Murder Suspect Shoots Police Officer Inside Miss. Headquarters

JACKSON, Miss. — A murder suspect being interviewed at the Jackson, Miss., police headquarters shot a detective Thursday and those who came to investigate the gunfire found both men dead, authorities said.

The suspect was being questioned on the third floor of the building when the shooting happened, said Police Chief Rebecca Coleman. Police did not release any details on the sequence of what happened.

The officer was identified as Det. Eric Smith, 40, who was assigned to the Robbery-Homicide Division and had been with the department since 1995.

Late Thursday, police identified the murder suspect as Jeremy Powell, 23. Both the detective and the suspect had been shot multiple times.

Police said Powell was in the process of being arrested in the killing Monday of Christopher Alexander. News outlets reported that the 20-year-old Alexander's body was found Monday near a Jackson street and he had been stabbed in the neck.

City police spokesman Chris Mims described Smith as "a decorated detective and well-respected law-enforcement person throughout the state of Mississippi."

"He was in the processing of questioning that suspect," Mims said of the detective. "Other officers in the police department heard gunshots ring out and when they went to the interview room, discovered that both the suspect and the detective were deceased."

The police headquarters was on lockdown Thursday night, Mims said.

Jackson City Councilman Chokwe Lumumba was in police headquarters with the mayor afterward and said Smith was shot by the suspect. He did not know how the suspect ended up dead.

"I understand there may have been more than one police officer in the room," Lumumba said outside the police building.

The headquarters was blocked off and surrounded by crime tape. Law enforcement and Jackson city officials rushed to the scene.

Mims said the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation has taken over the investigation, which is standard procedure.

"This is a very tragic situation," he said. "The entire city of Jackson and the Jackson Police Department family are all hurting. We are asking for the public's patience while we find out why this tragic incident happened and how it happened."

At least 30 Jackson Police and Hines County Sheriff's office vehicles were haphazardly parked across multiple, major downtown Jackson streets. Officers were visibly shaken, wiping their eyes, and Assistant Chief Lee Vance could be seen comforting Chief Rebecca Coleman at one point, putting his arm around her shoulder outside the building. A 2008 photo on the department's website shows a smiling, fit Smith, in a shirt and tie, accepting a certificate of commendation on behalf of a detective, with Coleman and Vance on each side of him.

Lumumba, who is a lawyer, said Smith was fairly new to being a homicide detective and that he first met Smith in the late 1990s. The then-officer had testified on some of Lumumba's cases.

"I had great respect for his work and his integrity," Lumumba said. He added that Smith's stepson had played basketball on an Amateur Athletic Union team that Lumumba worked with.

"Eric helped take young men all over the country," the councilman said. "He's a real man in every sense of the word."

Mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr. also addressed the officer's death.

"Detective Smith was an excellent officer in all respects," the mayor said. "I want everyone to keep the Smith family in their prayers and in their thoughts."

Lumumba said that Smith was married and had another son.

A monument outside police headquarters lists 14 officers killed in the line of duty – before today.

Joshua, Sharyn Hakken Allegedly Kidnapped 2 Sons, Cole And Chase, Near Tampa, Florida

TAMPA, Fla. — Authorities are searching for two young boys they believe were kidnapped by their father from their maternal grandparents' Florida home after their grandmother was tied up.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday night asked for the public's help in locating the boys, 4-year-old Cole Hakken and 2-year-old Chase Hakken.

Authorities allege that their father, 35-year-old Joshua Michael Hakken, entered his mother-in-law's house north of Tampa, tied her up and fled with the children. They said the children could be in a black 2006 GMC pickup owned by their father.

The news release identified Hakken and the children's mother, 34-year-old Sharyn Patricia Hakken, as suspects in the abduction. The news release said "both suspects are anti-government and have attempted a previous abduction at gun point in Louisiana."

The Tampa Bay Times reports that Joshua Hakken lost custody of his sons last year after a drug possession arrest in Louisiana, and that authorities said he later tried to take them from a foster home at gunpoint. The newspaper said the children had been living with their grandparents since last year, and that the Hakkens were informed Tuesday by a Louisiana court that they'd been stripped of their parental rights.

North Korea Approves Nuclear Attack On U.S.? 'Merciless' Strike 'Ratified,' According To Rhetoric

 

LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) - North Korea said it had "ratified" a merciless attack against the United States, potentially involving a "diversified nuclear strike".

"We formally inform the White House and Pentagon that the ever-escalating U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK (North Korea) and its reckless nuclear threat will be smashed by the strong will of all the united service personnel and people and cutting-edge smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear strike means of the DPRK and that the merciless operation of its revolutionary armed forces in this regard has been finally examined and ratified," a spokesman for the General Staff of the Korean People's Army said in a statement carried by the English language service of the state news agency KCNA

SEOUL, April 4 (Reuters) - North Korea has moved what appears to be a mid-range Musudan missile to its east coast, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said on Thursday, quoting multiple government sources privy to intelligence from U.S. and South Korean authorities.

It was not clear if the missile was mounted with a warhead or whether the North was planning to fire it or was just putting it on display as a show of force, one South Korean government source was quoted as saying.

"South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities have obtained indications the North has moved an object that appears to be a mid-range missile to the east coast," the source said.

The Musudan missile is believed to have a range of 3,000 km (1,875 miles) or more, which would put all of South Korea and Japan in range and possibly also the U.S. territory of Guam in the Pacific Ocean. North Korea is not believed to have tested these mid-range missiles, according to most independent experts

South Korea's defence ministry declined to comment.

North Korea has threatened a nuclear strike on the United States and missile attacks on its Pacific bases, including in Guam. Those threats followed new U.N. sanctions imposed on the North after it carried out its third nuclear test in February.

The missile was moved to the coast by train. The North has a missile launch site on the northeastern coast, which it has used to unsuccessfully test-fire long-range rockets in the past.

The Yonhap report did not say if the missile had been moved to the missile site.

Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper issued a similar report on Thursday, saying the North had moved what appeared to be a long-range missile to its east coast.

Connecticut Passes Nation's Strictest Gun Law In Wake Of Sandy Hook Massacre

WASHINGTON -- Both houses of the Connecticut legislature passed some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, approximately 100 days after 26 students and educators were shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.
In a dramatic marathon legislative session that lasted well into the wee hours of Thursday morning, the state House of Representatives debated and passed gun control legislation by a bipartisan vote of 105 to 44. A parallel bill was approved by the state Senate earlier Wednesday on a bipartisan 26-10 vote. Following the House vote, the Senate and House versions of the bill will be reconciled, after which Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) has indicated his intent to sign the legislation as soon as possible.
In passing the sweeping set of laws, Connecticut joins Colorado, New York and Maryland, the three states that have passed major gun control legislation in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy. A Maryland bill that includes fingerprinting gun buyers passed its House of Delegates on Wednesday.
But no state embodies the high costs and conflicting forces in America's gun debate more than Connecticut, home to some of the country's best-known gun manufacturers stretching back more than a century. It also now grapples with a new distinction: It is home to Sandy Hook Elementary School, an international symbol of the mass shootings that occur too frequently in the United States.
Investigators in Newtown believe that Adam Lanza fired more than 155 bullets in under five minutes using a military-style assault rifle loaded with high capacity magazines.
The Connecticut legislation bans the sale of gun magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds and requires background checks for private gun sales, including those at gun shows. It also expands the state's current assault weapons ban to include more than 100 gun models.
Additionally, the Connecticut bill allocates $15 million for expanded school safety and mental health programs, and includes new eligibility requirements for ammunition sales. It also has a provision to create the nation's first registry of dangerous offenders, which will be accessible only to law enforcement officers.

The newly approved measures mark the culmination of a three-month process that began shortly after the Dec. 14 massacre, when a task force of legislators set out to determine ways to prevent future mass school shootings.
"Nobody will be able to say that this bill is absolutely perfect, but no one will also be able to say that this bill fails the test when it comes to being the strongest in the country and the most comprehensive bill in the country," Democratic state Senate President Don Williams, a member of the task force, told reporters on Wednesday.
Gun rights advocates protested the legislation on the grounds of the state Capitol Wednesday, waving signs that said, “N.R.A. Stand and Fight” and “Connecticut the Un-Constitution State." Protesters also occasionally shouted "No, no, no." One gun rights advocate, Ron Pariseau, said the laws being proposed "will not stop anything," and he encouraged the legislature to "write laws that are sensible," instead of the ones being proposed.
But news of the law's passage was greeted with applause by gun control advocates like Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
"The bills passed today will save lives, plain and simple," Gross said. "The leaders in Connecticut are taking action because it is the right thing to do, but also because for them, Newtown didn’t just happen in some far off town ... It was their friends and neighbors." Gross also said he hoped Congress was watching the deliberations in Connecticut.
President Barack Obama plans to visit Connecticut Monday, part of his nationwide push to advance gun control legislation currently being considered by the U.S. Senate. On Wednesday, he visited Denver, where he told an audience of law enforcement officers that his administration "will not just wait for the next Newtown" before passing stricter gun control laws.
In Washington, debate on gun control proposals is set to begin next week, when senators return from the Easter recess. Republicans, including Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, have pledged to filibuster to block any gun control legislation from a Senate vote, setting the stage for what is likely to be a pitched with Senate Democrats.
Previously introduced provisions to ban high-capacity gun magazines and assault weapons appeared to have little bipartisan support in the Senate, largely due to vocal opposition led by the National Rifle Association. Senate Democrats and the White House have zeroed in on expanded background checks and tougher penalties for gun trafficking, the two measures most likely to become federal law.

Members Of White Supremacist Gang Sought In Colorado Prison Chief Death

DENVER — Authorities investigating the death of Colorado's prisons chief told law enforcement officers Wednesday to be on the lookout for two known associates of a white supremacist prison gang.
James Lohr, 47, and Thomas Guolee, 31, aren't being called suspects in the death of Colorado Department of Corrections chief Tom Clements, but their names have surfaced during the investigation, El Paso County sheriff's Lt. Jeff Kramer said. He wouldn't elaborate.
An officer safety bulletin regarding the two was sent out Wednesday. Kramer said Lohr and Guolee are known associates of the 211 Crew. That's the same gang whose members included Evan Ebel, who is a suspect in the death of Clements on March 19 and of Nathan Leon, a pizza deliveryman, two days earlier.
Ebel was killed in a shootout with Texas authorities after the deaths. Investigators have said the gun Ebel used in the shootout was also used to kill Clements when the prisons chief answered the front door of his home.
Ebel is the only suspect that investigators have named in Clements' death, but they haven't given a motive. They have said they're looking into his connection to the gang he joined while in prison, and whether that was connected to the attack.
"Investigators are looking at a lot of different possibilities. We are not stepping out and saying it's a hit or it's not a hit. We're looking at all possible motives," Kramer said Wendesday.
Sheriff's investigators said they don't know the whereabouts of Lohr and Guolee or if they are together, but Kramer said it's possible one or both of them could be headed to Nevada or Texas.
Both are wanted on warrants unrelated to Clements' death, and authorities believe they are armed and dangerous.
Guolee is a parolee who served time for intimidating a witness and giving a pawnbroker false information, among other charges, court records show. Lohr was being sought on warrants out of Las Animas County for a bail violation and a violation of a protection order, according to court records.
The 211 gang is one of the most vicious white supremacist groups operating in U.S. prisons, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist groups. It was founded in 1995 to protect white prisoners from attacks and operates only in Colorado, according to the center.
Ebel joined the 211 Crew after he entered prison in 2005 for a string of assault and menacing charges that combined for an eight-year sentence. He was supposed to spend an extra four years in prison for punching a prison officer in the face in 2006, but a clerical error led that sentence to be recorded as one to be served simultaneously with his previous sentences.
He was released on parole Jan. 28.
Records show that the vendor operating the electronic monitoring bracelet that Ebel wore noted a "tamper alert" March 14. Corrections officials left a message for Ebel telling him to report in two days and have the bracelet repaired, records show.
The next day, for the first time since his release, Ebel did not call in for his daily phone check-in.
On March 16, he missed his appointment to repair the bracelet. Only on the following day do the records show that a note was made in the corrections system that he failed to show up.
By then, Leon, a father of three, was shot and killed after answering a call for a pizza at a Denver truck stop.
On March 18, parole officers contacted Ebel's father, who said he was concerned his son had fled and gave them permission to search Evan Ebel's apartment. The next afternoon, two parole officers concluded he had fled.
Hours later, Clements answered his doorbell and was fatally shot.
The next morning, still unaware of a connection with the most recent slaying, the state issued a warrant for Ebel's arrest on parole violations.
A sheriff's deputy in rural Texas pulled Ebel over March 21, but he fled. Ebel was killed in the shootout that followed.
Clements, born in St. Louis, worked for 31 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections, both in prison and as a parole officer, before he joined the Colorado Department of Corrections in 2011.

Eugene Crum Dead Mingo County Sheriff Fatally Shot Near West Virginia Courthouse (UPDATE)

Mingo County Sheriff Eugene Crum was fatally shot Wednesday outside the Mingo County courthouse, WCHS reports.
The courthouse, located in Williamson, W. Va., has been evacuated, WSAZ reports.
WCHS reports that a suspect has been taken into custody.
The suspect was shot but is "alert and talking," and has been taken to the hospital, according to the Charleston Daily Mail. He was shot while attempting to flee the crime scene, West Virginia State Police said, according to WSAZ.
Crum was eating lunch when a suspect drove by and fired at him, a county commissioner said, according to the Charleston Daily Mail. West Virginia House Delegate Justin Marcum said Crum enjoyed having his lunch in a place where he could see a former "pill mill" that was raided in 2010, the paper reported.
Crum was reportedly in his car when another vehicle pulled up alongside him. When Crum rolled down the window, he was shot twice, Marcum said, according to Charleston Daily Mail reporter Dave Boucher.
While campaigning for Mingo County Sheriff, Crum made drug control a central part of his platform, according to Charleston Gazette. House Finance Chairman Harry Keith White said Crum had been "aggressive" in combating drugs during his brief time as Mingo County Sheriff.
"Eugene Crum has exceeded my highest expectations as Mingo County Drug Enforcement Investigator and now as Mingo County Sheriff," said Mingo County prosecutor C. Michael Sparks in January, according to WOWK-TV.

Carnival Triumph Adrift: Cruise Ship Breaks Loose In Mobile, Alabama

MOBILE, Ala. — The crippled cruise ship whose sewage-filled breakdown in the Gulf of Mexico subjected thousands to horrendous conditions tore loose Wednesday from the dock where it's being repaired, lumbered downriver and crunched into a cargo ship.
Wind gusts near hurricane strength shoved the 900-foot Carnival Triumph free from its mooring in downtown Mobile, Ala., where the ship was brought in a five-day ordeal that began when an engine fire stranded it off of Mexico in February. Hours later, four tug boats used several mooring lines to secure the ship to the cruise terminal.
A 20-foot gash about 2 to 3 feet wide was visible about halfway up the hull from the water and it wrapped partway around the stern. Underneath the gashed area, two levels of railing were dangling and broken. Electric cables that had been plugged in on shore were dangling from the port – or left – side of the ship. Carnival said damage, though, was limited.
The violent weather Wednesday also blew a nearby guard shack into the water. One shipyard worker was rescued and crews were searching for another, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said, but the cruise ship's mishap was unrelated.

Some crew members and workers had been staying on the ship while it was being repaired and people could be seen looking out the windows and on the deck of the ship Wednesday. Carnival said all 800 of its crew members and contractors who were working aboard were safe.
An engine fire disabled the Triumph on Feb. 10 and thousands of passengers were disabled for days. Passengers say they endured terrible conditions on board, including food shortages, raw sewage running in corridors and tent cities for sleeping on deck.
Tugs slowly towed the ship into port in Mobile, Ala., where it has remained under repair.
After the ship escaped, it rested against a cargo vessel. It drifted for a couple of hours before being secured as of 5 p.m., and moved to the Mobile Cruise Terminal, Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen said.
Coast Guard officials said they saw no sign late Wednesday of the missing BAE Systems employee who was knocked into the water with a co-worker when near hurricane-strength winds blew their guard shack over. The other man was rescued.
Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Bill Colclough said the missing man worked for BAE Systems that runs the shipyard. Authorities are unsure of how deep the water is where the men fell in, but the company's website mentions its ship-repairing operation is adjacent to a 42-foot deep ship channel.
The pier where the ship was docked wasn't damaged but one adjacent was when the ship bumped into it, said BAE spokesman John Measell.