Father of Sandy Hook victim dies in apparent suicide
Another person with a connection to a mass shooting has committed suicide.
Jeremy Richman killed himself in his office on Monday, March 25. His daughter, Avielle Richman, was one of the 20 children killed during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December of 2012.
After Avielle Richman’s death, Jeremy Richman founded the Avielle Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on violence prevention through research and community engagement.
Sydney Aiello killed herself on March 17 at just 19 years old. The cheerleader, once described as a bubbly and outgoing, suffered from survivors guilt and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after her close friend, Meadow Pollock, died during the shooting at Stoneman Douglass High School.
Two days prior to the death of Jeremy Richman, an unnamed Stoneman Douglass High School student took their life as well. While it’s not clear if the student’s death was related to the mass shooting a year prior at the high school, community members are rallying together to address the recent suicides.
Charges against Jussie Smollett are dropped
In an obscure turn of events, all of the charges against “Empire” star Jussie Smollett were dropped on March 26.
While the Cook County Attorney’s Office still believes Smollett is guilty of lying to police about being assaulted by two men who yelled racial and homophobic slurs at him, they dropped the charges against him in order to focus on violent crime.
Smollett, who was charged with 16 felony counts, said that he has told the truth throughout the entirety of the investigation in a statement on Tuesday: “I have been truthful and consistent on every level since day one. I would not be my mother’s son if I was capable of one drop of what I’m accused of.”
In a press conference later Tuesday morning, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel called the dismissal a “whitewash of justice,” and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson claimed that a deal was “brokered” to “circumvent the judicial system.”
Dr. Dre’s daughter gets into USC ‘on her own’
Rapper and producer Dr. Dre, also known as Andrè Young, took to Instagram on Saturday to announce his daughter, Truly Young’s, admission to the University of Southern California (USC).
The post captioned, “My daughter got accepted into USC all on her own. No jail time!!!” was in reference to the recent arrests of Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, who allegedly bribed officials to get their children into elite universities.
However, many were quick to point out that in 2013, Dr. Dre and collaborator Jimmy Iovine donated $70 million to USC to establish the Jimmy Iovine and Andrè Young Academy for Arts, Technology, and the Business of Innovation.
Dr. Dre’s post has since been deleted.
