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Authorities say a student is dead after shooting 2 peers and then himself at Colorado high school

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Denver (BN24) – A student opened fire on two classmates at Evergreen High School in suburban Denver, Colorado, on Wednesday before turning the gun on himself, authorities said. The shooter later died from his injuries.

The attack began around 12:30 p.m. at the school in Evergreen, Colorado, a Rocky Mountain foothills community about 30 miles west of Denver. Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jacki Kelley said shots were fired both inside and outside the school. Responding officers arrived within minutes and located the gunman, who had already shot himself. No law enforcement officers fired their weapons, Kelley said.

More than 100 police officers from surrounding agencies rushed to the school, recalling memories of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, which also took place in Jefferson County. Columbine claimed 14 lives, including a woman who survived the attack but died earlier this year from complications related to her injuries.

The two students who were shot were initially in critical condition, according to St. Anthony Hospital officials. By Wednesday evening, one teen was upgraded to stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries, trauma director Dr. Brian Blackwood said. He declined to provide additional details. The ages of the victims have not been released.

Evergreen High School, which has more than 900 students, sits just a mile from the town center and is surrounded by forest. After the shooting, anxious parents gathered at a nearby elementary school to reunite with their children.

Wendy Nueman, whose 15-year-old daughter is a sophomore at Evergreen, described the fear of waiting for her child to call. “She just said she was OK. She couldn’t hardly speak,” Nueman told The Denver Post. She said her daughter fled the school in panic. “It’s super scary. We feel like we live in a little bubble here. Obviously, no one is immune.”

Nearby resident Don Cygan said 18 students who fled the gunfire pounded on his door seeking safety. Cygan, a retired educator, welcomed them inside, took down their names, and reassured them as his wife, a retired nurse, helped treat the teens for shock. “I hope they feel like they ran to the right house,” Cygan told Denver’s KUSA-TV.

Authorities have not released the identity of the shooter or provided a motive. The investigation is ongoing.

French commission urges ban on social media for children under 15, calls for digital curfew for teens

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PARIS (BN24) — A French parliamentary commission investigating the mental health impact of TikTok and other social media platforms is calling for a national ban on access for children under the age of 15, alongside the introduction of a digital curfew for older teenagers.

The commission, which began its work in March following lawsuits by families who say social media contributed to their children’s suicides, released its findings Thursday. It recommends that teens aged 15 to 18 be restricted from using social media between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., and that platforms be held accountable if they fail to enforce safeguards.

Laure Miller, a member of parliament and the commission’s rapporteur, told AFP that the proposed under-15 ban would serve as a strong message to parents and children alike that “social media is not harmless” before that age.

The inquiry was triggered after seven families filed a lawsuit against TikTok in late 2024, accusing the platform of promoting harmful content. During the investigation, the commission heard testimony from families of victims, social media executives, and influencers. TikTok, owned by China-based tech firm ByteDance, is used widely by French youth and has faced scrutiny over its content moderation practices.

Among those who spoke to the commission was Geraldine, 52, whose daughter Penelope died by suicide at the age of 18. Geraldine later discovered self-harm videos on her daughter’s TikTok account. “It’s difficult for us as parents to moderate all this,” she told AFP, requesting anonymity beyond her first name.

In response to criticism, TikTok has maintained that protecting young users is its “top priority,” claiming to remove more than 95% of inappropriate content within 24 hours—and 90% before it is even viewed.

The commission’s report warns that if platforms fail to meet legal obligations outlined in the European Union’s Digital Services Act, France should consider extending the full ban to all minors under 18 within the next three years.

Further recommendations include a nationwide information campaign on social media risks and the potential creation of a legal offense termed “digital negligence” for parents who fail to oversee their children’s online activity responsibly.

Miller emphasized the need for robust age verification systems during account registration. She cited recent European Commission guidance as opening the path to national regulation, though she acknowledged persistent barriers, including technical limitations and privacy concerns.

The initiative comes amid growing pressure from multiple EU countries—among them France, Spain, and Greece—for stronger regulatory measures targeting social media’s impact on minors, particularly regarding addiction, cyberbullying, and online hate speech.

76-year-old man fatally stabbed, wife severely burned in Queens double homicide, NYPD says

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New York(BN24) — A 76-year-old man was fatally stabbed and his 77-year-old wife severely burned in what New York City police are calling a “horrific double homicide, robbery and arson” in Queens. Authorities have identified a parolee with a violent criminal history as the primary suspect.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Tuesday that Frank Olton was discovered tied to a pole in the basement of his home in the Springfield Gardens neighbourhood on Monday, suffering multiple stab wounds. His wife, Maureen Olton, was found on the first floor, critically burned. The couple did not survive.

Their son, a paramedic with the New York City Fire Department, responded to the house after receiving an alert from the home’s alarm system. The house was already in flames by the time he arrived.

Police are now searching for 42-year-old Jamel McGriff, who was last seen on surveillance video leaving the Oltons’ home around 3 p.m. Monday. Investigators believe he spent nearly five hours inside the residence, possibly attempting to steal valuables before setting the house on fire.

Authorities say there is no known relationship between McGriff and the victims. Witnesses told police they saw a man matching McGriff’s description earlier that morning, knocking on doors in the neighborhood. One resident reported that the man asked to charge his phone but was turned away. Surveillance footage later captured the same man being let into the Olton residence by Frank Olton.

McGriff is currently on parole for a first-degree robbery conviction and has a violent criminal record spanning three decades, Tisch said. In addition to being wanted in connection with this double homicide, McGriff failed to register as a sex offender in November 2024—a parole violation—and is also suspected in two robberies in Manhattan earlier this summer.

“The suspect’s method of operation involves going door-to-door requesting help until he’s let inside,” Tisch said. “We urge the public not to allow entry to anyone they don’t know or aren’t expecting.”

Police are asking anyone with information about McGriff’s whereabouts to come forward. He is considered armed and dangerous.

2 young men found dead, bound and suffocated along LASU-Igando road in Lagos, Nigeria

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LAGOS, Nigeria (BN24) — The bodies of two young men were discovered early Monday morning near a canal along First Gate, Iba, on the LASU-Igando road in Lagos State, showing clear signs of brutal torture and possible suffocation.

Local residents reported finding the victims lying face down near the waterway, both shirtless and with their hands and feet tied tightly behind their backs. Their heads were wrapped in blue plastic trash bags that had been knotted around their necks, leading authorities and onlookers to suspect suffocation as the likely cause of death.

Witnesses in the area told local media that the men’s bodies bore multiple marks, consistent with being flogged before their deaths. The scene and the condition of the bodies suggest the killings may have occurred during the night of Sunday, September 8. The discovery was made early the following morning.

As of late Monday evening, the bodies remained at the scene, with police yet to confirm their identities or remove them for autopsy. No arrests have been made, and officials have not commented on potential motives or whether the victims were known in the community.

The Lagos State Police Command has not released an official statement, but an investigation into the incident is expected to begin promptly. Residents have expressed growing concern over the rise in violent crimes in the area.

The gruesome discovery has drawn attention to ongoing security challenges in the LASU-Igando corridor, raising questions about surveillance and law enforcement response in densely populated parts of Lagos.

Man arrested after stabbing teacher and student at school in France

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ANTIBES, France (BN24) — A man who stabbed a teacher and a student at a horticultural high school in the southern French town of Antibes was arrested Wednesday, police confirmed, as authorities investigate the motive behind the attack.

The incident took place at the Campus Vert d’Azur, a horticultural and agricultural school located in Antibes, a coastal town nestled between Cannes and Nice. Police said the attacker was a former student at the institution but declined to provide further details about his identity or possible motives.

“The attacker has been arrested; he is no longer a threat,” a police spokesperson said.

Three people were injured during the stabbing, according to Antibes Mayor Jean Leonetti. He noted that one person was more seriously wounded, while the others suffered less severe injuries. “None of the injuries amounts to an absolute emergency,” he added.

French daily Le Monde reported that the teacher sustained serious injuries, while the student was only superficially wounded.

“A knife attack occurred today at the Azur Vert Campus in Antibes,” Leonetti wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “I firmly condemn this brutal assault, which unfortunately spares no territory in our country. Three people were injured, one more seriously, but none is in absolute emergency.”

Leonetti praised the response of the school staff, saying the attacker was subdued thanks to the “remarkable composure” of the school principal and employees. He also expressed gratitude to police and firefighters for their swift and professional response.

The motive for the attack remains under investigation. Police and forensic teams remained at the scene throughout the afternoon, gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses.

France’s Minister of Agriculture condemned the violence, writing in a statement on X: “A teacher and a student were brutally attacked in a horticultural high school in Antibes. I offer my full support to the victims, their loved ones, the students, and the entire educational community. I am heading to the scene immediately. The school must remain a republican sanctuary: violence has no place there and will never be tolerated.”

Alpes-Maritimes regional senator Alexandra Borchio-Fontimp also offered her support to the victims, stating, “My thoughts go to the teacher and the student, victims of this terrible attack. Thank you to the security forces for their responsiveness which enabled the arrest of the assailant.”

Antibes, a town known for its historic old quarter and luxury marina, is rarely the site of such violence. The attack has reignited national concerns over security in educational institutions, as officials vow to ensure that schools remain safe spaces.

2 Nigerian women and South African sentenced in George brothel case, ordered to compensate trafficked victims

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GEORGE, South Africa (BN24) — Two Nigerian women and a South African woman have been sentenced for operating a brothel and participating in human trafficking in George, a town in South Africa’s Western Cape province. The sentencing follows a months-long investigation led by the Hawks, South Africa’s elite crime-fighting unit.

Patience Precious Abudu, 35, Success Egabor, 42, and Nontobeko Mathunjwa, 36, were convicted on several charges including living off the earnings of prostitution, running a brothel, and immigration violations. All three pleaded guilty in the Plettenberg Bay Regional Court, where sentencing was handed down on Wednesday, September 10.

The case began in December 2023 when two young Nigerian girls were rescued from a brothel in a residential complex in George. Authorities later confirmed the victims had been trafficked into South Africa.

“The three were arrested between December 2023 and May 2024 and remained in custody until sentencing,” said Warrant Officer Zinzi Hani, spokesperson for the Hawks. The investigation was conducted by the Hawks’ Economic Protected Resources team in collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs.

Abudu received three separate sentences: a fine of R6,000 or three years in prison for living off prostitution, another R6,000 fine or three years for operating a brothel, and a R1,000 fine or six months for violating immigration laws. She was also ordered to compensate each trafficking victim with R20,000.

Egabor received similar penalties, including fines totaling R13,000 and an order to compensate one victim R17,000.

Mathunjwa was fined R7,000 and ordered to pay R18,000 in compensation to one victim.

Several other serious charges — including trafficking in persons, debt bondage, procuring prostitution, and concealing travel documents — were withdrawn as part of the plea agreement.

The court also ordered the deportation of Abudu and Egabor following the completion of their sentences.

Musk loses crown as world’s richest to software giant Larry Ellison

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NEW YORK (BN24) — Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has surpassed Elon Musk to become the world’s richest person, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, after a dramatic surge in Oracle’s stock sent his net worth soaring.

Ellison, 81, is now worth an estimated $393 billion, edging past Musk by several billion dollars. The software magnate’s fortune surged early Wednesday following a blowout earnings report from Oracle, fueled by skyrocketing demand for artificial intelligence-related services. Oracle shares jumped more than 35% in a matter of minutes during morning trading.

The sharp rise in Ellison’s wealth comes as Tesla, one of Musk’s largest assets, continues to underperform. Shares of the electric carmaker have fallen 14% since the start of the year. Musk, who has held the top spot on the Bloomberg wealth list for four consecutive years, now holds an estimated net worth of $385 billion, per Bloomberg’s calculations.

Another closely watched list — Forbes’ real-time billionaires tracker — still places Musk at No. 1, with a reported net worth of $439 billion. The discrepancy stems largely from differing valuations of SpaceX and other private assets, which are more difficult to measure than publicly traded holdings like Oracle or Tesla stock.

Ellison, a college dropout who founded Oracle in 1977, has benefited immensely from the company’s pivot to cloud computing and enterprise AI tools. Wednesday’s earnings report included several multibillion-dollar deals with major tech clients, signaling Oracle’s growing foothold in the AI infrastructure space.

The magnitude of Ellison’s fortune underscores his unprecedented financial reach. According to economic estimates, his current net worth could support 5 million American families for a year based on median household income — nearly equivalent to the population of Florida. Alternatively, it could fund the entire GDP of South Africa for 12 months.

The changing of the guard atop the global wealth rankings reflects shifting investor sentiment and the growing influence of AI in global markets — a field where Ellison’s Oracle is now a clear frontrunner.

Leaders of Mexican megachurch indicted in New York on federal sex trafficking charges

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NEW YORK (BN24) — The leader and key figures of the Mexican megachurch Iglesia La Luz del Mundo (LLDM) have been indicted in New York on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges, prosecutors announced Wednesday, accusing them of abusing their religious authority to exploit generations of children and women.

Naasón Joaquín García, the current leader of LLDM and already serving a prison sentence in California for sexual abuse convictions, is named along with five others arrested Wednesday at various locations across the country. The indictment alleges the defendants used the church, founded in Mexico in 1926, as a front to traffic women and children, produce child pornography, and engage in financial crimes.

“They exploited the faith of their followers to prey upon them,” said Jay Clayton, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. “When confronted, they leveraged their religious influence and financial power to intimidate and coerce victims into remaining silent about the abuse they had suffered.”

According to prosecutors, García orchestrated a close circle of co-conspirators who facilitated the abuse of teenagers and young women, compelling them to produce child sex videos for his gratification. The indictment details how García selected victims under the pretense of church activities, indoctrinating congregants from birth with threats of eternal damnation if they disobeyed his demands.

A Homeland Security Investigations official said the charges culminate from a yearlong investigation involving dozens of victims nationwide. The indictment also highlights a disturbing legacy of abuse passed down from García’s father and grandfather, previous “apostles” of the church who allegedly raped and manipulated congregants.

Each leader allegedly promised “special blessings” to girls and women who served their sexual demands, prosecutors said. The indictment also accuses the defendants of misusing church donations to finance García’s lavish lifestyle, including travel and hiring lieutenants to ensure victims were always available for abuse. Funds were reportedly spent on sex toys and supplies to cover up evidence.

LLDM did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Legal representatives for García and the other accused were not yet available.

Charlie Kirk has died after being shot at an event in Utah, President Trump says

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Utah (BN24) – Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed Wednesday during a public appearance at Utah Valley University, President Donald Trump announced. He was 31.

The shooting occurred as Kirk launched the first stop of his 14-city “American Comeback Tour,” a signature campus event series that often featured spirited debates with students. Witnesses said Kirk had just begun answering a question when a loud pop echoed through the venue. Video footage shows the activist recoiling as the crowd screamed and rushed away from the stage.

Trump confirmed Kirk’s death in a post on Truth Social, calling him a “very, very good friend” and praising him as a leader who understood America’s youth. “No one understood or had the heart of the youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” Trump wrote.

Law enforcement said the suspect remained at large late Wednesday night. Orem Mayor David Young confirmed that a person briefly taken into custody on campus was not the shooter. Authorities, backed by heavily armed officers, police dogs, and helicopters, continued searching the area while evacuating students and faculty.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he spoke directly with Trump and vowed that the individual responsible would be brought to justice. “We are praying for Charlie’s wife, daughter, and son,” Cox said, describing himself and his wife as “heartbroken.”

The attack highlighted rising concerns over political violence in the United States, coming months after the shooting of Trump at a campaign rally and the assassination of a Democratic lawmaker and her husband in Minnesota. Photos from the chaotic aftermath showed attendees, many carrying American flags and wearing “Make America Great Again” hats, rushing for safety. Some cried as they fled, while one woman carried a child on her back through the panicked crowd.

Kirk’s death marks a stunning end to the career of one of the most influential figures of the Trump era. A native of Illinois, Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 at age 18, quickly transforming it into one of the most visible conservative youth organizations in the country. His outspoken brand of populist conservatism resonated with college audiences, often producing viral confrontations.

Kirk was a staunch evangelical Christian whose faith informed his politics. He frequently invoked the “Seven Mountain Mandate,” a doctrine calling on Christians to exert influence over politics, media, education, and other sectors of public life. In recent years, he positioned himself as a top defender of free speech on campuses while rallying young voters behind Trump’s agenda.

His rise was closely tied to Trump’s political movement. Beginning as an informal adviser during the 2016 campaign, Kirk grew into a confidant of the president, using his media platform and nonprofit network to mobilize young and evangelical voters ahead of the 2024 election.

Kirk married Erika Frantzve in 2021, and the couple had two young children.

Authorities said the investigation is ongoing, and details about the suspect and motive remain unclear. Utah Valley University, which defended hosting Kirk under First Amendment protections after some students petitioned against his appearance, has not released further details.

Trump urges nation to pray as Charlie Kirk is shot during event at Utah Valley University

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OREM, Utah (BN24) — Charlie Kirk, founder of the conservative youth group Turning Point USA, was shot during an appearance at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, prompting a swift law enforcement response and messages of support from prominent political figures, including President Donald Trump.

Authorities confirmed that a single shot was fired on campus, targeting the visiting speaker. The university issued an alert stating that a suspect is in custody. Federal agents from the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are on scene assisting with the investigation.

The shooting occurred during the kickoff of Turning Point USA’s “American Comeback Tour,” which was set to visit college campuses nationwide. It was not immediately clear whether the shooting occurred inside the venue or nearby. Details regarding Kirk’s condition have not yet been released.

Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed federal involvement, and FBI Director Kash Patel stated that the agency “stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation.”

President Trump responded to the news on social media, writing, “We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!”

Utah officials quickly issued statements condemning the violence. Gov. Spencer Cox said he was being briefed on the incident and emphasized that “violence has no place in our public life.” He vowed that those responsible would be “held fully accountable.”

Sen. Mike Lee of Utah said he was “tracking the situation closely” and called on the public to join him in prayer. Vice President JD Vance also weighed in, writing on X, “Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father.”

The motive for the shooting has not yet been released, and no further details about the suspect have been made public. The investigation remains ongoing.

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