Latest news with #murders
Bloomberg
14 hours ago
- Bloomberg
What's Behind the Great American Murder Decline?
In Baltimore, among the US cities most battered by violent crime over the past decade, murders are now at their lowest level in half a century. Baltimore also has fewer people than it used to, so its murder rate isn't quite that low relative to past decades. At 31 homicides per 100,000 residents over the past 12 months, that rate is also still appallingly high. (In crime statistics, homicide is murder plus non-negligent manslaughter, and the terms tend to be used interchangeably.) The national homicide rate was 5.7 per 100,000 people in 2023, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is probably below five by now — low by historical standards though still quite high compared with other developed countries.
Telegraph
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
One year on from Southport, Sir Keir remains as clueless as ever
On the first anniversary of the murders that shook the nation, there will be a three-minute silence. Quite rightly, a great deal of thought has gone into how best to mark this dreadful occasion, and the families of the little girls who were stabbed to death in Southport have made their wishes plain. Instead of candlelit vigils and floral tributes, they are encouraging donations to charities set up in their loved ones' names. Elsie's Story, Bebe's Hive, and Alice's WonderDance all do lovely things in memory of those who did not survive Axel Rudakubana's rampage. However, the real power to ensure the deaths of the little girls were not in vain lies with the Government. The best possible legacy of the tragedy would be a safer, less divided Britain, led by a Prime Minister who clearly understands why the country erupted. One year after the killings, that premier ought to be able to stand up and declare that nothing quite like it could happen again. Instead, the country once again teeters on the brink of civil strife – and Sir Keir Starmer does not appear to have learnt a single lesson. Hopefully, the public inquiry that opens today will produce some useful pointers about how to protect society from violent nutters. Doubtless, there will be recommendations for schools, mental health services, and the counter-terror programme, Prevent. However, the investigation is focused on the killer himself and events leading up to the killings. But what really matters in terms of public policy is what happened after his violent rampage. What the extraordinary public reaction revealed was that from the moment Starmer took office, this country was already at boiling point with illegal immigration. To all but the most rabid Left-wing observers, it was blindingly obvious that the crisis the new Prime Minister faced had very little to do with racists who had got the wrong end of the stick about the identity of the killer – and everything to do with the previous government's failures over immigration. This should have been the moment that Starmer realised that his new administration would have to stop the boats. It was the starkest imaginable warning of the possible consequences of failing to do so. It should have reinforced his determination to make good on his party's manifesto pledges on immigration. Instead, he and his Cabinet sought to dismiss the protests as the thuggish response of the far-Right, and set about making an example out of a minority of protesters who behaved badly. So far from doing whatever it takes to stop the boats, they have allowed a further 47,000 to pour across the Channel – who knows how many criminals and terrorists are among them. A year on from Southport, hundreds, if not thousands, of rapes, violent assaults, and other terrible crimes are still linked to our broken asylum system – leaving many communities more frightened, angry, and divided than ever. Granted, Starmer had been in office less than one month when he found himself battling to regain control of the country – a terrible shock for any new premier. Rudakubana was neither a Muslim, nor a recent arrival to this country. In that respect, the ugly scenes that unfolded up and down the country outside migrant hotels were based on a fallacy. However, the many decent, law-abiding people who took to the streets in fury – along with millions of other silent supporters – were quite right to smell a cover-up. As many suspected, there was a terror element to the attack, and the culprit was not exactly a 'Cardiff man'. It would later emerge that his Rwandan parents were granted asylum by the Blair government, and their troubled teen 'absolutely obsessed with genocides' – a dark reminder that when we bring in people from war-torn countries, we import their trauma. All the Prime Minister seemed to wanted to do, was to make it all go away as fast as possible. Hiding behind the pretence that making basic facts public might prejudice Rudakubana's trial, ministers went out of their way to conceal the most incendiary information – behaviour that (according to terror watchdog Jonathan Hall KC), might very well have made matters worse. From this terrible tragedy, police and prosecutors too might have learnt a great deal about the importance of being seen to treat people of all skin colours and religions equally – and how little it takes for peaceful protests to turn violent. Yet examples of two-tier justice continue to abound. Almost unbelievably, one police force even stands accused of bussing Left-wing activists to an asylum hotel in Essex – practically guaranteeing trouble. Starmer has had a whole year to reflect on these lessons. Yet the only time he came remotely close to indicating he understood the mood of the nation he backtracked. And so we are where we are – amid a new wave of protests about migrants. Starmer's reaction this time? He has instructed a crack team of cops to monitor social media for 'anti-migrant' sentiments. Is any further proof needed that this man just doesn't get it?
The Guardian
19 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Southport MP says city won't be defined by atrocity one year on from attack
Southport must not be defined by the atrocity at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club last summer, its leaders have said, a year on from the murders. The Merseyside town will hold a three-minute silence and lower flags on public buildings on Tuesday in tribute to those caught up in the attack on 29 July last year. Families of the victims have requested that there are no vigils or large public gatherings and that flowers are not left at schools or the scene of the killings. In line with the wishes of those affected, public bodies are not describing the day as an anniversary. The families of the three girls murdered – six-year-old Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine – asked for privacy to deal with an 'extremely painful and personal time'. Patrick Hurley, the Southport MP, said it would be a 'really emotional day' for the seaside town, which was bearing the 'long-lasting detrimental psychological and emotional impact' of the attack. 'We know that what happened in July last year is always going to be a part of the town's history but there's so much more to Southport than that,' he said. 'It's a day to remember the girls who were killed and it's a day to remember the response of the community when everybody came out and supported everybody else … [it was] just an overwhelming tidal wave of love given to the people of the town.' Police intelligence officers are monitoring social media for attempts to stir up disorder in and around Southport this week, fearing a repeat of the anti-immigrant riots that spread across England after the stabbings last summer. Concerns that agitators might latch on to the Southport commemoration have heightened after the unrest in the Essex town of Epping last week, with other protests at the weekend in Leeds, Norwich and Nottinghamshire. Hurley said: 'The only thing we want people to travel to Southport for is to enjoy the prom, have a fish and chip supper and some ice-cream down on Lord Street. Spend some money in Southport, but if you come in to cause trouble, we don't want you.' The Labour MP, who was elected 25 days before the atrocity, said there would be other 'flashpoints' in the coming months as a public inquiry investigates the 'wholesale failure' to prevent the attack. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Sir Adrian Fulford, the chair of the inquiry, said the murders appeared 'far from being an unforeseeable catastrophic event', given the 17-year-old killer Axel Rudakubana's well-known obsession with extreme violence. Marion Atkinson, the Labour leader of Sefton council, said those affected by the attack wanted to ensure that Southport – a town heavily reliant on summer tourism – does not suffer as a result. 'There's always going to be a memory of what happened but we can't let this define us,' she said. Southport's town hall gardens, where hundreds of people gathered for a vigil a day after the attack, are to undergo a £10m revamp in memory of Bebe, Elsie and Alice. Their families said they hoped the new square and community space, which is due to open in 2027, would 'become a legacy inspired by our three beautiful and amazing girls' and act as a 'thank you' to the town. Phil Porter, the chief executive of Sefton council, added: 'We want to be defined by our response to it rather than what happened to us, which was horrific, [and] the racist violence on the second day were things that happened to us. We want to be defined by our response to that rather than defined by what happened.'
Fox News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Manhunt underway for Arkansas double murder suspect in possible 'targeted killings'
Fox News contributor Ted Williams analyzes the 'bizarre' details of the alleged murders on 'Fox & Friends.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Did Bryan Kohberger Win Over Kaylee Goncalves' Dog Before Idaho Murders — Letting Him Slip into House Undetected?
Kaylee Goncalves' goldendoodle Murphy began to act strange before the murders, and at one point was taken from the home, say her friends Did Bryan Kohberger make an effort to befriend the dog of one of his victims before stabbing her to death? The friends and roommates of the four University of Idaho students murdered by Kohberger told police that Murphy, the dog owned by Kaylee Goncalves, developed a sudden and surprising new habit in the weeks leading up to the massacre. Surviving roommates Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke both told investigators about at least one incident when Goncalves felt she was being watched and followed as she took her goldendoodle out for a walk near the off-campus home they shared in Moscow. Funke told police that Goncalves described the incident to her by saying she saw an "unknown male up above their house to the south who was staring at her when she took Murphy out to go potty." Around the same time, Murphy began to sometimes suddenly run off into that same wooded area above the house. That information comes from two friends of the victims who spoke with police, in interviews which were just unsealed by the Moscow Police Department. The names of these friends are redacted in the reports. "[Redacted] stated Murphy ran up into the bushes behind the house on several occasions and would not return when called," one friend told police. "[Redacted] stated they called Murphy numerous times before he would come back." That friend then directed officers to another individual who they claimed could confirm her story and provide more examples. The person confirmed the first story, and provided additional examples to officers. She told police it happened at a Halloween party shortly before the murders while the group was "on the back patio once again, and Murphy began to run into the wood line behind the house and not come back." The group also 'heard noises too" that time, similar to what it would sound like if "someone was moving through the woods on foot," the friend said in his interview. She the cited another example when, two weeks before the murders, Murphy once again "displayed similar behavior of running into the woods and not coming back when called ."She told police that both she and Goncalves "were concerned about someone being behind the house when Murphy would behave in this manner." The most concerning incident, the friend told police, was when she and Goncalves arrived at the home to find "the rear side door standing open and Murphy was missing." Murphy was eventually located, but why he developed this habit remains a mystery. However, a neighbor of the girls also noticed something concerning around that time, telling police she spotted a man who 'looked nervous' walking through her backyard and then returning along that same route. The man allegedly ignored her as she informed him he was trespassing on private property. She told police that the man who had 'curly hair with a large nose" was Kohberger, adding that she was 92 percent certain of this fact. If it were Kohberger who had been sneaking around and drawing Murphy's attention, it could explain how he managed to slip undetected into the home without an excited or protective dog loudly barking at the intruder. Instead, the interviews and police reports suggest that Murphy did not start to bark until after Kohberger left the scene. Kohberger spared Murphy's life, and police found the dog with the bodies of Goncalves and Madison Mogen. Murphy was then sent off to the Humane Socity for a few hours before Goncalves' ex picked up the canine and took him home. Read the original article on People
