Relatives of 2 killed by Chicago police question shootings

CHICAGO – Grieving relatives and friends of two people shot and killed by Chicago police said Sunday the slayings raised concerns about why officers “shoot first and ask questions later,” saying the city failed residents even as a federal civil rights investigation has begun scrutinizing police practices.

Quintonio LeGrier, 19, was killed early Saturday by police responding to a domestic disturbance at an apartment on the city’s West Side, along with downstairs neighbor Bettie Jones, 55. Police said Jones was hit accidentally by the gunfire.

Both were black. The shootings came amid scrutiny of police after a series of deaths of African-Americans at the hands of officers across the country gave rise to the Black Lives Matter movement.

LeGrier’s mother, Janet Cooksey, during a vigil Sunday placed candles on the porch of the two-story home, where Jones lived in a ground-floor apartment and LeGrier’s father in an upstairs unit.

“I used to watch the news daily and I would grieve for other mothers, other family members, and now today I’m grieving myself,” Cooksey said.

Others who spoke said police should have used stun guns or other nonlethal methods if they felt they needed to subdue LeGrier, a college student home for holiday break.

“Why do (police) have to shoot first and ask questions later?” Jacqueline Walker, a friend of Jones, asked. “It’s ridiculous.”

Some who showed up to support the families of Jones and LeGrier questioned how such shootings could occur while federal investigators are focusing on the Chicago Police Department.

“How in the middle of all this scrutiny, (can you) have a trigger-happy policeman?” said the Rev. Marshall Hatch.

Carson will alter response to bio challenges

WASHINGTON – Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said his campaign plans “alterations” to respond more aggressively to challenges to his life story and foreign policy expertise that have created a negative impression of him with some voters.

Carson, who earlier this year led some national polls among 2016 Republican candidates, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” Sunday that his campaign needs to “forcefully inject” its responses to attacks that have hurt his standing.

“We have kind of taken a nonchalant attitude,” Carson said. “That’s the wrong thing to do, so you will see much more aggressiveness in that region.”

Capitalizing on enthusiasm for political outsiders in this year’s presidential campaign, Carson competed with Donald Trump for front-runner status throughout the summer and into fall. His momentum has ebbed in recent weeks, as Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, gained support among religious conservatives who form the core of Carson’s support. Trump continues to dominate news coverage of the campaign.

Attack on mosque may be hate crime

Tracy, Calif. – An arson attack that took place over the weekend at a California mosque is being investigated as a possible hate crime, a law enforcement official said Sunday.

Debris from what appeared to be a Molotov cocktail was found outside the Tracy Islamic Center on Saturday morning, said Detective Dave Konecny, who works in the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department’s Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force.

The mosque sustained minor fire damage on a wall and side door, estimated by law enforcement at about $1,000. Weatherstripping at the mosque’s door prevented the flammable liquid from seeping inside.