Two Lives Upended By Vindictive Prosecutors Underscore The Need For Anti-Weaponization Fund
Jim Troupis and Dr. Ron Elfenbein, dragged through hell by abusive prosecutors, underscore the need for the DOJ's Anti-Weaponization Fund.Jim Troupis and Dr. Ron Elfenbein, dragged through hell by abusive prosecutors, underscore the need for the DOJ's Anti-Weaponization Fund.Cinco de Mayo violence: 3 shot, 2 stabbed in same parking lot — in apparently unrelated incidents — outside restaurant
Three people were shot and two others were stabbed in apparently unrelated incidents in the same shopping center parking lot in Laurel, Maryland, after a large Cinco de Mayo celebration late Tuesday night, police told WRC-TV.
Investigators said the chaos began just after 10 p.m.
'Ridiculous.'
WRC said a big crowd gathered at Amigos Mexican Grill — which is part of the Centre at Laurel shopping center — for a large Cinco de Mayo celebration; social media posts showed numerous groups of people inside and outside the restaurant.
Police were dispersing the crowd after the event ended when at least one person fired gunshots, WRC said. Three were wounded in front of Longhorn Steakhouse, which is next to Amigos Mexican Grill.
The shooting was captured on video and posted on social media, WRC reported, adding that video shows several males arguing and punching each other in front of the steakhouse; a burst of gunfire is audible. People began to run away when the gunfire erupted, the station said.
The victims were taken to a nearby hospital, WRC said.
The Laurel Police Department on Wednesday posted images of who they say is the shooting suspect and asked "all community members to watch and share the video linked below to help ensure the individual is identified as quickly as possible. If you recognize the person in the footage or have any information that may aid investigators, please contact the Laurel Police Department. Your cooperation is vital to the progress of this investigation and the safety of our community."
The WRC video report below shows a car parked in front of Longhorn Steakhouse with several bullet holes on its side as well as a shattered window.
RELATED: Masked men open fire after storming into Chick-fil-A; 1 dead, 6 injured; manhunt under way
The station said that while police were dealing with the shooting, a stabbing occurred near Amigos Mexican Grill in which two people were hurt.
Police told WRC said that all five victims of the shooting and stabbing are in stable condition and expected to survive.
The station said at this point it doesn't appear that the two incidents are connected — they just happened in the same parking lot, one right after the other.
A man who drove by Amigos Mexican Grill told WRC he decided to not attend the Cinco de Mayo event after he noticed the size of the crowd: "We attempted to come. My daughter and everybody wanted to come up here, but we knew this was an unusual amount of people ... since last year. It was just way more people this year."
Another man added to the station that it's "horrible" that people "can't come enjoy themselves without that happening. I mean, that's ridiculous."
WRC said police are asking those with video of the incidents to upload them to the Laurel police website by using a QR code since no arrests have been made yet.
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Thugs ages 11 to 14 gang up on, mercilessly beat up victim on sidewalk — and adults are done: 'I'm very fearful for my life'
A gang of youths ages 11 to 14 were caught on cellphone video last week mercilessly pummeling a lone victim on a street corner in Towson, Maryland.
Nine juveniles have been identified, and second-degree assault charges are pending against five of them after Baltimore County police officers responded to the incident, WBFF-TV reported.
'You can see the kids are laughing. ... They just don't care, because no one is going to hold them accountable.'
Police said officers were called around 3:40 p.m. April 20 to the unit block of Lambourne Road for a “physical disturbance," the station reported.
Police said it's believed the incident stems from a verbal altercation in school and that the juveniles involved — who range in age from 11 to 14 — know each other, WBFF said.
Two juveniles under the age of 13 will not be charged, police told the station, which added that none of the juveniles are in custody as officers are trying to notify their parents.
The incident drew attention after video recorded outside the Towson Promenade appeared to show a group of juveniles surrounding and beating one victim. You can view unredacted video of the broad-daylight beatdown here, which shows a gang of youths repeatedly punching, kicking, and stomping the victim.
More from WBFF:
A second incident happened Tuesday involving some of the same students inside Dumbarton Middle School during a meeting with the School Resource Officer, police said. During the meeting, a student and their parent left the office and got involved in a physical fight with another student in a hallway. The parent was later trespassed from the school, authorities said.
Police are working with Baltimore County Public Schools, which is conducting its own administrative investigation.
The April 20 incident occurred across the street from Towson Diner, and owner Nick Kourtsounis told WBFF in a separate story he's frustrated by what he sees as ongoing juvenile violence in the area.
"This looks like nine on one, is what it looks like," Kourtsounis told the station while viewing video presumably showing the attack. "I don't see how that's just middle schoolers being middle schoolers. That is a learned behavior, and I don't know how you unlearn that, but something has to be done."
He added to WBFF, "Where's the accountability? That's what we want. We want accountability, we want action, and this stuff about, 'Oh, it's just kids being kids' — no, it's not."
Baltimore County resident Mary Shanahan told the station, "I'm very fearful for my life because you never know what they have in their backpacks, what they have in their pockets, what they're going to say to you."
A retired Baltimore County Police sergeant told WBFF in another story that the youths involved simply don't care about consequences.
"You can see the kids are laughing. They're looking at the camera, they're looking around, but they're committing the crime," Mickey Hoppert, who retired from the Baltimore County Police Department after 20 years of service as an officer, told the station. "They just don't care, because no one is going to hold them accountable. And unfortunately, somebody has to hold them accountable."
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Female shoots gas station store clerk amid 'incredibly brazen' attempted robbery — then strangely leaves empty-handed: Police
A female shot a Maryland gas station store clerk amid an "incredibly brazen" attempted robbery Friday — and then strangely left the store empty-handed, police said.
Howard County Police said officers were called to the Shell gas station in the 7200 block of Cradlerock Way in Columbia around 7:43 p.m. for a report of a shooting.
'We don't see incidents like this very often. We have robberies and some thefts in gas stations where somebody may imply a weapon or show a weapon but not use it, and they usually leave with something.'
An adult male gas station employee was transported to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center with serious injuries, police said, adding that the victim was listed in serious condition.
Police released surveillance video Monday and offered a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to the suspect.
Police on Tuesday said Shantay Lashay O’Donnell, 46, of Virginia, was identified as the shooter in the attempted robbery.
Police said she was in custody in another state on unrelated charges.
O'Donnell will be served with multiple Howard County charges in the coming days, police said.
RELATED: Thug pulls gun in convenience store, but clerk also is armed — and isn't having one bit of it
"What we know is that this woman walked into the Shell store, walked around a little bit, and then as soon as she approached the counter, that's when she took out the gun and fired," Howard County police spokesman Seth Hoffman told WBAL-TV. "We know that she demanded the clerk to open the cash register, but as you can see, it all unfolded so quickly."
Hoffman added to the station that the barely 20-second surveillance video shows nearly the entire incident.
Police told WBAL they're investigating the incident as an attempted robbery and noted that the female in the clip didn't steal anything.
"We don't even think that [the clerk] had time [to open the register]. We don't believe he did," Hoffman also told the station. "She started shooting and then left without anything."
Hoffman added to WBAL that "this is incredibly brazen; we don't see incidents like this very often. We have robberies and some thefts in gas stations where somebody may imply a weapon or show a weapon but not use it, and they usually leave with something. Here, we have somebody who just shot and left with nothing."
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Democrat tough talk fails in Maryland, where congressional redistricting plan dies on the vine
A tough pressure campaign from high-profile Democrats has failed to persuade other members of their party in Maryland, where a new congressional map is now off the table.
Democrats enjoy a super-majority in both the Maryland House of Delegates and the Senate, and Democrat Wes Moore has been governor since 2023. Nevertheless, a redistricting proposal that would have threatened the lone Republican congressional seat died in the Maryland Senate when the legislative session ended Monday night.
'At some point, I am going to have to have a conversation with him if he continues to stand in the way of an up or down vote.'
The Maryland House passed the map overwhelmingly in early February, 99-37.
Gov. Moore pressed hard to pass the map through the state Senate and onto his desk as a way to combat Republican redistricting efforts in Texas and North Carolina, spearheaded by President Donald Trump.
"I think Donald Trump is actively trying to manipulate and change the rules around the November election and beyond because he knows he cannot win on his policies," Moore told the AP.
Moore also told Rev. Al Sharpton last week: "If the rest of the country is going to have this conversation about mid-decade redistricting, then so should Maryland, and so should every other state. Because until it is done nationally, we have to make sure that this election is not stolen right before our face so this pain is made permanent."
RELATED: Hakeem Jeffries pressures Maryland Democrat over one Republican-held congressional seat
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Even U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) promised to pressure Democratic Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson to bring the map up for a vote.
"All we are asking Senate President Ferguson to do is allow democracy to prevail. What that means is an up or down vote," Jeffries said in February. "At some point, I am going to have to have a conversation with him if he continues to stand in the way of an up or down vote. But, hopefully, over the next few days, he will change his mind."
But Ferguson did not change his mind.
Ferguson has consistently resisted efforts to vote on the map, claiming that passing a new map could jeopardize the current map by prompting judicial review.
"Any redrawing of the current map could reopen the ability for someone to challenge the current map and give the court the opportunity to strike it down, or even worse, redraw the map itself," Ferguson wrote in a letter back in October.
"That means that Maryland's potential gain of one seat is immediately eliminated, and, in fact, worsens the national outlook."
A judge already tossed a Maryland congressional map that passed in 2021, calling it "a product of extreme partisan gerrymandering." The current map was passed in 2022.
Jeffries' office did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
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