Bodycam video from the Illinois State Police Department captured the moment a deputy shot a Black woman during a call for help at her home.
Sean Grayson, 30, fired three shots, striking Sonya Massey one time in the face as she ducked for cover behind a kitchen counter separating the two, according to court documents. The shooting followed a verbal exchange about a pot on
Massey, a mother of two teenagers, had called police regarding a suspected intruder in her Springfield home, said Ben Crump, the prominent US civil rights lawyer representing the family.
It is the latest in a running list of high-profile police killings of Black people, including George Floyd, Trayvon Martin and Roger Fortson, that Crump has counseled.
The now-former Illinois sheriff's deputy pleaded not guilty to murder on July 18, according to court documents, one day after he was fired, arrested and charged in the fatal shooting.
A grand jury indicted Grayson, who is white, on five charges, including three counts of murder in the first degree, one count of aggravated battery and one count of official misconduct. He was arraigned in Illinois' Seventh Judicial Circuit Court on Thursday and pled not guilty to all charges. He was jailed until his next court date on August 26.
According to the indictment, Massey had placed a pot of possibly hot water on the counter on Grayson's instructions. Grayson was in the living room when he then drew his firearm and threatened to shoot Massey in the face, prompting her to put her hands in the air, say, "I'm sorry," and duck for cover behind a counter separating the two.
The video is here: https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/07/23/729936/Sean-Grayson
Grayson moved closer, yelled at Massey to put the pot down and opened fire, the document said. He then activated his body camera, though his partner's camera was activated upon arriving on the scene. He is twice her size, according to court files.
Grayson did not render aid and discouraged the other deputy not to provide help. The second deputy, who was not named, stayed by Massey until medics arrived. She was pronounced dead at St. John's Hospital.
(Source: AFP)
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Intelligence Unit says Iran will consider the Israeli regime’s shelters “legitimate targets” if residential areas in the country come under attack.
In a post published on social media platform X on Tuesday, the IRGC said that any strikes on residential areas in Iran would give Iran’s armed forces the right to attack Israeli shelters in the occupied lands.
The IRGC stated that it has intelligence on the blueprints and the exact locations of these shelters.
Iran began its Operation True Promise 4 after the US and Israel launched their joint military aggression against the Islamic Republic in late February by assassinating Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, and several senior Iranian officials.
In its latest wave of attacks, the IRGC said it rained down missiles on the Israeli regime’s “secure” intelligence facilities in Tel Aviv.
Iranian armed forces have also pounded American military bases and ...
In a fresh wave of retaliatory strikes, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) targeted the Israeli regime’s “secure” intelligence facilities in Tel Aviv.
The IRGC’s Public Relations Department said in a statement on Tuesday that it had carried out the 79th wave of its ongoing retaliatory Operation True Promise 4 against the Israeli and American targets.
Deploying powerful Kheybar Shekan, Emad, and Sejjil missiles alongside IRGC Aerospace Force kamikaze drones, the operation successfully breached the regime's multi-layered air defense systems, the statement said.
The missiles, it stated, targeted Israel’s intelligence facilities in northern and central Tel Aviv, as well as military commercial and support centers in Ramat Gan and the Negev.
The missiles also hit Israel’s southern military logistics and command headquarters in Beersheba.
The missile strikes triggered widespread panic across Israel and forced the suspension of a Knesset (parliament) session on Tuesday.
...
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announces staging the 78th wave of its underway retaliatory Operation True Promise 4, targeting such highly sensitive Israeli targets as Dimona, Tel Aviv, and Eilat as well as several US military bases in the region.
In a statement on Tuesday, the IRGC described the latest phase of the operation as a significant development featuring missiles raining down on enemy targets as the nation was leveling momentous support behind the Islamic Republic by attending millions-strong rallies with "clenched fists."
'A distinct record'
The latest phase, it noted, "has set a distinct record in the timeline of the war."
According to the statement, targets in the occupied port of Eilat, Dimona, a heavily fortified city that hosts the Israeli regime's notorious nuclear reactor in its vicinity, and northern Tel Aviv were struck using Emad and multi-warhead Qadr missile systems along with attack drones.
This was the second time the Corps was hitting Dimona, ...
