Latest news with #Against
Metro
6 days ago
- Metro
More than 5,000,000 UK victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking
Around one in 10 people have been victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking, the latest bleak figures reveal. One in eight women and one in 12 men have reported being victims of these types of crimes despite the government promising a clamp down. This is a total of 5.1 million people aged 16 and over in England and Wales, the Office for National Statistics said. Heidi Riedel, CEO of Woman's Trust, told Metro: 'The overwhelming number of abuse survivors are female. 'Survivors deserve better – and the government must do better if it's serious about addressing not only the incidents of VAWG but also the impact. 'What the numbers won't include is people who either don't yet recognise that what they are experiencing is domestic abuse, for example people in coercively controlling relationships or where their partner might be restricting access to finances, for example.' To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Around 100 women are killed by men each year – often ones closest to them. Ministers have promised to halve levels in a decade in its strategy to end violence against women and girls. The latest figures are slightly lower than last year's estimate of 5.4 million people. But the ONS said these estimates are still in development and are subject to change, and caution should be taken when making comparisons. Gemma Sherrington, CEO of Refuge, told Metro: 'We are in an epidemic of violence against women and girls (VAWG), so sadly, the latest ONS estimates around the prevalence of domestic abuse come as no surprise. 'We welcome improvements to data collection, but these figures are likely to represent the tip of the iceberg as VAWG remains severely under-reported. 'The Government must take urgent action if it is to achieve its pledge to halve VAWG within the next decade.' More Trending Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said it is the first time combining reports of domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking. She said: 'As part of our mission to tackle the national emergency of Violence Against Women and Girls, we have made sure that for the first time the figures are being recorded in a combined way, showing that one in eight women were victims of domestic abuse, stalking or sexual assault last year. 'That is why we have already started to put domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms, invested in major new perpetrator programmes, and why we are publishing a transformative cross-government VAWG strategy in September, because everybody has a right to feel safe on our streets.' The figures have been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) using data collected as part of the Crime Survey for England and Wales. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Officer in Manchester Airport brawl 'was an uncontrolled bully with a badge' MORE: Multiple bodies found in Cornwall woodland during police hunt for missing man MORE: Man in his 60s 'raped in the street outside a church'
Hamilton Spectator
6 days ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Judge orders Wisconsin school shooter's father to stand trial on charges he allowed access to guns
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The father of a Wisconsin school shooter must stand trial on charges he allowed her access to the guns she used in the deadly attack, a court commissioner ruled Thursday, rejecting arguments that he didn't know she was considering violence and didn't physically hand her the weapons at the school. Dane County Court Commissioner John Rome issued the order in Jeffrey Rupnow's case following a preliminary hearing, a routine step in the criminal justice process in which a court official decides whether enough evidence exists to order a trial. Rupnow, 43, faces two counts of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a minor and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The charges carry a combined maximum sentence of 18 years in prison. Deadly attack at Madison school Rupnow's 15-year-old daughter, Natalie Rupnow, opened fire in December at Abundant Life Christian School, a religious school she attended in Madison. She killed teacher Erin Michelle West and 14-year-old old student Rubi Bergara and wounded six others before she shot herself in the head. Investigators recovered a 9 mm Glock handgun from the room where Natalie Rupnow died as well as a .22-caliber Sig Sauer pistol from a bag the girl was carrying. Also in the bag were three magazines loaded with .22 ammunition and a 50-round box of 9 mm ammunition. Prosecutors charged Jeffery Rupnow this past May, alleging in a criminal complaint that he told investigators his daughter was struggling to cope with her parents' divorce and he bought her the guns as way to connect with her. He also told investigators that he kept the guns in a safe but told her the code to unlock it, according to the complaint. The day before the school attack, the complaint says he took the Sig Sauer out of the safe so she could clean it, but he wasn't sure if he put the weapon back in the safe or locked it. Shooter declared a 'War Against Humanity' A search of Natalie's room netted a six-page document the girl had written entitled 'War Against Humanity,' the complaint said. She started the piece by describing humanity as 'filth' and saying she hated people who don't care and 'smoke their lungs out with weed or drink as much as they can like my own father.' She wrote about how she admired school shooters, how her mother was not in her life and how she obtained her weapons 'by lies and manipulation, and my fathers stupidity.' Rupnow looked on in silence Thursday as his attorney, Lisa Goldman, argued that he acted like a reasonable parent. He kept all their guns in a safe, which isn't required under Wisconsin law. Many Wisconsin parents teach their children how to shoot and Natalie passed a gun safety course, Goldman added. Even though he told investigators that Natalie was struggling over the divorce, he had no reason to think giving her guns would cause more problems, Goldman said. He didn't know how to access her social media accounts, Natalie rarely let him into her room and her therapy records from 2021 to the spring of 2024 showed no indication of suicidal thoughts, Goldman added. Rupnow told Natalie that the gun safe code was his Social Security number in reverse but never gave her the actual number, Goldman continued. She questioned whether Natalie's mother may have given her the number, pointing out that police never checked her mother's electronic devices. Goldman also argued that the school attack took place outside of Rupnow's parental supervision — he was at his job as a recycling truck driver when Natalie opened fire — and he would have had to hand Natalie the guns at Abundant Life to be criminally liable. Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne countered that Goldman should make her arguments at trial, not during a preliminary hearing. Rome said in his order sending Rupnow to trial that giving his daughter guns could amount to giving her the pass code and giving her the Sig Sauer the night before the attack. Parents charged in school shootings across the country Rupnow is another in a line of parents to face charges in connection with a school shooting. Last year, the mother and father of a school shooter in Michigan who killed four students in 2021 were each convicted of involuntary manslaughter . The mother was the first parent in the U.S. to be held responsible for a child carrying out a mass school attack. The father of a 14-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting four people at a Georgia high school was arrested in September and faces charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for letting his son possess a weapon. In 2023, the father of a man charged in a deadly Fourth of July parade shooting in suburban Chicago pleaded guilty to seven misdemeanors related to how his son obtained a gun license. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Judge orders Wisconsin school shooter's father to stand trial on charges he allowed access to guns
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The father of a Wisconsin school shooter must stand trial on charges he allowed her access to the guns she used in the deadly attack, a court commissioner ruled Thursday, rejecting arguments that he didn't know she was considering violence and didn't physically hand her the weapons at the school. Dane County Court Commissioner John Rome issued the order in Jeffrey Rupnow's case following a preliminary hearing, a routine step in the criminal justice process in which a court official decides whether enough evidence exists to order a trial. Rupnow, 43, faces two counts of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a minor and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The charges carry a combined maximum sentence of 18 years in prison. Deadly attack at Madison school Rupnow's 15-year-old daughter, Natalie Rupnow, opened fire in December at Abundant Life Christian School, a religious school she attended in Madison. She killed teacher Erin Michelle West and 14-year-old old student Rubi Bergara and wounded six others before she shot herself in the head. Investigators recovered a 9 mm Glock handgun from the room where Natalie Rupnow died as well as a .22-caliber Sig Sauer pistol from a bag the girl was carrying. Also in the bag were three magazines loaded with .22 ammunition and a 50-round box of 9 mm ammunition. Prosecutors charged Jeffery Rupnow this past May, alleging in a criminal complaint that he told investigators his daughter was struggling to cope with her parents' divorce and he bought her the guns as way to connect with her. He also told investigators that he kept the guns in a safe but told her the code to unlock it, according to the complaint. The day before the school attack, the complaint says he took the Sig Sauer out of the safe so she could clean it, but he wasn't sure if he put the weapon back in the safe or locked it. Shooter declared a 'War Against Humanity' A search of Natalie's room netted a six-page document the girl had written entitled 'War Against Humanity,' the complaint said. She started the piece by describing humanity as 'filth' and saying she hated people who don't care and 'smoke their lungs out with weed or drink as much as they can like my own father.' She wrote about how she admired school shooters, how her mother was not in her life and how she obtained her weapons 'by lies and manipulation, and my fathers stupidity.' Rupnow looked on in silence Thursday as his attorney, Lisa Goldman, argued that he acted like a reasonable parent. He kept all their guns in a safe, which isn't required under Wisconsin law. Many Wisconsin parents teach their children how to shoot and Natalie passed a gun safety course, Goldman added. Even though he told investigators that Natalie was struggling over the divorce, he had no reason to think giving her guns would cause more problems, Goldman said. He didn't know how to access her social media accounts, Natalie rarely let him into her room and her therapy records from 2021 to the spring of 2024 showed no indication of suicidal thoughts, Goldman added. Rupnow told Natalie that the gun safe code was his Social Security number in reverse but never gave her the actual number, Goldman continued. She questioned whether Natalie's mother may have given her the number, pointing out that police never checked her mother's electronic devices. Goldman also argued that the school attack took place outside of Rupnow's parental supervision — he was at his job as a recycling truck driver when Natalie opened fire — and he would have had to hand Natalie the guns at Abundant Life to be criminally liable. Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne countered that Goldman should make her arguments at trial, not during a preliminary hearing. Rome said in his order sending Rupnow to trial that giving his daughter guns could amount to giving her the pass code and giving her the Sig Sauer the night before the attack. Parents charged in school shootings across the country Rupnow is another in a line of parents to face charges in connection with a school shooting. Last year, the mother and father of a school shooter in Michigan who killed four students in 2021 were each convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The mother was the first parent in the U.S. to be held responsible for a child carrying out a mass school attack. The father of a 14-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting four people at a Georgia high school was arrested in September and faces charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for letting his son possess a weapon. In 2023, the father of a man charged in a deadly Fourth of July parade shooting in suburban Chicago pleaded guilty to seven misdemeanors related to how his son obtained a gun license.
The Independent
6 days ago
- The Independent
Judge orders Wisconsin school shooter's father to stand trial on charges he allowed access to guns
The father of a Wisconsin school shooter must stand trial on charges he allowed her access to the guns she used in the deadly attack, a court commissioner ruled Thursday, rejecting arguments that he didn't know she was considering violence and didn't physically hand her the weapons at the school. Dane County Court Commissioner John Rome issued the order in Jeffrey Rupnow's case following a preliminary hearing, a routine step in the criminal justice process in which a court official decides whether enough evidence exists to order a trial. Rupnow, 43, faces two counts of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a minor and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The charges carry a combined maximum sentence of 18 years in prison. Deadly attack at Madison school Rupnow's 15-year-old daughter, Natalie Rupnow, opened fire in December at Abundant Life Christian School, a religious school she attended in Madison. She killed teacher Erin Michelle West and 14-year-old old student Rubi Bergara and wounded six others before she shot herself in the head. Investigators recovered a 9 mm Glock handgun from the room where Natalie Rupnow died as well as a .22-caliber Sig Sauer pistol from a bag the girl was carrying. Also in the bag were three magazines loaded with .22 ammunition and a 50-round box of 9 mm ammunition. Prosecutors charged Jeffery Rupnow this past May, alleging in a criminal complaint that he told investigators his daughter was struggling to cope with her parents' divorce and he bought her the guns as way to connect with her. He also told investigators that he kept the guns in a safe but told her the code to unlock it, according to the complaint. The day before the school attack, the complaint says he took the Sig Sauer out of the safe so she could clean it, but he wasn't sure if he put the weapon back in the safe or locked it. Shooter declared a 'War Against Humanity' A search of Natalie's room netted a six-page document the girl had written entitled 'War Against Humanity," the complaint said. She started the piece by describing humanity as 'filth' and saying she hated people who don't care and 'smoke their lungs out with weed or drink as much as they can like my own father.' She wrote about how she admired school shooters, how her mother was not in her life and how she obtained her weapons 'by lies and manipulation, and my fathers stupidity.' Rupnow looked on in silence Thursday as his attorney, Lisa Goldman, argued that he acted like a reasonable parent. He kept all their guns in a safe, which isn't required under Wisconsin law. Many Wisconsin parents teach their children how to shoot and Natalie passed a gun safety course, Goldman added. Even though he told investigators that Natalie was struggling over the divorce, he had no reason to think giving her guns would cause more problems, Goldman said. He didn't know how to access her social media accounts, Natalie rarely let him into her room and her therapy records from 2021 to the spring of 2024 showed no indication of suicidal thoughts, Goldman added. Rupnow told Natalie that the gun safe code was his Social Security number in reverse but never gave her the actual number, Goldman continued. She questioned whether Natalie's mother may have given her the number, pointing out that police never checked her mother's electronic devices. Goldman also argued that the school attack took place outside of Rupnow's parental supervision — he was at his job as a recycling truck driver when Natalie opened fire — and he would have had to hand Natalie the guns at Abundant Life to be criminally liable. Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne countered that Goldman should make her arguments at trial, not during a preliminary hearing. Rome said in his order sending Rupnow to trial that giving his daughter guns could amount to giving her the pass code and giving her the Sig Sauer the night before the attack. Parents charged in school shootings across the country Rupnow is another in a line of parents to face charges in connection with a school shooting. Last year, the mother and father of a school shooter in Michigan who killed four students in 2021 were each convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The mother was the first parent in the U.S. to be held responsible for a child carrying out a mass school attack. The father of a 14-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting four people at a Georgia high school was arrested in September and faces charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for letting his son possess a weapon. In 2023, the father of a man charged in a deadly Fourth of July parade shooting in suburban Chicago pleaded guilty to seven misdemeanors related to how his son obtained a gun license.
Associated Press
6 days ago
- Associated Press
Judge orders Wisconsin school shooter's father to stand trial on charges he allowed access to guns
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The father of a Wisconsin school shooter must stand trial on charges he allowed her access to the guns she used in the deadly attack, a court commissioner ruled Thursday, rejecting arguments that he didn't know she was considering violence and didn't physically hand her the weapons at the school. Dane County Court Commissioner John Rome issued the order in Jeffrey Rupnow's case following a preliminary hearing, a routine step in the criminal justice process in which a court official decides whether enough evidence exists to order a trial. Rupnow, 43, faces two counts of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a minor and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The charges carry a combined maximum sentence of 18 years in prison. Deadly attack at Madison school Rupnow's 15-year-old daughter, Natalie Rupnow, opened fire in December at Abundant Life Christian School, a religious school she attended in Madison. She killed teacher Erin Michelle West and 14-year-old old student Rubi Bergara and wounded six others before she shot herself in the head. Investigators recovered a 9 mm Glock handgun from the room where Natalie Rupnow died as well as a .22-caliber Sig Sauer pistol from a bag the girl was carrying. Also in the bag were three magazines loaded with .22 ammunition and a 50-round box of 9 mm ammunition. Prosecutors charged Jeffery Rupnow this past May, alleging in a criminal complaint that he told investigators his daughter was struggling to cope with her parents' divorce and he bought her the guns as way to connect with her. He also told investigators that he kept the guns in a safe but told her the code to unlock it, according to the complaint. The day before the school attack, the complaint says he took the Sig Sauer out of the safe so she could clean it, but he wasn't sure if he put the weapon back in the safe or locked it. Shooter declared a 'War Against Humanity' A search of Natalie's room netted a six-page document the girl had written entitled 'War Against Humanity,' the complaint said. She started the piece by describing humanity as 'filth' and saying she hated people who don't care and 'smoke their lungs out with weed or drink as much as they can like my own father.' She wrote about how she admired school shooters, how her mother was not in her life and how she obtained her weapons 'by lies and manipulation, and my fathers stupidity.' Rupnow looked on in silence Thursday as his attorney, Lisa Goldman, argued that he acted like a reasonable parent. He kept all their guns in a safe, which isn't required under Wisconsin law. Many Wisconsin parents teach their children how to shoot and Natalie passed a gun safety course, Goldman added. Even though he told investigators that Natalie was struggling over the divorce, he had no reason to think giving her guns would cause more problems, Goldman said. He didn't know how to access her social media accounts, Natalie rarely let him into her room and her therapy records from 2021 to the spring of 2024 showed no indication of suicidal thoughts, Goldman added. Rupnow told Natalie that the gun safe code was his Social Security number in reverse but never gave her the actual number, Goldman continued. She questioned whether Natalie's mother may have given her the number, pointing out that police never checked her mother's electronic devices. Goldman also argued that the school attack took place outside of Rupnow's parental supervision — he was at his job as a recycling truck driver when Natalie opened fire — and he would have had to hand Natalie the guns at Abundant Life to be criminally liable. Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne countered that Goldman should make her arguments at trial, not during a preliminary hearing. Rome said in his order sending Rupnow to trial that giving his daughter guns could amount to giving her the pass code and giving her the Sig Sauer the night before the attack. Parents charged in school shootings across the country Rupnow is another in a line of parents to face charges in connection with a school shooting. Last year, the mother and father of a school shooter in Michigan who killed four students in 2021 were each convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The mother was the first parent in the U.S. to be held responsible for a child carrying out a mass school attack. The father of a 14-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting four people at a Georgia high school was arrested in September and faces charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for letting his son possess a weapon. In 2023, the father of a man charged in a deadly Fourth of July parade shooting in suburban Chicago pleaded guilty to seven misdemeanors related to how his son obtained a gun license.
