Gunman kills 6 inside Sikh temple
Gunman kills 6 inside Sikh temple
OAK CREEK, Wis. (AP) — An unidentified gunman killed six people at a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee on Sunday in a rampage that left terrified congregants hiding in closets and others texting friends outside for help. The suspect was killed outside the temple in a shootout with police officers.
Police called the attack an act of domestic terrorism, but did not provide any details about the gunman or suggest a possible motive. Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards did not say whether he specifically targeted the Sikh community.
During a chaotic few hours after the first shots were fired, police in tactical gear and carrying assault rifles surrounded the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin with armored vehicles and ambulances. Witnesses struggled with unrealized fears that several shooters were holding women and children hostage inside.
One of the first officers to respond to frantic 911 calls seeking help was shot several times as he tended to a wounded victim, and was in critical condition along with two other victims Sunday night, authorities said.
“We never thought this could happen to our community,” said Devendar Nagra, 48, of Mount Pleasant, whose sister escaped injury by hiding as the gunman fired in the temple’s kitchen. “We never did anything wrong to anyone.”
Edwards said the FBI will lead the investigation because the shootings are being treated as domestic terrorism, or an attack that originated inside the U.S.
Service members had prostitutes
WASHINGTON (AP) — A dozen U.S. service members brought women, likely prostitutes, to their hotel rooms in Colombia and also allowed dogs to soil bed linens and building grounds shortly before President Barack Obama arrived in the country for an April summit, according to a military investigation that followed the announcement of punishments for the men.
The report provided to The Associated Press on Friday revealed new details about the conduct of the service members in the prostitution scandal that engulfed both military and Secret Service personnel.
Seven Army soldiers and two Marines have received administrative punishments for what the report described as misconduct consisting “almost exclusively of patronizing prostitutes and adultery.” Three of the service members have requested courts martial, which would give them a public trial to contest the punishments.
One Air Force member was reprimanded but cleared of any violations of the U.S. military code of justice, and final decisions are pending on two Navy sailors, whose cases remain under legal review.
Victim ‘thrilled’ by possible plea
PHOENIX (AP) — Mavy Stoddard, who lost her husband in the massacre in Arizona last year that severely wounded then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, plans to be in a federal courtroom this week to see if her prayers will be answered by a guilty plea from the man accused of the crime.
Stoddard, who has recovered from three gunshot wounds in a leg, said Sunday she’s “just thrilled” by news reports of a possible plea agreement that could send Jared Lee Loughner to prison for the rest of his life.
“I don’t really want the death penalty. I would love to see him either put in a mental institution or life in prison with no parole. Either one of them. If he can get some help, that’s what he needs. And maybe he will find the Lord,” Stoddard said in a telephone interview from her home in Tucson, Ariz.
A hearing in the federal case against Loughner is scheduled for Tuesday in Tucson, and a court-appointed psychiatrist is to testify that Loughner is competent to enter a plea, according to a person familiar with the case.
Evacuation orders lifted amid fires
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Many Oklahomans forced to leave their homes because of raging wildfires were being allowed to return Sunday, despite some fires continuing to burn and emergency shelters remaining open in four communities.
A “monster” fire had devoured almost 91 square miles and continued to burn between Mannford and Kellyville in northeastern Oklahoma’s Creek County as light rain and cooler temperatures gave firefighters a brief respite early Sunday, said Oklahoma Forestry Services spokeswoman Michelle Finch-Walker.
She described the blaze as hopscotching as it burns some areas and leaves others untouched.
“It’s not like an inferno moving across the landscape,” Finch-Walker said. “You can drive for miles down the highway and see nothing but black, but then you can see pockets of green, pockets unburned.
“Maybe there was a creek (that stopped the fire),” she said. “Maybe the wind blew it in a different direction.”
Finch-Walker said residents of the town of Mannford, which was evacuated Saturday, had been allowed to return.
Bid for Samsung sanctions denied
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge on Friday denied Apple Inc.’s demands for an immediate victory in a multibillion-dollar patent trial. Apple sought the long-shot bid as punishment for Samsung Electronics Inc.’s decision to issue a controversial press release on the first day of testimony.
The San Jose Mercury News reported Friday that U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh denied Apple’s request after polling the nine jurors to determine if they read media accounts based on the news release. All said they’ve abided by the judge’s admonition to refrain from reading about the case. Samsung attorney John Quinn authorized the release Tuesday, which complained about Koh’s exclusion of evidence favorable to Samsung. The release also included the evidence.
Apple sued Samsung last year alleging that some of the South Korean firm’s smartphones and computer tablets are illegal knockoffs of Apple’s iPhone and iPad. Samsung denies the allegations and argues that all companies in the industry mimic each other’s successes without crossing the legal line.
Quinn had been arguing for weeks to allow the jury to see the disputed evidence that purports to show Apple’s iPhone being influenced by Sony Corp. designs.
Quinn and the judge had a testy exchange over the evidence on Tuesday before opening statements started. Koh has rejected Quinn’s argument on several occasions and grew exasperated with him when he refused to stop arguing the point.
“Mr. Quinn, don’t make me sanction you, please,” Koh said. “Sit down.”
Quinn did take his seat. But hours later, a public relations firm sent out the press release that prompted Apple’s demands for sanctions.
“The excluded evidence would have established beyond doubt that Samsung did not copy the iPhone design,” the release to media stated. “Fundamental fairness requires that the jury decide the case based on all the evidence.”
The release also contained website addresses to access the disputed evidence. Those addresses have since been disabled.
Apple claimed the release was designed to taint the jury. Quinn countered that Samsung has a right to release documents that are publicly available.
Koh said she reserves the right to investigate the matter further if new evidence comes to light.