Curacao politician fatally shot by gunmen at beach

Published May 05, 2013

Associated Press

WILLEMSTAD, Curacao –  A Curacao official says a prominent politician in the Caribbean island's coalition government has been fatally shot.

Public Prosecutor Norman Serphos tells The Associated Press that lawmaker Helmin Wiels was killed Sunday at Marie Pompoen beach. He says witnesses reported seeing attackers shoot Wiels and then speed off in a car.

Wiels was the fiery leader of the Pueblo Soberano political party, which advocates for Curacao's independence. The island is a mostly autonomous "constituent country" of the Netherlands.

The pro-independence party led voting in October elections but holds only five of 21 seats in Parliament.

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4 people shot, 1 fatally, in Coney Island, police say

Published March 22, 2013

Associated Press

NEW YORK –  A gunman who entered a Coney Island public housing development apartment and shot four people, killing one, is the subject of a manhunt, police said Friday.

Police are searching for 29-year-old Joseph Brown, who they identified as a suspect. Authorities said it was unclear what prompted the shootings.

The shooting victims weren't identified by police.

According to police, Brown knocked on the door of an apartment in the Gravesend Houses and was let in by a 62-year-old woman. Brown went into a back bedroom, shut the door and then fired shots, police said. A 24-year-old man was shot in the head.

Brown then came out of the room and shot the woman who had answered the door in the stomach.

A third man was shot in the head and killed. The fourth victim, a 40-year-old male, was grazed in the head by a gunshot and treated at the scene.

Police say there were three other people in the apartment who were not shot, including a 10-year-old boy.

The woman and the 24-year-old man were in critical condition at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, police said.

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Homeowner fired warning before fatally shooting teen intruder, sheriff says

Published March 22, 2013

Associated Press

STERLING, Va. –  Police say a homeowner fired a warning shot before fatally shooting a 16-year-old neighbor who drunkenly entered the wrong home by mistake.

The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that Caleb Gordley of Sterling died from a gunshot to the back of his shoulder.

Caleb died Sunday morning. His family said he sneaked out of the house Saturday night and went drinking with friends. Walking home, he mistakenly entered a similar home two doors down from his own by crawling through a back window.

The sheriff's office said Thursday that the homeowner gave verbal warnings and fired a warning shot, but Caleb continued up the stairs. Caleb was shot in the back after passing the homeowner in a hallway and walking toward a bedroom where others were located.

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