International
Suspect, 15, in custody over latest US mass shooting
AFP
The gunman believed to have killed five people in North Carolina in America’s latest mass shooting is a 15-year-old boy, in critical condition after being shot by police, officials said Friday.
Two more people were wounded in the Thursday night shooting, the motive of which remains under investigation, Raleigh police chief Estella Patterson told a news conference in the state capital.
She said the fatalities included a 29-year-old off-duty police officer who was on his way to work. The four other victims were a 16-year-old boy and three women aged 35, 49 and 52.
A 59-year-old woman also remained hospitalized in critical condition.
“The nightmare of every community has come to Raleigh,” Governor Roy Cooper said. “This is senseless, horrific and infuriating act of violence.”
President Joe Biden condemned the shooting and said gun violence in America is now so rampant that some killings no longer make the news.
“Enough. We’ve grieved and prayed with too many families who have had to bear the terrible burden of these mass shootings,” Biden said in a statement.
He renewed his appeal for a ban on high-power assault rifles commonly used in these massacres — a proposal that has repeatedly failed due to opposition from Republicans in Congress.
The shooter in this latest case opened fire in Raleigh on and near a popular walking trail called the Neuse River Greenway.
Patterson and other officials gave few details of how the mass shooting unfolded.
After an hours-long standoff in a house, the suspect was shot and taken into custody, police said.
“My heart is heavy because we don’t have answers as to why this tragedy occurred,” Patterson said.
Gun violence is an urgently pressing problem in the United States, where more than 34,000 people have been killed by firearms so far in 2022 alone, more than half of them from suicide, according to the Gun Violence Archive website.
The North Cabrolina shooting occurred after a jury earlier in the day rejected the death penalty and backed life imprisonment for Nikolas Cruz, who shot and killed 17 people at a Florida high school in 2018.
Mass shootings have repeatedly stunned the nation, reigniting debate on the divisive issue of gun control — but there has been little headway in Congress.
However, several of the most recent gun rampages, including a shooting at a school in Texas and a supermarket frequented by African Americans in New York state, prompted lawmakers to agree in June, for the first time in 30 years, to pass modest reform of gun control laws.
Nearly 400 million guns are in circulation among the civilian population in the United States, or 120 guns for every 100 people, according to the Small Arms Survey project.
International
Three Die During World Cup Celebrations in Mexico City After Mexico’s Victory
Three people died in Mexico City while celebrating Mexico’s 2-0 victory over Ecuador at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, local authorities confirmed on Wednesday.
According to the city’s Health Secretariat, the victims—a 44-year-old man, a 48-year-old woman, and a 19-year-old woman—died from asphyxiation following the post-match celebrations.
Emergency services were dispatched to the Juárez district after reports that three people had lost consciousness shortly after Tuesday night’s match.
Paramedics, firefighters, and police officers responded to the scene, where the victims received first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) before being transported to a hospital for specialized medical care. Despite the efforts of medical personnel, all three were later pronounced dead.
“We are in contact with their families to provide all the support they need,” Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada Molinasaid in a statement posted on social media.
“With my hand on my heart, I extend my deepest condolences to their loved ones. We once again call on everyone to celebrate with responsibility, care, and empathy,” she added.
Mexico’s victory over Ecuador sparked massive celebrations at the Estadio Azteca and across the capital. Goals from Raúl Jiménez and Julián Quiñones secured the hosts’ place in the Round of 16, where they are set to face either England or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who meet on Wednesday in Atlanta.
Should Mexico advance to the quarterfinals, the team would face either Brazil, coached by Carlo Ancelotti, or Norway.
International
Families Sue Nicolás Maduro in U.S. Over Alleged Extrajudicial Killings
The families of five young Venezuelan men have filed a 44-page civil lawsuit in a U.S. federal court, accusing former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of ordering extrajudicial executions carried out by the country’s former Special Action Forces (FAES) between 2017 and 2020.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn, alleges that the victims were among thousands of people killed under Maduro’s administration by security units, including the FAES, which were dissolved in 2021 following widespread allegations of human rights abuses, including criticism from the United Nations.
Maduro is currently being held in a New York detention facility awaiting trial on U.S. drug trafficking charges after he was removed from power during a U.S. military operation in Venezuela in January.
The complaint argues that the killings followed a well-documented pattern of extrajudicial executions allegedly carried out during Maduro’s presidency, which lasted from 2013 to 2026. Throughout his time in office, Maduro faced repeated accusations from international organizations of using state repression to maintain power.
According to the lawsuit, FAES officers arrived at the victims’ neighborhoods before dawn, dressed entirely in black and wearing face coverings. The agents allegedly separated the men from their families before fatally shooting them.
The complaint further alleges that authorities later fabricated official reports claiming the victims had “resisted arrest” in an effort to justify the killings.
“Maduro used the FAES as a political instrument and a mechanism of social control to violently suppress dissent, terrorize low-income communities, and eliminate political opposition,” the lawsuit states.
It also describes the FAES as being “widely regarded as a death squad or extermination group.”
The plaintiffs argue that Venezuela’s judicial system has failed to provide accountability for the killings, preventing the victims’ families from obtaining justice.
For security reasons, the identities of the families remain confidential. They are seeking financial compensation from Maduro under the U.S. Torture Victim Protection Act.
According to The New York Times, Maduro is expected to argue that he is entitled to head-of-state immunity in the civil proceedings.
In the separate criminal case pending against him in the United States, in which he is charged alongside his wife, Cilia Flores, Maduro has described himself as a “prisoner of war.”
He has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States and weapons-related offenses.
International
Salvadoran National Arrested in New Jersey with Over 70 Machine Gun Conversion Devices
The U.S. Department of Justice announced the arrest of 21-year-old Salvadoran national Erick Márquez Cruz after authorities allegedly discovered more than 70 machine gun conversion devices and other firearm-related components during a search of his residence in North Bergen, New Jersey.
According to the Justice Department, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on June 25 at Cruz’s home, where they recovered a 3D printer that was allegedly being used to manufacture firearm components. Investigators also seized 17 3D-printed firearm frames, magazines, and more than 70 machine gun conversion devices (MCDs).
Federal authorities explained that the conversion devices, which are classified as machine guns under U.S. law, are designed to convert semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic weapons capable of firing multiple rounds with a single pull of the trigger.
Cruz has been charged with unlawful possession of a machine gun. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross financial gain resulting from the offense, whichever is greater.
Three Die During World Cup Celebrations in Mexico City After Mexico’s Victory
Families Sue Nicolás Maduro in U.S. Over Alleged Extrajudicial Killings
Salvadoran National Arrested in New Jersey with Over 70 Machine Gun Conversion Devices
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