International
Pastor survives attempt to assassinate during sermon
A Pennsylvania pastor survived a shooting in the middle of his Sunday sermon when the attacker’s gun jammed, giving congregants’ time to subdue him.
Footage of the attack shows Pastor Glenn Germany diving behind his lectern after a man approaches; raises his arm and aims a gun at Mr Germany.
Police identified the gunman as 26-year-old Bernard Polite.
After Mr Polite’s arrest, police found another man fatally shot at his North Braddock home.
The victim was identified as Derek Polite, 56. Police have not yet commented on Bernard Polite’s relationship with him. Detectives from the Allegheny County Police Department’s homicide unit are now handling the investigation. No charges have been filed in the shooting of the Derek Polite at this point.
The Reverend Glenn Germany, pastor at Jesus’ Dwelling Place Church in North Braddock, a Pittsburgh suburb, told the BBC’s US partner CBS News he believed God had saved him from the attack.
“I’m so grateful,” he said. “You know, he shot. You can hear the gun click.”
Mr Germany said he saw Mr Polite walk in and smile at him, but assumed he was coming to speak with another member of the church.
“But instead he came right here where I’m standing… and that’s where he just pulled out the gun out,” he said. “I’m looking right down the barrel of the gun.”
d to discharge, church Deacon Clarence McCallister ran up the centre aisle and tackled him. While Mr Polite was being restrained, Mr Germany approached and took the gun.
Once police arrived, Mr Germany said Mr Polite spoke to him and apologised.
Mr Polite appeared to suffer from mental illness, Mr Germany said, and told him he heard voices. “The voices were in his head and said ‘go shoot the pastor.’”
Mr Polite is facing multiple charges, including attempted homicide. He was denied bail and is being detained at a jail in Pittsburgh ahead of a preliminary hearing next week.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by WTAE, Mr Polite told police that he tried to shoot Mr Germany because “God told him to do it” and he was hoping to go to jail to clear his mind. (BBC)
A 12-year-old Las Vegas girl took her own life after being tormented by bullies at her school for months.
Flora Martinez, a sixth grader at Keller Middle School, killed herself on May 7 – eight months and one day after her transfer out of Duane D. Keller middle school was denied.
Her funeral was on Thursday, May 16.
Her parents are now blaming the Clark County School District for not doing enough to protect their daughter.
Her mother, Alice Martinez told News8: “I feel like the school had a duty to keep her safe, while she was in their care and they just failed miserably.”
The young girl’s parents said their daughter’s mates started bullying her early into the school year. Flora’s mother claimed both she and her child approached the assistant principal for help.
The mom then submitted paperwork for her daughter’s transfer out of the middle school, but her request was denied in October.
Flora’s mother said she had taken her daughter out of school for two weeks early in the school year when the bullying began, but when she returned to school it intensified.
“Everybody that had a hand in that request to transfer her failed her. If you’re a parent and you’re not outraged by this, you’re part of the problem too,” Martinez said.
Flora’s dad Joshua Parker said: “This wasn’t just one incident that happened, and you know, she decided to take her life. \
“This was months and months and months of bullying that built up, and finally, she just couldn’t take it no more.”
The heartbroken father added: “Look how hard it was on my daughter. My daughter was literally bullied to death.”
Flora’s parents described their daughter as artistic. Someone who was full of life, and empathetic who loved ice cream and seafood.
The tragic tale comes just days after a 10-year-old boy, Sammy Teusch, killed himself in Indiana on March 5 following relentless bullying at school about his teeth and glasses.
His parents from Greenfield said they complained to his school repeatedly but were ignored. His funeral was on Tuesday, May 14, and attended by hundreds.
President Ebrahim Raisi and seven other people were killed on Sunday when the helicopter they were travelling in came down near the border with Azerbaijan, Iranian authorities have confirmed.
This is what we know so far about the crash.
Why was the president flying in a helicopter?
Raisi flew to the far north-western province of East Azerbaijan on Sunday morning for the inauguration of the Qiz Qalasi and Khoda Afarin dams, a joint hydroelectric power project with neighbouring Azerbaijan on the Aras river.
He was joined at the ceremony by Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev, who said he had bid a “friendly farewell” before the helicopter departed the dam area and flew towards the city of Tabriz, about 130km (80 miles) to the south.
Raisi had been scheduled to inaugurate a project at the Tabriz oil refinery.
Who else was on board the aircraft?
EPAThere were seven people accompanying the president who also died in the crash, according to the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), Major General Hossein Salami.
They included Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, as well as the governor of East Azerbaijan province, Malek Rahmati, and Tabriz’s Friday prayer leader, Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem, a senior Shia cleric who was also Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s official representative in East Azerbaijan.
Gen Salami identified the others as IRGC Brig-Gen Mohammad Mehdi Mousavi, the head of the president’s security team, pilots Col Mohsen Daryanush and Col Seyyed Taher Mostafavi, and technician Maj Behrouz Qadimi.
Where did the helicopter crash?
The incident occurred at around 13:30 local time (10:00 GMT) in a remote, mountainous area about 58km (36 miles) south of the Qiz-Qalasi Dam and 2km south-west of the village of Uzi, according to Iranian officials and photographs published by state media.
But it was not until after 16:00 local time (12:45 GMT) that Iranian state TV reported that the helicopter carrying the president had experienced what it called a “hard landing” while flying to Tabriz in heavy fog and rain.
Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi later confirmed that the president’s delegation had been travelling in a convoy of three helicopters and that his aircraft was “forced to make a hard landing due to bad weather conditions and fog in the area”.
He said multiple rescue teams were heading to the area but that fog, snow and rain and the local terrain were hampering the search operation.
As for the other two helicopters that were flying alongside the president’s helicopter, they had initiated a search for 15 to 20 minutes after communication was lost. They were then forced to make emergency landings, an official told state TV as the operation continued into the night.
Vice President for Executive Affairs Mohsen Mansouri also said contacts had been made with two people on the president’s helicopter – a flight crew member and one other individual.
“This indicates that the severity of the incident was not very high, as two of the individuals inside the helicopter managed to communicate with our team multiple times,” he added, without providing further details.
However, any hopes that Raisi and his entourage had survived were dashed after daybreak on Monday.
ReutersWhat was found at the scene?
At about 05:00 (01:30 GMT), rescuers spotted the wreckage from a distance from about 2km (1.2 miles) and then took about an hour to reach it, according to the head of the Iranian Red Crescent, Pirhossein Kolivand.
Once at the crash site, which was at an altitude of around 2,200m (7,200ft), they found “no signs of life”, Mr Kolivand told state TV.
State TV also broadcast grainy footage of the crash site on a mountainside, as seen from across a valley. It appeared to show the blue-and-white tail of a helicopter next to a number of burnt shrubs.
Later, after the death of President Raisi and the others on board had been announced, state TV broadcast footage showing a correspondent standing in front of the tail and what appeared to be other parts of the wreckage.
State news agency Irna also posted video showing rescuers carrying a body wrapped in a blanket in a stretcher.
The bodies were recovered and transferred to a cemetery in Tabriz, state TV said.
The head of Iran’s crisis management agency, Mohammad Nami, told the semi-official Tasnim news agency that all of the bodies were identifiable, with “no need for DNA examinations”.
He also said Ayatollah Al-e Hashem was alive for an hour after the crash and that he made contact with the head of the president’s office before he died.
What was the cause of the crash?
Iranian authorities have so far not given a cause.
However, government ministers have described how the helicopter crashed after getting into difficulties in heavy fog and rain.
What do we know about the helicopter?
ReutersState media identified it as Bell 212, a model which was developed by a US company for the Canadian military in the 1960s.
Iran’s navy and air force have a total of 10, according to FlightGlobal’s 2024 World Air Forces directory, but it is unclear how many the Iranian government operates.
State-run IRNA news agency says the helicopter carrying the president could carry six passengers and two crew.
According to the Flight Safety Foundation, the last fatal incident in Iran involving a Bell 212 before Sunday happened during a medical evacuation in April 2018.
What has been the reaction in Iran?
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – who has ultimate authority in the Islamic Republic – expressed his condolences over what he called the “bitter tragedy” and declared five days of public mourning.
“With deep sorrow and regret, I have received the bitter news of the martyrdom of the people’s president, the competent, hard-working Hajj Sayyed Ebrahim Raisi, and his esteemed entourage,” he said.
A statement issued by Iran’s cabinet said the president had “made the ultimate sacrifice on the path of serving his nation”.
Ministers also promised Iranians that they would follow Raisi’s path and there would “be no problem with management of the country”.
Raisi’s moderate rival and predecessor, Hassan Rouhani, expressed his condolences and said “a bitter page has turned in the Islamic Revolution’s book”.
Former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told state TV that the US was indirectly to blame for the crash because it had maintained years of sanctions that prevented Iran from buying new aircraft.
Who has succeeded Raisi as president?
ReutersAyatollah Khamenei confirmed that Vice-President Mohammad Mokhber had been appointed acting president, in line with Article 131 of Iran’s constitution.
The constitution states that the acting president will then jointly with the heads of parliament and the judiciary oversee an election for a new president within a maximum of 50 days.
Iran’s veteran nuclear negotiator and deputy foreign minister, Ali Baqeri Kani, was also named as the acting foreign minister, a government spokesman said.
He can serve in the post for a maximum of three months before a permanent replacement must be nominated and approved by parliament. (BBC)
International
BREAKING: Iran’s govt summons emergency meeting as mourning begins for President Raisi, 8 other victims of crashed helicopter
• Drone footage shows wreckage of crashed helicopter
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has died in a helicopter crash at age 63, Iranian news outlets have reported.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was also among those killed, along with seven others.
The president and the foreign minister are presumed dead after Iranian media agencies reported that “no survivors” were found at the crash site of a helicopter carrying the two men and seven others.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian were among the senior officials on board the downed helicopter.
Drone footage of the wreckage taken by the Red Crescent and carried on state media FARS News Agency showed the crash site on a steep, wooded hillside, with little remaining of the helicopter beyond a blue and white tail.
Drone footage of the crashed helicopter
Iran’s government convened an “urgent meeting” on Monday following the announcement that President Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s foreign minister were among those who died in a helicopter crash, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA.
The chair that Raisi usually sits in was vacant, and was draped with a black sash in memory of the president, according to a photo shared by state news.
The timing and details of a mourning procession will be announced in the future, state media FARS News Agency reported.
Iranian state broadcasters are airing Islamic prayers in between their news broadcasts following the announcement that President Ebrahim Raisi and eight others died after the helicopter they were traveling in crashed in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province.
A photo shared by IRNA showed that the chair that Raisi usually sits in was vacant and draped with a black sash in memory of the president.
The 63-year-old Raisi, a figure representing conservative and hardline factions in Iranian politics, was president for nearly three years, and appeared on track to run for re-election next year.
A former chief justice, Raisi was touted as a potential successor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the 85-year-old supreme leader of Iran.
Raisi was born in Mashhad in northeastern Iran, a religious hub for Shia Muslims. He underwent religious education and was trained at the seminary in Qom, studying under prominent scholars, including Khamenei.
Also like the supreme leader, he wore a black turban, which signified that he was a sayyid – a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, a status with particular significance among Twelver Shia Muslims.
Raisi racked up experience as a prosecutor in multiple jurisdictions before coming to Tehran in 1985. It was in the capital city that, according to human rights organisations, he was part of a committee of judges who oversaw executions of political prisoners.
The late president was a longtime member of the Assembly of Experts, the body that is tasked with choosing a replacement for the supreme leader in the event of his death.
He became attorney general in 2014 for two years, when he was appointed by Khamenei to lead the Astan Quds Razavi. The colossal bonyad, or charitable trust, has billions of dollars in assets and is the custodian of the shrine of Imam Reza, the eighth Shia imam.
Raisi initially ran for president in 2017, unsuccessfully challenging the re-election of former President Hassan Rouhani, who represented the centrist and moderate camps.
After a short hiatus, Raisi was making headlines as the new head of the Iranian judiciary system, having been appointed by Khamenei in 2019. He presented himself as a defender of justice and a fighter against corruption, and made many provincial travels to garner popular support.
Raisi became president in 2021 amid low voter turnout and wide disqualification of reformist and moderate candidates, and appeared to have secured a firm footing for re-election.
Like other top Iranian officials, his harshest rhetoric was reserved for Israel and the United States, followed by their Western allies.
Raisi made many speeches since the start of the war on Gaza in October to condemn “genocide” and “massacres” committed by Israel against Palestinians, and called on the international community to intervene.
He promised revenge against Israel after it levelled Tehran’s consulate building in Syria and killed seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including two generals.
And he welcomed Iran’s response, which was to launch hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel, most of which were shot down by a coalition of Israeli allies – but left Iran claiming an overall success.
Raisi was hawkish on Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which has been in limbo after former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018.
He was a champion of the strategic policy of “resistance” and “resilience” that Khamenei has adopted in the face of the harshest-ever sanctions that Iran has faced – imposed after the nuclear deal fell through.
A close ally of the IRGC, the late president was also a staunch backer of the “axis of resistance” of political and armed groups that Iran supports across the region, including in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.
And he was a strong backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who Iran has supported in his government’s war against the Syrian opposition, which has left hundreds of thousands dead.
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