Mass Shootings Back in the News

WSJ Article Worthy of C-Level Distribution
Recent Spate of Mass Shootings Is Among Worst in U.S. History
Five attacks, in which 39 were killed as U.S. re-opened from the pandemic, followed year that saw no such events

A string of mass shootings over the past three months as the U.S. re-opened from the pandemic was one of the worst on record, and law-enforcement officials are fearful of more to come.

There were five attacks in which four or more people were killed in public places from March through May, matching the highest three-month total going back to 1966, according to the Violence Project, a mass-shooting database run by two criminology professors.

For almost exactly a year, as Covid gripped the country, there were no shootings that killed four or more people in public places, according to the project. Then on March 16, a 21-year-old fatally shot eight people at spas in the Atlanta area. That attack was followed by mass shootings at a Colorado supermarket, a Southern California office building, an Indianapolis FedEx facility, and a San Jose, Calif., railyard. A total of 39 people were killed.

With five in the U.S. since January, 2021 has had more mass shootings through the first half of the year than each year since 2010, except for 2018.

Law-enforcement officials and threat-assessment professionals say possible factors behind the recent spate of mass shootings include the growth in public gatherings as the Covid-19 threat has eased, the stress of the pandemic on Americans’ mental health and record sales of guns last year.

“We’ve got people that have been sitting around for over a year with nothing but time to plan; all they need is that point that pushes them over toward violence,” said Mike Sena, director of the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center, a federal law-enforcement hub that identifies threats in the region and shares information with local law enforcement. “There’s been people that have had a lot of angst, there’s a lot of people who’ve been acquiring a lot of weapons.”

Researchers theorize that some attackers are inspired by others, which could help explain clusters like the ones seen in recent months.

Authorities were able to stop one would-be mass shooter, arresting 28-year-old Coleman Thomas Blevins of Kerrville, Texas on May 28 after they intercepted a message that he was allegedly planning a mass shooting at a Wal-Mart. The Kerr County Sheriff described Mr. Blevins as having extremist ideologies, and posted a photo of items seized from his home that included a copy of the Turner Diaries, an influential novel for white nationalists. White nationalists have committed mass shootings in the past, including one at an El Paso Walmart in 2019 where 22 people died. A public defender representing Mr. Blevins declined to comment. wsj.com

FBI releases report looking at 20 years of active shooter incidents
In a study looking at 20 years of active shooter incidents in this country, the FBI found California had more incidents than any other state. The report comes out just a few days after a man opened fire at a Northern California rail yard, killing nine coworkers and then himself.

The agency looked at data from 333 incidents between 2000 and 2019. In those incidents, a total of 2,851 people died or were wounded, excluding the shooters.

Of the 345 shooters involved in the incidents, the FBI says 119 took their own life and 150 were arrested by police; other outcomes include the shooter(s) being killed by police, killed by a citizen or not arrested at this time.

About 29% of the incidents happened at businesses that are open to pedestrian traffic; this includes places like retail stores or strip malls, office buildings, restaurants, etc. About 15% of the incidents happened in open spaces and 13% happened at a K-12 school.

The report doesn’t look into the motives or reasons for the shootings, rather, it charts where these incidents happened and how they ended.  thedenverchannel.com

FBI - Active Shooter Incidents 20-Year Review, 2000-2019


DOJ Press release on 'Operation Trojan Shield.'
A 5-Year Globally Coordinated Effort. The Biggest Global Effort Ever!

Global Organized Crime Crackdown - Probably the biggest takedown in history.
FBI’s Encrypted Phone Platform Infiltrated Hundreds of Criminal Syndicates; Result is Massive Worldwide Takedown
SAN DIEGO – A wave of hundreds of arrests that began in Australia and stretched across Europe culminated today with the unsealing of a federal grand jury indictment in San Diego charging 17 foreign nationals with distributing thousands of encrypted communication devices to criminal syndicates.

The 500-plus arrests that took place during a worldwide two-day takedown were possible because of a San Diego-based investigation like no other. For the first time, the FBI operated its own encrypted device company, called “ANOM,” which was promoted by criminal groups worldwide. These criminals sold more than 12,000 ANOM encrypted devices and services to more than 300 criminal syndicates operating in more than 100 countries, including Italian organized crime, Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, and various international drug trafficking organizations, according to court records.

During the course of the investigation, while ANOM’s criminal users unknowingly promoted and communicated on a system operated lawfully by the FBI, agents catalogued more than 27 million messages between users around the world who had their criminal discussions reviewed, recorded, and translated by the FBI, until the platform was taken down yesterday.

During the last 24 to 48 hours, in addition to the more than 500 arrests around the world, authorities searched more than 700 locations deploying more than 9,000 law enforcement officers worldwide and seized multi-ton quantities of illicit drugs.

CLICK HERE - Video Messages from International Partners

Grand totals for the entire investigation include 800 arrests; and seizures of more than 8 tons of cocaine; 22 tons of marijuana; 2 tons of methamphetamine/amphetamine; six tons of precursor chemicals; 250 firearms; and more than $48 million in various worldwide currencies. Dozens of public corruption cases have been initiated over the course of the investigation. And, during the course of the investigation, more than 50 clandestine drug labs have been dismantled. One of the labs hit yesterday was one of the largest clandestine labs in German history.

“This was an unprecedented operation in terms of its massive scale, innovative strategy and technological and investigative achievement,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “Hardened encrypted devices usually provide an impenetrable shield against law enforcement surveillance and detection. The supreme irony here is that the very devices that these criminals were using to hide from law enforcement were actually beacons for law enforcement. We aim to shatter any confidence in the hardened encrypted device industry with our indictment and announcement that this platform was run by the FBI.”

“Today marks the culmination of more than five years of innovative and complex investigative work strategically aimed to disrupt the encrypted communications space that caters to the criminal element,”

“Operation Trojan Shield is a perfect example of an OCDETF case - an investigation driven by intelligence and maximizing the strengths of partner law enforcement agencies in coordinated efforts to dismantle command and control elements of criminal networks." justice.gov

Editor's Note: In reading the various articles, press releases and videos, it became apparent that this case was driven by and led by the FBI, which was recognized by every agency and country involved globally. It was great to see our country's top law enforcement group being recognized and counted on for delivering the results on such a massive scale. It certainly speaks volumes about the professionalism, the abilities, and the agents of the FBI and makes you proud to be an American.

Want to learn more and see the various country leaders video's. Click below

https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/staaf-sweden-trojan-060821.mp4/view

https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/fbi-global-partners-announce-results-of-operation-trojan-shield-060821


Op Ed: Will Operation Trojan Shield Impact Retailers?
The Global Ripple Effect of Taking Down the Top Tier Organized Criminals Worldwide

Creating a Power Vacuum - Supply Chain Disruption - Prices Skyrocket - ORC Spikes - Increased Aggressiveness

By Gus Downing, Publisher & Editor, The D&D Daily

It won't to the point of being able to point to it and directly connect it. But it will have an impact.

With the vast majority of the leaders either locked up, waiting to be locked up, or hiding and wondering if they're next, the first impact will be product flow - the supply chain disruption. Because it could come to a screeching halt, or at least slow down significantly. After all - all eyes worldwide are on what the leaders are going to do next. And every agent on the planet will be looking to see what kind of impact this historical bust is going to have.

With the amount of money involved and demand probably going to skyrocket - there will be new leaders to take their place rather quickly. And therein lies the second impact.

With the supply chain disrupted and slow and demand high - prices will skyrocket and demand will follow the same path. Meaning, the street level dealer and user will need more money for smaller quantities. Stressing the entire process and pushing them to do more for less. And consequently driving ORC incidents up across North America and possibly worldwide.

With law enforcement officers nationwide quoting that 70% of addicts fund their habits through ORC, the increase could be significant. Our guess would be a 20% to 30% increase in ORC.

And with the #1 location for drug deals being retail parking lots, as documented by the DEA - who quoted over 40% of their surveillance activities occur in retail parking lots, this brings these high stressed transactions right into retail's front yard. With the increased stress and anxiety right now, given the heated climate and risk, the increased risk of violence is significant.

If anything, this fantastic effort, in this writer's opinion, will cause a very short and temporary slowdown in ORC and then it will spike as the higher prices take effect and as the new leaders fight among themselves to determine who the new leaders will end up being. Power struggles happening worldwide. As there will be blood as a result of this case.

Dozens will die if not a few hundred. Whether it be from murdering snitches trying to get the best deal they can. To rival competitors fighting for control and market share. And no one will be reporting on this. As it just goes along with the process.

The bottom line though is that retailers may not see it, but they certainly will feel it - with a spike in ORC, an increase in aggressive behavior in the stores, and possibly some shootouts in the parking lots. With the increased violence we're all seeing across the country, I wouldn't be surprised to see a number of shootouts in the parking lots over drug deals and maybe drug busts. Hope I'm wrong. But it does fit. Just my thoughts. -Gus Downing

As NYC Opens - So Does Grand Larceny
Grand larcenies on the rebound 37% as NYC opens back up
Grand larcenies have surged across the city over the past four weeks, with potential victims once again packing restaurants, bars, stores and public transit, according to NYPD statistics and police sources.

Cops citywide fielded 2,683 complaints for grand larceny — thefts in which the proceeds exceed $1,000 — during the 28-day period ending Sunday, department figures show.

That marks a 36.9 percent spike from the 1,960 such calls taken during the same stretch in 2020, when much of New York was locked down amid the public-health crisis — driving the city’s grand larceny numbers to a low not seen in decades.

The department tallied 35,505 grand larcenies in all of 2020, the lowest yearly total of the 21st century by a margin of more than 2,300, department stats show.

Burglaries also soared during the lockdown — with 15,478 reported in 2020, the most for a single year since 2014.

Both sources (two NYC cops) also said that many alleged thieves are repeat offenders cut loose to steal again thanks to bail-reform laws, which only allow for bail in first-degree grand larceny cases with proceeds exceeding $1 million. nypost.com

Here's a New Twist - Clean Up the Streets or We Won't Pay Our City Taxes
Progressive - Baltimore State's Attorney Publicly Stated She Won't Prosecute a Host of Crimes Earlier This Year

MD., Fells Point, Baltimore City businesses threaten to withhold taxes if Baltimore does not address crime, drug dealing and other issues
More than 30 business and restaurant owners in Fells Point are threatening to withhold taxes if city leaders do not address crime, trash and other issues they say are plaguing the waterfront neighborhood.

The group sent a letter to Baltimore officials Tuesday — two days after three people were shot in the neighborhood early Sunday morning — complaining about blatant drug sales, public drinking and other problems they say are happening in plain sight while police are handcuffed from enforcing the law.

The letter bemoans a “culture of lawlessness” that allows the " the kinds of violence and tragedy we witnessed late (over the weekend).”

The letter is a sharp response not only to the violence of the weekend, but also to the policies of State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who earlier this year announced that she will no longer prosecute a host of crimes, including drug possession, public drinking and urination and trespassing, among others. It was addressed to Mayor Brandon Scott, Council President Nick Mosby, Councilman Zeke Cohen, Marilyn Mosby and Police Commissioner Michael Harrison.

“These are not concealed, clandestine operations by sophisticated gangs with suppliers and lookouts. These are brazen individuals who conduct their business in plain sight because they know Baltimore City will do nothing to prevent or punish them”, the letter read. “This hurts the family fabric and tourist value of the community.”

The business owners say they intend to withhold taxes, minor privilege and permit fees, and place those funds into an escrow account, which will not be released “until and unless basic and essential municipal services are restored.”

“We have struggled through a global pandemic, enduring restaurant shutdowns and mask mandates. For months, we have been holding on by a thread, waiting for daybreak, worrying whether we will make it or if we will be the next business to shutter our doors for good,” the letter stated. baltimoresun.com

Minneapolis Protests Just Keep Happening
Protest leaders say it's important for Uptown to understand that police accountability is their problem
Scrutiny over Winston Smith's killing comes as Uptown reels from a rash of business closures, lootings and crime — and the scars of a mass shooting last summer that killed one and injured 11.

It's happening too much," Derrick, a 30-year-old medical writer, said of police killings. "We're becoming desensitized."

He believed that the group on W. Lake Street had every right to be there. But he noted that some residents at the Walkway Apartments, which advertises "posh Uptown living," "are scared. Some people are just plain sick of it, to have that noise [outside] their window." startribune.com

Baltimore officials pass budget with $555 million in police spending without amendments & intact - with no opposition