Shootings

Exclusive: Families of victims have called for health workers to be first responders and police minister says deal with NSW Health ‘very close to being signed’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNew South Wales police and the health department are expected to sign a new agreement on how to deal with mental health incidents, as the police union demands officers no longer be the “default response for every crisis”.“There is an MoU that is very close to being signed,” the police minister, Yasmin Catley, told police union members on Tuesday when discussing mental health call-outs. Continue reading...

‘Actions appear to be random,’ says mayor as suspects also allegedly took aim at buildings and houses in Texas cityThree youths are in police custody after a spree of at least 10 shootings wounded four people who appeared to be targeted randomly in Austin, Texas, according to authorities.The suspects who were arrested in connection with the shootings also allegedly took aim at various buildings and houses while driving around the capital city in stolen cars, the Austin police chief, Lisa Davis, said Sunday. Before the suspects were jailed, city officials temporarily ordered people residing in a large southern section of Austin to shelter in place, an exceptional public safety measure that spoke to the indiscriminate nature of the spree. Continue reading...

Coroner says none of the five civilians killed in incident in Belfast during Troubles should have been shotBritish army soldiers “lost control” and used force that was “not reasonable” in the killing of five civilians in Northern Ireland in 1972, an inquest judge has ruled.Four of the victims – two teenagers, a father of six and a Catholic priest – posed no risk when they were shot in the Springhill and Westrock areas of west Belfast on 9 July 1972, Mr Justice Scoffield said on Thursday. Continue reading...