Monday

He disarmed a possible church shooter — then the police arrived and shot him



Tony Garces was still reeling from his injuries on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after he disarmed a possible church shooter in Amarillo, Texas — and was then shot by police.
Speaking to NBC News by phone from his hospital room at Heart Hospital of Northwest Texas, Garces, 54, said that he was admitted to the emergency room on Monday with a blood clot in his lung.

On the morning of Feb. 14 — the same day as the Florida school shooting that killed 17 kids and teachers — Garces wrestled a handgun away from a man who had entered the chapel at Faith City Mission and threatened to hold church attendees hostage.
But a responding officer fired at Garces, striking him twice — once in the back and once above his collarbone, his lawyer, Jeff Blackburn, said in an interview.


“I don’t know how that punctured a lung but it did,” Blackburn said.
In a Feb. 14 statement, the Amarillo Police Department appeared to confirm Garces’ account, saying an initial investigation determined that police fired at a man who’d disarmed a would-be hostage taker in a church with 100 people in its chapel.




That suspect, identified in a separate statement as Joshua Len Jones, 35, was booked on six charges of aggravated kidnapping.
Yet the department did not say why an officer fired at Garces — only that it was investigating the incident.
A police spokesman, Brent Barbee, told NBC News on Tuesday that the department’s special crimes unit was examining the case, per department protocol, and no new details were available.
Garces said he’d been staying at the mission since January after he completed a prison term the month before for assault and other charges. There, Garces said he was attending a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.
In the chapel that morning, Garces first became aware of the gunman when he said he heard a security guard shout: “He’s got a gun, he’s got a gun.”
Then, Garces said, the guard, who was not armed, fled the church, along with some other congregants.

A woman who answered the phone at the mission declined to comment.
Garces, who was near the front of the church, was among those who stayed. The gunman didn’t say what he wanted, Garces said — only that he wanted to hold church attendees hostage for a couple of days.
The gunman then gave a woman zip ties and instructed her to tie Garces up. She left one of the ties loose, Garces said, and when a few other people scrambled toward the gunman, Garces went for the weapon.
“As soon as I moved, he pulled the trigger,” Garces said. “It hit the wall.”
He said he was able to grab the handgun, then leave through a side door that led to the cafeteria. Holding the gun upside down — and clutching it with both hands — he said it was there that he encountered an officer with a rifle who told him to drop the weapon.

“I started bending down to put it on the ground,” Garces said. “I didn’t want to drop it. It would go off. That’s when he shot me.”




https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/he-disarmed-possible-church-shooter-then-police-arrived-shot-him-n851816?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_ma



Proverbs 14:12 
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.



Sunday

Putin unveils new Russian nuclear missile, says it renders defenses ‘useless’




Russia has a new array of nuclear-capable weapons including an intercontinental ballistic missile that renders defense systems “useless,” President Vladimir Putin announced Thursday.
The ICBM has a longer range than any other and can reach almost any target in the world, Putin said in his annual address to lawmakers and political elites.

Other new technologies he highlighted included supersonic missiles and drone submarines that he said cannot be stopped.
Putin's marathon speech came 17 days before a presidential election in which he is seeking an unprecedented fourth term in power. It was accompanied by video footage showing some of the new weaponry in action as well as simulations on a giant screen.
To rapturous applause, Putin said the new technology had been developed despite skepticism from other countries about Russia's capabilities.

"I want to tell all those who have fueled the arms race over the last 15 years, sought to win unilateral advantages over Russia, introduced unlawful sanctions aimed to contain our country's development ... you have failed to contain Russia," he said.
He accused the West of "ignoring us. Nobody listened to us. Well, listen to us now."



READ THE REST BY CLICKING ON THE LINK AND TELL US WHAT YOU THINK:




2 Corinthians 10:4 King James Version (KJV)
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

Zechariah 14:12 
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.







Off-Duty Cop Kills Baby After Smashing into Car Going 94mph—Mom Charged with Homicide









Baton Rouge, LA — A mother has been grieving the loss of her baby for the last few months after an off-duty cop—recklessly driving 94 mph—smashed into her car, killing her daughter and injuring all the other occupants. Now, months after this officer took the life of her child, his fellow officers are charging HER with homicide.

Brittany Stephens, 20, was arrested on Tuesday on charges of homicide—in spite of the fact that the officer caused the deadly crash. According to police, Stephens did not have the straps at the correct level in the car seat—something parents across the country are likely ‘guilty’ of—so she is responsible for her daughter’s death.

Police said the “lack of securing the seat to the vehicle and the loose straps are a contributing factor in the death” of the child and “show gross negligence” on the mother’s part, according to the Advocate.
What’s more, Stephens was not the driver of the vehicle. However, she told police that she was the one who strapped in her daughter, so now she is the one facing charges in her death.
Stephens—whose baby’s life was ended by a reckless cop—was booked into the Baton Rouge prison on Tuesday on one count of negligent homicide and a seat belt violation.
According to the report, three other adults were in the car and were all cited as well.


As the Advocate reports, the crash occurred around 8 p.m. Oct. 12, 2017, when a Baton Rouge Police officer — driving his Corvette 94 mph while off duty — struck the Nissan carrying the four adults and four children. Officer Christopher Manuel was driving north on Airline Highway and crashed into the passenger side of the Nissan, which was turning left onto Florline Boulevard at a green light.


Manuel was likely speeding because he knew he could simply flex his blue privilege and not get ticketed if a cop were to stop him. Indeed, he was afforded at least some blue privelege after taking this baby’s life.  In spite of clearly being at fault in an accident that took an innocent baby’s life, Manuel was not charged until this month. He is facing a single count of negligent homicide and speeding. What’s more, this officer has been on paid leave the entire time as well.



READ THE REST BY CLICKING ON THE LINK AND TELL US WHAT YOU THINK:



Zechariah 11:
5 Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the Lord; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.








Russia appears to have deployed its next-generation fighter jet to Syria — and it's a major problem for the F-22






Videos on social media appear to show Russia's Su-57, a prototype of a new, fifth-generation fighter jet, operating in Syria — and it could be a direct threat to US stealth aircraft like the F-22.
Justin Bronk, a combat aircraft expert at the Royal United Services Institute, told Business Insider that initial attempts to geolocate Su-57s shown in the video indicated the deployment may be authentic.



He also said any deployment could be a cynical move to boost Russia's military sales while gaining valuable intelligence on the F-22.

"Russia has deployed pretty much everything in its arsenal in Syria, whether they're prototypes or heavy strategic bombers in absurdly inefficient strike paths all around Western Europe and through the Mediterranean" to strike targets in Syria, Bronk said.



On more regular bomb runs, Russia simply drops unguided munitions from Cold War-era fighter jets, which are frequently accused of killing civilians in places like hospitals.

Bronk assessed that Russia wanted to boost its position in the export market and that by deploying the Su-57, a prototype without its proper engines or stealth configuration, it could advertise the platform as "combat-proven."

Though Bronk said the Su-57 was "certainly not combat-proven in the sense of showing it can take on Western fighters," which is its intended purpose, the plane technically will have participated in combat.



But while the Su-57 poses no real air-to-air threat to Western fighters in its current, unrefined state, it has a diverse array of powerful radars Russia could use to perfect anti-stealth techniques and battle plans against the US's F-22.



READ THE REST BY CLICKING ON THE LINK AND TELL US WHAT YOU THINK:






Joel 3:

2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

Oprah Pledges $500,000 to Parkland Students’ March For Our Lives




Oprah announced on Twitter she will be supporting March for Our Lives, the march set up by Parkland students in the wake of the recent shooting at their high school. Oprah will be donating $500,000, matching a donation made by George and Amal Clooney for the same amount. In her tweet, she wrote, "George and Amal, I couldn’t agree with you more. I am joining forces with you and will match your $500,000 donation to ‘March For Our Lives.’ These inspiring young people remind me of the Freedom Riders of the 60s who also said we’ve had enough and our voices will be heard."



According to Variety, George and Amal will also be attending the March for Our Lives demonstration on March 24, where students will gather in Washington D.C. to bring awareness to gun violence.



In a statement, George said, "Amal and I are so inspired by the courage and eloquence of these young men and women from Stoneman Douglas High School. Our family will be there on March 24 to stand side by side with this incredible generation of young people from all over the country, and in the name of our children Ella and Alexander, we’re donating $500,000 to help pay for this groundbreaking event. Our children’s lives depend on it.”



Survivors of the mass shooting responded to the Clooneys' donation on Twitter, writing, "We want to express extreme gratitude for the amazing donation that George Clooney and his family have made to the  #MarchForOurLives. We are overwhelmed with the support, and we can’t wait to march."



READ THE REST BY CLICKING ON THE LINK AND TELL US WHAT YOU THINK:

https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a18542080/oprah-donates-parkland-students-march-for-our-lives/?src=socialflowGP




Luke 16:

19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,

21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

Colorado school district will allow teachers to carry guns




DENVER — A rural Colorado school district decided Wednesday night to allow its teachers and other school staff to carry guns on campus to protect students.

The Hanover School District 28 board voted 3-2 to allow school employees to volunteer to be armed on the job after undergoing training.

The district’s two schools serve about 270 students about 30 miles southeast of Colorado Springs, and it takes law enforcement an average of 20 minutes to get there. The district currently shares an armed school resource officer with four other school districts.

Board member Michael Lawson backed the idea not only as way to protect students from a mass shooting but also as protection against possible violence connected with nearby marijuana grows, which he believes are connected with foreign cartels, the Gazette of Colorado Springs reported.


READ THE REST BY CLICKING ON THE LINK AND TELL US WHAT YOU THINK:

https://nypost.com/2016/12/15/colorado-school-district-will-allow-teachers-to-carry-guns/


Ecclesiasticus 34:16
For the eyes of the Lord are upon them that love him he is their mighty protection and strong stay a defence from heat and a cover from the sun at noon a preservation from stumbling and an help from falling








Friday

Suspect Confessed to Police That He Began Shooting Students ‘in the Hallways’









PARKLAND, Fla. — The suspect in one of the deadliest school shootings in modern American history confessed to the police that he “began shooting students that he saw in the hallways and on school grounds,” according to a police arrest report released Thursday.

The suspect, Nikolas Cruz, 19, carried a black duffel bag and backpack, where he hid loaded magazines, the report said. He arrived at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in an Uber at 2:19 p.m. on Wednesday and pulled out a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle, according to details described by the authorities at a news conference on Thursday.

Mr. Cruz also shot people inside five classrooms on the first and second floors of the freshman building. He eventually discarded the rifle, a vest and ammunition in a stairwell, blended in with fleeing students and got away, the authorities said.

After leaving the school, Mr. Cruz walked to a Walmart, and bought a drink at a Subway. He also stopped at a McDonald’s. He was arrested by the police without incident as he walked down a residential street at 3:41 p.m.



READ THE REST BY CLICKING ON THE LINK AND TELL US WHAT YOU THINK:




Isaiah 47:9 
But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.

Job 38:17
Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?