Scores of looters swarm gas stations and wreak havoc in America's most violent city



Scores of thugs swarmed two Memphis gas stations over the weekend, stealing thousands of dollars of merchandise and destroying property. Looters also hit a 53-foot FedEx semi-trailer, stealing multiple packages.

While last year, former District Attorney Amy Weirich indicated that Memphis would trend in this direction if soft-on-crime Democratic professor Steve Mulroy was elected chief prosecutor, the exasperated mayor of America's most dangerous city indicated this week the courts were to blame for failing to ensure that criminals are locked up.

Criminals on tour

WMC-TV reported that multiple businesses were robbed and vandalized Saturday night.

"Some people referred to it almost as a purge, it was ridiculous," said James Davis, owner of L.R. Clothier. "I saw some videos on social media."

Davis' business was broken into early Sunday morning, according to police.

"What this says to me is that people don't fear any repercussions of their actions," added the store owner.

Roughly $2,000 of items were stolen from the Exxon at 3483 Airways Boulevard. Over $15,000 of merchandise was taken from the Fill-N-Go gas station at 3084 South Third Street just hours later, where a clerk reported having a rifle pointed at him by a suspect. The mob is estimated to have inflicted $9,000 in damage at the second location.

Footage of one of the incidents shows a mob of looters, some masked and others bare-faced, ransacking a gas station and absconding with everything from candy to an electric sign. One hooded figure taking his time deciding which chocolate bars to load into his sagging pants can be seen carrying around a rifle. Another masked figure grabbing a handful of loot appears to be an adolescent girl.

Clerks and paying customers look on in disbelief as the looters pilfer without any fear of consequence.

— (@)

The looters' targets were not all stationary.

In what appears to have been a coordinated effort, drivers blocked a FedEx truck in the middle of Riverport Road and Mallory Avenue around 8:30 p.m., affording masked men an opportunity to break into the trailer and steal multiple packages.

WHBQ-TV reported that Memphis Police arrived in time only to see various vehicles speeding and driving recklessly away from the gutted FedEx truck.

Officers later received a call from security at Breezy Point Apartments indicating that guards had detained three men suspected of breaking into the FedEx truck, all reportedly reeking of marijuana.

Inside the suspect's white Chevrolet, police reportedly found four Kicker Speakers 6x9, a vehicle headlight, one 14-piece set of pots and pans, a cardboard box of air lines, and three DirectTV cable boxes.

The trio were taken into custody.

— (@)

Par for the course

Following the recent lootings, Mayor Jim Strickland said, "I mean it's similar to videos I've seen across the country. Those convenience store owners are small business people. I've met with them. They have to work there, themselves a lot, just to earn a living," reported WREG-TV.

"The court system needs fundamental change to adjust to what's going on out in the community. The police are arresting them. The courts won't keep them," said Strickland.

While the mayor figures the courts are to blame for his city's failure to keep criminals in check, former Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich told "The Todd Starnes Show" last year that her Democratic opponent, now District Attorney Steve Mulroy, would be unwilling and unable "to stand up and fight for the victims of crime and ... enforce the law."

Weirich added that Mulroy's election would leave Memphis looking like San Francisco, although by the numbers that would amount to an improvement.

Memphis scores a 0 on Neighborhood Scout's crime index, where 100 is safest. The likelihood of becoming a victim of a violent crime is 1 in 40. The chance of falling victim to a property crime is 1 in 18.

According to the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission, a non-profit focused on public safety, major violent crime is up 5.4% this year in Shelby County. The major property crime rate has skyrocketed 42.1%.

Murders are up 77% this year and on track to set an all-time city record. The previous record for deadliest year was set in 2021, where Memphis saw 346 homicides and 304 murders.

The city, which had a population of 621,056 last year, reportedly has a poverty rate of 24.2%, an unemployment rate of 9.3%, and a median household income of $43,981, well below the national average. Its demographic makeup is 64% black and 27% white.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Police arrest thugs suspected of slashing and pummeling uniformed NYPD officer on NYC subway



Two thugs are in custody following a vicious attack on a New York City police officer Saturday night in the Bronx.

Marquise Webb of Yonkers and Haitian-native Brian Innocent, both 24, are being held at Riker's Island on $40,000 cash bail or $120,000 bond for allegedly slashing and pummeling 16-year NYPD veteran Lt. Gypsy Pichardo on a subway car. They have been charged with assault, resisting arrest, harassment, and obstructing governmental administration, reported WABC-TV.

Lt. Pichardo was called to Kingsbridge subway station around 9:45 p.m. on Saturday in response to a report from an MTA conductor about two groups of knife-wielding men fighting on a Bronx-bound train.

The New York Daily News indicated that one of the groups got off the train at 231st Street station, but the other group remained on until 238th Street Station, where they ran into Lt. Pichardo.

Upon his arrival, the NYPD lieutenant confronted Webb and Innocent, ordering them to disembark the halted train. Bronx prosecutors indicated both suspects refused to cooperate.

The criminal complaint claims the duo got back on the train, where they "refused several commands to place their hands behind their backs," reported the New York Post.

Footage of the incident provides a partial glimpse of a pair of thugs teaming up and cornering Lt. Pichardo, delivering kicks and haymakers. The video also reveals the attackers had a fan club as at least two men looked on without intervening on the officer's behalf.

After the bloody attack, officers can be seen chasing the suspects along the platform with Tasers at the ready. The attackers reportedly attempted to escape onto the train tracks but were captured by authorities after a brief chase.

— (@)

Lt. Pichardo was taken to St. Barnabas in stable condition. He suffered significant bruising to one eye, which had swollen shut, and cuts on his face requiring eight stitches.

The NYPD indicated that a knife, a box cutter, and a straight razor were recovered by police following the arrests.

Webb and Innocent pleaded not guilty to all charges in Bronx Criminal Court Sunday night. According to WABC, detectives continue to look for the other members of the apparent gang who fled the scene.

This is not the first time in recent weeks criminal elements have tried to bleed police officers in the Bronx. A 40-year-old suspect reportedly charged two NYPD officers at Pelham Parkway station on Oct. 11, stabbing one officer in the arm and slashing the other.

Days earlier, NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael LiPetri suggested that the increase in felony assaults this year has been driven in part by an increase in assaults on police officers.

Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, said in a statement, "There is a simple reason that assaults on cops are going up. It's because anti-police activists — many of them on the public payroll — have normalized violent resistance against police officers. Charges against criminals who assault cops are frequently downgraded or thrown out, while hard-working cops are having their careers destroyed for using appropriate force to defend themselves or safely make an arrest. Police officers are literally getting beaten up in this environment. It's another reason that cops are still quitting in droves."

It's not just unsafe for armed police officers to travel around New York City. The NYPD indicated that felony assault increased 6.9% last month as compared to October 2022. Crime in the transit system also jumped 5.7%, and the total number of alleged bias incidents investigated by the NYPD Hate Crime Task Forces increased by 124% in October.

According to Neighborhood Scout, the chances of becoming the victim of a violent crime in the Bronx is 1 in 128.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Graphic video shows NYC social justice activist telling thug, 'Chill, chill,' before being stabbed to death in front of girlfriend



A New York City social justice activist and his girlfriend were dressed to the nines and on their way home from a wedding in Long Island early Monday morning when a deranged man ambushed them, slaughtered the activist, spit into the aggrieved woman's face, then fled the scene.

Extra to documenting the horrific incident, surveillance footage has provided police with a clear image of the suspect, who remains at large.

— (@)

The footage shows Ryan Carson, 32, and his girlfriend — allegedly BLM activist Claudia Morales, named in a leftist's GoFundMe campaign linked to Carson's death — seated at a bus stop bench near Malcolm X Blvd. near Lafayette Ave. in Brooklyn, according to the New York Daily News.

The suspect can be seen walking past the couple around 3:50 a.m., ostensibly without exchanging any words. Carson and his girlfriend stand up shortly thereafter and begin walking in the same direction.

Things take a turn for the worst when the suspect, who had begun kicking over parked scooters for no apparent reason, says to Carson, "The f*** are you looking at? ... Imma kill you right now!"

Carson, who was 6' 4", backs up, repeatedly telling the thug, "Chill, chill."

Despite Carson's attempts to create some distance with a straight arm, the thug manages to punch him in the face.

Gripping his jaw, Carson begins to run, tripping over the bus bench, while his girlfriend pleads with his attacker. Indifferent to the woman's pleas, the thug can be seen chasing Carson down and — in the uncensored footage — stabbing him in the chest repeatedly.

The thug spits in the face of Carson's girlfriend, kicks his mortally wounded victim, then flees the scene.

A woman appears toward the end of the footage, calling out what sounds like "Brian" and yelling, "I'm so sorry!"

The New York Post reported that investigators believe that the woman who apologized in the footage knew the attacker.

— (@)

After calling 911, Morales, reportedly a past critic of the police, cradled Carson until first responders arrived. The Daily News noted that Morales hadn't immediately realized Carson had been stabbed, thinking he had only been punched.

Carson was taken to Kings County Hospital Center, but there was little to be done. Carson's heart had been pierced.

Carson originally moved to New York City from Massachusetts in 2010 to attend the Pratt Institute and ultimately became a senior solid waste campaign manager at the New York Public Interest Research Group.

The NYPIRG noted in a statement, "Ryan was a beloved staffer, colleague and friend, and a creative, talented, relentless and upbeat advocate for students and the environment."

Blair Horner, Carson's former boss at the NYPIRG, said, "It's incomprehensible. ... He was so young," reported WABC-TV.

"A life full of promise is snuffed out. And the world is a worse place for it, and we'll miss him dearly," added Horner.

City council members and other politicos offered their condolences, including New York Sen. Chuck Schumer (D), who called Carson a "rising talent and an extraordinary activist," and Mayor Eric Adams, who said Carson's "giving spirit was a buoy to all."

According to the New York Police Department, there have been 304 murders in the city so far this year. Murders jumped significantly in 2020 amid the onset of the BLM riots and the pandemic.

The Mayor's Management Report, released last month, revealed that overall felony crime this fiscal year is up 6% over 2022.

"Robbery increased by five percent, felonious assault increased by eight percent, and burglary increased two percent," says the report. "Grand larceny increased by five percent and grand larceny auto increased by 20 percent."

The New York Post indicated that the overall crime spike accounts for an over 35.6% jump over pre-pandemic times.

No arrests had been in the case of Carson's murder as of late Tuesday.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

New York City's vegan mayor issues decree requiring city to eat less meat as a means of combating the specter of climate change



New York City's Democratic mayor reportedly went vegan in 2016 after temporarily losing his eyesight to Type 2 diabetes. With his restored vision, Eric Adams has focused on another reason to avoid meat: the specter of anthropogenic climate change.

However, this time around, Adams wants New Yorkers to suffer a vegetarian diet along with him.

Adams said in a statement Monday, "What we put on our plate doesn't just affect us. We now know food is the third largest source of emissions in New York City, so what we eat is impacting our entire planet. That's why today I'm announcing that by 2030, the City will reduce our food-related emissions by 33%."

In 2021, the city of New York spent $297.59 million on food, which allegedly resulted in the production of 123.72K tons of carbon dioxide emissions — emissions the plants Adams consumes happen to thrive on.

According to the city's food policy page, the "Carbon Footprint of the City's food purchases is equivalent to the annual emission of more than 70,000 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles."
While dairy and grain products account for the bulk of the total emissions according to the city's data, the Adams administration has instead targeted meat, just over a year after the vegan mayor suggested, "I've got to get New Yorkers to eat a plant-based centered life."

Noting that the New York City Health System defaulted to plant-based meals for patients and allegedly cut its food emissions by 36%, Adams said, "The rest of our government will do the same."

The following agencies will be impacted by this decree: the New York City Department of Education, the Department of Homeless Services, the Department for the Aging, the Department of Correction, the Human Resources Administration, Health and Hospitals, and the Administration for Children's Services.

Accordingly, schoolchildren, prisoners, hospital patients, and elderly dependents will be precluded from putting their canine teeth to work on protein and mineral-rich meats, at least on certain days.

Although scientists have long held that meat is a vital part of child's diet, New York City K-8 school children will instead have to throw back chickpeas on Mondays. While dairy is linked to the greatest emissions on the menu, they'll enjoy mozzarella sticks rather than meat on Wednesday. On Friday, April 21, they'll have to choke back potato gumbo or once again become complicit in dairy and grain emissions by snacking on grilled cheese sandwiches. After being spoiled with country chicken on April 27, students' palates will be mocked with a BBQ veggie burger and more dairy products the following day.

At all times, pork is verboten.

The Democratic mayor also challenged private sector partners to cut their food emissions by 25%, prompting them to take part in the so-called "Plant Powered Carbon Challenge," in hopes of satisfying Paris climate agreement goals.
\u201cLast year, @NYCHealthSystem defaulted to plant-based meals for patients and cut their food emissions by 36%. The rest of our government will do the same.\n\nWe're also challenging private sector partners to cut their food emissions 25% by 2030: https://t.co/hcDlH41LWy\u201d
— Mayor Eric Adams (@Mayor Eric Adams) 1681753307

The New York Times reported that when issuing his decree, the vegan mayor said, "It is easy to talk about emissions that are coming from vehicles and how it impacts our carbon footprint, it is easy to talk about the emissions that’s coming from buildings and how it impacts our environment. ... But we now have to talk about beef. And I don’t know if people are really ready for this conversation."

Richard Larrick, a professor of management at Duke University, told the Times, "If you really want to make a difference, there are two main things you do for food, one of which is you try to reduce the amount of beef."

"To have 20 grams of protein from beef — that’s kind of a meal’s serving of protein — is like burning a gallon of gasoline,” added Larrick. “Everything else is less than a fifth of a gallon, essentially."

While seeking to go light on gasoline, Adams is apparently happy to waste water on his allegedly green diet.

Adams' cookbook "Healthy at Last" details how to make "Forest Bowls with Earthy Vegetables and Turmeric Cashew Sauce." While nary a cow is slaughtered to make this particular dish, clean water is sacrificed by the barrelful.

It takes roughly 1,704 gallons of water to produce one pound of the cashews needed for the vegan mayor's recipe at a time when so-called "climate crisis" is creating water shortages around the world — caused, according to the city of New York, disproportionately by the dairy and grains still on the menu.

In his announcement, Adams claimed, "We have two mothers: One gave birth to us, the other sustains us, and we have been destroying the one that sustains us based on the food that we have been consuming."

Adams' clampdown on meat consumption may ultimately mean real mothers will get less protein and figurative mothers will be spared the lesser of several emitters among the food groups on offer in New York City facilities.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Newly released footage shows horrific moment a suspect fleeing police in stolen vehicle smashed into a sedan, bringing down a building



A high-speed police chase ended in rubble and ruin Feb. 8, after a suspect in a stolen vehicle hammered into another car, sending both careening into a derelict building in northeast Baltimore. The fatal incident was captured both on an officer's body camera and a CitiWatch surveillance system.

The Maryland attorney general's office's Independent Investigations Division released the footage Thursday.

The AG's office, presently looking into the incident, stated that a Baltimore Police Eastern District officer observed a vehicle reported stolen in the 1800 block of East North Avenue around 8:55 p.m., then attempted a traffic stop. The suspect refused to pull over and attempted to evade the officer, driving recklessly at high speeds.

Police followed the stolen Hyundai Sonata down North Wolfe Street. The suspect, whom the Baltimore Sun noted has been identified as 33-year-old Shawn Lee Brunson, barreled past a church and into an intersection, where he slammed into the driver's side of a Mitsubishi Eclipse.

Both the Sonata and the Eclipse subsequently spun out of control, careening right into a pedestrian, 54-year-old Alfred Fincher of Baltimore, father of three. After both vehicles crushed the victim, they smashed into a vacant row home. The brick façade and the lower walls cascaded down, burying both vehicles.

Image source: Screenshot of footage released by the Marlyand OAG Independent Investigations Division

Fincher was pronounced dead on the scene. There were five people inside the two cars involved in the incident, all of whom were injured.

After his release from hospital, Brunson, the driver of the stolen vehicle, was arrested on vehicle theft charges.

The New York Post reported that over 40 firefighters and emergency personnel and at least four fire trucks were involved in the efforts to clear the debris from the building. Authorities pulled the two sedans from the rubble at approximately 10:30 p.m. and subsequently towed them away.

Here is a graphic excerpt from the full video:

\u201cIn Baltimore, Maryland, a high speed police chase resulted in a crash which caused the collapse of an entire building.\u201d
— SGM World Report (@SGM World Report) 1677844618

In bodycam footage of the aftermath of the crash, Officer Devin Yancy — a 4.5-year veteran on the force — can be seen drawing his weapon and ordering the suspect to show his hands and exit the car. While Yancy restored order, other officers can be seen rushing to dig out the victims trapped under the debris.

\u201c\u201cThe Baltimore Police Department said a pedestrian was transported to Johns Hopkins Hospital in critical condition after a car crashed into a house on East North Avenue and North Wolfe Street, Fox Baltimore reported.\u201d\n\n/BWC\u201d
— Shane B. Murphy (@Shane B. Murphy) 1677774937

The attorney representing Fincher's surviving family alleged that in the bodycam footage, a voice over the police radio can be heard telling officers, "Just let it go," reported the Sun.

"The officer did not break off the pursuit, and Alfred Fincher is dead,” said attorney Divya Potdar.

According to Baltimore Police policy, officers reportedly are permitted to give chase if there is a felony suspect inside the vehicle who poses an "immediate threat" of death or injury, or if there is a strong possibility ahead of the pursuit that the suspect had committed a felony that could have resulted in death or significant harm.

Baltimore Police Deputy Commissioner Richard Worley has made the case that officers did not pursue the Sonata, but had rather endeavored to try to stop it.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!