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Tag: Tragedy

  • The Market For Tragedy: 9/11 Museum Gift Shop

    Right now you can buy a $110 talking Osama Bin Laden action figure on eBay if your heart so desires. If you don’t want to waste your money, you have the option to download for free the Super Columbine Massacre RPG video game; the game “delves into the morning of April 20th, 1999 and asks players to relive that day through the eyes of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.”

    Yet, with these options available, some feel capitalizing on a tragedy or a touchy subject isn’t proper. The 911 Memorial at Ground Zero in New York tells the story of the 9/11 terror attacks with artifacts and displays, paying tribute to the lives of innocents and heroes lost that day.

    They also have a gift shop.

    The 9/11 museum offers a wide selection of souvenirs that include, but are not limited to: FDNY, NYPD and Port Authority Police T-shirts ($22) and caps ($19.95); earrings molded from leaves and blossoms of downtown trees ($20 to $68); police and firefighter charms by Pandora and other jewelers ($65); “United We Stand” blankets – you can even buy an FDNY vest for your dog.

    Admission costs $24 for adults, $18 for seniors and students, and $15 for kids ages 7 to 17.

    “To me, it’s the crassest, most insensitive thing to have a commercial enterprise at the place where my son died.” Diane Horning told the New York Post; her husband Kurt and her never recovered the remains of their son Matthew, 26, a database administrator for Marsh & McLennan.

    Around 8,000 unidentified bodies lay buried in a “remains repository” in an underground home of the museum.

    “Here is essentially our tomb of the unknown. To sell baubles I find quite shocking and repugnant,” Horning added.

    “I think it’s a money-making venture to support inflated salaries, and they’re willing to do it over my son’s dead body.”

    A sign outside of the shop, as well as a notice online reads that “All net proceeds from our sales are dedicated to developing and sustaining” the museum. Despite the gift shop raising controversy, there are other multiple avenues of which one can donate, volunteer, or become a member and get a 10% discount.

    Among the donators, a plaque outside the store reads “made possible through the generosity of Paul Napoli and Marc Bern,” both partners in a law firm which garnered $200 million in taxpayer-funded fees and expenses after suing the city representing roughly 10,000 Ground Zero workers.

    According to the museum’s website, the firm donated $5 million.

    Images via Wikimedia Commons, 911 Memorial

  • Ferry Sinks in South Korea Leaving Hundreds Missing

    A passenger ferry sank off the coast of South Korea on Wednesday morning, leaving hundreds missing and at least six people dead. The ship flipped flipped while sinking, possibly trapping hundreds of passengers inside.

    According to a report from The Korea Herald, the ferry sank off the coast of South Korea’s Jindo Island south of the country’s mainland. The incident took place just before 9 am.

    The ferry was reportedly carrying 462 passengers at the time of the incident. As many as 324 of those passengers were students from Danwon High School that had traveled to Jejudo Island as part of a school field trip.

    Six of those passengers, including a young woman, a high school student, and a ferry company worker, have died. According to the Herald, 281 of the passengers are still unaccounted for as of 1 am local time on Thursday.

    According to the Herald, South Korean President Park Geun-hye personally visited the central response center in charge of rescue operations. In a statement the President said that a thorough search of the ship will be conducted to ensure no passengers are left inside.

    The South Korean Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, and Army all coordinated rescue efforts at the scene of the sinking. Helicopters and divers are now being used to search the ship for passengers. A U.S. Navy ship has also joined the South Korean rescue efforts, which were initially difficult due to strong currents in the area.

    A rescue worker quoted by the Herald has stated that passengers still inside the ship are “unlikely” to have survived due to a combination of cold water temperatures, the current depth of the ship, and the time that has passed since the sinking.

    The tragedy has mobilized an outpouring of grief over social media networks. The hashtag #PrayForSouthKorea is now trending worldwide on Twitter.

    Image via NDN

  • Cops Allegedly Mistake Wii Remote for Gun, Kill Teen in His Own Doorway

    Police shot and killed a 17-year-old ROTC student this past Friday, and his family is saying that the official account doesn’t match reality.

    The Police Department in Euharlee, a small town in northern Georgia, claims that Christopher Roupe pointed a gun at an officer when they knocked on his door to serve a probation violation warrant on his father. According to family and their attorney, all Christopher had in his hand was a Wiimote.

    “It just doesn’t add up,” the Roupe family’s attorney Cole Law told WSB-TV Atlanta. “The eyewitnesses on the scene clearly state that he had a Wii controller in his hand. He heard a knock at the door. He asked who it was, there was no response so he opened the door and upon opening the door he was immediately shot in the chest.”

    Of course, some Wii accessories are made to look similar to guns.

    The officer who shot the teen has been placed on administrative leave.

    WSB-TV quotes a neighbor who ran to the home after hearing the shot, and says that Roupe clearly had a Wii Remote in his hand.

    Apparently, the officer was “devastated.”

    “This is tragic,” said another neighbor. “She came out of this house. She put her head in her hands and she was sobbing. Supposedly, he opened the door with a BB gun and in my opinion I think he was playing a game with his neighborhood buddies.”

    The ROTC student was planning on joining the Marines. The family is consulting with their attorney to decide on whether or not to pursue a lawsuit.

    On the PD’s website, Chief Terry Harget says that the Euharlee Police Department is “a police organization with a modern, well educated, highly competent staff.” I guess we’ll know more about that assertion as additional facts come to light.

    Image via WSB-TV Atlanta, Video

  • Avonte Oquendo: Teen Mourned After Tragic Loss

    On Saturday, Avonte Oquendo’s funeral was held, an end to a tragedy where many questions remain unanswered. The story began over three months ago, when on October 4th, the 14-year-old walked away from the Riverview School in Queens, NY and was never seen alive again.

    Oquendo was autistic and known for wandering away if not watched, which has since begged the question how it is that no one was monitoring him. Or even more startling, how long it took the school to inquire about his whereabout and involve police.

    “They knew that he runs away during transitions,” said David Perecman, who is the New York city lawyer that is representing Avonte Oquendo’s family. “Yet he managed to get off that line.”

    Perecman also points out that he had never heard of a school misplacing or losing a special needs child.

    “People lose their keys. People lose their wallet. Losing a child?”

    The lost child wasn’t found until three months after he first disappeared, his remains pulled from the East River.

    An especially terrible end as it was known that Oquendo was afraid of water.

    It is still unknown at present what happened to the missing teen after he vanished. Police are still investigating the matter of how he died. While there were reportedly no signs of foul play, his family noted that he was found in underwear that was too large for him. This leads them to believe that someone took him at some point.

    Regardless of whether or not Avonte Oquendo will turn out to be the victim of a murderer, his disappearance suggests that there was a lapse in attention and diligence by his school that wasted precious hours.

    Oquendo’s family filed a notice of claim in October, when he first went missing, and are planning a “wrongful death” lawsuit against the city.

    Though Oquendo will be laid to rest before questions are immediately answered, perhaps more will be learned in the coming weeks that can offer clarity and closure.

    Image via brainfoodvideos2

  • Family Of Man Who Kidnapped Teen Demands Test

    Family Of Man Who Kidnapped Teen Demands Test

    Tragedy has gone from bad to worse for the Anderson family. After suffering the high-profile double murder and kidnapping case that gripped the nation, the same family is now in the midst of a potential paternity investigation. It seems that this case has the knack of continually providing more questions than answers even in the breadth of insurmountable devastation for the remaining family members.

    Andrew Spanswick, the spokesman for DiMaggio’s family, explained that paternity tests are now being requested in order to shed light on the intensive, and otherwise irrational, interest James DiMaggio displayed during the Hannah Anderson kidnapping ordeal, which eventually led to the shootout and death of Mr. DiMaggio. Yes, that’s right. The kidnapper’s family members are the ones requesting the paternity test, specifically his sister, Lora.

    Mr. Spanswick told KGTV-TV in San Diego, “We are requesting DNA samples from Hannah and anything they can get from Ethan. There are rumors that Jim was the children’s real father. We think it’s strange he left them so much money with no explanation.” After the vibrant and beautiful young Hannah has triumphed through this period of heartache, family members of the man behind the ordeal want to obtain her DNA to fit their inquisitive demands.

    The “so much money” Mr. Spanswick previously referred to concerns the $112,000 life insurance policy James DiMaggio left to Hannah’s grandmother, Bernice Anderson, which raises even more questions. Why would someone designate such a policy to a survivor of the very family said individual tormented?

    The young Ethan Anderson was found severely and traumatically burned while his and Hannah’s mother was found after having enduring exceptional force to her head. The brutality of this crime is even more unsettling given the personal relationship between the perpetrator, James DiMaggio, and the Anderson family. The unfortunate advice about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer appears paramount in this situation though many questions about this depressing and puzzling situation still remain unanswered. The peace that at least one human life was spared is hardly enough of a concession for the tragic loss of life. If the paternity test proves positive, how could a man knowingly kill a young, innocent boy? Heck, how could a man unknowingly kill a young, innocent boy? If human life is so easily discarded by an intimate party, then what help do the rest of us have against mere strangers?

    [Photo Via Reuters]

  • Florida Deck Collapses, Sends 100 People Into The Water

    The NBA finals sent basketball fans out in search of a good place to watch the game on Thursday night, and unfortunately so many people were crowded onto the deck of a bar and grill in Florida that it collapsed beneath their weight, sending everyone into the water and critically injuring three.

    At least 24 of the 100 Shucker’s Bar and Grill patrons were injured, authorities said; the deck was about six feet above the surface of Biscayne Bay, and although the water is fairly shallow near the restaurant, the chaos of 100 people being dumped from the deck–and the weight of the deck itself–caused panic.

    One patron, Martin Torres, said he thought a boat had hit the deck at first.

    “It was shock,” said Torres. “People were yelling. Nobody knew. People came out all wet. They were crying. For a while, nobody knows what was going on.”

    Because the noise of the venue–due to the game, which was between Miami Heat and the Spurs–being so great, many people didn’t realize what was happening until it was already done. Officials say there was concern briefly that people might be trapped underwater beneath the debris, but rescuers searched thoroughly and said everyone was accounted for.

    “That was a big gathering watching the Miami Heat and Spurs,” said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue spokeswoman Griselle Marino. “There were a lot of TVs and everybody was in celebration and it was loud. So when it started happening, some people didn’t even realize what was going on.”

    Another witness, 39-year old Chris Volz, said it happened so fast no one had time to intervene. “Everybody’s watching the game. It sounded like a freight train, then everyone was gone. The deck went down like a V.”

    Shucker’s lost power after the collapse, which made rescue efforts tricky until officials could come in on boats with powerful search lights.

    Investigators are looking into why the deck suddenly collapsed.

    Image: WPBF

    WSVN-TV –

  • Patton Oswalt Tweets, Facebooks Thoughts On Boston Marathon Explosions

    Comedian and actor Patton Oswalt, a frequent Twitter user on a day-to-day basis, took to the medium following Monday’s tragedy in Boston to offer some brief thoughts, as many other celebrities and ordinary people did.

    But Oswalt really opened up on Facebook, in a post that so far has over 250,000 likes and nearly 190,000 shares. Here’s what he said:

    Boston. Fucking horrible.

    I remember, when 9/11 went down, my reaction was, “Well, I’ve had it with humanity.”

    But I was wrong. I don’t know what’s going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths.

    But here’s what I DO know. If it’s one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out. (Thanks FAKE Gallery founder and owner Paul Kozlowski for pointing this out to me). This is a giant planet and we’re lucky to live on it but there are prices and penalties incurred for the daily miracle of existence. One of them is, every once in awhile, the wiring of a tiny sliver of the species gets snarled and they’re pointed towards darkness.

    But the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evil doers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This is beyond religion or creed or nation. We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We’d have eaten ourselves alive long ago.

    So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, “The good outnumber you, and we always will.”

    Over 10,000 people have responded to Oswalt’s words in the comments of the post alone. The reactions have been overwhelmingly positive.

    image: Patton Oswalt’s Facebook Page

  • 6 Teens Kiled In Crash in Northeast Ohio

    The Associated Press is reporting that six Ohio teens, five boys and one girl, died when the SUV they were riding in careened over a guardrail just south of Warren, Ohio.

    The report states that eight teens had taken the vehicle without permission. Though all eight of the teens were from Warren, the vehicle is registered to a person who lives in the nearby city of Youngstown, Ohio.

    At around 7 am the SUV hit a guardrail and flipped over into a pond. Five of the teens were inside and one was thrown from the vehicle during the crash and later found underneath the SUV. Two of the teens were able to escape the wreck and run to a nearby residence to call 911. The age of the teens ranged from 14 to 19 years old.

    Police told the AP that “speed was a factor,” but that speculation about alcohol or drug use would wait until toxicology reports are complete.

    The AP report states that counseling was provided by city officials Sunday night at a school that some of the teens had attended. Many of the teens’ family members and friends expressed shock and disbelief while also questioning what the teens were doing out at the time of the accident.

  • Student Dies In Sand Pit After It Collapsed On Him

    “Student dies in sand pit” is not something you want to wake up to in the morning. There’s enough problems in the world today that we don’t need stories of young people with a future ahead of them dying due to an accident. Unfortunately, here we are with the somber news.

    An unnamed 19-year-old Korean foreign exchange student was just having some fun with his pals at Oxnard Beach Park Wednesday afternoon. They apparently decided to start digging a sand pit because beaches are perfect for that sort of thing. Unfortunately, tragedy struck as the student was at the bottom of the reportedly six-foot deep sand pit when it collapsed in on him.

    The student’s friends immediately called emergency services with firefighters arriving only four minutes after being called. Unfortunately, it took them about 15 minutes to dig through the six feet of sand to reach the young man who had been trapped. They attempted CPR on the scene and then transported him to the nearest hospital. He was pronounced dead soon after.

    The worst thing about all this is that he was a foreign exchange student. Due to time zone differences, the boys parents were probably unaware of what had happened for a few hours. Our thoughts go out to the family.

    This event is another example of what not to do at the beach. Sand is one of the most powerful forces of nature and can easily crush people if they’re not careful. It’s fine to dig small holes in the sand, but a six foot deep hole is way too much. Sand is far too unstable for such things.

    [h/t: CBS LA]

  • Twitter: Sarah Burke’s Legacy Lives On

    Twitter: Sarah Burke’s Legacy Lives On

    Sarah Burke, famed skier and six-time X Games gold medalist, passed away Thursday due to injuries sustained during a skiing accident.

    Her obituary states that she was the first female freeskier and that she successfully lobbied the Winter X Games to include females on equal footing in freeskiing events.

    The outpouring of support on Twitter has been tremendous with people remembering her life and accomplishments.

    @dtr45
    Tony Caferro    Sarah Burke’s death should remind us that following your dream doesn’t guarantee that you’ll live to see it. Live every day like your last. 1 minute ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

    @ADunn614
    Adrian McGee    R.I.P. Sarah Burke. The best woman skier of the X-Games who died yesterday. Only 29 years old 3 minutes ago via Twitter for Android · powered by @socialditto

    @redwolf698
    redwolf698    God Speed Sarah Burke. You taught us all how to be a champion… Now you get to ski with the God of powder, trees, and bowls. 1 minute ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    @XGames
    X Games    Forever in our hearts, Sarah Burke. She has & will continue to inspire us & so many others http://t.co/GtkemEEc 14 hours ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    @espnW
    espnW    Sarah Burke was a wonderful, spirited person,loved by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing her. Our prayers go out to her entire family. 15 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    @FamousKittie
    Kristina Davis    Tribute coming together very well – tonight we board & ski for @sarah_j_burke #RIP we will do one last run in Ur memory @mthigh #RIP Prayers 1 minute ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® · powered by @socialditto

    @therealshiv29
    Shiv Patel    Gonna dedicate one run tommorow for sarah burke 3 minutes ago via Twitter for Android · powered by @socialditto

    @ExtremePitaCEO
    Alex Rechichi    We lost an amazing athlete this week. Extreme Pita would like to send our condolences to the family and friends of Sarah Burke. RIP. 47 seconds ago via Facebook · powered by @socialditto

    For those who wish to donate to the family to pay for the hospital costs, you can donate here.

    Be sure to also sign Burke’s memorial guestbook at FamousDead.com.

  • Welfare Office Murder-Suicide Receives Live Facebook Updates From Young Victim

    A little girl’s Facebook posts serve as the last dispatches from a stomach-turning tragedy that took place earlier this week in a Laredo, Texas welfare office.

    Monday night, 38-year old Rachelle Grimmer pulled a gun on a supervisor at the Texas Department of Health and Human Services branch office in Laredo. This would lead to a tense seven-hour standoff that would leave two dead and one in critical condition.

    Grimmer, who entered the HHS office that day with her two children Ramie (12) and Timothy (10), was reportedly frustrated for being denied food stamps. According to reports, Grimmer had various applications for assistance rejected across various states. A spokeswoman for the Texas HHS Department said that Grimmer hadn’t been rejected, simply denied because she failed to provide all the necessary documentation in a specific time frame.

    The motivations are not all that important in the end, as the result left Grimmer dead and both of her children critically wounded. Around midnight Monday, Grimmer fired three shots. Police rushed in and found her dead at the scene.

    Her 12-year-old daughter’s use of Facebook during the ordeal serves as a chilling account, from the perspective of a child.

    At 7:50 pm, Ramie strangely added “may die 2day” as her work.

    At 10:34, well into the standoff, she posted this:

    Then, just a few minutes later:

    Her last post came just a half hour or so before the shooting started. The person who commented is listed as the children’s grandmother:

    After struggling for a couple of days, Ramie Grimmer died from her injuries Wednesday night around 8 pm. The boy, Timothy, is still in critical condition at the University hospital in San Antonio.

    This definitely isn’t the first use of Facebook during a police standoff to make the news. Back in June, a Utah man holed up in a hotel room with a girl identified as a hostage. The man took pictures with the girl and posted status updates during the standoff – giving the world a truly odd play-by-play of all the police actions. That also ended poorly as the man shot himself in the chest when police eventually stormed the room.

  • FIRED: Gilbert Gotfried No Longer Voice of Aflac Duck

    Comedian Gilbert Gotfried is known for his censor-less humor when it comes to delicate subject matters, we all remember his infamous 9/11 joke, right? Now his crass sense of humor, this time via Twitter, has gotten him fired from Aflac, where he was the voice of their popular duck mascot. (It should be noted, Gotfried was not the voice of the Aflac Duck in Japan).

    The tweets have since been deleted, but you can view two of them below…

    @RealGilbert
    Gilbert Gottfried    Japan called me. They said ‘maybe those jokes are a hit in the U.S., but over here, they’re all sinking.’ 1 day ago via twitgoo · powered by @socialditto

    @RealGilbert
    Gilbert Gottfried    I was talking to my Japanese real estate agent. I said ‘is there a school in this area.’ She said ‘not now, but just wait.’ 1 day ago via twitgoo · powered by @socialditto

    Aflac Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Michael Zuna said, “Gilbert’s recent comments about the crisis in Japan were lacking in humor and certainly do not represent the thoughts and feelings of anyone at Aflac, Aflac Japan – and, by extension, Japan itself – is part of the Aflac family, and there is no place for anything but compassion and concern during these difficult times.”

    Just last week Aflac announced that the company was donating 100 million yen to the International Red Cross for disaster assistance to help with the tragedy over in Japan.

    In the release, Aflac says that they will immediately set plans in motion to conduct a nationwide casting call to find a new voice talent for the duck.

    Do you think Gotfried got what he deserved? Tell us what you think.