“Pied piper’s” nephew shot in robbery attempt. Singer R. Kelly’s 15-year-old nephew is hospitalized after a shooting in Chicago, while his brother is in custody for an alleged robbery attempt. Cops say Bryel Kelly, 15, was shot by the owner of a barbershop during the alleged attempt to take cash from the store. Read the rest here.

Actor’s son impresses dad with generosity. Actor Will Smith’s oldest son Trey is asking that guests who attend his forthcoming 16^th birthday bash bring gifts, but not for the celebration. Instead, Trey has asked that presents be donated to the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital, Will explains: “About eight weeks ago, his grandmother died of cancer and he said he just realized they’re just gifts…he was there in the moment when she passed, so he got a real sense of that loss.”

A 12-year-old Georgia boy is shot dead trick-or-treating.

A 12-year-old Sumter, Ga., boy was shot dead and two other people injured as they went trick-or-treating Friday night. Sumter Police Chief Patty Patterson says that 12-year-old T.J. Darrisaw was killed and his step-father, Freddie Grinnell, and 9-year-old brother Ahmadre Darrisaw were seriously injured when their family of six left a city-sponsored event to trick-or-treat in their own neighborhood. Read the rest of the story here.

Police charge a 32-year-old with shooting NFL player.

Weeks after Jacksonville Jaguars offensive lineman Richard Collier was left paralyzed below the waist after a shooting, a man has been arrested. Cops have charged Tyrone Romaro Hartsfield, 32, with attempted murder in the attack. Collier and an ex-teammate were awaiting two women in a car outside an apartment building last month when police say the player was shot 14 times in the spine, groin and right buttock. Hartfield is alleged to have sought revenge after he and Collier fought at a club, but Collier doesn’t recall the shooting. He had part of a leg amputated in the hospital after losing movement of his lower limbs because of the spinal injury. Collier was recently released from the hospital.

Montellis Clark’s mother didn’t want to know how many time he was shot

A man who was killed in a shootout with Atlanta Police in July had 19 bullet holes in his chest and back, 12 in his legs, six in his arms and one each in his neck and butt, an autopsy report obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows. The family of the victim, Montellis Clark, has claimed that an officer stood over Clark and blasted away. Although the 39 bullet wounds would seem to suggest excessive force, they did not necessarily confirm that particular account, reported the newspaper, which obtained the autopsy report through an Open Records Act request. Dr. Karen Sullivan of the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office, who performed the autopsy July 16 – the day after the shooting – said that some wounds were likely caused by the same bullets that passed through one side and out another. Police say that Clark fired the first shots, firing at police outside an Atlanta home after being told to pull his hands out of his pockets. Two officers, Clarence Tosh and Gregory Dubose shot back, hitting his 25-year-old brother in the back. Clark’s mother, Melissa Clark, witnessed the incident but was not wounded. Interviewed by the Constitution-Journal, Melissa Clark said, “It didn’t take that many shots. Once he was shot, that was enough.” She told the paper that she did not want to know how many times her son was shot.

Jaguars offensive tackle undergoes surgery, still in critical condition

A NFL player who was shot several times early Tuesday morning has undergone surgery, but he is still in critical condition. Richard Collier’s Jacksonville team has offered support for the offensive tackle, who was wounded while waiting for acquaintances in a car outside a Florida apartment building. His injuries are reportedly life-threatening. “We’re shocked and deeply saddened by the news about Richard Collier,” says Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver…The entire Jaguars family is praying for Richard and his family at this time.”

A Georgia boy dies after being shot by a little girl. A Georgia teen died Saturday after being accidentally shot in the head by a 12-year-old girl late Friday. Police said that 17-year-old Trevayne R. Cozart was pronounced dead at the Gwinnet Medical Center in suburban Atlanta. He had been playing with a friend when the friend’s little sister fired a weapon. Although the girl’s mother was home at the time, she was not in the room where the shooting to place, police said. No charges have been filed against the parents or the child.

NAACP will protest police actions in Conn. town.

The Stamford, Conn., branch of the NAACP, saying that police are “mentally abusing” Black youths, will hold a protest against local law enforcement on Aug. 31. The mass action will mark the first demonstration under NAACP President Jack Bryant, who took over the helm of the chapter five years ago. “I feel this plan of action is necessary as the need to begin policing our police department,” Bryant told Mayor Dannel Malloy and Public Safety Director William Callion in an e-mail a week ago. The mayor responded that he was willing to meet with Bryant, who told The Advocate newspaper that the “the time for meetings is over. This issue has been exhausted with meetings between the police department and the community. I think it’s time for action now.” Bryant says that the complaints from the African-American community have been pouring in. He says that he even witnessed one “disturbing” incident earlier this month but declined to offer details, The Advocate reported. “I approached the officers and they said it’s an investigation and they couldn’t give me any details,” he said. The incident didn’t involve a beat-down, but it was troubling, he added. “It wasn’t physical police brutality but I think mentally it was police brutality … I don’t want this to seem like we’re singling out the whole police department. I’m sure there are a lot of good police officers on the force. There’s just a few who make it seem bad for those whole police force.”

The young mother dialed 911 the day before her son was shot to death.
The day before Stephanie Thompson’s 4-year-old boy was shot to death, she called police to say that there was a man riding a bicycle around her Camden , N.J. , neighborhood with a machine gun. When police finally did show up, Brandon Thompson lay dead on the sidewalk in a pool of blood. He had been shot in the head. “I watched my baby get shot,” Stephanie Thompson, 21, told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I couldn’t get to him fast enough. I called 911 and told them. He was just riding around. It wasn’t like he was hidin’ it. This could have been avoided if they had done their job. Police acknowledge that Stephanie Thompson had called police about the man with the machine gun, but they are questioning whether that was the weapon used to kill Brandon , the Inquirer reports. Police also say that the boy ran into crossfire and was killed. Stephanie says that her son was playing in the street when the alleged shooter, Donald Lindsey, showed up with his machine gun. Stephanie Thompson told authorities that she heard a series of short, staccato blasts and ran to find her son. As she rounded the corner, she saw Brandon running toward her on the sidewalk, the Inquirer reports. The man on the bicycle saw him, took aim and shot him down, according to Stephanie Thompson. “I went to go pick him up and he had blood coming from everywhere. I just held him and told him to get up,” she said. “But he wouldn’t get up. He was only 4. And he was trying to run to his mommy. I couldn’t get there in time.” Camden arrived a few minutes too late. “The cops came and took my baby to the hospital and we wasn’t even there 5 minutes and he died,” she said. “He (Lindsey) looked me dead in my face when my son got shot. He knew he shot my son and he looked at me,” she said.