Murders, Attempted Murders and Homicides

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      Thumbprint on Cigarette Carton Cracks a 48-Year-Old Murder Case

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      A young mother told friends that she’d be “back in 10 minutes.” She never returned, and the police in San Jose have now charged a man in her death.Jeannette Ralston was at the Lion’s Den bar in San Jose, Calif., when she told her friends that she would be “back in 10 minutes.”She never returned.The next morning, on Feb. 1, 1977, police officers found the 24-year-old woman strangled with the long sleeve of a red women’s dress shirt and squeezed into the back seat of her Volkswagen Beetle in a parking lot a few minutes away from the bar.Almost 50 years later, the authorities believe that they know who strangled her.Willie Eugene Sims, 69, of Jefferson, Ohio, was arraigned on Friday on a charge of murder in San Jose, Calif., and held without bail, after his extradition from Ohio.He did not enter a plea and his next court date was set for August. It was unclear if Mr. Sims had a lawyer.The investigation into the killing of Ms. Ralston, a mother and resident of San Mateo, Calif., went cold after no credible leads were initially developed.The police found a carton of Eve cigarettes, a popular brand for women in the 1970s, and the shirt that she was strangled with. They also had a sketch drawn of an unidentified man that her friends saw her leave the bar with the night before she was found.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Mistrial in Murder Case Against Michigan Officer Who Shot Motorist

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      The jury deadlocked in the trial of Christopher Schurr, who testified that he feared for his life when he fatally shot Patrick Lyoya during a traffic stop in Grand Rapids, Mich., in 2022.A Michigan jury said it was deadlocked on Thursday in a murder case against a police officer who fatally shot a motorist during a traffic stop.Judge Christina Mims of the Kent County Circuit Court declared a mistrial after jurors, who had been deliberating for four days, said they were unable to reach a verdict.The defendant, Christopher Schurr, formerly a police officer in Grand Rapids, Mich., took the stand during the trial and said that he feared for his life when he opened fire at the driver, Patrick Lyoya, after Mr. Lyoya grabbed his stun gun.“I believe if I didn’t do what I did when I did it, I wouldn’t be here today,” Mr. Schurr told the jury, in his first public remarks about the shooting.Mr. Lyoya’s death in 2022 set off protests and heightened racial tensions in Michigan, during a national debate over police misconduct and racism that followed the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.Mr. Schurr, 36, is white. Mr. Lyoya, 26, was Black.Mr. Lyoya’s killing received extensive media coverage, in large part because it was captured on video from several angles, including by Mr. Schurr’s body camera, a bystander’s cellphone and a nearby doorbell security system.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Arizona Restaurant Shooting Leaves at Least 3 Dead and 5 Injured

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      Witnesses told local news stations that the shooting took place at a Cinco de Mayo event.At least three people were killed and five people were wounded in a shooting that erupted on Sunday at a restaurant in Arizona where a crowd of people was celebrating Cinco de Mayo, the police and a witness said.The police in Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix, responded at about 7:45 p.m. to calls saying that shots had been fired at the El Camaron Gigante Mariscos & Steakhouse, a spokesman for the Glendale Police Department, Officer Moroni Mendez, told local news stations in a briefing late on Sunday.Officers found a “chaotic” scene in which multiple people had been shot, he said. Detectives were investigating but they believed there was more than one shooter.It was not immediately clear whether the shooting was an exchange of gunfire or if several people had acted together in firing on the crowd, Officer Mendez said.There were no arrests, although Officer Mendez said that the public was not in danger.Officer Mendez did not identify the victims or provide their ages. The injuries of those wounded were either caused by shrapnel or gunfire, he said.He could not immediately be reached early on Monday, and calls to the restaurant went unanswered.A witness told 12 News that dozens of people, including families with children, were at the restaurant for Cinco de Mayo, an annual celebration that commemorates Mexico’s victory over France in the Battle of Puebla.The witness said there were several rounds of gunfire, and then a pause before a second set of shots was fired. More

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      Father Whose Son Was Shot by Cincinnati Police Hits Deputy With Car, Killing Him

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      The man had viewed footage of the fatal shooting of his 18-year-old son in Cincinnati hours before deliberately crashing into a sheriff’s deputy in Hamilton County, Ohio, the authorities said.An Ohio man drove his car into a sheriff’s deputy, killing him in what the authorities said appeared to be an intentional act that happened the day after the driver’s 18-year-old son had been shot and killed by the Cincinnati police.The man, Rodney L. Hinton, 38, was being held without bond on Saturday on one count of aggravated murder, according to documents in Hamilton County Municipal Court.Mr. Hinton is accused of hitting a Hamilton County deputy who was directing traffic outside of a University of Cincinnati graduation event at approximately 1 p.m. on Friday, Chief Teresa Theetge of the Cincinnati Police Department said at a news conference on Friday.The chief said that “there is a connection” between the fatal crash and a shooting the previous day, though there was no indication that the driver knew the deputy. The deputy’s death followed the fatal shooting by a Cincinnati police officer of Mr. Hinton’s 18-year-old son, Ryan Hinton, during a pursuit on Thursday night, Chief Theetge said.The deputy who was killed was not publicly identified by the authorities. The sheriff praised the deputy’s work with the department.“He was so well-liked and so well-known, we could fill this building with the law enforcement agencies that respect him, love him,” Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey of Hamilton County said at the news conference. “I knew the man and I knew what a tremendous, tremendous person he is and what a tremendous loss we have all suffered.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Despair Blankets Scene of Car-Ramming Attack at Festival

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      Filipinos in Vancouver returned to a neighborhood to mourn the 11 people killed in a weekend attack.On any ordinary day, the South Vancouver neighborhood bustles with the sounds of life, but Saturday was no ordinary day. It was a celebration of Filipino culture, and music from a live concert echoed through the streets as families lined up at food trucks and children played.On Sunday it was strangely silent.“It gives me chills,” said Franchesca Gabo, taking it all in.Ms. Gabo, 20, left the festival shortly before a driver rammed his SUV into the mass of people, killing 11 and injuring more than 30.Now, she had come back, joining an impromptu vigil of people peering over police tape and trying in vain to absorb the enormity of what had happened.“It was a happy day yesterday,” Ms. Gabo said. “Everyone was celebrating.”The authorities say the motive for the attack did not appear to be terrorism. But beyond that little had emerged about the suspect in custody other than that he is a 30-year-old man with a history of mental illness. Now, he is charged with murder.More was becoming known about the victims at the festival celebrating Lapu Lapu Day.The youngest was Katie Le, a 5-year-old girl who was killed along with her parents, Richard Le, 47, and Linh Hoang, 30, according to local news reports. Mr. Le’s 16-year-old son, Andy, survived because of a last-minute decision to skip the festival in favor of homework, relatives said.A school board in a nearby suburb said that a guidance counselor named Kira Salim was also among the dead. “The loss of our friend and colleague has left us all shocked and heartbroken,” it said in a statement.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Patient Aboard an Ambulance Fatally Stabs a Firefighter Paramedic

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      The emergency worker in Kansas City, Mo., was stabbed in his chest while transporting a patient in what started as a routine call on Sunday, officials said.A member of the emergency medical services in Kansas City, Mo., died on Sunday after being stabbed by a patient who was being transported to a hospital in what officials said started out as a “routine medical call.”The patient stabbed the emergency worker, Graham Hoffman, a 29-year-old firefighter paramedic, in the chest, piercing his heart, city officials said in a news release.A suspect was in custody but had not been publicly identified. A motive for the attack was not immediately known.The episode began after Kansas City police officers were dispatched to a “routine medical call” early on Sunday to check on a woman who was reported to be walking along a section of highway near North Oak Trafficway, the police said.Officers found the woman and requested help from the emergency medical services for further unspecified treatment. While en route to the hospital, the patient “produced an edged weapon” and stabbed Firefighter Hoffman, the police said.Graham Hoffman, a firefighter paramedic, was fatally stabbed during a call in Kansas City, Mo., on Sunday.Kansas City Fire DepartmentFirefighter Hoffman’s partner called a crew emergency, and additional Fire Department and Police Department personnel responded. Firefighter Hoffman was taken to North Kansas City Hospital.“Despite the heroic efforts of KCFD paramedics, the hospital medical team, Firefighter Hoffman succumbed to his injuries in the intensive care unit,” the city said.Firefighter Hoffman had been a member of the Kansas City Fire Department since 2022, according to the news release.The police are working with the Clay County prosecutor on criminal charges, the city said.“We will demand accountability be applied not just to the suspect, but also for any steps in the system that fell short,” said Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City. More

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      What We Know About the FSU Shooting

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      Two people were killed and six others were injured when a 20-year-old gunman opened fire near the student union building, the police said.Two people died and six others were injured at Florida State University in Tallahassee on Thursday when a 20-year-old gunman armed with a handgun opened fire near the student union, law enforcement officials said.The suspect was shot and wounded by police officers after he disregarded their commands, the authorities said. He was taken to the hospital and identified as a student and the son of a local sheriff’s deputy.Officials were working on “multiple crime scenes” at the Florida State campus and dealing with at least “hundreds” of witnesses, said Chief Lawrence E. Revell of the Tallahassee Police Department, the lead investigative agency.Here is what we know.The shooting happened near the student union building.At around 11:50 a.m., gunfire erupted near the student union building at Florida State, a public university with an enrollment of more than 43,000, eight days before the last day of classes for the spring semester. The gunman used a handgun, law enforcement officials said during an afternoon news conference.Officers from the university’s Police Department responded. When the gunman did not comply with their commands, they shot and wounded him. He was taken into custody and to the hospital, where he invoked his right to remain silent, Chief Revell said.The chief said the suspect was also armed with a shotgun but added that it was unclear whether he had used it in the attack. The police believe that he acted alone.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      What We Know About the Gunman in the Florida State Shooting

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      The gunman accused of killing at least two people and injuring six others on Thursday in a shooting at Florida State University is a current student at the school and his mother is a Leon County sheriff’s deputy, officials said.The shooter was identified by the police as Phoenix Ikner, 20. Chief Lawrence E. Revell of the Tallahassee, Fla., Police Department said the man accused used his mother’s personal handgun in the shooting.The authorities said the attacker appeared to have been acting alone. He was in the hospital on Thursday, after being shot and wounded by responding officers for failing to obey their commands.Few details about the gunman emerged in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Calls to his family and friends on Thursday mostly went unanswered.The man accused of the shooting graduated in 2022 from Lincoln High School, a public school in Tallahassee. He was a member of the Leon County Sheriff’s Office Youth Advisory Council in 2021-2022.According to the sheriff’s office website, the program is an opportunity for members to help address issues facing young people in their communities. Eligible students must be a rising sophomore, junior or senior at a high school in Leon County, have limited unexcused absences and a minimum grade point average of 2.0.Jacob West, 18, was part of the same youth advisory council with the suspect. Mr. West said he was shocked to hear the suspect’s name on the news and double-checked his phone to confirm it was the same person. He described the man accused as always “in good spirits,” helpful and always proposing “really good ideas to help Leon County.”“To hear what had happened was absolutely just heartbreaking,” said Mr. West.When they were in the youth advisory council together, the suspect was interested in car-racing video games and Minecraft, and he was passionate about vehicles, Mr. West said. The two would talk about the program, as well as pickup trucks and school, Mr. West said.“He never spoke about guns or anything,” Mr. West said.The suspect had told Mr. West that he was considering a career in law enforcement, but toward the end of their time with the youth advisory council, he said his interest in the profession had waned, Mr. West recalled. Mr. West said he left the program early, and that the two texted briefly afterward but had not been in touch since.Susan C. Beachy More