Hillsborough County teacher tried to smuggle guns to foreign country: US Attorney
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A former Hillsborough County high school teacher had pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide firearms to a transnational criminal organization, U.S. Attorney Greg Kehoe's office announced.
Shannon Samlalsingh, 46, made false statements to firearms dealers in Hillsborough and Miami-Dade Counties in 2020 and 2021 while purchasing weapons and firearms components, the press release said.
The woman stated she was buying the weapons herself, but had actually been paid to purchase and transfer them to members of a criminal organization from Trinidad and Tobago who were already in Florida. From there, the weapons would be smuggled to Trinidad.
Samlalsignh kept a percentage of the money as compensation for her part in the operation. She faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.
The press release said the weapons were discovered when authorities at an airport in Trinidad seized two punching bags from a shipment from the U.S.
Items recovered from the shipment:
11 9mm pistols
Two .38 caliber special revolvers
12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun
Three AR-15 barrel foregrips
19 lower pistol grip assemblies
11 forearm bolt assemblies
Three AR-15-style barrels
32 AR-15 magazines
One AR-15 drum magazine
470 rounds of AR-15 ammunition
34 9mm magazines
Three 9 mm drum magazines
284 9mm rounds
15 .38 caliber rounds
36 shells
Six magazine couplers
2 shotgun chokes
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Hillsborough County teacher tried to smuggle guns to foreign country: US Attorney
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A former Hillsborough County high school teacher had pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide firearms to a transnational criminal organization, U.S. Attorney Greg Kehoe's office announced. Shannon Samlalsingh, 46, made false statements to firearms dealers in Hillsborough and Miami-Dade Counties in 2020 and 2021 while purchasing weapons and firearms components, the press release said. The woman stated she was buying the weapons herself, but had actually been paid to purchase and transfer them to members of a criminal organization from Trinidad and Tobago who were already in Florida. From there, the weapons would be smuggled to Trinidad. Samlalsignh kept a percentage of the money as compensation for her part in the operation. She faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. The press release said the weapons were discovered when authorities at an airport in Trinidad seized two punching bags from a shipment from the U.S. Items recovered from the shipment: 11 9mm pistols Two .38 caliber special revolvers 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun Three AR-15 barrel foregrips 19 lower pistol grip assemblies 11 forearm bolt assemblies Three AR-15-style barrels 32 AR-15 magazines One AR-15 drum magazine 470 rounds of AR-15 ammunition 34 9mm magazines Three 9 mm drum magazines 284 9mm rounds 15 .38 caliber rounds 36 shells Six magazine couplers 2 shotgun chokes Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
11-ft alligator swam off with woman in Polk County after ‘death roll,' FWC report states
The video above, which was recorded in May, discusses the alligator attack LAKE WALES, Fla. (WFLA) — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation released another report this week on a deadly alligator attack in Polk County last month. The incident in question happened on May 3, 2025, along Tiger Creek near Lake Kissimmee State Park, which was also the site of a separate alligator attack in March 2025. 'Operation Dragon-Eye': 60 'critically missing' children located in most successful operation According to the FWC report, Cynthia Diekama of Paw Paw, Michigan, was canoeing with her husband, David Diekama, when they unknowingly rowed over the back of an 11-foot alligator in about 2.5-feet of water. As the canoe passed over the alligator, the reptile thrashed and knocked the two 61-year-olds out of their vessel. The FWC stated that Cynthia Diekama was immediately bitten by the alligator. Her husband tried to help her, but he could not rescue her from the alligator. Wife of suspended Osceola County sheriff arrested: report The 11-foot crocodilian then performed a 'death roll,' a maneuver alligators use to kill their prey, before swimming away with the woman. 'She sustained multiple severe injuries and was later located and recovered by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC) officers,' the report stated. 'Emergency medical services pronounced her deceased at 17:33 hours on scene.' FWC officers and trappers found an 11-foot 4-inch male alligator believed to be the animal responsible for the woman's death. They then 'removed' it from the wild. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
American Military News
10 hours ago
- American Military News
Videos: Armed gunman shot, killed by church security guard
An armed gunman was shot and killed by a church security guard and another church staff member, preventing a 'large-scale mass shooting' at a church in Michigan on Sunday. According to ABC News, the gunman was fatally shot by two church staff members. The outlet noted that one of the church's security team staff members was shot in the leg by the suspect but is expected to recover following a successful surgery. In a Sunday statement on Facebook, the Wayne Police Department said, 'The Wayne Police Department responded to an active shooter at Crosspointe Church in Wayne this morning. Upon arrival, officers determined that a security guard for the church shot and killed the suspect. One victim was shot in the leg.' According to Fox News, the Wayne Police Department has identified the deceased gunman as 31-year-old Brian Anthony Browning. While law enforcement officials have not revealed the motive behind Browning's shooting attempt, officials confirmed that the suspect attended services at the church two or three times in the past year and that the suspect's mother was a member of the church. READ MORE: 6 illegal immigrants fatally shoot woman in her car in South Carolina Fox News reported that police officials were notified at roughly 11:06 a.m. on Sunday that a white male suspect with a tactical vest and camouflage clothing was taking out guns from his car and heading into CrossPointe Community Church. According to Fox News, police officials confirmed that the suspect was armed with an AR-15 rifle, over a dozen loaded magazines, a semiautomatic handgun, and hundreds of ammunition rounds. In a press release obtained by Fox News, police officials said a witness of Sunday's shooting claimed that he saw the 31-year-old driving a silver SUV 'erratically in the church parking lot before he parked the vehicle on the west side of the building.' According to Fox News, one of the church parishioners hit the suspect with a pickup truck in the parking lot before a church security guard shot the gunman. 'The church security team was alerted by the [gunfire] and reacted quickly to engage the suspect outside the main entrance doors of the church,' police officials said in the press release. 'The security team locked the front doors and exchanged [gunfire] with the suspect, who was shot and killed by a member of the security team. Officers arrived on scene and performed life-saving measures, but the suspect was pronounced dead at the scene by Wayne Fire Rescue.' A video shared on social media shows the livestream footage of Crosspoint Community Church during Sunday's incident. Church attendees can be seen being evacuated from the building. BREAKING – Live footage from Crosspoint Community Church in Wayne, Michigan shows people fleeing the second shooting becomes apparent, before the threat was ultimately neutralized by security. Not a single life was lost. — Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) June 22, 2025 During a Sunday press conference Wayne Police Chief Ryan Strong said, 'We are grateful for the heroic actions of the church's staff members who undoubtedly saved many lives and prevented a large-scale mass shooting.' Police in Wayne, Michigan, say at least one person is injured and a suspect is dead after a shooting at a church Sunday morning. According to police, the suspect drove up with a rifle and was confronted by both parishioners and the church's security staff. He shot a security… — CBS News (@CBSNews) June 23, 2025
