Keyword: 'shootings' | Herald Community Newspapers

Rockville Centre resident Arielle Kane wiped away tears during a vigil on Feb. 16 at Central Synagogue-Beth Emeth, which remembered the victims of the school shooting in Parkland, Fla.

Rockville Centre residents call for action after Parkland shooting

“This must stop here,” said Rockville Centre resident Cindy Vaupel, her frustrated tone filling the pews at Central Synagogue-Beth Emeth on Feb. 16, two days after a gunman took the lives of 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. “This must stop with us.” more

By Ben Strack | 2/22/18

Tommy Maher met with Breda, left, and Laura, two police officers in Chicago who survived the shooting during his 18-day trip around the country.

South Hempstead man completes cross-country trip to ‘pay it forward’

One man. One van. Eighteen days. More than 9,400 miles. Countless impact. South Hempstead resident Tommy Maher, who embarked earlier this month on a cross-country drive to honor the 58 victims of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, returned home last Saturday after spreading kindness in the hometowns of those killed at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on Oct. 1. more

By Ben Strack | 11/30/17

Tommy Maher, center, with his daughter Kelli, to his right, and her friend Aline, visited Henry County Medical Center in Tennessee on Nov. 8 to honor Sonny Melton, a victim of the Las Vegas mass shooting. Director Deanne Berry, and Phillip, one of Sonny’s co-workers, joined them.

Local residents travel the country to ‘pay it forward’

After 58 were killed and more than 500 were injured when a man opened fire at the Las Vegas crowd that came out for the Route 91 Harvest country music festival last month, longtime South Hempstead resident Tommy Maher read the bios of each of the victims. He didn’t want to simply make a monetary donation. more

By Ben Strack | 11/16/17

Country music star Jason Aldean's performance at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas on Sunday night became the scene of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. In the crowd was 24-year-old Rockville Centre native Peter Meehan. Above, the concert venue last Friday.

Rockville Centre native ‘grateful’ to survive America’s deadliest shooting

The death toll was climbing steadily on Monday, less than 24 hours after a lone gunman opened fire with an assault weapon from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas during country music star Jason Aldean's performance at the Route 91 Harvest Festival. In the crowd at the Aldean concert was Peter Meehan, 24, of Rockville Centre, who flew to Las Vegas last Thursday to attend the three-day music festival with his girlfriend. more

By Ben Strack, Jeffrey Bessen and Scott Brinton | 10/2/17

This isn’t a diatribe about guns

Dec. 14, 2013. It was nail-biting cold. The sort of cold that foreshadowed snowflakes in the coming days but still coddled them in gray-blanketed skies. more

1/13/17

Don’t think of our House sit-in as a failure. I don’t.

Just before noon on June 22, I finished a meeting in my office and turned on the TV to see the breaking news that would soon reach millions of people across the country: a group of my House Democratic colleagues, led by civil rights hero Rep. John Lewis, were staging a sit-in on the House floor . . . more

6/29/16

When it comes to guns, what are we waiting for?

It is hard to imagine that I would find myself writing about the nation’s worst terror attack since 9/11 and the worst mass shooting in American history. Make no mistake about it. The mass shooting in Orlando . . . more

6/23/16

Communities around the world held vigils after the shootings, like the one here near the Stonewall Inn in the West Village, New York City.

After Orlando, sadness and stepped-up security in New York

As the shocking details of last Sunday’s mass shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla., emerged this week, local police and community organizations ramped … more

By Mary Malloy, Barbara Rubin-Perry, Julie Mansmann and Anthony Rifilato | 6/14/16

Seven more Americans died while we fiddled

Dylan’s mom and Daniel’s dad write to me often. In truth, I dread reading their emails; their words darken the day. But how wrenching it must be to write those words. These parents are leaders of the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation . . . more

5/19/16

Police attempt to manage the crowds exiting Roosevelt Field mall.

Shooting at Roosevelt Field leaves mall employee wounded

A 67-year old employee of Roosevelt Field mall was shot and seriously wounded Dec. 22 when, during a robbery at the mall’s Tourneau store, a gunman struggled with store security and a stray bullet hit the employee, who was uninvolved in the robbery. According to witnesses, police put the mall on lockdown for an hour, keeping thousands of people inside stores throughout the mall until the scene was proven to be safe. more

By Rossana Weitekamp and Rebecca Anderson | 12/22/15