Nation & World Glance
Detective: Colorado Springs club shooter ran neo-nazi site
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The 22-year-old accused of carrying out the deadly mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs in November ran a neo-nazi website and used gay and racial slurs while gaming online, a police detective testified Wednesday.
Anderson Lee Aldrich also posted an image of a rifle scope trained on a gay pride parade and used a bigoted slur when referring to someone who was gay, Detective Rebecca Joines testified at the start of a three-day hearing to determine if there’s enough evidence to warrant a hate crime charge against Aldrich in the Nov. 19 attack.
Aldrich, who identifies as nonbinary and uses the pronouns they and them, administered the obscure website that included what Joines described as a “neo-nazi white supremacist” shooting training video glorifying mass shootings.
The video, which she said was not created by Aldrich and has been posted online by many others too, featured attacks on synagogues and mosques in Europe and the 2019 shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Joines said she believes Aldrich was trying to emulate those attacks in the Colorado Springs shooting.
Investigators also heard from an acquaintance that Aldrich said their mother, Laura Voepel, is nonbinary and forced them to go to LGBTQ clubs, Joines said.
The esoteric regulations dictate schools be scored on nine categories – among them costumes, drumming, song, harmony, plot and evolution – that together quantify the months of design, stitching, sculpting, welding and rehearsal that go into production. Judges with proven knowledge in each category undergo training, then are distributed along the 700-meter (2,300-foot) parade route to watch as each school’s several thousand paraders pass.
Prosecutors charge man in killing of Los Angeles bishop
LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors charged a man Wednesday with killing a Catholic bishop in a crime that stunned Los Angeles religious and immigrant communities.
Auxiliary Bishop David O’connell, 69, was fatally shot multiple times Saturday in the bedroom of his home in Hacienda Heights, an unincorporated community about 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.
The suspect, Carlos Medina, is the husband of O’connell’s housekeeper. Medina had done work at the bishop’s home and was arrested Monday by a SWAT team.
LA County District Attorney George Gascón said Wednesday that Medina is charged with one count of murder with a special allegation that he personally used a firearm.
Medina faces 35 years to life in prison. He appeared in court Wednesday afternoon, and his arraignment was postponed to March 22.
Authorities: TV reporter, girl fatally shot in Florida
A central Florida television journalist and a little girl were fatally shot Wednesday afternoon near the scene of a fatal shooting from earlier in the day, authorities said.
Orange County Sheriff John Mina said during a news conference Wednesday evening that they’ve detained Keith Melvin Moses, 19, who they believe is responsible for both shootings in the Orlando-area neighborhood.
Besides the Spectrum News 13 journalist and the 9-year-old girl, a TV crewmember and the girl’s mother were wounded during the second shooting. They were in critical condition at a local hospital.
“I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and our media partners,” Mina told a room full of reporters. “I work closely with all of you and know many of you and know the the very difficult job that you do and also the very important job that you do for our community and for law enforcement. No one in our community – not a mother, not a 9-yearold and certainly not news professionals – should become the victim of gun violence in our community.”
Mina said they don’t immediately have a motive for any of the shootings.