[h=1]Houston gunman 'shot deputy 15 times' in gas station assassination that 'cop lives matter too' sheriff has linked to national anti-police rhetoric[/h]
PUBLISHED: 17:47, 31 August 2015 | UPDATED: 18:29, 31 August 2015
A suburban Houston police officer who was ambushed at a gas station was shot 15 times, Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said in court Monday.
Shannon J. Miles appeared briefly in state District Court in handcuffs and shackles and said very little, other than to answer the judge's questions. He is being held without bond and was appointed two attorneys.
Anderson read the probable cause statement during the hearing, saying that police received a call of an officer down at 8:20pm Friday. When police arrived at the gas station in the Houston suburb of Cypress, they found Deputy Darren Goforth face-down.
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Shackled: Shannon Miles (in yellow) appeared in court on Monday as he was arraigned on charges of capital murder in the shooting death of Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth
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Facing the charges: The judge held Miles held without bond during Monday morning hearing
Anderson said investigators saw surveillance video from the gas station, which showed that Goforth, 47, had just come out of the store after he had pumped gas and that Miles got out of his red truck and approached the deputy.
'He runs up behind Deputy Goforth and puts the gun to the back of his head and shoots. Deputy Goforth hits the ground and then he continues to unload his gun, shooting repeatedly into the back of Deputy Goforth,' Anderson said.
Goforth was shot 15 times and a witness saw the shooting, Anderson said. She added that the shell casings match the .40-caliber Smith and Wesson handgun found at Miles' home.
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- Shannon J. Miles was arraigned on charges of capital murder in Texas court Monday morning
- Prosecutors say Miles shot Harris County Sheriff's deputy Darren Goforth 15 times at a gas station Friday evening
- A judge ordered Miles held without bond at the Monday hearing
- Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered flags lowered to half-staff in memory of Goforth
- Over the weekend, Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman blamed the Black Lives Matter movement for his deputy's death
- He says the movement has turned the rhetoric against cops, putting their lives at risk
PUBLISHED: 17:47, 31 August 2015 | UPDATED: 18:29, 31 August 2015
A suburban Houston police officer who was ambushed at a gas station was shot 15 times, Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said in court Monday.
Shannon J. Miles appeared briefly in state District Court in handcuffs and shackles and said very little, other than to answer the judge's questions. He is being held without bond and was appointed two attorneys.
Anderson read the probable cause statement during the hearing, saying that police received a call of an officer down at 8:20pm Friday. When police arrived at the gas station in the Houston suburb of Cypress, they found Deputy Darren Goforth face-down.
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Shackled: Shannon Miles (in yellow) appeared in court on Monday as he was arraigned on charges of capital murder in the shooting death of Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth
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Facing the charges: The judge held Miles held without bond during Monday morning hearing
Anderson said investigators saw surveillance video from the gas station, which showed that Goforth, 47, had just come out of the store after he had pumped gas and that Miles got out of his red truck and approached the deputy.
'He runs up behind Deputy Goforth and puts the gun to the back of his head and shoots. Deputy Goforth hits the ground and then he continues to unload his gun, shooting repeatedly into the back of Deputy Goforth,' Anderson said.
Goforth was shot 15 times and a witness saw the shooting, Anderson said. She added that the shell casings match the .40-caliber Smith and Wesson handgun found at Miles' home.
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Taking aim: Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson explains outside state District Court court how Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth was gunned down on Monday
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She would not comment on a motive to reporters after the hearing.
Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman said over the weekend that the attack was 'clearly unprovoked,' and there is no evidence that Goforth knew Miles.
'Our assumption is that he (Goforth) was a target because he wore a uniform,' the sheriff said.
In a press conference Saturday afternoon, Hickman pointed a finger at the Black Lives Matter movement, saying it had 'ramped up' public sentiment against officers like Goforth, helping create the conditions for the attack.
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He said: 'Our system of justice absolutely requires law enforcement to be present to protect our community.
'So at any point where the rhetoric ramps up to the point where the calculated, cold-blooded assassination of police officers happens, this rhetoric has gotten out of control.
'We've heard black lives matter, all lives matter - well, cops' lives matter too. Why don't we just drop the qualifier and say "lives matter".'
A resume posted online suggests Miles attended Prairie View A&M University, the school where Sandra Bland was arrested following a traffic stop and alleged assault on a police officer in July.
Three days later she killed herself in her cell and the Black Lives Matter movement made her an integral figure in its movement.
Miles' criminal record begins in 2005, when he was convicted of criminal mischief, giving false information to police and resisting arrest, according to records. In 2006, he was convicted of disorderly conduct with a firearm and sentenced to a maximum of 15 days in jail. He was convicted of evading arrest in 2007, and his most recent conviction came in 2009 for again resisting arrest.
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Killed: Goforth, 47, was gunned down from behind as he filled his patrol car with gas Friday night (left). Shannon J Miles (right) was arrested and is now facing capital murder charges
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Memorial: Mourners gathered Saturday by the petrol pump where Goforth was shot dead, covering it with balloons and flower tributes
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'Out of control rhetoric': Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman pointed the finger at the Black Lives Matter movement at a press conference Saturday
Records show that the 30-year-old Houston resident was sentenced to several short stints in jail, anywhere from 10 to six days.
Goforth, 47, was pumping gas at a Chevron station Friday night in Cypress, a middle- to upper-middle-class suburban area of Harris County located northwest of Houston, when the gunman approached him from behind and fired multiple shots, continuing to fire after the deputy had fallen to the ground.
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The killing evoked strong emotions in the local law enforcement community, with Hickman linking it to heightened tension over the treatment of African-Americans by police. Goforth was white and Miles is black.
The nationwide 'Black Lives Matter' movement that formed after 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, has sought sweeping reforms of policing.
Related protests erupted in Texas recently after a 28-year-old Chicago-area black woman, Sandra Bland, was found dead in a county jail about 50 miles northwest of Houston three days after her arrest on a traffic violation. Texas authorities said she committed suicide but her family is skeptical of that.
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Suspect: Law enforcement released surveillance footage from the gas station. Shannon J Miles has now been arrested and charged with the murder of the deputy
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Getaway: Station security footage recorded this red Ford Ranger with an extended cab leaving the area
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered Texas flags in Harris County and at the Capitol to be lowered to half-staff to honor the Houston-area deputy who was killed over the weekend.
Abbott said in a statement Monday that Texas has sustained a 'deliberate and heinous crime' against a law enforcement officer in Harris County.
The governor says Texas residents revere the men and women in law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day to protect and service their communities.
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Maryland Man Invoking Black Lives Matter, Arrested For Trying To Organize Mass-Killing Of Whites…
What do you expect when you have politicians apologizing for saying “all lives matter?”
Via NBC Washington:
A Maryland man is custody after police say he threatened to kill residents in the town of La Plata in a social media post.
Police say 20-year-old Carlos Anthony Hollins posted the threat on Twitter. According to the La Plata Police Department, the tweet read, “IM NOT GONNA STAND FOR THIS NO. MORE. TONIGHT WE PURGE! KILL ALL THE WHITE PPL IN THE TOWN OF LA PLATA.” The tweet also included the hashtag #blacklivesmatter.
“Purge” is a reference to the “The Purge” series. Both the original film and its 2014 sequel depict a night in which crime is legal for 12 hours without any consequences.
ZIP | September 3, 2015 4:10 pm
What do you expect when you have politicians apologizing for saying "all lives matter?" Via NBC Washington: A Maryland man is custody after police say he threatened to kill residents in the town of La Plata in a social media post. Police say 20-year-old Carlos Anthony Hollins po
What do you expect when you have politicians apologizing for saying “all lives matter?”
Via NBC Washington:
A Maryland man is custody after police say he threatened to kill residents in the town of La Plata in a social media post.
Police say 20-year-old Carlos Anthony Hollins posted the threat on Twitter. According to the La Plata Police Department, the tweet read, “IM NOT GONNA STAND FOR THIS NO. MORE. TONIGHT WE PURGE! KILL ALL THE WHITE PPL IN THE TOWN OF LA PLATA.” The tweet also included the hashtag #blacklivesmatter.
“Purge” is a reference to the “The Purge” series. Both the original film and its 2014 sequel depict a night in which crime is legal for 12 hours without any consequences.
ZIP | September 3, 2015 4:10 pm
What do you expect when you have politicians apologizing for saying "all lives matter?" Via NBC Washington: A Maryland man is custody after police say he threatened to kill residents in the town of La Plata in a social media post. Police say 20-year-old Carlos Anthony Hollins po
#CopsLivesMatter:
Three Dead After Shooting at Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood
Shooter surrenders after hourslong siege at Colorado clinic; nine remain hospitalized
ENLARGE
A suspect was taken into custody outside a Planned Parenthood center in Colorado Springs on Friday. Police arrested a gunman who stormed the Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Colorado Springs and opened fire, leaving three dead and nine wounded. PHOTO:ISAIAH J. DOWNING/REUTERS
By ALEJANDRO LAZO,
TAMARA AUDI and
MIGUEL BUSTILLO
Updated Nov. 27, 2015 11:58 p.m. ET1026 COMMENTS
A gunman killed three people, including a law-enforcement officer, and wounded numerous others before surrendering following a five-hour standoff inside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, authorities said.
Authorities late Friday night identified the suspected gunman as Robert Lewis Dear, 57 years old.
Three officers were initially wounded after responding to reports around 11:38 a.m. local time of a man with a long gun at the Planned Parenthood site, said Colorado Springs Police Department Lt. Catherine Buckley.
Police trying to apprehend the gunman entered the building and continued to face gunfire around 2:15 p.m. from the suspect, who shot a total of six officers while holed up in the clinic, Lt. Buckley said.
Officers were eventually able to shout to him as they drew close, and he surrendered shortly before 5 p.m. local time, she said.
ENLARGE
Officer Garrett Swasey, from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, was killed in the Planned Parenthood shooting on Friday. PHOTO:UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO COLORADO SPRINGS
One of the shot law-enforcement officers, from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, died of his injuries, as did two civilians injured in the attack, authorities said during a Friday evening news conference. Their names weren't immediately released.
The University of Colorado identified the officer as Garrett Swasey, 44 years old. The names of the other two victims weren’t immediately released. Nine people remained at local hospitals, authorities said Friday evening.
“All I can say is my heart’s broken,” Colorado Springs Police Chief Peter Carey told reporters. “This is a really, really tough situation for a lot of people in our community.”
Officials said they were scouring the scene to see if there were any additional victims, but were moving slowly because the alleged suspect had brought bags with him into the building, raising concerns about potential explosives.
“This is a complicated scene that is probably going to take hours, days for us to process,” Lt. Buckley said.
Lt. Buckley said it wasn't clear how many people were inside the building during the incident.
“At this time, our concern is for the safety of our patients, staff and law enforcement. This is a developing situation, and we’ll continue to share updates as we have them,” said Vicki Cowart, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.
ENLARGE
An officer waited after reports of a shooting at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs on Friday. A gunman was taken into custody after a five-hour standoff at the clinic, authorities said. PHOTO: BRENT LEWIS/ASSOCIATED PRESS
In an interview on CNN, Ms. Cowart said she believed all Planned Parenthood staff and patients survived, and none was seriously injured. She said her staff were able to get to safe rooms inside the facility, and that video cameras inside provided a live feed to aid officers outside.
The motive for the assault, and whether the clinic was the target, was unclear. Abortion clinics have been targets of bombings in the past. In recent months protesters have gathered outside clinics after undercover video from an antiabortion group showed a Planned Parenthood official discussing reimbursements for supplying fetal tissue for medical research.
Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, a conservative group based in Colorado Springs that opposes abortion, condemned the attack.
“Today’s violence at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood facility, just miles from our ministry headquarters, is tragic and deplorable. It is to be condemned,” said Mr. Daly,
ENLARGE
Two women are escorted from the Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Friday. PHOTO: RICK WILKING/REUTERS
“Our hearts break for the families of the three individuals killed,” he said. “As a community, we share in their sorrow and in their grief.”
Police closed surrounding streets as multiple ambulances and law-enforcement officials responded to the scene in the Centennial Boulevard area, a busy shopping district with restaurants and retail stores in Colorado Springs, a city of about 440,000 people.
Live camera shots from local television stations showed tactical units and ambulances taking away injured victims, with at least one person being loaded onto a stretcher.
Brigitte Wolfe, a manager at the Jun Japanese Restaurant in a strip mall across the street from the Planned Parenthood, said six policemen had taken positions in her restaurant and ordered her staff and three customers to stay inside as the scene unfolded across the street.
ENLARGE
Emergency personnel transport an officer to an ambulance amid a shooting near a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs. PHOTO: DANIEL OWEN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
“We have a bank across the street, so we thought it was a bank robbery, and then all of a sudden we saw SWAT and ATF pull up,” she said. “Then we actually had a police officer come to the window tell us to lock the doors and stay away.”
Joan Motolinia said in an interview with local television station KKTV that he received a call from his 28-year-old sister, who was inside the Planned Parenthood building, saying there was a shooting. Mr. Motolinia said he then heard shots and his sister hung up.
“I heard the shooting,” he said. “She couldn’t say too much, because she was afraid.”
Some people inside the Planned Parenthood rushed to a nearby bank after the shooting began, but police believe the shooting was contained to the one site, Lt. Buckley said.
Some neighbors said the Planned Parenthood had been the site of recent protests, like other Planned Parenthood facilities around the country.
“There’s always drama there,” said Jessica Ramsey, an employee at Marco’s, a pizza place less than 2 miles away.
She said a restaurant deliveryman was attempting to deliver a pizza to the Planned Parenthood offices around 11:30 a.m. and was turned away by police. But her restaurant and businesses in her area were still open and business was normal, she said.
The New York City Police Department said it was deploying officers to Planned Parenthood sites in the area as a precaution, according to its official Twitter feed. But there were no known threats to New York City locations, police said. A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department said it was assessing whether such a move was necessary, and said there were no direct threats to Planned Parenthood locations in Los Angeles.
Three Dead After Shooting at Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood
Shooter surrenders after hourslong siege at Colorado clinic; nine remain hospitalized
A suspect was taken into custody outside a Planned Parenthood center in Colorado Springs on Friday. Police arrested a gunman who stormed the Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Colorado Springs and opened fire, leaving three dead and nine wounded. PHOTO:ISAIAH J. DOWNING/REUTERS
By ALEJANDRO LAZO,
TAMARA AUDI and
MIGUEL BUSTILLO
Updated Nov. 27, 2015 11:58 p.m. ET1026 COMMENTS
A gunman killed three people, including a law-enforcement officer, and wounded numerous others before surrendering following a five-hour standoff inside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, authorities said.
Authorities late Friday night identified the suspected gunman as Robert Lewis Dear, 57 years old.
Three officers were initially wounded after responding to reports around 11:38 a.m. local time of a man with a long gun at the Planned Parenthood site, said Colorado Springs Police Department Lt. Catherine Buckley.
Police trying to apprehend the gunman entered the building and continued to face gunfire around 2:15 p.m. from the suspect, who shot a total of six officers while holed up in the clinic, Lt. Buckley said.
Officers were eventually able to shout to him as they drew close, and he surrendered shortly before 5 p.m. local time, she said.
Officer Garrett Swasey, from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, was killed in the Planned Parenthood shooting on Friday. PHOTO:UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO COLORADO SPRINGS
One of the shot law-enforcement officers, from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, died of his injuries, as did two civilians injured in the attack, authorities said during a Friday evening news conference. Their names weren't immediately released.
The University of Colorado identified the officer as Garrett Swasey, 44 years old. The names of the other two victims weren’t immediately released. Nine people remained at local hospitals, authorities said Friday evening.
“All I can say is my heart’s broken,” Colorado Springs Police Chief Peter Carey told reporters. “This is a really, really tough situation for a lot of people in our community.”
Officials said they were scouring the scene to see if there were any additional victims, but were moving slowly because the alleged suspect had brought bags with him into the building, raising concerns about potential explosives.
“This is a complicated scene that is probably going to take hours, days for us to process,” Lt. Buckley said.
Police said they had not determined whether the gunman was targeting the Planned Parenthood clinic, which conducts abortions as well as HIV testing and other services, and was in the middle of a normal business day on Friday, with numerous staff and patients present.
Lt. Buckley said it wasn't clear how many people were inside the building during the incident.
“At this time, our concern is for the safety of our patients, staff and law enforcement. This is a developing situation, and we’ll continue to share updates as we have them,” said Vicki Cowart, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.
An officer waited after reports of a shooting at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs on Friday. A gunman was taken into custody after a five-hour standoff at the clinic, authorities said. PHOTO: BRENT LEWIS/ASSOCIATED PRESS
In an interview on CNN, Ms. Cowart said she believed all Planned Parenthood staff and patients survived, and none was seriously injured. She said her staff were able to get to safe rooms inside the facility, and that video cameras inside provided a live feed to aid officers outside.
The motive for the assault, and whether the clinic was the target, was unclear. Abortion clinics have been targets of bombings in the past. In recent months protesters have gathered outside clinics after undercover video from an antiabortion group showed a Planned Parenthood official discussing reimbursements for supplying fetal tissue for medical research.
Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, a conservative group based in Colorado Springs that opposes abortion, condemned the attack.
“Today’s violence at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood facility, just miles from our ministry headquarters, is tragic and deplorable. It is to be condemned,” said Mr. Daly,
Two women are escorted from the Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Friday. PHOTO: RICK WILKING/REUTERS
“Our hearts break for the families of the three individuals killed,” he said. “As a community, we share in their sorrow and in their grief.”
Police closed surrounding streets as multiple ambulances and law-enforcement officials responded to the scene in the Centennial Boulevard area, a busy shopping district with restaurants and retail stores in Colorado Springs, a city of about 440,000 people.
Live camera shots from local television stations showed tactical units and ambulances taking away injured victims, with at least one person being loaded onto a stretcher.
Brigitte Wolfe, a manager at the Jun Japanese Restaurant in a strip mall across the street from the Planned Parenthood, said six policemen had taken positions in her restaurant and ordered her staff and three customers to stay inside as the scene unfolded across the street.
Emergency personnel transport an officer to an ambulance amid a shooting near a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs. PHOTO: DANIEL OWEN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
“We have a bank across the street, so we thought it was a bank robbery, and then all of a sudden we saw SWAT and ATF pull up,” she said. “Then we actually had a police officer come to the window tell us to lock the doors and stay away.”
Joan Motolinia said in an interview with local television station KKTV that he received a call from his 28-year-old sister, who was inside the Planned Parenthood building, saying there was a shooting. Mr. Motolinia said he then heard shots and his sister hung up.
“I heard the shooting,” he said. “She couldn’t say too much, because she was afraid.”
Some people inside the Planned Parenthood rushed to a nearby bank after the shooting began, but police believe the shooting was contained to the one site, Lt. Buckley said.
Some neighbors said the Planned Parenthood had been the site of recent protests, like other Planned Parenthood facilities around the country.
“There’s always drama there,” said Jessica Ramsey, an employee at Marco’s, a pizza place less than 2 miles away.
She said a restaurant deliveryman was attempting to deliver a pizza to the Planned Parenthood offices around 11:30 a.m. and was turned away by police. But her restaurant and businesses in her area were still open and business was normal, she said.
The New York City Police Department said it was deploying officers to Planned Parenthood sites in the area as a precaution, according to its official Twitter feed. But there were no known threats to New York City locations, police said. A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department said it was assessing whether such a move was necessary, and said there were no direct threats to Planned Parenthood locations in Los Angeles.
