Clown x Waffle House: Atlanta Shooting

It appears the sync threads of "clowns" and "Waffle Houses" have merged. Now if we can only discover some of the names of those involved.

A gunman involved in a robbery reportedly wearing a golden "angry clown" mask shot a Waffle House patron in Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday, July 10, 2018.

A man was shot and several customers were robbed at a Waffle House location on Northside Drive near the intersection with 14th Street in Midtown at 6:00 am, Tuesday morning.

Witnesses say the suspect came into the restaurant and went into the restroom. He later emerged wearing an "angry clown" mask and proceeded to rob several patrons and employees at gunpoint.

The suspect then grabbed a cash register off of a counter and grabbed the keys to a vehicle of one of the robbery victims. As he was leaving, one of the robbery victims went to a window and the suspect fired a shot, striking the man in the neck. The victim was alert, conscious and breathing when officers arrived and was able to speak with them.

The suspect, only described as a black male wearing a dark-colored hoodie with tan pants, then fled the scene in the stolen white Mercury Grand Marquis which was later recovered in the area of 9th and Curran streets.

h/t Smiles.

2018: Georgia, Oregon and New York Self-Immolations

Self-immolations have been a form of political protest in modern times since a number of Buddhist monks (including the most famous case of Thích Quảng Đức) immolated themselves by fire in protest of the persecution of Buddhists under the administration of Roman Catholic President Ngô Đình Diệm in South Vietnam. The immolations spread through Asia and to America from 1963 to 1971.

In the third known high-profile fire suicide attempt of 2018, a man is fighting for his life at Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital with burns to 85 to 90 percent of his body.

Georgia Veteran

A veteran who was fed up with treatment by the Department of Veterans Affairs set himself on fire in protest outside of the Georgia State Capitol building (seen above) in downtown Atlanta on June 26, 2018.

The 58-year-old from Mableton, Georgia, who has not yet been identified, parked his car alongside the Capitol before walking toward the building, where he commenced self-immolation, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

“He was strapped with some homemade incendiary devices (and) firecrackers, and doused himself with some kind of flammable liquid,” Georgia State Patrol Captain Mark Perry told the Atlanta newspaper.

The Georgia immolation appears to follow the same pattern of the immolation of Charles Ingram, a 51-year-old Gulf War veteran, who grew increasing frustrated by the Department of Veterans Affairs. In March 2016, shortly before his VA appointment, Ingram went to the clinic in Northfield, N.J., doused himself in gasoline and lit himself on fire. The clinic was closed at the time. He died.

Chloe Sagal

Exactly a week before, on Tuesday, June 19, 2018, a person lit themselves on fire in Lownsdale Square (see above), the park located across from the Multnomah County Courthouse in downtown Portland, Oregon.

The person entered the park, on crutches, and barely able to walk, wearing a red scarf around the neck. Then the individual sat down and began reading a statement about homelessness and mental health issues. The person died at the hospital.

The local media reported some confusion about the gender of the person. It turns out it was video developer Chloe Sagal, 31, who identified herself as trans.

Variety wrote:

Sagal was best known for her horror game “Homesick,” which follows the story of a woman searching for her friends inside the house where her family was murdered. She also made headlines in 2013 when she ran an Indiegogo campaign that was ostensibly for metal poisoning treatment. But, according to Eurogamer, the money was instead used for gender alteration surgery.

David Buckel

Another self-immolation of 2018 occurred on Saturday, April 14, 2018, when David Buckel, 60, a prominent green activist and lawyer for LGBT rights, died after setting himself on fire in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park protesting ecological destruction and global warming. The famed 60 year old attorney left behind a suicide note in which Buckel told of his intention of burning himself to death with "fossil fuel" in a bid to show how mankind was likewise killing itself. Buckel also worked as an urban gardener and ecologist with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, helping run what he called the largest composting program in the country to use only renewable sources of energy.

The New York Daily News headlined the story.

Other related immolation articles:

Burning Man 2017

Immolations 2017

Palace Self-Immolation 2015

Aurora Self-Immolation 2014

Colorado Self-Immolation 2014

D. C. Self-Immolation 2013: 1, 2, 3

h/t to Media Monarchy for GA news.

Phantom Clown: Macon + LaGrange

Correspondent Jim Brandon (The Rebirth of Pan) writes:

Well, we had a Fayette episode so how about something explicitly Masonic? Phantom clowns were reported in Macon, Georgia. 

I have written about this part of the name game often, as Macon is the French for Mason, and the use of that name is an overt Masonic naming of the landscape, just as much as Lafayette, Washington, and a number of other power names. I grew up in Macon County, Decatur, Illinois, so my decoding experience with "Macon" is firsthand.

After the organization of Bibb County in 1822, the city was chartered as the county seat in 1823 and officially named Macon. This was in honor of the North Carolina statesman Nathaniel Macon, because many of the early settlers in Georgia hailed from North Carolina. Macon was the 5th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, under President Thomas Jefferson.

Nathaniel Macon

Nathaniel Macon, a Freemason, was the son of Maj. Gideon Macon (1715–1761) and Priscilla Jones (1718 – March 1802). Nathaniel’s father’s parents were John Macon (December 17, 1695 – March 31, 1752) and Ann Hunt (1697 – February 15, 1725), both of Virginia. Nathaniel’s paternal great-grandparents were Col. Gideon Macon (c. 1648 – February 1701 or 1702) and Martha Woodward (1665–1723). Gideon and Martha Woodward Macon were also the great-grandparents of Martha Dandridge who married George Washington and became First Lady of the United States of America. Therefore, Nathaniel Macon was the second cousin of Martha Dandridge Washington.  In Masonic circles, Major John Mason held several offices in the grand lodge. Most, if not all, the Macon men in the ancestral line were all Masons down through the 20th century.

Freemasons use Mason names to name locations to honor other Masons, thus Macon, Georgia was named after Nathaniel Macon.

Brandon continues, regarding Macon, Georgia, with these insights:

The really interesting aspect is the geographic since Macon is just a few miles south of the 33-degree latitude line. But also – ta-dah! – abt 50 miles west on the line is Warm Springs and the Little White House where 33-degree Mason FDR use to go (all the way from DC by train no less) for rest cures. And even FDR died there in 1945 under strange circumstances, according to crime writer Emanuel Josephson.

The essence of the Phantom Clowns reported from Macon, Bibb County, Georgia are that several reports developed when four children at a bus stop or walking to school said they saw some clowns bothering them.

It happened on Tuesday morning, September 13, 2016, near Elkan Avenue. Three clowns were reported by Aisha Thompson, after her children ran home.

“If it’s a joke, it’s not funny. If you think this is something to play with, don’t. Take it serious,” said Thompson. "They're still shaken up. My oldest daughter, she's the big sister of all four of them, she's shaking in her jacket. When I was hugging her she was shaking and she's in the mentor's program, on the softball team, and JLC. She doesn't want to go to school and my children love school."

Thompson's youngest son, Marlon Patterson, said the clowns were wearing face paint and were shining lasers as they ran out of the woods and up and down the street.

"I was very scared, I started crying, I didn't know how we were gonna get home so we just tried to go to everybody we could to get a ride and one lady gave us one," said Patterson. 

Thompson said her children have also received friend requests on Facebook with clowns as their profile pictures.

"I don't know if it's something they're doing just to scare them or if it's something serious, but I would rather be safe than sorry," said Thompson.

“They saw a laser light. When we were having our discussion about this yesterday, it was mentioned that they would be in the woods shining one of those lasers to get the children’s attention, so they said they started to walk fast and as they approached the woods they came out and they took off running,” she continued.

Lt. Randy Gonzalez with the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office says, “We’d like to find out who they are because we don’t want them giving small children impressions that clowns are scary because we as adults growing up know that clowns to us were not scary.”

“Kids think they’re going to school is their job. They’re unable to perform their job correct, having fear,” said concerned mother Teria Davis.

Thompson says her younger child attends Southfield Elementary which is nearby the area. She adds she will have to take her kids to school on her own until this issue is resolved.

It was reported that the clowns came from bushes and abandoned houses near Elkan Avenue and Dapleton Drive.

Some of the kids who reported the clown sighting to authorities also reported that they received Facebook messages from people dressed as clowns saying "I will find you."

The Bibb County Sheriff's Office said this is the first report of clown sightings in the area, though Tuesday morning's witnesses told deputies that the sightings had been going on for the past few days in the "bottom side" of Bloomfield.

Sources, 1, 2.

Just in...also from Georgia and also Masonic.

Tom Mellett passes along a news story from LaGrange, Georgia about someone on Facebook threatening to become a creepy clown and abduct children - for Tuesday, September 13, 2016.

LaGrange Police are working to get warrants to track down the person threatening to dress like a clown and abduct children from specific schools.
Lt. Dale Strickland told 11Alive News someone started a Facebook Page (which has since been taken down) threatening to dress like a clown and drive a white van to Callaway Elementary, Franklin Forrest Elementary, Callaway Middle School, Troup High School, and Callaway High School and abduct children. Strickland says that threat is a clear violation of the law. The department is working to obtain warrants that will help them track down who posted the threats.
Stickland said there were no spottings of the creepy clown, but the police department was flooded with calls from concerned parents. The police department posted a message on Facebook: "This behavior is not cute or funny... if applicable, you may face charges."

LaGrange turns out to be a Masonic Name Game just as much as Macon. I made the discovery a few years ago that LaGrange is an associated hot name, due to the fact the name Chateau de LaGrange was the French home of the Marquis de Lafayette, evolved during the last thirty years of our writings and mutual exchange on the subject. The Fayette Factor strikes again.

Phantom Clown incident now have come from South Carolina, North Carolina, Ohio, and Georgia.

Fayette Factor: New Mystery Felid Sightings

The Fayette Factor is alive and well on the cryptozoological front. The Summer of 2016 in the USA has experienced an intriguing run of Giant Snake reports (Wessie in Maine), animal attacks, and more.

La Fayette, Walker County, Georgia, of course, receives its name from the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834) and inherits all the "little enchantments" due it from that moniker.

This summer a series of mystery cat encounters have visited themselves upon La Fayette, Georgia. Above is the North LaFayette Elementary School, where the felid was seen.

[Small town, small county newspapers tend to not archive their content. Therefore, large parts of the sighting data is archived here for research purposes.]

The July 2016 article places this newest Georgia cryptid sighting in La Fayette.

Wildlife official investigating possible mountain lion sightings in LaFayette
Posted on Jul 27, 2016
by Josh O'Bryant
A LaFayette school teacher on Tuesday [July 26, 2016] told police he saw two large mountain lions off the city’s four-lane bypass.
According to police reports, high school teacher Cody Lee said he spotted the mountain lions near the intersection of Warthen Street, Round Pond Road and the bypass (U.S. Highway 27 Business) about 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26.
Lee said he was stopped at the red light on Round Pond Road when he saw them emerge from the woods and cross Warthen Street to another patch of woods from Oak Park subdivision toward North LaFayette Elementary. At this point, he said, he recognized they were mountain lions because they had long thick tails that arched upward. He said the animals then crossed Warthen and reentered the woods, heading north.
Lee posted about it on his Facebook page...Police searched the area and plan to place trail cameras in the area.
Since the news broke about a mountain lion sighting in the Dogwood Circle subdivision, several residents have contacted the Messenger reporting seeing mountain lions recently and in the past.
Lee said he was taking food to his mother when the incident occurred.
Lee said he called animal control, which took the call very seriously.
He said the situation was frightening as the two animals were heading toward the playground where his daughter goes to school.
The sighting lasted 3-4 seconds, he said.
“They were moving pretty good, right into the woods,” he said.
Lee said he initially thought the animals were deer, then maybe two dogs, but they were rather large with long thick tails.
Lee said it happened so fast, he did not have time to reach for his phone to take a picture and he probably would not have thought to call animal control about the situation if he had not been seeing he reports of mountain lions in the area.

Josh O'Bryant ran an update recently, on August 5, 2016..

A state wildlife official is continuing the investigation into possible mountain lion sightings in LaFayette.
Josh Aldridge, a wildlife technician with the Department of Natural Resources, met with North LaFayette Elementary School principal Sandra Morrison early Thursday morning, Aug. 4, at the school.
Early Wednesday morning, Aug. 4, [2016] Morrison reported seeing a wild animal she believed to be a mountain lion walking in front of the school, in the vehicle lane where students are dropped off and picked up.
Morrison told police the animal was a yellowish-tan color and bigger than a house cat, but smaller than a German shepherd and described the tail of the animal to be as long as her forearm.
Aldridge said he investigated the area Thursday morning, but the ground was too dry to find any evidence of a paw print.
“We are trying to stay on top of this,” Aldridge said. “We are working on trying to figure this out. We would love to give a definitive answer, but cannot at this time.”
Aldridge said he believes Morrison did in fact see something, but isn’t convinced it was a mountain lion based on the description she gave.
There was no surveillance footage available, as the cameras at the school were not fixed on the car lane where Morrison spotted the animal.
Aldridge said this could be a case of mistaken identity, as these sightings occur throughout the United States. But that doesn’t mean DNR isn’t taking the matter seriously, he said.
Aldridge also investigated the area where LaFayette High School teacher Cody Lee said he spotted two mountain lions at Warthen Street in LaFayette .
Lee said he spotted the mountain lions near the intersection of Warthen Street, Round Pond Road and the bypass (U.S. Highway 27 Business) about 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26.
Aldridge said he was unable to find any solid paw prints around the area of Lee’s sighting as well due to the dry conditions of the ground.
Aldridge said DNR has received various trail camera pictures of what people feel might be the elusive animal, but none of the photographs are tangible enough evidence to determine if it is in fact a mountain lion rather than a large cat or a bobcat.
Morrison told Aldridge she is using this incident to educate the students at North LaFayette Elementary on wildlife and how to approach wildlife in general, including domesticated animals as well.
Aldridge does not discount what Morrison or Lee witnessed, but isn’t 100 percent certain on what the two educators saw.
DNR regional supervisor and game manager Chuck Waters said DNR is taking the matter seriously and working with local law enforcement, especially LaFayette police Capt. Stacey Meeks, on any and all reported sightings.
Waters said DNR is in regular contact with Meeks, who is keeping DNR informed of each sighting reported to law enforcement.

Later on Thursday, August 6, 2016, the animal was spotted again, out a window of the same school. A teacher says she and at least one student saw a big cat on the school grounds Thursday, heading down Indiana Street.
Thanks to Paul Cropper of Australia for alerting us to this bit of name-creature news. 

Fayette Factor Frequently Flares

Bill Clinton & Hillary Rodham playing volleyball in Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA, 1975. They were married October 11, 1975.
The funny thing about the Fayette Factor is that it is almost always active, but rarely do people notice it. It disappears into the background of news stories and is there, even when you least expect it.

Take, for instance, the recent major media attention to the escape, flight, death, and capture involving the two prisoners from the Clinton Correctional Center in upper New York State.

Can you name the road where the shooting of one of the men, Richard Matt, occurred?

Sources say law enforcement personnel spotted Matt in the woods at about 3:45 p.m. [on June 26, 2015] after the owner of a camper called 911 to report that he had spotted the two escaped inmates.
The Press-Republican reported that the shooting happened on Route 30 near the intersection of Route 41/Fayette Road, which is close to the cabin where Matt had been Thursday. Sources say a Customs Border Protection agent fired the fatal shot that killed Matt. Source.

Editor of The Press-Republican in Plattsburgh, New York, tweeted:

LIQUOR BOTTLE FOUND
Matt was shot close to the site of a cabin on Fayette Road where, police know, he had been this week.
Feces found at that cabin had tested DNA positive for connection to Matt, sources told the Press-Republican.
Patricia Duffy, who lives on Fayette Road, said the final showdown with Matt happened just west of Route 30.
The owner of the camp, Bobby Willett, "found a liquor bottle sitting out that he had not drank out of," Duffy said shortly after Matt was killed.
"He called the cops, and a bunch of them went up there."
Mitch Johnson, Willett's cousin, said the convicts had apparently broken into the hunting cabin, which is down a dirt drive, just a short distance from Willett's home.
“He lives near the camp. He was outside talking to police, and then they heard shots in the woods," Johnson said. Source.

That wasn't the only "Fayette" news that occurred during this same time period.

In the wake of the Charleston, South Carolina killing of 9 at the AME Church, the statue of John Hunt Morgan near the old Fayette County Courthouse in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, was spray painted with "Black Lives Matter," overnight between Thursday, June 25 and Friday, June 26, 2015.

Who was John Hunt Morgan?

John Hunt Morgan (June 1, 1825 – September 4, 1864) was a Confederate general and cavalry officer in the American Civil War. He is known as the "Thunderbolt of the Confederacy" and remembered as the ideal of the romantic Southern cavalryman. 

Morgan is best known for Morgan's Raid when, in 1863, he and his men rode over 1,000 miles covering a region from Tennessee, up through Kentucky, into Indiana and on to southern Ohio. This would be the farthest north any uniformed Confederate troops penetrated during the war.John Hunt Morgan was born in Huntsville, Alabama, the eldest of ten children of Calvin and Henrietta (Hunt) Morgan. He was an uncle of geneticist Thomas Hunt Morgan and a maternal grandson of John Wesley Hunt, an early founder of Lexington, Kentucky, and one of the first millionaires west of the Allegheny Mountains. He was also the brother-in-law of A.P. Hill and of Basil W. Duke. He was said to be a direct descendant of Revolutionary War general and hero Daniel Morgan, whose own great grand-uncle was perhaps history's most successful privateer (some say pirate), Sir Henry Morgan.

In 1846, John Hunt Morgan joined the Fraternal Order of Freemasons, at Daviess Lodge #22, Lexington, Kentucky.

On September 4, 1864, Morgan was surprised by a Union attack and was shot in the back and killed by Union cavalrymen while attempting to escape during a raid on Greeneville, Tennessee.

Like Marquis de Lafayette -> "Fayette," the surname "Morgan" appears to be another power name in some synchromystic circles. 

Also, in the same temporal window...with the Fayette lexilink:

William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), better known by his stage name Rick Ross, is an American rapper. On June 24, 2015 Rick Ross and his bodyguard were arrested in Fayette County, GA for kidnapping and assault charges. Both were accused for forcing a man into a guesthouse and beating him in the head with a handgun.

Comments from Joe M. and Will M. convinced me to post these interim thoughts.

Decatur Again In Weird News

Stephen Decatur.

The Commodore's power moniker is appearing lately in conjunction with some disturbing stories.

Friday, September 19, 2014. Decatur, Georgia. Friday afternoon around 2:00, Decatur (Georgia) Police got several phone calls that a man acting in a "bizarre" matter, running into traffic near B&B Trailer Park. One caller reported the man, later identified as Jose Dorsett, said "someone" was trying to kill him. He reportedly ran into traffic, and several cars had to swerve to avoid him. He was said to be foaming at the mouth. Dorsett charged the officer who responded to the scene, and the officer used his K-9 to detain him. The K-9 bit Dorsett in his thigh, and the officer was able to get him down. Another officer arrived to help handcuff Dorsett. He was taken to the Decatur Morgan Parkway Campus Emergency Room. According to hospital staff, Dorsett was under the influence of cocaine and was likely experiencing a drug overdose. On Saturday, Dorsett was declared brain dead. Source.

Sunday, September 21, 2014. Decatur, Indiana. Stephen Cox, 30, of Decatur, Indiana, died Sunday at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, according to the Hamilton County Coroner. The crash in which he sustained his injuries occurred September 14 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ohio. the crash occurred during an event called the Rusty Wallace Racing Experience. During the event, which is offered at the speedway on most weekends, people can pay to ride in or drive race cars. Source.

Monday, September 22, 2014. Decaturville, Decatur County, Tennessee. The latest suspect, John “Dylan” Adams, 26-year old younger brother of earlier suspect Zachary, in the Holly Bobo case was arraigned in Decatur County Court. Holly Bobo, a 20-year-old nursing student, was abducted from her home outside Parsons, Tennessee, about 100 miles west of Nashville, on the morning of April 13, 2011. Her remains were found by two farmers in a rural area outside Holladay, Tennessee, in Decatur County on September 7, 2014. The timeline of the events can be found here and here.

Monday, September 22, 2014. Decatur, Alabama. A toddler found submerged in a tank of baptismal water in an Alabama church died of accidental drowning. Brayden King, who was two months shy of his second birthday, was under the supervision of a sister in her early teens when he fell into the tank on Friday at the Pentecostal House of Prayer in Decatur, about 75 miles north of Birmingham. The toddler was found in 33 inches of water and declared dead after unsuccessful attempts to resuscitate him. Source.

The Rebirth of Pan (1st edition, Firebird Press, 1983)

Mysterious America (1st edition cover, Faber & Faber, 1983)

Decatur again. Yes. We are aware that Decatur interacts with bizarre news. Jim Brandon pointed out "Decatur" as a "power name" in his The Rebirth of Pan in 1983, and I wrote about it as part of the "Name Game" in Mysterious America, also first in 1983.

Decatur, Illinois's iconic Transfer Station use to be located in Lincoln Square, named after the assassinated Illinois president, Abraham Lincoln.

My old hometown’s name, Decatur, (of Decatur, Illinois) has a Fortean mystique and synchromysticism about it that has created all kinds of synchromojo.

Several locations are named "Decatur" across the United States of America. Such sites are named after the War of 1812′s Navy hero, Stephen Decatur, who also fought against the Barbary pirates. Stephen Decatur at one time conducted tests in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey in 1804, and allegedly fired on the Jersey Devil. The records say that Stephen Decatur identified the winged creature as a “devil” – pale in color, with leathery bat-like wings. Decatur perforated one of the thing’s wings with a fired cannonball, but it seemed unfazed, which disturbed everybody who was there at the time. It flew off.

The word decatur (French in origin) is loosely translated as “dweller at the sign of the cat.”

Stephen Decatur, a Masonic figure of some noteworthiness, is responsible, as well, for the Stephen Decatur House in Washington D.C., which is located on Lafayette Square.

The USS Bainbridge, which organized the 2009 US Navy rescue of an American ship captain (Captain Richard Phillips) from Somali pirates, was named for Commodore William Bainbridge, who was held prisoner by North African Barbary pirates from 1803 to 1806.

Commodore Bainbridge commanded several famous naval ships, including the USS Constitution and saw service in the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812. Bainbridge was also in command of the USS Philadelphia when it grounded off the shores of Tripoli in North Africa, resulting in his capture and imprisonment for many months. In the latter part of his career he became the U.S. Naval Commissioner.

Lieutenant Stephen Decatur commanding the USS Intrepid executed a night raid into Tripoli harbor on February 16, 1804 to destroy the Philadelphia. Admiral Horatio Nelson is said to have called this "the most bold and daring act of the Age."

It is worthy of pointing out that James Shelby Downard's research in King Kill 33 notes that Bain relates to Bane (fatal cause of mischief), and in Scottish legend, the Bain Fairy is a death fairy who is the keeper of the Bain Bridge. King Kill 33 noted the American battleship Bainbridge, which was dedicated by Lyndon Baines Johnson, is a harbinger of death, according to Downard.

On March 22, 1820, Commodore Bainbridge served as the second for Commodore Stephen Decatur (a Brother Mason) in the duel with fellow Navy officer James Barron that cost Decatur his life at the age of 41. His wife Susan called the seconds Decatur's assassins. The Decatur name game is a book unto itself.

Decatur's name dots the landscape of America.

U.S. Naval Academy

117 Decatur Road

Annapolis, Maryland

The chorus: "That Decatur old Neptune's proud trident shall bear, And the laurels of Vict'ry triumphantly wear" appears in the song Stephen Decatur, as noted in The Life and Character of Stephen Decatur; Late Commodore and Post-Captain in the Navy of the United States, and Navy-Commissioner by Samuel Putnam Waldo (1822).

(Thanks to Robert Schneck for pointing out the Decatur, Alabama story to me.)

Suffer The Little Children, Part II

A 3-year-old girl (identified as Wynter Larkin) is dead after an accident occurred at a Rita's Water Ice Saturday afternoon [June 28, 2014].A security gate detached and came crashing down on the child shortly after 4 p.m. when she was standing outside a Rita's location at 2829 Girard Ave. in Philadelphia's Brewerytown neighborhood, according to reports.
An ambulance rushed the victim to Hahnemann University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 5:02 p.m., according to officials.
Police say the girl was with her mother attending a fundraising event for the Omega Psi Phi fraternity and the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority when the tragedy occurred. (Read more at source.)

Photos from the scene show the black metal gate lying on the sidewalk, pink balloons still tied to it in front of the shop's red and white striped awning.
Several popped balloons appear trapped underneath the gate, which businesses typically roll down after hour to prevent crime. (These details were graphically mentioned in the Daily Mail.)

Omega Psi Phi (ΩΨΦ) Fraternity, Inc. is the first international fraternal organization to be founded on the campus of a historically black college.
Omega Psi Phi was founded on November 17, 1911, at Howard University in Washington, D.C. The founders were three Howard University undergraduates, -- Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman. Joining them was their faculty adviser, Dr. Ernest Everett Just.

From the initials of the Greek phrase meaning, "friendship is essential to the soul," the name Omega Psi Phi was derived. That phrase was selected as the motto. Source.

Alpha Kappa Alpha (ΑΚΑ) is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African-American college women. Membership is primarily for college educated women, but not all members have attended college. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of twenty students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle. Source.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

In an update of an earlier "Suffer The Little Children" item about the child who died in a SUV in the Atlanta area, CNN reported:

The suspect in a Georgia toddler's death told police he used the Internet to research child deaths inside vehicles, a search warrant said.
The father, Justin Ross Harris, 33, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and second-degree child cruelty in the death of his 22-month-old son, Cooper Harris. The boy died after he was left seven hours in a sweltering SUV on June 18.
"During an interview with Justin, he stated that he recently researched, through the internet, child deaths inside vehicles and what temperature it needs to be for that to occur," according to a sworn statement in the warrant from a police officer. "Justin stated that he was fearful that this could happen."
According to search warrants from a Cobb County magistrate court, investigators seized a number of items from the father's home: An iPhone 5, Hyundai car, home laptop computer, computer tower, a Google Chromecast Internet searcher and other electronic devices.

On Sunday, June 29th, CNN noted:

Leanna Harris, the mother of a Georgia toddler who died locked in a hot car, has told authorities that she previously researched such deaths and how they occur, according to a police affidavit.

^^^^^^^^

In a followup on another earlier report, "Solstice Missing Teen Found Dead in Maine," details have emerged about his slaying:

Three young men, one of them from Sanford, Maine, face the possibility of life in prison after being charged Thursday [June 26, 2014] with the premeditated stabbing death of a teenager whose body was dumped last weekend in Lebanon, Maine.
Zachary Pinette, 18, of Sanford appeared Thursday in Dover District Court to be formally charged with the first-degree murder of Aaron Wilkinson.
His co-defendants, Michael Tatum, 21, of Barrington, New Hampshire, and Tristan Wolusky, 18, of Rochester, New Hampshire, appeared from the Strafford County Jail through a video link.
The three are charged with killing Wilkinson outside his house in Madbury, a small town next to Dover. Pinette drove them there from Maine after midnight on Saturday, and held a machete as the other two stabbed Wilkinson with knives and then the machete, according to documents filed by prosecutors.
The documents say that at 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Pinette aided Wolusky and Tatum in committing first-degree murder. The documents also say that Tatum stabbed Wilkinson with a knife, and that Wolusky used a “knife and/or machete.” Source.

It may not be a coincidence that this killing took place a few hours before the Solstice.

See also, "The Pied Piper of Hamelin."

Friday the 13th At Waffle House

Police say a Waffle House cook shot and killed a customer after an argument the morning of Friday, June 13th, 2014.

As you will recall, I was drawn to Eric Frank Russell's quote on June 12th, about death from the Martin Building.

It appears the suspect in the Waffle House shooting is a Martin. His name is Quintavius (which means "the fifth born") Martin (derived from Martis, the genitive case of the name of the Roman god of war, Mars).

  
Officers said they were called to the Waffle House, outside Atlanta, Georgia, on Fulton Industrial Boulevard and Shirley Drive, south of I-20, right after 4:30 a.m.

"Three people came in and they were being unruly,” said witness Ontray Haley. “The female that was with them they asked her to leave so she left, but the two guys hung around and one of them got into it with the cook and the security guard. Next this I know shots rang out and it was a chaotic scene. Everybody was running and ducking.”

Fulton County police detectives said the customer, identified as 33-year-old Adrian Mosley, may have thrown water into 25-year-old Quintavius Martin’s face before Martin, the Waffle House cook, pulled a gun.

“The guy was threatening the cook saying he's from this side of town and (Martin) said you can take it outside because I’m going to fire you up, which I guess he meant he wanted to shoot him or whatever,” Haley said. “I didn’t know the cook had a weapon on him because I thought the security guard shot him.”

When the gunfire stopped, Mosley was dead, police said.

“I hit the floor, got out of the way of gunfire,” said Haley. “It was crowded. People were just coming from the club up the street.”

Martin is charged with murder, among other charges, according to police.

Police said they are reviewing surveillance video from the restaurant.

The Waffle House was open for business by Friday afternoon of the same day.

Waffle Houses seem to attract such events....

In the early morning hours of Saturday, May 31, 2014, Kevin Jordan, a 43-year-old Griffin police officer and father of seven was shot and killed outside of the Waffle House at 1702 North Expressway, in the Atlanta, Georgia area. He was working as an off-duty security officer, in full uniform.

Griffin police said three drunken white individuals accosted Jordan, an African-American, with racial slurs before one of them, Michael D. Bowman, 30, shot Officer Jordan multiple times in the back.

A rather infamous multiple killing occurred at a Waffle House that is east of Interstate 75 in Davie, Florida, about 10 miles southwest of Fort Lauderdale.

On March 11, 2002, robbers left two employees dead and one injured. The victims, one man and one woman, were found in a freezer area of the Waffle House. Gerhard "Chip" Hojan, 28, and Jimmy Mickel, 34, had robbed the Waffle House of $1,888, and did not wish to leave any eyewitnesses. They did shoot Christina Delarosa, 17, a waitress, Willy Absolu, 29, the cook, and Barbara Nunn, 38, also a waitress. Nunn, however, survived the bullet to the back of her head, and identified the killers.

One site says that due to these "Waffle House Murders," this location is now haunted.

There is something a little bizarre about Waffle Houses, perhaps.

See also, the 2012 article, "15 Strange Crimes That Took Place At A Waffle House."

D-Day: War at Georgia Courthouse & Stabbing at Navy Exchange

A man dressed in paramilitary gear, armed with explosives and an assault rifle tried to enter the Forsyth County, Georgia courthouse on June 6, 2014 - on D-Day. The suspect began a "frontal assault" on the building by driving up, throwing out "homemade spike strips" to delay any police response, and trying to run over a deputy. The gunman was wearing a gas mask and a bulletproof vest, when he shot a sheriff's deputy in the leg.

Law enforcement authorities killed Dennis Marx outside the courthouse, after a 90-second shootout.

"Mr. Marx's intention was to get in that front door and take hostages," law enforcement authorities said.

Marx then began firing through his windshield, hitting the deputy in the leg. He also threw gas grenades -- perhaps pepper grenades -- during the attack and had flex ties and water in his possession, according to the sheriff.

The wounded deputy, who has not been identified, was shot while stopping Marx before he could get inside. The deputy is fine, the sheriff said.

A bomb squad was sweeping a Georgia courthouse, and investigators believed Marx's home was possibly booby-trapped and were trying to get in.

Clerk of Court Greg Allen said Marx had a plea hearing scheduled.

Ann Shafer, who identified herself as Marx's attorney, said her client always dressed in paramilitary clothing whenever she met with him and said that he had made "veiled threats" recently.

"Our relationship deteriorated," she said.

The name Dennis is Greek, and the meaning of the name Dennis is "follower of Dionysius (Greek god of wine)."

The name Marx is German, and the meaning of Marx is "of Mars (the god of war)."

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Meanwhile, also on D-Day, June 6, 2014...

The U.S. Navy was in the midst of a massive manhunt Friday for a sailor, Petty Officer 3rd Class Wilbur Harwell, that officials said stabbed another service member near the Navy Exchange at Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads, Portsmouth Annex, Virginia. It appears to have happened during an argument between two sailors. The installation is home to Naval Medical Center Portsmouth and sits near a residential area on the Elizabeth River, where thousands of people had gathered across the river in downtown Norfolk to watch a parade of ships as part of the annual Harborfest festival.
The victim hasn't been identified.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Wilbur Harwell

The name Wilbur is German, and the meaning of Wilbur is "resolute or brilliant."

Harwell, also written as Hardwell and Horwell, originates from either the village of Hardwell in the county of Royal Berkshire or the better known town of Harwell, in the same county. The first village has the meaning of the "treasure spring," and relates to a pagan place of worship where people came to throw coins in for good luck. The derivation is from the Olde English pre-7th century horde waella, with waella meaning a "spring," and only later in medival times, a "well" in the conventional sense. Harwell has a rather different interpretation being the "spring on the grey hill," from the early recording in 936 a.d of Haranwhylle. "Grey" is probably not the actual translation, and it may be that the reference is to the "grey/white chalk hills in the vicinity."

Rambo-Style Shooter Goes Postal at FedEx

The name Kennesaw is derived from the Cherokee Indian word gah-nee-sah meaning cemetery or burial ground. The name hit home on April 29, 2014.

At least six victims have been taken to a hospital after a shooting this morning at a FedEx facility in Kennesaw, Georgia, Cobb County police say. The shooting happened at a Fed-Ex facility at 1675 Airport Road in Kennesaw.

Multiple law enforcement agencies are on the scene of the suspected workplace shooting.

Officials from WellStar Kennestone Hospital say they've received six patients from the shooting, hospital spokesman Tyler Pearson said. One of the six was in surgery, he said. Injuries range from minor to serious. Kennestone is a Level II Trauma Center.

A witness stated the FedEx 19-year-old shooter, dressed all in black, had an assault rifle, a knife and bullets strapped across his chest, "like Rambo."

Rambo is a film series based on the David Morrell novel First Blood and starring Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, a troubled Vietnam War veteran and former Green Beret who is skilled in many aspects of survival, weaponry, hand to hand combat and guerrilla warfare. The series consists of the films First Blood (1982), Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Rambo III (1988), and Rambo (2008).

FedEx is "aware of the situation," company spokesman Scott Fielder said when asked about reports of a shooting.

Officials say the lone suspected gunman was found dead, likely from a self-inflicted gun shot wound. The gunman is described as a "package handler," an employee of the facility.

The gunman has been identified as Geddy Kramer. Kramer was a 2013 graduate of North Cobb High School.
Kennesaw is about 30 miles northwest of Atlanta.

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On Friday, March 28, 2014, a FedEx employee, a 48-year-old female, making deliveries was shot and wounded in Chicago. The company confirmed the victim is an employee. Police say the Friday night shooting occurred in the Oakland neighborhood on the city's South Side.

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While "going postal," as a phrase, has come into usage, due to the workplace violence incidents at the United States Postal Services, there appears to be more silence regarding any kind of similar phenomenon occurring at FedEx centers and workplaces. Before this one.

But buried deep in workplace violence documents, there are hints of a greater problem.

The following incident of April 7, 1994, is mentioned in a workplace violence white paper:
"A Federal Express pilot took a claw hammer and attacked three others in the cockpit, forcing one of them to put the fully loaded DC-10 cargo plane through a series of violent rolls and nose dive that brought the whole crew back bleeding....The case of Auburn R. Calloway, on the other hand, who attacked three of his fellow Federal Express pilots, was unpredictable. Calloway had organized his Neighborhood Watch Program and was an ex-Navy pilot. However, he was scheduled to appear the next day before a disciplinary hearing at Federal Express to face charges that he had lied about his military and work experience."

The official FedEx employee manual states:

WORKPLACE VIOLENCE

FedEx has zero tolerance for workplace violence and has established clear standards of behavior in our policies. Conflicts must always be resolved in a peaceful, professional and respectful manner. The FedEx Workplace Violence Prevention Program helps to provide team members and vendors with a safe and secure work environment. Our mission is to increase awareness of developing situations and other indicators of workplace violence. Unauthorized firearms or weapons are strictly prohibited on company-leased or -owned property and in buildings, aircraft or vehicles. Possession of firearms or weapons on company property may be grounds for immediate dismissal.

All FedEx employees are responsible for reporting potential or actual situations of workplace violence either through a special web-based reporting system, contacting a member of FedEx Management, Security or Human Resources, or calling the FedEx Alert Line in their respective countries.

All reported instances of workplace violence are investigated by a Workplace Violence Response Team, which is a group established to help maintain a safe and secure workplace. The team is made up of members from the following areas: Security, Legal, Human Resources, Benefits, Safety, Contract Relations and the Employee Assistance Program. When the Response Team receives a report of potential workplace violence, they properly investigate and make a recommendation of action to be taken.

Kroger Shooting

SM Smithfield recently left a comment tied to a January 27th school shooting near the Phoenix High School: "The Phoenix is the city symbol for Atlanta. And Lawrenceville is very much part of Atlanta."

Today, February 10, 2014, a new incident occurred in Lawrenceville:

Police are investigating a reported shooting inside a Gwinnett County Kroger, authorities said.
Witnesses told Channel 2 Gwinnett Bureau Chief Tony Thomas they heard gunshots inside the store on Grayson Highway in Lawrenceville.
Lawrenceville Police said two people have been transported to the hospital and two people have been taken into custody.
A police spokesman said there may have been an altercation before the shooting.
News Chopper 2 showed a large police presence and crime tape in the parking lot in front of the store entrance.
Kroger issued a statement on Monday afternoon.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families. No Kroger associates were injured. We are working closely with the Lawrenceville police department and providing information to assist with their investigation. Our store has been evacuated and will reopen at a later date." Source.

This appears to not be a shooting spree or mass shooting, but the result of a fight between two groups of people. Details will be forthcoming.