分类： society

A devastating early-morning shooting rooted in domestic violence has left eight children dead in the southern U.S. city of Shreveport, Louisiana, marking one of the deadliest mass shooting incidents in the country in recent years, local law enforcement confirmed Sunday.

The violence unfolded just after 6 a.m. local time, or 1100 GMT, across three connected residential properties, leaving a sprawling crime scene that investigators have been processing systematically since the incident. All eight fatal victims were children between the ages of 1 and 14, according to Police Corporal Chris Bordelon, who spoke to reporters at an official press conference. Some of the slain children were biological descendants of the gunman, Bordelon added.

Three additional people were hurt in the attack: two adult women suffered gunshot wounds to the head, and a young boy sustained injuries after jumping from a residential roof to escape the violence, according to local ABC affiliate KTBS. Two other adults were hit by gunfire, though their conditions were not disclosed to the public immediately after the incident.

Following the shooting, the unidentified adult male suspect carjacked a civilian vehicle and fled the scene, triggering a high-speed pursuit by law enforcement. Officers ultimately opened fire on the suspect, killing him at the end of the chase. No law enforcement personnel were injured during the operation, Louisiana State Police confirmed. Investigators have concluded the suspect acted alone, with no other co-conspirators involved in the attack.

Data from the Gun Violence Archive classifies the incident as the deadliest mass shooting in the United States in more than two years, a grim statistic that underscores the persistent crisis of gun violence plaguing the country. Where widespread access to firearms remains a contentious policy issue, thousands of people die from gun-related incidents across the U.S. every year.

Local and state political leaders have expressed shock and grief over the tragedy. Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux called it a terrible day for the community, telling reporters “we all mourn with the victims.” Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said he was heartbroken by the loss of life, while U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican representing the state, described the attack as horrific violence and extended well wishes for a full recovery to all survivors.

Law enforcement officials have said they will not release additional details about the identities of the victims and the suspect until all next of kin have been notified, a standard process following mass casualty events.

A devastating cruise tragedy that claimed the life of an 81-year-old Australian grandmother has come under fresh scrutiny this week, as the victim’s family has broken their silence to demand accountability and expose critical safety failures that led to her unnecessary death.

Suzanne Rees, a retired accountant and grandmother from New South Wales, embarked on what was meant to be the dream luxury voyage around Australia’s northern coast, a $30,000 journey departing from Cairns bound for Perth, operated by small-ship cruise provider Coral Expeditions onboard the Coral Adventurer. On October 25 last year, the cruise docked at Lizard Island, a popular tourist spot on the Great Barrier Reef, and Rees – an experienced hiker – joined the vessel’s guided shore hiking excursion.

What began as a joyful excursion ended in unthinkable loss. Rees was separated from the group and left stranded on the island overnight, and search crews recovered her body the following morning, just 50 meters from the marked hiking path.

Nearly a year after the tragedy, Rees’ daughter Kate Rees and son-in-law Andrew Cowie have shared their story in a Sunday evening episode of the long-running Australian current affairs program *60 Minutes*, airing the final text message Rees sent to her daughter hours before her death to highlight the senseless nature of the loss.

“That morning she sent me a text with a photo of the ship’s deck, saying ‘Arrived at Lizard Island, going for a hike, and then afternoon swim’,” Kate Rees recalled in the program. “We had no reason to think that this wouldn’t be the most amazing experience. We had no reason to think anything bad would happen.”

To date, the family says they have received no clear explanation for how the cruise crew failed to notice Rees was missing for hours. Based on the limited information they have received, Rees told *60 Minutes* her mother had reported feeling unwell mid-hike, and a guide instructed her to return to the ship alone – a decision that former Coral Adventurer hiking guide Fern Trent called deeply alarming and out of line with standard safety protocol.

Trent explained that any time a guest needs to leave an excursion early, the standard practice is to radio the ship to arrange an escort, rather than leaving an unwell passenger to navigate an unfamiliar island alone. What shocked her most, she added, was that the crew missed Rees entirely during their mandatory headcount before the ship departed.

*60 Minutes*’ investigation confirmed that the entire hiking group returned to the Coral Adventurer, and the ship set sail for its next destination at 3:35 pm. It took five full hours before the crew realized Rees was not onboard and turned the vessel around. A preliminary search party was deployed at 10:30 pm, and a rescue helicopter was dispatched from Cairns, but the search was suspended when the Coral Adventurer arrived at the island just after 3:30 am. Rees’ body was located the next morning.

In an official statement provided to *60 Minutes*, Coral Expeditions acknowledged that catastrophic mistakes were made on the day of the tragedy. The company called Rees’ death devastating and offered a formal apology to the family for their loss and the pain the incident has caused.

“While Coral Expeditions had comprehensive safety systems and procedures in place, we acknowledge some of these were not adequately implemented on this tragic day,” the statement read. “Ms Rees’ death has shocked our people to the core and we will continue to co-operate fully with the ongoing investigations. Coral Expeditions has introduced additional systems and procedures to further strengthen protections for our guests.”

For Kate Rees, however, the policy changes come too late, and she argues that the excursion should never have run at all. She says extreme heat on the day should have led crew leaders to cancel the hike entirely, a decision that would have saved her mother’s life. “Somebody needed to make that decision and say, ‘too hot, we’re not doing a walk’,” she said. The family continues to push for full transparency as investigations into the tragedy move forward.

Newly released dashcam footage has laid bare the terrifying moments of a recent drive-by shooting outside a popular Melbourne strip club, capturing the shooter’s actions and the rapid, life-saving reaction of an on-duty security guard.

The chilling clip circulated online Friday via gang-focused media outlet Outlaw Media, emerging just hours after the incident unfolded around 4:10 a.m. at Men’s Gallery, a long-standing adult entertainment venue located on Melbourne’s Lonsdale Street. In the footage, a hooded, gloved suspect positioned in the passenger seat of a moving vehicle can be seen firing a silver handgun just meters from the club’s front entrance. Spotting the incoming threat almost instantly, the security guard posted at the doorway sprints away to take cover, narrowly avoiding any harm.

Official statements from Victoria Police confirmed that no people suffered physical injuries in the attack. Authorities also confirmed that the shot originated from a dark-colored vehicle, fired directly toward the licensed premises. In the wake of the shooting, law enforcement has issued a public call for any witnesses or members of the public with relevant security footage or information to come forward and contact Crime Stoppers to assist with the investigation.

What makes this incident particularly alarming for investigators is its timing: the shooting comes only days after the same venue was targeted in a failed arson attack around 5:45 a.m. on April 14. Detectives from Victoria Police’s Arson and Explosive Squad are currently probing whether this shooting is connected to that attempted arson, as well as a recent spike in suspicious fires across licensed hospitality venues across Melbourne over the past week.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Detective Inspector Chris Murray noted that at least seven separate arson attacks have hit bars, restaurants, and clubs in recent days, and the underlying motive for the wave of violence remains unclear. While authorities are actively investigating potential connections between all the incidents, Murray confirmed that no concrete links have been confirmed to date. Venue owners have been fully cooperative with investigators, he added, and none have been able to explain why their properties have been targeted.

Murray told reporters that police suspect the attacks are being organized by third parties who hire inexperienced young people to carry out the violent acts. “What we suspect is these jobs are being tasked out to anyone … these young kids are being used as cannon fodder,” he said.

So far, police have made a small number of arrests connected to two of the suspicious fires. Investigations have revealed that the young males accused of carrying out those attacks were paid only a few hundred Australian dollars to commit the crimes, Murray said.

In a public appeal for community assistance, Murray urged residents and business owners to report any suspicious activity immediately to Crime Stoppers. Specifically, he called attention to out-of-character late-night activity: “Call Crime Stoppers if you see something unusual, and when I say ‘something unusual’ … we see young males get out of vehicles in possession of jerry cans at 3am in the morning, now if you see that; obviously that’s something we’re interested in.”