Nation & World Glance

Report: Police knew of injured at Texas school while waiting

AUSTIN, Texas – Police waited for protective equipment as they delayed entering the Texas elementary school where a gunman inside killed 19 children and two teachers, even as they became aware that some victims needed medical treatment, according to records obtained by The New York Times.

The details published Thursday by the Times provided a clearer picture of the slow law enforcement response as the massacre unfolded at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Police waited more than hour to confront the gunman, even as anguished parents outside the school urged officers to go inside.

Pete Arredondo, the Uvalde school district police chief, led the response on the scene of the May 24 shooting. A man who investigators believe to be Arredondo could be heard on body camera footage talking about how much time was passing.

“People are going to ask why we’re taking so long,” said the man, according to a transcript of officers’ body camera footage obtained by the newspaper. “We’re trying to preserve the rest of the life.”

Sixty officers had assembled on the scene by the time four officers made entry, according to the report. The two classrooms where the shooting took place included 33 children and three teachers.

Authorities: 3 dead, trooper wounded in Maryland shooting

SMITHSBURG, Md. – An employee opened fire at a manufacturing business in rural western Maryland on Thursday, killing three coworkers before the suspect and a state trooper were wounded in a shootout, authorities said.

Washington County Sheriff Doug Mullendore said that three victims were found dead at Columbia Machine Inc. in Smithsburg and a fourth victim was critically injured. The sheriff said at a news conference that the victims and suspect were all employees at the facility.

The suspect fled in a vehicle before authorities arrived at the scene and was tracked down by Maryland State Police, Mullendore said. The suspect and a trooper were wounded in an exchange of gunfire, according to the sheriff.

Mullendore said the suspect was a 42-year-old man but declined to release his name while criminal charges were being prepared.

The sheriff identified those killed in the shooting as Mark Alan Frey, 50; Charles Edward Minnick Jr., 31; and Joshua Robert Wallace, 30. Mullendore said the wounded victim was Brandon Chase Michael, 42

3 foreigners who fought for Ukraine sentenced to death

BAKHMUT, Ukraine – Two British citizens and a

Moroccan were sentenced to death Thursday for fighting on Ukraine’s side, in a punishment handed down by the country’s pro-Moscow rebels.

The proceedings against the three captured fighters were denounced by Ukraine and the West as a sham and a violation of the rules of war.

Meanwhile, as the Kremlin’s forces continued a grinding war of attrition in the east, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to liken his actions to those of Peter the Great in the 18th century and said the country needs to “take back” historic Russian lands.

A court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in Ukraine found the three fighters guilty of seeking the violent overthrow of power, an offense punishable by death in the unrecognized eastern republic. The men were also convicted of mercenary activities and terrorism.

Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti reported that the defendants – identified as Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner and Brahim Saadoun – will face a firing squad. They have a month to appeal.

Michigan officer charged with murder in Lyoya shooting

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A prosecutor filed a second-degree murder charge Thursday against the Michigan police officer who killed Patrick Lyoya, a Black man who was on the ground when he was shot in the back of the head following an intense physical struggle recorded on a bystander’s phone.

Kent County prosecutor Chris Becker announced his decision against Grand Rapids Officer Christopher Schurr, who killed Lyoya minutes after a traffic stop on April 4. Video from a passenger in the car captured the final chilling moments.

Schurr fired the fatal shot while Lyoya was on the ground, demanding that the 26-year-old refugee from Congo “let go” of the officer’s Taser.

“The death was not justified or excused, for example, by self defense,” the prosecutor said, reciting the elements of second-degree murder.

Schurr, who is white, told Lyoya that he stopped his car because the license plate didn’t match the vehicle. Roughly a minute later, Lyoya began to run after he was asked to produce a driver’s license.

Michigan GOP hopeful charged in Jan. 6 riot, roiling primary

DETROIT – A Republican candidate for Michigan governor and ardent defender of former President Donald Trump was charged with misdemeanors Thursday for his role in the 2021 post-election riot at the U.S. Capitol, further complicating an already messy GOP primary.

Ryan Kelley, 40, was arrested in western Michigan and appeared at a brief hearing in federal court in Grand Rapids, where he was released from custody without posting bail. The government did not ask that Kelley be detained.

His arrest came hours before the House committee investigating the insurrection holds a widely anticipated public hearing, showing never-seen video, audio and an array of evidence highlighting the deadly violence that erupted on Jan. 6, 2021.

Kelley walked away from the courthouse, joined by his wife and other family, saying only that he would comment later. His campaign posted on Facebook two words: “political prisoner,” and the chairman of the state GOP accused Democrats of “weaponizing our justice system” against poltical opponents.

Defense attorney Heath Lynch said Kelley “has every intention of continuing his campaign in earnest.”