No Indictment for Teacher Over Remark on Mass Shooting

A grand jury on Wednesday declined to indict a Brooklyn teacher who was arrested earlier this month after making a remark about carrying out a mass shooting at her school, her lawyer said.

The teacher, Sabrina Milo, 34, told colleagues at Fort Hamilton High School she was thinking about showing up at the school with a gun and mounting a “Columbine-style” attack. Officers were called to the school, and Ms. Milo, who had taught there since 2001, was pulled from a classroom and later charged with making terrorist threats, a felony that could have resulted in up to five years in prison.

But after listening to testimony, including Ms. Milo’s, a Brooklyn grand jury refused to indict her, said her lawyer, Andrew Stoll.

Mr. Stoll said that she did, in fact, make the remark, but that it was a joke that was blown out of proportion.

“She made a comment in the teachers’ lounge that ‘If I had a trench coat and a shot gun, it’d be Columbine all over again,’?” he said. “But no one took it seriously. Nobody believed it was a realistic threat or believed there was imminent danger.”

After her arrest, Ms. Milo, an art teacher, was reassigned to a Department of Education building on Chambers Street. Barbara Morgan, a department spokeswoman, said last night that she “remains reassigned pending disciplinary charges.”

Mr. Stoll said that Ms. Milo had received dozens of letters from students and teachers expressing their support for her, and that she was happy the grand jury saw “what would’ve been obvious to anyone, which is that even accepting the allegations as true, there was no crime here.”

But, he said, “it’s not over for her until she’s back in the classroom teaching her students.”

A spokesman for the Brooklyn district attorney’s office declined to comment.

 

Murder charge after sub shooting

10 April 2011 Last updated at 17:45 ET Lt Cdr Ian Molyneux's wife Gillian said he would live on in their children A man has been charged with murder and three counts of attempted murder following a shooting on board nuclear submarine HMS Astute.

Lt Cdr Ian Molyneux, 36, of Wigan, Greater Manchester, was shot dead on the submarine while it was docked in Southampton on Friday.

A second man, Lt Cdr Christopher Hodge, was also shot and remains in hospital.

Able Seaman Ryan Samuel Donovan, 22, of Dartford, Kent, is due to appear before magistrates in Southampton on Monday.

The Royal Navy serviceman has also been charged with the attempted murders of Petty Officer Christopher Brown, 36, Chief Petty Officer David McCoy, 37, and Lt Cdr Hodge, 45, Hampshire Police said.

Nick Hawkins, chief Crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service in Wessex, said: "Having reviewed the evidence, I am satisfied that there is sufficient to charge [Mr Donovan] and that it is in the public interest to do so."

On Saturday, Lt Cdr Molyneux's widow, Gillian, paid an emotional tribute to her husband, describing the father of four as "utterly devoted to his family".

'Tragic' incident

She added: "Everything he did was for us. He was very proud to be an officer in the Royal Navy Submarine Service. He will live on in our four beautiful children."

Tributes were also paid by First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope and Capt Phil Buckley, captain of the Faslane Flotilla, to which HMS Astute belongs.

Capt Buckley said Lt Cdr Molyneux's loss would "be felt by his shipmates and across the service. He was, simply, a good bloke".

First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope said the "tragic" incident marked "a very sad day for the Royal Navy and in particular the submarine service".

The shootings took place as local dignitaries - including the city council's mayor, chief executive and leader - were being given a tour of HMS Astute, which was on a five-day official visit to Southampton.

The submarine had been berthed in the city since Wednesday.

The 97m (318ft)-long craft is the UK's newest nuclear-powered attack submarine and is based at the Faslane Naval Base on the River Clyde.

It was named and launched by the Duchess of Cornwall in June 2007 before being welcomed into the Royal Navy in August last year.

HMS Astute ran aground on a shingle bank between the Scottish mainland and the Isle of Skye in October and remained marooned for several hours.

The submarine's nuclear reactor means it does not need refuelling and it makes its own air and water, enabling it to circumnavigate the globe without needing to surface.

 

Two killed in shooting incident

 11 April 2011 Last updated at 07:41 ET Police have sealed off St Lawrence Church and Westbury House Two men have died in a shooting incident in Somerset.

Police were called after reports a man had been shot in Westbury-sub-Mendip near Cheddar just after 2230 BST on Sunday. He died after they arrived.

Officers discovered a second body in a nearby churchyard shortly afterwards, and a shotgun was recovered.

An Avon and Somerset Police spokesman said they were not currently looking for anyone else in connection with the shootings.

Police have sealed off St Lawrence Church and neighbouring property Westbury House.

The force spokesman said crime scene investigators were working to establish the circumstances leading to the two deaths.

'Deeply shocked'

He said: "At 10.39pm on Sunday a call was received by police from someone reporting that a man had been shot at a house in the village.

"Police attended the scene but the man died shortly after the incident.

"An investigation was immediately launched to identify the person responsible and inquiries led to the discovery of a man's body in a nearby churchyard.

"A shotgun was also recovered nearby.

"The reason why this has happened is unclear and officers are keeping an open mind at the moment," he said.

BBC correspondent Jon Kay, who is at the scene, said: "One of my other colleagues was told by a neighbour he heard about six to eight gunshots just after 10.30pm last night."

Ros Wyke, chairman of the parish council, said: "We are all deeply shocked and saddened by it. It's not something you wake up to every day."

She described Westbury-sub-Mendip as "a typical, quiet Somerset village on the side of the Mendip hills, a beautiful, wonderful place to live".

The small village, located between the cathedral city of Wells and Cheddar Gorge, is home to about 850 people.