Tag: teens

Father of the bride and teen who tried to save friend among 5 killed in Philadelphia shooting

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PHILADELPHIA — A father who was preparing to walk his eldest daughter down the aisle. An aspiring actor who appeared as an extra in the “Creed” movie franchise. A teenager who tried to help a wounded friend. These are the stories of those killed in the all-too-familiar thrum of another mass shooting.

Five people in a working-class neighborhood of Philadelphia were gunned down Monday in what became the deadliest among a rash of U.S. shootings that occurred around the July Fourth holiday. A gunman in a ski mask and body armor appeared to fire on people at random while they were on the street or in a car, authorities said.

Ralph Moralis, 59; Joseph Wamah Jr., 31; Dymir Stanton, 29; Lashyd Merritt, 21; and DaJuan Brown, 15, were killed in the shooting. Four others, including two 2-year-old boys, were also wounded.

The alleged shooter was arraigned Wednesday on multiple charges including five counts of murder.

The victims’ families remain shattered as they now cope with the feeling of senseless loss.

RALPH MORALIS: THE “GO-TO-GUY”

Ralph Moralis’ daughter was to be married Sunday. But instead of focusing on the joy of her wedding day, she is now planning her father’s funeral, said Karen Gleason, his sister-in-law.

All the joy they had been feeling leading up to the momentous occasion was torn away when Moralis was shot outside the childhood home where he lived. The entire family, including Moralis’ two brothers, have not stopped crying since hearing the news.

“It’s unfathomable,” she said. “It’s so unbelievable that you can’t even go out your front door.”

The 59-year-old had been prepping for weeks on what he would wear, making sure he wouldn’t mess up during his first child’s wedding rehearsal. Moralis was always the one willing to go out of his way to help.

“He was the go-to-guy whether you needed a bike put together for one of the kids or his cousin was saying: ‘I need to get to Florida. Can you drive me?’” she said. “He would do that. He was just there always for family and always willing to help.”

JOSEPH WAMAH JR.: ASPIRING ACTOR WITH DEEP ARTISTIC TALENT

Joseph Wamah Jr. knew acting was his calling. The 31-year-old studied psychology at Chestnut Hill College but he became active in the local Philadelphia acting community, said close friend Terrance Harden. He even got a role as an extra in one of the “Creed” movies, starring Michael B. Jordan.

Harden, who has known Wamah since high school, said the two bonded over their love of filmmaking. Before Wamah was found dead inside a home early Tuesday, Harden had imagined the two would grow old as friends and achieve the level of success that they both wanted for each other.

“With such a great attitude, such a positive outlook on life, it almost seems like good fortune ought to come your way,” he said. “That’s why it was so hard to believe that this could have happened to him.”

Wamah’s twin sister Josephine and another sister, Jasmine, were full of anger Wednesday as they spoke at a news conference of a brother who had a smile and hug for everyone.

“I just still can’t believe that my brother is gone. And I just don’t understand why this happened. He was a kind soul. He was nice to everyone,” Josephine Wamah said.

Wamah also loved to cook — despite having little culinary talent. But his real gift was as an artist, his sisters said.

“He had the worst cooking. We still ate it because he just… he tried. He couldn’t cook, but he could sketch his butt off,” Josephine Wamah said. “It was so detail-oriented and so passionate. It was so rooted and down to earth. It was just spiritual. You could feel this man’s emotions in every brushstroke.”

Josephine Wamah said she plans to find all of her brother’s artwork and share his talent with the world.

“I just don’t understand how someone could just do that to my brother. I really loved him,” she said.

LASHYD MERRITT: A GOOD KID

Lashyd Merritt’s mother told WPVI-TV in Philadelphia that her son was a good kid who loved his family, especially his nieces and nephews. He loved buying them gifts at Christmas.

Marie Merritt said Lashyd Merritt, who would have been 22 in September, was out buying a snack while on a work break Monday.

“I don’t understand why people just — whatever anger they have within themselves— I don’t understand why someone in the neighborhood would have that type of stuff, like guns — I don’t understand that,” Marie Merritt said. “And you’re just taking good people away,”

She wants the suspected shooter to “rot in jail.” She also is thinking about how her son would feel.

“(My heart) is broken. I feel him saying, ‘Why me?’”

DAJUAN BROWN: KILLED WHILE HELPING A FRIEND

DaJuan Brown’s mother, Nashaya Thomas, told WCAU-TV her teenage son was walking to a store when gunfire started. Brown was helping a 13-year-old friend who had been shot twice in the legs when he was gunned down.

He was someone people couldn’t help but fall in love with.

“He lost his life trying to do a selfless act,” she said, “and that’s how he was when he was here.”

__

Dupuy reported from New York City.

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July 5, 2023
France sees itself as blind to race. After a teen is killed by police, how does one discuss racism?

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NANTERRE, France — The race of the police officer who fatally shot a French teenager during a traffic stop last week hasn’t been disclosed, and there’s no reason why it would be. Officially, race doesn’t exist in France.

But the death of the French-born 17-year-old with North African roots, which sent rioters into the streets, has again exposed deep feelings about systemic racism under the surface of the country’s ideal of colorblind equality.

With his killing captured on video, what could be seen as France’s George Floyd moment has produced a very French national discussion that leaves out what many Americans would consider the essential point: color.

One can’t address race, much less racism, if it doesn’t exist, according to French policy. The Paris police chief, Laurent Nunez, said Sunday he was shocked by the U.N. human rights office’s use of the term “racism” in its criticism of French law enforcement. The police have none of it, he said.

France, especially white France, doesn’t tend to frame discussion of discrimination and inequality in black-and-white terms. Some French consider it racist to even discuss skin color. No one knows how many people of various races live in the country, as such data is not recorded.

“They say we are all French … so for them, it’s racist to do something like that,” said Iman Essaifi, a 25-year-old resident of Nanterre, the Paris suburb where the teen, Nahel Merzouk, was killed.

While the subject of race remains taboo, Essaifi believes the events of the past week were a step toward speaking more openly about it. She noted that the people who marched in the streets of Nanterre after Nahel’s death were “not necessarily Arabs, not necessarily Blacks. There were whites, there were the ‘vrai Francais,’” – the “real French.”

France’s Constitution says the French Republic and its values are considered universal, meaning that all citizens have the same rights regardless of origin, race or religion.

Trying to discuss racial inequality without mentioning race leads to some linguistic gymnastics. Instead of terms like Black or mixed-race neighborhoods, French people instead often speak of “communities” or “banlieues” (suburbs) and “quartiers” (neighborhoods). They’re widely understood to mean often disadvantaged urban areas of housing projects and large immigrant populations.

Amid the unrest after Nahel’s death, such nonspecific language has ranged from supportive to insulting. Nanterre’s mayor, Patrick Jarry, spoke on Monday of the suburb “in all its diversity.” A statement last week by a large police union, the Alliance Police Nationale, described the rioters as “vermin.”

Of course there’s racism in France, some people said.

“For example, if your parents come from another country, even you are poorly accepted,” said Stella Assi, a 17-year-old born in Paris who was passing by the city hall in Nanterre. “If I were white, that wouldn’t happen.”

The National Consultative Commission on Human Rights in its annual report to the government this week said racism is still “largely estimated and largely under-reported.”

France’s legacy of colonialism, largely in Africa and the Caribbean, plays out in some attitudes that continue generations later. More recently, migration has caused debate and division. The result is a government that openly addresses certain issues around race, but not necessarily in relation to its citizens’ daily lives.

On Wednesday, for example, a court in France is scheduled to review a request for reparations for the descendants of enslaved people. And on a notice board in Nanterre, now scrawled with graffiti saying “Cops, get out of our lives,” a city hall announcement from May advertised a ceremony commemorating the abolition of slavery.

Ahmed Djamai, 58, the president of an organization in Nanterre that connects youth with work opportunities, recalled being stopped by police recently and asked for his residence permit. He was born in France.

“Our second-, third- and fourth-generation children face the same problem when they go out to get a job,” he said. “People lump them together with things that happen in the suburbs. They’re not accepted. So, to date, the problem is social, but it’s also one of identity.”

The stunning procession of hundreds of men who walked from a mosque in Nanterre to the cemetery for Nahel’s burial stood out in France not only because many were Black or Arab, but because even the demonstration of religious identity can be sensitive. In addition to being officially colorblind, France is officially secular, too.

Some people with immigrant roots fear that France’s success stories of generations of assimilation under that policy are being lost amid the rioting and criticism.

Gilles Djeyaramane is a municipal councilor in Poissy, a town west of Paris. His French-born wife is of Madagascan origin. He was born in French Guiana, of parents from India, and moved to France when he was 18.

“I’m always saying to my children, ‘Your mom and dad would never have met if France didn’t exist,” he said. “I’m not at all utopian. I know there’s work to do in some areas. But we are on the right path.”

Those who knew Nahel, and some who identify with him, said it’s not fair to pretend that differences, and discrimination, don’t exist. With anger, some pointed out that a funding campaign for the family of the police officer accused of shooting Nahel already topped 1 million euros ($1.09 million).

The frustration and violence in many communities come from other issues as well, including the rising cost of living and policing in general. In 2021, Amnesty International and five other rights groups filed a class-action lawsuit against the French state alleging ethnic profiling by police during ID checks.

Dozens of organizations and political parties are calling for “citizens’ marches” on Saturday across France to call for police reforms, saying that long-running tensions between officers and the people are part of a history of “systematic racism that runs through society at large.”

Police officers reject accusations that some single out people because of their color. Officer Walid Hrar, who is of Moroccan descent and Muslim, said that if it sometimes seems that people of color are stopped more than others, it’s a reflection of the mixed-race density of populations in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods.

In rural France, with fewer people with immigrant backgrounds, police also stop people but “they are called François, Paul and Pierre and Jacques,” Hrar said.

But Mariam Lambert, a 39-year-old who said Nahel was a friend of her son, stressed the pressure of feeling that she and others, including fellow Muslims, had to muffle their identity.

“If I put a scarf on my head … they would see me as from another world, and everything would change for me,” said Lambert, who thinks she would be insulted in the streets. She spoke on the margins of a gathering at Nanterre city hall as events were held there and across France on Monday in support of authorities and a return to calm.

Lambert mused about moving to Morocco if France doesn’t change. “There are plenty of people leaving,” she said. “Because who protects us from the police?”

___

John Leicester and Nicolas Garriga contributed to this report from Paris.

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July 5, 2023
French far-right figure ends divisive crowdfunding for officer whose shooting of teen set off unrest

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PARIS (AP) — A French far-right figure behind a divisive, and hugely successful, crowdfunding campaign for the family of a police officer jailed in the killing of a 17-year-old that triggered riots around France announced on Tuesday that he’s closing the account which topped more than 1.5 million euros ($1.63 million).

Criticism, and plans for lawsuits, have mounted around Jean Messiha’s Gofundme effort with claims that his real motive was to spread a message of hate and pit the far-right against residents of poor suburbs with a high rate of people of immigrant origin.

Even Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has said the collection for the jailed officer’s family did not contribute to calming the situation, just like Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti who warned on France-Inter radio against a possible “instrumentalization.”

Wendie Renard grew up in a place so remote that locals nicknamed it “The End of the World.” By the end of the Women’s World Cup, the France captain hopes she’ll be raising aloft the major international trophy that has eluded the women’s national team.

France’s highest court has rejected a request by three groups seeking reparations for slavery in a case that originated on the French Caribbean island of Martinique.

France, especially white France, doesn’t tend to frame discussion of discrimination and inequality in black-and-white terms.

The lofty ideals of “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” to which France aspires are embossed on its coins and carved above its school doors.

The unrest was touched off by the shooting last Tuesday of the young man identified as Nahel, who was stopped while driving a Mercedes in suburban Paris. Violence was driven by a mainly teenage backlash in the suburbs and urban housing projects against a French state that many young people with immigrant roots say routinely discriminates against them. Violence appeared to continue to ebb for a third night Tuesday.

However, reports emerged of the death early Sunday of a 27-year-old man in Marseille. The local prosecutor’s office opened an investigation Tuesday for “mortal blows with use or threat of a weapon,” the newspaper La Marseillaise reported.

The probable cause of death was a “violent shock to the thorax caused by a projectile of the ‘flashball’ type,” commonly used by French police for riot control.

It was not immediately clear whether the victim, who was not identified, was in the area of riots and pillaging the night of his death, the paper quoted the prosecutor’s office as saying.

Messiha, meanwhile, hailed in a tweet what he called an “historic symbol of national generosity” while announcing the closing of the crowdfunding campaign at midnight Tuesday for the family of the jailed officer, identified only as Florian M.

He said that more than 100,000 donors contributed to the effort he initiated on Friday that reached more than 1.5 million euros. He equated the response to a “tsunami” in support of law enforcement officers “who in a certain way fight daily so that France remains France.”

The crowdfunding had an ugly edge with Messiha bragging at one point that his effort was bringing in more funds than a crowdfunding account set up for the family of Nahel. The family filed a complaint, alleging the crowdfunding was based on deception to “criminalize” the victim and win support for the police officer who fired at him, according to France-Info, which saw the complaint. It wasn’t immediately clear whether an investigation would be opened.

Socialist lawmaker Arthur Delaporte from Calvados had filed a complaint earlier Tuesday against the crowdfunding contesting its legal grounds – shortly before Messiha closed it.

Egyptian-born Messiha is a former official of the National Rally party of far-right leader Marine Le Pen which he left for a fledgling far-right party then dropped out of that to return to his think tank. He remains a virulent critic of migration from Africa.

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July 4, 2023
Fright over crack on North Carolina ride serves as reminder of risks at amusement parks

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A visible crack in the support beam of a North Carolina roller coaster served as a reminder of the risks that sometimes arise with amusement park rides, particularly as families and adrenaline junkies flock to the attractions in summer.

Video footage of the Charlotte-based Carowinds’ popular Fury 325 — known as a “Giga coaster” due to its dramatic height of 325 feet (99 meters) — showed a key support beam bending with the top visibly detached as cars packed with unsuspecting passengers whirled by at speeds of up to 95 mph (150 kph).

The park, which straddles the North Carolina and South Carolina line, closed the ride late last week as questions swirled about how the crack occurred. Those answers remained largely unknown as state investigators were on site in Monday morning.

A dash of pomp and a dose of politics are on the agenda during President Joe Biden’s stopover visit to the U.K.

NATO leaders have celebrated their unity in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, that will be tested at the alliance’s annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week.

South Korean opposition lawmakers have sharply criticized the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog for its approval of Japanese plans to release treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant.

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase Y2K? Here’s a hint: It’s no longer about a computer glitch that could have made the world go haywire at the end of 1999.

Tommy Petty, chief of the state Department of Labor’s Amusement Device Bureau, confirmed investigators “already came and went” from Carowinds on Monday but declined to share details about their findings. Meanwhile, Carowinds said in a statement that all of its rides, including Fury 325, are inspected daily “to ensure their proper functioning and structural integrity.”

Several Carowinds visitors said they were aware that the ride had been closed for repairs, but they were not deterred from enjoying the park’s other attractions.

Greg Bledsoe, a 22-year-old season pass holder, visited the park Monday despite having watched the viral video of the Fury 325 track separating from its support beam mid-ride.

“I’m just glad I wasn’t on it because I don’t want to fall off. I’m glad nobody fell off,” he said.

While Bledsoe said the video was “a bit of a shock,” he remains confident in the park’s overall safety and plans to make good use of his season pass.

“Hopefully they get it fixed before the season’s over so I can ride it some more,” he said of the broken coaster. “It’s like the main thing here.”

Industry experts have been quick to counter that millions of Americans hop on roller coasters, Ferris wheels, water slides and many other rides without ever experiencing issues. They note injury rates are extremely low.

A 2021 survey compiled on behalf of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions found “0.9 injuries per million rides,” said Caitlin Dineen, the group’s spokesperson. That year, more than 1,200 ride-related injuries were reported out of the typical 1.7 billion rides that take place each year across 400 locations in North America.

“Safety is the top priority for the global attractions industry,” Dineen said. “An excellent safety record is in the best interest of the industry, and leaders within it are committed to providing safe and secure attractions for all their guests and visitors.”

For Steven Powers, a resident of Columbia, South Carolina who visited Carowinds Monday with friends, the positive atmosphere of the park outweighs any worries.

“As far as any other safety concerns, I don’t believe there are any,” Powers said. “I think always subconsciously we think something might happen in the back of our minds, but I also know that they do have people’s lives in their hands so they’re going to make sure that they do what they’re supposed to do on their end.”

Even when amusement park mishaps don’t result in injuries, they can still upend vacations and cause headaches for summer fun-seekers.

Shortly after footage was released of the crack inside Fury 325’s support structure, riders on a roller coaster in northeastern Wisconsin were trapped upside down for three hours before emergency responders arrived to rescue them.

WJFW reports the ride had been inspected recently when a mechanical failure occurred, halting the coaster mid-ride, according to Capt. Brennan Cook of the Crandon Fire Department.

But sometimes deaths do occur on an amusement park ride.

In 2022, Orlando’s International Drive district removed a towering 400-foot (122-meter) ride after it was directly linked to the death of 14-year-old Tyre Sampson — a Missouri teen who fell to his death while on the ride the year prior.

Sampson, who lived near St. Louis, Missouri, was visiting Orlando during spring break when he died.

An initial report from outside engineers hired by the Florida Department of Agriculture said sensors on the ride had been adjusted manually to double the size of the opening for restraints on two seats, resulting in the teen not being properly secured.

___

Schoenbaum reported from Raleigh, and Kruesi from Nashville, Tennessee. Associated Press writer Claire Savage in Chicago contributed to this report.

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July 4, 2023
Fright over crack on North Carolina ride serves as reminder of risks at amusement parks

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A visible crack in the support beam of a North Carolina roller coaster served as a reminder of the risks that sometimes arise with amusement park rides, particularly as families and adrenaline junkies flock to the attractions in summer.

Video footage of the Charlotte-based Carowinds’ popular Fury 325 — known as a “Giga coaster” due to its dramatic height of 325 feet (99 meters) — showed a key support beam bending with the top visibly detached as cars packed with unsuspecting passengers whirled by at speeds of up to 95 mph (150 kph).

The park, which straddles the North Carolina and South Carolina line, closed the ride late last week as questions swirled about how the crack occurred. Those answers remained largely unknown as state investigators were on site in Monday morning.

Tommy Petty, chief of the state Department of Labor’s Amusement Device Bureau, confirmed investigators “already came and went” from Carowinds on Monday but declined to share details about their findings. Meanwhile, Carowinds said in a statement that all of its rides, including Fury 325, are inspected daily “to ensure their proper functioning and structural integrity.”

Several Carowinds visitors said they were aware that the ride had been closed for repairs, but they were not deterred from enjoying the park’s other attractions.

Greg Bledsoe, a 22-year-old season pass holder, visited the park Monday despite having watched the viral video of the Fury 325 track separating from its support beam mid-ride.

“I’m just glad I wasn’t on it because I don’t want to fall off. I’m glad nobody fell off,” he said.

While Bledsoe said the video was “a bit of a shock,” he remains confident in the park’s overall safety and plans to make good use of his season pass.

“Hopefully they get it fixed before the season’s over so I can ride it some more,” he said of the broken coaster. “It’s like the main thing here.”

Industry experts have been quick to counter that millions of Americans hop on roller coasters, Ferris wheels, water slides and many other rides without ever experiencing issues. They note injury rates are extremely low.

A 2021 survey compiled on behalf of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions found “0.9 injuries per million rides,” said Caitlin Dineen, the group’s spokesperson. That year, more than 1,200 ride-related injuries were reported out of the typical 1.7 billion rides that take place each year across 400 locations in North America.

“Safety is the top priority for the global attractions industry,” Dineen said. “An excellent safety record is in the best interest of the industry, and leaders within it are committed to providing safe and secure attractions for all their guests and visitors.”

For Steven Powers, a resident of Columbia, South Carolina who visited Carowinds Monday with friends, the positive atmosphere of the park outweighs any worries.

“As far as any other safety concerns, I don’t believe there are any,” Powers said. “I think always subconsciously we think something might happen in the back of our minds, but I also know that they do have people’s lives in their hands so they’re going to make sure that they do what they’re supposed to do on their end.”

Even when amusement park mishaps don’t result in injuries, they can still upend vacations and cause headaches for summer fun-seekers.

Shortly after footage was released of the crack inside Fury 325’s support structure, riders on a roller coaster in northeastern Wisconsin were trapped upside down for three hours before emergency responders arrived to rescue them.

WJFW reports the ride had been inspected recently when a mechanical failure occurred, halting the coaster mid-ride, according to Capt. Brennan Cook of the Crandon Fire Department.

But sometimes deaths do occur on an amusement park ride.

In 2022, Orlando’s International Drive district removed a towering 400-foot (122-meter) ride after it was directly linked to the death of 14-year-old Tyre Sampson — a Missouri teen who fell to his death while on the ride the year prior.

Sampson, who lived near St. Louis, Missouri, was visiting Orlando during spring break when he died.

An initial report from outside engineers hired by the Florida Department of Agriculture said sensors on the ride had been adjusted manually to double the size of the opening for restraints on two seats, resulting in the teen not being properly secured.

___

Schoenbaum reported from Raleigh, and Kruesi from Nashville, Tennessee. Associated Press writer Claire Savage in Chicago contributed to this report.

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July 3, 2023
Fright over crack on North Carolina ride serves as reminder of risks at amusement parks

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A visible crack in the support beam of a North Carolina roller coaster served as a reminder of the risks that sometimes arise with amusement park rides, particularly as families and adrenaline junkies flock to the attractions in summer.

Video footage of the Charlotte-based Carowinds’ popular Fury 325 — known as a “Giga coaster” due to its dramatic height of 325 feet (99 meters) — showed a key support beam bending with the top visibly detached as cars packed with unsuspecting passengers whirled by at speeds of up to 95 mph (150 kph).

The park, which straddles the North Carolina and South Carolina line, closed the ride late last week as questions swirled about how the crack occurred. Those answers remained largely unknown as state investigators were on site in Monday morning.

Tommy Petty, chief of the state Department of Labor’s Amusement Device Bureau, confirmed investigators “already came and went” from Carowinds on Monday but declined to share details about their findings. Meanwhile, Carowinds said in a statement that all of its rides, including Fury 325, are inspected daily “to ensure their proper functioning and structural integrity.”

Several Carowinds visitors said they were aware that the ride had been closed for repairs, but they were not deterred from enjoying the park’s other attractions.

Greg Bledsoe, a 22-year-old season pass holder, visited the park Monday despite having watched the viral video of the Fury 325 track separating from its support beam mid-ride.

“I’m just glad I wasn’t on it because I don’t want to fall off. I’m glad nobody fell off,” he said.

While Bledsoe said the video was “a bit of a shock,” he remains confident in the park’s overall safety and plans to make good use of his season pass.

“Hopefully they get it fixed before the season’s over so I can ride it some more,” he said of the broken coaster. “It’s like the main thing here.”

Industry experts have been quick to counter that millions of Americans hop on roller coasters, Ferris wheels, water slides and many other rides without ever experiencing issues. They note injury rates are extremely low.

A 2021 survey compiled on behalf of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions found “0.9 injuries per million rides,” said Caitlin Dineen, the group’s spokesperson. That year, more than 1,200 ride-related injuries were reported out of the typical 1.7 billion rides that take place each year across 400 locations in North America.

“Safety is the top priority for the global attractions industry,” Dineen said. “An excellent safety record is in the best interest of the industry, and leaders within it are committed to providing safe and secure attractions for all their guests and visitors.”

For Steven Powers, a resident of Columbia, South Carolina who visited Carowinds Monday with friends, the positive atmosphere of the park outweighs any worries.

“As far as any other safety concerns, I don’t believe there are any,” Powers said. “I think always subconsciously we think something might happen in the back of our minds, but I also know that they do have people’s lives in their hands so they’re going to make sure that they do what they’re supposed to do on their end.”

Even when amusement park mishaps don’t result in injuries, they can still upend vacations and cause headaches for summer fun-seekers.

Shortly after footage was released of the crack inside Fury 325’s support structure, riders on a roller coaster in northeastern Wisconsin were trapped upside down for three hours before emergency responders arrived to rescue them.

WJFW reports the ride had been inspected recently when a mechanical failure occurred, halting the coaster mid-ride, according to Capt. Brennan Cook of the Crandon Fire Department.

But sometimes deaths do occur on an amusement park ride.

In 2022, Orlando’s International Drive district removed a towering 400-foot (122-meter) ride after it was directly linked to the death of 14-year-old Tyre Sampson — a Missouri teen who fell to his death while on the ride the year prior.

Sampson, who lived near St. Louis, Missouri, was visiting Orlando during spring break when he died.

An initial report from outside engineers hired by the Florida Department of Agriculture said sensors on the ride had been adjusted manually to double the size of the opening for restraints on two seats, resulting in the teen not being properly secured.

___

Schoenbaum reported from Raleigh, and Kruesi from Nashville, Tennessee. Associated Press writer Claire Savage in Chicago contributed to this report.

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July 3, 2023
Fright over crack on North Carolina ride serves as reminder of risks at amusement parks

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A visible crack in the support beam of a North Carolina roller coaster served as a reminder of the risks that sometimes arise with amusement park rides, particularly as families and adrenaline junkies flock to the attractions throughout the summer.

Video footage of the Charlotte-based Carowinds’ popular Fury 325 — known as a “Giga coaster” due to its dramatic height of 325 feet (99 meters) — showed a key support beam bending with the top visibly detached as cars packed with unsuspecting passengers whirled by at speeds of up to 95 mph (150 kph).

The park, which straddles the North Carolina and South Carolina line, closed the ride late last week as questions swirled about how the crack occurred. Those answers remained largely unknown as state investigators were on site in Monday morning.

Tommy Petty, chief of the state Department of Labor’s Amusement Device Bureau, confirmed investigators “already came and went” from Carowinds on Monday but declined to share details about their findings. Meanwhile, Carowinds said in a statement that all of its rides, including Fury 325, are inspected daily “to ensure their proper functioning and structural integrity.”

Several Carowinds visitors said they were aware that the ride had been closed for repairs, but they were not deterred from enjoying the park’s other attractions.

Greg Bledsoe, a 22-year-old season pass holder, visited the park Monday despite having watched the viral video of the Fury 325 track separating from its support beam mid-ride.

“I’m just glad I wasn’t on it because I don’t want to fall off. I’m glad nobody fell off,” he said.

While Bledsoe said the video was “a bit of a shock,” he remains confident in the park’s overall safety and plans to make good use of his season pass.

“Hopefully they get it fixed before the season’s over so I can ride it some more,” he said of the broken coaster. “It’s like the main thing here.”

Industry experts have been quick to counter that millions of Americans hop on roller coasters, Ferris wheels, water slides and many other rides without ever experiencing issues. They note injury rates are extremely low.

A 2021 survey compiled on behalf of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions found “0.9 injuries per million rides,” said Caitlin Dineen, the group’s spokesperson. That year, more than 1,200 ride-related injuries were reported out of the typical 1.7 billion rides that take place each year across 400 locations in North America.

“Safety is the top priority for the global attractions industry,” Dineen said. “An excellent safety record is in the best interest of the industry, and leaders within it are committed to providing safe and secure attractions for all their guests and visitors.”

For Steven Powers, a resident of Columbia, South Carolina who visited Carowinds Monday with friends, the positive atmosphere of the park outweighs any worries.

“As far as any other safety concerns, I don’t believe there are any,” Powers said. “I think always subconsciously we think something might happen in the back of our minds, but I also know that they do have people’s lives in their hands so they’re going to make sure that they do what they’re supposed to do on their end.”

Even when amusement park mishaps don’t result in injuries, they can still upend vacations and cause headaches for summer fun-seekers.

Shortly after footage was released of the crack inside Fury 325’s support structure, riders on a roller coaster in northeastern Wisconsin were trapped upside down for three hours before emergency responders arrived to rescue them.

WJFW reports the ride had been inspected recently when a mechanical failure occurred, halting the coaster mid-ride, according to Capt. Brennan Cook of the Crandon Fire Department.

But sometimes deaths do occur on an amusement park ride.

In 2022, Orlando’s International Drive district removed a towering 400-foot (122-meter) ride after it was directly linked to the death of 14-year-old Tyre Sampson — a Missouri teen who fell to his death while on the ride the year prior.

Sampson, who lived near St. Louis, Missouri, was visiting Orlando during spring break when he died.

An initial report from outside engineers hired by the Florida Department of Agriculture said sensors on the ride had been adjusted manually to double the size of the opening for restraints on two seats, resulting in the teen not being properly secured.

___

Schoenbaum reported from Raleigh, and Kruesi from Nashville, Tennessee. Associated Press writer Claire Savage in Chicago contributed to this report.

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July 3, 2023
French rioting appears to slow on 6th night after teen’s death in Paris suburbs

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Unrest across France sparked by the police shooting of a 17-year-old appeared to slow on its sixth night, but still public buildings, cars and municipal trash cans were targeted nationwide by fires and vandalism overnight into Monday

Police officers patrol on the Champs Elysees in Paris, Saturday, July 1, 2023. President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday scrapped an official trip to Germany after a fourth straight night of rioting and looting across France in defiance of a massive police deployment. Hundreds turned out for the burial of the 17-year-old whose killing by police triggered the unrest. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

The Associated Press

PARIS — PARIS (AP) — Unrest across France sparked by the police shooting of a 17-year-old appeared to slow on its sixth night, but still public buildings, cars and municipal trash cans were targeted nationwide by fires and vandalism overnight into Monday.

In all, according to the Interior Ministry, there were 157 arrests overnight, out of a total of 3,354 arrests in all since June 27, and two law enforcement stations were attacked, among other damage.

Around 45,000 officers were deployed nationwide to counter violence fuelled by anger over discrimination against people who trace their roots to former French colonies and live in low-income neighborhoods. Nahel, the teenager killed last Tuesday, was of Algerian descent and was shot in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.

Across France, 297 vehicles were torched overnight along with 34 buildings.

A 24-year-old firefighter died of a heart attack while responding to a blaze in an underground garage that spread to the apartment building above, according to a statement from Paris police. The cause of the fire was under investigation, the statement said.

A burning car stuck the home of the mayor of the Paris suburb L’Hay-les-Roses over the weekend, an unusually personal attack amid the backdrop of fires and vandalism targeting police stations and town halls.

French President Emmanuel Macron has blamed social media for the spread of the unrest and called on parents to take responsibility for their teenagers. Eric Dupond-Moretti, the justice minister, told France Inter radio that parents who abdicated that responsibility “either through disinterest or deliberately” would be prosecuted.

He was cautious when asked whether he thought the protests had eased definitively.

Mayor Vincent Jeanbrun said his wife and one of his children were injured and criticized the government for doing too little, too late — and said blaming social media or parents was papering over a bigger problem.

“The base ingredients are still there. For several years now, all summer long, explosives go off that keep people from sleeping, that make them crazy,” he told BFM television on Monday. “We are powerless summer after summer.”

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July 3, 2023
France has a 5th night of rioting over teen’s killing by police amid signs of subsiding violence

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PARIS — Young rioters in France clashed with police into early Sunday and targeted a mayor’s home with a burning car, injuring members of his family, as the country saw a fifth night of unrest after the police killing of a teenager. However, overall violence appeared to lessen from previous nights.

Police made 719 more arrests, bringing the total number of people detained to more than 3,000 following a mass security deployment aimed at quelling France’s worst social upheaval in years.

The crisis posed a new challenge to President Emmanuel Macron’s leadership and exposed deep-seated discontent in low-income neighborhoods over discrimination and lack of opportunity.

The 17-year-old whose death Tuesday spawned the anger was laid to rest Saturday in a Muslim ceremony in Nanterre, a Paris suburb where emotions over his loss remain raw.

The grandmother of the teen, who has been identified publicly only by his first name, Nahel, called on Sunday for an end to the violence that has followed his death.

As night fell Saturday, a small crowd gathered on the Champs-Elysees to protest but met hundreds of officers with batons and shields guarding the avenue and its boutiques. In a less chic Paris neighborhood, protesters set off firecrackers and lit barricades on fire as police shot back with tear gas and stun grenades.

A burning car hit the home of the mayor of the Paris suburb of L’Hay-les-Roses. Several schools, police stations, town halls and stores have been targeted by fires or vandalism in recent days but such a personal attack on a mayor’s home is unusual.

Mayor Vincent Jeanbrun said his wife and one of his children were injured in the 1:30 a.m. attack while they were sleeping and he was in the town hall monitoring the violence. Jeanbrun, of the conservative opposition Republicans party, said the attack represented a new stage of “horror and ignominy” in the unrest.

Regional prosecutor Stephane Hardouin opened an investigation into attempted murder, telling French television that a preliminary investigation suggests the car was meant to ram the house and set it ablaze. He said a flame accelerant was found in a bottle in the car.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne went to l’Hay-les-Roses to meet Jeanbrun along with Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and other officials, and promised that “we’re going to do everything to bring order back as soon as possible.”

Macron planned to hold a special security meeting Sunday evening with Borne, Darmanin and the justice minister.

Skirmishes erupted in the Mediterranean city of Marseille but appeared less intense than the night before, according to the Interior Ministry.

Nationwide arrests were lower than the night before. Darmanin attributed that to “the resolute action of security forces.”

The mass police deployment has been welcomed by some frightened residents of targeted neighborhoods and shop owners whose stores have been ransacked, but further frustrated those who see police behavior as the core of the crisis.

Nahel’s grandmother, identified only as Nadia, said in a telephone interview Sunday with French news broadcaster BFM TV: “People who are breaking things, I tell them: stop, stop.”

“Don’t break windows, buses … schools. We want to calm things down,” she added.

She said she was angry at the officer who killed her grandson but not at the police in general. “Thank goodness police are there,” she said.

The unrest prompted Macron to delay what would have been the first state visit to Germany by a French president in 23 years, starting Sunday evening.

Hundreds of police and firefighters have been injured in the violence, although authorities haven’t said how many protesters have been hurt. In French Guiana, an overseas territory, a 54-year-old died after being hit by a stray bullet.

Macron has blamed social media for fueling violence. France’s justice minister has warned that young people who share calls for violence on Snapchat or other apps could face prosecution.

While concerts at the national stadium and smaller events around the country were canceled because of the violence and some neighborhoods suffered serious damage, life in other parts of France went on as usual.

In the capital, tourists thronged to the Eiffel Tower, where workers set up a nearby clock counting down to next year’s Paris Olympics. A short walk from Nanterre, a shopping mall bustled Sunday with customers from all walks of life. Families who could afford it headed for summer vacation.

Hundreds of mourners stood on a road Saturday leading to a hilltop cemetery in Nanterre to pay tribute to Nahel as his white casket was carried from a mosque to his grave. His mother, dressed in white, walked inside the cemetery amid applause.

Many of the men were young and Arab or Black, coming to mourn a boy who could have been them. Nahel’s family has roots in Algeria.

Video of the killing showed two officers at the window of the car, one with his gun pointed at the driver. As the teenager pulled forward, the officer fired once through the windshield. The officer accused of killing Nahel was given a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide.

Thirteen people who didn’t comply with traffic stops were fatally shot by French police last year, and three this year, prompting demands for more accountability. France also saw protests of police violence and racial injustice after George Floyd’s killing by police in Minnesota.

The reaction to the killing was a potent reminder of the persistent poverty, discriminatio n and limited job prospects in neighborhoods around France where many trace their roots to former French colonies.

On a public square in Nanterre, a young man of Senegalese descent said France would learn little from the latest unrest. Faiez Njai said of police: “They’re playing on our fears, saying that ‘If you don’t listen to us,’” — and then he pointed a finger at his temple and fired.

In 2005, France was shaken by weeks of riots prompted by the death of two teenagers who were electrocuted in a power substation in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois while fleeing police. Several buildings there were set on fire this week — including the town hall, a high school, library and a supermarket.

At the foot of a bridge near the Eiffel Tower where generations of couples have attached padlocks to symbolize lasting love, a Senegalese man selling cheap locks and keys shook his head when asked if Nahel’s killing and the ensuing violence would change anything.

“I doubt it,” he said, giving only his first name, Demba, for fear of retaliation. “The discrimination is too profound.”

A World War II monument in Nanterre commemorating Holocaust victims and members of the French resistance that was vandalized on the sidelines of a silent march Thursday to pay tribute to Nahel was still defaced Sunday with slogans including “Police scum,” “Don’t forgive or forget,” and “Police, rapists, assassins.”

The European Jewish Congress denounced the vandalism as a “shameful act of disrespect for the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.”

___

Anna reported from Nanterre. Jade le Deley in Clichy-sous-Bois, France; Angela Charlton in Paris; Jocelyn Noveck in New York; and Helena Alves in Paris contributed.

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July 2, 2023
Grandmother of French teen shot dead by police officer pleads with rioters to stop the violence

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PARIS (AP) — The grandmother of the French teenager shot dead by police during a traffic stop pleaded Sunday for rioters to stop after five nights of unrest, while authorities expressed outrage at an attack on a suburban mayor’s home that injured family members.

The grandmother of 17-year-old Nahel, identified only as Nadia, said in a telephone interview with French news broadcaster BFM TV, “Don’t break windows, buses … schools. We want to calm things down.”

She said she was angry at the officer who killed her grandson but not at the police in general and expressed faith in the justice system as France faces its worst social upheaval in years. Nahel, whose full name hasn’t been disclosed, was buried on Saturday.

The violence appeared to be lessening. Still, the office of Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 45,000 police officers would again be deployed in the streets to counter anger over discrimination against people who trace their roots to former French colonies and live in low-income neighborhoods. Nahel is of Algerian descent and was shot in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.

President Emmanuel Macron held a special security meeting Sunday night and plans to meet Monday with the heads of both houses of parliament and Tuesday with the mayors of 220 towns and cities affected by the protests, said a participant in the meeting, who spoke anonymously in line with French government practices. Macron also wants to start a detailed, longer-term assessment of the reasons that led to the unrest, the official said.

Highlighting the seriousness of the rioting, Macron delayed what would have been the first state visit to Germany by a French president in 23 years, which had been scheduled to start Sunday evening.

The interior ministry said police made 78 arrests nationwide Sunday, French media reported, down significantly from 719 arrests the day before. More than 3,000 people have been detained overall following a mass security deployment. Hundreds of police and firefighters have been injured in the violence, although authorities haven’t said how many protesters have been hurt.

French authorities were appalled on Sunday after a burning car struck the home of the mayor of the Paris suburb of L’Hay-les-Roses. Several police stations and town halls have been targeted by fires or vandalism in recent days, but such a personal attack on a mayor’s home is unusual.

Mayor Vincent Jeanbrun said his wife and one of his children were injured in the 1:30 a.m. attack while they slept and he was in the town hall monitoring the violence. Jeanbrun, of the conservative opposition Republicans party, said the attack represented a new stage of “horror and ignominy” in the unrest.

Regional prosecutor Stephane Hardouin opened an investigation into attempted murder, telling French television that a preliminary investigation suggests the car was meant to ram the house and set it ablaze. He said a flame accelerant was found in a bottle in the car.

Macron has blamed social media for fueling violence. France’s justice minister has warned that young people who share calls for violence on Snapchat or other apps could face prosecution.

The mass police deployment has been welcomed by some frightened residents of targeted neighborhoods, but it has further frustrated those who see police behavior as the core of the crisis.

On a public square in Nanterre, a young man of Senegalese descent said France would learn little from the latest unrest. Faiez Njai said of police: “They’re playing on our fears, saying that ‘If you don’t listen to us,’” — and then he pointed a finger at his temple and fired.

Video of the killing showed two officers at the window of the car, one with his gun pointed at the driver. As the teenager pulled forward, the officer fired once through the windshield. The officer accused of killing Nahel was given a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide.

Thirteen people who didn’t comply with traffic stops were fatally shot by French police last year, and three this year, prompting demands for more accountability.

“Nahel M.’s death first reflects the rules and practices for how police officers use weapons during roadside checks and, more broadly, the flawed relations between the police and young people from working-class neighborhoods,” the newspaper Le Monde said in an editorial on Saturday.

Amid the unrest, a World War II monument in Nanterre commemorating Holocaust victims and members of the French Resistance was vandalized on the sidelines of a silent march Thursday to pay tribute to Nahel. The slogans included “Don’t forgive or forget” and “Police, rapists, assassins.” The European Jewish Congress denounced the vandalism as a “shameful act of disrespect for the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.”

Life in some parts of France went on as usual. In the capital, tourists thronged to the Eiffel Tower, where workers set up a clock counting down to next year’s Paris Olympics. A short walk from Nanterre, a shopping mall bustled Sunday with customers from all walks of life. But in the empty square where Nahel was shot, someone had painted “The police kill” on a bench.

At the foot of a bridge near the Eiffel Tower where generations of couples have attached padlocks to symbolize lasting love, a Senegalese man selling cheap locks and keys shook his head when asked if Nahel’s killing and the ensuing violence would change anything.

“I doubt it,” he said, giving only his first name, Demba, for fear of retaliation. “The discrimination is too profound.”

___

Anna reported from Nanterre. Jade le Deley in Clichy-sous-Bois, France; Angela Charlton in Paris; Jocelyn Noveck in New York; and Helena Alves in Paris contributed.

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July 2, 2023
France has a 5th night of rioting over teen’s killing by police amid signs of subsiding violence

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PARIS — Young rioters clashed with police into early Sunday and targeted a mayor’s home with a burning car, injuring members of his family, as France saw a fifth night of unrest after the police killing of a teenager. Overall violence, however, appeared to lessen from previous nights.

Police made 719 arrests nationwide by early Sunday following a mass security deployment aimed at quelling France’s worst social upheaval in years.

The crisis posed a new challenge to President Emmanuel Macron’s leadership and exposed deep-seated discontent in low-income neighborhoods over discrimination and lack of opportunity.

The 17-year-old whose death Tuesday spawned the anger was laid to rest Saturday in a Muslim ceremony in Nanterre, a Paris suburb where emotions over his loss remain raw. He has been identified publicly only by his first name, Nahel.

As night fell Saturday, a small crowd gathered on the Champs-Elysees to protest his death and police violence but met hundreds of officers with batons and shields guarding the avenue and its boutiques. In a less chic Paris neighborhood, protesters set off firecrackers and lit barricades on fire as police shot back with tear gas and stun grenades.

A burning car hit the home of the mayor of the Paris suburb of l’Hay-les-Roses. Several schools, police stations, town halls and stores have been targeted by fires or vandalism in recent days but such a personal attack on a mayor’s home is unusual.

Mayor Vincent Jeanbrun said his wife and one of his children were injured in the 1:30 a.m. attack while they were sleeping and he was in the town hall monitoring the violence.

Jeanbrun, of the conservative opposition Republicans party, said the attack represented a new stage of “horror and ignominy” in the unrest, and urged the government to impose a state of emergency.

Regional prosecutor Stephane Hardouin opened an investigation into attempted murder in the attack, telling French television that a preliminary investigation suggests the car was meant to ram the house and set it ablaze. He said a flame accelerant was found in a bottle in the car.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne went to l’Hay-les-Roses to meet Jeanbrun along with Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and other officials, and promised that “we’re going to do everything to bring order back as soon as possible.”

Macron planned to hold a special security meeting Sunday evening with Borne, Darmanin and the justice minister.

Skirmishes erupted in the Mediterranean city of Marseille but appeared less intense than the night before, according to the Interior Ministry. A bolstered police contingent arrested 55 people there.

Nationwide arrests were lower than the night before. Darmanin attributed that to “the resolute action of security forces.”

More than 3,000 people have been detained overall since Nahel’s death. The mass police deployment has been welcomed by some frightened residents of targeted neighborhoods and shop owners whose stores have been ransacked — but it has further frustrated those who see police behavior as the core of France’s current crisis.

The unrest took a toll on Macron’s diplomatic standing. On Saturday, a day before he was scheduled to depart, he postponed what would have been the first state visit to Germany by a French president in 23 years.

Hundreds of police and firefighters have been injured in the violence, although authorities haven’t said how many protesters have been hurt. In French Guiana, an overseas territory, a 54-year-old died after being hit by a stray bullet.

On Saturday, Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti warned that young people who share calls for violence on Snapchat or other apps could face prosecution. Macron has blamed social media for fueling violence.

While concerts at the national stadium and smaller events around the country were canceled because of the violence and some neighborhoods suffered serious damage, life in other parts of France went on as usual.

Fans tuned into the start of the Tour de France cycling race in neighboring Spain; Marseille hosted a championship in pétanque — a game involving rolling metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden or plastic one; and families who could afford it headed for summer vacation.

In the capital, tourists thronged to the Eiffel Tower, where workers set up a nearby clock counting down to next year’s Paris Olympics. A short walk from Nanterre, a shopping mall bustled Sunday with customers from all walks of life.

Hundreds of mourners stood on a road Saturday leading to a hilltop cemetery in Nanterre to pay tribute to Nahel as his white casket was carried from a mosque to his grave. His mother, dressed in white, walked inside the cemetery amid applause. Many of the men were young and Arab or Black, coming to mourn a boy who could have been them.

Nahel’s mother told France 5 television that she was angry at the officer who shot her son at a traffic stop, but not at the police in general.

“He saw a little Arab-looking kid. He wanted to take his life,” she said. Nahel’s family has roots in Algeria.

Video of the killing showed two officers at the window of the car, one with his gun pointed at the driver. As the teenager pulled forward, the officer fired once through the windshield. The officer accused of killing Nahel was given a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide.

Thirteen people who didn’t comply with traffic stops were fatally shot by French police last year, and three this year, prompting demands for more accountability. France also saw protests of police violence and racial injustice after George Floyd’s killing by police in Minnesota.

The reaction to the killing was a potent reminder of the persistent poverty, discrimination and limited job prospects in neighborhoods around France where many trace their roots to former French colonies.

In 2005, France was shaken by weeks of riots prompted by the death of two teenagers who were electrocuted in a power substation in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois while fleeing police. Several buildings there were set on fire this week — including the town hall, a high school, library and a supermarket.

“I feel hate toward the police officer who killed Nahel. He wanted to kill him,” said 15-year-old Abdel Moucer, a Clichy resident. “In 2005 when Zyed and Bouna were killed, we had no video and no social media. Today we have all seen what happened.’’

But Moucer lamented the recent violence and the damage it has wrought on disadvantaged towns like his.

“I feel sad, I don’t know why they set the town hall on fire,” he said.

At the foot of a bridge near the Eiffel Tower where generations of couples have attached padlocks to symbolize lasting love, a Senegalese man selling cheap locks and keys shook his head when asked if Nahel’s killing and the ensuing violence would change anything.

“I doubt it,” he said, giving only his first name, Demba, for fear of retaliation. “The discrimination is too profound.”

___

Anna reported from Nanterre. Jade le Deley in Clichy-sous-Bois, France; Sylvie Corbet in Paris; Jocelyn Noveck in New York; and Helena Alves in Paris contributed.

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July 2, 2023
Macron scraps trip amid rioting across France, as loved ones bury teen slain by police

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NANTERRE, France — President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday scrapped an official trip to Germany after a fourth straight night of rioting and looting across France in defiance of a massive police deployment. Hundreds turned out for the burial of the 17-year-old whose killing by police triggered the unrest.

France’s Interior Ministry announced that in the latest night of violence, 1,311 people had been arrested around the country, where 45,000 police officers fanned out in a so-far unsuccessful bid to restore order. In the violence sparked by the teen’s death on Tuesday, some 2,400 persons have been arrested overall.

The protesters and rioters turned out on the streets of cities and towns, clashing with police, despite Macron’s appeal to parents to keep their children at home. About 2,500 fires were set and stores were ransacked, according to authorities.

The violence in France was taking a toll on Macron’s diplomatic profile. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s office said that Macron phoned on Saturday to request a postponement of what would have been the first state visit by a French president to Germany in 23 years. Macron had been scheduled to fly to Germany on Sunday evening for the visit to Berlin and two other German cities.

Macron’s office said he spoke with Steinmeier and, “given the internal security situation, the president (Macron) said he wishes to stay in France over the coming days.”

Given the importance of the French-German relationship on the European political scene, the scrapping of the official trip was a clear sign of the gravity of France’s unrest. Earlier this year, King Charles III canceled his first foreign visit as U.K. monarch, initially planned for France, because of intense protests over Macron’s pension reform plans.

The teen, identified only as Nahel, was shot during a traffic stop Tuesday in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. Video showed two officers at the window of the car, one with his gun pointed at the driver. As the teenager pulled forward, the officer fired once through the windshield.

Rituals to bid farewell to Nahel began on Saturday with a viewing of the open coffin by family and friends and culminated with his burial in a hilltop cemetery in that town.

At the cemetery’s entrance, with central Paris visible in the distance, hundreds of people stood along the road to pay tribute to Nahel. The crowd carried his white casket above their heads and into the cemetery for the burial, which was barred to the media. Some of the men carried folded prayer rugs. Before the burial, prayers were held at a mosque.

Applause resounded as Nahel’s mother Mounia M., dressed in white, walked through the gate and toward the grave. Earlier in the week she told France 5 television that she was angry at the officer who shot her son, but not at the police in general.

“He saw a little Arab-looking kid, he wanted to take his life,” she said. “A police officer cannot take his gun and fire at our children, take our children’s lives,” she said. Race was a taboo topic for decades in France, which is officially committed to a doctrine of colorblind universalism. The family has roots in Algeria.

The police officer accused of killing Nahel was given a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide, meaning that investigating magistrates strongly suspect wrongdoing, but need to investigate more before sending a case to trial. Nanterre prosecutor Pascal Prache said that his initial investigation led him to conclude that the officer’s use of his weapon wasn’t legally justified.

Anger over Nahel’s death erupted in violence in Nanterre and in many major cities, including Paris, Marseille and Lyon, and even in the French territories overseas, where a 54-year-old died after being hit by a stray bullet in French Guiana.

Hundreds of police and firefighters have been injured, including 79 overnight. Authorities haven’t released injury tallies for protesters.

The reaction to the killing was a potent reminder of the persistent poverty, discrimination, unemployment and other lack of opportunity in neighborhoods around France where many residents trace their roots to former French colonies — like where Nahel grew up.

“Nahel’s story is the lighter that ignited the gas. Hopeless young people were waiting for it. We lack housing and jobs, and when we have (jobs), our wages are too low,” said Samba Seck, a 39-year-old transportation worker in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois.

Clichy was the birthplace of weeks of riots in 2005 that shook France, prompted by the deaths of two teenagers electrocuted in a power substation while fleeing from police. One of the boys lived in the same housing project as Seck.

Like many Clichy residents, he lamented the violence targeting his town, where the remains of a burned car stood beneath his apartment building, and the town hall entrance was set alight in rioting this week.

“Young people break everything, but we are already poor, we have nothing,” he said, adding that “young people are afraid to die at the hands of police.”

France’s national soccer team — including international star Kylian Mbappe, an idol to many young people in the disadvantaged neighborhoods where the anger is rooted — pleaded for an end to the violence.

“Many of us are from working-class neighborhoods, we too share this feeling of pain and sadness” over the killing of Nahel, the players said in a statement.

Early on Saturday, firefighters in Nanterre extinguished blazes set by protesters that left scorched remains of cars strewn across the streets. In the neighboring suburb Colombes, protesters overturned garbage bins and used them for makeshift barricades.

Looters during the evening broke into a gun shop and made off with weapons in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, police said.

Buildings and businesses were also vandalized in the eastern city of Lyon, police said.

Despite the escalating crisis, Macron held off on declaring a state of emergency, an option used in 2005. But government ratcheted up its law enforcement response, with the mass deployment of police officers, including some who were called back from vacation.

The rioting puts new pressure on Macron, who blamed social media for fueling violence.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has ordered a nationwide nighttime shutdown of all public buses and trams, which have been among rioters’ targets. He also said he warned social networks not to allow themselves to be used as channels for calls to violence.

“They were very cooperative,” Darmanin said, adding that French authorities were providing the platforms with information in hopes of cooperation identifying people inciting violence.

The violence comes just over a year before Paris and other French cities are due to host Olympic athletes and millions of visitors for the summer Olympic Games, whose organizers were closely monitoring the situation as preparations for the competition continue.

Thirteen people who didn’t comply with traffic stops were fatally shot by French police last year. This year, another three people, including Nahel, died under similar circumstances. The deaths have prompted demands for more accountability in France, which also saw racial justice protests after George Floyd’s killing by police in Minnesota.

___

Charlton reported from Paris. Associated Press writers Jade le Deley in Clichy-sous-Bois, France; Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon; and Geir Moulson in Berlin, contributed to this report.

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July 1, 2023
French government says 1,311 people arrested in a fourth night of riots after teen killed by police

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French government says 1,311 people arrested in a fourth night of riots after teen killed by police

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July 1, 2023
Exonerated member of “Central Park Five” takes lead in New York City Council primary

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NEW YORK — Yusef Salaam, who as a child was part of a group of teenagers wrongly accused, convicted and imprisoned for the rape of a woman jogging in Central Park, took a commanding lead Tuesday in a Democratic primary for a City Council seat in New York.

Salaam faces two veteran politicians, New York Assembly members Al Taylor, 65, and Inez Dickens, 73, in the race for a seat representing part of Harlem. The incumbent, democratic socialist Kristin Richard Jordan, dropped out of the race in May but remained on the ballot.

The contest was taking place more than two decades after Salaam and four other men — known as the Central Park Five — were exonerated by DNA evidence in one of the city’s most notorious and racially fraught crimes.

The Associated Press has not declared a winner in the race and the election’s outcome might not be certain for days because of New York’s ranked choice voting rules. That system kicks in if no candidate claims more than 50% of the total vote.

It was unclear early Wednesday whether Salaam would stay above that threshold. With about 95% of votes counted, Salaam had a little less than 51% of the vote, with Dickens trailing substantially in second place.

Salaam nonetheless declared victory in a speech to supporters late Tuesday.

“What has happened in this campaign has restored my faith in knowing that I was born for this,” he said.

Salaam likened his youthful imprisonment to being “kidnapped,” but he also called his nearly seven years in prison a gift that allowed him to see a racially unjust criminal justice system from the “belly of the beast.”

“I am here because, Harlem, you believed in me,” he said.

Dickens conceded late Tuesday, but promised to “continue to fight for what my community needs.”

If Salaam were to prevail in the primary it would virtually assure him a general election victory in a district unlikely to elect a Republican. It is his first time seeking public office.

While all three candidates focused on promoting affordable housing, controlling gentrification and easing poverty in Harlem, Salaam capitalized on his celebrity in neighborhoods that consider the Central Park Five — also called the Exonerated Five — living symbols of the injustices faced by the Black and Latino residents who make up about three-fourth’s of the district’s population.

Salaam was 15 when he was arrested in 1989 and accused, along with four other Black and brown teenagers — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise — of beating and raping a woman in Central Park.

Members of the group served between five and 12 years in prison before prosecutors agreed to reexamine the case. DNA evidence and a confession ultimately linked a serial rapist and murderer to the attack. The convictions were vacated in 2002 and the city ultimately agreed in a legal settlement to pay the exonerated men $41 million.

“When people look at me and they they know my story, they resonate with it,” Salaam told The Associated Press in an interview before the election. “But now here we are 34 years later, and I’m able to use that platform that I have and repurpose the pain, help people as we climb out of despair.”

New York City’s ranked choice voting rules allows voters to rank the candidates by order of preference. Because of the complexity of the system, it has become tricky to forecast a winner.

If one candidate is the first choice of a majority of voters — more than 50% — that person wins the race outright, just like in a traditional election. But if that threshold isn’t met, the eventual winner will be determined by ranked choice voting. That means the vote count is conducted in rounds. The candidate with the lowest number of first-choice votes is eliminated, and that person’s votes are redistributed to those voters’ second choices.

That analysis can’t be performed until all absentee ballots have been received, a process expected to take around a week.

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June 27, 2023
Chicago mother sues city after murder charges were dropped against her and her son

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A Chicago mother who was accused of telling her teen son to shoot a man at a fast food restaurant is suing the city and arresting officers, a day after murder charges against her and her son were dropped

CHICAGO — A Chicago mother who was accused of telling her teen son to shoot a man at a fast food restaurant is suing the city and arresting officers, a day after murder charges against her and her son were dropped.

Carlishia Hood, 35, was held on $3 million bail after she was charged last week with first-degree murder and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. She was released Monday from the Cook County Jail.

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said it was unable to “meet our burden of proof in the prosecution of these cases.”

“I’ve experienced pain in many ways that I would never have thought,” she said about her arrest. ”What happened to me was totally unnecessary. Never in a million years would I have imagined being brutally attacked, beaten and being arrested.”

Hood alleges malicious prosecution, false arrest and intentional infliction of emotional distress in her lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.

A cellphone video posted on social media over the weekend shows the man yelling at Hood on June 18 to “get your food” before threatening to “knock” her out. He then punches Hood in the face and head several times.

Prosecutors said Hood texted her 14-year-old son, who was outside the restaurant, to come inside.

Jeremy Brown, 32, was shot in the back by the teen and then ran from the restaurant. Hood and her son, whose name was not released due to his age, followed Brown as Hood told the teen to continue shooting, prosecutors said. Brown was pronounced dead at the scene.

The shooting was recorded by surveillance video, but not the cellphone video, officials said. Hood and her son later turned themselves over to police.

Prosecutors said Hood has a valid firearm owner’s identification card and a concealed-carry permit.

Her attorney, Ari Williams, told reporters Monday that “Ms. Hood is and has always been a victim,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

“On June 18 of this year my life changed. My son’s life changed,” she told reporters Tuesday at a news conference.

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June 27, 2023
Meta launches more parental supervision tools for Instagram. Is it enough?

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Instagram and Facebook‘s parent company Meta is adding some new parental supervision tools and privacy features to its platforms as social media companies face increasing scrutiny over their effects on teen mental health.

But many of the features require minors — and their parents — to opt in, raising questions about how effective the measures are. Instagram, for instance, will now send a notice to teens after they have blocked someone, encouraging them to let their parents “supervise” their account. The idea is to grab kids’ attention when they might be more open to parental guidance.

If a teen opts in, the system will let parents set time limits, see who their kid follows or is followed by, and allows them to track how much time the minor spends on Instagram. It does not let parents see message content.

Instagram launched parental supervision tools last year to help families navigate the platform and find resources and guidance. A sticking point in the process is that kids need to sign up if they want parents to supervise their accounts. It’s not clear how many teen users have opted in and Meta has not disclosed any numbers.

Such supervision allows parents to see how many friends their child has in common with accounts the child follows or is followed by. So if the child is followed by someone none of their friends follow, it could raise a red flag that the teen does not know the person in real life.

This, Meta says, “will help parents understand how well their teen knows these accounts, and help prompt offline conversations about those connections.”

Meta is also adding parental supervision tools already available on Instagram and on virtual reality product to Messenger. The opt-in feature lets parents see how much time their child spends on the messaging service and information such as their contact lists and privacy settings — but not who they are chatting with, for instance.

Such features can be useful for families in which parents are already involved in their child’s online life and activities. Experts say that’s not the reality for many people.

Last month, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned that there is not enough evidence to show that social media is safe for children and teens and called on tech companies to take “immediate action to protect kids now.”

Murthy told The Associated Press that while he recognizes social media companies have taken some steps to make their platforms safer, those actions are not enough. For instance, while kids under 13 are technically banned from social media, many younger children access Instagram, TikTok and other apps by lying about their age, either with or without their parents’ permission.

Murthy also said it’s unfair to expect parents to manage what their children do with rapidly evolving technology that “fundamentally changes how their kids think about themselves, how they build friendships, how they experience the world — and technology, by the way, that prior generations never had to manage,”

“We’re putting all of that on the shoulders of parents, which is just simply not fair,” Murthy said.

Also beginning Tuesday, Meta will encourage — but not force — children to take a break from Facebook, just as it already does on Instagram. After 20 minutes, teenage users will get a notice to take time away from the app. If they want to keep scrolling, they can just close the notification. TikTok also recently introduced a 60-minute time limit for users under 18, but they can bypass it by entering a passcode, set either by the teens themselves, or if the child is under 13, by their parent.

“What we are focused on is kind of a suite of tools to support parents and teens on how they how can they can best engage in safe and appropriate experiences online,” said Diana Williams, who oversees product changes for youth and families at Meta. “We’re also trying to build tools that teens can use themselves to learn how to manage and recognize how they’re spending their time. So things like ‘take a break’ and ‘quiet mode’ in the evenings.”

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June 27, 2023
Maine House votes to ensure teens can receive gender-affirming health care

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The Maine House has voted in favor of a bill to ensure 16- and 17-year-olds can receive gender-affirming hormone therapy without parental consent in some situations

The morning fog lifts beyond the Burton M. Cross Building, left, and the State House, Wednesday, June 21, 2023, in Augusta, Maine. The legislature is working to wrap up the current session. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

The Associated Press

AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine House voted Monday in favor of a bill to ensure 16- and 17-year-olds can receive gender-affirming hormone therapy without parental consent if certain conditions are met.

The bill, approved 73-60, allows those teens to undergo treatment without parental consent if they are diagnosed with gender dysphoria, are experiencing harm and have received counseling. It now goes to the Senate for further debate.

Both chambers already voted to enshrine in law a requirement for the state’s Medicaid program to cover gender-affirming care.

Maine’s actions come as a growing number of states seek to ban gender-affirming care.

At least 20 states have now enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, and most of those states face lawsuits.

A federal judge struck down Arkansas’ ban as unconstitutional last week, and federal judges have temporarily blocked bans in Alabama and Indiana. Oklahoma has agreed to not enforce its ban while opponents seek a temporary court order blocking it. A federal judge has blocked Florida from enforcing its ban on three children who have challenged the law.

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June 26, 2023
Analysis: Wembanyama’s arrival bigger than Texas, and he seems up to the challenge

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SAN ANTONIO — SAN ANTONIO (AP) — As Victor Wembanyama took the stage for his first news conference inside his new home arena, he couldn’t help but notice an accessory that the San Antonio Spurs commissioned for the occasion.

It was a replica of the Eiffel Tower — made from Legos. Hundreds of them.

Wembanyama loves Legos. He looked down at the 4-foot replica when he saw it and smiled. And then he sat next to Spurs general manager Brian Wright and started to talk business.

The scene was a perfect microcosm of Wembanyama’s world right now. He’s still a teenager, albeit a very big one, at 19 years old and not averse to saying that he enjoys building things with Legos. And he’s also the player, who seems incredibly mature for his age, on a world stage that the Spurs are betting on to change their fortunes and help them return to championship contention.

“I feel like they’ve already started to take great care of me,” Wembanyama said.

They have to. The world is watching. And the hype level is already incredibly high.

The notion of basketball being a global game and the NBA being a global league is not new, with roughly one out of every four players in the league born outside of the United States. But there’s never been an international player coming into the NBA with the hubbub that Wembanyama has; he’s already a global brand and global phenomenon even without playing an NBA game.

Not even LeBron James had this much global attention when he came into the league 20 years ago.

The Kid from Akron, as he still calls himself, is one of the biggest success stories in the history of sports — grew up with almost nothing, instantly found fame and fortune as a teenager thanks to an enormous Nike contract that he signed when he entered the league, now is a billionaire, the all-time scoring leader in NBA history and still going strong.

LeBron was a big, big, big deal in the U.S. in 2003.

Wembanyama is a big, big, big deal globally right now. That’s the difference.

Stories have been written about him in English, French and Spanish over the weekend. He speaks English just about perfectly, and now that he’s in San Antonio he wants to learn Spanish as well. If he plays for France in the Basketball World Cup this summer — something he wants to do, but time will tell if the Spurs are on board with that plan — he’ll be playing games in Indonesia and the Philippines.

And if he plays on that world stage, he will be getting as much attention as any player in the tournament. Same goes for when he plays at Summer League next month. And it’ll be the case when the NBA season opens; Denver will raise a banner and get championship rings on opening night, some free agents that’ll start agreeing to new deals in the next few days will be in new cities, but every storyline to start the season will have Wembanyama’s 7-foot-plus shadow looming somewhere around it as well.

“Because of all the hype, he’ll have a target on his back,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “So more than Os and Xs to begin with, we’ll be most interested in setting a framework in an environment where he’s comfortable, where he can be Victor. He’s not LeBron or Tim (Duncan) or Kobe (Bryant) or anybody else. He’s Victor and that’s who we want him to be.”

His presence just adds to the level of international stardom in the league right now.

The reigning NBA Finals MVP is Denver’s Nikola Jokic of Serbia, the reigning league MVP and scoring champion is Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid of Cameroon, and the top three finishers in that MVP race this season were all international players — Embiid, Jokic and Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee. That trio has combined for the last five MVP awards; Dallas’ Luka Doncic of Slovenia should be in the MVP mix for years to come as well.

There’s even talk of a World vs. the U.S. format to the All-Star Game before long. That might be a heck of a challenge for the American side.

“We’re really seeing the ongoing continued growth of this league,” Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this year. “I know David Stern, who unfortunately is no longer with us, but it was so much of his vision to turn this into the global game it’s become today. If he’s looking down on us, I know he’d be incredibly proud of those numbers.”

Stern would have loved Wembanyama.

The teenager — already being mentored by past Spurs great big men like Duncan and David Robinson, along with French Spurs Tony Parker and Boris Diaw — is worldly, mature, engaging, funny and somehow has stayed humble even with all the attention. His family shuns the spotlight. They want no part of the attention. Wembanyama’s parents are almost always around, but never meddling.

“To my family, it’s got to be weird sometimes,” Wembanyama said. “It’s got to be strange. There’s a lot of new stuff. But they’re really smart and grounded people. Whenever I need to find stability, I can go to them.”

He’s going to need those bits of normalcy. The challenge that awaits him is as tall as he is and the world is watching.

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Tim Reynolds is a national basketball writer for The Associated Press. Write to him at treynolds(at)ap.org

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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June 25, 2023
Mix of bravado and access to guns contribute to mass shootings by teens in St. Louis, other cities

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CHICAGO — A 1 a.m. shooting at a party in downtown St. Louis kills one and injures nearly a dozen. Gunmen open fire during a fight near Florida’s Hollywood Beach, injuring nine, including a 1-year-old. Bursts of gunfire at a Sweet 16 party in Dadeville, Alabama, kill four and wound more than 30.

What these and other recent mass shootings share in common is they all involve suspects in their teens, highlighting what can be a deadly mix of teenage bravado and impulsiveness with access to guns.

The days when many teens opted to fight out disagreements with fists seem quaint by comparison.

“I remember when I was a child and we had fights — somebody got a black eye or a broken nose and (they) lived to tell about it,” St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones told reporters after Sunday’s shooting.

Reaching for a gun is the default these days for some teens who are as quick to take offense as to pull a trigger, agreed Rodney Phillips, a 50-year-old former Chicago Black Disciples leader who works with gang members nationwide to tamp down festering beefs.

“Now, the first thing out of their mouths is, ‘I’m gonna kill you.’ It’s the brazenness of (the shootings), the reckless abandon, doing it in public places,” Phillips said. “It wasn’t like that when I came up.”

The aunt of 17-year-old Makao Moore, who died in the St. Louis shooting, said teens too often express anger with a gun.

“If we don’t figure it out, it’s going to continue to happen,” Sharonda Moore told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Among the solutions to reducing teen violence, Jones said, was to keep expanding programs offering young people activities in safe spaces, including movie and music nights.

More firearms, and even more powerful firearms, have enabled teens, or anyone wielding a gun, to maim and kill more people in single incidents.

A handgun fired at the April Sweet 16 party — in a dance studio crammed with up to 60 people — had been altered to shoot more rapidly, Alabama Special Agent Jess Thornton told a court hearing.

“Witnesses said it sounded like a machine gun,” the investigator said. Afterward, 89 bullet casings littered the scene and there was “blood everywhere.”

Bullets riddled walls and shattered glass at the shooting in a fifth-floor office in St. Louis. Police released photos of two young men clutching apparent AK-style rifles. One detained suspect was 17.

In many cities, illegal guns are never too far out of reach.

In areas with high gang activity, some guns are stolen from homes, gun stores or trains. To lower the risk of being stopped by police while in possession of guns, gang members typically hide them nearby, tucking the weapons into walls and inside tire rims, he said.

Powerful firearms became more readily available starting in the 1980s, before which knives and low-caliber pistols were often the weapons of choice by teens who killed, said James Alan Fox, a professor of criminology, law and public policy at Northeastern University in Boston.

“With guns, teenagers tend to be trigger happy,” he said. “They’ll pull the trigger without fully thinking about the consequences.”

According to FBI data, around 90% of homicides in 2019 by teens 15 to 17 involved firearms, up from around 60% in 1980. Fox, though, said the rise in homicides by teens hasn’t correlated directly with the rising numbers of guns.

Just how many guns are around and available to teens is impossible to know. The Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey estimated in 2018 that there were some 390 million guns held by civilians in the U.S., more than those held by civilians in the other top 25 countries combined.

Mayor Jones said causes of the kind of violence that occurred Sunday are complex. Among the problems she highlighted was a trend of teenagers spilling into downtown St. Louis for late-night parties, with parents sometimes dropping them off.

“Downtown is not a 1 a.m. destination for your 15-year-old,” she said. “It’s not a place to drop children off unsupervised.”

Investigators in St. Louis, Alabama and Florida didn’t immediately suggest motives for the respective shootings. But indications are tensions rose suddenly in each.

Donna Rhone, whose son’s face was grazed by a bullet in the St. Louis shooting, told KTVI-TV that partygoers had been well-behaved before the shooting.

“Then immediately, that’s when everything shifted,” Rhone said, citing her son. “It goes from being so lighthearted to pure terror.”

When a music speaker fell with a bang at the Alabama party, one person lifted their shirt to display a gun, Thornton said. Shooting began after an announcement telling those with guns to leave. At least three shooting suspects were teens.

Pushing and shoving between two groups preceded the Memorial Day shooting in Florida, when members of one group pulled guns and fired at the other and at bystanders, an affidavit alleged. Among those charged: a 15-year-old, a 16-year-old and an 18-year-old.

For 2020, the first year of the pandemic, numbers of homicides by teens 12 to 17 jumped by nearly 40% compared to the previous year, from 974 to 1,336, according to FBI data. There was a total of around 18,000 homicides in the U.S. in 2020.

Homicides by teens 12 to 17 soared between 1984 and 1994, from 958 to a historic high of 2,800, according to the FBI. After falling to a low of 700 in 2013, numbers crept up, though they remain below mid-90s’ numbers.

When teens kill, their victims are often young.

The St. Louis victims were between 15 and 19. Those killed in the Alabama shooting were 17, 18, 19 and 23, while most of more than two dozen others injured ranged in age from 14 to 19.

Homicide in 2019 was the third leading cause of death for those between ages 12 and 17, behind accidents and suicide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Homicide is now the leading cause of death among African American youth.

Philips said social media is another factor driving teen violence. Feuds fanned in cyberspace with exchanges of insults can spill into the real world with exchanges of gunfire.

In the heat of the moment, peer pressure can contribute to a minor dispute spinning out of control. Fox said around a third of homicides by teens involve two or more people.

“Sometimes, no one individual wants to do the crime but everyone thinks everyone else wants to do it,” he said. “No one wants to be ostracized by the group.”

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June 24, 2023
Once wrongly imprisoned for notorious rape, member of ‘Central Park Five’ is running for office

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NEW YORK — Outside a Harlem subway station, Yusef Salaam, a candidate for New York City Council, hurriedly greeted voters streaming out along Malcolm X Boulevard. For some, no introductions were necessary. They knew his face, his name and his life story.

But to the unfamiliar, Salaam needed only to introduce himself as one of the Central Park Five — one of the Black or Brown teenagers, ages 14 to 16, wrongly accused, convicted and imprisoned for the rape and beating of a white woman jogging in Central Park on April 19, 1989.

Now 49, Salaam is hoping to join the power structure of a city that once worked to put him behind bars.

“I’ve often said that those who have been close to the pain should have a seat at the table,” Salaam said during an interview at his campaign office.

Salaam is one of three candidates in a competitive June 27 Democratic primary almost certain to decide who will represent a Harlem district unlikely to elect a Republican in November’s general election. With early voting already begun, he faces two seasoned political veterans: New York Assembly members Al Taylor, 65, and Inez Dickens, 73, who previously represented Harlem on the City Council.

The incumbent, democratic socialist Kristin Richard Jordan, dropped out of the race in May following a rocky first term.

Now known to some as the “Exonerated Five,” Salaam and the four others — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise — served between five and 12 years in prison for the 1989 rape before a reexamination of the case led to their convictions being vacated in 2002.

DNA evidence linked another man, a serial rapist, to the attack. The city ultimately agreed in a legal settlement to pay the exonerated men $41 million.

Salaam, who was arrested at age 15, served nearly seven years behind bars.

“When people look at me and they they know my story, they resonate with it,” said Salaam, the father of 10 children. “But now here we are 34 years later, and I’m able to use that platform that I have and repurpose the pain, help people as we climb out of despair.”

Those pain points are many in a district that has some of the city’s most entrenched poverty and highest rent burdens.

Poverty in Central Harlem is about 10 points higher than the citywide rate of 18%, according to data compiled by New York University’s Furman Center. More than a fourth of Harlem’s residents pay more than half of their income on rent. And the district has some of the city’s highest rates of homelessness for children.

Salaam said he’s eager to address those crises and more. His opponents say he doesn’t know enough about how local government works to do so.

“No one should go through what my opponent went through, especially as a child. Years later, after he returns to New York, Harlem is in crisis. We don’t have time for a freshman to learn the job, learn the issues and re-learn the community he left behind for Stockbridge, Georgia,” Dickens said, referring to Salaam’s decision to leave the city after his release from prison. He returned to New York in December.

Taylor knows that Salaam’s celebrity is an advantage in the race.

“I think that folks will identify with him and the horrendous scenario that he and his colleagues underwent for a number of years in a prison system that treated him unfairly and unjustly,” Taylor said.

“But his is one of a thousand in this city that we are aware of,” Taylor added. “It’s the Black reality.”

Harlem voter Raynard Gadson, 40, is cognizant of that factor.

“As a Black man myself, I know exactly what’s at stake,” Gadson said. “I don’t think there’s anybody more passionate about challenging systemic issues on the local level in the name of justice because of what he went through,” he said of Salaam.

During a recent debate televised by Spectrum News, Salaam repeatedly mentioned his arrest, prompting Taylor to exclaim that he, too, had been arrested: At age 16, he was caught carrying a machete — a charge later dismissed by a judge willing to give him a second chance.

“We all want affordable housing, we all want safe streets, we all want smarter policing, we all want jobs, we all need education,” Salaam said of the candidates’ common goals. What he offers, he said, is a new voice that can speak about his community’s struggles.

“I have no track record in politics,” he conceded. “I have a great track record in the 34 years of the Central Park jogger case in fighting for freedom, justice and equality.”

All three have received key endorsements. Black activist Cornel West has backed Salaam. Dickens has the backing of New York City Mayor Eric Adams and former New York U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel. Taylor is supported by the Carpenter’s Union.

At a campaign rally for Dickens, Rangel recounted that Salaam had called to say he was entering the race. Rangel then quipped that Salaam had a “foreign name.” Salaam responded pointedly on social media.

“I am a son of Harlem named Yusef Salaam. I went to prison because my name is Yusef Salaam,” he tweeted. “I am proud to be named Yusef Salaam. I am born here, raised here & of here — but even if I wasn’t, we all belong in New York City.”

Rangel and Salaam later talked and resolved the matter, according to a spokesperson for the Dickens campaign.

Unlikely is an apology from Donald Trump, who in 1989 placed newspaper ads before the group went on trial with the blaring headline, “Bring back the death penalty.” The ads did not specifically mention any of the five, but Salaam said the context made it clear.

When asked by a reporter in 2019 if he would ever apologize, Trump said there were “people on both sides” of the matter.

“They admitted their guilt,” Trump had said, of the Central Park Five, referring to confessions that the five later said were coerced. “Some of the prosecutors,” Trump added “think the city should never have settled that case. So, we’ll leave it at that.”

When Trump appeared in a Manhattan court in April on charges of falsifying business records, Salaam mocked him with his own ad on social media that visually mimicked Trump’s from long ago.

“Over 30 years ago, Donald Trump took out full page ads calling for my execution,” Salaam tweeted above the ad, headlined: “Bring Back Justice & Fairness.”

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An earlier version of this report had an incorrect spelling of Cornel West’s first name.

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June 21, 2023