15-year old Chicago boy critically injured in shooting

A 15-year old boy in Chicago, Illinois, was shot in the back and critically injured.

The article didn't say if the boy was specifically targeted or the shooter's motive.

From an article:

The boy was shot in the lower back in the 3600 block of East 106th Street about 5 p.m., Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Joshua Purkiss said. 

Following the shooting, the boy stumbled into a Walgreens Drug store at 2611 E. 106th St., seeking help, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Chief Joe Roccalva said. 

He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition following the shooting in the 10500 block of South Avenue L about 4:50 p.m., Roccalva said. 

Police said the boy's condition was stabilized at the hospital. .... 

In the East Side neighborhood where the first shooting happened, a resident said his 13-year-old daughter told him she saw a man in a black sweater fire two or three shots, then run into an alley nearby. The girl did not see the shooter's face or who he was shooting at, and immediately went to the back of the family home after the shooting, to avoid getting hurt, her father said. 

“She knows not to stay in front of the house,” he said.  “I told her when…you hear something just go to the kitchen.” 

The man said violent crime is not uncommon in the East Side neighborhood. 

“This is nothing new. This happens a lot of times in this neighborhood,” he said.  

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10-year old boy killed in random Minnesota shooting

A 33-year old man stood in the street in Oakdale, Minnesota, firing at random passing cars.

In those cars were a 10 year old boy and two other individuals.  The boy was killed.  The others were wounded.

The motive of the shooter is unclear, and his targets were apparently random.

From an article:

The 33-year-old gunman, who was in police custody Monday night, began firing a handgun about 6:10 p.m. while standing in the street near Hadley Avenue N. and 7th Street N., said Oakdale police Capt. Jack Kettler. 

At least two vehicles struck by bullets sped into the parking lot of the nearby Rainbow Foods at 7053 10th St. N. seeking help. 

Kettler said the shootings appeared to be entirely random and the motive of the gunman, whose name was not released, was unclear. 

"God only knows what motivates someone to do this," Kettler said. "It's happening way too often," he added, referring to recent random shootings across the country. 

Residents of homes near the intersection of Hadley and 7th said they heard two bursts of gunfire, each consisting of four to six shots, about a minute apart. 

"We have three victims that we know of at this time who received gunshot wounds," Kettler said late Monday. He said that other vehicles could have been struck by gunfire and their drivers may not know it yet. 

Kettler would not say more about the victims, where they were shot or what vehicles they were in. They were taken to Regions Hospital, where one, a 68-year-old woman, was listed in good condition late Monday. 

About 10 minutes after the shooting, the gunman was taken into custody by officers, who subdued him and retrieved the weapon, Kettler said. No one was hurt during the arrest.

From another article about this shooting:

Kettler said the shootings appeared to be entirely random and the motive of the gunman, whose name was not released, was unclear.

"God only knows what motivates someone to do this," Kettler said. "It's happening way too often," he added, referring to recent random shootings across the country. (...)

Oakdale Mayor Carmen Sarrack expressed shock and grief at the shootings, saying such events are rare in the east metro suburb.

"It's sick," said the mayor, thinking of his own five grandchildren. "What can you say when a 10-year-old is killed. ... You just feel so bad for the family. They were just out driving by on a February night. It's just a shame. People here are devastated that this could happen in our city, especially when the nation is grappling with gun control."

Jennifer McNeil, a spokeswoman for the North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale School District, said school officials will have a crisis team, including social workers and psychologists, available for students on Tuesday.

The name of the 10 year old shot and the shooter have now been revealed in this article: 

from Minneapolis Star Tribune

A 34-year-old man is in jail Tuesday, accused of randomly shooting at passing vehicles in his Oakdale neighborhood, killing a 9-year-old boy and wounding the child's mother and another woman.

Nhan L. Tran, whose home is a few blocks from the two shooting scenes near 7th Street N., began firing a handgun about 6:10 p.m. Monday while standing along the road, police said.

Melissa Aryal identified her son, Devin, as the boy who was shot while the two were in the same vehicle. Melissa Aryal, 39, also was wounded, then taken to Regions Hospital, treated and released, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Witnesses gave different accounts of how the shooter was behaving -- one saying he appeared calm and another describing him as paranoid. Cheryl Russell, who lives across the street from the suspect's home, said Tuesday that she looked out a window from her home and saw the man shooting at vehicles at two locations.

In an interview from her home, Melissa Aryal said she and Devin were just leaving day care, when the shooting began.

"He was so proud because he did all his homework at day care," said the mom, who goes by Missy. "He wanted to come home and play for the evening."

She said they both heard a noise under the hood, and as she braked to turn onto Hadley Avenue, she felt her arm go numb. She swerved into the Rainbow parking lot a half-block away, called 911, got out and then saw Devin slumped in the back seat.

Tuesday morning, officials at Devin's school called and wept on the phone with his mother, Aryal said.

"The kids are having a hard time because he was just a lovable little boy," she said. "Everybody knew him and loved him." (...) 

"He was walking very erratically," Lowen said, offering a different perspective on Tran's demeanor than what Russell described. "He kept doing full 360s looking behind him, looking very paranoid. He was making sure no one saw him, is what it looked like."

Lowen said the suspect walked in circles about four times before crossing Hadley into a parking lot.

Police are coordinating their investigation with the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. More information from authorities was expected to be released Tuesday afternoon.

At Devin's home, Aryal hugged his only sibling, 18-year-old Savanna LaVenture. Behind them on the living-room television was a newscaster speaking about 151 mass shootings in 2012.

"I don't know how anyone can do senseless shootings," the sobbing mother said, her bullet-wounded arm in a sling, her hospital slippers still on from the evening before.

She talked of Devin, the bespectacled boy who liked ice cream for supper.

He looked up to his older sister, often showering her with gifts, the teen said, including some of his dozens of stuff animals.

Devin loved soccer, and he also loved gazing at the night skies with his telescope, dreaming of becoming an astronaut, said his family and a family friend.

"Everybody knew him and loved him," Aryal said. "He would talk to anyone and everyone."

UPDATE (2/12/13): Another article describes the anguish of Devin's mother:

Missy Aryal was driving up 7th Street in Oakdale, Minn. on Monday night when she heard a sound, then felt blood running down her arm. 

While tending to her arm, the mother looked into her rear view mirror and saw her son – 9-year-old Devin Aryal – slumped over in the back seat. She pulled into the Rainbow Foods parking lot, held her dying son in her arms and cried for help. 

"I was just holding his head in my arms until the ambulance came, just crying hysterically and I just kind of held onto him," Aryal said. 

Devin, a fourth grader at Oakdale Elementary, had a gunshot wound to the head. All his mother could do was hold him in her arms and hear him take his final breaths.  

"I told him 'I love you, hold on,'' and I just kept screaming for more help," Aryal said. "He was a remarkable boy. He loved life, he loved everybody. Everybody loved him."

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9 year old Minnesota boy killed when gunman randomly shot at cars

It's a scary world when someone with a gun starts shooting randomly at cars in parking lots. That is what happened in a St. Paul, Minnesota suburb today. A 9 or 10 year old boy was killed after being struck by a bullet as a man was shooting randomly in a grocery store parking lot:

A young boy was fatally shot and two people were wounded Monday night in a chaotic and apparently random spurt of gunfire near the Rainbow Foods store in Oakdale, Oakdale Mayor Carmen Sarrack confirmed.

Police scanner reports and witnesses said that an armed man on foot apparently was firing randomly at vehicles in the area of Hadley Avenue N. and 7th Street N., near the Rainbow Foods at 7053 10th St. N., when the victims were hit. Sarrack said the boy who was killed was 9 or 10 years old.

The unidentified male suspect was taken into custody after multiple police officers established perimeters and began searching for him just minutes after the shooting was reported Monday evening, according to scanner reports. A weapon was retrieved, those reports said.

A swarm of investigators from Oakdale police, Washington County and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension were at the scene late Monday.

Sarrack said the gunmen reportedly shot at four vehicles. People in two of the cars weren't hurt, he said.

"The police are still sorting things out," Sarrack said.

"It's sick," the mayor said. "What can you say when a 9-year-old or 10-year-old is killed. ... People here are devastated that this could happen in our city."

4 year old Tennessee boy killed while playing with gun

It's happened again. A four year old boy from Tennessee was shot to death while playing with a gun in his home. From an article:

A 4-year-old boy is dead after a gun went off while he was playing with it, according to the Memphis Police Department.

Officers responded to the call at an apartment complex at 3988 Camelot Lane.

When they arrived, they found the 4-year-old had been shot. The child was pronounced dead on the scene.

Police believe the child was playing with a gun when it accidentally went off.

"It feels sad. Very sad. Yeah, I hate to hear that," said neighbor Carol Maris, who has played with the little boy before. "He's very active. Just like a child. Very active. Loved to play toys, stuff like that. He be outside sometimes playing with his trucks and stuff. Real good kid."

A good kid, who is now dead after a heartbreaking sequence of events.

Investigators were on the scene for more than three hours, discussing the situation with several people, one of whom was in the back seat of a police car.

At this point, no arrests have been made, but detectives are still working to figure out where the gun came from, how the boy got it, and who, if anyone, was supervising him at the time of the shooting.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.

Mentally ill woman attempts to shoot school teachers at South Carolina school

A woman who was dangerously mentally ill, and who had previously threatened to kill the president during an incident with a Customs official, was nonetheless able to buy a gun.  Alice Boland, 28, was at the gate of the Charlston, South Carolina girls' preparatory school when she pulled out a gun and attempted to shoot two school faculty.  

The only reason she failed was because she didn't understand how to unlock the firing mechanism.

From an article:

Alice Boland, 28, who was charged in 2005 with threatening to assassinate President George W. Bush and members of Congress as she waited in line at U.S. Customs, is again charged with plotting a violent attack. On Monday, after pacing in front of the school gates during car pool and visibly swinging a gun, she tried to shoot two faculty members: the director of the high school, Mary Schweers, and an English teacher, Chris Hughes. 

The police charged Ms. Boland with attempted murder and unlawful carrying of a firearm. The only thing that stopped her, they said, was that she did not realize the gun was locked. 

“We were very fortunate she did not know how to take the lock off, or this could have been a tragedy,” said Earl Woodham, a spokesman in Charlotte for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 

The authorities are investigating whether Ms. Boland was required to disclose her history of mental illness when she bought the gun. A small firearms store in Walterboro, 50 miles from Charleston, sold her the Taurus PT-22 pistol on Feb. 1. She filled out a federal background check form and was approved. 

She appeared to have bought the gun legally, Mr. Woodham said. Gun buyers nationwide are required to disclose mental illnesses only if they have been committed to an institution or found “mentally defective” by a judge, he said. 

“Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who are mentally unstable but who would not technically be declared mentally defective,” he said. 

Ms. Boland’s 2005 brush with law enforcement came when she became upset with the slow process of getting through Customs in Montreal. 

“I am going to kill President Bush with a gun,” she said, according to federal court papers. “Just give me a gun. I am going to come back and shoot you all.” 

The federal charges were dropped after she pleaded not guilty by reason of mental incompetence. ... 

Parents were grateful for the quick action by administrators, who used a well-rehearsed emergency plan to secure the campus and stalled Ms. Boland at the gate. Two weeks ago, in response to the Newtown, Conn., massacre, the police met with school officials to rehearse the protocol for a school shooting. 

The mayor of Charleston, Joseph P. Riley Jr., said that the incident was a “wake-up call” and that he would encourage South Carolina legislators to tighten restrictions on background checks for mental illness. 

“If you threaten to kill a president of the United States, so many alarm bells should sound when you go to buy a gun,” he said. “We could easily be talking about a homicide or multiple homicide. It’s a miracle we’re not.”

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3-year old boy unintentionally shot to death by mother's boyfriend

A 3-year old boy was at his Paducah, Kentucky home when the boyfriend of his mother unintentionally discharged his gun, striking and killing the boy.

From an article:

Paducah police are investigating the apparent accidental shooting of a three-year-old child Saturday afternoon at a home in the 1500 block of North 12th Street. The child died at about 8:30 p.m. at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville. Detectives have charged, the mother's boyfriend, Nicholas D. Barbee, 21, with second-degree manslaughter.  

Police were called to a report of a "young male shot."  When officers arrived, the child was lying on his back on the floor with a single gunshot wound.  The child was taken to a local hospital, then airlifted to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. 

Barbee admitted, after questioning, that he accidentally shot the child.  He was booked into McCracken County Regional Jail.

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5-year old Alabama boy survives bus shooting and kidnapping

"Ethan", age 5

A 5-year old boy with Asperger's Syndrome, named Ethan, was riding the bus home in Midland City, Alabama, when the driver stopped the bus at the end of a road to turn around.  That's when a mentally-unstable loner with a history of making violent threats, Jimmy Lee Dykes, age 65, boarded the bus with a gun, demanding to take two boys hostage.

The bus driver, Charles Albert Poland Jr., heroically blocked the way, despite threats of being killed, allowing time for many of the kids on the bus to exit the rear door.  Dykes then shot Poland to death and kidnapped young Ethan.  Poland was one of Dykes' few friends.

Dykes then took Ethan to an underground shelter that was booby-trapped with bombs.  What followed was a 6-day standoff with law enforcement, during which Dykes became increasingly unstable.

On the sixth day, when Dykes opened the trap door to get some requested items, a team moved in and a firefight took place.  Dykes was killed.

Ethan was physically unharmed.  He turned six years old only a couple days later.

From an article:

The subject was 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes, who boarded a school bus last Tuesday afternoon, killed the driver and took the boy into a bunker he had installed in his backyard. 

Neighbors speculated that Mr. Dykes had kidnapped the boy as part of a scheme to air his thoughts and grievances on a larger platform, and at a news conference earlier Tuesday, Sheriff Wally Olson of Dale County acknowledged that to be a major motive. ... 

For some time, officials had been able to monitor movements within the bunker using high-tech surveillance equipment, said two people who had been briefed on the operation. They had also built a mock-up of the bunker nearby, where the authorities could test various options while devising a rescue plan. 

On Monday afternoon, sensing that Mr. Dykes was becoming rattled and that the threat to the boy was growing, the authorities dropped two devices into the bunker that created loud explosions, heard by people across a highway. The explosions disoriented Mr. Dykes, and immediately afterward two or three members of the F.B.I. Hostage Rescue Team went into the bunker and retrieved the child. Mr. Dykes was killed. 

Ethan and his mother were relieved to be reunited, Mr. Richardson said. “He’s laughing, joking, playing, eating — the things that you would expect a normal 5- to 6-year-old young man to do. He’s very brave. He’s very lucky.”

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