US - News: Increasing violence as a health and safety threat - 2021

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/23/business/best-buy-retail-theft/index.html

Best Buy CEO: Jump in theft is traumatizing staff
By Parija Kavilanz, CNN Business
Updated 3:55 PM ET, Tue November 23, 2021

New York (CNN Business)Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said theft is a growing problem at the company's stores — and it is implementing added security measure to safeguard employees and shoppers.

"This is traumatizing for our associates and is unacceptable," Barry said on a call with analysts Tuesday. "We are doing everything we can to try to create [an] as safe as possible environment."

Barry said the company is implementing a number of tactics to minimize theft and protect staff and customers. For example, Best Buy is locking up more products and hiring security when appropriate.

Barry said organized retail crime is on the rise at Best Buy. The tactic involves an organized "gang" of people who steal entire shelves of high-value products, such as electronics, to resell them for a profit.

The crime surge is becoming such a problem that it is hitting Best Buy's (BBY) profits and could hurt its ability to retain and attract more employees in a tight labor market, Barry said in an interview Tuesday on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street."...

 

[Emily]

https://nypost.com/2021/04/17/random-sucker-punch-assaults-leave-nyc-residents-on-edge/
An Upper West Side man is cold-cocked in Chelsea.
Random ‘sucker-punch’ assaults leave frightened NYC residents on edge

By Dean Balsamini

April 17, 2021 5:46pmUpdated

An unhinged stranger throws a roundhouse at a woman outside a subway station on the Upper West Side.

A Catholic deacon and another man are pummeled in separate smackdowns in the Bronx.

It’s up for debate whether this spate of disturbing incidents is a return of the so-called knockout game, the sick spree of assaults that terrorized New Yorkers a few years ago, but it’s a still a gut-punch to frightened residents already on edge.

One poster to the Upper West Side Together Facebook group put members on high alert two weeks ago after two friends walking past the subway station exit on Central Park West and 87th Street encountered a man dressed in black coming out of the subway.

He tried “tried to sucker punch” the girl, whose boyfriend then chased him off.

“My friend was screaming, ran to a building on CPW (Central Park West) where doorman called police,” the poster explained.

An Upper West Side man responded, “This is happening all over. I was sucker punched by a disturbed man in Chelsea” — and left with two black eyes.

On Monday a stranger punched a 67-year-old man in the face on a Queens subway platform in an apparent unprovoked attack, police said.

The suspect walked up to the man shortly before 10 a.m. as he waited for a Manhattan-bound 7 train at the Court Square station.

“These incidents aren’t happening in front of officers. They are happening due to opportunists taking advantage of the anti-police, anti-accountability era,” NYPD Sgt. Joseph Imperatrice, the founder of Blue Lives Matter NYC and a 15-year-veteran, told The Post.

“It is a dangerous time to be out and about strolling in New York City. The combination of criminals and mentally ill individuals roaming the streets equals disaster waiting to happen...

 

[sharon sanders]

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[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10241805/LA-Nordstrom-robbed-looting-gang.html

Looting gang target LA Nordstrom stealing pricy handbags and assaulting security guard in latest example of 'organized smash and grab' raids in California

Five people entered the open store and sprayed security guard with a chemical
They grabbed eight handbags before speeding off, police said Wednesday night
They escaped despite multiple cop cars responding, fire trucks and ambulances
It comes after a spate of robberies targeting high-end stores in California

By Ross Ibbetson For Mailonline
Published: 02:29 EST, 25 November 2021 | Updated: 06:37 EST, 25 November 2021

A looting gang have targeted an LA Nordstrom, making off with eight luxury handbags and assaulting a cop - the latest in a string of smash-and-grab raids to plague California.

Five people, one wearing an orange wig, entered the open store in Canoga Park shortly before 7pm on Wednesday and sprayed a security guard with 'some kind of chemical' in front of terrified shoppers, police said.

The thieves sped off and managed to escape with thousands of dollars worth of handbags despite multiple police cruisers, as well as fire trucks and ambulances, responding to the raid...

 

[sharon sanders]

bump this

 

[Mary Wilson]

Police investigating after large fight caught on video at MSP Airport

5 HOURS AGO
MELISSA TURTINEN

Police are investigating after a fight between two "large groups" of travelers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) late Friday.

About a dozen people were involved in the fight, according to a widely shared video that was posted to social media early Saturday morning. In the video, the men and women are throwing punches and hitting each other with items found near the gate in Terminal 2.

Patrick Hogan, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Airports Commission that operates MSP, told Bring Me The News the two "large groups" of travelers had gotten off a Frontier flight from Orlando shortly before midnight and got into a physical altercation in the terminal.

... The number of unruly passengers has been on the rise since the start of the pandemic. The Federal Aviation Administration has taken 5,338 unruly passenger reports this year as of Nov. 23. Of those, 3,856 were related to face masks. It has launched 1,012 investigations and initiated 266 enforcement actions this year.

https://bringmethenews.com/minnesot...er-large-fight-caught-on-video-at-msp-airport

 

[sharon sanders]

bump this

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...sh-grab-robberies-freed-zero-bail-policy.html


LA cops arrest 14 suspects in connection with 11 smash-and-grab robberies - but release ALL of them because of California's 'zero bail' policy

LAPD chief says 14 alleged robbers suspected of ransacking businesses between November 18 and 28 bailed out or met no-bail criteria, and one is a juvenile
Arrestees accused of stealing nearly $340,000 worth of goods from LA stores
Chief Moore and Mayor Eric Garcetti called for end of 'zero bail' policy for suspects who commit violent crimes
Security experts agree organized crime networks are responsible for many of 'smash-and-grab' retail thefts, low-level crooks getting paid $500 to $1,000
White House press secretary Jen Psaki claimed the coronavirus pandemic was 'a root cause' of the crimes
By Snejana Farberov For Dailymail.com
Published: 10:54 EST, 3 December 2021 | Updated: 17:00 EST, 3 December 2021


Police in Los Angeles have announced 14 arrests in connection with 11 recent smash-and-grab robberies at stores where nearly $340,000 worth of merchandise was stolen, but all the suspects have been released.

Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said that most of the accused robbers suspected of ransacking businesses between November 18 and 28 bailed out or met no-bail criteria, and one is a juvenile.

At a joint news conference on Thursday announcing the arrests, both Moore and Mayor Eric Garcetti called for an end to a no-bail policy for some defendants aimed at reducing overcrowding at Los Angeles County jails during the coronavirus pandemic...

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/san-francisco-stores-board-up-windows-smash-grab-thefts-2021-12


Photos show San Francisco stores' boarded-up windows after wave of smash-and-grab robberies
Hannah Towey
Dec 1, 2021, 11:53 AM

Over $1 billion worth of goods were stolen from Bay Area stores this month in smash-and-grab robberies.
Louis Vuitton, Nordstrom, Burberry, Bloomingdales, Walgreens, and Lululemon were among the stores affected.
Photos show San Francisco stores boarded up with a strong police presence on Black Friday.

A wave of organized theft and smash-and-grab robberies hit California's Bay Area this November, from luxury stores in San Francisco's Union Square to family businesses in Chinatown...

 

[sharon sanders]

bump this

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crim...ke-la-leaving-city-at-a-crossroads/ar-AARsCHd

Brutal, brazen crimes shake L.A., leaving city at a crossroads
Kevin Rector, Richard Winton, Andrew J. Campa - 8h ago

Crews of burglars publicly smashing their way into Los Angeles' most exclusive stores. Robbers following their victims, including a star of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" and a BET host, to their residences. And this week, the fatal shooting of 81-year-old Jacqueline Avant, an admired philanthropist and wife of music legend Clarence Avant, in her Beverly Hills home.

After two years of rising violent crime in Los Angeles, these incidents have sparked a national conversation and led to local concern about both the crimes themselves and where the outrage over the violence will lead.

"The fact that this has happened, her being shot and killed in her own home, after giving, sharing, and caring for 81 years has shaken the laws of the Universe," declared Oprah Winfrey, expressing her grief over Avant's killing to her 43 million Twitter followers. "The world is upside down."

While overall city crime rates remain far below records set during the notorious gang wars of the 1990s, violent crime has jumped sharply in L.A., as it has in other cities. Much of the violence has occurred in poor communities and among vulnerable populations, such as the homeless, and receives little attention.

However, since the start of the pandemic and more rapidly in recent months, crime has crept up in wealthier enclaves and thrust its way to the center of public discourse in L.A. — against a backdrop of COVID-19 angst, evolving political perceptions of what role police and prosecutors should play in society and, now, a holiday season upon which brick-and-mortar retailers are relying to stay afloat.

Some wonder if this could be a turning point for California, which for decades has been at the center of the movement for criminal justice reform, rolling back tough sentencing laws and reducing prison populations...

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://abcnews.go.com/US/12-major-us-cities-top-annual-homicide-records/story?id=81466453

'It's just crazy': 12 major cities hit all-time homicide records
"It's worse than a war zone around here lately," police official said.
ByBill Hutchinson
8 December 2021, 06:08
• 11 min read

At least 12 major U.S. cities have broken annual homicide records in 2021 -- and there's still three weeks to go in the year.

Of the dozen cities that have already surpassed the grim milestones for killings, five topped records that were set or tied just last year.

"It's terrible to every morning get up and have to go look at the numbers and then look at the news and see the stories. It's just crazy. It's just crazy and this needs to stop," Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said after his city surpassed its annual homicide record of 500, which stood since 1990.

Philadelphia, a city of roughly 1.5 million people, has had more homicides this year (521 as of Dec. 6) than the nation's two largest cities, New York (443 as of Dec. 5) and Los Angeles (352 as of Nov. 27). That's an increase of 13% from 2020, a year that nearly broke the 1990 record.

Chicago, the nation's third-largest city, leads the nation with 739 homicides as of the end of November, up 3% from 2020, according to Chicago Police Department crime data. Chicago's deadliest year remains 1970 when there were 974 homicides.

Philadelphia's homicide record was broken in the same week that Columbus, Indianapolis and Louisville eclipsed records for slayings.

Experts say there are a number of reasons possibly connected to the jump in homicides, including strained law enforcement staffing, a pronounced decline in arrests and continuing hardships from the pandemic, but that there is no clear answer across the board...

 

[sharon sanders]

bump this

 

[Emily]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crim...80-94i-begged-them-not-to-shoot-us/ar-AAS8xcu
Illinois Sen. Kimberly Lightford's Carjacking Terror—'I Begged Them Not to Shoot Us'
Khaleda Rahman - Saturday

Illinois state Sen. Kimberly Lightford said she feared for her life and begged suspects not to shoot when she and her husband Eric McKennie were carjacked earlier this week. The incident ended in a shootout between McKennie and the carjackers.
...
Lightford, a Democrat who is the Illinois Senate's majority leader, has recalled her terror as she and her husband were forced out of their vehicle.

"Three guys just hopped out with guns and they demanded that we get out of the car and they put my husband on the ground," she said, according to ABC7.

"They had me over on the other side. I begged them not to shoot us and I begged them not to shoot my husband and not to shoot me."

Lightford said her husband told her to run while he exchanged gunfire with the suspects.

"I thought for sure they were gonna shoot me down. It was a lot of shots being fired. I think they were shooting at my husband and me and luckily enough my husband is concealed carry and he was able to protect us."

Lightford said she doesn't believe she was targeted and that the carjacking was random. Her office and the Broadview Police Department have been contacted for additional comment.

The incident comes as another Democrat lawmaker, Pennsylvania Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, pushes for "common sense" gun laws to be passed after she was carjacked at gunpoint in Philadelphia on Wednesday...

 

[sharon sanders]

bump this

 

[Shiloh]

Manhattan DA to stop seeking prison sentences in slew of criminal cases: https://nypost.com/2022/01/04/manhattan-da-alvin-bragg-to-stop-seeking-prison-in-some-cases/

 

[sharon sanders]

bump this

 

[Shiloh]

Conflict Quickly Emerges Between Top NYC Prosecutor and Police Commissioner: https://dnyuz.com/2022/01/08/confli...tween-top-prosecutor-and-police-commissioner/

 

[Emily]

Police say it might be a 'homeless man', yet the suspect in the video seems healthy, strong and organized as he walks away dressed in all black like an assassin in an N-95 mask.
It was heartbreaking to hear the young teen at the end of the video asking why can't things be the way they used to be.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crim...ure-store-in-random-daytime-attack/ar-AASOHiM
Woman, 24, Stabbed to Death While Working at Luxury L.A. Furniture Store in Random Daytime Attack
Abigail Adams - Saturday

 

[Emily]

She works through a pandemic in an ER at age 70, then dies as a result of the increasingly common 'sucker punch' attacks that roaming criminals are allowed to execute against honest citizens. This is a sick society.

https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2022/01/16/woman-attacked-near-union-station-dies-from-injuries/
‘Our Hearts Are Heavy:’ Sandra Shells, ER Nurse Attacked Near Union Station, Dies From Injuries On Sunday

By CBSLA StaffJanuary 16, 2022 at 9:30 pm
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – A nurse who was attacked by a homeless man early Thurdsay morning near Union Station has died.

Sandra Shells, a nurse at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, died from the injuries she suffered from the attack, LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis announced. She was 70-years-old.

On Sunday, neighbors of Shells’ shared their condolences after learning of her death. “She’s just a beautiful person – beautiful inside and out. It just hurts so bad, just to think about what happened to her” said Liz Anderson. “I just know she loved to help people, she loved people, and she loved to help people and I just know she, that was her life, she worked all the time.”

The hospital issued a statement on Sunday following her death. “Our hearts are heavy.”

The statement continued, mentioning her devotion to her profession and continued empathy for all patients, “Sandra Shells will forever be remembered for her compassionate care and unmatched dedication to her patients and the community throughout her 38-year career at LAC+USC. Sandra worked tirelessly and selflessly to keep her patients safe and healthy and will always be remembered as a kind, compassionate and giving nurse with a helpful and thoughtful nature, who was a favorite amongst colleagues and patients. There will never be enough words to express our gratitude for her tremendous work and dedication.”

The attack happened at about 5:10 a.m. at a bus stop at the southeast corner of Cesar Chavez and Vignes Street, according to Metro spokesman Jose Ubaldo.

Shells was approached by an individual, who was initially described as a transient. He reportedly slapped and pushed Shells’, who fell and hit her head, prompting her emergency transfer to the same hospital she worked at for nearly 40 years...