Tag Archives: Violence

Border 40 Percent Secure; 1 in 5 Intercepted Illegals Have Criminal Record

The head of the U.S. Border Patrol testified to Congress that less than half of the southern border is under “operational control.”

Brandon Judd cited violent conditions as part of the problem and added that one out of every five people caught attempting to enter the U.S. has a criminal record in Mexico or the U.S.

In 2014, the border patrol caught around 486,000 illegal immigrants, but only 91,000 were returned to Mexico.

“This is the challenge we are facing at the border today. There are those who will point to lower apprehension rates and tell you the border is secure. Border Patrol agents, however, throughout this nation will tell you the border is not secure and the southwest border certainly is not safe,” Judd testified.

Judd also said that drug cartels are a major issue.

“These cartels are well organized, heavily armed, and pathologically violent. To give you sense of the violence the official death, as quoted earlier, toll from the cartel violence in Mexico is 60,000. This is more than the United States military lost in in Vietnam. However, the unofficial death toll in Mexico is over 120,000 killed and another 27,000 missing and presumed dead,” Judd said.

“In Mexico, the cartels kill without hesitation or fear of prosecution. In May of this year, cartel members shot down a Mexican Army helicopter in the State of Jalisco. Why would we expect them to behave any differently on the U.S./Mexico border?”

New York Governor’s Aide Shot; Fighting for His Life

Gunfire rang out before the start of Monday’s West Indian Parade in New York City, leaving a member of Governor Cuomo’s staff critically wounded and fighting for his life.

Carey Gabay, 43, is a deputy counsel for Empire State Development.  He was in the Crown Heights area during early morning preparations for the parade when he was caught in crossfire between two rival gangs.

Officials at Kings County Hospital say he was shot in the head and that his condition is “grave.”

“I’m the governor of the state of New York, and there’s not a thing I can do,” Cuomo told reporters after he visited Gabay’s family at the hospital. “There’s not a thing I can say, and there’s nothing I can do. And sometimes it just hurts.”

Cuomo also released a statement before his visit.

“Carey is an outstanding public servant who joined our administration in 2011. He is a Harvard-educated lawyer who works for the state because he wants to give back to others and make a difference. He is just 43 years old and is a kind-hearted man.”

The parade has been the target of violence the last three years.  Last year, a man opened fire during the parade killing one and wounding several others.  The prior year, a 1-year-old boy in his stroller was killed by a bullet someone intended for his father.

Murder Rates in U.S. Rising

The murder rates in the United States are rising, with at lest 30 cities reporting violence on the rise.

Three cities, Milwaukee, St. Louis and Baltimore, are showing an increase of over 50% in the number of murders with Milwaukee leading the list with a 76% increase.

One woman had to flee Milwaukee after two of her five children were killed in shootings in a six month span.  Her 20-year-old daughter was shot and killed during a robbery at a birthday party being held at a Days Inn.  Then six months later her only son was shot and killed while sitting in a car.

She persuaded her family to flee the city but her remaining teen daughters only left after the 17-year-old daughter was shot while riding in a car.

“The violence was nothing like this before,” Holmes, 38, who grew up in Milwaukee, told the New York Times. “What’s changed is the streets and the laws and the parents. It’s become a mess and a struggle.”

The BBC said that some senior police officials say with media outlets and activist groups watching every move police make they are withdrawing more from situations and leaving criminals feeling they have more space to commit violent acts.

New Orleans police superintendent Michael Harrison told the New York Times that much of the increase is coming not from gang violence but rather killings involving people who know each other.

“That is not a situation that can be solved by policing,” Superintendent Harrison said. “It speaks to a culture of violence deeply ingrained into a community — a segment of the population where people are resolving their problems in a violent way.”

Venezuela Food Shortage Leads to Violence

Food shortages in the communist country of Venezuela are causing long lines and significant violence and rioting.

In one recent incident, a mob angered by lack of food stormed a National Guard posting in La Sibucara, looting the offices and burning it before slamming military trucks into the building and reducing it to rubble.

The country’s food situation has degraded to the level that people are standing in line for hours just to obtain basic food staples such as rice and milk.  The country’s economy has undergone triple digit inflation which President Nicolas Maduro blames on food smuggling and price speculation.

A survey of Venezuelans found that 30% have two meals or less each day because of lack of food and 70% say they have stopped buying some basic food staple because of excessive cost or lack of availability.

The worldwide fall in oil prices has significantly hurt the country and the government’s ability to control the populace.  When oil prices hovered around $100 a barrel, the government provided subsidized food and personal items such a diapers.  Residents were able to smuggle items like cheap gasoline to neighboring countries as significant profit.

Since the collapse of the market, the government has been unable to provide the cheap goods and have used soldiers to close the borders and intercept any attempts to smuggle goods.

Venezuelan residents told the Wall Street Journal that they have no choice but to attempt to smuggle goods.

“The people that used to give us work—the private companies, the rich—have all gone,” said a woman who identified herself as Palma in La Sibucara.. “It’s not the greatest business but we don’t have work and we have to find a way to eat.”

“I think we’re going to die of hunger,” Yusleidy Márquez said.

Saeed Abedini Viciously Beaten In Prison

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has revealed that Pastor Saeed Abedini has been viciously beaten by other inmates at the brutal prison where he is being illegally detained.

“Unprovoked, fellow prisoners attacked Pastor Saeed as he attempted to leave his cell, punching him in the face near his left eye and nose,” Executive Director Jordan Sekulow wrote. “In addition to physically beating the persecuted pastor, prisoners demolished a small table Pastor Saeed used to study and read.”

“As he was attacked, Pastor Saeed called out for help,” he continued. “Iranian prison guards did intervene and prevent further injury. However, Pastor Saeed suffered injuries to his face—his eyes beaten black and blue. He was able to be seen briefly by a prison doctor, and thankfully he did not receive any broken bones.”

Abedini has been illegally detained by Iranian officials since 2012.

“It is heartbreaking to me and my family that Saeed was again beaten in prison. Saeed’s life is continuously threatened not only because he is an American, but also because he is a convert from Islam to Christianity. It’s time to get Saeed home before it is too late,” Naghmeh Abedini said in response to the news.

This is not the first assault at the hands of other inmates and Naghmeh Abedini has stated she fears his health will continue to decline with each successive beating.

Iranian officials have reportedly told Saeed his sentence will be extended if he does not deny Christ.

“The times they have moved him in and out of solitary [confinement] and the times they have threatened him, they said ‘You will stay here longer than the eight years and your only key to freedom is if you deny your Christian faith and you return to Islam.’ The guards have said that, officials have said that continuously,” Abedini said.

Muslim Mob Attacks Christians In Lahore, Pakistan

A Muslim mob attacked Christians, including attempting to burn a church, after someone claimed a mentally ill man burned pages of the Koran.

Police had arrested Humayun Faisal, a mentally challenged Christian man, after some Muslim residents told police that Faisal had burned the Koran.  He was charged under a Pakistiani law that prohibits the desecration of the Koran.

“Many people gathered on the spot and some of them even tried to burn him alive, however, we saved him and handed him to the police,” one witness told the Express Tribune. “Later a charged mob reached the house of the accused and recorded their protest.”

The mob, chanting “allahu akbar”, looted the homes of 15 Christian families, forcing the Christian to flee out of fear of their lives.  The mob tried to burn St. Joseph’s Catholic basilica but police confronted the mob and dispersed them using tear gas.

“I immediately requested help from some Muslim leaders and local politicians,”  Archbishop Sebastian Shaw told international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. “Thanks to their intervention, the police succeeded in dispersing the crowd by midnight. It is the first time the government has succeeded in acting in time to save both the people and their homes.”

Muslim is Pakistan’s official state religion and 97 percent of the country identifies as Muslim.

Boko Haram Violently Kills Dozens of Christians

Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram has violently killed dozens of Christians to death in their latest raids on villages.

Boko Haram killed 29 people in Adamawa state and most of the dead are Christians.  The killings come a week after the terrorists hacked to death 10 Christians in Pambula-Kwamda.

They destroyed the telephone mast first before invading our community — this was to prevent us from telephoning and requesting help,” said one community pastor.  “They killed 10 members of our church [Church of the Brethren in Nigeria, or EYN] using machetes and then slaughtering them.”

Military officials also say that Boko Haram is the likely source of suicide bomb attacks in a Christian community on May 19th that left nine people dead. They are also believed behind a shooting attack in Wagga.

“The attacks killed 19 people in Garkida and Madagali,” said the Rev. Samuel Dante Dali, president of the EYN. “The bombing signals a renewal of violence by the Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram at a time when Nigerian authorities are claiming victory in many parts of the northeast.”

The town of Gubio was attacked and burned Wednesday night leaving 37 men, women and children dead.  Over 400 buildings were destroyed in the terrorist attack.

Pastor Shot Outside Connecticut Church

A Connecticut Pastor, outside his church on Sunday morning placing American flags in honor of Memorial Day, was shot by an unknown assailant.

Rev. Augustus Sealy, 54, is pastor of First Church of the Nazarene in Hartford, Connecticut.  He was planting small American flags in the church yard when someone drove past in a black car and opened fire.

Police say that they received multiple 911 calls and found Rev. Sealy shot in the leg and shoulder.  The pastor’s femur was shattered and a metal rod was placed in the leg to stabilize it.

His wife Sharon told the Hartford Courant that while her husband was in a lot of pain he should make a full recovery from his wounds.

“He hasn’t lost any hope,” Sealy’s wife told NBC Connecticut. “You know, this is something that was really terrible and shouldn’t have happened and we’ve already prayed for that person who actually committed the crime.”

Rev. Eustance McDonald of Brooklyn, New York came to the church to preach at the 11 a.m. service and spoke from the book of Samuel where King David and his men had their town burned down by an enemy but did not lose heart.

“Misfortune in life comes to us all,” he said, telling the congregation that what matters most is their response. “You have to go to a place of hope.”

Rev. Henry Brown, who has been working to end gun violence in Hartford, came to the church after the incident to comfort and counsel church members.

“I am tired of people being shot,” he said. “The devil is not going to win here.”

Jewish Mother, Teen Attacked Near Paris

A Jewish mother was one of two victims of anti-Semitic attacks in the Paris area.

The woman was injured by three African women who attacked because the Jewish woman complained about their children throwing a soccer ball at her daughter.

As the trio of women were attacking the Jewish woman, witnesses say they were shouting anti-Semitic slogans and comments.  One witness said the assailants yelled “Hitler didn’t finish the job” and “that Jews were a filthy race.”

One of the women said the victim needed more beatings.

The woman was treated in a hospital for her injuries and required several days of recovery.

“Increasingly, banal conflicts involving Jews degenerate into anti-Semitic incidents and assaults,”  the National Bureau for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism wrote in a statement, which urged police to “get to the bottom of what happened.”

The BNVCA also reported that a 16-year-old Jewish boy was attacked by four men of Middle Eastern descent.  He was struck in the face and had his phone stolen from him while a fifth man told the gang of four to “break” the victim of the assault.

The boy required emergency eye surgery at Rothschild Hospital.

Alabama Megachurch Evacuated After Threats of Violence

An Alabama megachurch that holds “Secret Church” events involving extended prayer, worship and hard-core Christian teaching had to be evacuated Friday after receiving threats of violent acts against the gathering.

The service, which was to be lead by International Mission Board president and pastor David Platt, was held in the night at an undisclosed location as police investigated.

“Due to security concerns, the elders and leadership at the church have decided to close the church for the simulcast. The simulcast will take place, but not at Brook Hills. If you are a ticket holder, information has been sent to you via email,” said the website of the Radical ministry, which is headed by former Brook Hills pastor Platt.

The staff of the church along with the pre-school’s teachers and students were evacuated from the building.

“We want to ensure the safety of our staff and members, and all those who are going to participate,” Chris Kinsley, the Church’s communications director, told Yellowhammer. “We live in a world where our fellow Christians around the world face threats on a daily basis. We’re lucky enough to live in a country where that is unusual, but when it does happen we want to take it seriously but also not allow it to cause us to shrink back from the message we have to share.”

The Secret Church events can last upwards of six hours or more and focus on Jesus Christ.  The teachings for this session sent via simulcast around the world focused on slavery and sexuality based on Leviticus 25:35-43 and 1 Corinthians 6:18-20.

“Secret Church is a time where we join together to study God’s Word and to identify with our brothers and sisters in Christ who are persecuted in countless places around the world,” according to the ministry’s website.

“When we think of ‘church’ in America, we think of going to meet at a building, singing, praying and hearing a message from a Pastor or teacher. But in many places around the world, ‘church’ meets in a home, an apartment, even in secret. These small groups of Christ-followers often meet for many hours in study, prayer and fellowship, as it is dangerous to travel to ‘church’ and they want to make the most of their time together.”