According to The Guardian, young black men are nine times more likely than other Americans to be killed by police officers, and last year, 23 per cent of all people who were fatally shot by police were black.

To humanise such statistics, we have yet another report of a life tragically lost.

This weekend, police in Sacramento, California, searching for someone reported to have been breaking windows, fatally shot a 22-year-old black man after he walked towards them carrying what they believed to be a firearm.
When examining the body, however, the only object found was a cellphone.

This was the explanation that the Sacramento Police Department offered on Tuesday when updating the public on the investigation into the shooting of the unarmed man, Stephon Clark, on Sunday.

After receiving calls that someone in the neighbourhood was breaking car windows, police dispatched a helicopter to the area near Clark's home. The helicopter promptly started following the 22-year-old's movements, with the crew stating that they had seen a black man break the sliding glass door of a home before jumping a fence into another residence.

At around 9:30pm, two officers confronted Clark outside the property where he lived with his two young children and his grandparents. They alleged that he came towards them with an object in his hand.

Officers began firing at Clark after "fearing for their safety". The two officers both fired 10 shots at Clark, although it is not clear how many times he was struck, according to The Sacramento Bee.

"Prior to the shooting, the involved officers saw the suspect facing them, advance forward with his arms extended, and holding an object in his hands," the Sacramento Police Department said in an updated press release on Tuesday. "At the time of the shooting, the officers believed the suspect was pointing a firearm at them. After an exhaustive search, scene investigators did not locate any firearms. The only item found near the suspect was a cell phone."

Speaking to The Sacramento Bee, Clark's grandmother, Sequita Thompson, said "The only thing that I heard was pow, pow, pow, pow, and I got to the ground." Thompson allegedly crawled to her 7-year-old granddaughter, and told her to lie on the grounds as shots were being fired. 

According to the original press release, the two officers held their position for about five minutes after shooting Clark, a father-of-two, until more officers arrived. They then handcuffed Clark and proceeded with lifesaving efforts. He was pronounced dead at the scene by fire department personnel.

The Sacramento Bee has reported that both officers involved in the incident were wearing body cameras, and there is also video and audio footage from the sheriff's helicopter. In line with official city policy, officials are planning to make the material public within 30 days of the March 18th fatality. Since then, the officers in question have been put on paid administrative leave - a decision which is in accordance with department policy, according to the updated press release.

The shooting has prompted an outcry on social media, and a GoFundMe has been set up to help Clark's grandmother pay for his funeral.

Bernice King took to Twitter to write, "Some will try to reason; there is no humane reason," while activist, Shaun King, compared this incident with the arrest of the Charleston church shooter, Dylann Roof, who was captured alive, and given food from Burger King by police officers.

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Stephon Clark leaves behind two sons, aged one and three. "He would never want to leave his kids," his girlfriend of five years, Salena Manni, told ABC News. "I have to wake up every morning to my kids asking me, ‘Where’s Daddy? Let’s go get Daddy.'"

A California judge's bone-chilling rant after allegedly killing his wife has been disclosed in court.In August, Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson was arrested and charged with killing his spouse, Sheryl Ferguson, in their home in the upscale neighborhood of Anaheim Hills.Prosecutors claimed that on the night of Sheryl's death, the couple had an alcohol-fueled argument which ended with the judge pulling a pistol from an ankle holster and shooting his wife in the chest, as reported by PEOPLE.The alleged incident was witnessed by the pair's 22-year-old son, Phillip, who called 911 shortly after 8PM.Credit: Anaheim police department via APFerguson was previously charged with one felony count of murder, one count of felony enhancement of personal use of a firearm, and one count of felony enhancement of discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury and death.Authorities revealed that they discovered 47 weapons in the judge's home, including the gun used in the shooting, and more than 26,000 rounds of ammunition.According to The Independent, Anaheim police Det. Michael Nguyen testified in court that before the tragedy, Phillip claimed that his father made a gun gesture with his hands as a way of asking his mother to leave the restaurant the family was at.When the family returned home, the parents were still fighting about the family’s finances, to which Sheryl allegedly said: "Why don’t you point a real gun at me?” before Ferguson pulled the trigger, shooting her at point blank range.The judge asked his son to call the police and waited until officers arrived. Anaheim police officer Joshua Juntilla testified that Ferguson, who smelled of alcohol and appeared to be in shock with tears in his eyes - reportedly said: "Shoot me, shoot me.'"Ferguson is scheduled to be arranged in July. Credit: Comstock / GettyPer The Los Angeles Times, officer Juntilla told the courtroom that while police tried to revive Sheryl - who was pronounced dead at the scene - Ferguson "let off a string of expletives"."What did I do? My son will hate me forever," Ferguson reportedly told cops. "Can you have my son come over here and punch me in the face? I deserve it. I got everything I got coming."Police officer Andrew Compton also revealed in his testimony that the judge "spontaneously stated, and used the words, ‘I just killed my wife’”.Phillip said his parents had fought often but the arguments had never before turned physical. He believed Ferguson may have shot his mother in a drunken accident.The suspect's lawyer T. Edward Welbourn requested Superior Court Judge Eleanor Hunter to dismiss the murder charge, noting his client’s son - the only eyewitness to the homicide - said he believed it was an accident.Hunter disagreed, stating: “While I appreciate the son’s opinion that this was accidental - bless his heart - he’s in a horrible position," and added that the evidence indicated that Ferguson knew the risk of pointing a firearm at another person.The former prosecutor is currently out on a $1 million bond with GPS and alcohol monitoring restrictions. He is scheduled to be arraigned on July 5, per the Associated Press.Featured image credit: David Talukdar / Getty

Yesterday, just before 1 pm local time, shots were fired at YouTube's headquarters in San Bruno, Northern California. Three people were injured in the attack: a 36-year-old man, who is said to be in a critical condition, and two women aged 32 and 27.

Nasim Aghdam, the woman who fired the shots, was the only fatality. She killed herself after injuring the others.

At first, it was believed that Aghdam had been motivated by a domestic dispute, but San Bruno police later disclosed that "at this time, there is no evidence that the shooter knew the victims of this shooting or that individuals were specifically targeted."

Now, after statements from her family, it is believed that she attacked the office out of vengeance.

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According to Aghdam's father, YouTube "stopped everything and now she has no income." They claim that she had been a longtime user of the site, but that her content had been restricted somehow, and she was losing her livelihood as a result. This was causing her a significant amount of distress, to the extent that her family believed she might do something irrational as a result.

Her brother even warned law enforcement that she might be planning an attack.

"She had a problem with YouTube. We called the cops and told them there’s a reason she went from San Diego to that, so she might do something," he said;

"I didn’t know she had a gun. I didn’t know she’d start a fight. The cop told us they’d keep an eye on her.

"After 12 hours the shooting happened. She got killed, the other three people got hurt. I did my best to avoid it but looks like the cops didn’t do their job."

He reports that she once told him: "YouTube screwed up my life."

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On her website and social media accounts, Aghdam claimed that the video hosting platform was discriminating against her because of her advocacy for animal rights and veganism.

"Youtube filtered my channels to keep them from getting views!" she wrote;

"There is no free speech in real world & you will be suppressed for telling the truth that is not supported by the system. Videos of targeted users are filtered & merely relegated, so that people can hardly see their videos!"

Police in Mountain View, which is just southeast of San Bruno, reported that they had earlier found Aghdam sleeping in her car. They confirmed her identity and notified her family of where she was, but no further action was taken.

"According to our report, at no point in our contact with the woman did she indicate she was a threat to herself or others," the Mountain View police spokesperson said.

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Chris Dale, a spokesperson for YouTube, thanked the police for their swift response to the incident.

"Today it feels like the entire community of YouTube and all of the employees were victims of this crime. Our hearts go out to those who suffered in this particular attack," he said.

Donald Trump also commented on the shooting, saying in a tweet: "Was just briefed on the shooting at YouTube’s HQ in San Bruno, California. Our thoughts and prayers are with everybody involved. Thank you to our phenomenal Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders that are currently on the scene."

Obviously, this violent incident raises further questions about gun control in the states - something which has been a topic of divisive debate since the Parkland shooting last month.

On Tuesday of final exam week, a man armed with a pistol opened fire on a classroom at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte. He killed two people, 21-year-old Riley Howell and 19-year-old Ellis Parlier, while wounding four others. Authorities identified the injured students as Drew Pescaro, 19; Sean Dehart, 20; Rami Alramadhan, 20; and Emily Houpt, 23.

Police captured the gunman, identified as 22-year-old former student Trystan Terrell, and took him into custody. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney told reporters that the suspect legally purchased the handgun and intentionally targeted the Kennedy Building, where the rampage occurred. The class in session reportedly had about 100 students, and 30 were present at the time of the shooting,

The massacre would have been worse, however, if not for the courageous actions of Riley Howell. The police chief told reporters that Howell confronted Terrell in a campus building and "took the suspect off his feet." In the process, the 21-year-old was fatally shot point blank, and likely the shooting's last fatality.

"You're either gonna run, gonna hide and shield, or you're gonna take the fight to the assailant," Putney said, per Fox News. "Having no place to run and hide, [Howell] did the last."

The police chief said it would be an "understatement" to say Howell tackled the suspect, but it "would be appropriate, and had he not done so, the gunman "might not have been disarmed." "Unfortunately, he gave his life in the process. But his sacrifice saved lives," Putney said. "What he did was he took the assailant off his feet, and then the heroes that we have here were able to apprehend him from there."

On Wednesday, Howell's aunt, Morgan Howell Moylan, told CNN: "He did such a heroic thing. It was absolutely no surprise. In fact, I have four children who so look up to him. Every one of them said, 'Of course, he was the hero -- 100% of course he'd run toward the shooter.' He was everybody's protector. You felt safe when you were with Riley."

Howell grew up on a farm with three younger siblings in Waynesville, North Carolina, and aspired to become a firefighter or join the military.  "His faith was strong and he knew what he had to do when people needed him most," his family said in a statement. "He was always the guy you could count on and he delivered."

Kevin Westmoreland, the father of Howell's longtime girlfriend, Lauren, described Howell as athletic and compassionate. "If Lauren was with Riley, he would step in front of a train for her if he had to,” Westmoreland said, per the Associated Press. "I didn’t realize it might come to that for somebody else." Riley and Lauren dated for six years.

The shooting suspect is facing two counts of murder, four counts of attempted murder, four counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and one count each of possession of a firearm on educational property and discharging a firearm, police said.

On Tuesday afternoon the YouTube office in California came under attack, with a woman entering the building and opening fire in the company's headquarters in San Bruno, California. The woman behind the attack was pronounced dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and it's reported that at least three people were wounded during the rampage. According to a hospital spokesman, a 36-year-old man was left in a critical condition, a 32-year-old woman in a serious condition and a 27-year-old woman in a fair condition.

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The motive behind the shooting wasn't clear at the time, but the suspect and her motives have now been revealed.

It's now being reported that the shooter who died during the attack in California was an animal activist and content creator. Police have named the suspect as Nasim Aghdam.

The 39-year-old is believed to have approached the offices at lunchtime on Tuesday before she opened fire. Police claim that there is no evidence to suggest that she knew the victims.

NBC is reporting that Aghdam was angry at the video sharing platform for filtering her content. In a video posted in January last year, the vlogger claimed that YouTube had "discriminated and filtered" her content. In the video, Aghdam claims that her channel used to receive a lot of reviews, but that it was being "filtered" by the company.

She claims that YouTube had imposed an age-restriction on one of her workout videos, yet the website hadn't taken similar action against the likes of Nicki Minaj and Miley Cyrus.

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Aghdam had published several posts on her website about a Persian culture, veganism and her hatred of Youtube and described herself as a vegan artist, bodybuilder, rapper and animal rights activist.

Taking to her website to criticise the company, she wrote: "There is no free speech in the real world & you will be suppressed for telling the truth that is not supported by the system. Videos of targeted users are filtered & merely relegated so that people can hardly see their videos!"

NBC spoke to Aghdam's family, who said that she was a "longtime YouTube user who felt she had been chated." Her father, Ismail Aghdam, said that YouTube had "stopped everything and now she has no income." He also said that his daughter "was at YouTube on Tuesday" but said he did not know how she was involved in the incident.

Aghdam was reported missing on Monday after not answering calls for two days. Police found her sleeping in her car in Mountain View, 25km from the YouTube office and reported this to her family, but did not detain her.

However, her brother claims that the family warned the police that something might happen: "She had a problem with YouTube.

"We called the cops and told them there’s a reason she went from San Diego to that, so she might do something. I didn’t know she had a gun.

"I didn’t know she’d start a fight. The cop told us they’d keep an eye on her After 12 hours the shooting happened.

"She got killed, the other three people got hurt. I did my best to avoid it but looks like the cops didn’t do their job."

The police have asked for anyone with any information to contact the San Bruno Police Department on (650) 616-7100 or by email: [email protected].