[quaist]

Crime News Thread #5 ~ He Who Does Not Prevent Crime When He Can, Encourages It

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[quaist]

Bringing this over from the last thread:

Car chase ends with gunfire near U.S. Capitol Washington (CNN) -- Police near the U.S. Capitol opened fire on Thursday on a car being chased by authorities, hitting a woman driving the vehicle that also contained a child, an intelligence source told CNN. The child appeared to be uninjured, according to the source and witnesses. Capitol Police said an officer was injured in a crash during the afternoon chase that began near the White House. The chaotic scene, with gunfire erupting near the heart of the U.S. government, brought a swarm of emergency vehicles and caused Congress and surrounding offices to be temporarily locked down. Representatives and senators were in the buildings. House and Senate sessions were immediately suspended. Police also closed Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House. CNN's Athena Jones, who was at a Senate office building near the Capitol, said she heard gunshots that sounded like fireworks. The chase began when the woman driving a black sedan got involved in some kind of verbal altercation with officers at a security checkpoint a block from the White House, the intelligence source said. As police cars arrived at the scene, the vehicle sped away and led police on a wild chase that included running red lights, according to the source. When the vehicle approached the area of the Capitol building more than a mile away, several squad cars stopped it and officer "came out with their guns drawn," said Frank Schwing, a D.C. resident who witnessed what happened. The armed officers tried to open the passenger side door, he said. "At that point, the driver slammed into reverse, slammed into a cruiser, did a 180 (degree turn), took off, and at that point, there were a half dozen or so shots fired," Schwing told CNN, apparently all by small arms from police. The black vehicle then crashed into security barriers closer to the Capitol building, said police and witnesses. Multiple sources told CNN that it is not believed at this point any shots were fired from the car and no weapon has been found so far. In Congress, a Capitol Police bulletin said reports of gunshots required "all occupants in all House office buildings to shelter in place." "Close, lock and stay away from external doors and windows," the bulletin said. Authorities later lifted the lockdown, with police saying they believed the incident was isolated with no connection to terrorism. Two people, including a police officer, were transported to a local hospital. President Barack Obama was briefed on the situation, which occurred on the third day of a government shutdown due to a stalemate in Congress over government funding. "The timing on this was really kind of scary," said Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold of Texas. "Capitol Hill police are at a lower personnel level because of the shutdown."

[Forwood4Bamon]

on top of the govt shutdown. yeah that's terrible.

[☆♥~Buffyverse_Lover16~♥☆]

Tftnt.

[sunnykerr]

Well, fortunately, it doesn't sound as though anyone died, not even the child.

It's just still really horrible, though.

[quaist]

As we know now, the woman's been shot dead by the police. Apparently, she's been mentally ill and suffered from postpartum depression.

Obviously, it needs to be investigated why police thought it necessary to act the way they did.

OT: Any ideas for a new thread title?

[sunnykerr]

Postpartum psychosis, which is rare (but an actual thing) and much, much worse.

Her sisters were on television, one's a nurse and the other a retired police officer.

Now, obviously, they have an obvious bias in this story, but they seemed to indicate that the police may have been hasty and unduly "effective" in removing whatever threat this poor woman posed.

As for titles?

Poverty is the mother of crime. ~Marcus Aurelius

If you don't get enough time-outs as a child, you get them as a grownup. ~Andrew Bonifacio

It is hard to say whether doctors of law or divinity have made the greater advances in the lucrative business of mystery. ~Edmund Burke

The houses of lawyers are roofed with the skins of litigants. ~Welsh Proverb

[☆♥~Buffyverse_Lover16~♥☆]

For titles:
Everyday there's crime.

The woman obviously had mental problems.

[quaist]

It may sound like a pretty mundane thing to suggest, but why didn't they simply shoot at the tires or something like that?

And, whoa, that's a great many title suggestions, thank you

They're all awesome, but maybe we should go for one of the shorter ones?

[sunnykerr]

Well, there you go.

The shortest title of them all.

And, yeah, that poor woman had diagnosed mental problems.

So it's beyond doubt, isn't it?

[☆♥~Buffyverse_Lover16~♥☆]

I guess my title won.

I wonder if this woman took her medication while this happened.

quaist, what did you think of the articles I gave you to read?

[sunnykerr]

While it happened? I doubt it.

But, I know what you mean. Obviously, something happened with the care she was receiving.

Of course, now we'll never know.

May I ask, though, what's your particular fascination with David Berkowitz?

I mean, he's hardly the most "successful" serial killer or the only one who's still alive or even the only one to have claimed satanic links...

I'd love to have the discussion you seem interested in having, but it was all so long ago that I'm not finding a hook, you know?

[☆♥~Buffyverse_Lover16~♥☆]

His methods. How he was clever at some parts f his plan.

I think he joined a cult. Got way gung ho in it that he started to have delusions about demons. That is how he got introduced in the devil bible.

I just learned about him last Monday on an episode of Twisted.

[quaist]

Originally Posted by *Amethyst* (View Post) quaist, what did you think of the articles I gave you to read?

Well, I guess I can now relate to your fascination with Berkowitz.

What he did is basically the subject matter of nightmares, and it's even scarier in my view how he supposedly did a 360 and dared even to lecture the public about gun control.

Seems like a man of a whole lot contradictions, who gives me the creeps to be honest.

[sunnykerr]

Fair enough, thank you for the response, Amethyst.

According to Wikipedia, the cult thing... you have to take his word on it. At first he said he was in one, then he recanted... Personally, I don't think you need to be a Satanist to be a serial killer, but I suppose it adds to the mystique. Which is probably what he wanted.

Meanwhile, something kinda awesome has happened in Saudi Arabia:

Saudi preacher jailed over daughter's death A Saudi preacher accused of torturing his five-year-old daughter and beating her to death has been sentenced to eight years in prison and 600 lashes. The case of Fayhan al-Ghamdi made headlines around the world earlier this year when it was suggested that a Saudi court might let him walk free. Activists began a campaign named after his daughter, "I am Lama", to press the authorities to prevent that happening. Al-Ghamdi is not recognised as a cleric by the Saudi religious establishment. Child abuse helpline The horrific details of the abuse that Lama al-Ghamdi suffered were revealed in medical records from the hospital where she was treated for 10 months before she died. Her ribs were broken, a fingernail was torn off and her skull crushed. She had been beaten with a cane and electric cables. She had also suffered burns. The abuse had happened while she was with her father, who was separated from her mother. It was reported that al-Ghamdi had suspected his daughter of losing her virginity and had beaten her and molested her in response. It was even suggested that he had raped her himself, although this was denied by Lama's mother. The outrage over the case intensified earlier this year when activists suggested that he might walk free, despite having confessed to having beaten Lama. The judge in the case suggested that one reading of Islamic law meant a father could not be held fully accountable for the death of his children. Activists warned that it looked like he might be released if the mother accepted blood money. The story grabbed headlines across the world. It shone a light on child abuse in Saudi Arabia where rights activists say strict codes of family privacy and a patriarchal tradition make it a serious problem. The Saudi authorities set up a child abuse helpline in response. Now, a verdict has been reached in the same court and with the same judge. One of the activists involved in the campaign, Aziz al-Yousef, told the BBC that she was disappointed that Fayhan al-Ghamdi did not receive a life sentence. But Lama's mother had in the end accepted the offer of blood money, despite having once said she would never take it. She said she needed it to help support her surviving children. That ruled out a life sentence. Another campaigner who fought for a longer sentence, Manal al-Sharif, told the BBC that she did not believe the penalty was enough. But she does feel that the I am Lama campaign - with the international pressure it brought to bear on the authorities - was instrumental in leading to the recent introduction of an unprecedented new Saudi law against domestic violence. However, she added that she still has deep reservations over how effectively this will be enforced in practice.

Obviously, it's not perfect. That's a paltry sentence and the fact that the mother accepted money from the father of her child should not have had any incidence on the sentence.

However, they've actually taken the death of a child, and a girl child at that, seriously.

Ten to one, it's because the man is thorn in the government's side, but I'll take it.