Showing posts with label terrorists attack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label terrorists attack. Show all posts

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Marines: Thanks But No Thanks to Armed Civilians

Marine recruiters told to call the cops if armed citizens show up
Marine Corps Times
By Hope Hodge Seck, Staff writer
July 23, 2015
Marines were also instructed to call the relevant Army Corps of Engineers representative to notify the lessor of the recruiting office property of the presence of the armed individuals.
After four Marines and a sailor were killed by a lone gunman last week, armed civilians have volunteered to stand guard at military recruiting stations around the country — but troops are being warned to keep their distance and alert law enforcement of their presence.

In a memo published Tuesday that was obtained by Marine Corps Times, Lt. Gen. Mark Brilakis, the head of Marine Corps Recruiting Command, advised troops not to support the "armed citizen" volunteers in any way.

"These citizens' presence, while well intentioned, will be counterproductive to our recruiting operations," Brilakis wrote.

Maj. Garron Garn, a spokesman for MCRC, confirmed the authenticity of the memo.
read more here


Marine recruiter shot in Chattanooga is back at work
Marine Corps Times
By James K. Sanborn, Staff writer
July 23, 2015

At first, Marine recruiter Sgt. DeMonte Cheeley thought a firecracker had gone off. But after a short pause, multiple bullets fragmented the front windows of his recruiting office in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and it became apparent that his office was under deadly attack.

The motor transport operator who had been on recruiting duty for just a month and a half when Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez opened fire at about 10:45 a.m. on July 16. Cheeley, one of six troops shot that day, was sitting on a couch near the front of his office.

“From the position I was in, I could see him, but I didn’t look directly out the door,” he said. “The immediate response was to get up and head towards the back office. After the first initial shot there the rounds were continuous.”
read more here

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Marines: Chaos and Bravery During Chattanooga Attack

Marines tell of chaos, bravery during Chattanooga attack 
CBS News
By JERICKA DUNCAN
July 22, 2015
Gunnery Sgt. Camden Meyer, 35, knew three of the victims, including Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, who has been credited with helping several service members escape.
CHATTANOOGA - The FBI revealed Wednesday that at least one Marine fired at the Chattanooga shooter last Thursday to try to stop the rampage that left five service members dead at a training facility. The gunman -- Muhammod Abdulazeez -- had earlier wounded a Marine at a nearby recruiting center.

Lance Cpl. Christopher Gilliam, 25, was working inside the recruitment center when he spotted Abdulazeez out of a window. Gilliam said he alerted others, moments before Abdulazeez opened fire. Gilliam and four Marines -- Staff Sgt. Robert Driver, Sgt. Winfield Thompson, Gunnery Sgt. Camden Meyer, and Sgt. DeMonte Cheeley -- fled out the back of the building. read more here

Saturday, July 18, 2015

MOH Dakota Meyer Issued Call to Arms After Death for Five Servicemen

Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer reveals his link to Chattanooga victim as he calls for more Americans to be armed in fight against ISIS on U.S. soil 
Daily Mail
By PAUL THOMPSON IN CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE, FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
18 July 2015

The Medal of Honor winner posted a photo of himself on Facebook standing next to the one of the victims – Marine Sgt Carson Holmquist
War hero Dakota Meyer has issued a call to arms after the death for five servicemen in the Chattanooga terror shooting. The Medal of Honor winner also posted this photo of himself on his Facebook page standing next to the one of the victims – Marine Sgt Carson Holmquist (right)
He said he met Holmquist as part of a morale-boosting visit to Afghanistan War hero Dakota Meyer has issued a call to arms after the death for five servicemen in the Chattanooga terror shooting.

The Medal of Honor recipient also posted a photo of himself on his Facebook page standing next to the one of the victims – Marine Sgt Carson Holmquist.

He said he met Holmquist as part of a morale-boosting visit to Afghanistan. Meyer wrote: 'The tragedy in Chattanooga, TN has hit home for many, family and friends of those fallen included. I am a part of that group. This is a photo of myself with Carson Holmquist, one of the Marines we lost yesterday.
read more here

Veteran Holds Flag High For Marines Killed in Chattanooga

Veteran stands on bridge with American flag for 4 hours to honor Chattanooga victims 
CBS News

"[With] all these horrible things are happening around us, he will be the reminder that our country will forever stand tall," Whitney Degnan

Every year, Ben Kinsey waves an American flag on a South Carolina bridge for 11 hours to honor victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

On Thursday, the veteran was seen standing alone on the bridge once again, but he was two months early. This time he was honoring the four U.S. Marines killed by a gunman who attacked two military facilities in Chattanooga, Tenn.

South Carolina resident Noah Smith was driving home from work when he spotted Kinsey on the I-20 overpass and snapped a photo. Afterward, he shared the man's story on Facebook, and it quickly went viral. read more here

Sailor Died After Attack in Tennessee

Sailor injured in Tennessee shooting has died – US Navy 
RT News
18 Jul, 2015

The US Navy has confirmed that a sailor, who was shot at a military support center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, has died.

"A male Navy Petty Officer succumbed to wounds received in the July 16 shooting at the Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC) in Chattanooga, Tennessee July 18 at 2:17am," a statement from the US Navy read. This raises the death toll from Thursday’s shooting to five.
"In total, four US Marines and one Sailor were killed in the incident. His name will not be released until 24 hours after the next of kin process is completed," the statement mentioned. read more here

The Price Paid For Your Freedom Is Still Being Paid, Over and Over Again

When Someone Else Pays The Price, It Isn't Free
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 18, 2015

It happened when troops were sent to Vietnam and war coverage was brought to every home in America. It happened to veterans of the Korean War the same way it did to veterans of WWII and WI. It happened to all those generation when troops were sent to Kuwait. Outsiders didn't know what it was doing to the veterans because they wouldn't talk about it. Not than anyone bothered to ask them. Folks didn't know so they just didn't care.

Then came that dreadful day in September of 2001 when advocates were screaming about what was to come after the attack on our own soil. Few listened, even less understood the warnings were very real.

Troops were sent into Afghanistan in October and the screams were louder because the evidence was presenting itself throughout the veteran community. Most families didn't understand what happened to shred their lives as they knew them.

In 2003, another war began in Iraq and President Bush gave a speech to announce it.
Million of Americans are praying with you for the safety of your loved ones and for the protection of the innocent.

For your sacrifice, you have the gratitude and respect of the American people and you can know that our forces will be coming home as soon as their work is done.

Our nation enters this conflict reluctantly, yet our purpose is sure. The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder.

We will meet that threat now with our Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines, so that we do not have to meet it later with armies of firefighters and police and doctors on the streets of our cities.

While everyone in this country has the opportunity to enjoy freedom, few felt the price was worth paying to retain it. The others never really understood how valuable it was. They simply took it for granted someone would always show up and risk their lives for it. When someone else pays the price, it isn't free.

There was no mention of the price being paid in over 20 million homes with veterans of past wars fighting a renewed battle to live.

In 2009, the attack came in the disguise of one of their own. The terrorist attack came from not just a soldier, but an officer and psychologist in charge of caring for their mental health. It will forever be known as the Fort Hood Massacre but no one bothered to calculate the cost for the families at Fort Hood or on all the other bases around the world.

Army Ret. Command Sgt. Maj., James Rominger reaches down to touch one of the 13 crosses surrounded by American Flags in front of the Central Christian church, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009, in Killeen, Texas. CREDIT: AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez


No one bothered to sum up the crisis for all the other veteran families yet again.

In a Tennessee town, another attack left 4 Marines dead. Americans were shocked for a few minutes and then got on with their lives. Community members near the recruiting office let the grief touch their hearts. For current military members, this will not be something they simply get over or move on from. They will take it with them wherever they go right along with every other veteran who paid the price so that others had the right to forget.
David Wyatt, killed in Chattanooga, was even-keeled mentor to Marines
Washington Post
By Dan Lamothe
July 17 2015
“He was a mentor and a leader to a lot of guys who are now like, ‘Wow,’ ” Bein said. “It’s going to bring back a lot of memories for guys, especially knowing that stuff like this is now on our own soil. Good Lord.”
Staff Sgt. David A. Wyatt was a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a pillar of support to his comrades in those conflicts who came home with physical or emotional scars.

After Matt Bein was wounded by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2009, he turned to Wyatt for help in wrestling through what he should do with the rest of his life — leave the Marine Corps, or find some way to continue to serve despite his injuries.

“He was a mentor and a leader to a lot of guys,” said Bein, a former joint terminal attack controller who ultimately decided to accept a medical retirement as a sergeant. read more here

part two Vietnam Requiem Revisisted

Friday, July 17, 2015

Massachusetts Marine Recruiters Shock Met With Strength

Local Marine recruiters face shock with strength 
Boston Herald
Peter Gelzinis
July 17, 2015
It wasn’t simply the horrific events in Chattanooga that he was trying to fathom, but also the appearance of media folk looking for answers to questions he was still grappling with.
Staff Sgt. Zach Zapotoski needed very few words to sum up the treachery that befell four of his fellow Marine recruiters in Tennessee yesterday.

“The world is a rough place, sir,” he said, “I know, I’ve been to six continents and 43 countries in the 11 years I’ve spent in the Corps. As Marines, we pray for peace and train for war.

“Is it frightening to think that something like that could happen here at home? Of course it is. But as Marines, that’s the life we live and the career we’ve chosen.”

Clipped and to the point.

In a first-floor corridor of the Marine recruiting office on Tremont Street late yesterday afternoon, Zach Zapotoski looked at 15 kids in running shorts and black T-shirts decorated with the same Marine Corps designation. They are known as “poolees,” kids who have signed up to be Marines but have yet to leave for Parris Island, where they will become full recruits.

Before he put them through a two-hour workout in and around the Boston Common, Zapotoski left them with this piece of advice.

“Be aware of your surroundings,” he said. “Pay attention. Remember you’re wearing Marine Corps T-shirts and understand what that means.”

Zapotoski’s boss at the Tremont Street recruiting office, Staff Sgt. Ben Warshaw, who grew up in New Hampshire and has served 13 years on his way to 20, looked a bit shell-shocked yesterday.
read more here

Chattanooga Marines Included Deorated Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan

Chattanooga Shooting Victims Include Iraq, Afghanistan Veterans
ABC News
By MEGHAN KENEALLY and MICHELE McPHEE
Digital Reporter via GOOD MORNING AMERICA
Jul 17, 2015, 2:31 PM ET

All four Marines killed in the Chattanooga shooting have been identified and include highly decorated veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, Sgt. Carson Holmquist and Lance Cpl. Squire "Skip"

Wells were named as the four victims by Marine officials.

Three of the four Marines were active duty Marines assigned to the Marine Reserve Center, while the fourth, Wells, was a reservist, a defense official said.

Two senior state officials in Sullivan's home state of Massachusetts told ABC News that he had served two tours of duty in Iraq and earned at least one Purple Heart during his service.

Sullivan was a 40-year-old native of Springfield, Massachusetts, and graduated from a local Catholic high school, according to MassLive.
Wyatt had been with the military for more than a decade, with the Marines listing his entry date as May 2004. He served three tours, one in Afghanistan and two later tours in Iraq. His home of record is listed as Burke, North Carolina.

Holmquist, a Wisconsin native, joined the Marines in January 2009 and served two tours of duty in Afghanistan.

Sullivan, Wyatt and Holmquist had all received one Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal apiece, among a host of other awards.

The only reservist in the group was "Skip" Wells, 21, whose death was confirmed to ABC News by family friends, Andy Kingery and Teresa Bass.
read more here


ABC US News | World News

Monday, June 29, 2015

Life Changed For Alabama Doctor After Boston Marathon

Boston Marathon bombing survivor, Alabama physician shares how invisible scars still impact his life
AL.com
By John Talty
June 27, 2015
Dr. Scott Weisberg is a survivor of the Boston Marathon bombing. He suffers from significant hearing loss, and deals with both post-traumatic stress disorder and memory problems. Weisberg, a family physician in Birmingham has become an advocate for those survivors with invisible injuries. (Joe Songer AL.com)

When Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the two Boston Marathon bombers, broke his silence this week for the first time since the 2013 bombing, it didn't provide much relief for Birmingham physician Scott Weisberg.

Dr. Weisberg, who had just crossed the finish line when the first bomb went off, didn't believe Tsarnaev was sincere in his apology in court on Wednesday. Tsarnaev, who has been sentenced to death, killed three and injured 264 others when he and his brother Tamerlan planted pressure-cooker bombs near the marathon finish line on April 15, 2013. He said he was sorry for the "irreparable damage" he had caused, but refused to face his victims in attendance.

Even if Tsarnaev were sincere, it wouldn't ameliorate all the suffering Weisberg has endured the last two years.

"The overall sentence is irrelevant because what he took away from me I'm never getting back, nor is any other survivor," Weisberg said. "This is the closing of this initial chapter in the recovery."

Weisberg looks like your average family physician. He's smart, sincere and his patients at Homewood Family Medicine like him. But beneath the surface Weisberg is suffering.

Every day he must grapple with that fateful April day.

He now wears hearing aids because of significant hearing loss from the blast.

He has to deal with both post-traumatic stress disorder and memory problems.

His marriage crumbled and is currently in the process of a divorce.

He's had to fight to keep his business afloat and adjust as a physician who can no longer use a stethoscope.
read more here

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Hasan's Victims Will Finally Get Benefits

Fort Hood attack Purple Heart recipients to get added benefits 
Reuters
April 16, 2015 (Reuters) -

The U.S. Army said on Thursday it will provide additional benefits to the dozens of soldiers awarded Purple Heart medals stemming from a 2009 shooting rampage by an Army psychiatrist at the Fort Hood Army base in central Texas.

The Army also said it would award the Purple Heart medal to a soldier who was killed and another who was wounded in a 2009 attack on a recruiting station in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Three-dozen Purple Heart medals were awarded last week at Fort Hood to wounded survivors and relatives of those killed in the shooting rampage by then-Army Major Nidal Hasan following years of lobbying by politicians and lawyers. read more here

Friday, April 10, 2015

Congress Offers Symbol to Fort Hood Soldiers, Not in a Good Way

Unless you have no clue how the government works you know that this is all tied to Congress and what they decided to leave out of this! Basically they ended up giving them something much different than a medal and more in line with a middle finger.
Fort Hood shooting victim denied benefits, despite Purple Heart decision
FOX News
By Catherine Herridge
Published April 10, 2015

EXCLUSIVE: The Obama administration has finally acknowledged that those hurt and killed in the 2009 Fort Hood shootings were victims of terrorism -- and not “workplace violence,” as it was previously described. But while formal recognition of that is set for Friday, when victims will receive the Purple Heart, it may only be symbolic.

Fox News has learned as part of its ongoing investigation of the 2009 terrorist attack that the military, at least in one case, is still denying benefits for injuries sustained in the attack.

"I think it's almost unheard of for someone to receive the Purple Heart but not have their injuries deemed combat-related," Shawn Manning, who was seriously injured in the 2009 attack, told Fox News. "I know that was not what Congress intended to have happen, but it is what currently the Army has determined is going to happen."

On Nov. 5, 2009, then-Staff Sgt. Manning was shot six times by Maj. Nidal Hasan. Two bullets are still in his body -- one in his leg, the other in his back -- and he suffers from PTSD.

The 2015 defense budget -- known as the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA -- included language that meant Fort Hood victims were eligible for the Purple Heart honor because the attack was inspired by a foreign terrorist group, and not workplace violence, as the Defense Department initially labeled it.
read more here

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Fort Campbell Green Berets in Afghanistan From the Start

Green Berets took center stage in war to rebuild Afghanistan
Fayetteville Observer
By Drew Brooks Military editor
Posted: Sunday, December 14, 2014

Staff photo by Andrew Craft
Special Forces in Afghanistan
At Fort Bragg Col. Michael Sullivan is commander 
of the 3rd Battalion 3rd Special Forces Group.
In Afghanistan, he leads those soldiers and a
small group from the 7th Special Forces Group.

CAMP VANCE, Afghanistan - Michael Sullivan was training to join the Special Forces when he and his fellow soldiers had a real-world lesson to talk about in a food court on Fort Bragg.

On Sept. 9, 2001, suicide attackers posing as journalists assassinated Ahmed Shah Massoud, a leader of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan.

The Green Beret trainees were familiar with the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan, Sullivan said. They knew Massoud was seen as a threat to the Taliban regime.

Two days later, on Sept. 11, Sullivan - then a captain - was signing for textbooks for his language courses when the planes crashed into the towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.

Almost immediately, the Special Forces trainees were speculating - correctly - that the attacks originated in Afghanistan.

For Sullivan and thousands of other Special Forces soldiers, the attacks were life-defining.

Just days after the terrorists struck, Green Berets from the Fort Campbell-based 5th Group were in Afghanistan. In more than 13 years since, the Special Forces presence in the country has been a constant. Thousands of soldiers have given years out of their lives to the Afghanistan mission.

Many have been wounded.

Many have died.

In the process, they say, they have built the foundation for a future in a country that has known decades of war.

Mark Schwartz was a Green Beret major when he became one of the first American soldiers to enter Afghanistan after 9/11.

"You can imagine, you've never been to combat before and you're going to get off an aircraft with yourself and about 10 of your closest friends and you're walking into an uncertain environment," he said.

Now a brigadier general helping to lead special operations forces in Afghanistan, Schwartz said he and his team flew into northern Afghanistan from Central Asia to organize and assist the anti-Taliban forces.
read more here

Friday, December 5, 2014

After Fort Hood Massacre Soldiers May Finally Get Justice

House Passes Fort Hood Purple Heart Legislation
Senate expected to pass bill, pass to President Obama
NBC 5 News
December 4, 2014

Congressman Roger Williams (R-TX25) and Congressman John Carter (R-TX31) released a statement Thursday saying the House was sending legislation to the Senate that will make victims of the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood eligible for the Purple Heart.

According to the statement, the Senate is supportive of the House legislation and is expected to pass the bill next week and send it on to President Barack Obama.

The language providing those injured in the massacre Purple Heart status was included in the FY15 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) conference agreement.

The NDAA adjusts the Purple Heart criteria so that service members and civilians who experience an attack inspired by terrorism, receive the appropriate awards and recognition, the statement said. The language awards the Purple Heart to service members who are victims of an attack that was inspired or motivated by a U.S. State Department-designated foreign terrorist organization.
read more here



We face it all with a blend of bitterness and hope for justice. Hope that the American public will care enough when they know what has been going on to actually do something instead of settling for anything as if it is better than nothing. 
Denton native Zackary Filip, who was named 2010 Soldier of the Year by Army Times, said he was harassed and belittled when he sought help with his post-traumatic stress disorder at the Fort Hood Warrior Transition Unit.
(Vernon Bryant/Staff Photographer)

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Fort Hood Soldiers Finally Getting Justice From Lame Ducks

Purple Hearts might be awarded in domestic terrorism cases
Military Times
By Andrew Tilghman and Leo Shane III
Staff writers
December 3, 2014

Victims of the 2009 Fort Hood shootings will be eligible to receive Purple Hearts and combat injury benefits under a provision included in the latest defense authorization deal.

The measure is expected to be approved by Congress next week, and would end a five-year quest by Texas lawmakers to get battlefield recognition for the soldiers killed in the deadliest attack on a domestic military installation in U.S. history.

It could also be a financial windfall for the families of the 13 people killed and 32 wounded in the attack.

The latest authorization draft stipulates that Purple Heart medals will be awarded to "members of the armed forces killed or wounded in domestic attacks inspired by foreign terrorist organizations."

The Fort Hood, Texas, shooter — Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan — was allegedly inspired by al-Qaida but faced murder charges rather than international terrorism charges. He was convicted and sentenced to death.

Pentagon officials for years have said the shooting victims are not eligible for the Purple Heart and certain combat-injury compensation. Families of the victims have said they've faced thousands of dollars in uncovered medical expenses that would have been covered if the same injuries occurred in Iraq or Afghanistan.
read more here

Saturday, October 25, 2014

1983 Beirut Barracks Bombing Remembered at Camp Lejeune

Remembering Camp Lejeune Marines killed in 1983 Beirut Barracks bombing
Examiner
Susy Raybon
Military Community Examiner
October 23, 2014

Yesterday’s attack in Ottawa, Canada, is another ugly reminder that there will always be radicals and extremists in the world who, by acts of terrorism, commit horrific deeds. One of the first and most deadly to American servicemen happened at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983.

Thirty-one years ago, today, 220 Marines of the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines of Camp Lejeune were killed in the worst attack on the U.S. Marine Corps since Iwo Jima in World War II.

The American death toll that day was 241 servicemen; besides the 220 Marines, 18 were Navy and three were U.S. Army. The French also suffered the loss of 58 of their peace-keeping servicemen that day.

That deadly attack by suicide bombers in explosives-laden trucks marked the beginning of an era of terrorism not quite realized in the world before. Many of today’s Marines were not even born when that attack occurred.

In July of this year, some of those troops’ surviving family members were awarded a small restitution for their loss.

A settlement of $1.7 million from the Iranian government was awarded to 1,300 families who lost loved ones in the attack. The award brought an end some 13 years of legal wrangling.
read more here

Patrice Vincent, soldier killed in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, was close to retirement

Patrice Vincent, soldier killed in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, was close to retirement
Warrant officer served in the military for 28 years
CBC News
Posted: Oct 23, 2014

The family of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, who was killed Monday when he was struck in a targeted hit and run in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., is struggling to come to terms with his death.

“It's actually hard for us.… When it happens to somebody else in Canada — you hear that on the news — personally it touches me, but when it's closer to your family, it's harder to accept that,” said Vincent’s cousin and former soldier Sylvain Guerette.
'“My cousin was a nice guy … always ready to help, always smiling.' —Sylvain Guerette, cousin of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent

“When you lose a member of your family, especially in the Armed Forces, it's harder because you would like to be there. You would like to do something, but you can't.”

Guerette said Vincent had been thinking about retirement.
read more here

Cpl. Nathan Cirillo's Dogs Wait For Him To Come Home

Gut-Wrenching Photos: Dogs Belonging to Canadian Soldier Killed in Terrorist Attack Seemingly Wait for Their Master to Return
The Blaze
Jason Howerton
Oct. 23, 2014
(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Peter Power)

TORONTO (TheBlaze/AP) — Canadians mourned the army reservist killed in a terrorist attack on Parliament Hill, with friends remembering Cpl. Nathan Cirillo as a devoted father so ready to make people smile that he was once known as the class clown.

Gut-wrenching photos showing Cirillo’s dogs seemingly waiting for their master to return also emerged Thursday. Cirillo, a 24-year-old a reservist from Hamilton, Ontario, was shot dead as he stood guard before the country’s Tomb of the Unknown soldier, that start of an attack Wednesday that ended with a lone gunman storming into Parliament and opening fire before being shot dead himself.
read more here

Ottawa shooting: Haunting last picture of soldier Nathan Cirillo moments before he was killed

Friday, October 24, 2014

Queens Police Officers Attacked by Terrorist with Hatchet

'Rookie cops' recovering after hatchet attack
CNN
By Shimon Prokupecz and Kevin Conlon
October 24, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
There's no indication the attack is tied to radical Islam, official says
Officials: New York police told to be on alert "against random attacks"
A man rushed four police officers in Queens, New York, police commissioner says
Two were hit; the two who weren't shot at the attacker, who was killed, commissioner says

New York (CNN) -- A New York City police officer remains in critical condition at a Queens hospital Friday, one day after suffering a hatchet wound to the head.

Officer Kenneth Healey and three on-duty colleagues were posing for a picture on the sidewalk Thursday afternoon when a hatchet-wielding man charged at them "unprovoked," according Police Commissioner Bill Bratton.

The suspect, identified as Zale H. Thompson, was hiding behind a bus shelter as if he was waiting to attack the officers, according to a law enforcement official, who said it almost appeared as if he were stalking them.

Healey, 28, was struck in the back of the head. Officer Joseph Meeker, 24, was struck in the arm. The remaining two officers fired at Thompson, killing him.

In the chaos, one of the officer's bullets struck a nearby pedestrian in her lower back. Bratton said she was recovering in surgery Thursday evening.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio praised the officers' swift response. "Here are four rookie cops, just starting out in their career, when the absolute unexpected happened," de Blasio said at a Thursday press conference. "They responded exactly as their training dictated and ended the situation -- thank God -- very, very quickly. "
read more here

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Boston bombing victim engaged to nurse he met during recovery

Boston bombing victim engaged to nurse he met during recovery
NBC News
Scott Stump
TODAY contributor
December 17, 2013

One of the worst moments in the life of a man injured in the Boston Marathon bombing has led to one of his best.

James Costello, 31, of Malden, Mass., has proposed to Krista D’Agostino, a nurse he met during his recovery after suffering serious burns on his arms and legs in the explosion near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15.

Costello was the subject of one of the most widely viewed images in the wake of the blast. A photographer captured him staggering through the streets with his clothes shredded and his legs burned.

"As you all know, April 15th was one of the worst days of my life, suffering not only physical injuries of my own but the emotional difficulties when I learned about my friends," Costello wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. "I soon wondered why and for what reason this had happened."

Costello met D’Agostino while she was working a temporary stint as a traveling nurse at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Cape Cod. He was transferred there after undergoing multiple surgeries at Massachusetts General Hospital, including skin grafts and a procedure to remove a pair of nails from his abdomen.
read more here

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Navy SEAL Team raids Somalia town

U.S. Navy SEAL Team Raids Somalia Town In Nairobi Attack Response
Reuters
Posted: 10/05/2013

WASHINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy SEAL team is believed to have killed a senior leader of the al Shabaab militant group in a raid on his seaside villa in Somalia on Saturday in response to a deadly attack on a Nairobi shopping mall last month, the New York Times reported.
read more here