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New York

Officials: NY Gunman Set 'Trap' for Firefighters

A man who set his house on fire then lured firefighters to their deaths in a blaze of flames and bullets had attracted little attention since he got out of prison in the 1990s for killing his grandmother, authorities said.

But two months ago, William Spengler's mother died, leaving the 62-year-old ex-con in a Lake Ontario house with his sister, who he "couldn't stand," a friend said.

Spengler set a car and a house in his neighborhood ablaze early Monday, luring firefighters to the neighborhood and then killed two, wounded two others and injured a police officer while several homes burned around him, police said. Spengler then killed himself. His sister, Cheryl, was missing.

About 100 people attended an impromptu memorial vigil Monday evening in Webster, a suburb of Rochester. Dozens of bouquets were left at the fire station, along with a handwritten sign that said, "Thanks for protecting us. RIP."

Spengler, had been living in the home in Webster, a suburb of Rochester, with his mother and sister since his parole in 1998. He had served 17 years in prison after the beating death of his 92-year-old grandmother in 1980, for which he had originally been charged with murder but pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter. His mother, Arline, died in October . On Monday, Spengler fired at the four firefighters when they arrived shortly after 5:30 a.m. at the blaze, town police Chief Gerald Pickering said. The first police officer who arrived chased the gunman and exchanged shots.

Spengler lay in wait outdoors for the firefighters' arrival, then opened fire probably with a rifle and from atop an earthen berm, Pickering said. "It does appear it was a trap," he said.

Authorities used an armored vehicle to help residents flee dozens of homes on the shore of Lake Ontario a day before Christmas. Police restricted access to the neighborhood, and officials said it was unclear whether there were other bodies in the seven houses left to burn.

Authorities said Spengler hadn't done anything to bring himself to their attention since his parole. As a convicted felon, he wasn't allowed to possess weapons. Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley said Spengler led a very quiet life after he got out of prison.

A friend said Spengler hated his sister. Roger Vercruysse lived next door to Spengler and recalled a man who doted on his mother, whose obituary suggested contributions to the West Webster Fire Department.

"He loved his mama to death," said Vercruysse, who last saw his friend about six months ago.

Vercruysse also said Spengler "couldn't stand his sister" and "stayed on one side of the house and she stayed on the other."

The West Webster Fire District learned of the fire early Monday after a report of a car and house on fire on Lake Road, on a narrow peninsula where Irondequoit Bay meets Lake Ontario, Monroe County Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn said.

The fire appeared from a distance as a pulsating ball of flame glowing against the early morning sky, flames licking into treetops and reflecting on the water, with huge bursts of smoke billowing away in a brisk wind.

Emergency radio communications capture someone saying he "could see the muzzle flash coming at me" as Spengler carried out his ambush. The audio posted on the website RadioReference.com has someone reporting "firefighters are down" and saying "got to be rifle or shotgun - high powered ... semi or fully auto."

Two of the firefighters arrived on a fire engine and two in their own vehicles, Pickering said. After Spengler fired, one of the wounded men fled, but the other three couldn't because of flying gunfire.

The police officer who exchanged gunfire with Spengler "in all likelihood saved many lives," Pickering said.

A police armored vehicle was used to recover two men, and eventually it removed 33 people from nearby homes, the police chief said. The gunfire initially kept firefighters from battling the blazes.

The dead men were identified as police Lt. Michael Chiapperini, 43, the Webster Police Department's public information officer; and 19-year-old Tomasz Kaczowka, also a 911 dispatcher.

Pickering described Chiapperini as a "lifetime firefighter" with nearly 20 years in the department, and he called Kaczowka a "tremendous young man."

Kaczowka's brother, reached at the family home Monday night, said he didn't want to talk.

The two wounded firefighters, Joseph Hofstetter and Theodore Scardino, were in guarded condition in the intensive care unit at Strong Memorial Hospital, authorities said. Both were awake and alert and are expected to recover.

Hofstetter, also a full-timer with the Rochester Fire Department, was hit once in the pelvis, and the bullet lodged in his spine, authorities said. Scardino was hit in the chest and knee.

At West Webster Fire Station 1, there were at least 20 bouquets on a bench in front and a bouquet of roses with three gold-and-white ribbons saying, "May they rest in peace," ''In the line of duty" and "In memory of our fallen brothers."

A handwritten sign says, "Thanks for protecting us, RIP." Two candles were lit to honor the dead.

Grieving firefighters declined to talk to reporters. At an impromptu memorial vigil Monday evening, about 100 people stood in the cold night air, some holding candles. A fire department spokesman made a brief appearance, thanked them all and told them to go home and appreciate their families.

Cathy Bartlett was there with her teenage son, who was good friends with Kaczowka. Bartlett's husband, Mark Bartlett, has been a firefighter there for 25 years but missed the call this morning.

"Thank God my husband slept through the first alarm and didn't get up until the second one went off," she said.

The shooting and fires were in a neighborhood of seasonal and year-round homes set close together across the road from the lakeshore. The area is popular with recreational boaters but is normally quiet this time of year.

"We have very few calls for service in that location," Pickering said. "Webster is a tremendous community. We are a safe community, and to have a tragedy befall us like this is just horrendous."

O'Flynn lamented the violence, which comes on the heels of other shootings including the massacre of 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

"It's sad to see that this is becoming more commonplace in communities across the nation," O'Flynn said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the State Police and Office of Emergency Management were working with local authorities.

"Volunteer firefighters and police officers were injured and two were taken from us as they once again answered the call of duty," Cuomo said in a statement. "We as the community of New York mourn their loss as now two more families must spend the holidays without their loved ones."

Webster, a middle-class suburb, now is the scene of violence linked to house fires for two Decembers in a row.

Last Dec. 7, authorities say, a 15-year-old boy doused his home with gasoline and set it ablaze, killing his father and two brothers, 16 and 12. His mother and 13-year-old sister escaped with injuries. He is being prosecuted as an adult.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/firefighter-shot-scene-blaze-western-ny-18054793

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Ohio

Ohio's youth prisons much-improved, monitor says

by Andrew Welsh-Huggins

Some changes to Ohio's youth prison system are a model for the nation, an annual report concludes, while it also highlights continuing issues in the system involving gang violence, education classes and medical care.

Department of Youth Services administrators have done commendable work reducing the number of offenders in secure confinement and spreading services for youthful offenders around Ohio, according to the report released this month by a court-appointed monitor.

“I take great pride in the work we have done together to improve conditions in Ohio's juvenile correctional facilities,” monitor Will Harrell wrote in his report. He oversees an agreement between the state and youth advocates who sued over conditions in the system.

However, Harrell also noted “ongoing deficiencies” that must be addressed.

The Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility in Stark County, for example, still has too many incidents of violence, Harrell said.

“Changes in programs, youth population, and the addition of the Mental Health Units have resulted in fluctuations in violence reflected through assaults, fights, physical restraints and incidents of seclusion,” the report said.

“Youth gangs still exert a powerful negative influence at Indian River, and concerns remain about the high rate of fights and physical restraints,” it said.

Teacher absences contributed to a number of canceled classes at Indian River and the Scioto Juvenile Correctional Facility in Delaware, the report said, and some teachers aren't getting the job done.

At Scioto, “some staff demonstrated an inability to effectively maintain order, and youth in several classrooms slept, walked around, or engaged in conversations unrelated to school,” the report said.

The report found problems with medical files at all four state facilities, and it said records aren't always accessible to everyone trying to create treatment programs for youth.

In addition, psychiatric services and hours at all the prisons are inadequate, and a disproportionate number of black inmates aren't placed in mental-health units, the report said.

Four years ago, the state settled a 2004 lawsuit alleging that a culture of violence permeated the youth-prisons system. That settlement called for continuing review of the state's progress in making agreed-to changes.

The state says that the agency is a different organization today and that the agreement should be concluded, given the progress that has been made.

“We are carrying out our mission of improving Ohio's future by habilitating youth and empowering families and communities,” youth-prisons spokeswoman Kim Parsell said in a statement.

She noted that the agency is almost finished complying with 1,000 goals and objectives that both sides agreed on.

Attorneys for youth inmates note that the recent report found possible violations of inmates'federal rights in 44 areas.

The attorneys also say the proposal to end the agreement comes when possible cuts to the youth-prisons budget could “put a severe strain on its ability to achieve constitutional compliance.”

The system once had more than 2,000 juvenile inmates; it now houses about 600.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/12/25/ohios-youth-prisons-much-improved-monitor-says.html

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Homeland Security helps Ohio prepare for threats

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Homeland Security in Ohio has teamed up with the state Department of Education to post informational resources for school administrators in the wake of the elementary school massacre in Connecticut.

The resources have been posted at http://homelandsecurity.ohio.gov/printed_material.stm

They include a quick guide on how to respond when there's an active shooter, such as having an escape route in mind, leaving belongings behind, hiding in a locked area and silencing electronics.

There's also a guide on how to respond to school violence, and an awareness poster that schools can print out that advises, "If you see something, say something," and a phone number to report suspicious activity.

Ohio Homeland Security Director Richard Baron says the effort is designed to increase Ohioans' awareness of potential threats and readiness to respond.

http://www.auroraadvocate.com/ap%20state/2012/12/25/homeland-security-helps-ohio-prepare-for-threats