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Australian police documents reveal that a man accused of killing 15 people at Sydney's Bondi Beach conducted firearms training with his father. The documents, released Monday, followed Naveed Akram's court appearance. Officers wounded Akram and killed his father during the December 14th shooting. The attack began with failed explosive devices at a Jewish event. Police described the devices as "viable" IEDs. Akram faces 59 charges, including murder and terrorism. The New South Wales government introduced draft laws to tighten gun restrictions. An impromptu memorial at Bondi Beach was removed Monday. The Sydney Jewish Museum will preserve part of the memorial.
By STEVE KARNOWSKI, MARK VANCLEAVE and CLAUDIA LAUER Associated Press
Investigators in Minneapolis say the shooter who killed two Catholic school students and wounded 18 other people inside a church had become obsessed with the thought of killing defenseless children. Police said Thursday that the shooter idolized mass killers and wanted to terrorize innocent children. The police chief in Minneapolis says the shooter, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, fired 116 rifle rounds through stained-glass windows Wednesday morning. The children were celebrating Mass during the first week of classes at the Annunciation Catholic School. Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson says videos and writings the shooter left behind show Westman expressed hatred toward almost every group imaginable.
At least 10 people including the gunman have been killed at an adult education center in what Sweden's prime minister called the country's "worst mass shooting." But a final death toll, a conclusive number of wounded and a motive hadn't yet been determined hours later. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson gave a news conference in Stockholm in the aftermath of Tuesday's tragedy on the outskirts of Orebro. The city is located about 200 kilometers or 125 miles west of Stockholm. The school serves students over age 20. Primary and upper secondary school courses are offered as well as Swedish classes for immigrants, vocational training and programs for people with intellectual disabilities.
Officials in Birmingham, Alabama, are pleading with members of the public for information leading to arrests in a weekend mass shooting that killed four people and injured more than a dozen others. Officials are offering rewards totaling $100,000 for information after Saturday's shooting. Police have described it as a targeted "hit" by multiple shooters who opened fire outside a nightspot in Birmingham's Five Points South district. The shooting is Birmingham's third quadruple homicide of the year and has put a spotlight on a city once best known for its role in the civil rights movement but more recently plagued by gun violence.
Violence and mass shootings often surge in the summer months. That's especially true around the Fourth of July. It's usually one of the deadliest days of the year. The Gun Violence Archive tracks mass shootings and shows June, July, and August have had the highest total number over the past decade. Independence Day tops the list with 58 mass shootings over the last 10 years. Researchers point to a combination of factors that have caused the summer months to see an increase historically in violence and shootings. They say the reasons include more social events, teens out of school and hotter temperatures.
