Man allegedly hijacks transport cart at Buffalo airport and destroys moving walkways
Kevin J Sinning, 29, of Wyoming, faces charges of second-degree criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, criminal nuisance, third-degree grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property worth more than $3,000 after his arrest at about 1am on 28 July, the Niagara frontier transportation authority police department said.
The police department said that Sinning was 'visibly intoxicated' at the time of his arrest, NBC News reported.
In video footage circulated on social media, Sinning was evidently recorded slowly driving the cart up and down the hallways of the airport. One clip showed damage to metal beams on one of the airport's moving walkways.
A different clip showed the cart being driven down another moving walkway that was too small for the vehicle. The vehicle crushed metal and shattered glass along the walkway.
A TikTok video of the joyride attributed to Sinning generated more than 9m views as well as more than 450,000 likes.
Sinning declined to comment on Friday, according to NBC.
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The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
Schools are using AI surveillance to protect students. It also leads to false alarms — and arrests
Lesley Mathis knows what her daughter said was wrong. But she never expected the 13-year-old girl would get arrested for it. The teenage girl made an offensive joke while chatting online with her classmates, triggering the school's surveillance software. Before the morning was even over, the Tennessee eighth grader was under arrest. She was interrogated, strip-searched and spent the night in a jail cell, her mother says. Earlier in the day, her friends had teased the teen about her tanned complexion and called her ' Mexican,' even though she's not. When a friend asked what she was planning for Thursday, she wrote: 'on Thursday we kill all the Mexico's.' Mathis said the comments were 'wrong' and 'stupid,' but context showed they were not a threat. 'It made me feel like, is this the America we live in?' Mathis said of her daughter's arrest. 'And it was this stupid, stupid technology that is just going through picking up random words and not looking at context.' Surveillance systems in American schools increasingly monitor everything students write on school accounts and devices. Thousands of school districts across the country use software like Gaggle and Lightspeed Alert to track kids' online activities, looking for signs they might hurt themselves or others. With the help of artificial intelligence, technology can dip into online conversations and immediately notify both school officials and law enforcement. Educators say the technology has saved lives. But critics warn it can criminalize children for careless words. "It has routinized law enforcement access and presence in students' lives, including in their home,' said Elizabeth Laird, a director at the Center for Democracy and Technology. Schools ratchet up vigilance for threats In a country weary of school shootings, several states have taken a harder line on threats to schools. Among them is Tennessee, which passed a 2023 zero-tolerance law requiring any threat of mass violence against a school to be reported immediately to law enforcement. The 13-year-old girl arrested in August 2023 had been texting with friends on a chat function tied to her school email at Fairview Middle School, which uses Gaggle to monitor students' accounts. (The Associated Press is withholding the girl's name to protect her privacy. The school district did not respond to a request for comment.) Taken to jail, the teen was interrogated and strip-searched, and her parents weren't allowed to talk to her until the next day, according to a lawsuit they filed against the school system. She didn't know why her parents weren't there. 'She told me afterwards, 'I thought you hated me.' That kind of haunts you,' said Mathis, the girl's mother. A court ordered eight weeks of house arrest, a psychological evaluation and 20 days at an alternative school for the girl. Gaggle's CEO, Jeff Patterson, said in an interview that the school system did not use Gaggle the way it is intended. The purpose is to find early warning signs and intervene before problems escalate to law enforcement, he said. 'I wish that was treated as a teachable moment, not a law enforcement moment,' said Patterson. Private student chats face unexpected scrutiny Students who think they are chatting privately among friends often do not realize they are under constant surveillance, said Shahar Pasch, an education lawyer in Florida. One teenage girl she represented made a joke about school shootings on a private Snapchat story. Snapchat's automated detection software picked up the comment, the company alerted the FBI, and the girl was arrested on school grounds within hours. Alexa Manganiotis, 16, said she was startled by how quickly monitoring software works. West Palm Beach's Dreyfoos School of the Arts, which she attends, last year piloted Lightspeed Alert, a surveillance program. Interviewing a teacher for her school newspaper, Alexa discovered two students once typed something threatening about that teacher on a school computer, then deleted it. Lightspeed picked it up, and 'they were taken away like five minutes later,' Alexa said. Teenagers face steeper consequences than adults for what they write online, Alexa said. 'If an adult makes a super racist joke that's threatening on their computer, they can delete it, and they wouldn't be arrested," she said. Amy Bennett, chief of staff for Lightspeed Systems, said that the software helps understaffed schools 'be proactive rather than punitive' by identifying early warning signs of bullying, self-harm, violence or abuse. The technology can also involve law enforcement in responses to mental health crises. In Florida's Polk County Schools, a district of more than 100,000 students, the school safety program received nearly 500 Gaggle alerts over four years, officers said in public Board of Education meetings. This led to 72 involuntary hospitalization cases under the Baker Act, a state law that allows authorities to require mental health evaluations for people against their will if they pose a risk to themselves or others. 'A really high number of children who experience involuntary examination remember it as a really traumatic and damaging experience — not something that helps them with their mental health care,' said Sam Boyd, an attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Polk and West Palm Beach school districts did not provide comments. An analysis shows a high rate of false alarms Information that could allow schools to assess the software's effectiveness, such as the rate of false alerts, is closely held by technology companies and unavailable publicly unless schools track the data themselves. Gaggle alerted more than 1,200 incidents to the Lawrence, Kansas, school district in a recent 10-month period. But almost two-thirds of those alerts were deemed by school officials to be non-issues — including over 200 false alarms from student homework, according to an Associated Press analysis of data received via a public records request. Students in one photography class were called to the principal's office over concerns Gaggle had detected nudity. The photos had been automatically deleted from the students' Google Drives, but students who had backups of the flagged images on their own devices showed it was a false alarm. District officials said they later adjusted the software's settings to reduce false alerts. Natasha Torkzaban, who graduated in 2024, said she was flagged for editing a friend's college essay because it had the words 'mental health.' 'I think ideally we wouldn't stick a new and shiny solution of AI on a deep-rooted issue of teenage mental health and the suicide rates in America, but that's where we're at right now,' Torkzaban said. She was among a group of student journalists and artists at Lawrence High School who filed a lawsuit against the school system last week, alleging Gaggle subjected them to unconstitutional surveillance. School officials have said they take concerns about Gaggle seriously, but also say the technology has detected dozens of imminent threats of suicide or violence. 'Sometimes you have to look at the trade for the greater good,' said Board of Education member Anne Costello in a July 2024 board meeting. Two years after their ordeal, Mathis said her daughter is doing better, although she's still 'terrified' of running into one of the school officers who arrested her. One bright spot, she said, was the compassion of the teachers at her daughter's alternative school. They took time every day to let the kids share their feelings and frustrations, without judgment. 'It's like we just want kids to be these little soldiers, and they're not,' said Mathis. 'They're just humans.' ___ This reporting reviewed school board meetings posted on YouTube, courtesy of DistrictView, a dataset created by researchers Tyler Simko, Mirya Holman and Rebecca Johnson. ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
BBC News
27 minutes ago
- BBC News
South Africa pig farm murders: Adrian de Wet walks free as he turns state witness
South Africa's state prosecutor has officially withdrawn charges against one of the farm workers accused of killing two black woman and feeding their bodies to pigs. Adrian de Wet was one of three men facing murder charges after Maria Makgato, 45, and Lucia Ndlovu, 34, were killed while allegedly looking for food on a pig farm near Polokwane in South Africa's northern Limpopo province last bodies were then alleged to have been given to the animals in an apparent attempt to dispose of the De Wet, 20, turned state witness when the trial started on Monday and says farm owner Zachariah Johannes Olivier shot and killed the two women. Mr De Wet, a supervisor on the farm, will testify that he was under duress when he was forced to throw their bodies into the pig enclosure, according to both the prosecution and his Musora, 50, another farm worker, is the third accused. He and Mr Olivier, 60, are yet to enter a plea and remain behind De Wet's lawyers say he has truthfully disclosed what transpired on the night Ms Makgato and Ms Ndlovu were killed in August 2024. Shortly after court adjourned on Wednesday, he walked out of the court as a free man and was whisked away by his lawyers, while Ms Makgato's brother Walter Makgato sobbed outside the court building. He told the BBC that the release of one of the men allegedly involved in the killing of his sister means justice will not be served. Mr De Wet will be taken into protective custody until the end of the case has caused widespread outrage across South Africa which has exacerbated racial tension between black and white people in the is especially rife in rural areas of the country, despite the end of the racist system of apartheid 30 years private farmland remains in the hands of the white minority, while most farm workers are black and poorly paid, fuelling resentment among the black population, while many white farmers complain of high crime trial is set to resume on 6 October. You may also be interested in: Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Furious locals set up 'vigilante' army in 'Wild West' seaside town overrun by feral yobs, sex predators and murders
Furious locals have formed a 'vigilante' army to take on rampant crime spreading across a once picturesque seaside town. For decades a symbol of the glorious British south coast, Bournemouth has become overrun by feral yobs, sex predators and murders. Those who have been coming for years talk of a gradual decline, but point to a slew of recent incidents that have left them feeling more unsettled than ever. When temperatures hit the mid-30s last month, brawls broke out in broad daylight, while a woman in her late teens was raped in a beachside public toilet just days later leading to the arrest of a man who has now been released on bail. And many residents have had enough, with more than 200 volunteers including security professionals, first aiders and concerned residents, signing up to the Safeguard Force to tackle the tourist hotspot's descent into lawlessness. The group, set up by local businessman Gary Bartlett, aims to 'protect the most vulnerable in our town - especially women, children and the elderly'. They have already raised more than £3,000 through a GoFundMe campaign to buy body cameras, stab vests and radios. He said: 'We're here to support our community and work alongside the police to make Dorset a safer place for everyone. Those who have been coming for years talk of a gradual decline, but point to a slew of recent incidents that have left them feeling more unsettled than ever 'Our volunteers are driven by a shared goal to protect and reassure, and we're excited about the impact our app and transport initiatives will have. 'Our volunteers have no more legal powers than any member of the public. We are not a vigilante group and we do not engage in any unlawful activity. 'Our role is to be extra eyes and ears in the community, deter anti-social behaviour, and report issues to the police or relevant authorities.' Mr Bartlett declined to explain if volunteers would physically intervene if they saw criminal acts. Safeguard Force has vowed to work alongside Dorset Police to make the streets safer. But they have yet to be endorsed by the force and anti-racism campaigners claim they will target asylum seekers staying in the town's three migrant hotels. The groups says it will require all volunteers to undergo DBS checks and first aid training, claiming the group will be 'non-political and inclusive'. In addition to patrols, the group is developing a mobile 'Safeguard App', an SOS-style tool to allow people to quickly request help if they feel vulnerable in public. Volunteers will wear a black uniform with a 'Safeguard Force' badge on the front and Safeguard Force written in white, block capitals on the back. They will carry out their first patrols on Monday focussing on Bournemouth, Boscombe, the beaches, gardens and surrounding areas. Dorset Police confirmed it is aware of the group and has begun discussions with its organisers while assessing 'any risks and opportunities' they can bring. Superintendent Pete Browning said: 'While the group hadn't engaged with us before launching, we have since reached out to them and had discussions about their plans, policies and process. 'As a result, we have asked to have further discussions with them in relation to their operating model, including reassurances around vetting processes, equipment carried, training provided and safeguarding policies. 'As a partnership, together with our local authority colleagues and others, we are continuing to assess the information, risks and opportunities community groups can bring. 'Therefore we are not in a position to support or endorse the group or their activities at this time. We will continue to engage with the organiser to ensure that they operate within the law.' Pro-immigration group Stand Up To Racism expressed concerns the group would target asylum seekers and 'risks fostering division and fear'. A spokesperson for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council Stand Up To Racism said: 'This is a vigilante group which seems to be targeting refugees and Muslim communities who they suggest are a threat to women and children. 'The presence of uniformed civilians acting on ideological motives risks fostering division and fear, rather than safety.' When Daily Mail visited Bournemouth Beach last month, its ills soon became apparent - and they tie in neatly with those that plague much of modern Britain. Stop to look at flytipping eyesores too long and your nostrils are filled with the invasive stench of cannabis, your ears the thumping boom of Bluetooth speakers. Loiter any further and you're bound to get bashed by a speeding bike, defiantly burning rubber over the promenade's sad 'No Cycling' signs. Sitting in his deck chair not far from the epicentre of the cannabis cloud, Mike Lucas, 76, regretted that visiting his beach hut is not as relaxing as it used to be. 'We get high off the weed here sometimes just from the smell,' he said. 'There's a lack of respect. I used to be a teacher, I wouldn't want to be anymore. 'Music is a real issue here as well, what with all these ghettoblasters and things.' The need for a 'vigilante' group to help tackle the chaos is perhaps understandable, given many locals' lack of faith in the police. Paul, sitting on a bench with his granddaughter Emma, said: 'We're actually thinking of moving which is a shame. It's all a sign of the times. 'We've had people fighting here and even a stabbing. We need more of a police presence.' Terry Keenan added: 'The police are useless, they're never here,' he said. 'Kids come here for a big night, they come with the gas and balloons. 'On these nights, it gets on the verge of being a nuisance. 'We're down here all day and there's not one policeman, yet there's thousands of people here. It gets out of control. 'We saw the police there one weekend, but why not have them here all the time? A police car would put people off.' His wife Debbie agreed and said that antisocial behaviour was often rampant and suggested it might be down to 'too much cannabis'. Terry, meanwhile, said: 'There are lots of down and outs and a cannabis smell in the air. 'There are also lots of problems with alcohol. These problems were not here before. 'So many of the shops have been closed up and there is a real lack of police.' Mike spends much of his day politely reminding speeding cyclists that bikes are banned from the path at this time of year - and is often greeted by a foul-mouthed response. Right on cue, a marauding peddler raced past before reacting badly to the local's complaints. He unleashed a colourful volley of x-rated insults and pointed an angry finger at a reclining Mike, who gave the impression of someone who sees this kind of thing every day - presumably because he does. Violence is becoming an increasingly common event on Bournemouth Beach as soaring temperatures prompt flared tempers. Last month, police released CCTV imagery of 12 males they would like to identify following a beach brawl between shirtless youths last week which saw five officers injured. Footage posted online showed yobs fighting among themselves and clashing with officers, with some seen hurling objects and attacking them with bottles. Missiles appeared to be thrown at police and glass could be heard smashing on the ground as terrified day-trippers watched on in horror. Five police officers were injured during the chaos, as well as a teenage girl who was taken to hospital for treatment. Their injuries were not serious. 'People are always telling you to 'eff off' while they're cycling along,' Mike said once his bad-tempered rival had disappeared. 'They don't listen. 'A couple of weeks ago, some teens were using the back of the huts as a toilet. They were told to stop but one was clearly trying to impress the others and physically attacked an older gentleman and punched him. 'The police issued a case number but said they couldn't send anyone down. 'Music is a real issue here as well, what with all these ghettoblasters and things.' As one of the largest resorts in the south of England, Bournemouth has long attracted legions of youngsters from the inner cities looking for a glimpse at the bright blue sea. Visiting kids and lifelong residents have generally co-existed quite pleasantly, but it seems there has been a noticeable shift in recent years. Shocking pictures show teens apparently taking hippy crack, or nitrous oxide balloons, in plain sight while playing loud music and even getting in confrontations with locals. Terry told Daily Mail he has seen such incidents come close to spiralling out of control in recent months and blamed the police for lacking a beach side presence. Lourde, a local who has spent many decades seeing the beach evolve - or devolve - since she first arrived aged 17, reflected wistfully on a bygone era, where Bournemouth was trendy and safe. 'All the men used to come here in smart suits and the ladies wore business suits,' Lourde said. 'It was a certain status thing to walk along this beach side. 'It's really busy now. Unfortunately the town itself has also gone downhill. The whole atmosphere is completely rundown. It used to be stylish. 'It all changed when the students stopped coming. They brought money in and went to bars and cafes and needed entertainment.' Keeping a safe distance sitting in the square a couple of hundred yards behind the beach, she added: 'I wouldn't want to go down here at nighttime. It's very sad, only six years ago I would have been fine. 'There's an undercurrent – I can't quite say what it is.' The previously pleasant seaside town has become a regular stage for tensions between locals and asylum seekers with one filmed giving the finger to protesters outside a migrant hotel before being ushered away by police on Monday. The young man was headed towards the The Chine Hotel in Boscombe, Bournemouth, which was surrounded by a group of 40 anti-migrant protesters. As he approached the building with an officer, one protester asked the man out loud, 'where are you from mate?' The migrant then flicked a cigarette towards the group before shouting back at them. The policeman ushered him towards the entrance while the crowd jeered and another protester asked him, 'were you running from a war?' This stopped the migrant in his tracks and he turned to give the crowd the middle finger. More cat-calls and chants could be heard from protesters, before the man entered the hotel. Most of the 88 rooms at The Chine have views of the sea or the landscaped gardens. The hotel also has an indoor swimming pool and spa facilities, as well as a £200 a night honeymoon suite. It is now one of three hotels in Bournemouth that has been closed to the public for the exclusive use of asylum seekers. The anti-immigration protesters arrived en-masse there last Friday evening to protest against its use to house migrants. They waved Union Jack flags and played patriotic songs including 'Three Lions' and 'Rule Britannia' on a loudspeaker. A 40-person counter-protest organised by Stand Up To Racism then showed up with placards stating 'Refugees Welcome, Stop The Far Right'. Dozens of police officers formed a barrier between the two groups in a bid to keep the peace. One anti-immigration protester squared up to a police officer as tensions flared but no arrests were made during the three hour protest.
