Mark Saunders was a British barrister who struggled with depression and
alcoholism. On 6 May 2008 he repeatedly fired a shotgun from a window
of his home in Markham Square, London. When armed police arrived,
Saunders fired at their vehicle (example pictured) and a siege began.
Saunders fired twice more and police returned fire, slightly wounding
him. Saunders then waved the shotgun out of a window in the direction of
a group of police officers; seven officers fired eleven shots, of which
at least five struck him. Saunders was pronounced dead at a waiting
ambulance. An inquest was held where the jury returned a verdict of
lawful killing, but found several flaws in the police handling of the
incident. They did not consider that any of these significantly
contributed to the outcome. They could not decide whether Saunders had
intentionally provoked a lethal response ("suicide by cop"). In 2010,
the Metropolitan Police created a unit of senior officers to manage
similar incidents.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Mark_Saunders>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1782:
Construction began on the Grand Palace in Bangkok, the official
residence of the king of Thailand.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Palace>
1882:
Irish civil servants Thomas Henry Burke and Lord Frederick
Cavendish were stabbed to death by members of the radical Irish National
Invincibles in Phoenix Park, Dublin.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Park_Murders>
1941:
American entertainer Bob Hope performed his first show with the
United Service Organizations, beginning a 50-year involvement with them.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Hope>
1991:
Time magazine published the article "The Thriving Cult of Greed
and Power" by Richard Behar criticizing the Church of Scientology,
leading to years of legal conflict.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thriving_Cult_of_Greed_and_Power>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
staid:
1. Not capricious or impulsive; sedate, serious, sober.
2. (rare) Always fixed in the same location; stationary.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/staid>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Come holy harlequin! Shake the world and shock the hypocrite
Rock, love, carry it away, turn it upside down. Let the feast of love
begin, Let the hungry all come in, Rock, love, carry it away, turn it
upside down.
--Sydney Carter
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sydney_Carter>