Tribune
Suspect On The Loose After Allegedly Shooting 6 People To Death In Killing Spree

PENNSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A man suspected of going to three houses in the Philadelphia suburbs and fatally shooting six people, including his ex-wife and her 14-year-old niece, was at large Monday night, and a prosecutor said investigators didn't know where he was or how he was getting around.

Police recovered the cellphone and car of Bradley William Stone, who had recently been in court fighting with his ex-wife over custody of their two children. SWAT teams surrounded his Pennsburg home and pleaded through a bullhorn for him to surrender, but Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said it was unclear if he was there.

"As I stand here right now, we do not know where he is," Ferman told reporters at an evening news briefing.

The shooting rampage started before dawn at the home of Stone's former sister-in-law in Souderton and ended about 90 minutes later at ex-wife Nicole Stone's apartment in nearby Harleysville, Ferman said, correcting a timeline that had been based on when the crime scenes were discovered.

Nicole Stone's sister, Patricia Flick, her sister's husband, Aaron Flick, and the couple's 14-year-old daughter, Nina Flick, were killed in the first wave of violence, which wasn't discovered until just before 8 a.m., Ferman said.

Their 17-year-old son, Anthony Flick, was pulled from the home with a head wound around 12:30 p.m. and was taken in an armored vehicle and then by helicopter to a Philadelphia hospital for treatment.

Photo of suspect released in deadly Pa. shooting s …Play video

Nicole Stone's mother, Joanne Hill, and grandmother Patricia Hill were killed next at their home in nearby Lansdale. Investigators were alerted by a hang-up call to emergency dispatchers, Ferman said.

Nicole Stone's neighbors at the Pheasant Run Apartments in Harleysville said they were awoken around 5 a.m. by the sounds of breaking glass and gunshots coming from her apartment. They said they saw Stone fleeing with their two children and alerted authorities.

"She would tell anybody who would listen that he was going to kill her and that she was really afraid for her life," neighbor Evan Weron said.

The two children Stone took from his ex-wife's house were safe, Ferman said. She did not say anything about what weapon or weapons were used.

Stone, who's white, about 5-foot-10 and 195 pounds, was likely wearing military fatigues and was known to use a cane or walker, but it's possible he did not need them, Ferman said.

View gallery

Police gather near a home, Monday, Dec. 15, 2014, in Pennsburg, Pa., where suspect Bradley Wil …

Harleysville, Lansdale and Souderton are within a few miles of each other. Police with armored vehicles and rifles moved to Pennsburg after spending several hours outside the home in Souderton where several victims were found.

Several school districts ordered students and teachers to shelter in place.

"Everything started being blocked off, the SWAT was then later called in, then we had the tanks pull up," said Don Smith, describing the scene near his Souderton home.

Brad and Nicole Stone married in 2004 and filed for divorce in March 2009, according to court records.

Brad Stone, 35, remarried last year, according to records. Nicole Stone, 33, became engaged over the summer, neighbors said.

View gallery

Police gather near a home, Monday, Dec. 15, 2014, in Pennsburg, Pa., where suspect Bradley William S …

The former had couple sparred over custody of their two children, with Brad Stone filing an emergency petition Dec. 5 and Nicole Stone responding with a counterclaim Dec. 9. The outcome of their dispute was unclear.

Weron, the neighbor, said Bradley Stone is a military veteran. Court records show he recently faced several driving under the influence charges, one of which was handled a year ago in veterans' court.

Weron said Nicole Stone would talk frequently about the custody dispute.

"(Nicole) came into the house a few times, a few separate occasions, crying about how it was very upsetting to her," Weron said.

___

Dale reported from Harleysville. Associated Press writer Kathy Matheson contributed from Souderton and Harleysville.

Vatican City (AFP) - The Vatican on Monday offered to help the United States in its efforts to close Guantanamo prison, a goal fervently supported by Pope Francis.

The offer came during talks between the pontiff's Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, the number two in the Vatican hierarchy, and John Kerry, the US Secretary of State.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said the Holy See welcomed recent signs President Barack Obama appears to have accelerated efforts to close the controversial facility where some detainees have been held for more than a decade without charge and tortured.

He said the Vatican stood ready to "help find adequate humanitarian solutions through our international contacts" in order to help place detainees, adding that Parolin and Kerry had discussed the issue in depth.

Obama came to power six years ago promising to close Guantanamo, but has been frustrated in his efforts by a combination of opposition from Congress and the difficulties involved in finding homes for prisoners who are often unwanted by their home states and/or suspected of involvement in terrorist actions, including the September 11, 2001, attacks in some cases.

The pope made clear his feelings on the kind of abuses associated with Guantanamo in October, when he railed against the "penal populism" that led to countries facilitating torture, using the death penalty and incarcerating people without trial.

View gallery

An April 9, 2014 photo taken during an escorted visit and reviewed by the US military shows a US sol …

"These abuses will only stop if the international community firmly commits to recognising... the principle of placing human dignity above all else," he said.

Six prisoners -- four Syrians, a Palestinian and a Tunisian -- left Guantanamo earlier this month for Uruguay after 13 years of detention. That left 136 still incarcerated, 67 of whom had been cleared for release by the US administration.

Of that group, 54 are Yemenis who cannot go home because of the country's chaotic current state.

Of the men who have not been cleared for release, some 15 are classified as "high value" detainees currently considered too dangerous to be tried or incarcerated in the United States.

For Guantanamo to be closed, Obama will have to persuade Congress to accept the transfer of this group to US facilities, which currently looks unlikely according to most observers of the US political scene.

Kerry was in Rome for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of an effort to relaunch a peace process in the Middle East. The Vatican spokesman said Francis welcomed the US efforts on that score.

By Jibran Ahmad

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Taliban gunmen in Pakistan took hundreds of students and teachers hostage on Tuesday in a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar, military officials said.

A Reuters journalist at the scene heard heavy gunfire from inside the school as soldiers surrounded it. Helicopters swooped overhead and a fleet of ambulances ferried wounded children to hospital.

The Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar said the hospital had received the bodies of three students and was treating 28 injured students and two male teachers.

"Many are in the operation theater now in critical condition, undergoing treatment," said hospital official Ejaz Khan.

Military officials at the scene said at least six armed men had entered the military-run Army Public School. About 500 students and teachers were believed to be inside.

View gallery

A soldier escorts schoolchildren after they were rescued from from the Army Public School that is un …

"We were standing outside the school and firing suddenly started and there was chaos everywhere and the screams of children and teachers," said Jamshed Khan, a school bus driver.

A teacher said that the attackers targeted the school while exams were taking place.

"After half an hour of the attack, the army came and sealed the school," a teacher told a private television channel outside the besieged school.

"We were in the examination hall when the attack took place," he said. "Now the army men are clearing the classes one by one."

Taliban spokesman Muhammad Umar Khorasani told Reuters his group was responsible for the attack.

"Our suicide bombers have entered the school, they have instructions not to harm the children, but to target the army personnel," he said.

"It's a revenge attack for the army offensive in North Waziristan," he said, referring to an anti-Taliban military offensive that began in June.

(Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Robert Birsel and Mike Collett-White)

Two hostages killed in a siege at a central Sydney cafe Tuesday were hailed as heroes "willing to lay down their lives so others might live" in a church service mourning their deaths.

Tori Johnson, the 34-year-old manager of the Lindt chocolate cafe where the crisis unfolded, and 38-year-old barrister and mother-of-three Katrina Dawson died as heavily-armed police ended the 16-hour stand-off.

At a prayer service in St. Mary's Cathedral about 500 metres (547 yards) from the cafe, Archbishop Anthony Fisher spoke of how the "heart of our city is broken by the deaths of two innocents".

"Reports have emerged this morning of the heroism of the male victim of this siege," Fisher said.

"Apparently seeing an opportunity Tori Johnson grabbed the gun, tragically it went off killing him. But it triggered the response of the police and eventual freedom for most of the hostages.

"Reports have also emerged that Katrina Dawson was shielding her pregnant friend from gunfire. These heroes were willing to lay down their lives so others might live."

View gallery

Women offer flowers at a makeshift memorial in Sydney, Australia Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014 near where t …

New South Wales Deputy Police Commissioner Catherine Burn did not confirm reports of Johnson's tussle with the gunman, adding that investigators were still compiling the chain of events that led to the siege ending.

Johnson's parents, in a statement shared via Sydney broadcast journalist Ben Fordham, praised their "beautiful boy" and called for everyone to "pray for peace on Earth".

"We are so proud of our beautiful boy Tori, gone from this earth but forever in our memories as the most amazing life partner, son and brother we could ever wish for," the statement said.

"We feel heartfelt sorrow for the family of Katrina Dawson.

"We'd like to thank not only our friends and loved ones for their support, but the people of Sydney; Australia and those around the world for reaching out with their thoughts and prayers."

Dawson, a rising star in the legal fraternity, would be greatly missed by her colleagues and friends, the NSW Bar Association said.

"Katrina was one of our best and brightest barristers who will be greatly missed by her colleagues and friends at the NSW Bar," it said in a statement.

"She was a devoted mother of three children, and a valued member of her floor and of our bar community."

The gunman, widely named in the media as Iranian-born Man Haron Monis, also died in the siege while six people were injured.

PENNSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A woman who told neighbors she feared her ex-husband would kill her was among six people found fatally shot in three suburban Philadelphia homes, and her Marine veteran former husband was on the run.

Suspect Bradley Michael Stone, 35, remained at large early Tuesday, causing one local school district to close schools as a precaution. Residents of nearby communities had been asked to shelter in place temporarily late Monday as an intense manhunt spread to their areas.

His former wife, 33-year-old Nicole Stone, was found dead after a neighbor saw Stone fleeing just before 5 a.m. Monday with their two young daughters.

Police then made the grim discovery of five people killed in two other houses: Stone's sister, brother-in-law and 14-year-old niece were dead. A 17-year-old nephew was left clinging to life. And her mother and grandmother had been fatally shot.

Brad Stone and his ex-wife had been locked in a court fight over their children's custody since she filed for divorce in 2009. He filed an emergency motion early this month, although the resulting Dec. 9 ruling remains sealed in court files.

"She would tell anybody who would listen that he was going to kill her and that she was really afraid for her life," said Evan Weron, a neighbor at the Pheasant Run Apartments in Harleysville.

View gallery

This undated photo provided by the Montgomery County Office of the District Attorney in Norristown, …

He said Stone would talk frequently about the custody dispute.

"(Nicole) came into the house a few times, a few separate occasions, crying about how it was very upsetting to her," Weron said.

Neighbors woke to the sounds of breaking glass and gunshots coming from Nicole Stone's apartment early Monday. They alerted authorities after seeing her ex-husband racing away with the children. The girls later were found safe with his neighbors, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said.

She declined to discuss the weapon or weapons involved in the slayings, and said authorities did not know if Stone was traveling on foot.

Stone, who's white, about 5-foot-10 and 195 pounds, likely was wearing military fatigues and may have shaved off his facial hair, said Ferman. She added that he sometimes used a cane or walker.

View gallery

Police gather near a home, Monday, Dec. 15, 2014, in Pennsburg, Pa., where suspect Bradley William S …

"As I stand here right now, we do not know where he is," Ferman said at an evening news briefing.

The briefing came as SWAT teams surrounded his Pennsburg home for hours on Monday and pleaded through a bullhorn for him to surrender.

Later that night, police in neighboring Bucks County swarmed an area outside Doylestown after an attempted carjacking by a man dressed in fatigues and similar in appearance to Stone.

The rampage started in Souderton at the home of Brad Stone's former sister-in-law and ended about 90 minutes later at Nicole Stone's apartment in nearby Harleysville, Ferman said.

Nicole Stone's sister, Patricia Flick, her sister's husband, Aaron Flick, and the couple's 14-year-old daughter, Nina Flick, were killed in the first wave of violence, which was not discovered until nearly 8 a.m. Their 17-year-old son, Anthony Flick, was pulled from the house with a head wound and was taken in an armored vehicle and then by helicopter to a Philadelphia hospital for treatment.

View gallery

Police gather near a home, Monday, Dec. 15, 2014, in Pennsburg, Pa., where suspect Bradley William S …

Nicole Stone's mother, Joanne Hill, and grandmother Patricia Hill were killed next at their home in nearby Lansdale. Investigators were alerted by a hang-up call to emergency dispatchers, Ferman said.

Then they got the call from Nicole Stone's neighbors.

Harleysville, Lansdale and Souderton are within a few miles of each other.

"I'm (angry) because he could have come to my door and I could have taken him to a treatment center, and we could have worked this out," said longtime friend Matthew Schafte.

He described Stone as a Marine veteran who served in Iraq, but said he was not aware of any resulting injuries.

View gallery

Police gather near a home, Monday, Dec. 15, 2014, in Pennsburg, Pa., where suspect Bradley William S …

"He was pumped to go into the military," said Schafte, who said his friend was a fixture at a local American Legion post, both before and after his service.

His wife, Tina Bickert Schafte, said she had babysat for both Nicole Stone and her sister Patricia when they were growing up.

Brad and Nicole Stone married in 2004 and filed for divorce in 2009, court records show. Nicole Stone became engaged over the summer, neighbors said.

He had faced several driving-under-the-influence charges, one of which was handled in veterans' court and led to a three- to 23-month sentence.

Stone remarried last year, according to his Facebook page, and has an infant son. Neither his wife nor the son were injured. His wife's Facebook page shows their son and Stone's daughters having their picture taken with Santa on Saturday.

___

Dale reported from Harleysville. Associated Press writer Kathy Matheson contributed from Souderton and Harleysville.