8 teens wounded by gunfire at Philadelphia bus stop, the 71st case of mass shooting this year in gun-crazy USA

8 teens wounded by gunfire at Philadelphia bus stop, the 71st case of mass shooting this year in gun-crazy USA
1 / 3
Public Information Officer Eric Gripp speaks with the media following a shooting in northeast Philadelphia on March 6, 2024. (AP)
8 teens wounded by gunfire at Philadelphia bus stop, the 71st case of mass shooting this year in gun-crazy USA
2 / 3
Police respond to a deadly shooting on a SEPTA bus in south Philadelphia on March 5, 2024, marking the third time in three days that someone was killed while riding, entering or leaving a SEPTA bus. (The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
8 teens wounded by gunfire at Philadelphia bus stop, the 71st case of mass shooting this year in gun-crazy USA
3 / 3
Evidence markers are seen following a shooting in northeast Philadelphia on March 6, 2024, the fourth in over four days in Philadelphia, leaving three dead and 12 injured. (AP Photo)
Short Url
Updated 07 March 2024
Follow

8 teens wounded by gunfire at Philadelphia bus stop, the 71st case of mass shooting this year in gun-crazy USA

8 teens wounded by gunfire at Philadelphia bus stop, the 71st case of mass shooting this year in gun-crazy USA
  • Wednesday's attack was the 4th fourth shooting on southeastern Pennsylvania's transit system in as many days
  • Gun violence cases across the US for the past 10 years totaled 491,049, with 170,289 deaths and 332,885 injuries

RIYADH/PHILADELPHIA:  A succession of four gun incidents on the transit system of Pennsylvania in the past four days has raised the total number of mass shootings in the gun-crazy United States to 71 so far, according to a site tracking gun violence in the world's most powerful nation.

Police said eight Philadelphia high school students waiting to board a city bus after classes Wednesday were wounded by gunshots from suspects who jumped from a car and opened fire, the fourth shooting on the transit system in as many days.

The previous three shootings each involved a fatality. At least one student was critically wounded at the bus stop, a 16-year-old who was hit nine times, city police said. The others were in stable condition.

Based on the US gun violence record for the past years, the number could rise exponentially. Last year, there were 43,103 gun violence cases across the nation, leaving 19,013 dead and 36,430 injured, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

For the past 10 years, the site recorded a total of 491,049 incidences of gun violence nationwide, with 170,289 deaths and 332,885 injuries.

Kevin Bethel, the city’s police commissioner, said at a news conference that the Northeast High School students, ranging in age from 15 to 17, were waiting for the bus around 3 p.m. when three people emerged from the car, which was waiting at the scene, and fired more than 30 shots.

Police then received numerous 911 calls about a “mass shooting on the highway near Dunkin Donuts,” in northeast Philadelphia, according to police spokesperson Tanya Little.

The injured teens were taken to Einstein Medical Center and Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, according to John Golden, a spokesperson for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, or SEPTA. Two buses — a Route 18 bus and a Route 67 bus — were hit by gunfire, but there were no reports of injuries to passengers or the driver.
Hospital nursing supervisors either declined to comment on the conditions of the patients they received, or did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Monique Braxton, deputy chief of communications for the Philadelphia school district, said the shooting occurred near Crossan Elementary. Northeast High School is more than a mile from where the shooting took place and the largest public high school in the city, with more than 3,000 students.
The elementary school was dismissing students at the time but pulled them back inside and locked down, she added. It was later given the all-clear from police.
Mayor Cherelle Parker, standing at the scene with the city police commissioner and prosecutor and the school superintendent, said she wanted people to know that “we will not be held hostage, that we will use every legal tool in the toolbox to ensure the public health and safety of the people of our city.”
Superintendent Tony Watlington Sr. said officials were “absolutely heartbroken and angry that innocent children walking home from school would be impacted by gun violence, and we agree with the mayor: Enough is enough.”
The scene was cordoned off with yellow police tape in the aftermath of the shooting, with dozens of evidence markers lying on the rain-slicked pavement.

Wednesday’s shooting followed shootings the previous three days in which someone was killed while riding, entering or leaving a SEPTA bus.
Tuesday’s shooting occurred around 6:35 p.m., when police said a verbal argument and then a physical fight began. One of the two passengers exited, turned and fired two shots from a 9 mm handgun, hitting a man later identified as 37-year-old Carmelo Drayton. He died shortly afterward at a hospital.
The shooter, who officials said was wearing one of the kinds of masks not allowed on the transit system, fled. Authorities were investigating possible motive, and no other injuries were reported.
SEPTA’s chief of transit police, Charles Lawson, said the shots were fired at the victim while the driver was “immediately behind.”
On Monday, a 17-year-old student was killed and four other people were wounded when gunfire erupted at a bus stop. The victims included two women who were riding on a bus.

And on Sunday, around 11:30 p.m., a 27-year-old man was killed by another passenger moments after they both got off a bus. Witnesses said the two had argued, but a motive remains under investigation.
No arrests have been made in any of the shootings, Frank Vanore, deputy commissioner of the Philadelphia police department, said Wednesday.
While serious crime overall is down along the transportation system, Lawson said, a pattern that has emerged over the past year and a half is people carrying weapons, usually illegally, getting into an argument and then opening fire. He vowed that officials would enforce crime aggressively and unapologetically and use “every legal means at our disposal to target illegal gun possession.”
“We’re going to target individuals concealing their identity. We’re going to target fare evasion. We’re going to target open drug use,” Lawson said. “We’re going to target every criminal code on the books, and when the law provides for our officers the ability to protect themselves through frisks, through learning if individuals are armed, we’re going to do that, in every case.”
Lawson added officials were increasing monitoring of security cameras and looking into ways to let employees report potential problems discreetly and safely.

(With AP)


China says fishing vessel hijacked off Somalia ‘freed’

China says fishing vessel hijacked off Somalia ‘freed’
Updated 17 sec ago
Follow

China says fishing vessel hijacked off Somalia ‘freed’

China says fishing vessel hijacked off Somalia ‘freed’
  • Somalia has for years been blighted by piracy, which peaked in 2011, when the UN says more than 160 attacks were recorded off the Somali coast

MOGADISHU: A Chinese-owned fishing vessel hijacked off the Somali coast in November has been set free with its 18-member crew, the Chinese Embassy in Somalia said Monday.
The embassy said in a statement posted on X that the crew was rescued Monday following “the unremitting efforts of the Chinese government.” “The Chinese side strongly condemns this vicious action which threatened the safety of the crew and international navigation security, and will continue to firmly safeguard the lawful rights of Chinese citizens and enterprises overseas,” the statement said.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The ship and its crew were hijacked in late November and taken to Xaafuun district in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland.

• The pirates who took the ship later demanded a ransom of $10 million. It was not immediately clear if the money was paid.

The ship and its crew were hijacked in late November and taken to Xaafuun district in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland, a territory in Somalia’s northeast. The pirates who took the ship later demanded a ransom of $10 million.
It was not immediately clear if the money was paid.
“The Chinese side maintained close consultation and coordination” with federal authorities in Somalia as well as the regional government of Puntland in efforts to rescue the ship and its crew, the embassy statement said.
The hijacking underscored the persistent challenges of maritime security in Somalia’s waters. Somalia has for years been blighted by piracy, which peaked in 2011, when the UN says more than 160 attacks were recorded off the Somali coast.
Incidents have declined drastically since then, however, largely due to the presence of American and allied navies in international waters.

 


Tropical storm barrels toward Mozambique after leaving 3 dead in Madagascar

Tropical storm barrels toward Mozambique after leaving 3 dead in Madagascar
Updated 6 min 4 sec ago
Follow

Tropical storm barrels toward Mozambique after leaving 3 dead in Madagascar

Tropical storm barrels toward Mozambique after leaving 3 dead in Madagascar
  • Mayotte’s prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville said the red alert — imposed since Saturday — would remain in place at least until nightfall

MAMOUDZOU: Tropical storm Dikeledi barreled toward Mozambique on Monday after leaving three dead in Madagascar and triggering floods in the French territory of Mayotte, less than a month after the cyclone-battered region was hit by Chido.
It had hit Madagascar’s northern tip as a cyclone Saturday, whipping up strong winds and torrential rains.
The storm left at least three dead, according to the National Office for Risk and Disaster Management on Sunday.
By Sunday, Dikeledi had weakened into a severe tropical storm, passing Mayotte — France’s poorest department — by about 100 kilometers at its closest point.
Mayotte’s prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville said the red alert — imposed since Saturday — would remain in place at least until nightfall.
“We have a territory that is very fragile so I decided to keep this red alert,” Bieuville, the top Paris-appointed official on Mayotte, said on television.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Diekledi came as the region was still reeling from the deadly Cyclone Chido. It left at least 39 dead in Mayotte, injuring more than 5,600, and causing colossal damage.

• When Chido made landfall in the southeast African country of Mozambique in December, it inflicted a more punishing toll — killing at least 120 people and injuring more than 900.

“We still have extremely strong winds and rainfall that is just as strong.”
However, no casualties have been reported from the storm, he said.
Diekledi came as the region was still reeling from the deadly Cyclone Chido.
It left at least 39 dead in Mayotte, injuring more than 5,600, and causing colossal damage.
When Chido made landfall in the southeast African country of Mozambique in December, it inflicted a more punishing toll — killing at least 120 people and injuring more than 900.
By Monday, Dikeledi was 150 kilometers off the coast of Mozambique, according to French weather administration Meteo-France.
It is expected to intensify over the warm waters of the Mozambique Channel to reach “the stage of an intense or very intense tropical cyclone,” Meteo-France said.
Despite the storm’s passage, heavy rains were still expected in Mayotte, Floriane Ben Hassen of Mayotte’s meteorological center said on television, recommending “great caution in all coastal villages ... around these high tide peaks.”
About a dozen houses in the south and the center of the archipelago had been washed away, according to local emergency services Sunday, while several villages had been inundated, including Mbouini, on the southern coast.
“We’re traumatized by everything that happened here. We’ve already been traumatized Chido, and now we’re at a loss for words,” Massa, a resident of Mbouini said.
“We’re only in the middle of the rainy season, so we don’t know what’s going to happen between now and February or March,” she said.
Due to the red alert — which banned all travel except for rescue services and other authorized personnel — Mayotte’s inhabitants have been confined to their homes since Saturday until further notice.
But in the capital Mamoudzou, some residents ventured out Sunday onto the streets, a few taking advantage of the rain to wash their vehicles. In nearby Pamanzi, residents braved the red alert to shore up their roofs weakened by the rain.
More than 4,000 people have been mobilized in Mayotte, including members of the police and the military, while France’s overseas territory minister said that 80 accommodation centers were set up to host 14,500 people.
As Dikeledi approaches Mozambique, its Nampula region “should experience very degraded conditions,” Meteo-France said, warning of torrential rainfall and “very destructive winds,” as well as dangerous sea conditions.
Cyclones usually develop in the Indian Ocean from November to March. This year, surface water temperatures are close to 30 degrees Celsius in the area, which provides more intensity to storms, a global warming phenomenon also observed in the North Atlantic and the Pacific.

 


Pakistani security forces kill 27 insurgents during raid in Balochistan

Pakistani security forces raided a militant hideout on Monday, killing 27 insurgents, the military said. (File/AFP)
Pakistani security forces raided a militant hideout on Monday, killing 27 insurgents, the military said. (File/AFP)
Updated 13 January 2025
Follow

Pakistani security forces kill 27 insurgents during raid in Balochistan

Pakistani security forces raided a militant hideout on Monday, killing 27 insurgents, the military said. (File/AFP)
  • The operation in southwestern Pakistan was conducted in Kachhi, a district in Balochistan province, the military said in a statement

QUETTA: Pakistani security forces raided a militant hideout on Monday, killing 27 insurgents, the military said.
The operation in southwestern Pakistan was conducted in Kachhi, a district in Balochistan province, the military said in a statement. Security forces were acting on intelligence.
The slain “terrorists were involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces as well as innocent civilians,” and were being sought by law enforcement agencies, the statement said.
It provided no further details about the slain men, but small Baloch separatist groups and Pakistani Taliban have a strong presence in Balochistan, which is the scene of a long-running insurgency, with an array of separatist groups staging attacks, mainly on security forces.
The separatists are demanding independence from the central government.


UK’s Starmer urged to fire minister hit by Bangladesh graft probe

Britain’s Keir Starmer faced fresh pressure Monday to sack his anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq. (File/AFP)
Britain’s Keir Starmer faced fresh pressure Monday to sack his anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq. (File/AFP)
Updated 13 January 2025
Follow

UK’s Starmer urged to fire minister hit by Bangladesh graft probe

Britain’s Keir Starmer faced fresh pressure Monday to sack his anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq. (File/AFP)
  • Siddiq, 42, has been dogged by claims about her links to Hasina, who fled Bangladesh last August
  • Hasina, 77, has defied extradition requests to face Bangladeshi charges including mass murder

LONDON: Britain’s Keir Starmer faced fresh pressure Monday to sack his anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq, as Bangladesh’s graft watchdog filed new cases against her and her aunt, the country’s ousted leader Sheikh Hasina.
Siddiq, 42, has been dogged by claims about her links to Hasina, who fled Bangladesh last August after a student-led uprising against her decades-long, increasingly authoritarian tenure as prime minister.
Hasina, 77, has defied extradition requests to face Bangladeshi charges including mass murder.
On Monday, Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission announced she and family members including Siddiq were subject to another graft probe, this time over an alleged land grab of lucrative plots in a suburb of the capital Dhaka.
Family members including Siddiq had already emerged as named targets of the commission’s investigation into accusations of embezzlement of $5 billion connected to a Russian-funded nuclear power plant.
Bangladeshi money laundering investigators have since ordered the country’s big banks to hand over details of transactions relating to Siddiq as part of the probe.
Earlier this month, the UK minister referred herself to Starmer’s standards adviser, following the flurry of allegations, which also included that she lived in properties linked to her aunt’s Awami League party.
Siddiq has insisted that she has done nothing wrong.
Asked Monday whether her position in the UK government remained tenable, senior British minister Pat McFadden told Sky News she had “done the right thing” with the self-referral.
He insisted the standards adviser had the powers to “carry out investigations into allegations like this.”
“That is what he is doing, and that is the right way to deal with this,” McFadden said.
However, following further accusations in British newspapers over the weekend, UK opposition politicians want Siddiq fired.
“I think it’s untenable for her to carry out her role,” the Conservatives’ finance spokesman Mel Stride told Times Radio on Sunday.
The party’s business spokesman Andrew Griffith sought to focus the spotlight on Starmer, arguing Monday it was “about the tone at the top.”
“Remember he called himself ‘Mr Rules’, ‘Mr Integrity’,” he told LBC News, referring to Starmer’s pitch to voters before last year’s general election that he represented a break with years of Tory scandals.
Siddiq is an MP for a north London constituency whose ministerial job is part of the finance ministry and responsible for the UK’s financial services sector as well as anti-corruption measures.
Over the weekend, a Sunday Times investigation revealed details about the claims that she spent years living in a London flat bought by an offshore company connected to two Bangladeshi businessmen.
The flat was eventually transferred as a gift to a Bangladeshi lawyer with links to Hasina, her family and her ousted government, according to the newspaper.
It also reported Siddiq and her family were given or used several other London properties bought by members or associates of the Awami League party.
Bangladesh’s interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Prize-winning microfinance pioneer who heads a caretaker government, demanded a detailed probe in light of the allegations.
He told the newspaper the properties could be linked to wider corruption claims against Hasina’s toppled government, which he said amounted to the “plain robbery” of billions of dollars from Bangladesh’s coffers.


India’s Modi opens strategic tunnel to disputed frontier with China

India’s PM Narendra Modi cuts a ribbon to inaugurate the Z-Morh or Sonamarg tunnel in India’s Jammu and Kashmir region.
India’s PM Narendra Modi cuts a ribbon to inaugurate the Z-Morh or Sonamarg tunnel in India’s Jammu and Kashmir region.
Updated 13 January 2025
Follow

India’s Modi opens strategic tunnel to disputed frontier with China

India’s PM Narendra Modi cuts a ribbon to inaugurate the Z-Morh or Sonamarg tunnel in India’s Jammu and Kashmir region.
  • New tunnel is part of a $932 million infrastructure project linking Kashmir with Ladakh
  • Last March, Modi also inaugurated a tunnel in disputed northeastern border state

NEW DELHI: India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated on Monday a strategic Himalayan road tunnel that would give year-round accessibility to areas along the contested border with China.

The Sonamarg tunnel is part of a $932 million infrastructure project that helps connect Indian-administered Kashmir with Ladakh, a high-altitude, cold desert region nestled between India, Pakistan and China that has been the subject of territorial disputes for decades.

As the 6.4-km-long passage, also known as Z-Morh, stretches beneath a treacherous mountain pass cut off by snow for four to six months a year, it is expected to increase mobility in the region and allow rapid deployment of military supplies.

“With the opening of the tunnel here, connectivity will significantly improve and tourism will see a major boost in Jammu and Kashmir,” Modi said at the opening ceremony in Sonamarg.

The massive infrastructure project also includes a series of bridges, high mountain roads and a second tunnel — expected for completion in 2026 — of about 14 km that will bypass the challenging Zojila pass and connect Sonamarg with Ladakh.

“The inauguration of the tunnel ensures uninterrupted supply chains for military essentials, safeguarding lives by mitigating avalanche-related risks,” Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Jairam Gadkari said.

India’s new tunnel opened amid an ongoing border dispute with China, which came to a head in 2020 following deadly clashes on their de facto Himalayan border known as the Line of Actual Control.

The conflict led the two countries to deploy thousands of troops to the area, as both sides stopped patrolling several points on the border in Ladakh to avoid new confrontations.

Last October, New Delhi and Beijing reached a deal to resolve the military stand-off after multiple high-level meetings aimed at resolving the conflict.

“India has been trying to reinforce its border network so that it is able to provide logistics support for the army and in the process also help civilians,” Prof. Noor Ahmad Baba from the political science department at the University of Kashmir told Arab News.

He said the tunnel is significant for its security and defense aspect and how it is improving connectivity to tourist spots like Sonamarg.

“(The tunnel) gives all-weather connectivity to the Ladakh region … which is a strategically significant region because of the continuous tension with China.”

India and China have been unable to agree on their 3,500-km border since they fought a war in 1962.

Last March, Modi inaugurated the Sela tunnel in the northeastern border state of Arunachal Pradesh, which the government has said will strengthen strategic capabilities along the LAC.