"Toxic Command Climate" Linked to Sailor's Suicide

Report: Bullying, Abuse Contributed to Sailor's Suicide
The Virginian-Pilot
by Dianna Cahn
Dec 16, 2014

A sailor's suicide on board the Norfolk-based destroyer James E. Williams in June can be blamed in part on a toxic command climate that involved bullying and reprisal, a command investigation has found.

The investigation was spurred by the death of the sailor but grew in scope when investigators began examining the ship's leadership. What they found was misconduct and abusive behavior among the senior enlisted while the commanding officer and the executive officer failed to take charge.

Among the allegations to surface in the report were accounts of sexual assault, a reprisal and unruly alcohol abuse by the ship's command master chief -- the top enlisted officer.

The ship's skipper, Cmdr. Curtis Calloway, handed over the reins in September in a scheduled change of command. He was reassigned, along with his deputy, Cmdr. Ed Handley, and Command Master Chief Travis Biswell, to a desk job in Norfolk pending the investigation. All three faced non-judicial punishment for dereliction of duty in October, while Biswell was also found guilty of drunk and disorderly conduct.
read more here

Military Commissary Shoppers used $130.6 million in food stamps 2013

Just wanted to share this in case you didn't care when food stamps were cut and didn't know many of the people on them are in the military and veterans.

Food Stamp, WIC, Debit Terminals Down at Many Commissaries
Military.com
by Amy Bushatz
Dec 16, 2014

Commissary shoppers used $130.6 million in food stamps, officially known as the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), in fiscal 2013, the most recent year for which data is available, according to the Defense Department. About $29 million in WIC benefits were redeemed that same year.

Some stateside commissaries are unable to process food stamps, and some WIC and debit card payments after the security certificate in store PIN pad terminals expired Dec. 7, shutting down the system.

The problem, which was not a data security breach and did not put any patron payment information at risk, impacted Defense Commissary Agency stores as well as some civilian grocers across the U.S., officials said.

"On December 7 thousands of older model PIN pads produced by Hypercom were unable to process debit card, EBT and electronic WIC transactions because the terminals' cryptographic certificate expired," Kevin Robinson, a DeCA spokesman, said in a statement. "As of Dec. 14, approximately 60 percent of DeCA's total PIN pads are able to process all of our customer's electronic transactions requiring a PIN."

The problem has the biggest impact on commissary shoppers who want to use electronic benefits transfer (EBT) food stamp benefits.

Stores where terminals are down can still run debit cards as credit cards, but are unable to give cash back. They can also process Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) transactions on paper. However, patrons who want to use food stamp benefits will need to do so at a different store or wait until the system is repaired.
read more here

500 Fort Irwin Soldiers March 38 Miles to Honor Veterans

SOLDIERS MARCH 38 MILES TO SPREAD HOLIDAY CHEER TO BARSTOW VETERANS
ABC 7 News
By Rob McMillan
Tuesday, December 16, 2014

BARSTOW, Calif. (KABC) -- About 500 soldiers marched 38 miles from their base in Fort Irwin to the California Veterans Home in Barstow as part of an annual tradition to spread holiday cheer to our nation's heroes.

Through rain or shine, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment spent two days marching. When they arrived, more than 160 veterans greeted them.

"Everybody here is a veteran and to see this kind of acknowledgement is really good," Vietnam veteran Jim Wilson said.
read more here

If you have Dishonorable Discharge and PTSD this May Help You

Dishonorable Discharges Will Now be Reviewed by Mental Health Specialists
ALLGOV
December 16, 2014

Soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, many of whom have been unfairly kicked out of the service because of their condition, will now have their discharges reviewed by mental health experts.

The new defense authorization bill approved by Congress included a provision requiring the military to add one mental health professional to review boards that determine service members’ discharge status. The mandate applies both to current military personnel and those previously discharged who received less-than-honorable designation. The latter group will have the opportunity to have their discharges reviewed by a board that includes a mental health professional.
read more here

Marines recoiled at media reports that link Stone to PTSD

A simple reminder of facts substantiated by numbers. Over 22 million veterans in this country yet suicides claim more lives than crimes like this. They are more likely to harm themselves than someone else and news reports from all over the country prove that everyday. PTSD does not make them dangerous. If it did then we'd be reading more reports like this than about them committing suicide.

Questions linger as ex-Marine sought in Montco killing spree stabs self to death
Philly.com
DAVID GAMBACORTA, JASON NARK, WENDY RUDERMAN
DANA DIFILIPPO and BARBARA LAKER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
December 17, 2014

A community pray vigil at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Souderton for the shooting victims in Montgomery County, Tuesday, December 16, 2014. ( STEVEN M. FALK / Staff Photographer )

A GENERATION FROM NOW, people will still talk about the way Bradley William Stone went about butchering his ex-wife and her family, leaving a trail of blood and gore across Montgomery County as he moved from house to house, town to town, ambushing them in the middle of the night like a demon from hell.

But no matter how many times the story is revisited, no one will ever be able to answer the question that gnaws at the soul of anyone who discovers all of this heartache and horror: Why?

Any hope of making sense of the Monday morning massacre that claimed the lives of Nicole Stone and five of her relatives was snuffed out yesterday afternoon, when investigators found the killer's body in the woods in Pennsburg, about a half-mile from his house.

Brad Stone, 35, committed suicide, apparently hacking away at himself in his final moments with a knife, District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said.

The discovery of his body brought an end to a manhunt that had left the area increasingly on edge as authorities struggled to pinpoint Stone's whereabouts.

Those who were friendly with Stone and his ex-wife, meanwhile, were left with the impossible task of trying to reconcile the guy they thought they knew - a father who adored his two daughters - with the cold-blooded killer whose fury made national headlines.

Military veterans who served with Stone in the Marines recoiled at media reports that seemed to link the bloodshed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that Stone was supposedly saddled with from a tour in Iraq.

"A lot of us come home with it, but you can't blame what happened there on PTSD," said a veteran who once worked alongside Stone. "It really is the person you are underneath that will decide if you do something like this."
read more here

UPDATE
WHO WAS BRADLEY STONE? FRIENDS SAY HELPFUL, LAID-BACK GUY

After Former Marine's Killing Spree, Questions Raised About PTSD

WWI Hero Closer to MOH and out of "bureaucratic no-man’s land"

World War I veteran one step from getting Medal of Honor
St. Louis Post Dispatch
By Jesse Bogan
December 15, 2014

A family photo of Sgt. William Shemin during his service in World War I.

WEBSTER GROVES • Twelve years and many phone calls since Elsie Shemin-Roth started on a mission through bureaucratic no-man’s land, her father, a deceased World War I veteran, is one step away from getting the military’s highest decoration.

Under normal circumstances, the Medal of Honor is awarded within five years of an act of heroism. A waiver of time limitations cleared the U.S. Senate Friday as part of a minuscule addition to the massive military spending bill. The vote clears the deck for a final obstacle: approval from President Barack Obama.

“I am just so pleased that we are finally going down the homestretch,” Shemin-Roth, 85, said from her home in Webster Groves.

In 1919, her father was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for “extraordinary heroism,” according to a citation signed by Gen. John J. Pershing. That medal is the Army’s second-highest award.

Decades later, Shemin-Roth heard about a group of Jewish-American World War II vets getting their Army Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross and the Air Force Cross citations reviewed for an upgrade due to anti-Semitism. She wanted her father and other World War I vets to have a shot at the Medal of Honor, too.

But first she’d have to get a new law passed. She succeeded with passage of the William Shemin Jewish World War I Veterans Act in 2011.

It allowed a one-year window for cases like her father’s to be resubmitted. There were strict guidelines. Eyewitnesses were needed to verify acts of valor being studied nearly a century later.
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Watertown Police Standoff with Man Barricaded in Home

Watertown man barricades himself in home, shoots at officers 
By Jesse Gosselin,
News 8 Digital Executive Producer
Published: December 16, 2014

WATERTOWN, Conn. (WTNH) — Watertown police are negotiating with a man accused of firing bullets at police after he barricaded himself inside his home Tuesday. Watertown police tell News 8 they responded to 179 Bryant Road at 9:15 a.m. after a family member called for help.

The family member told police that their relative was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Officers arrived on the scene discovered that the man was alone in the house, armed, and refused to come outside.

Police immediately setup a perimeter around the home and called in the Regional Emergency Response team for assistance. read more here

Veterans living in hell in Pompano Beach Florida

Veterans living with bed bugs in building not zoned for residential use
Building cited for improperly using upstairs unit as rental property
Local 10 News
Published On: Dec 15 2014

POMPANO BEACH, Fla.
Bed bugs, broken doors, and a moldy bathroom describes the condition that Local 10 News found some South Florida veterans living in a Pompano Beach building zoned for "heavy business" use and recently cited for renting a unit which the violation read is an improper use.

Several were stacked in a room; another veteran was sleeping in a closet.

The veterans who spoke with Local 10 said they were placed there by the Veterans In Need Foundation, which is located on the first floor of 1350 S. Dixie Highway.

Michael Janet, a Navy combat veteran in Vietnam, told Local 10 the organization is not delivering the services it promises when it solicits money from people at rest stops all across South Florida.

"These are veterans who have served with dignity and honor and deserve better treatment," Janet said.

"They deserve a clean place to sleep (and) a clean mattress to sleep. Take some of that money that is given to you and give it to the veterans, provide better living conditions, doing things that you say in this brochure."

On a Veterans In Need Foundation solicitation card obtained by Local 10, the organization writes that donations collected will provide "free temporary housing assistance for homeless veterans." Janet said he was asked by the organization's leader, Joseph Haddy, to pay more than $500 in rent from his Veteran Affairs-issued benefits check.
read more here

Coburn was right, Congress failed veterans

UPDATE

Since Congress has been passing bills under "preventing suicides" even though they went up among the veterans population, it is a good time to reflect on exactly what that means to veterans and their families.
The claim of at least 22 veterans a day committing suicide equals 56,210 for the last 7 years. Again, that is an average with some states reporting suicides in their veterans population double the civilian rate.
This is why no one with the national attention should be allowed to just say whatever they want, whenever they want playing politics while pretending they are trying to do some good. We're tired of excuses, empty promises and speeches.

We failed veterans. Plain, simple and contrary to what the talking heads on TV say, the Clay Hunt Suicide prevention bill would not do much to make any of this right.

Tom Coburn gave a speech that, while not well delivered, was mostly right. Veterans lost hope and we have failed them. This speech was slammed by Rachel Maddow last night much to my horror. I could just see veterans cringing, listening to her words and wondering when the hell someone like her will actually know what she is talking about while they are waiting for things to change.

"They are searching for an answer that we have failed to give them." said Coburn.

"They are searching for the support, the nurturing and the love need to be there."

Rachel Maddow asked if anyone had an idea what Coburn was talking about. I wondered why she didn't.

"Nobody else has an objection at all." said Maddow.

I doubt she did much research to know exactly how many people do not hold the same outrage as she does. Many of us are outraged the Congress would dare write one more bill without a basic understanding of the reason for the suicides any more than they dare to even contemplate why everything else has failed.

"The relief of death" Maddow had trouble with comes from when a veteran decides that he will surrender his life after fighting for it, most of the time for decades, only to lose hope.

It isn't the first time Coburn blocked a bill about suicides. He did it to the Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act back in 2007. Eventually it was passed and signed into law by President Bush in 2008.

This is what was happening around then.

In 2007 parents were telling members of congress about their on experience with a veteran committing suicide.

Mike and Kim Bowman are on the first of six panels of witnesses who were scheduled to testify at the hearing, which will focus on suicide prevention and treatment within the VA health care system.

Two authors of books about post-traumatic stress disorder also will testify, as will veterans’ advocates from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, Vietnam Veterans of America, the American Legion and Disabled Veterans of America. After the testimony from other panelists, including officials from the VA’s Veterans Health Administration and inspector general’s office, the authors and veterans service organizations’ representatives will return to share their reflections on that testimony.

According to the committee, the Veterans Health Administration estimates there are about 1,000 suicides per year among veterans receiving care through VHA, and as many as 5,000 suicides per year among all living veterans.

According to the Veterans Affairs Department, there were at least 283 suicides among veterans who left the military between the start of the war in Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001, and the end of 2005.

The Army said its suicide rate in 2006 rose to 17.3 per 100,000 troops, the highest in 26 years of record-keeping. In October, two recently returned Marines one from New Jersey, the other from Bucks County committed suicide.

In response, CONTACT, a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week crisis hotline, is establishing an outreach program specifically for returning veterans and their families. The "It's About Hope" program is a first in 31 years for CONTACT and could be one of the first in the state.

They also had this bill passed and signed in 2008

Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

TitleI - Substance Use Disorders and Mental Health Care
Section101 -
Enacts this title in tribute to Justin Bailey, who, after returning to the United States from service in Operation Iraqi Freedom, died in a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) domiciliary facility while receiving care for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a substance use disorder.
Section103 -
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure the provision of the following services and treatment to each veteran enrolled in the VA health care system and in need of services and treatment for a substance use disorder:
(1) screening for substance use disorder in all settings, including primary care;
(2) short-term motivational counseling;
(3) marital and family counseling;
(4) intensive outpatient or residential care;
(5) relapse prevention;
(6) ongoing aftercare and outpatient counseling;
(7) opiate substitution therapy;
(8) pharmacological treatments to reduce cravings for drugs and alcohol;
(9) detoxification and stabilization;
(10) coordination with groups providing peer-to-peer counseling; and
(11) such other services as considered appropriate by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to ensure that amounts available for such care are allocated to ensure a full continuum of such care, treatment, or services to all veterans without regard to the location of their residences.
Section104 -

Requires the Secretary to ensure that treatment for a substance use disorder and a comorbid mental health disorder is provided concurrently through a health professional with training and expertise in the treatment of both disorders, by separate services for each disorder, or by a team of experienced clinicians.

Section105 -

Directs the Secretary to conduct a two-year pilot program on the feasibility and advisability of providing veterans who seek treatment for substance use disorders access to a computer-based self-assessment, education, and treatment program through a secure Internet website operated by the Secretary. Makes eligible for such program volunteer veterans who have served in Operations Enduring Freedom or Iraqi Freedom. Requires a program report from the Secretary to Congress. Authorizes appropriations.

Section106 -

Requires the Secretary to conduct a: (1) review of all Veterans Health Administration (VHA) residential mental health care facilities; and (2) follow-up review, within two years after the first review, to evaluate any improvements made or problems remaining with respect to such facilities. Requires a report from the Secretary to the veterans' committees after the initial review.

Section107 -

Directs the Secretary to conduct a three-year pilot program on the provision of the following services to veterans of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, particularly to those who served as a member of the National Guard or Reserve:
(1) peer outreach;
(2) peer support provided by licensed providers or veterans with personal experience with mental illness;
(3) readjustment counseling; and
(4) other mental health services.
Requires:
(1) the Secretary to conduct training programs for veterans and clinicians providing such services;
(2) annual reports to the Secretary from entities participating in the program; and
(3) the Secretary to design and implement a strategy for evaluating the program.

You can read the rest from the link above.

I don't want to bore you with more details especially if you have not read Wounded Times before but since all of this has been tracked from news sources and government reports, the rest of us have seen enough to have come to some conclusions a long time ago. The first one is that reporters on the local level know more about the reality veterans and families live with everyday than national reporters too busy to do any basic research on what is going on. That congress is not interested in what works best and actually doing the right thing as much as they are getting their name on a bill while failing to comprehend the simple fact their name on a bill that produced more suicides will not be forgotten.

Rachel Maddow Clueless As to Why Clay Hunt Suicide Bill Should be Blocked

THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 12/15/14
Coburn obstinate in blocking veterans suicide prevention bill

Ms. Maddow said that "nobody  else has an objection at all" without a clue as to why so many people are in fact against it. She is wrong because she cannot remember how many other bills, how many years, we have failed veterans.

We watched them die after floor speeches delivered by other politicians. We heard all the speeches by groups getting the national attention saying they are doing this and they are doing that but we count the caskets.

People are not against the Clay Hunt Suicide bill because they don't care or it will cost too much money. We are not against it for any other reason other than we've heard it all before. None of the others worked no matter how much money was spent. None of them worked because Congress still doesn't understand what the problem is and remain clueless.

They have in family members to tell heartbreaking stories of what failed, then come up with bills named after those we failed. This makes sense to them. This makes no sense to those of us paying attention.

We know the number of veteran suicides are higher than the "22" but no one is paying attention to the fact those numbers went up after Congress decided to do something to prevent them. We know members of the military are being failed and more of them committed suicide than died in combat after the Congress and the DOD failed them by "doing something" that made the stigma worse.

We've settled for better than nothing for far too long and those who took their own lives were saying thanks for nothing left to hope for. We took away their hope of healing PTSD.

If you supported this bill then please do all of us a favor. Suck up your pride and actually pay attention because we're tired of excuses. Tired of speeches from politicians when we end up having to write eulogy speeches for veterans making it back from combat.

The last memorial I went to was in Bradenton Florida. Donald "Donnie" Wendt was a Bradenton Firefighter failed by the VA and the DOD. Why? Because he was a decorated Army veteran who risked his life pulling bodies out of burning Humvee so that even if he couldn't save their lives, their families would be able to bury them. Don was killed by a bullet from a member of a SWAT Team.

Don was losing everything but he was used to hardships and sucking it up. That night he wanted to die after a neighbor called police to report he was holding guns and threatened his sister. It was the moment the last shred of hope vanished.

Last night I was on the phone for over an hour with his Mom.

Donnie lost hope even after being decorated as a firefighter for risking his life over and over again to save lives no matter what price he'd have to pay. He tried to hang onto hope and went to the VA but reluctant to talk to others about what was going on. He didn't want to be thought of as weak.

You can read all the news reports you want but unless you live this everyday you'll be willing to settle for them to respond to your cries to "do something" even though that something is not the right thing. You can pretend all you want that the only veterans suffering are young ones but you'd be ignoring the fact the majority of the veterans committing suicide are over 50 years years old, failed for many more years than the younger ones.

You can pretend all you want that the congress is paying attention but then you'd have to explain to the rest of us how all of this has been happening after over 7 years of congress passing bills and the bullshit of "doing something" so you didn't notice how very wrong it all was.

Tom Coburn Blocks Bill On Veterans' Suicide Prevention
AP
By By MATTHEW DALY
Posted: 12/15/2014 7:32 pm EST Updated: 4 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Veterans groups blasted Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn Monday for blocking a bill intended to reduce a suicide epidemic that claims the lives of 22 military veterans every day.

"This is why people hate Washington," said Paul Rieckhoff, CEO and founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, an advocacy group.

Rieckhoff accused Coburn of single-handedly blocking a bill that could save the lives of thousands of veterans.

Coburn, a Republican, is retiring after 10 years in the Senate. In a floor speech Monday night, he defended his actions, saying the bill would not accomplish its stated goal and duplicates programs that already exist.

Instead of passing the $22 million bill, Coburn said lawmakers should hold the Department of Veterans Affairs accountable for frequently failing to serve veterans.

"I don't think this bill would do the first thing to change what's happening" in terms of veterans' suicides, Coburn said.
read more here

Kentucky Suicides Tied to Military Have Inreased

And this is after all the other "suicide prevention bills" congress has not only passed but paid for.

Military Suicides Have Spiked in Kentucky in Recent Years
WFPL.org
By DEVIN KATAYAMA
December 15, 2014

Suicides among Kentucky veterans and active military service members have increased the past several years. In many cases, those who have died never sought help through the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

“Most of the people [military service members] that kill themselves we don’t know about,” said Barbara Kaminer, Louisville’s Robley Rex VA suicide prevention coordinator.

The increase in suicides among veterans and servicemembers has led to legislation aimed at reducing or eliminating suicides of active service members, but the effort face challenges.

There’s no national database that tracks all active duty and veteran suicides; once a service member is discharged the government no longer keeps tabs on them.

The Department of Defense does track active military member suicides. Last year, 475 active service members committed suicide, according to the data. That’s compared to the 132 active soldiers the U.S. has lost in combat.

The University of Kentucky’s Kentucky Violent Death Reporting System has more complete figures.

In 2012, 129 active military members and veterans committed suicide in the state. That is more than double any year from 2005 and 2009. And it’s been increasing.
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VA spending $16 million on IBM Watson computer for PTSD?

Spending $16 million on Watson doesn't make sense when they should have spent money on Sherlock to find out where all the other money they spent went. After all, more suicides after billions a year spent to reduce them doesn't take a genius to figure out veterans have been placed in jeopardy.

VA signs $6 million contract for IBM Watson to advise PTSD treatment
Washington Post
By Mohana Ravindranath
December 15, 2014

The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning to use IBM’s Watson — the Jeopardy! winning supercomputing system designed to simulate human cognition — to advise doctors on treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder patients, IBM announced on Monday.

As part of a two-year, multi-million dollar contract, IBM plans to install Watson software at the Department’s data center in Austin, Tex. The total contract is valued at $16 million, according to IBM, though the initial set-up and assessment phase is worth about $6 million.

Watson is designed to crunch large volumes of medical literature, clinical data and personal electronic medical records to suggest the treatment options it deems most appropriate for individual patients. Physicians can type questions in natural language, and Watson spits out a series of options, ranked by its confidence in each method’s success.

“Physicians can save valuable time finding the right information needed to care for their patients” with Watson technology, interim undersecretary for health Carolyn Clancy said in a statement. “A tool that can help a clinician quickly collect, combine and present information will allow them to spend more time listening and interacting with the Veteran.”
read more here

Mom died after charity ride accident, 2 year old daughter has broken jaw

Rockledge woman dies after Toy Run motorcycle crash 
FLORIDA TODAY
Rick Neale
December 12, 2014

This family photo shows Breana Donna, her daughter, Kadence, and husband, Andy. (Photo: Provided)

Breana Donna, the 22-year-old Rockledge woman who was struck by a motorcycle during Sunday's ABATE Toy Run, has died.

 UPDATE, DEC. 12: Breana Donna, the 22-year-old Rockledge woman who was struck by a motorcycle during Sunday's ABATE of Florida Toy Run, has died, said Joshua Donna, her brother-in-law.

She had been hospitalized in critical condition at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne. Kadence Donna, the 2-year-old Rockledge girl who suffered a broken jaw when she was struck by an out-of-control motorcycle during Sunday's ABATE of Florida Toy Run, has been reunited with her family. read more here

Marines Searching for Toys for Tots Across the USA

Marines dance with seniors, celebrate Toys for Tots drive
Blue Ridge Now
By Nathaniel Axtell
Times-News Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, December 14, 2014

U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. James Holbert and Staff Sgt. Wes Russell dance with two seniors during Carolina Village Retirement Community's Christmas party on Sunday.
Photo by Nathaniel Axtell/TIMES-NEWS

They were few, but they weren't too proud. For the night, at least, two local Marines were willing to put aside their reputation as rigid, disciplined warriors and cut a rug in their dress blues.

U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. James Holbert and Staff Sgt. Wes Russell arrived at the Carolina Village Retirement Community's annual Christmas dinner Sunday evening to pick up more than 825 gifts for the Corps' WNC Toys for Tots campaign.

Pressed into service, however, they also danced with several Carolina Village residents to the timeless dance grooves of Asheville-based covers band Dashboard Blue.

Peachy Brady, for one, didn't need to be asked twice about the chance to dance with a handsome Marine. The 89-year-old described herself as “a kid at heart. I'm old and I'll never grow up. Two glasses of wine and I'm ready to go!”

Brady and Russell tangoed to Stevie Wonder's “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” and bopped to “Gimme Some Lovin'” by the Spencer Davis Group before taking a break and letting the community's activities director, Betty Hensley, cut in.
read more here

Man sought in death of six people in Pennsburg PA

SUSPECT IDENTIFIED IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY KILLING SPREE; SIX DEAD
ABC News
Updated 4 mins ago

PENNSBURG, Pa. (WPVI) -- Authorities have identified the man sought in a Montgomery County killing spree that left six people dead.

Bradley William Stone, 35, of Pennsburg, Pa. is being sought in the deaths of those six people. All of the victims had a 'familial' relationship with Stone, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office said.

The Montgomery County DA says Stone is described as 5'10" tall and weighs 195 pounds. He has a red or auburn beard and mustache with closely cropped hair.

Stone is known to use a cane or walker to assist him, the DA said, and he may be wearing military fatigues, in either sand or green color.

The DA says: "Stone should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information about Stone's whereabouts is asked to call 9-1-1 immediately. Do not approach him."

"Police are conducting an extensive search in and around Pennsburg, at both known and outdoor locations where Stone may be located."

"People in that area should remain indoors, keep their doors locked and call 9-1-1 if they think they have seen the suspect."
read more here


UPDATE

6 dead in Montgomery County shooting spree, police hunt for suspected gunman
MCALL.com
By Dan Sheehan, Pat Lester, Manuel Gamiz Jr.
Of The Morning Call
December 15, 5:38 PM

A military veteran from Pennsburg diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder killed his estranged wife in Lower Salford Township, neighbors say, the start of a shooting rampage Monday that Montgomery County authorities say claimed five more lives.

Bradley W. Stone, 35, allegedly killed a total of six family members in Lower Salford, Lansdale and Souderton, according to the district attorney's office, and seriously wounded another.

Stone is still on the loose and considered armed and dangerous. He may be wearing military fatigues and using a cane or walker to get around.

The shootings took place in three different locations in Montgomery County.
read more here

UPDATE 12/16/2014
Montgomery County Shooting Spree Suspect Bradley Stone Found Dead in Woods