Houston gunman shoots six before being shot, killed by authorities
Houston gunman shoots six before being shot, killed by authorities
HOUSTON (AP) — A man had two weapons and more than 2,500 rounds of live ammunition when he randomly shot at drivers in a Houston neighborhood Monday morning, hitting six people, before he was shot and killed by police, authorities said. Another three people had injuries from glass or debris.
The gunman was wearing military-style apparel with old Nazi emblems during Monday morning’s shootings, Houston Homicide Capt. Dwayne Ready said during a news conference. Vintage military items dating to the Civil War and other guns were found at the man’s apartment.
Ready and Interim Police Chief Martha Montalvo did not identify the man and did not have information about a motive. A bomb-squad robot examined a Porsche police said belonged to the gunman; Texas motor vehicle records showed the car is licensed to Nathan DeSai at an address in the condo complex. The property manager of the condo complex also confirmed that police were going through DeSai’s residence.
Authorities first received reports of the shootings about 6:30 a.m., and the man began firing at officers when they arrived. The man had two legally purchased guns — a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun and a tommy gun — and an unsheathed knife, Ready said.
Mall shooting suspect’s motive remains unclear
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) — The suspect accused of killing five people at a Macy’s department store confessed to police, court documents said, but his motive remained a mystery Monday.
Arcan Cetin, 20, appeared in court following his arrest during the weekend on five counts of first-degree premeditated murder for the shooting at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, north of Seattle.
Cetin appeared to express no emotion and said only “Yes, your honor” when asked by a judge if he understood his rights. Bail was set at $2 million and his lawyer said nothing about his client in court and did not speak with reporters.
Police say Cetin stormed into the mall Friday night and killed five people. Cetin, after his arrest, admitted to detectives he was the man captured on security video carrying a Ruger rifle inside the mall, “and he did bring the rifle into Macy’s and shot all five victims,” court documents released ahead of Monday’s hearing said.
He shot all five victims in one minute and left the rifle with a 25-round magazine on a cosmetics counter before fleeing, the documents said. Four died at the scene and one died in the hospital.
Use of body cams questioned
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The fatal shooting of a black man by a police officer in Charlotte is only the latest shooting to raise questions about how the department uses body cameras.
Six people were fatally shot since body cameras were given to all patrol officers about a year ago. But the officers who fired the fatal shots in five of those cases — including Keith Lamont Scott’s — weren’t using the cameras.
The weekend release of police footage showing the shooting of Scott left questions in many people’s minds — including whether he was holding a gun. The footage includes body camera video from another officer, but not the black officer who fatally wounded Scott.
Scott’s family and advocacy groups complain the department divulged only about three minutes of footage from two cameras.
They urged the police department to release all other video footage it has, as well as audio recordings of communications that could clarify how the situation unfolded.
Police Chief Kerr Putney said the officer who shot Scott wasn’t wearing a body camera that day because he’s part of a tactical unit.