BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The 18-year-old gunman who authorities say killed 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket had previously threatened a shooting at his high school and was sent for mental health treatment, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

Payton Gendron had appeared on the radar of police last year after he threatened to carry out a shooting at Susquehanna High School around the time of graduation, the official said. New York State Police said troopers were called to the Conklin school on June 8, 2021, for a report that a 17-year-old student had made threatening statements.

Police said the student was taken into custody under a state mental health law and taken to a hospital for an evaluation. The police statement did not give the student’s name.

The law enforcement official was not authorized to speak publicly on the investigation and did so on the condition of anonymity.

https://apnews.com/article/0475a5bd971d23a4e0a13ef840650bb1

Elena is recalling the moment Russian troops started shelling, after she and a group of escapees passed through one of their checkpoints. After two months living in the basement of a kindergarten in the Russian-occupied town of Izyum in Ukraine, Elena spent two nerve-shredding days on the road to safety. She and her daughter were among 20 people in a convoy of vehicles heading away from Russian-controlled territory. They fled last Friday using a route organised by volunteers.

"All that time we were praying," said Elena, 52, recounting how they passed through numerous Russian checkpoints. When troops asked them where they were going, the group convinced the soldiers they were headed for Russia. At one checkpoint, Elena said, Russians looked through her daughter's phone, and became angry when they saw messages to her friends about the situation in Izyum.

…She adds that Russian troops were looting everything, including people's underwear. Soldiers drove around the city in stolen cars with "Z" signs painted on them, she recalled. "They were armed and often very drunk. It was very scary when an armoured personnel carrier was driving on your street and soldiers with machine guns were sitting in it. We tried to hide."

Situated south-east of Kharkiv, the city of Izyum is known as the gateway to the Donbas - Ukraine's old coal and steel-producing region, more than a third of which was seized by Moscow-backed separatists in 2014. It is surrounded by forests and rivers, which make it a natural fortress. And within the city boundaries is the Kremenets mountain, which is 218m (715ft) above sea level. "Whoever has control of this mountain has a significant military advantage," said Maxym Strelnik, an official of Izyum city council. All this made the city an important prize and soon after the Kremlin's invasion, it came under heavy bombardment. On 1 April, Russia seized control and has occupied the city since. Now, Mr Strelnik, who was told by the Ukrainian military to leave the area, estimates that 80% of the city has been destroyed. Between 10,000 and 15,000 civilians remain in Izyum, he believes.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61354626