Western PA News

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Columbus police shot and killed a teenage girl who swung at two other people with a knife Tuesday, according to bodycam footage from the officer who fired the shots just minutes before the verdict in George Floyd’s killing was read.

Officials with the Columbus Division of Police showed a segment of the footage Tuesday night just hours after the shooting took place in a neighborhood on the city’s east side. The decision to swiftly release the video was a departure from protocol as the force faces immense scrutiny from the public following a series of recent high-profile police killings that have led to clashes.

The 10-second clip begins with the officer getting out of his car at a house where police had been dispatched after someone called 911 saying they were being physically threatened, Interim Police Chief Michael Woods said at the news conference. The officer takes a few steps toward a group of people in the driveway when the girl, who was Black, starts swinging a knife wildly at another girl or woman, who falls backward. The officer shouts several times to get down.

The girl with the knife then charges at another girl or woman who is pinned against a car.

From a few feet away, with people on either side of him, the officer fires four shots, and the teen slumps to the ground. A black-handled blade similar to a kitchen knife or steak knife lies on the sidewalk next to her.

A man immediately yells at the officer, “You didn’t have to shoot her! She’s just a kid, man!”

The officer responds, “She had a knife. She just went at her.”

The race of the officer wasn’t clear.

Full Coverage: Ohio

The girl was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said. It remains unclear if anyone else was injured.

Police did not identify the girl or her age Tuesday. One family member said she was 15, while another said she was 16.

The shooting happened minutes before the verdict in the killing of George Floyd was announced.

Source: Columbus police officer fatally shoots girl swinging knife

 

PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) – Mayor Ted Wheeler declared a state of emergency in Portland Tuesday before the verdict in Derek Chauvin’s trial was read.

The former Minneapolis police officer was found guilty Tuesday of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020.

During a press conference, which was held before the verdict was read, Wheeler said a state of emergency will be in place for the next 24 hours. The order could be extended.

Wheeler says the National Guard and Oregon State Police are on standby.

The Portland Police Bureau says they are working with local partners to ensure safety after the verdict is read and warns against criminal activity.

PPB said the group causing destruction and property damage have changed their tactics, so the bureau has as well and is making more targeted arrests.

Wheeler says that police are working closely with local, state and federal partners and are looking at legal strategies to alleviate destructive behavior done by those in the group destroying property.

Source: Portland mayor declares state of emergency to address potential protests following Chauvin verdict | News | kptv.com

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Following nearly a year of protest, introspection and raw emotion, former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin, who last May held a knee down on George Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes, has been found guilty of second-degree murder and two other charges in Floyd’s death.

Chauvin has been remanded to the custody of Hennepin County. He was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.

READ MORE:Officials In Minnesota React To Verdict In Derek Chauvin Trial

Source: BREAKING: Derek Chauvin Guilty On All 3 Counts In George Floyd’s Death – WCCO | CBS Minnesota

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Pittsburgh Police say a pizza delivery driver was carjacked in Homewood.

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The driver says he was making a delivery along Monticello Street when two men approached him with a gun and took his car.

(Photo Credit: KDKA)

The car was spotted through Pittsburgh and Wilkinsburg.

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Officers caught up to the car along Frankstown Avenue and chased after one of the men who ran from the car.

The man was taken into custody, but was let go after questioning.

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There is no word on any other suspects.

Source: Police Investigating Delivery Driver Carjacking In Homewood – CBS Pittsburgh

This weekend two men aged 59 and 69 died when the Tesla Model S they were in left the road, hit a tree and caught fire. As KHOU 11 reported, investigators say their bodies were found in the front passenger seat and back seat, and Constable Mark Herman told reporters that investigators are “100 percent certain that no one was in the driver seat driving that vehicle at the time of impact.”

Tesla ‘technoking’ Elon Musk said that so far, data logs show a Model S that hit a tree in Texas this weekend did not have Autopilot enabled.

Source: Elon Musk: Data recovered ‘so far’ shows Autopilot not enabled in Houston crash | Engadget

‘We quickly enter the world of Silicon Valley and Big Tech when we talk about the passport being used for exclusive purposes.’

The exclusive use of vaccine passports is limited only by the imagination of the governments and companies working in concert to put them together.

A piece this month in Wired suggested that vaccine passports could be used to deny access to schools, jobs and even potentially credit. China already uses a social credit system that a vaccine passport program in the United States could easily become in a practical sense.

Source: Op-Ed: Vaccine Passports Could Easily Bring China’s Social Credit System to America

Gov. Tom Wolf has activated more than 1,000 Pennsylvania National Guard members at the request of Philadelphia officials to respond to any protests and potential unrest following the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, who’s charged in the death of George Floyd.

Closing arguments in Chauvin’s trial are scheduled for Monday.

National Guard duties may include area security, manning traffic control points and providing security at critical infrastructure sites.

Philadelphia police and city officials outlined their plans Friday to respond to possible protests and the governor activated the Guard the same day.

Source: Gov. Wolf activates Pennsylvania National Guard for Phila. ahead of Chauvin verdict | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A 17-year-old boy who state police said was hurt this month in a shooting at a Hempfield apartment building on or near West Hills Drive was arrested Friday on robbery charges stemming from the same incident. Thomas Henderson of Carmichaels is charged as an adult with robbery, theft and weapons violations.

Source: Teen shot at Hempfield apartment building arrested on robbery charges | TribLIVE.com

PITTSBURGH —

Pittsburgh police were investigating after a man was found shot inside a business in Pittsburgh’s East Hills neighborhood.

The shooting happened a little after 12 a.m. Monday at a business on the 7900 block of Frankstown Avenue.

The victim was found inside with a gunshot wound to the abdomen and taken to the hospital in stable condition.

According to Pittsburgh Public Safety, the victim told police he was shot by a man near the main entrance.

The shooter, described as having a goatee and wearing jeans, ran off.

No arrests have been announced.

Source: Man found shot inside business in Pittsburgh’s East Hills neighborhood

Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) is resigning from Congress next month to lead the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, deciding against running for Senate and creating a special election in his safe red seat.

Stivers, who was first elected in 2010, served as chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee during the 2018 midterm cycle, and had been a close ally of House leadership.

“Throughout my career, I’ve worked to promote policies that drive our economy forward, get folks to work, and put our fiscal house in order,” Stivers said in a tweet, announcing the decision. “I’m excited to announce that I will be taking on a new opportunity that allows me to continue to do that. Effective May 16, I will be leaving Congress in order to accept the position of President and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.”

Source: Ohio Republican will resign from Congress, won’t run for Senate – POLITICO

A Pakistani Islamist group has taken six security personnel hostage after the arrest of their group leader lead to clashes with police,

Source: 6 security personnel taken hostage in Pakistan amid arrest of Islamist group leader | TheHill

The drone, called Ingenuity, was airborne for less than a minute, but Nasa is celebrating what represents the first powered, controlled flight by an aircraft on another world.

Confirmation came via a satellite at Mars which relayed the chopper’s data back to Earth.

The space agency is promising more adventurous flights in the days ahead.

Source: Nasa successfully flies small helicopter on Mars – BBC News

A passenger train derailed north of Cairo, killing at least 11 people, Egyptian authorities have said, in the latest in a string of rail accidents to hit the country in recent years.

Four train wagons ran off the railway track by the city of Banha in Qalyubia province, just outside Cairo, the railway authority said in a statement on Sunday. Videos on social media showed wagons overturned and passengers escaping to safety along the railway.

Source: Train accident north of Cairo has killed at least 11 people, say authorities | Egypt | The Guardian

About 450 unaccompanied migrant girls, ages 13 to 17, were abruptly moved out of a U.S. housing facility in Houston on Saturday — less than three weeks after it opened.

Authorities have been mostly tight-lipped about the closure, reports say — but an advocate for immigrants claims it was because of some type of incident there Friday night.

Ambulances and law enforcement vehicles were seen Friday night outside the facility, which is located near Bush Intercontinental Airport, the advocate told The Associated Press, citing information he said he received from an employee of the group he leads.

Then Saturday morning, buses arrived to transport the girls, other reports said.

“There seemed to be a lot of confusion as to what was happening,” Cesar Espinosa, director of advicacy group FIEL Houston, told the AP, relaying the information from the employee about Friday night. “The people that were there looked like they were in a sad stance, kind of with their head down and seemed like they were wiping tears away.”

Source: Houston migrant facility for teen girls shuttered after mystery death of worker: report

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Three men were shot at a party in Knoxville and one was found dead inside the home.

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According to dispatch, the call came in just after 8:30 p.m.

https://twitter.com/JessicaGuayTV/status/1383960166572253187

Police say that one man was shot in the back and transported to the hospital in critical condition.

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The third man was able to take himself to the hospital.

According to Pittsburgh Police’s Public Information Officer, police have taken notice of an uptick in shootings.

“We’ve noticed an increase in shootings and right now, we don’t know specifically what’s going on,” he said. “Police do take this matter seriously and we’re trying to stop this.”

At this time, no suspects have been named and police are interviewing witnesses.

Source: ‘We’ve Noticed An Increase In Shootings:’ Police Investigate House Party Shooting That Left One Dead – CBS Pittsburgh

Nearly 20 bars and restaurants in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties received violations from the state police last month for violating pandemic-related mitigation measures, records show.

For more than a year, bars and restaurants have faced some degree of restriction – measures meant to slow the spread of covid-19.

Many of those restrictions were loosened early this month, with prohibitions on bar seating and alcohol sales sans food being lifted along with the 11 p.m. alcohol curfew. Establishments that complete an online self-certification process can operate at 75% capacity; otherwise, the limit is 50%.

Source: Allegheny, Westmoreland bars and restaurants hit with covid mitigation violations | TribLIVE.com

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — SWAT was called to a residence on Bigelow Street after receiving reports of a man shooting out of one of his house windows.

Police say they told the man to leave his dwelling but that he continued shooting at cans in his backyard.

He surrendered to SWAT peacefully, and police are continuing to investigate.

Source: SWAT Responds To Bigelow Street After Man Starts Shooting From House Window – CBS Pittsburgh

“Marxist” Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors tearfully defended her $3.2 million real estate empire, insisting she didn’t use a penny of BLM donations on herself.

“I have never taken a salary from the Black Lives Matters Global Networks Foundation,” she also said Thursday.

“That’s important,” she told host told “Black News Tonight” host Marc Lamont Hill, “because what the right-wing media is trying to say is that the donations that people gave to Black Lives Matter went towards my spending.

“And that is categorically untrue and incredibly dangerous.”

But in insisting she did not take a salary from the organization’s non-profit foundation, Khan-Cullors left unsaid whether she was paid through BLM’s network of similarly named for-profit entities.

What that pay might be is cloaked in secrecy, as BLM’s for-profit branches do not reveal spending and executive pay.

Khan-Cullor is in hot water since The Post first revealed on Sunday that she snapped up four high-end homes as donations poured into the movement, especially in the wake of horrific video of George Floyd’s death under the knee of a Minneapolis cop.

Khan-Cullors has said that the nonprofit foundation took in $90 million in 2020.

“I’ve not just been a target of the right and white supremacists at this moment,” she said Thursday of the backlash from both the left and the right after the New York Post exposé on her property spending spree.

Khan-Cullors was not specifically asked during Thursday’s interview if she took a salary from BLM’s closed-books for-profit arms.

Source: BLM co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors defends real estate holdings

The suspect is described as a thin, Black man standing at 5 foot 11 inches wearing a grey hoodie, black pants and shoes, a black baseball cap, brown face mask and black backpack.

Source: Wilkinsburg police search for armed robbery suspect