Plano, TX – Federal officials announced late Monday that the gunman who murdered a Lyft driver and then opened fire in Plano police headquarters on Sunday had previously been investigated and may have been inspired by terrorist groups.
The incident began just before noon on Aug. 29 when Garland police received a call about a woman who had been shot and had her car stolen, KTVT reported.
Just moments later, at about 12:15 p.m., Plano police received a report about a man acting erratically outside the police headquarters located in the 900-block of 14th Street, KDFW reported.
Police said the suspect, who was wearing a black shirt and mask, walked into the lobby of headquarters and then left.
Then he returned to the lobby a moment later with a handgun and started shooting at a civilian police employee who was in the process of assisting a visitor, KXAS reported.
“The subject raised the weapon in his right hand and fired in the direction of the civilian employee. At that time the civilian employee and citizen were able to escape to a side room,” Plano Police Department Spokesman Jerry Minton said.
Two officers quickly responded to the lobby and returned fire, KXAS responded.
“And officers that were actually located inside the police department at that time heard the shot, heard the commotion going in the lobby. They confronted the suspect and exchanged gunfire, striking the individual,” Minton said, according to KDFW.
The wounded suspect was transported to the hospital and later died.
Shortly after the incident, officers found a car belonging 26-year-old Isabella Lewis, the Lyft driver found murdered in Garland an hour earlier, in the police headquarters parking lot.
Police said 32-year-old Imran Ali Rasheed called a Lyft for a ride and then shot Lewis when she arrived to pick him up, KDFW reported.
New York, NY – Telecommunications company Verizon has implemented a so-called “anti-racism” training for employees to help them decide whether they are “oppressed” or “oppressors” as they work to understand how racist the U.S. is, according to a whistleblower. The company has also been pushing employees to endorse a number of left-wing ideals, to include defunding law enforcement, according to investigative reporter Christopher Rufo. Rufo said a Verizon whistleblower handed him a slew of documents regarding the “Race & Social Justice” initiative the company established last year.
Among the programs created through the initiative is the “Conscious Inclusion & Anti-Racism” race reeducation program for employees, which is laden with critical race theory concepts such as “white fragility” and “systemic racism,” Rufo noted. Verizon employees are given official company worksheets so they can list out their “race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, religion, education, profession, and sexual orientation” to help determine whether they are “oppressed” or an “oppressor,” according to Rufo. This information also helps employees determine where they fall on the “privilege” hierarchy, as they commit to a lifelong “anti-racism journey,” the investigative reporter noted.
San Francisco, CA – Almost 20 San Francisco police officers, deputies, and firefighters are facing unpaid suspensions after they refused to disclose their vaccination statuses to their departments.
Eight San Francisco police officers, two sheriff’s deputies, and seven firefighters received letters from their department heads that warned of impending disciplinary action, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“The health and well-being of city employees and the public we serve are top priorities during our emergency response to COVID-19,” the letter read, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“Your failure to comply with the vaccination status reporting requirement endangers the health and safety of the city’s workforce and the public we serve,” the letter continued.
San Francisco was the first major city and county in California to create vaccination requirements for all of its employees, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Under the guidelines, most employees will have 10 weeks to get vaccinated after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) grants approval to one of the vaccines, with those working in higher-risk settings on an accelerated schedule.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was approved by the FDA on Monday.
All of the city’s employees were required to report their vaccination status by Aug. 12, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Northampton, NY – New York State Police (NYSP) Trooper James Monda died in the line of duty after slipping beneath the surface of Great Sacandaga Lake while working a marine patrol detail on Sunday.
The 45-year-old trooper went underwater at a boat launch at approximately 4 p.m. on Aug. 22 and did not resurface, the NYSP said in a press release on Monday afternoon.
Trooper Monda was pulled from the water and rushed to Nathan Littauer Hospital in Gloversville, where he was pronounced dead.
Additional details about the fatal incident have not been released.
“It is with deep regret and sadness that Superintendent Kevin P. Bruen announces the line of duty death of Trooper James J. Monda,” the NYSP said. “Trooper Monda entered the State Police in September 2002 and served with the State Police for 18 years.”
American Police News 