Chicago police on Sunday that said they are questioning two people in the shooting death of a young mother whose sister stood behind President Obama during his speech on gun violence on the same day. Janay McFarlane, 18, was shot to death on Friday night while walking through North Chicago with a friend, who police said may have been the intended target. MacFarland’s death came just hours after her 14-year-old sister, Destini Warren, attended a speech by President Obama decrying the city’s gun violence.

McFarlane's mother, Angela Blakely, said Sunday: "I really feel like somebody cut a part of my heart out."

Blakely said the bullet that killed McFarlane was meant for a friend. McFarlane was supposed to graduate from an alternative school this spring, her mother said, and wanted to go into the culinary arts.

"I'm just really, truly just trying to process it, knowing that I'm not taking my baby home any more," Blakely said.

Among the survivors, Janay MacFarland leaves behind her three-month-old son, Jayden, pictured below in a family photo:

A 14-year-old suicide bomber attacked NATO headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan on Saturday, killing six civilians and wounding five, including children. No soldiers were struck. The teenage attacker was wearing a vest packed with explosives, and rode up to the building on a bike before detonating. Although the Taliban claimed initial responsibility for the attack, they say the bomber was a 28-year-old and the target was the CIA's Kabul offices. The latest attack highlights militants' abilities to strike even the most secure parts of the Afghan capital, worrying officials.

Hashmat Stanikzai, a police spokesperson, said the dead and wounded were all street sellers aged between 12 and 17.

Street children routinely gather outside NATO headquarters to peddle small trinkets and sweets, looking out for soldiers leaving or getting into the base.

Pieces of flesh and splattered blood lay on the street near the base, where small bodies were seen being lifted into ambulances, witnesses said.

"I was here when the blast occurred. I saw some wounded children on the ground. The wounded [were] transferred to emergency hospital for treatment and I heard that three of the injured children have died," said Ahmad Sameer, a witness.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) condemned the use of children. "Forcing underage youth to do their dirty work again proves the insurgency's despicable tactics," said spokesman Brigadier General Gunter Katz.

The U.S. embassy in Kabul said in a statement that using "the most impressionable and vulnerable", such as a teenager, to carry out such attacks revealed the true nature of the insurgents.

Indiana police say that a 17-year-old who was picked up for burglary has died after he strangled himself while handcuffed in the back seat of a police car. They say the teen managed to move his handcuffed hands from behind his back to the front of his body and then used the seat belt to strangle himself.

The local ABC news affiliate reported:

When the teen was discovered, police performed CPR and called for an ambulance, police reported.

Police said the teen was transported to St. John's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

“Our heart goes out to the family of the child that passed away while in police custody. It is a tragic situation when a death occurs with a person at such a young age," Anderson Mayor Kevin S. Smith said in a news release.

Crenshaw said he could not comment on the timeline of the events since the investigation is continuing.

He did say he's never seen a case like this before.

"It's very tragic for the family members of the young boy," Crenshaw said. "You respond to the crime, you try to do the police functions as you can and in a situation like this, it's tragic for the police department, for the officers involved and for the community."

The local news report has more details about the burglary police were investigating, but nothing more about how 17-year-old managed to kill himself in the back of a police car. Police wouldn't respond further questions citing the pending investigation into the death.

Some well deserved publicity for Tim Pool...

[Via]

The founder of TimcastTV, Pool is a live-stream and social-media journalist who has garnered attention for his coverage of Occupy Wall Street and the Million Hoodie March, which honored Trayvon Martin, the unarmed teen who was shot and killed in Florida in February.

"I know I’m just a kid, but I have no future, and it freaks me out. I’m sorry if it looks like I’m just spoiled and petulant."

[Via WeAreThe99Percent]