White residue found on the gun used to kill supervising Fire Marshal Douglas Mercereau tested out as salt

White residue found on the gun used to kill supervising Fire Marshal Douglas Mercereau tested out as salt, a forensics scientist told jurors today.But former NYPD criminalist Kristen McDonald didn't know where the salt came from, or how the murdered fire marshal's stainless Smith & Wesson 9mm service weapon wound up with rust inside the slide, behind the muzzle and in front of the trigger guard."The source [of the white residue] cannot be conducively determined," Ms. McDonald testified as to what she wrote in her report that documented her findings.No tests were conducted on the rust found on the gun, Ms. McDonald said.
Prosecutors charge that Janet Redmond-Mercereau shot her husband three times in the head with his service pistol as he slept in his bed inside their Oakwood home on Dec. 2, 2007, then tried to cover her tracks by running the gun through a dishwasher to wash away prints.On Monday, Crime Scene Unit Detective Charles Reiss told jurors he lifted a print from the empty magazine inside the murder weapon. The print was sent to the Department's Major Case lab for analysis, but so far test results of that print have not come out during trial.Defense attorneys Mario Gallucci and Joseph Benfante maintain the print does not belong to Mrs. Redmond-Mercereau.
Today, Benfante attempted to pin the source of the rust on investigators' handling of the weapon after it was recovered following the shooting.

18-year-old man was accidentally shot to death by his roommate

18-year-old man was accidentally shot to death by his roommate Tuesday afternoon in east Portland, police said.Portland police were called to the house at East Burnside and 117th Avenue at 2:30 p.m. When they arrived, they found the body of 18-year-old Chance Caron inside, said Mary Wheat of the Portland Police Bureau.
Wheat said Caron's roommate, 18-year-old Andrew Perez, was inside the house when Caron was shot. After serving a search warrant at the home, police recovered a gun used in the incident and they arrested Perez, authorities said.Perez pleaded not guilty in court Wednesday to one count of criminally negligent homicide and friends gathered outside the courthouse to show support. They said they knew Caron and Perez and can't believe what happened. "(Perez) is a great guy. I can't even begin to explain. He's like a brother to me. I can't see him in there like this," said William Zeller, who is a friend of Perez and Caron. "This is a big accident, one big accident. This is not Andrew."Detectives said Caron appeared to have died from a single gunshot wound and they believe Perez accidentally fired the gun. So far, police haven't said what led up to the shooting.Perez's next court date is set for next month

One man is in custody after Shreveport Police say he was in possession of a firearm illegally.

One man is in custody after Shreveport Police say he was in possession of a firearm illegally. Officers were called to East Dudley and Alexandria Avenue around 3:30pm. Neighbors heard a gunshot and called police. Officers arrived to find two men had been fighting, and one pulled a gun. The man accused of pulling the gun already had a warrant out for his arrest, so Shreveport Police took him into custody. No one was hurt.

Two people are hospitalized with gun shot wounds

Two people are hospitalized with gun shot wounds Tuesday night, Reno Police Sgt. Tom Robinson said.RPD officers were alerted that a victim of a gun shot was dropped off at a local hospital, Robinson said. The van that left the man took off, but officers stopped it near 4th and Arlington downtown, he said.Inside, he said officers found another person with a gun shot wound and took him to the hospital.RPD is investigating if the incident is connected to a report of shots being fired during a fight near Saddlier and Wells. That report was ten minutes before the call from the hospital about the gun shot victim, Robinson said.One victim needed surgery, but Robinson said neither man's wounds appear life-threatening.

Police in St. Cloud are looking for a second suspect in a fatal shooting

Police in St. Cloud are looking for a second suspect in a fatal shooting that led to the lockdown of several schools in the area.
Police say a 46-year-old man died in the Wednesday afternoon shooting. He has not been identified. One man was arrested immediately following the shooting at about 3:15 p.m. Several schools in the area were locked down for about two and a half hours. They were the Area Learning Center, St. Cloud Technical College and Saints Peter, Paul and Michael Middle School.

Huntsville Police are investigating a shooting

Huntsville Police are investigating a shooting that occurred about 9:45 p.m. HEMSI Paramedics were called to a convenience store near Sparkman Drive and Executive Drive after a person reportedly suffered a gunshot wound to the ankle. It was not immediately clear where the shooting actually occurred and the victim was taken to Huntsville Hospital with what was thought to be non-life threatening injuries.

Two men, who allegedly shot and robbed a schoolgirl of her laptop on Saturday

Two men, who allegedly shot and robbed a schoolgirl of her laptop on Saturday, were yesterday charged with the indictable offence of robbery under arms and with discharging a loaded firearm.
The men appeared before Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton yesterday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
It was alleged that Ade Doobay, on April 25, with the intent to maim, disfigure or cause grievous bodily harm, discharged a loaded firearm at Samantha Hollingsworth. He pleaded not guilty.
It was further alleged that Ade Doobay and Odel Chase, while being armed with a gun, robbed Samantha Hollingsworth of a laptop computer valued at $300,000.
They both pleaded not guilty. Both Doobay and Chase were represented by attorney-at-law Mortimer Coddett, who in an unsuccessful bid to secure bail told the court that both defendants have an unblemished record.
The lawyer further told the court that Hollingsworth had given a statement saying that the bandits were on a silver motorcycle. He, however, told the court that neither of the men in court owns a sliver motorcycle. He contended that this raises a lot of questions as to who really committed the crime.
Police Prosecutor Robert Clement objected to bail.
Both defendants were remanded and are expected to make another court appearance on May 18.
On Saturday last, the school girl and 13 other students from the North Ruimveldt Multilateral School were studying in the Botanical Gardens when the bandits pounced on them.
Hollingsworth was shot in the right ankle and thigh.
The two defendants were apprehended in the Albouystown area about an hour after the incident and taken to the hospital for a confrontation with the victim.

Authorities say a man with a rifle opened fire on a group of people eating at a Los Angeles-area taco truck

Authorities say a man with a rifle opened fire on a group of people eating at a Los Angeles-area taco truck, killing a 59-year-old man and wounding five other people.Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Byron Ward says the shooting occurred Wednesday night in Lennox, an unincorporated area near Los Angeles International Airport.
Ward says one victim died at the scene and the others were taken to hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to serious.
Among the wounded were two men, a woman and two boys — one 12 years old.Authorities are searching for the gunman.

Thirteen people were killed at a university in Azerbaijan when a gunman went from floor to floor firing on teachers and students

Thirteen people were killed at a university in Azerbaijan when a gunman went from floor to floor firing on teachers and students after the bell rang for morning classes. The gunman, a Georgian citizen of Azeri origin described as a loner by local media, was among the dead.The government said it did not see a political motive behind the shooting at the prestigious State Oil Academy in Baku, capital of the mainly Muslim former Soviet republic which exports oil and gas to Europe from the Caspian Sea.Witnesses said the shooting began shortly after classes began at 9am. (5pm NZT).
"He climbed from the first floor to the sixth, shooting people mainly in the head from a Makarov pistol," the state prosecutor's office said. The Makarov is a Russian-made semi-automatic pistol.
Thirteen people were killed and 13 wounded. Blood stained the steps to the university and staff and paramedics carried out bodies in bags.A witness said one student had tried to stop the gunman, approaching him and shouting: "Don't shoot, don't shoot!" He was shot in the head.

Tokoroa takeaway shop owner who shot a burglar is a hero

Tokoroa takeaway shop owner who shot a burglar is a hero and shouldn't be charged, says a man last year prosecuted for firing a gun at fleeing burglars. Garth Gadsby, 62, was fined $3000 last year for recklessly discharging a firearm at a car carrying two burglars in the coastal Wairarapa village of Ngawi in September 2006.Mr Gadsby said today Zhuo Feng Jiang, 26, had "every right" to shoot an armed man who entered his South Waikato family-owned restaurant and takeaway store on Monday night, demanding money.
"When someone enters your home or shop like that intruder did, armed, then he has every right to shoot him," he told The Waikato Times.Mr Zhuo was in the restaurant's chiller when the balaclava-clad man walked in the backdoor and threw a bag on the floor, demanding Mr Zhuo's cousin, Chun Peng Jiang, fill it with money.
After he fired two shots, the store owners wrestled the gun off him.
Mr Zhuo fired two shots – one into the ground and the second hitting the man in the knee.Police have not decided whether Mr Zhuo would face charges.Mr Zhuo said he shot the robber in the leg to prevent being attacked.He was not scared and would do it again.
"I hate these people. I will never give them any money."The alleged robber had surgery on his knee yesterday afternoon and was due to face a bedside court sitting today.