A Daily News investigation of a Brooklyn narcotics officer and his team has spotlighted a troubling pattern of behavior that has cost the city more than $1.5 million in settlements even while the officer in question was promoted.

NYPD lieutenant Daniel Sbarra and members of his team have been hit with nearly 60 lawsuits, nine of which are still pending. At least fifteen of the cases involve Sbarra specifically, with charges ranging from racial profiling and slurs to the unprovoked brutal beating of a man whose 11-year-old son was watching.

The city Law Department issued a statement pointing to the intense nature of Sbarra’s job.

“Being named in a lawsuit or settlement is not an accurate barometer for evaluating an officer’s conduct,” it said. “For example, an officer who works in high-impact roles, such as narcotics or emergency services, is more likely to be sued in his or her line of duty than an officer in a less confrontational role.”

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Police are investigating after a man and a woman in their 20s were found shot to death in a New Jersey park Thursday night.

Cops discovered the victims at approximately 10 p.m. near a bench inside Montclair’s Canterbury Park, NBC New York reports.

The investigation is ongoing. Relatives of the dead told NBC that the woman was from East Orange.

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Former MTA chairman and mayoral candidate Joseph Lhota is under fire for comparing Port Authority police to “mall cops” at a forum Tuesday night.

Lhota was asked a question about improving airport security when he began to express his reservations about the quality of Port Authority police officers, the New York Times reports.

“Quite honestly, and I know I will get in trouble for saying this, they are nothing more than mall cops,” Mr. Lhota said at Pace University in Lower Manhattan.

Lhota issued an apology Wednesday morning, but his comments had already sparked anger among police groups.

“I’ve had 9/11 widows call me this morning,” Paul Nunziato, president of the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association, told the Times on Wednesday. “They are not pleased at all.”

Thirty-seven Port Authority officers died at the World Trade Center site on Sept. 11, 2001, according to the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association.

PBA spokesman Patrick J. Lynch said, “New York City police officers have worked side by side with Port Authority police officers for many years, and we have found them to be well-trained and highly experienced professional police officers.”

The comment comes as a surprise. The mayoral candidate is the son of a New York City police lieutenant, and as a former deputy mayor of operations, Lhota suffered from health complications after he, too, rushed to the World Trade Center site on Sept. 11.

“I regret my unfortunate characterization of the Port Authority Police Department,” Lhota said in his apology. “It was an inappropriate answer that does not accurately reflect the hard work of its officers.”

But his apology may be too little, too late.

“I don’t think he has a chance to be mayor of New York City, and I would certainly be out there campaigning against him if he ever got close,” Nunziato said.

Rival Republican mayoral contender John Catsimatidis quickly took advantage of the blunder and issued the following statement: “It’s sad that the son of an NYPD lieutenant would take verbal shots at the Port Authority police or any law enforcement organization. As mayor, I would support law enforcement, not knock it down.”

The post Lhota slammed after calling Port Authority police ‘mall cops’ appeared first on Metro.us.

Police are investigating a shooting that injured five people in Newark late Thursday night.

Multiple shots were fired at approximately 10 p.m. in the city’s South Ward, according to the Associated Press.

Among the victims was a 10-year-old girl, according to various news reports. The victims were listed in stable condition Thursday night.

No arrests have been made and it is not clear what led to the shooting. The investigation is ongoing.

The post Five people shot in Newark appeared first on Metro.us.

In the wake of the attack that killed three people and injured more than 180 others at the Boston Marathon on Monday, New Yorkers are unsurprisingly anxious, reporting three times as many suspicious packages than usual.

About 77 suspicious packages were reported in the 24-hour period following Monday’s blasts, the New York Post reports. New Yorkers report an average of 21 suspicious packages on a normal day.

“It’s not an overreaction, people are just concerned,” a source told the Post.

A section of LaGuardia Airport was evacuated Tuesday morning because of a suspicious object that turned out to be a light fixture left on the floor with wires hanging out of it.

An elementary school in Long Island was evacuated because of a bomb threat, the Post reports. No bomb was found. And a commercial building in Chelsea was also evacuated because of a suspicious box, which turned out to be empty.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said there are no specific threats against New York City. Still, police presence is strong around the city as the investigation into the Boston attack continues.

The post More suspicious packages reported in NYC after Boston attack appeared first on Metro.us.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg reminded New Yorkers on Monday night that they should stay vigilant and immediately report any suspicious activity.

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  VIDEO: Boston Marathon headquarters locked down after explosion, two reported dead

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  PHOTOS: Explosion during Boston Marathon

About 1,000 NYPD members assigned to counterterrorism duties were mobilized Monday. Police officers were deployed to major landmarks and prominent hotels. Police cruisers lined the streets around Times Square, and security was heightened around the Barclays Center for a Nets game Monday night.

The MTA also increased police presence at train stations, bridges and tunnels.

A massive FBI investigation remains underway. By Monday night, Boston police officials said authorities were speaking with persons of interest but no suspects were in custody.

The post Bloomberg to New Yorkers: Remain vigilant in days ahead appeared first on Metro.us.

Two children in Long Island were found drowned in a swimming pool after they went missing Sunday afternoon.

Sharon Knowles, 7, and her brother Ralph Knowles, 5, drowned in a neighbor’s pool in Central Islip after they apparently climbed over a fence and got into the neighbor’s backyard, the New York Post reports.

The mother called police around 3:30 p.m. because she couldn’t find her children. The brother and sister were found fully clothed and lifeless in the pool about 4 p.m.

The neighbor was cited for improper fencing, the Post reports.

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A 6-year-old boy from New Jersey is in stable condition after his 4-year-old neighbor accidentally shot him in the head with a rifle Monday night while the two were playing outside.

Police said the .22 caliber went off at about 7 p.m. in the yard of the 4-year-old’s home in Toms River, N.J., NBC News reports. It is not clear if the boy pulled the trigger or if the rifle accidentally discharged.

Cops are still investigating how the young boy obtained the rifle that he found in his home.

The post NJ boy, 4, accidentally shoots friend, 6, with rifle appeared first on Metro.us.

The City Council may pass legislation requiring the NYPD to have an inspector general, Council Speaker Christine Quinn said today.

Quinn said the Council is negotiating legislation regarding cops’ interaction with New Yorkers, including reaching “broad agreement” on the proposal of an inspector general.

“We’re in ongoing negotiations on several significant proposals that will work to improve police-community relations throughout our city,” she said in a statement this afternoon.

Public Advocate Bill De Blasio held a press conference Tuesday to press the Council on details that he said should be included in the legislation.

The Community Safety Act would require the NYPD to have an independent monitor, someone to review the department’s actions.

The NYPD needs “an inspector general with teeth,” de Blasio said in a letter sent to Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly on Tuesday.

In the letter, he noted that advocates reported the NYPD’s five millionth stop-and-frisk last week. The department is facing a trial that began this week about the stop-and-frisk practice.

“These two milestones are closely linked — with the overuse and misuse of its stop-and-frisk policy, the NYPD has risked department policy being set by judicial decree,” he wrote in the letter. “That is no way for a government agency to operate.”

An inspector general would specifically help reform the stop-and-frisk program, he said.

De Blasio said any appointed inspector general needs an independent budget and subpoena powers. Without those, a court ruling could limit his powers, he said.

“We have seen this movie before — assurances that reform is on the way only to see the council substitute a half-measure for true change,” he said at the conference. “This time must be different.”

The NYPD has been criticized for recent practices like stop-and-frisk and its surveillance of Muslims in and around New York City.

The NYPD’s top spokesman told Metro the suggestion of an inspector general was “wasteful and duplicative.”

The post As council mulls NYPD inspector general, de Blasio calls for one ‘with teeth’ (UPDATE) appeared first on Metro.us.

The man wanted for the killing of a Staten Island mother while she was on vacation in Istanbul earlier this year made his confession to police Monday and described his brutal actions in detail.

Sarai Sierra, 33, was taking pictures near railroad tracks on Jan. 21 when she encountered the accused killer, a vagrant known as Ziya T. The suspect tried to kiss Sierra, but she hit him with her cell phone, causing his nose to bleed, The New York Post reports. Angered by her action, Ziya T. then punched Sierra and sent her rolling down an embankment.

The Staten Island wife and mother of two tried to fight off her killer for 30 minutes. At one point, she hit him with a rock. Ziya T. then picked up a rock and hit her in the head multiple times. He left her to die.

The suspect returned the next day, covered her body and discarded her belongings. He later fled to Syria but recently decided to turn himself in because he knew authorities were closing in.

Turkish investigators have linked DNA from Ziya T’s relatives to matter from under Sierra’s fingernails, the Post reports.

Sierra had left for Turkey on Jan. 7. Her body was found on Feb. 2.

The post Sarai Sierra’s killer describes SI mother’s final moments appeared first on Metro.us.

The mother of a 16-year-old boy who was shot and killed by police officers this weekend said that she does not condone the nightly protests against her son’s death, but said she demands that the two cops who shot her son be taken off the streets. 

Carol Gray called for peace on Thursday after three nights of violent protests in the East Flatbush neighborhood. She said she just wants justice for the two officers responsible for her son’s death “before they hurt another kid,” The Daily News reported.

Kimani Gray was shot and killed by two police officers Saturday night after he pointed a gun at them, according to police reports. Some local residents and even some people from outside the community have been outraged over the teen’s death, saying they do not believe he had a gun in his hands.

The cops involved were identified as Sgt. Mourad Mourad, 30, and Officer Jovaniel Cordova, 26, The News reported. According to police reports, Kimani pulled out a .38-caliber revolver and pointed it at Cordova, and then at Mourad, and then back at Cordova. The officers shot Gray a total of seven times.

The neighborhood protests have resulted in dozens of arrests. Dozens gathered again Thursday, but it was calm.

The post Mother of Kimani Gray demands justice appeared first on Metro.us.

Police have arrested a 19-year-old Brooklyn resident in connection with a group of people who trashed and looted a Rite Aid store following a vigil on Monday held for a teen who was shot by police officers.

Kaven Menard, 19, has been charged with robbery, NY1 reported. Police are searching for more suspects via a surveillance video from inside the store.

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  Vigil for 16-year-old killed by cops turns to riot in East Flatbush

A vigil held for 16-year-old Kimani Gray Monday night turned into a violent riot in East Flatbush as those who are angry over the teen’s death broke car windows and ransacked local shops. Gray was shot and killed by two police officers after he pointed a gun at them on Saturday night.

One witness has come out and said she does not believe Gray had a gun, even though a gun was recovered at the scene.

Many young people in the neighborhood are upset over his death, while other residents are concerned about the riot and unrest in their area.

The post Arrest made in East Flatbush Rite Aid attack appeared first on Metro.us.

A Brooklyn woman who said she witnessed the death of 16-year-old Kimani Gray from her apartment window claims that the teen did not have a gun in his hands, according to The Daily News. 

Gray was shot and killed by police this past weekend after he pointed a gun at two officers. A loaded weapon was recovered at the scene.

Tishana King said she looked out her third-floor apartment window on Saturday night when she heard loud talking and laughing. She then saw a burgundy sedan pull up and two police officers get out of the car. One of the officers then pulled out a gun and shot an unarmed Gray, King said.

“I’m certain he didn’t have anything in his hands,” King told The News. Detectives interviewed King for eight minutes after the shooting. When asked to describe what she saw in detail, the witness never mentioned seeing Gray with a gun, according to The News.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said that another witness said he heard one of the cops shout, “What do you have in your hands?” Police have also said that the officers, whose names have not been released, first reported that the teen had pulled a gun.

Gray’s death has left the neighborhood in East Flabush in unrest. A vigil held for the teen on Monday night turned into a riot, with a large group ransacking a local drug store.

The post Witness: Teen shot by police had no gun appeared first on Metro.us.

UPDATE: A law enforcement official said that the gun recovered at the scene of the Kimani Gray shooting was traced to Florida. Police do not know when or how it was brought here, but said it was not previously reported stolen. The surveillance video on the left, provided by police, comes from the RiteAid that was raided during the riot.

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  Vigil for 16-year-old killed by cops turns to riot in East Flatbush

Gray’s first arrest was in September of last year, for stealing a car. His most recent arrest was for petit larceny, two weeks ago.

Councilman Jumaane Williams, who represents the neighborhood of East Flatbush where last night’s riot took place, released a statement condemning the “violence caused to property or to person,” but also said that the action “was not about the details of one shooting.”

“It spoke to the overwhelming frustration that people are living through day after day,” Williams said. “We have talked about the corrosive relationship between our community and the NYPD, but still the Mayor and the Commissioner have failed to address the root causes of this tension.” 

He urged Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly to join him on a walk around his district today “to see the situation first-hand and address constituents who demand real reform.”

Kelly reportedly said at a city council meeting this morning on the public safety budget that he has been to the community numerous times.

Stefan Ringel, a spokesman for Councilman Williams, said that is untrue.

“He has been to precincts around our community, but he has not come to our community,” Ringel insisted.

Ringel added that they are still calling on Kelly to visit the community, but have not received a response.

Williams quoted Martin Luther King, Jr., saying “a riot is the language of the unheard.”

“We must channel [our anger] constructively and send a clear message to City Hall and One Police Plaza that change must come,” Williams said. “Without [change] I fear this will be a long and bloody summer ahead.”

According to Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne, “Commissioner Kelly was there last night.”

Browne said Kelly meets regularly with a group called the NYPD Brooklyn Clergy Coalition, “a group of black ministers who came to the Commissioner to volunteer their assistance in combating black-on-black violence.”

Browne said members of the group “instrumental in calming things down last night.”

Jumaane Williams’ spokesman Stefan Ringel said that Browne must have been speaking of the 67th Precinct Clergy Council, whose members were present during the unrest.

Metro’s original story is below.

A vigil for a 16-year-old boy who was shot and killed by police officers this weekend ended in a violent riot in East Flatbush Monday night, with shattered car windows, trashed stores and some local residents being assaulted.

About 200 people had gathered to mourn Kimani Gray, who was shot Saturday night after he pointed a gun at two police officers.

At about 9 p.m. on Monday, a group left the main ceremony and began ransacking local stores, according to the New York Post.

The manager of a Rite Aid told the Post that he was punched in the face and a few other people were also assaulted.

Gray’s family said the teen did not own a gun and do not believe the cops’ story about what happened. Law enforcement officials said Gray was a reputed member of the Bloods gang and fellow gang members are angry over his death.

Gray had four previous arrests, including charges of grand larceny.

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Police discovered a decaying corpse Saturday night after responding to complaints of a foul odor coming from a Harlem apartment.

The unidentified victim was found stuffed inside a container at the apartment, located on Seventh Avenue near the corner of 140th Street, according to cops.

No cause of death had been determined and no arrests had been made as of Sunday afternoon. However, the Daily News reported that an emotionally disturbed man, who lived in the apartment with his grandmother, had been taken into custody.

The post Decaying body found inside Harlem apartment appeared first on Metro.us.

Having consented to being searched, Enrique Santiago, 49, stood by as police pulled out over 500 rounds of ammunition, a .45-caliber Colt semi-automatic handgun and three assault rifles, including two with bayonets attached.

Santiago resides on St. Pauls Place near 3rd Avenue. The day earlier, two illegal guns were discovered just a few blocks away in a teenager’s bedroom closet.

The post Police recover assault weapons from Bronx apartment appeared first on Metro.us.

Leopold Hines, 18, had stored a .38-caliber revolver, a shotgun and ammunition in a duffel bag, according to police, who received permission from Hines’ mother to search his closet. Hines also allegedly had $1,491 in fake cash, plus paper, a laptop and a printer capable of running off more counterfeit bills.

Joseph Arzu, 18, and Harvey Nelson, 19 – who were in Hines’ 3rd Avenue apartment near 170th Street at the time – were likewise arrested.

The post Police find guns, counterfeiting operation inside Bronx teen’s room appeared first on Metro.us.

Noshin Hossain, 15, who attends Forest Hills High School, was described by police as 5’2″ and 103 pounds. She was wearing blue jeans, a blue wool jacket and brown boots at the time of her disappearance.

Anyone with more information should call 800-577-TIPS.

The post Queens high-school student missing since Friday appeared first on Metro.us.

The post Police search for Bronx robber appeared first on Metro.us.

Police came across the victim, Gregory Evans, around 6 a.m. upon responding to calls of a fire at his Webster Avenue apartment in Fordham Heights.

Later that day, they arrested Leo Huggins, 48, and charged him with murder, burglary and arson.

The post Bronx man discovered stabbed and burned to death appeared first on Metro.us.

Kwasi Olatunji was gunned down around around 3:30 a.m. in front of the Flavor Lounge, located on Hillside Avenue in Richmond Hill, according to police.

A second victim, 27, is in stable condition after being stabbed in the leg. Police said Sunday that no arrests had been made yet.

The post Flavor Lounge: Police investigating shooting death outside Queens nightclub appeared first on Metro.us.

Beyonce has decided to bow out of Clint Eastwood‘s long-planned remake of “A Star is Born,” according to E! News. “I was looking forward to the production of ‘A Star is Born’ and the opportunity to work with Clint Eastwood,” the singer says. “For months we tried to coordinate our schedules to bring this remake to life, but it was just not possible. Hopefully in the future we will get a chance to work together.”

Lindsay Lohan isn’t having the most relaxing visit home, apparently, as the troubled actress and her mom, Dina Lohan, reportedly had a huge fight outside Dina’s Long Island home Wednesday morning, according to Page Six. The incident reportedly took place around eight in the morning as a black SUV was returning the pair home after a night of partying in New York City. “[Lindsay] was yelling, ‘I’ve had enough of this,’” a witness claims. “It was an argument between Lindsay and her mother,” a police spokesman says. “Lindsay called her father and her father called the police.” Her dad, Michael Lohan, suggests this was no mere argument, though, adding, “It was a hell of a lot more than that” without elaborating further.

Janet Jackson‘s lawyer is calling foul on a Vanity Fair article that claims she delayed brother Michael Jackson’s funeral until she was reimbursed the $40,000 deposit she’d put down to secure his burial plot, according to Us Weekly. Jackson’s lawyer, Blair G. Brown, calls the story “false and defamatory” in a letter to the magazine. “Ms. Jackson never delayed the funeral in any way, ” Brown writes. “To falsely accuse Ms. Jackson of holding up her brother’s funeral over money is outrageous. This story is particularly hurtful and distressing because of Ms. Jackson’s strong desire to serve her brother, whom she loved dearly, and her wish to stand with and support her family.”

One Direction’s Harry Styles is settling into his heartthrob status, admitting that he’s “quite flirty” in an interview with Seventeen magazine. “Maybe too flirty. I’m an 18-year-old boy, and I like to have fun,” he admits, though he draws the line at being described as girl-crazy. “I wouldn’t say girl-crazy, because that makes me sound like a bit of a womanizer,” he says. “That isn’t really me.”

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The 23-year-old Army National Guardsman suffered a single fatal gunshot on Oct. 4 from NYPD detective Hassan Hamdy, who later said he thought Polanco was reaching for a weapon. There were no guns found in Polanco’s car.

The incident caused more shock after it was revealed that Hamdy is part of the NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit, a highly skilled group of officers who endure elite training.

Polanco’s death comes after a spate of headline-grabbing incidents where NYPD officers have fired fatal shots, sometimes against unarmed people. Ramarley Graham, 18, was shot and killed after officers followed him into his home in February.

According to the NYPD, officers are “re-qualified” in their firearms twice a year, though officials would not disclose what the training entailed.

“They could definitely use more hands-on training and I think most cops would agree,” Eugene O’Donnell, a former NYC police officer and prosecutor, told Metro. “The problem is it’s expensive and the agency is so big.”      

Although the rate of people shot and killed by the NYPD has slowly declined over the last decade, some wonder whether more training for specific scenarios could lead to even lower numbers. Attorney Kenneth Ramseur has represented clients who have been shot by the NYPD and said that at 35,000 officers strong, not every member of the force is cut out to be a cop.

“Because of the American economy, a lot of people are becoming police officers as a default position to make a living,” Ramseur said. “But when somebody is given the power to carry a dangerous instrument, they must have the right temperament.”

While O’Donnell said the NYPD has more to learn on how to diagnose situations, he warned that an overemphasis on firearms training could have a reverse effect.

“There is a danger if you get so into firearms and tactics, it could become a different department and that could be a bad thing,” O’Donnell cautioned. “Do you really want to turn a department into a place where you make shooting a big issue and turn them into Marine snipers?”

Calls for better handling of mentally ill people

The NYPD’s handling of situations involving mentally ill or emotionally disturbed people has long been a point of contention.

In August, officers shot Darrius Kennedy 12 times after he lunged at police with a knife in Times Square. While it’s unclear whether Kennedy was in fact mentally ill, Mayor Michael Bloomberg later said of the incident, “taking a knife and going after other people, particularly police officers, isn’t something that a sane person would do.”

“After all these years, they don’t have an effective policy on how to deal with someone who is mentally ill,” Attorney Kenneth Ramseur said of the NYPD. “If someone is mentally unstable, they are going to be killed.”

Officers respond to thousands of calls involving emotionally disturbed people each year, and advocates like Lisa Ortega of Rights for Imprisoned People with Psychiatric Disabilities insist the NYPD needs more specialized training.

“There is no deescalation process that happens, they go in guns a-blazing,” Ortega told Metro. “They are well aware that the community is upset with the way they handle people who are ill, but still they resist getting training and being held accountable.”

Ortega said the NYPD is not interested in adopting community crisis intervention teams — a tactic popular within police departments in other cities.

Recent fatal shootings by the NYPD

• Noel Polanco, 23, was shot and killed by NYPD detective Hassan Hamdy after he was pulled over for erratic driving along the Grand Central Parkway on Oct. 4.  Hamdy said he thought Polanco was reaching for a weapon, but no guns were found in his car. There was a power drill on the floor near his seat.
• Eleven people were shot in August when a man shot and killed a former coworker outside the Empire State Building. Police officers fired 16 shots in the tourist-heavy area, and the shooter was killed while nine bystanders were injured by police bullets.
• That same month, officers fired 12 shots at Darrius Kennedy, who was wielding a knife as he walked backwards down Seventh Avenue off Times Square. He died after being hit seven times while onlookers took video.
• An officer shot Ramarley Graham, 18, inside his apartment in the Bronx in February after other officers reportedly thought he had a gun. No weapon was found. The officers were criticized for following Graham into his apartment, where he was shot in his bathroom.
• An officer shot and killed a man wielding a knife inside a building on West 124th Street in September. Cops said that they shot Mohamed Bah, 28, after trying to stun him with a stun gun two times and firing rubber bullets.
• In June, a detective shot and killed a woman in Brooklyn after she ran a red light. The woman, 23, was driving erratically, according to the NYPD, and crashed after running two red lights. An officer who approached struggled with the woman, and his gun fired, killing her.

How many people are shot by the NYPD?

According to the NYPD’s annual firearms discharge report, 19 people were shot by police officers in 2011. Nine of them were killed. The number of shootings since 2000 has fluctuated between 16 and 26, while shooting deaths has remained between eight and 14.

In 2002, 24 people were shot by cops, with 13 of those incidents proving fatal.

The highest recorded number of shootings in the report was in 1971, when officers shot 221 people, killing 93 of them.

The post Questions swirl about NYPD’s firearms training after shooting death of Noel Polanco appeared first on Metro.us.

Speaking at the scene where police were working to gain access to the apartment, Aurora Police Chief Daniel Oates said: “His apartment is booby-trapped. We are trying to determine how to disarm the flammable or explosive material. We could be here for hours or days. The pictures are fairly disturbing. It looks very sophisticated, how it’s booby-trapped. It could be a very long wait.”

Meanwhile, Denver’s ABC affiliate posted the first photo of suspect James Holmes, obtained from the University of Colorado. He was a reportedly a student at the college’s medical school about a year ago, but dropped out of the neuroscience graduate program.

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A masked gunman killed 14 people at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie in a suburb of Denver early on Friday, sparking pandemonium when he hurled a teargas canister into the auditorium and opened fire on moviegoers.

Fifty others including children were wounded in the attack on the showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” in a mall in the Aurora suburb, some of whom were treated for the effects of tear gas, hospital officials said.

“This is a horrific event,” Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates told a news conference, adding that a suspect was taken into custody in the parking lot behind the theater.

Police said the Aurora gunman had appeared at the front of the theater during the movie and released a canister which let out a hissing sound at the theater before gunfire erupted.

Dozens of police were at the scene, and the authorities evacuated the area while they checked for any explosive devices. They said there was no evidence of a second gunman.

Wendy Post, who was waiting to be reunited with her daughter at a local high school following the shooting, said her daughter told her the shooting erupted just minutes after the film began.

“She saw the exit door open and something was thrown across the screen, and then shooting started,” she told local NBC affiliate 9News television. “It was chaos.”

President Barack Obama, who was notified of the shooting on Friday morning by his homeland security adviser, John Brennan, urged Americans to “stand together” with the people of Aurora in the hours and days to come.

“Michelle and I are shocked and saddened by the horrific and tragic shooting in Colorado. Federal and local law enforcement are still responding, and my administration will do everything that we can to support the people of Aurora in this extraordinarily difficult time,” Obama said in a statement.

“As we do when confronted by moments of darkness and challenge, we must now come together as one American family,” he added.

Colorado has suffered mass killings in the past. In 1999, two students opened fire at Columbine High School in the suburb of Littleton, near Denver, killing 12 students and a teacher.

PEOPLE SCREAMING

Police spokesman Frank Fania said the suspect was thought to be in his early 20s. He was carrying a knife, a rifle and a handgun when arrested, and one other gun was recovered from the theater. The gunman was also wearing a bulletproof vest.

“He did not resist, he did not put up a fight,” Fania said.

Police said the suspect’s apartment building had been evacuated and police were looking for explosives there after the suspect made statements about explosives in his residence.

CNN quoted one witness as saying he saw a “guy slowly making his way up the stairs and firing, picking random people.” Another witness said the gunman opened fire during a shoot-out scene in the movie, leading to confusion.

“We heard anywhere from 10 to 20 shots and little explosions going on. Shortly after that we heard people screaming. Then they came on PA system and said everyone needed to get out,” one witness told CNN.

“As soon as we got out, there were people running around and screaming.” He said friends had told him the gunman was wearing a gas mask.

One man told the NBC affiliate that he was in the adjacent theater watching another screening of the Batman movie when he heard gunshots and the theatre filled with thick, choking smoke.

He saw bullets holes in the wall, and some people in his theater were wounded: “I heard moaning…they were in pain.”

Fania said police received the first call about the shooting at 12:39 a.m. local time (06:39 GMT) and responded within “a minute or two.”

Local hospitals were alerted to a “mass casualty incident.” Media reports said 10 people died at the scene and four died later in hospital.

A spokeswoman for Denver’s Swedish Medical Center said three people had been admitted to that hospital with gunshot wounds and were in critical condition. Another hospital, Denver Health, had received six wounded, one of whom was in critical condition, spokeswoman Kalena Wilkinson said.

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Hope’s attacker had pulled out her tongue before taping her mouth shut, and a veterinarian was almost forced to amputate the 3-year-old dog’s tongue due to the amount of swelling. The abuser also gashed Hope’s body with some sort of blade, leaving five deep cuts. It took 100 stitches to close all her wounds.
 
But Hope is on the mend as she recovers in a Texas veterinary clinic.

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Police said the operation was not linked to the Olympics, which start in London on July 27, but was part of a planned intelligence-led operation.

A security source said the London arrests were related to international Islamist militancy and were made at an early stage of plotting. It was not clear if any targets were identified.

During the raids, a 29-year-old man was arrested on a street in west London while the others, aged between 18 and 30, were detained at residential addresses in east and west London.

A 24-year-old man was tasered by police with a stun gun during the operation by armed officers but did not require hospital treatment.

Police said the six were arrested on suspicion of the “commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism”.

Detectives were searching eight homes in east, west and north London, and one business address in east London.

In a separate and apparently unrelated incident, armed police closed both carriageways of a motorway near Britain’s second biggest city, Birmingham, after reports of a man acting suspiciously on a coach heading for London.

British security forces are on high alert for any signs of trouble ahead of the Olympics. Seven years ago this week suicide bombers killed 52 people in a string of coordinated attacks in London.

The motorway incident proved to be a false alarm. Police said they did not consider it to be a counter-terrorism situation and they were not treating anyone as suspect.

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The incident occurred on Saturday when a woman flagged down a police officer after seeing two men fighting on a pedestrian walkway of the exit ramp near downtown Miami.

The Miami Herald reported the police officer approached the scene and saw a naked man gnawing on the face of another man. The officer called for the man to back away but he ignored the order and the policeman responded by shooting him once, the Herald said.

The man continued his attack after being shot, leading the officer to fire several more shots, the Herald said, citing police sources.

A Miami police spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment. Several witnesses recounted details of the incident to local television stations.

The man who was attacked was in intensive care on Sunday at a Miami hospital, the Herald reported.

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George St. Louis, a sergeant with the NYPD, was arrested just after 10:30 p.m. while he was off-duty. He was charged with unlawful imprisonment, assault, and criminal obstruction of breathing.

The NYPD did not release any other details about his arrest.

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According to police, a 34-year-old woman told officers it happened while she was riding a Manhattan-bound L-train on April 18. She said the man boarded at the Montrose Avenue station in Brooklyn and began masturbating while looking at her. He got off the train at Union Square.

The woman was able to capture a photo of the man on her cell phone, which she sent to police. The suspect is between 20 and 25 years old. He is about 6-foot and 175 pounds. He was wearing a black baseball cap, a gray hooded sweatshirt and blue jogging pants.

This is the second suspect in two days police have announced they’re looking for in connection with lewd acts on the subway. On Tuesday, police released a photo of this man, wanted for using his cell phone to snap a picture beneath a woman’s skirt on the 4 train.

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