Justice officials hear complaints in Mo.

Justice officials hear complaints in Mo.

FERGUSON, Mo.

Department of Justice investigators on Wednesday heard one story after another about police harassment and brutality in Ferguson, the suburban St. Louis city where 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer last month.

At least 300 people crammed into a room at St. Louis Community College’s Florissant Valley campus for the meeting hosted by the department’s Civil Rights Division. The investigators were seeking direct input from residents who live in and near Ferguson.

There was no public-comment period, but tables were set up for people to share their concerns privately with DOJ officials.

Red Cross team attacked in Guinea

CONAKRY, Guinea

A Red Cross team was attacked while collecting bodies believed to be infected with Ebola in southeastern Guinea, the latest in a string of assaults that are hindering efforts to control West Africa’s current outbreak.

One Red Cross worker is recovering after being wounded in in the neck in Tuesday’s attack in Forecariah, according to Benoit Carpentier, a spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Family members of the dead initially set upon the six volunteers and vandalized their cars, said Mariam Barry, a resident. Eventually, a crowd went to the regional health office, where they threw rocks at the building.

FBI: Mass shootings rise dramatically

WASHINGTON

A new FBI report says the number of shootings in which a gunman wounds or kills multiple people has increased dramatically in recent years.

The study focuses on 160 “active shooter incidents” between 2000 and 2013. Those are typically defined as cases in which a gunman in an attack shoots or attempts to shoot multiple people in a populated area.

According to the report, an average of six shootings occurred in the first seven years that were studied. That average rose to 16 shootings in the last seven years of the study.

Examples of the killings studied include the 2012 deadly shootings at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., and at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

Officials hope the report identifies common themes and helps local law enforcement prepare for and respond to similar shootings.

Suspect caught in missing-student case

RICHMOND, Va.

A man charged in the disappearance of a University of Virginia student was captured in Texas on Wednesday, a day after police announced they had probable cause to arrest him.

Police believe Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr. was the last person seen with Hannah Graham, an 18-year-old sophomore who went missing Sept. 13. Authorities obtained a felony warrant for his arrest late Tuesday. He has been charged with abduction with intent to defile.

No indictment in Walmart shooting

CINCINNATI

Officers’ actions were justified in the fatal shooting of a man holding an air rifle inside an Ohio Walmart store, a grand jury determined Wednesday — using surveillance video the slain man’s family said shows the shooting was completely unjustified.

The Greene County grand jury opted not to issue any indictments in the Aug. 5 death of 22-year-old John Crawford III inside a Walmart in Beavercreek, Special Prosecutor Mark Piepmeier said.

Associated Press