ABC News Headlines (1-7)
http://abcnewsradioonline.com/ (c) 2018, ABC News Radio Mon, 28 May 2018 17:05:01 +0000 Leighton SchneiderMon, 28 May 2018 16:51:56 +0000http://abcnewsradioonline.com/national-news/flight-student-kidnapped-by-instructors-who-said-he-had-to-g.html360296:6227645:36073688
iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — A Chinese student who was attending flight school in California was allegedly kidnapped by an instructor and his assistant who told the student that he had to go back to China, police said.
Cops were informed that Tianshu “Chris” Shi, 21, was being threatened after his brother in China called the local police in Redding, California, last week and said that Shi had called him and “told him somebody was at his apartment to take him away.”
Shi had been in the United States for seven months at the time of the incident on a student visa which is valid for a year, according to the local paper, the Record Searchlight.
When his brother, Baihan Fu, didn’t hear back from Shi, he called back and spoke to another flight student who told Fu that Shi “was just assaulted and taken away,” according to the Redding Police news release.
Police said that a flight instructor named Jonathan McConkey, 48, and his assistant Kelis Hoser, 50, went to Shi’s residence on the night of Thursday May 24 and said “they are sending him back to China,” police said in their release.
In an interview with the Record Searchlight, Shi, who suffered minor injuries in the incident, said that the instructors didn’t give any reason for why he’d have to return to China.
“I said I didn’t receive any documents from China, so I decided not to go back,” Shi told the paper.
Shi said that he didn’t sleep at all after the instructors left his residence, and he feared that his roommates had been told to watch him overnight, he told the Record Searchlight.
According to the Redding police, McConkey and Hoser returned to the residence the following morning “to carry out this action.”
“McConkey battered him, and threatened physical violence if he did not go with them,” the police release said.
The Record Searchlight reports that Shi shared a recording that he said he took when the instructors returned to his residence on the morning of May 25.
The individuals who are recorded are not individually identified, but in addition to Shi there is one male and one female reportedly heard on the recording.
“You’re going home, with or without your luggage,” the male voice is heard saying.
The female is first heard speaking in Mandarin and then starts speaking English and allegedly says “If you cannot speak English, you are not going to be able to stay here.”
The male voice then claims that Shi is “in my custody” and asks if he knows what that means. “It means I will forcibly remove you… If you want the police to come with guns, I got you on that, alright? Your ass is leaving now,” the male voice is heard saying on the recording, according to the Record Searchlight.
The male voice used multiple profanities, according to the recording.
“Your ass is getting on the plane right now or I’ll break your f—— arm. You better believe I’m f—— threatening you. And the United States government needs you out of this country right now, you understand?” the male voice says, according to the paper.
Police said Shi went with the instructors to Redding Municipal Airport “in fear of his safety” before police found the trio there.
McConkey and Hoser were arrested for conspiracy and kidnapping, according to the Redding police.
A police sergeant told local ABC affiliate KRCR-TV that he didn’t know of any reports of misconduct from the school in the past.
Bail for both McConkey and Hoser set at $100,000, according to KRCR. It was unclear if McConkey and Hoser have lawyers.
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http://abcnewsradioonline.com/national-news/rss-comments-entry-36073688.xml Leighton SchneiderMon, 28 May 2018 12:26:32 +0000http://abcnewsradioonline.com/world-news/i-did-not-really-think-says-paris-migrant-who-climbed-buildi.html360296:6227649:36073631
iStock/Thinkstock(PARIS) — A West African migrant is being praised in France for scaling a building to save a boy hanging from a fourth-floor balcony in Paris. The man, Mamoudou Gassama, will be made a French citizen, the Elysee Palace announced today.
Gassama’s act was caught on video and went viral on social media. The incident happened on Saturday night in the north of Paris, the Malian migrant told French media.
Gassama was in the neighborhood to watch a soccer match in a local restaurant when he heard people screaming and cars honking in the streets.
When he saw the young child dangling from a balcony, Gassama climbed up four floors of the apartment building and rescued the boy in less than one minute. When emergency services arrived at the scene, he had already pulled the child to safety.
The child was slightly injured, according to French authorities.
The 22-year-old Malian was invited to the Elysee presidential palace Monday morning where he met French President Emmanuel Macron.
“I did not really think, I started climbing directly,” he told Macron. “As I was climbing up, I felt more and more confident.”
“Bravo,” replied the French president.
Gassama also spoke to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo. He told her he arrived from Mali a few months ago and wished to stay in France.
“I replied that his heroic gesture was an example for all citizens and that the city of Paris will obviously be keen to support him in his efforts to settle in France,” Hidalgo wrote on Twitter.
It took less than 48 hours for French authorities to respond to Gassama’s wish. The Elysee Palace announced Monday he will be made a French citizen and has been offered a job by the Paris fire brigade.
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