Student kills parents at US university, remains at large

Nova Safo, Agence France-Presse

Posted at Mar 03 2018 07:37 AM

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The site of shooting at Central Michigan University is seen, in Mount Pleasant, U.S., March 2, 2018 in this
picture obtained from social media. Courtesy of Grant Polmanteer via Reuters

CHICAGO - A university student fatally shot his parents on his school campus Friday in the US state of
Michigan, police said, before fleeing and setting off an hours-long manhunt.

The early morning incident put the campus into lockdown -- trapping students in classrooms and
dormitories until mid-afternoon -- while police conducted an expansive search for the 19-year-old
suspected gunman.

James Eric Davis, described as a university student, remained at large. He was accused of killing his
father, a police officer, and mother in a shooting inside a dormitory building in what university police
spokesman described as a "family-type domestic issue."

There were no other casualties.

The college campus in the city of Mount Pleasant in central Michigan was on lockdown hours after the
8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT) shooting, as federal, state and local law enforcement searched for Davis using
helicopters and police dogs.
Heavily armed officers fanned out throughout the city, and residents and students were asked to stay
inside and lock their doors.

University officials announced at 3:00 p.m. (2000 GMT) that students were finally being escorted out of
buildings by police.

"Uniformed officers are beginning to assist individuals in leaving campus buildings. Officers will be going
building to building," the university said in a statement.

SUSPECT KNOWN TO POLICE

Davis, who was a resident of nearby Illinois state but attending college in Michigan, was known to law
enforcement.

Police took him to a hospital the night before for what was believed to be a "drug-related type of
incident -- an overdose or a bad reaction to drugs," campus police spokesman Larry Klaus told a news
conference.

He was then released to hospital staff, Klaus said.

An Illinois state legislator identified Davis's victims as his parents, who lived in a Chicago suburb.

"The shooting at Central Michigan University today strikes close to home," tweeted the state
representative, Emanuel Welch.

"My sincerest condolences go out to the family of Bellwood Police Officer James Davis Sr and his wife
who were shot and killed."

It was unclear what kind of weapon Davis used or how he acquired it.

The state of Michigan allows for the concealed carrying of a handgun with a permit, but Central
Michigan University does not allow guns on campus.
The reaction to the shooting was swift Friday morning, with multiple alerts going out on social media
and mobile phones within minutes of the incident.

With one day left before residence halls were scheduled to close for spring break, parents seeking out
their children were told to go to a staging area at a nearby hotel.

FLORIDA SHOOTING

The shooting came amid a renewed debate over pervasive gun violence and law enforcement's role in
stopping potential shooters, which was sparked when a teenage gunman killed 17 people at a Parkland,
Florida high school two weeks ago.

Accused gunman Nikolas Cruz had a history of run-ins with law enforcement, which have faced scrutiny
over their failure to intervene despite multiple warnings.

Cruz used a semi-automatic assault rifle in his attack, leading students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas
High School to make public appeals for change to permissive US gun laws.

President Donald Trump has called for training and arming some teachers, tougher background checks
and a potential increase to the minimum age for rifle purchases.

But the powerful National Rifle Association gun lobby said that Trump was opposed to gun control after
meeting with him on Thursday.

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Read More: US Chicago Central Michigan University university crime shooting student

Home > Overseas

Uzbekistan journalist freed after 19 years in jail

Agence France-Presse

Posted at Mar 03 2018 07:40 AM

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TASHKENT - Uzbekistan has freed a journalist after nearly two decades behind bars, a local rights group
said Friday, after what a watchdog believes to have been the longest prison stretch served by a reporter
worldwide.

The release of Yusuf Ruzimuradov, who spent 19 years in jail on charges critics dismissed as politically
motivated, was confirmed by rights group Ezgulik, based in the capital Tashkent.

"Yusuf Ruzimuradov was released from penal colony 64/6 in the town of Chirchik near Tashkent on
February 22. He feels well," Ezgulik's Abdurakhmon Tashanov wrote in emailed comments to AFP.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, a media watchdog that monitors threats to reporters across the
world, said in tweet on Friday that the 19 years Ruzimuradov spent in jail was "longer than any
(journalist) in the world".

Another media freedom watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, had previously acknowledged
Ruzimuradov's status as "among the world's longest-held journalists".
Ruzimuradov was jailed for attempting to overthrow the Uzbek government in 1999, among other
charges his supporters called bogus.

His sentence had been extended beyond his expected release date in 2014.

Another prominent Uzbek journalist Muhammad Bekjanov, who spent 18 years behind bars after being
jailed during the 27-year reign of late President Islam Karimov, was released last year.

Both journalists worked at the opposition newspaper Erk, which was banned by the Uzbek regime.

The pair were brought to stand trial in Uzbekistan in 1999 from their place of exile in Ukraine in
circumstances supporters likened to a kidnapping.

More than a dozen prominent journalists and rights activists have been released since Karimov's death,
including Dilmurod Said, who was freed in early February, feeding hopes for a thaw in one of the former
Soviet Union's most repressive states.

Karimov died from a reported stroke in September 2016 after ruling the Central Asian state with an iron
fist since independence in 1991.

Uzbekistan's new President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who served as prime minister for 13 years, has made
moves to distance himself from Karimov's hardline policies while also honouring his memory.

Nevertheless, analysts do not expect him to push through genuine political reforms that would lead to
the emergence of a free press and political opposition.