Student Stabs 20 People At His High School

Image

USA TODAY

Hours after a routine school day turned terrifying, students at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pa., described what they went through during the stabbing rampage that sent 20 people to hospitals today.

Some had gone home to feel safe. Some had to be with friends to work through their emotions.

As the horror began, students had just arrived for the first class. Some were still outside. Suddenly there was a commotion in the science wing.

“At first we just thought it was a group of boys being immature and fighting,” said sophomore Cameron Lazor, 16. “Then we saw the blood and realized it was something scary.”

“I saw a senior girl, and she was gushing blood down her arm.” said Mia Meixler, 16, a sophomore. “I didn’t think anyone saw her but me, so I tried to help her. I asked if she wanted to go to the nurse. But then all the kids started running and screaming down the hall. A teacher got to the girl and told me to run out.”

Junior Nicole Damico, 16, was on the second floor of the school when the fire alarm went off. She and her friends thought it was a drill, so they slowly made their way downstairs, where they discovered something serious was going on.

“We saw two kids down the hall, and it looked like they were play fighting,” Nicole said. “I realized that one had a knife, so we sprinted out of the school. I saw one of my peers near the entrance of the school who had blood everywhere. He asked me for help. I just froze and ran out of the school. After that there was chaos.”

Meanwhile, the suspect began to chase sophomore Trinity McCool, 16, as she and a friend fled.

“When he was chasing us, I saw his face — the look in his eyes. I was horrified,” she said.

Trinity and her friend made it out of the school unharmed, but Trinity said she was rattled by the event and went home.

“I’m still really just distraught and stressed and scared,” she said.

Senior Tanya Leeman, 17, had just gotten to school when the fire alarm went off and was still in her car. Her sister, a sophomore, was stuck inside until police let everyone leave four hours later.

Because her sister did not have a phone with her, Tanya said, she was worried as she waited to hear that her sister was all right.

“I was scared because we didn’t know how many kids had gotten slashed or were missing,” she said.

“It was so unreal for all of us,” Tanya said. “We weren’t expecting something to happen at Franklin. We watched what happened in Connecticut on TV and thought that would never happen here.”

Nicole also made it safely out of the school.

“Us kids have been through hell and back,” she said. “It made me realize that anything could happen at anytime. It was just a regular day.”

Cameron said he was too shaken up to go home by himself.

“I’m with some friends because we didn’t want to be alone today,” he said. “We can’t believe it’s real. The whole situation keeps playing over and over in our heads.”

Mia said, “I think we’re all really scared, but it’s also nice that our whole community is coming together.”

Nicole agreed.

“Times like these, everyone just freaks out, and you don’t know what to do,” she said. “My peers have saved people’s lives. It started off scary and chaotic, but it’s amazing to hear how we’ve stuck together as a family.”

Psychiatrist and trauma specialist Steven Berkowitz said all the students, not just those physically injured, will wrestle with the experience — especially those who witnessed the bloody scene.

“In these kinds of situations, the psychological casualties usually outnumber the physical casualties,” he said. “It’s not just the kids who were stabbed, but all the kids at the school.”

Berkowitz, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and the director of the Penn Center for Youth and Family Trauma Response and Recovery, said students and their parents may experience symptoms of psychological distress, including trouble sleeping, intrusive thoughts about the incident and mood swings. In some cases, students may have post-traumatic stress disorder, depression or turn to substance abuse, he said.

The children may fear going to school, “and parents will be afraid to send them,” Berkowitz said. He advises parents to get their kids back to school and their normal routine.

“One of the most important things … is to get back on the horse. It’s really true,” he said. “The more you let it interfere with your normal routines, the harder it will be in the long term.”

Students will have a wide range of responses depending on their physical and emotional connection to the stabbing and their natural emotional makeup.

“There are individuals who are going to be more resilient than others,” he said. “This is the kind of large-scale event where so many kids were exposed. They saw it. They heard it. They had friends who were hurt. Early interventions and monitoring are really, really key and crucial.”

Lil Boosie Before He Went To Prison Back In 2009

Lil Boosie has been killing the underground scene for quite some time. This video was shot by our personal friends at StreetHeat before Lil Boosie went to prison. Welcome Home Lil Boosie

Benzino Shot In Boston At Own Mother’s Funeral

Benzino Shot In Boston At Own Mother's Funeral

Former owner of the once revered and sought after Hip Hop Bible The Source and rapper most known for beefing with Eminem and now Love N Hip Hop reality tv star Benzino was shot at his own mother’s funeral procession this weekend. Details are sketchy but apparently he got into an altercation with his 36 year old nephew at the funeral who shot him as a result of the argument. Benzino is in stable condition. Daaaammmn homie!

Earthquakes Have Rattled The West Coast Over The Last Month

Earthquakes Have Rattled The West Coast Over The Last Month

USA Today

LOS ANGELES — More than 100 aftershocks continued to rattle Southern California on Saturday after a stronger earthquake the night before displaced dozens of residents.

Among the strongest aftershocks, the U.S. Geological Survey reported a magnitude-3.4 struck at 9:02 a.m. PT Saturday, centered close to La Habra near Los Angeles, which took the brunt of the larger quake Friday night.

The strong earthquake was felt widely across the region shortly after 9 p.m. PT Friday. The USGS said the epicenter was 1 mile from Brea, located about 20 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, and 3 miles from Rowland Heights and Fullerton. The main quake was preceded by two foreshocks registering at magnitudes 3.6 and 2.1, scientists said.

USGS seismologist Lucy Jones at CalTech in Pasadena told the Los Angeles Times that the 5.1 quake has a 5% chance of being a foreshock of an even larger quake.

“There could be even a larger earthquake in the next few hours or the next few days,” she said.

A number of residents in the area were displaced by the temblor. Police Lt. Mike Chlebowski told the Los Angeles Times that at least eight homes and 20 apartment units were red-tagged in Fullerton because they were deemed unsafe to occupy.

Some apartments and businesses were lightly damaged by the quake in La Habra, where about 38 residents spent the night at a Red Cross shelter.

“From 20 to 30 businesses suffered broken plate glass windows, many of them along Whittier Boulevard,” La Habra Police Sgt. David Crivelli told the Los Angeles Times. “There were also some apartments with stucco damage and leaking water.”

Southern California Edison reported power outages to nearly 2,000 customers after the quake. The Los Angeles Times reported that more than 800 homes and businesses remained without power as of Saturday morning.

The quake triggered a rockslide that closed Carbon Canyon Road in northern Orange County near the center of the quake, the California Highway Patrol and Brea police reported. The rockslide caused a car to overturn, and the people inside the car sustained minor injuries. As of 9 a.m. Saturday, that roadway remained closed, the Orange County Register reported.

The quake was felt as far south as San Diego and as far north as Ventura County, according to citizen responses collected online by the U.S. Geological Survey. Several people who live in the area near the quake posted pictures on social media showing broken glasses and dishes that tumbled from shelves or cabinets.

“Tonight’s earthquake is the second in two weeks and reminds us to be prepared,” said L.A. Mayor Garcetti. “The Los Angeles Police and Fire Departments have conducted an assessment and report no damage in the city.”

Tom Connolly, a Boeing employee who lives in La Mirada, the next town over from La Habra, said the magnitude-5.1 quake lasted about 30 seconds.

“We felt a really good jolt. It was a long rumble and it just didn’t feel like it would end,” he told the Associated Press by phone. “Right in the beginning it shook really hard, so it was a little unnerving. People got quiet and started bracing themselves by holding on to each other. It was a little scary.”

Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully was on the air calling the Angels-Dodgers exhibition game in the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium.

“A little tremor here in the ballpark. I’m not sure if the folks felt it, but we certainly felt it here in press box row,” Scully said. “A tremor and only that, thank goodness.”

Preliminary data suggest Friday night’s 5.1 magnitude earthquake occurred near the Puente Hills thrust fault, which stretches from the San Gabriel Valley to downtown Los Angeles and caused the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, Jones said. The 5.9 Whittier Narrows quake killed eight people and caused $360 million in damage.

“It’s a place where we’ve had a lot of earthquakes in the past,” she said.

Friday’s quake hit a week after a predawn magnitude-4.4 quake centered in the San Fernando Valley rattled a swath of Southern California. That jolt shook buildings and rattled nerves, but did not cause significant damage.

Southern California has not experienced a damaging earthquake since the 1994 magnitude-6.7 Northridge quake killed several dozen people and caused $25 billion in damage.

The Smoke Box: Snoop Dogg

B.Real brings Snoop Dogg to The Smoke Box where they discuss being the forefathers of bringing weed culture to hip hop, Snoop talks about the future of the hip hop artist, and they smoke some really good weed. “Smoke weed everyday.”