Crime

HOUSTON (AP) — A gunman and at least one other person were killed Sunday, authorities said, as many shots were fired in a Houston neighborhood where police had urged people to remain in their homes.

Police spokesman John Cannon says there were two armed suspects involved, one of whom was killed and one who was wounded and taken to a hospital. Acting Police Chief Martha Montalvo said police believe one suspect was shot by the other and the second was shot by a SWAT officer.

Cannon says the second person killed was found inside a vehicle, though the circumstances were not immediately available. Montalvo said two officers and three citizens were also shot, and a police helicopter was shot at with a “high-powered” weapon.

She said police were working to piece together what had spurred the shootings.

At least two drivers told KHOU their vehicles were shot at, and a police SUV could be seen with a shattered windshield and the back window broken out.

Stephen Dittoe, 55, lives in the house right behind the shooting scene, separated by a fence and tall shrubbery at the end of cul-de-sac. He said when he first heard the noise Sunday he thought it was a transformer. His wife, Ha, 41, said it went on too long for that and described the series of staccato sounds.

She took their two children into the bathroom, told them to eat breakfast in there, and called 911. She said police came to the door about two hours later and asked if anyone in the house was being held captive, and if they could walk around the backyard.

The streets were still blocked off late Sunday afternoon with many police cars and fire trucks on the scene.

Abu Dhabi International Airport.jpg — Abu Dhabi International Airport.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A 25-year old American woman appeared in court Monday on misdemeanor charges for allegedly insulting the United Arab Emirates in public while waiting for a taxi at the Abu Dhabi International Airport.

The National, a government-owned newspaper in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, reported that the woman, who was not named, has been under arrest since Feb. 23. The newspaper says she told the Federal Supreme Court that she was waiting for a taxi at the airport when two men approached and spoke to her in a manner she did not like.

It quoted her as saying that she “refused to engage with them and nothing happened.” The report did not say if evidence was presented against her.

The National says she requested from the court to pay a fine and be released from jail. A verdict was set for May 2.

The U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi responded to an Associated Press query by stating that the embassy, “is aware of the case and is providing consular services.”

While liberal on some issues, the UAE has strict laws governing expression. Unlike in many Western countries, defamation is treated in the UAE as a criminal rather than a civil matter. Insulting the UAE’s leaders, or the country itself, can carry a prison sentence and steep fines.

In 2013, a 29-year-old U.S. citizen from Minnesota was tried under a cyber-crimes law and accused of defaming the country’s image abroad for posting a spoof video online about youth culture in the UAE. He spent nine months in prison before being deported and fined $2,700.

These four men were accused of raping 9-year-old while her mother (right) was away smoking meth

Four men were arrested last week after police say they raped a 9-year-old girl in her Utah home.

According to the Uintah County Sheriff’s Department, the men found the girl asleep on the couch while her mom was in the garage smoking methamphetamine on March 27. “During that time, the child was taken into another room in the home where she was raped by the four men,” reads the sheriff’s statement.

Authorities first took a report on the incident March 29.

Sheriff’s investigators conducted interviews which led to a search warrant being executed at the alleged scene of the crime.

Larson RonDeau, 36, was detained while police executed the warrant. He was later arrested on March 29.

Also arrested on March 31 and April 1 were 20-year-old Josiah RonDeau, 29-year-old Jerry Flatlip, and 26-year-old Randall Flatlip.

All four suspects were booked into jail on first degree felony rape of a child and first degree felony sodomy on a child, according to the Uintah County Sheriff’s Dept. The child is now in custody of the state.

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