Greektown and BART Violence Results in Multiple Casualties

On Sunday night, July 22, 2018, a 10-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman were killed and 13 others were injured when a man armed with a handgun fired into restaurants and at patios in the Toronto’s popular Greektown neighborhood, authorities said.

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders would not release the name of the two people killed, but said the girl is from the Greater Toronto Area, and the woman is from Toronto. An additional 13 men and women were injured.

The suspect, a 29-year-old man from Toronto, is also dead and the Special Investigations Unit is investigating an exchange of gunfire between police and the shooter. Monica Hudon, a spokesperson for the police watchdog, said Monday that the SIU will not release the suspected gunman’s name until they confirm his identity.

Police said the gunman moved down Danforth Avenue, starting near Logan Avenue, spraying bullets along the way. Danforth Avenue will be closed between Pape and Broadview Avenues until further notice.

The shooter, dressed in black, can be seen in these screen captures from CTV footage.

Greektown is a popular area for weekend activities.

Greektown – also known as Greektown on the Danforth, or more simply, The Danforth is within the city of Toronto. Named after Asa Danforth, an American contractor who designed Queen Street and Kingston Road — other streets in the city — the area is known for its architecture dating back to as early as 1910, and for its number of Greek restaurants and stores.

Prior to World War II, Toronto's nascent Greek population of approximately 3,000 was concentrated in the area bounded by Yonge Street, Carlton Street, Church Street and what is now Dundas Street East. It was this area that was the focus of the 1918 Toronto anti-Greek riot.

In the 1950s, the Danforth saw an influx of Italian immigrants followed by Greek immigrants in the 1960s - many of whom were fleeing political and economic unrest which culminated in the seizure of power by the Greek military junta of 1967–74. In the 1970s and 1980s the Danforth was regarded as the largest Greektown in North America.

Some parts of Greektown are still dominated by Canadians of Greek descent (Greek-Canadians). Most immigrated from Greece to Canada. According to the 2006 Census, Greeks constitute the most populous ethnic group in Ward 29 ("Toronto-Danforth"), where the Greektown is located, at 13% of the total population (5,755 of 27,415 inhabitants).

Also in Toronto on the same day...

A sign advertising holocaust education was spray painted with the word ACHTUNG outside the Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Center in North York (Toronto, Canada) on Sunday, July 22, 2018, before the Greektown attack.

The Jewish community is expressing outrage after a sign featuring a Holocaust survivor was vandalized over the weekend.

The United Jewish Appeal Federation of Toronto (UJA) said in a tweet Sunday that a sign advertising holocaust education was spray painted with the word “Achtung” outside of the Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Center in North York.

“Achtung,” a German word, translates to “attention,” and was often used in Jewish concentration camps — sometimes as a wake-up call — during the Nazi era.

This July 22, 2018 incident was viewed as a hate crime in Canada.

+++

Earlier in 2018...Twilight Language detailed a ramming event on Yonge Street. See here.

The Toronto van attack was a vehicle-ramming attack that occurred on April 23, 2018, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A man, alleged to be Alek Minassian, drove a rented van and sped through the North York City Center business district, deliberately targeting pedestrians, killing 10 and injuring 16, some critically. The attack started at the intersection of Yonge Street and Finch Avenue, and proceeded south along the sidewalks of Yonge Street to near Sheppard Avenue. The 25-year-old Minassian was arrested uninjured just south of the crime scene, after attempting to provoke a police officer to kill him. The arrest was made at 1:32 p.m., seven minutes after the first 9-1-1 call reporting the incident was made. The incident is the deadliest vehicle-ramming attack in Canadian history.

In 2017, a ramming incident happened in Alberta. The Edmonton attack was a stabbing and vehicle-ramming attack that occurred in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on September 30, 2017. Edmonton police constable Mike Chernyk was allegedly hit and stabbed by 30-year-old Abdulahi Sharif, who then struck four pedestrians with a rental truck during a police chase. All four injured survived and were hospitalized. The incident is currently being investigated as a terrorist attack, with police confirming the presence of an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant flag in the van that rammed the police officer. The main suspect, 30-year-old Abdulahi Hasan Sharif, is a Somali national and refugee.

On Wednesday, April 9, 2014, Toronto police responded to multiple 911 calls from an office building on Yonge Street near York Mills Ave. See more here.

In the 1970s, there appeared to be a serial killer who haunted the gay bars on Yonge Street. See here. 

+++

Photo of Nia Wilson published by the media.

In San Francisco, the hunt for a man suspected of fatally stabbing Nia Wilson an 18-year-old woman throat and injuring her sister July 22, 2018, Sunday evening stretched into Monday afternoon, with police scouring the area near Oakland’s MacArthur BART station and reviewing surveillance videos of the station and train car.

BART officials on Monday confirmed a “be on the lookout” alert for 27-year-old John Cowell. The suspect in the fatal stabbing is 5-foot-8 and weighs 190 pounds, and he has short, dark hair as well as a closely cropped beard and mustache, officials said. He is considered dangerous and BART has asked anyone who comes into contact with him to call 911.

Nicole Mikels’ train had just rolled into the MacArthur station Sunday evening when the quiet commute was interrupted by what she called “horrifying screams.” The sounds came from the direction of two young women Mikels had noticed when she boarded the train a few minutes earlier at the Rockridge station. One sister was “screaming for help,” Mikels said. “Her sister was bleeding profusely by the neck — her entire torso was covered in blood.”

“She said everything happened so fast,” Mikels said. “[That] it was a white male that had slit her sister’s throat.”

Despite the life-saving attempts, a short time later 18-year-old Nia Wilson was pronounced dead.

The seemingly random attack launched an overnight manhunt that continued early Monday morning, as police searched for a 5-foot-9 heavyset male in his 20s or 30s with short spiky hair.

Authorities on Sunday evening described the event as a double stabbing. Officials had no immediate update on the condition of Wilson’s sister Monday morning.

Gunman McQuilliams Targets 3 Major Austin Governmental Sites

Neptune/Poseidon, symbolized by tridents, was the ruler of the seas and associated locations, but also, surprisingly, of horses.

A new violent situation ended when a "veteran Austin police officer putting away horses for the night was able to stop a gunman rampaging through the city's downtown early Friday — ending the suspect's 10 minutes of terror before anyone was hurt." Source.

An individual fired at three targeted downtown Austin, Texas public buildings -- the Austin Federal Courthouse, the Consulado General De Mexico (Mexican consulate), and the Austin Police headquarters -- before police shot and killed him. Sgt Adam Johnson, a 15-year veteran of the department, has been identified as the cop who shot the suspect.

This occurred early "black Friday" morning, November 28, 2014. The gunman also tried to set the Mexican consulate afire.

The Austin Federal Courthouse opened in 2012, designed by Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects, occupies a full city block, directly west of Republic Square Park.

The Mexican consulate building.

Austin Police Headquarters.

The unidentified North Austin man was suspected of shooting into buildings at around 2:30 a.m. local time, KVUE-TV reports.

The Austin American-Statesman reported that the locations were the Mexican consulate, federal courthouse, and the Austin Police building.

Assistant Chief Raul Munguia told reporters that the suspected shooter, who was wearing some type of a vest, was killed near his vehicle, which may have contained an improvised explosive device. The police bomb squad was on the scene.

Officers pursued leads and were investigating a North Austin address where the suspect allegedly lived. They said they are checking the residence for other potential bombs.

+++

Update: By the end of the day, Friday, November 28, the shooter was identified as Larry Steven McQuilliams.

Larry, derived from Lawrence, means "laurel crowned," as in a victor of a battle or war.

Steven, derived the Greek Stéfanos, meaning "wreath, crown, honor, reward." In ancient Greece, a wreath of laurels denoted a winner of a contest, from which the crown, a symbol of rulers, was derived.

The root of the ancient Dalriadan-Scottish name McQuilliam is the personal name William. The Gaelic form of the surname is Mac Uilleim, meaning the son of William. The name is first found on the Isle of Harris, Scotland.

William is a name of old Germanic origin. William comes ultimately from the given name Wilhelm (cf. Old German Wilhelm > German Wilhelm and Old Norse Vilhjálmr). The Anglo-Saxon form should be Wilhelm as well (although the Anglo-Saxon chronicle refers to William the Conqueror as Willelm). That is a compound of two distinct elements : wil = "will or desire"; helm; Old English helm "helmet, protection"; > English helm "knight's large helmet."

Therefore, Larry Steven McQuilliams, literally is a triple name specifically linked to the covering of the head in laurels, a wreath, a crown, and the son of a helmeted one.

Videos posted onto McQuilliams' Facebook timeline show him practicing his skills with a Sai (shown at top), a weapon based on the Indian trisula, which is a trident.

The Austin Statesman gave a sketch of Austin's gunman:

McQuilliams, 49, was a Renaissance Fair enthusiast and martial artist, Matlack said. He took care of neighbors’ pets when they were away. Matlack said she saw him every couple of days while walking her dog. McQuilliams loved “Barking Springs,” the spillway end of Barton Springs where many owners take their dogs to roam off leash, and where many of Austin’s free spirits go to hang out. He would help clean up the hike-and-bike trail when heavy rains washed through it. He felt at home in drum circles….He was incarcerated in Texarkana, and his time behind bars — police have not released details of it, and online records are incomplete.

+++

Meanwhile, just after midnight, also on Friday, November 28, 2014, a stand-off in Newport News, Virginia, ended at the Fort Eustis base. An unidentified soldier locked his wife outside their base residence on Thanksgiving Day, at about 8 p.m., and barricaded himself inside, according to military officials. The man was not a threat, not violent, but refused to come out until the early morning. Rumors of an active shooter on the base were unfounded. It was unknown if he was armed.

See also: 

Gateway Arch Bomb Plot

Gateway Arch to Hell: Ferguson in Trident Times

I need help.

Consider assisting my present dilemma with any size donation.
You are critical. 

Thank you.

Garden State Plaza Mall Shooting

Update: A gunman opened fire in a crowded New Jersey mall late on Monday before killing himself, officials said, sparking a mass evacuation of the complex by police who did not realize he was dead for several hours.

The man shot at least six rounds from a modified rifle seemingly at random and without hitting anyone, before turning the gun on himself in a back area of the mall, Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli told a news conference early on Tuesday.

Authorities named the dead man as 20-year-old Richard Shoop and said he had a history of drug abuse. Officials found his body in the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus at around 3:20 a.m. local time (0820 GMT).

In Paramus, New Jersey, a gunman in black, full-body armor allegedly entered a Nordstrom store at the Garden State Plaza Mall, and shot at least four individuals - or security cameras. First reports are unclear.

Update: 11:24 pm Eastern - The mayor of Paramus said that "one shot" was taken. A single shell casing was found. The shooter may have left the mall. No injuries.

CBS News noted earlier:

Police responded in force Monday evening after shots were fired inside the Westfield Garden State Plaza Mall.
The shots were reported inside the mall, sometime before the mall in Paramus, N.J. closed for the night at 9:30 p.m.
In a tweet, Ocean County police, fire and EMS reported multiple agencies were responding to the mall in Bergen County for reports of an active shooter and shots fired.

At least eight shots have been fired, FOX8 reported.

The gunman is believed to be wearing body armour and reportedly has shot at and destroyed security cameras.

"Perp was last seen near the Apple Store in the mall," a law enforcement officer told the New York Daily Post.

There have not been any reports of injuries. The mall is now being evacuated.

Paramus's name comes via the Lenape language word for the area, Peremessing, which meant that it had an abundant population of Wild Turkey. That Lenape word was anglicized to become the word "Paramus." A large metal statue of a wild turkey in the Paramus Park mall commemorates this history.

++++++

Earlier in the day, Central Connecticut State University was on lockdown, eyewitnesses described a man in military fatigues with kneepads, body armor, paintball goggles and a Japanese-style sword.

There later were reports of a main suspect, a "gunman" dressed in camoflauge, who was a student. He is a student, and has been identified as 21-year-old student David Kyem of Newington, the son of CCSU geography professor Peter Kyem.

Two neighboring schools, Holmes Elementary and Hals Academy are both undergoing protective lockdowns — Holmes Elementary, which is a bit further from CCSU, undergoing an external lockdown.

Glen Helen's Phantom Gunman and Ghosts

I am a coauthor of Weird Ohio, so I thoroughly understand the Buckeye State is strange.

And that sometimes the mundane does merge with the macabre there.

A supposed report of a gunman on the Yellow Springs campus of Antioch College on June 27, 2013, has taken one such twist - especially if put in the context of place.

On July 3rd, local officials announced that the lockdown at the college and nature preserve was brought on by an alleged tall tale.

Antioch College authorities said:

The hours-long lockdown June 27 was spurred by a false report of a gunman that had been made by a Glen Helen employee who admitted making the false claim.
The initial report was that a man in camouflage had a handgun near the Outdoor Education Center. Greene County Sheriff’s Deputies searched a four-mile radius for several hours but found no gunman.
"The employee who reported the alleged threat has been placed on suspension pending further investigation, and College officials are working with the Greene County Sheriff’s Department to understand what, if any, legal action may be taken," the release said.

There just seemed something hauntingly harmonic about Glen Helen.

Glen Helen, Ohio.

Is it in the name?

At a Weird USA site about gravity hills in California, a comment maker once left this:

Devore [California]
One hundred yards beyond a set of train tracks on Glen Helen Road is a stop sign. Cars on the hill leading up to this stop sign roll uphill instead of down. This is the work of the ghosts of six children who died on the road.

Glen Helen, California. One of the Red Bull motorcross stops.

In a case of the name "Glen Helen," does it have similar background synchromystic links, from Ohio's Yellow Springs area to California's Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino County?

Let's go back to Ohio.

Chris Woodyard, the author of the 7-volume Haunted Ohio series and the new The Headless Horror, enlightens me with this information:

The adjoining John Bryan State Park is supposed to be haunted by either Hugh Taylor Birch, the guy who left the land for Glen Helen (named for his daughter and site of the "yellow springs"), or John Bryan, who gave the land for the park and maybe Native Americans.
Glen Helen is a nature preserve and has some creepy spots. There was a suicide a couple of years ago on the bike path that passes it, but I haven't heard that the suicide haunts.
John Bryan segues into the Clifton Gorge area, once voted one of the top 50 scenic spots in America by National Geographic. It is a deep limestone chasm and quite picturesque. It has also been the site of several deaths--rock climbers and tourists getting too near the edge of the cliffs.
Here's a link about the Yellow Springs and info about Glen Helen.

Glen Helen is the legacy of alumnus Hugh Taylor Birch, who, in 1929, donated the wooded glen to Antioch College in memory of his daughter, Helen. With this gift, the College accepted the responsibility of preserving the land in perpetuity. Additional gifts expanded the preserve, which now encompasses 1000 acres, all accessible from a 25-mile network of footpaths. Today, that mission is carried forward by Antioch College through the Glen Helen Ecology Institute, which manages the land and coordinates the educational programs of “The Glen.” On even a short walk, visitors can view spectacular wildflowers, 400 year-old trees, limestone cliffs with waterfalls and overhangs, and the beautiful yellow spring for which the town is named.
The Glen is an integral part of the legacy of the College and will be an important resource for the development of its curriculum. For Antiochians, the identity of the College and Glen Helen are inseparable. For nature enthusiasts, the glen is a valuable resource for hiking, birding, and exploration.

Diane Chiddister, writing in The Yellow Springs News, once observed:

Imagine, if you will, going back in time 200 years and, on a trip to the Yellow Spring in Glen Helen, meeting one of history’s most distinguished Native American leaders.
Tecumseh, leader of the Shawnee nation, would have been 35 years old in 1803 and was believed to frequent the local spring, which the Shawnees thought held healing waters. Other famous chiefs, including Blue Jacket, Blackhoof, Blackfish and Little Turtle, also drank water from the spring, which was located just off the “Bullskin Trace,” a well-used Native American path which extended from Lake Erie to the Ohio River, according to William Galloway’s History of Glen Helen.

In 2009, Anita Brown wrote an article, "The haunted history of Glen Helen Nature Preserve in Yellow Springs, Ohio." She noted:

Many reports have been made, unknown to us then, of the spirits of the Native Americans that are still walking in the Glen, protecting the spring, and meeting at their own favorite spot along the lover's trail. It is considered to be one of the most haunted outdoor locations in the state of Ohio, according to most of the residents in Yellow Springs that believe in such things. Is it only the Shawnee spirits that roam the Glen, though?
...
Is Helen Birch Bartlett the woman that many have reported seeing walking or sitting in the Glen, dressed in period clothing, and fading right before their eyes? Is it her voice that some night visitors to the Glen have claimed to hear calling out from the woods, is it the voice of a Shawnee maiden, or just an auditory trick on us all? Perhaps we will never know...all that we do know is that Glen Helen has been a very special place for at least 200 years and going strong.

What other strange things have happened at other "Glen Helen" locations in the faraway places of Glen Helen on the Isle of Man, and Glen Helen in the MacDonnell Ranges, Australia?