Salon.com > Jim Salter

Student wounds official, self at St. Louis school

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 13:07:00 +0000

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A part-time student shot a longtime administrator in the chest at a downtown St. Louis business school before turning the gun on himself early Tuesday, sparking a "chaotic scene" with police swarming the building and panicked students fleeing, police said.

Both survived and were transported to hospitals where they underwent surgeries Tuesday. Police Chief Sam Dotson said he was optimistic both would survive. Hospital officials declined Tuesday evening to comment on the men's conditions and a message left with St. Louis police was not returned.

Police did not identify either man, but Dotson said the administrator was a longtime employee in his late 40s. He said the suspect had been attending Stevens Institute of Business & Arts off and on for four years and had no history of threats or violence.

Dotson said police arrived to find a "chaotic" scene with many students running out of the five-story historic building in the downtown loft district of St. Louis. About 40 to 50 people were in the building when gunfire broke out, and police evacuated them before starting a floor-by-floor search with tactical teams and dogs.

Rams drop plans to play in London in 2013, 2014

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 19:32:29 +0000

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Rams are dropping plans to play home games in London in 2013 and 2014, citing a need to focus on improvements to their stadium.

The Rams said Monday that they will go ahead with plans to use a home game to play the New England Patriots at Wembley Stadium on Oct. 28 while withdrawing their commitment for home games in London the following two seasons.

"We are looking forward to playing in London this season as the NFL's international series offers a unique opportunity to grow the American football audience, expand the Rams' brand to international fans and enhance St. Louis on the global stage," said Kevin Demoff, executive vice president of the Rams. "However, moving forward we believe our attention needs to be on the ongoing first-tier process" involving the Edward Jones Dome.

The dome is owned by the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Bureau and leased to the Rams for home games. The lease agreement signed when the team moved to St. Louis in 1994 allows for periodic evaluations of whether it is among the top 25 percent of all the NFL's 31 stadiums (the New York Jets and Giants share a stadium).

900 pets still homeless after Missouri tornado

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:33:00 +0000

Hundreds of dogs and cats peer out from their cages at the Joplin Humane Society, some with cuts, infections and broken bones from the deadly tornado that turned their lives, like of those their owners, upside down.

Since the tornado, the Humane Society has found itself overflowing with animals, with about 900 now calling the shelter home -- three times its usual inventory. One way or another, the pets became separated from their owners in the chaotic aftermath of the May 22 twister that tore through this town, killing 153 people. In some cases, the owners -- scrambling to find housing for themselves after 7,000 homes were destroyed, leaving nearly one-third of the city's 50,000 residents homeless -- have simply given up their pets.

But the Joplin Humane Society is determined to find a home for every cat and dog. To that end, it plans an "Adopt-a-thon" the weekend of June 25-26, when animals that haven't been claimed by their owners will be given away free to good homes, after being spayed and neutered.

"The reality is, a lot of these people aren't in a position to come get these animals," said Joplin native Tim Rickey, a field investigator for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "They've lost everything."

Search for Missouri twister survivors intensifies

Tue, 24 May 2011 16:28:23 +0000

Crews busted holes in concrete slabs and sifted through strewn home goods Tuesday as rescuers focused on crumpled big-box stores and apartment complexes in Joplin in a frantic search for survivors of the deadliest single U.S. twister in about 60 years.

One team poked through the remains of a Home Depot store, while others searched a Walmart and wrecked apartments as the clock ticked down on another round of severe storms that was forecast to hit later in the day.

A later search was planned with search-and-rescue dogs, and officials planned to test the city's nine warning sirens while the sun was shining.

The massive tornado that ripped through the heart of the blue-collar southwest Missouri city of 50,000 people on Sunday was the deadliest on record in nearly six decades.

Sam Murphey, a spokesman for Gov. Jay Nixon's office, said Tuesday that 117 bodies had been found but he didn't know when or where the latest one was discovered. Fire chief Mitch Randles said he knew of only 116 people who had been found.

The two also differed on the number rescued, with Murphey putting it at 17 and Randles saying he knew of only seven.

Tornado sweeps through St. Louis airport

Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:46:00 +0000

St. Louis' main airport was closed for business Saturday while crews cleaned up after an apparent tornado tore through a terminal, causing several injuries and sending people scurrying for shelter as plated glass shattered around them.

Friday evening's storm at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport ripped away a large section of the main terminal's roof, forcing the airport to close indefinitely and diverting incoming flights to other cities.

Elsewhere around St. Louis, residents in suburbs were waking to damaged homes, fallen trees and downed power lines -- the remains of a fierce line of storms that moved through central and eastern Missouri.

"We have all hands on deck here," Mayor Francis Slay said at the airport. "This is something we're putting a lot of attention to."

But amid all the damage, there was relief that things could have been worse. Only four people with minor injuries were taken to the hospital from Lambert, while an unspecified number of others were treated at the scene for cuts blamed on flying glass.

"We're fortunate we didn't have larger (numbers) of injuries," said airport director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge.

ACLU questions Missouri’s supply of execution drug

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 19:54:03 +0000

A civil rights group is raising concerns about Missouri's supply of a drug crucial to the execution process as the state prepares to execute its first convict in nearly two years.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri announced Thursday that the Missouri Department of Corrections has a dwindling supply of sodium thiopental, and that what is on hand is nearing its expiration date. The ACLU uncovered that information through a freedom of information request.

Sodium thiopental is the first of three drugs used in executions, an anesthetic that renders the condemned inmate unconscious.

Corrections officials asked in recent days about the potential shortage have told The Associated Press that the state has an adequate supply for the execution of Richard Clay, who is scheduled to die at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday for killing a southeast Missouri man in 1994. Scott Holste, a spokesman for Gov. Jay Nixon's office, did not immediately respond to interview requests.

The ACLU's investigation found Missouri has 50 units of sodium thiopental in stock, which the group said would be sufficient for the execution and for a rehearsal of the execution. Previous execution rehearsals used 10 units. But the ACLU said Missouri didn't use the drug during its most recent quarterly execution rehearsal in July, and that this may have been because the state wants to stretch its inventory with an eye to future executions.

Cheap, ultra-potent heroin is causing rise in deaths

Mon, 24 May 2010 17:23:00 +0000

Mexican drug smugglers are increasingly peddling a form of ultra-potent heroin that sells for as little as $10 a bag and is so pure it can kill unsuspecting users instantly, sometimes before they even remove the syringe from their veins.

An Associated Press review of drug overdose data shows that so-called "black tar" heroin -- named for its dark, gooey consistency -- and other forms of the drug are contributing to a spike in overdose deaths across the nation and attracting a new generation of users who are caught off guard by its potency.

"We found people who snorted it lying face-down with the straw lying next to them," said Patrick O'Neil, coroner in suburban Chicago's Will County, where annual heroin deaths have nearly tripled -- from 10 to 29 -- since 2006. "It's so potent that we occasionally find the needle in the arm at the death scene."

Authorities are concerned that the potency and price of the heroin from Mexico and Colombia could widen the drug's appeal, just as crack did for cocaine decades ago.

The Latin American heroin comes in the form of black tar or brown powder, and it has proven especially popular in rural and suburban areas.