounding on the front door and shouting, asking to enter and identifying himself as a police officer, the family recounted. When the door opened, the couple and their adult daughter, Hope, were standing in the entryway. When the shooter pointed a gun directly at John Hoffman, the senator lunged at the gunman, and he was shot nine times, according to the statement. 'As John fell, Yvette reached out to push the man and shut the door,' and 'she was also hit eight times by gunfire,' the statement said. That's when Hope Hoffman raced to shut the door and secure the lock. She then called 911, telling the operator the senator had been shot in his home, triggering 'the notice to public safety officials that a politically-motivated act was potentially underway,' the family said. Prosecutors say suspected gunman Vance Boelter visited the homes of at least four Minnesota lawmakers, attempting to kill the Hoffmans and fatally shooting state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman. After the shooting, both John and Yvette Hoffman underwent surgery, according to officials. John Hoffman 'is in critical but stable condition; Yvette Hoffman is in stable condition, as well,' the family statement said. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told reporters at an event Thursday he expected Yvette Hoffman to be released from the hospital that day. No one by Yvette's name is currently at Mercy Hospital, where she had been treated after the shooting, a spokesperson with Allina Health told CNN. Earlier this week, Yvette Hoffman told US Sen. Amy Klobuchar in a text message that she and her husband were 'incredibly lucky to be alive,' Klobuchar shared on her social media. Yvette said at the time her husband had endured 'many surgeries' and is 'closer every hour to being out of the woods.' Boelter, 57, allegedly had a hit list of dozens of targets, which were largely Democrats or figures with ties to Planned Parenthood or the abortion rights movement, officials said. The search for Boelter lasted 43 hours and was the largest manhunt in Minnesota history. He faces six federal charges and four state charges. The Hoffman family said in their statement they are deeply grateful 'for the first responders and for all those in law enforcement who worked so quickly, professionally and selflessly to safeguard others and to apprehend the shooter, starting with our own officers in Champlin and Brooklyn Park.' They added that they are 'heartbroken' by the killing of Melissa and Mark Hortman. Hope Hoffman went to school with their daughter, Sophie Hortman. 'We know that they – along with Colin Hortman - will have each other's support as we all work through the devastating consequences of that horrific night,' John and Yvette Hoffman said. A GoFundMe account benefiting the Hoffman family was set up by Fernbrook Elementary School. The family said it will help them 'pick up the broken pieces of our lives.' 'We are uplifted by the prayers and support from so many across the state of Minnesota and the country: thank you,' the family said. While they realize that working in the public sector means sacrificing a certain level of privacy, the Hoffmans said they are now 'grappling with the reality that we live in a world where public service carries such risks as being targeted because someone disagrees with you or doesn't like what you stand for.' 'As a society, as a nation, as a community, we must work together to return to a level of civility that allows us all to live peacefully,' the statement said. 'The future for our children depends on that. We will be praying for that work and appreciate all those who will join with us.'
CNN
6 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
Minnesota lawmaker who survived shooting shares harrowing account of how the attack unfolded
Crime Gun violenceFacebookTweetLink Follow Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, shared details of the harrowing morning nearly a week ago when a man in a silicone mask who knocked on their door and identified himself as a police officer shot them repeatedly. In a statement released Thursday night and obtained by CNN affiliate KARE, the couple publicly describes for the first time the targeted shooting in their Champlin, Minnesota, home that left them critically injured. The night before the shooting, the Hoffmans had returned home from a dinner hosted by the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and went to bed, the statement said. But they were awakened around 2 a.m. Saturday by someone pounding on the front door and shouting, asking to enter and identifying himself as a police officer, the family recounted. When the door opened, the couple and their adult daughter, Hope, were standing in the entryway. When the shooter pointed a gun directly at John Hoffman, the senator lunged at the gunman, and he was shot nine times, according to the statement. 'As John fell, Yvette reached out to push the man and shut the door,' and 'she was also hit eight times by gunfire,' the statement said. That's when Hope Hoffman raced to shut the door and secure the lock. She then called 911, telling the operator the senator had been shot in his home, triggering 'the notice to public safety officials that a politically-motivated act was potentially underway,' the family said. Prosecutors say suspected gunman Vance Boelter visited the homes of at least four Minnesota lawmakers, attempting to kill the Hoffmans and fatally shooting state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman. After the shooting, both John and Yvette Hoffman underwent surgery, according to officials. John Hoffman 'is in critical but stable condition; Yvette Hoffman is in stable condition, as well,' the family statement said. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told reporters at an event Thursday he expected Yvette Hoffman to be released from the hospital that day. No one by Yvette's name is currently at Mercy Hospital, where she had been treated after the shooting, a spokesperson with Allina Health told CNN. Earlier this week, Yvette Hoffman told US Sen. Amy Klobuchar in a text message that she and her husband were 'incredibly lucky to be alive,' Klobuchar shared on her social media. Yvette said at the time her husband had endured 'many surgeries' and is 'closer every hour to being out of the woods.' Boelter, 57, allegedly had a hit list of dozens of targets, which were largely Democrats or figures with ties to Planned Parenthood or the abortion rights movement, officials said. The search for Boelter lasted 43 hours and was the largest manhunt in Minnesota history. He faces six federal charges and four state charges. The Hoffman family said in their statement they are deeply grateful 'for the first responders and for all those in law enforcement who worked so quickly, professionally and selflessly to safeguard others and to apprehend the shooter, starting with our own officers in Champlin and Brooklyn Park.' They added that they are 'heartbroken' by the killing of Melissa and Mark Hortman. Hope Hoffman went to school with their daughter, Sophie Hortman. 'We know that they – along with Colin Hortman - will have each other's support as we all work through the devastating consequences of that horrific night,' John and Yvette Hoffman said. A GoFundMe account benefiting the Hoffman family was set up by Fernbrook Elementary School. The family said it will help them 'pick up the broken pieces of our lives.' 'We are uplifted by the prayers and support from so many across the state of Minnesota and the country: thank you,' the family said. While they realize that working in the public sector means sacrificing a certain level of privacy, the Hoffmans said they are now 'grappling with the reality that we live in a world where public service carries such risks as being targeted because someone disagrees with you or doesn't like what you stand for.' 'As a society, as a nation, as a community, we must work together to return to a level of civility that allows us all to live peacefully,' the statement said. 'The future for our children depends on that. We will be praying for that work and appreciate all those who will join with us.'
