Man broke into a church during full worship and murdered his ex-partner - Other Cities - Colombia

A Christian temple was the scene of a tragic episode of domestic violence in Cesar. The victim, Noelia Turizo, was attending a religious act, accompanied by the congregation of the Trinitarian Church.

While praying, Noelia received several bullet wounds from her former partner, Carlos Mario Mendoza Padilla, who took his own life after committing the crime.

(Also Video: man prevented robbery using a dangerous and very risky maneuver)

The tragedy took place in Cuatro Vientos, district of El Paso (center of Cesar), where according to some witnesses, the assailant burst in armed with a pistol, approached the place where the woman was praying and without saying a word, shot her. Then, she collapsed lifelessly from the chair.

The versions we have is that the person, after committing the act, took his own life and was left lying on the highway of the Caribbean trunk. We are sorry for this painful situation.

The attendees of the religious act, could not believe what happened, in a state of shock, they commented horrified: What a tragedy! They look like things of the devil!

After committing the crime, the man left the temple and shot himself in the head in the presence of some people.

(We invite you to read: Unpublished photos of military practice in Cartagena with a nuclear submarine)

“The versions we have is that the person, after committing the act, took his own life and was left lying on the highway of the Caribbean trunk. We regret this painful situation,” said Marly Almanza, Secretary of the El Paso Government.

According to the versions of the residents of the sector, the couple had problems of coexistence, so Turizo ended the relationship and left this town several months ago.

However, Mendoza kept insisting on resuming their romantic relationship, but was rejected by the woman.

“They told me that she had returned to the town a few days ago, because her mother was on her birthday. We are providing psychological support to her 15-year-old son, who is shocked by what happened, ”said the official.

Sijín specialized personnel carry out corresponding technical inspections.

So far this year, there have been nine murders of women in Cesar

There are probably more cases, but some women refrain from reporting for fear of being mistreated, because they are often intimidated by their partners

Collectives and organizations in defense of the rights of the female population in this section of the Colombian Caribbean demand policies and more actions aimed at the protection of women.

So far this year, there have been nine murders of women in Cesar.

“There are probably more cases, but some women refrain from reporting for fear of being mistreated, because they are often intimidated by their partners,” they add from the groups.

(Also: Animal abuse in Colombia: the unfortunate figures that do not stop growing)

“We strongly reject these homicides and any unfortunate event where women are the main victims. We do not want more deaths, we want them alive,” said Mary Mestre, director of the Women’s Department of the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (Cut), Cesar regional.

Ludys Ovalle Jacome
Special for Weather
Valledupar

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Man kills his sentimental ex-partner in a church and then commits suicide - Other Cities - Colombia

A Christian temple was the scene of a tragic episode of domestic violence in Cesar.

The victim, Noelia Turizo, attended a religious act, accompanied by the congregation of the Trinitarian Church.

While praying, he received several bullet wounds from the hands of his former partner.
sentimental, Carlos Mario Mendoza Padilla, who After committing the crime, he committed suicide.

(Also Video: man prevented robbery using a dangerous and very risky maneuver)

The tragedy took place in Cuatro Vientos, district of El Paso (center of Cesar), where according to some witnesses, the assailant burst in armed with a pistol, approached the place where the woman was praying and without saying a word, shot her. Then, she collapsed lifelessly from the chair.

What a tragedy! They look like things from the devil!

The versions we have is that the person, after committing the act, took his own life and was left lying on the highway of the Caribbean trunk. We are sorry for this painful situation.

The attendees of the religious act, could not believe what happened, in a state of shock, they commented horrified: What a tragedy! They look like things from the devil!

After committing the crime, the man left the temple and shot himself in the head in the presence of some people.

(We invite you to read: Unpublished photos of military practice in Cartagena with a nuclear submarine)

“The versions we have is that the person, after committing the act, took his own life and was left lying on the highway of the Caribbean trunk. We regret this painful situation,” said Marly Almanza, Secretary of the El Paso Government.

According to the versions of the residents of the sector, the couple had problems of coexistence, so Turizo ended the relationship and left this town several months ago.

However, Mendoza kept insisting on resuming their romantic relationship, but was rejected by the woman.

“They told me that she had returned to the town a few days ago, because her mother was on her birthday. We are providing psychological support to her 15-year-old son, who is shocked by what happened, ”said the official.

Specialized personnel from the Sijín carry out the corresponding technical inspections and the removal of the corpses.

So far this year, there have been
nine murders of women in Cesar

There are probably more cases, but some women refrain from reporting for fear of being mistreated, because they are often intimidated by their partners

Collectives and organizations in defense of the rights of the female population in this section of the Colombian Caribbean, demand policies and more actions aimed at the protection of women.

So far this year, there have been nine murders of women in Cesar.

“There are probably more cases, but some women refrain from reporting for fear of being mistreated, because they are often intimidated by their partners,” she adds.

(Also: Animal abuse in Colombia: the unfortunate figures that do not stop growing)

We strongly reject these homicides and any unfortunate incident where women are the main victims. We don’t want more deaths, we want them alive,” said Mary Mestre, director of the Women’s Department of the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (Cut), Cesar regional.

Ludys Ovalle Jacome
Special for Weather
Valledupar

More news in Colombia

18 polling stations in Barranquilla present electoral risk

Petro denounces that they did not let him enter Providencia to campaign

Air Force Ordered to Pay More Than $230 Million in Church Shooting

SAN ANTONIO — 

The U.S. Air Force must pay more than $230 million in damages to survivors and victims’ families of a 2017 Texas church massacre for failing to flag a conviction that might have kept the gunman from legally buying the weapon used in the shooting, a federal judge ruled Monday.

More than two dozen people were killed when Devin Patrick Kelley opened fire during a Sunday service at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs. Kelley, who died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after being shot and chased by two men who heard the gunfire at the church, had served in the Air Force before the attack.

U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez had ruled in July that the Air Force was “60% liable” for the attack because it failed to submit Kelley’s assault conviction during his time in the Air Force to a national database.

FILE – This undated file photo provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety shows Devin Patrick Kelley.

An Air Force record of the Kelley court-martial says he pleaded guilty to multiple specifications of assault, including striking his wife, choking her with his hands and kicking her. He also was convicted of striking his stepson on the head and body “with a force likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm.”

In 2012, several months before his conviction in the domestic violence case, Kelley briefly escaped from a mental health center in New Mexico and got in trouble for bringing guns onto a military base and threatening his superiors there, police reports indicate.

Deputies were called to Kelley’s home in New Braunfels in June 2013 about the rape case and investigated for three months, Comal County Sheriff Mark Reynolds said. But it appeared that they stopped investigating after they believed Kelley left Texas and moved to Colorado. Reynolds said the case was then listed as inactive.

Under Pentagon rules, information about convictions of military personnel in crimes like assault is supposed to be submitted to the FBI’s Criminal Justice Investigation Services Division for inclusion in the National Criminal Information Center database.

For unspecified reasons, the Air Force did not provide the information about Kelley as required.

Lawyers for survivors and relatives of those killed had asked for $418 million, while the Justice Department proposed $31.8 million. Messages to the Justice Department, Air Force and the plaintiffs’ legal team were not immediately returned.

The approximately 80 claimants include relatives of those killed and 21 survivors and their families. Authorities put the official death toll at 26 because one of the 25 people killed was pregnant.

As Fewer Americans Attend Church, Can Coffee Shops Fill the Void?

Churches and other houses of worship have historically played critical social and political functions in American society. But fewer people are attending religious services, and the decline of churches and other houses of worship threatens to leave a void that could potentially be filled by coffee shops.

“For so much of American history, the church has really been — or their congregations have really been — essential, providing an unheralded role in providing cohesion and connectedness in communities … encouraging civic engagement and political participation,” says Daniel Cox, director of the Survey Center on American Life and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

“It was not happenstance or luck that the civil rights movement emerged out of the church,” Cox says. “And you see that cross-culturally … whether it’s in predominantly white rural communities, in the suburbs, wherever, churches have historically been really, really important.”

The number of Americans who say they belong to a church, mosque or synagogue has steadily declined in the United States since 1999, according to a Gallup poll.

Churches and other houses of worship have also played a role in helping immigrants assimilate once they arrive in America, Cox says.

In 1999, 70% of Americans said they belonged to a church, mosque or synagogue. By 2020, that number had dropped to 47%. A 2019 survey found that only about three in 10 Americans say they attend weekly religious services.

Third places

Lack of involvement and affiliation with churches, mosques and synagogues means people might be missing out on what urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg dubbed as “third places” — public gathering spots that offer something that home, the “first place,” and work, the “second place,” might not.

Oldenburg argued that third places are critical to a community’s social vitality. An October 2021 survey conducted by the American Survey Center found that commercial spaces like coffee houses foster trust and connection in American communities and could help fill the void left by churches.

“If you’re a regular at a cafe, the barista may know what you usually order, and they can make it for you, and that feels good,” says clinical psychologist Dr. Maria Espinola, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

“It feels good to be recognized, to know that people are expecting you, to know that people care about you, to know that you belong, because the need for belonging and human connection is a fundamental need that we all have, and it’s important to have that fulfilled in different ways,” Espinola says. “So, places like third places can allow us to do that.”

Customers gather at Cafe Cosmos in downtown Seattle, March 15, 2020, in Washington.

In the past, churches and other houses of worship have been a third place for many Americans. In 2019, 67% of people surveyed said they have a third place — a coffee shop, bar, restaurant, park or other place in their community that they visit regularly. That number dropped to 56% in 2021 — a number that could have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What we found was that people who had a third place were much more connected to their community,” says Cox. “They’re much more likely to engage in other activities there. They are much more trusting of their neighbors. There’s a whole great array of positive social outcomes that were connected to having a third place … and for a lot of Americans, it’s a coffee shop or a cafe.”

What coffee shops have in their favor is that they can be found almost everywhere, all over the country, and anyone who wants to can stop by regularly. And many are open most days of the week.

Cox says even brief coffee shop encounters can increase a sense of belonging.

“I think there’s a lot of potential here, and a lot of it is unrealized potential,” Cox says. “But in terms of what they could do, there’s a lot there. I’ve been in places where the same group of folks come in there to play chess. Or they have their informal bunch of retirees. … They just got together, and they talked and chatted and caught up with each other. … I don’t know where else they would have gone — maybe a church, but maybe not — to share information, to encourage each other to maybe get involved in an activity. And I think that is what is so powerful about coffee shops.”