Teenager who shot friend and posed for a selfie receives prison sentence

An 18-year-old Pennsylvania teenager is facing 15 to 30 years behind bars after shooting his friend, then posing for a selfie with the dying boy.

   

Maxwell Morton of Jeannette, Pennsylvania turns 19 this week, but is now facing a sentence of 15 to 30 years behind bars. Morton was convicted of third-degree murder in February 2015, after shooting his friend, Ryan Mangan, 16. The teenager then posed for a selfie with his friend as he lay dying.

Pennsylvania teenager not aware the handgun was loaded

Morton testified that he and his friend were playing with a handgun, which he believed wasn’t loaded. However when he pointed it at his friend and pulled the trigger, Mangan was shot and fatally wounded. As reported by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Morton said the reason he took the selfie was to document the accident and the teenager then said he was planning to kill himself. In court on Monday, he told the Westmoreland County Judge that while sorry isn’t enough, that is all he has to give. Morton went on to say that he doesn’t want to be remembered as a “savage,” but did admit the situation was “messed up.”

Jeannette 'selfie' killer gets prison sentence, reports @RichCholodofsky https://t.co/KIAHMN1hkO pic.twitter.com/sKalaNSlKX

— TribWestmoreland (@TribWestmoreCo) May 15, 2017

Pat Thomassey, Morton’s defense attorney, said during the trial that the shooting was accidental, saying the handgun used one was of several weapons Mangan had in his possession, which his parents reportedly did not know about. Thomassey said that was a factor in the accidental shooting. As reported by the New York Post, he went on to argue that this was “two kids” playing around with guns and said if his client had rather called 911 to report the incident, he most likely would not have faced charges.

Morton bragged about the shooting to a friend while playing online video games

While Morton and his lawyer had insisted the shooting incident was accidental, a teenager from Springville, Wisconsin testified in court that Morton bragged that same evening about the killing of his friend, while they were playing an online video game. Morton reportedly said he had “got his first body.” While the teenager believed he was being pranked, Morton later texted a link to a news item about the story and also posted the selfie on Snapchat.

Assistant District Attorney Tom Grace cited two previous convictions held by Morton for assault as a juvenile and a further violent incident that happened during Morton's incarceration for Mangan’s shooting. Grace is seeking a maximum prison sentence of up to 40 years.

News post: "Teen who took selfie with murdered friend learns fate" https://t.co/bbLWaT8aA0

— Major Victor Bravo (@Conservatexian) May 16, 2017

Taking a selfie instead of calling 911 ruined the teenager’s life

Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio noted Morton’s age and said that the fact the teenager took a selfie instead of calling authorities substantially altered the case. According to a forensic pathologist who testified during Monday’s trial, Mangan did not immediately die and would have survived if he had received the proper medical care after he was shot. Bilik-DeFazio told Morton that he looked like a “little boy”, pointing out that things would have been very different if he hadn’t taken the photograph. The judge added that no one could understand the though process behind taking the selfie.

Both teenagers were classmates and had attended Agape, an alternative school and day treatment center for trouble youth in the Jeannette school district.

Sources: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and New York Post

Shooting incident at factory in Menznau, Switzerland claims lives

A shooting incident at a factory in Menznau, Switzerland has claimed three lives and injured several people, according to local police.

As RTE reports, the Kronoswiss factory belongs to Kronospan, a wood processing company, based in Menznau, close to the city of Lucerne in Switzerland, according to police.Reportedly the incident started in the canteen at around 09:00 (08:00 GMT) on Wednesday morning.

According to the BBC, Swiss police said emergency services are currently at the scene and three helicopters had arrived. They also said an emergency telephone line has been set up for families of the factory's employees.  

RTS has reported that at least three people have died, including the gunman, and that another seven have been wounded.  

Prosecutor's spokesman, Simon Kopp told the Swiss Blick newspaper, "There were three dead and seven injured, some of them seriously injured," adding that the assailant is among the dead.

The rescue helicopter service REGA has reportedly flown four seriously wounded people to hospital. 

According to police, the 42-year-old unnamed suspect, had worked at the factory for a decade and had always been considered “very calm” and “somebody you would not notice.”  However, it seems the man did not fire at random, but picked off specific colleagues with a handgun. It is unclear as yet how the suspect himself died. 

Mauro Caprozzo, chief executive of the wood processing company Kronoswiss, denied rumours that job cuts were due to be announced at the factory today.

He said the killer was a quiet, unassuming character.  "One almost didn't see or notice him," Caprozzo said.

As ABC reports, Switzerland is known to have one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world. That said, there is relatively little gun crime in the country.

There is no real gun register in Switzerland. However a shooting incident in the regional parliament of Zug in 2001, which caused 14 deaths, did prompt calls to tighten laws. However, the majority of Swiss citizens rejected the proposal for additional measures, which would include the creation of local arsenals for military weapons outside of service periods.

Read more http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/344437

1 Palestinian dead and at least 25 injured at Gaza-Israel border

One adult Palestinian was killed and at least eight teenagers have been injured when Israeli soldiers opened fire at the Gaza-Israel border on Friday. (Updated).

Gaza medical authorities are reportedly claiming that one adult was killed and a minimum of eight teenagers injured from a shooting which occurred at the Gaza-Israel border.

This incident happened east of the city of Kan Yunis in southern Gaza.

Read more and watch videos: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/337515#ixzz2D8FWMLdh

Malala recovering and in a stable condition in the UK

Malala Yousufzai, shot by the Taliban in Pakistan over her views on education for girls, is recovering from her ordeal, has regained consciousness and is in a stable condition in hospital in the UK.

15-year-old Malala Yousufzai has received worldwide attention for her efforts to promote the education of girls in Pakistan.

On October 9th, she was targeted by the Taliban while on her way home from school and shot in the head. 

The Taliban stopped the school bus in which she was traveling with her friends and the leader asked which girl was Malala Yousufzai, telling her to identify herself, otherwise all girls would be shot. At that stage they recognized Malala and shot her at point blank range. 

The bullet struck just above the back of her left eye, traveled down the side of her jaw, damaging her skull. It then went through her neck and lodged in the tissue above her shoulder blade. 

As reported on Digital Journal she was recently she was moved to the UK to ensure better hospital treatment for her grave wounds. Malala traveled in a medically induced coma to the UK last Monday. 

The good news is that she has since regained consciousness, although at present she cannot speak, and has stood for the first time since being shot by the Taliban. A photo of the recovering Malala can be viewed here. 

While the international community has responded to this tragedy with wonderful and significant donations to non-profit organizations that support education in Pakistan, Malala's family is struggling with the long-term rehabilitation costs and for her future education. 

 A team of people who have both personal and public ties to Malala and her family have now started a campaign to help fund both Malala's medical costs and also her future education. Anyone interested in assisting with this campaign can do so here.  

Read more and view video by The New York Times about Malala, produced in 2009: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/335359

Interview with a man who witnessed Lincoln's shooting (video)

A game show, "I've Got a Secret" aired on CBS from 1952 until the mid-70's. In one episode, a gentleman appeared on the show who witnessed the shooting of Abraham Lincoln. 

 

The definition of the secrets revealed on the show was rather broad, but generally they were supposed to be humorous, unusual or astounding. This episode of the show was filmed back in February 1956, and in the case of Samuel J. Seymore, "astounding" is probably the best description. 

 

Seymore was 96 years old when he appeared on the show, but the secret he was revealing takes everyone back to his childhood. 

 

On April 14, 1865, when Seymore was 5 years old, he was enjoying the comedic play "Our American Cousin" in Ford's Theater, in Washington, DC. He saw a man fall out of a balcony. The man was John Wilkes Booth, and he had just shot President Abraham Lincoln. Ironically, at the time he felt sorry for the poor man who fell out of the balcony.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/335082

Malala Yousafzai, Taliban shooting victim sent to UK (video)

Malala Yousafzai, the 14-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating education for girls, has been moved to the UK for further treatment. 

 

As reported on Digital Journal, 14-year-old Malala was shot in the head last Tuesday by a Taliban insurgent. The attack on her was made due to her campaigning for the right of young females to education in Pakistan.

 

Malala was shot in the head and neck while she sat with classmates on a school bus as it prepared to drive students home from morning classes in Mingora, a city in the Swat valley. The attack caused widespread revulsion, both in Pakistan and elsewhere in the world. It also prompted questions on the state's ability to tackle militancy.  

 

Malala's life was saved by neurosurgeons in a Pakistani military hospital and she has been in intensive care ever since. Malala has been kept sedated and on a ventilator since she was taken to hospital, with tight security around her, as the Taliban has threatened to attack her again should she survive.

 

A Pakistani military spokesman has now said that doctors have now recommended she be transferred to a UK hospital, and gave the following statement, "Accordingly, the panel of doctors recommended that Malala be shifted abroad to a UK center which has the capability to provide integrated care to children who have sustained severe injury." 

 

"Pakistan has arranged with the United Arab Emirates for a specially equipped air ambulance which will be used to transfer Malala to the UK." 

 

The costs of transportation and treatment will be borne by the Pakistani government. The UK Foreign Office said that this move follows an offer made by the UK government to assist in her treatment in any way.  

 

Her flight left Rawalpindi on Monday morning and she is traveling on a specially equipped air ambulance with an army intensive care assistant. 

 

 The UK Foreign Secretary, William Hague, said: "Last week's barbaric attack on Malala Yousafzai and her school friends shocked Pakistan and the world. Malala's bravery in standing up for the right of all young girls in Pakistan to an education is an example to us all.

 

"Malala will now receive specialist medical care in an NHS hospital. Our thoughts remain with Malala and her family at this difficult time." Former prime minister, Gordon Brown said, "I know that Britain will offer Malala the best treatment possible and the British people will welcome her, hoping and praying for her recovery." 

 

Brown, who is UN Special Envoy for Global Education, said he would be visiting Pakistan next month to talk with President Zardari about Malala's cause and girls' education. 

 

Malala's main crime, according to the Taliban, is the diary she kept, describing how the Pakistan Taliban prevented girls from going to school when they controlled the Swat Valley in 2009. 

Read more at: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/334859