To arrive in kenya to discuss security and human rights. This is al jazeera america. Live from new york city. Im randall pinkston. Well theres anger and resolve in louisiana today where a man went on a murderous shooting spree inside a Movie Theater. Two people died, nine others were injured before he reportedly turned the gun on himself. Jonathan martin is outside the Movie Theater where the shootings happened. What is the status of the investigation . Reporter good afternoon to you randall. Police tell us despite identifying the shooter, there is still very little that they know about him. Thats one of the reasons they are asking for the communitys help. And fbi and state police are in alabama where this man is from. We understand they spoke to his mother earlier today. And she said she and other family members had concern over his mental state, in fact some family members sought protection from him. But why did he have wigs and glasses and other disguises in his car, but perhaps the biggest question, why did he come to this theater . Why did he go in and buy a ticket and suddenly start to shoot . It was just 20 minutes into the show at the grand 16 theater in lafayette when movie goers heard a loud pop. Witnesses thought it was a firecracker, but it was gunfire. A man sitting inside the theater stood up and started firing into the crowd. Police have identified him. People in the theater complex described a scene of chaos. There was a woman laying on the ground. She was laying on her face with her leg shot blood everywhere and we were like you never expect to see Something Like that caulk walking out of a movie. Reporter witnesses say the shooter said nothing as he fired. The police say he tried to blend into the car as police entered the theater. He had wigs and other things in his room. We think the reason he switched the license plate on the car, it is apparent that he intended to escape after the shooting. He had the car parked right outside of an exit door. Reporter the two victims one was a student at Louisiana State university. Johnson ran a gift and apparel shop with her husband. And witnesses are describing two teachers as heros. Witnesses say one of them jumped in front of a bullet to save her friends life. The other pulled a fire alarm to save others lives. The louisiana governor called the shootings senless. It is an awful right. Reporter and we just spoke to the police here. Latest update on the victims, seven people still in the hospital here in the area. We understand two were released within the last few hours, one of them as you mentioned still critical. Police were important said this was important to remind everyone that there is no ongoing threat. They say they do not believe anyone else was involved. They just want to make that clear to a lot of people here. That this does appear to be a lone act by this gunmen. As we have seen in so many other situations where these kinds of tragedies have occurred that people in Community Pool together. I imagine that is happening there too. Reporter certainly. This is a small community, about an hour or so outside of baton rouge. We talked to one of the City Council Members earlier. He said we are a small community. And this is our Movie Theater. Here is more of what he said. Were a small community, close knit. You cant go to the movies here and usually not see somebody that you know. Everyones on pins and needles to find out the names of the people who were injured and also the deceased and its just tragic. Its numbing. We are see this kind of stuff on national tv. Its a always somewhere else but unfortunately this time its here locally and its terrible. Reporter again, Police Telling us that this will be a marathon investigation, in large part because they say there are so few people at least at this point that seem to have had contact with this man over the last few days. So they are scouring the states to try to talk to him. Randall . Jonathan thank you. Hours before the tragedy in louisiana, president obama told the bbc his inability to pass gun safety laws has been the most frustrating aspect of his press starsy. The United States of america is the one advanced nation on earth in which we do not have sufficient common sense gun safety laws. Even in the face of repeated mass killings. Last nights Movie Theater shooting in louisiana is the third in recent weeks. Last week a gunman opened fire at a Naval Recruitment Center in chattanooga, tennessee. Four were killed and three more injured. A fifth victim later died from his wounds. And last month a young white man killed nine African Americans at a church in south carolina. Although the profile of the shooters vary these deadly events all have a common thread. Guns. While these statistics come from the United Nations office on drugs and crimes as well as other groups, they build a compelling case that america is awash in guns and more guns lead to more gun homicides. America has just under 30 gun homicides per 1 million citizens each year. Thats many times the figure in se engineer lank or germany or canada. Its about the same as the west bank in gaza but far below mexico. Its interesting to note that america has just under 5 of the worlds population but it has 42 of the worlds civilianowned guns. The u. S. Actually leads the world in civilian gun ownership. So what has been the effect of having nearly as many guns as people in america. A Boston University study covering all 50 u. S. States concluded that when gun ownership rises by a mere 1 percentage point in a given area homicides go up by almost as much. 9 . And for the argument that americas gun violence problem will be solved by making sure nextally ill cant get their hands on firearms studies suggest that relatively few Violent Crimes are committed by the mentally ill. The mentally ills Violent Crime wait was at 3. 5 . So to summarize, the data indicates there are more guns in the u. S. And that appears to lead to more murders. Back to you. A colorado jury today is hearing from witnesses as it considers to put james holmes to death. The jury agreed with prosecutors and depth penalty on the table. Holmes was convicted last week of killing 12 people in 2012. Sandra blands funeral takes place tomorrow, but today her family still has many questions about how she died in a texas jail. Autopsy results show she had marijuana in her system and wounds consistent with suicide. Reporter this autopsy photo shows a mark on Sandra Blands neck. Another shows her hand lacking the kind of wounds you would expect if a person was defending herself. The prosecutors say all of these are indications she committed suicide. The only injury present on her neck or head was a ligature mark. This is consistent with a suicide. Reporter preliminary results also found marijuana in her system. Additional tests released later could determine how much she might have ingested and when. It may be relevant as to her state of mind to determine what happened on the street. It may be relevant to her state of mind to determine how or why she committed suicide. It is mindaltering substance. Reporter she was found dead three days after texas state trooper stopped her for failing to signal properly. The officers dash cam video recorded a physical struggle between the two during the traffic stop. I will light you up get out now reporter an autopsy photo shows wounds around her wrist consistent with cuts from handcuffs. An inmate near her says the time in jail was taking an emotion tall toll on bland. She was crying and i could barely understood her. She was like im not equipped for this kind of life. Reporter her family argues that the 28 year old was not suicidal and was looking forward to starting a new job. Kwhiel Waller County District Attorney says wliel these pictures point to suicide, he isnt ruling anything out yet. The investigation thats being conducted by the Texas Rangers assisted by the fbi is ongoing, and in real life in real time things take time. Al jazeera spoke earlier with texas state senator, who says regardless of what Officials Say about the autopsy results, the problem with the case was how bland was arrested. The question is would she have been in that situation in terms of what her in the jail, had she not been arrested, so but for the arrest she would have not been in the jail. So you have to look at whether or not it was a, quote unquote lawful arrest. And if you look at a Supreme Court case that just came down in april, in that case there was drugs that were found, and the Supreme Court pretty much kind of put some parameters around, quote unquote, traffic stops. And pursuant to that particular case i believe this was an unlawful arrest. West says body cameras would have made a difference in the case. He points to police in california which has seen a huge reduction of violence against citizens since getting body cams. President obama is on his way to kenya right now. It is his first trip since being elected. He is there to attend a business summit. Before he left president obama said he would focus on security human rights and development. Reporter nairobis skyline as u. S. Forces move in. And the americans are monitoring all air space in kenya, ahead of the president s rival. Kenya is about to experience one of its biggestever security operations. Barack obama is setting out on his first president ial visit to the homeland of his late father. But any personal fulfillment will be tinged with the time line of human lost. From the 1998 bombing in nairobi in which 200 kenyans and 12 americans died the attack on the west gate Shopping Mall to the attack on the university that killed nearly 150 people, only three months ago. While this summit is all about innovation entrepreneurship, and Economic Growth the rest of Barack Obamas visit isnt expected to be positive all the way. Issues such as security Good Governance, and corruption are going to be on the agenda and there could be some tough talking. [ cheers and applause ] reporter the u. S. Has had an uneasy relationship with kenya after violence that followed the 2007 president ial elections. He was indicted by the International Criminal court accused of crimes against humanity. Those charges have now been dropped. Thats the reason why this president ial visit is going ahead. He will be asking obama for more assistance in his fight against alshabab. We have been working in very close collaboration with american agencies in our fight against terror and im certain that that is an agenda that we shall further strengthen. He will be asking his counterpart we need more support, more participation of the u. S. More prosense of the u. S. More training of our social fers forces. West gate mall has reopened. No memorials to the dead here. This is intended to be a defiant move to show normality. But kenyans are still skeptical about whether or not enough is being done to protect them. And theyll be looking to a u. S. President with kenyan roots for more help. Earlier i spoke with a kenyan political activist. He says the president should pay special attention to kenyan corruption. Kenya is the most corrupt country in africa and were losing a lot of budget to corruption. Our president talks about the right things, but he doesnt do the right things. So were hoping the message that obama will bring is fight corruption. Because if they didnt have corruption, they wouldnt have alshabab. It is also directly connected to corruption. President obama will also visit ethiopia he has already visited the continent more times than any other sitting u. S. Leader. Investigating the attacks in benghazi is denying reports that they have ordered an investigation into Hillary Clintons emails. Clinton admits to using a private email account to conduct government business, but says it was proper. Searching for solutions, still to come on al jazeera america, baltimores Police Department tries to move forward after riots crime after freddie grays death. And one day after a congressional hearing, secretary of state john kerry hits the road to sell the iran nuclear deal. President obama is about to arrive in kenya, where our Andrew Simmons is waiting for him live in nairobi. Andrew there have been a lot of preparations for the president s visit. Tell us about what kenyans will do when he gets there. Reporter randall theres a real sense of euphoria here amongst kenyans, the media have been describing this as the homecoming of president obama. Of course his father was living in a village in his early live before moving to the state and earning later, and of course obama was born in the states and went on to become president , and his half sister and step grandmother have been speaking to us and approached this visit talking about how excited they are. They expect him to be traveling here to nairobi, we wont be going to the village because his agenda is so packed. That agenda includes the entrepreneurship summit and a lot of talk about the economy and security and counter terrorism. People here are very fearful of alshabab after so many attacks on civilian life. The last one, the last big one, the most awful one was the university attack in which nearly 150 young people died. Prior to that two years ago, westgate mall. Earlier we spoke so to a political activist in kenya who charges that some of the economic contributions that the u. S. Makes to kenya are then used against kenyans. Have you heard of that . And do you think president obama will broach the topic of corruption in kenya . Reporter indications are he will be tackling the issue of corruption, and Good Governance overall in his very first african visit, the first of four which is more than any sitting u. S. President to africa. He did say in ghana, as far as he was concerned africa needed strong institutions not strong men. That set the tone quite a while back and certainly has a context here, where the president was up on charges of crimes against humanity, for the post election violence after the 2007 elections in which more than 1200 people died. Those charges were dropped last december, and thats when the u. S. Started actively preparing this visit. It has come very late in his second term. Everyone expected him to come here as a priority because of the family linkage, but that is an issue which the president has said before leaving that he would want to have some blunt talking on many issues one of them is corruption. Another is the issue of Good Governance. Also the whole position in terms of institutions and human rights, where the government here has had its own war against terror. It has come down hard on the Muslim Minority community with little effect. They have bucked bungled a number of operations, and they will be looking for help. And they will be looking at their favorite son, barack obama to help them. The economy is in buoyant form and there are good signs ahead with investment very high. Chinese investment as well. Theres a new infrastructure being constructed of new rail line which will contact south sudan, rwanda uganda there will be a real powerhouse here but all of this is threatened by terror attacks from alshabab and worry about corruption. Andrew simmons in nairobi, thank you. Secretary of state john kerry spoke at the council on Foreign Relations in new york today. Insisting the Iranian Nuclear deal is the best bet. I fear what could happen if congress were to overturn it our friends in israel could actually end up being more isolated and more blamed, and we would lose europe and china, and russia with respect to whatever military action we might have to take. Yesterday kerry was grilled about the deal before the senate Foreign Relations committee. There has been a spike in violence in baltimore since the riots back in april. Now that the Police Commissioner has been fired there is deep conflict over how the department should move forward. John terrett went back to baltimore to look for solutions. Reporter april 27th and the cvs store in west baltimore is looted and set alight. It becomes the epicenter a night of violence over the death of freddie gray. This is that store today. Still burned. Still boarded up. One of the biggest scars is at police headquarters. Words like turmoil and civil war have been used to describe what is going on inside. Regarding how best to Police Baltimore in the wake of the riots. The commissioner in charge at the time has been jettisoned by baltimores mayor supposedly for losing trust of his officers. Nobody is going to be happy. Reporter this man hosts a daily radio show and was baltimores Police Commissioner from 2000, 2002. He even acted the part in the show the wire. What happens is if you dont feel like you are supported, you are not going to be the first car on the scene. Any city in the world they know when the police are engaged and when they are not. And when the pressure is not there, they can feel it. And the pressure is not there now . Certainly hasnt been for the last few months. Reporter in may the citys murder rate was the highest in 40 years. Were averaging five to ten murders a week. Reporter this lawyer has sued scores of Baltimore Police officers for brutality in a 40year career. He said the post riot spike on violence can be pinned on endimic police dysfunction. How do you get any type of training procedures or policies when you go through six commissioners. Every time you turn around theres a new commissioner with a new philosophy a new staff, new reorganization. I dont know how baltimore has survived this strong. Reporter thats a sentiment with which former Police Commander Neil Franklin is all too familiar. Strus trust is a big issue right now throughout the entire city. The police leaders, and members of the community. Reporter based on the time he served franklin says the way to put police front and center in the community once more is to hire the right people from baltimore if possible and immerse rookie cops in the culture of the patch. One of the things we did we strapped aprons on our trainees and sent them up to Catholic Charities where they had to feed the homeless and have conversations with the homeless. Homeless are a big part of our population here in baltimore city. Reporter in other words, he says police need to be more engaged in areas like this. Back at the burnedout cvs, scene of some of the worst rioting last april. Tv cameras filled these streets, but now the media is gone and little seems to have changed. However, locals have firm views on how they would like to be policed. All police aint bad. But imagine yourty of them just like they look at me and just how i look. They might think im a criminal but im not. There are people out here they are crying out. They need help. We dont have enough jobs. People dont have nothing do. So they have to find out what is on the peoples minds so they can work it out. Nasa will soon tell us more about what it learned during a a flyby with pluto. Thanks for joining us im randall pinkston. The news continues next live from london. Turkeys military steps up the fight against isil and vows to arrest kurdish rebels as part of the same offensive. Hello there, im julie mcdonald, this is al jazeera live from london. Also coming up after months of violence burundis president wins a controversial third term. Also ahead im Andrew Simmons in nairobi na
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