"LOCKDOWN," is a ten minute documentary by Mutual Aid Media on the Tar Sands Blockade -- a group of activists and landowners in Texas who have built a campaign to stop the Keystone XL pipeline. This short documentary follows activists as they plan an action camp, lead workshops, and execute a lockdown.

A lone gunman opened fire at a car wash and barber shop in Herkimer and Mohawk, upstate New York. Four people have been killed and at least two injured.

Schools in Herkimer County are on lockdown after the suspect opened fire at two different locations before fleeing, according to local reports.

The shooter opened fire at Gaffey's Car Wash, on Mohawk Street in the village of Herkimer, 65 miles east of Syracuse, killing two people. The gun rampage continued to the nearby area of Mohawk, where the suspect shot four people at John's Barber Shop on Main Street, killing two. There were also reports of an explosion/fire at South Washington Street in Mohawk shortly before the shootings. A report from the Utica Observer-Dispatch indicates the suspect is believed to have lived in that building; "police were seen taking about half a dozen long guns from the residence shortly before 11 a.m. but would not confirm if they belonged to the suspect."

Police are believed to be looking for one suspect, 64-year-old Kurt Myers of Mohawk, who is thought to have used a long gun and fled in a red Jeep with a black top. The vehicle was recovered shortly after 10am this morning in Herkimer, but Myers is still on the run. Police describe Myers as "a 50- to 60-year-old slender white male, about 5-foot-11, with white hair and a white beard, last seen wearing a flannel shirt." Myers is considered "armed and extremely dangerous." Residents are advised to stay indoors and to call 911 if they see him. Police also said they are "familiar" with Myers, but could not comment on any criminal record he may have.

Following the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, a habitually abusive public school administration in Harlem subjected over 300 disabled students and staff to a horrific staged school shooting.

Planned in secrecy, without any warning or notice to any of the victims, desperate students and staff were traumatized and struggle today with the aftermath. Hundreds of stories have emerged of teachers holding doors down to save their students while calling loved ones to say good bye. Staff falling to the floor in prayer. And brave acts of protection and heroism. Some arrived at hospitals for heart pain. 300 fragile students, starting at the age of 12, who have worked all their lives to be strong and overcome emotional hardships were terrorized by this action, and most do not have the voice to respond. Or even to tell their parents.

NYT:

Police officers raced to the school. Some students trembled as they crouched in corners trying to hide. A few staff members began to pray.

“We really thought we were not going home that night,” one teacher said. “It was probably the worst feeling I ever had in my life.”
...

P.S. 79, the Horan School, serves 300 students with special needs, including those with severe emotional disabilities, autism, cerebral palsy and other disorders. The students range in age from 12 to 21, one staff member said.

The lockdown drill began about 10 a.m. on Tuesday with a woman’s voice on the school’s loudspeaker saying, “ ‘Shooter,’ or ‘intruder,’ and ‘get out, get out, lockdown,’ ” said the staff member, who added that it seemed so realistic that it was hard to tell if the woman speaking was actually talking to a gunman or to teachers and students throughout the school.

At 10:01 a.m., a woman dialed 911 from her cellphone and said she had heard a message over the loudspeaker “that there was an intruder in the school, and that she was in the class with her students,” said a Police Department spokeswoman.

Officers from the 25th Precinct station house responded, she said. When they arrived a minute later, school officials told them that it was just a drill.

The school had already been under a genuine alert the same Friday of the Sandy Hook shooting due to a volatile former student who was believed to have entered the building.

On the day of the "lockdown drill," many students began to cry, shake, and scream in horror. Some students ran and hid into classroom closets, under their desks, and others became aggressive —not knowing how to deal with the chaos and fear.

A movement is growing to hold the school's administration accountable for terrorizing the students and staff. The students need help after being traumatized, and the teachers need to be protected from retribution by the administration for exposing this cruel and unusual assault.

There is a petition calling for justice for the students and staff of that Horan school that will be submitted to NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, if enough signatures are gathered. If you'd care to join the friends of Horan and sign the petition, it's available online here.

Minneapolis - Around 6:30am Thursday morning a large balloon banner reading "Evictions Stop Here" was deployed above the embattled home of the Cruz family as 15 supporters of the Cruz family began an occupation of the rooftop in protest of the family's unjust foreclosure. By 8:30am two were cut out of a lockbox device with an electric saw, handcuffed, taken down a ladder and arrested for trespassing. The action kicks off a national day of action in 18 cities demanding PNC Bank negotiate with the family to allow them to return to their home.

Alejandra and David Cruz went to the bank's headquarters in Pittsburgh around 1pm with over 40,000 petition signatures and their loan modification documents demanding a meeting with CEO Jim Rohr to renegotiate their mortgage.

The Cruzes' battle against an unjust foreclosure has become a focal point for the Occupy movement and garnered media attention from around the country. In the past month, 24 community supporters with Occupy Homes MN have been arrested defending the south Minneapolis home. The campaign has become a sticky political situation for local elected officials, PNC Bank, and Freddie Mac, the current owner of the property.

Although PNC has acknowledged the foreclosure was due to a bank error, executives have repeatedly said they are working "behind the scenes" to fix the situation, and Executive Vice President Dan Taylor said that he would look into the Cruzes' case, the bank has not offered a negotiation. "We feel like PNC and Freddie Mac have forgotten us," said David Cruz. "So we're going to remind them."

On their way to Pittsburgh, the Cruzes stopped in Chicago to visit Freddie Mac, the current owner of the home, at their regional office, where 40 supporters rallied with the Cruzes' battered front door. Supporters then marched to a local PNC branch where they were denied entrance by Chicago police officers and the branch refused to accept the Cruzes' loan documents.

Thursday evening in Minneapolis, community members and neighbors rallied to sending a clear message to PNC Bank that if a negotiation has not been offered, supporters will continue to return to the home even if it means risking arrest. "This home belongs to the Cruz family," said Occupy Homes MN organizer Nick Espinosa. "We won't rest until they're back in it."