
Prison officers to use Tasers on violent inmates as assaults soar
Seconds later, the three attackers are sprawled motionless, having been shot with 1,500 volts of electricity from Tasers fired by eight specialist prison officers.
Luckily for the four 'prisoners', they are not actually in custody, They are among the elite unit of prison officers taking part in role play during their final training sessions before being sent to prisons across England and Wales, equipped with Tasers.
From Monday, prisoners who misbehave face being tasered after Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, authorised the use of the devices in prisons for the first time in an attempt to combat spiralling violence in Britain's overcrowded prisons.
Highly trained specialist officers from the operational response and resilience unit (ORRU) will be equipped with the T7 model, which can hit targets 24 feet away. The weapons are powered with 50,000 volts, although they do so at about two milliamps, which mean they hit with a force of 1,500 volts of electricity.

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Sky News
43 minutes ago
- Sky News
Southport stabbing victim reveals how she survived attack - and fears 'it could happen again'
A girl who was stabbed in the Southport attack has told Sky News how she thought she was going to die that day. Warning: Some readers may find this content distressing It is exactly a year since Axel Rudakubana killed three girls and attempted to murder eight others at a summer holiday Taylor Swift-themed dance event in the seaside town. The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was stabbed in the back and the arm after going to the class with her younger sister. She is now campaigning for children to have mandatory first aid training at school in response to the growth of knife crime. She said she clearly remembers what happened that day. "Some of the girls were sat down in a circle making bracelets with the teachers, and a couple of them were getting up to get beads. I was standing between two tables and he came through the doors. "He stabbed a little girl in front of me and then came for me and stabbed my arm. I turned and then he stabbed my back, even though I didn't feel it at the time. "There was a bunch of girls huddled around so I just started pushing them down the stairs, telling them to get out and run. "I was thinking 'Where's my sister?' and 'We need to get out'." She and many of the other victims ran to the house of a neighbour for shelter. "I just thought that I was going to die," she said. Killer 'looked possessed' The girl said she can clearly picture Rudakubana that day. "What I remember most about him is his eyes. They just didn't look human, they looked possessed. It was kind of like a dream and you're on a movie set and watching yourself go through it and make these decisions. "It's just kind of like adrenaline. People like to think they know what they'd do in that situation but, in reality, you don't until you're in it." Six-year-old Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, who was seven, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar died in the attack. It is something she finds difficult to talk about. "I don't think I can express how I feel about it," the girl said. "A lot of anger and sadness." In January, Rudakubana was jailed for life and must serve a minimum of 52 years before he can be considered for release. The chairman of the public inquiry into the atrocity called the attack "one of the most egregious crimes in our country's history". Carrying knives 'disgusting' The girl who survived has now launched a campaign, supported by a clothing range called "Go Anywhere, Be Anything" to raise funds, to improve the ability of schoolchildren to help in the event of knife attacks. "Everyone that's going out and carrying knives is getting younger and younger," she said. "And to think that it's people my age is like disgusting. "I just want to try and do the best I can to let people know that it's not okay to do that and that they need to think about what they're doing and the risks and how they're harming themselves and other people." Her sister, who was also there that day, helped design "Go Anywhere, Be Anything". A three-minute silence will be held in Southport at 3pm to mark one year on from the attack. In an open letter to the community, Sefton Council wrote: "This period is incredibly hard for the families of Alice, Bebe and Elsie and all of those children and adults injured or who suffered lifelong psychological impact of witnessing the attack, and we acknowledge the huge impact on their lives, too. "We must not forget the local people who rushed to support and to our emergency responders. They all remain always in our thoughts." It is a sentiment shared by the survivor. "You live in fear every day that it could happen again," she said.

Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Live updates: New York shooting at 345 Park Ave
What's happening? Lone shooter targets Manhattan skyscraper Several civilians shot, gunman 'neutralized' Police officer killed, one source tells Reuters Occupants of 345 Park Ave. include NFL, Blackstone Suspect identified as 27-year-old from Las Vegas Suspect killed himself after shooting, NYC mayor says 5 minutes ago 22:40 EDT Mayor Eric Adams says two men and one woman were among the dead, along with a police officer. He says the suspected gunman died of a self-inflicted wound. 11 minutes ago 22:34 EDT Watch live: Outside the site of the Manhattan shooting 20 minutes ago 22:25 EDT Local media report up to 5 have been killed 22:14 EDT Kay Johnson The New York Post newspaper, citing law enforcement sources, reported a gunman wearing a bullet-resistant vest and carrying an AR-style rifle opened fire inside the Park Avenue skyscraper. The gunman killed five people, including an NYPD officer, before turning the weapon on himself, the Post reported, and six other people were injured. At one point during the violence, the gunman had barricaded himself inside the office tower, possibly on the 32nd floor of the building, according to the Post. CNN reported the police officer and three civilians were slain, in addition to the shooter. Several news outlets, including CNN, the New York Post and NBC News, said the suspect was tentatively identified as a 27-year-old man from Las Vegas. Reuters could not immediately confirm the media reports. New York City Mayor Eric Adams on the shooting 33 minutes ago 22:12 EDT Multiple people shot in mid-Manhattan skyscraper an hour ago 22:00 EDT A person opened fire inside a Midtown Manhattan skyscraper in New York City housing the NFL headquarters and offices of several major financial firms. Several people were wounded before the suspect was "neutralized," New York City officials said. Private equity giant Blackstone and the National Football League are among the businesses in the skyscraper. Police did not immediately make details of the shooting public, but a law enforcement source told Reuters that one New York Police Department officer was killed, two civilians were struck by gunfire and the suspect was believed to be dead. The source said the information was preliminary, and the condition or extent of injuries sustained by the two civilians was not immediately known. Other news media outlets, citing their own sources, reported death tolls between four and five, not including the suspect. New York Mayor Eric Adams said in a video message posted on X there were "multiple injuries" in the shooting. Stay with us as we bring you the latest updates.


Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Gunman kills at least 4 people, including officer, in mid-Manhattan skyscraper
NEW YORK, July 28 (Reuters) - A gunman opened fire on Monday inside a Midtown Manhattan skyscraper housing NFL headquarters and offices of several financial firms, including Blackstone, killing at least four people before the suspect turned up dead in the building, a law enforcement source said. Police did not immediately make details of the shooting public, but the source told Reuters that one of the four victims confirmed to have died was an off-duty New York Police Department officer. The three other victims known to have been shot to death were civilians. Separately, the NYPD said on the social media platform X that the gunman turned up dead. Other news media outlets reported that the slain NYPD officer was working paid security detail for the building at the time. New York Mayor Eric Adams said in a video message posted on X there were "multiple injuries" in the shooting. A short time later, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on X: "At this time, the scene has been contained and the lone shooter has been neutralized." The New York Post newspaper, citing law enforcement sources, reported a gunman wearing a bullet-resistant vest and carrying an AR-style rifle had opened fire inside the Park Avenue skyscraper, killing five people, including an NYPD officer, before turning the weapon on himself. The Post said six other people were injured. At one point during the violence, the gunman had barricaded himself inside the office tower, possibly on the 32nd floor of the building, according to the Post. CNN reported the police officer and three civilians were slain, in addition to the shooter. Several news outlets, including CNN, the New York Post and NBC News, said the suspect was tentatively identified as a 27-year-old man from Las Vegas. A photo of the suspect that CNN said was shared by police showing a gunman walking into the building carrying a rifle was published by a number of major news media outlets. Preliminary checks of the suspect's background did not show a significant criminal history, the report added, citing officials. The skyscraper at 345 Park Avenue houses offices of a number of financial institutions, including Blackstone and KPMG, along with the NFL headquarters. Authorities have said nothing about a possible motive for the shootings. A large police presence converged on the area around the tower, according to Reuters journalists near the scene. 'I just saw a lot of commotion and cops and people screaming,' said Russ McGee, a 31-year-old sports bettor who was working out in a gym adjacent to the skyscraper, told Reuters in an interview near the scene. The FBI said agents from its New York field office were also responding to provide support at the scene.