Wednesday, April 13 top stories
It is Wednesday, April 13. Here are today’s top stories.
Subway shooting suspect arrested
New York City authorities said they arrested the suspect in the Brooklyn subway shooting, Frank Jones. He will be charged with terrorism in federal court for opening fire 33 times in a subway car on Tuesday morning, hitting ten people. He faces life imprisonment if convicted.
Key clues that police used to identify and arrest Jones were four things he left at the subway: a key to a U-Haul van that he abandoned in Brooklyn, a Glock gun he purchased in 2011, a bag, and a credit card with his name on it. Police also said he purchased a gas mask on eBay and purchased fireworks that he used as smoke bombs from a store in Wisconsin last year.
Police said some surveillance cameras in the Brooklyn subway were not working at the time of the shooting, but they saw a video of James entering a different subway station prior to the shooting and then a video showing James exiting another subway station that was one stop away from the shooting scene. Police believe that after Jones opened fire, he walked with other victims into another subway and exited with them.
Police first identified Frank Jones as a person of interest last night before upgrading his status to a suspect after they linked the gun at the subway to James. Someone sent in a tip to the NYPD that Jones was in the East Village in Manhattan and officers were able to spot him and arrest him. A video shows Jones being placed in a police SUV.
The NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said “There was nowhere else for him to run.”
CNN explained that Jones uploaded YouTube videos in which he criticized NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ plan to address safety and homelessness in the subway, saying it was “doomed to fail.” In another video, he said “We need to see more mass shootings.” Jones posted that he had mental health crises in New York City in the 90’s, 80’s, and 70’s and that he had negative experiences with city health workers. Jones had 9 prior arrests in New York and 3 in New Jersey but was able to buy a gun because none of his crimes were a felony.
So, that’s what we know now about the subway shooting. All of the 10 people who were shot and the 19 others injured are expected to physically recover with non-life threatening injuries.
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Biden says Ukrainian deaths is “genocide.”
President Biden said on Tuesday that Russia is committing a genocide in Ukraine. News analysts said it is a significant escalation of Biden’s rhetoric about the war in Ukraine. The U.N. defines genocide as an effort to wipe out all or part of a specific group. Biden said Putin is trying to erase Ukraine’s identity as an independent nation.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said Biden’s comments were the “true words of a true leader.”
In separate but related news, Biden announced he approved a $800 million package to help Ukraine’s military. The package includes 11 Mi-17 helicopters, 200 armored vehicles, 18 howitzers and 40,000 artillery rounds, 30,000 sets of body armor, and other weapons.
Mexican truck driver blockade
Mexican truck drivers have blocked a key border crossing between Reynosa, Mexico and Pharr, Texas since Monday.
The truckers are protesting Texas Gov. Abbott’s orders requiring extra inspections of commercial trucks. Abbott said the inspections are needed to curb human trafficking and the flow of drugs and issued the orders after the Biden administration said it would roll back a pandemic-related rule that limited the amount of migrants that could come in the country.
The blockades have caused other U.S.-Mexican border crossings to become backed up. The situation is comparable with the Canadian trucker protests that took place in January and February.
The Mexican government has shown they support the truckers, saying Abbott’s order is causing “serious damage to trade.”
American grocery shoppers may notice shortages this week.
Gilbert Gottfried passes away
Gilbert Gottfried, a comedian and actor, passed away on Tuesday at 67 years of age after a long illness. He was known for having a shrill voice and was a voice actor in “Aladdin” and for the Aflac duck.
His illness was a rare genetic muscle disorder called type II myotonic dystrophy, which can cause heart complications.
Marlee Matlin tweeted a tribute to Gottfried, saying they met many times and that he even pranked her on a plane, replacing her interpreter Jack Jason because they’re like twins. They appeared together in Comedy Central’s roast of Donald Trump in 2011.
Jack Jason tweeted a video of the two acting like they were looking at each other in the mirror. He said “Gilbert Gottfried was the best mirror ever. RIP”
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/day-2-brooklyn-subway-shooting-nyc/
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/13/us/frank-james-videos-brooklyn-subway-shooting/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/04/13/nyregion/brooklyn-subway-shooting
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/12/biden-calls-russias-war-ukraine-genocide/
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/12/entertainment/gilbert-gottfried-death/index.html