Southwest
Gun owners dunk on Shaq for sponsoring firearm buyback event in red state: 'Absolutely not'
FIRST ON FOX: Gun owners and National Rifle Association members dunked on NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal for sponsoring a Texas county’s first-ever gun buyback initiative earlier this month, video of the gun owners shows.
“I don’t care how big you are or how intimidating you may be because of your celebrity status,” one woman said in the video published by the NRA. “I don’t think it’s worth giving up my freedom, or my kids’ [freedom].”
Dallas County held its first gun buyback event earlier this month, which was sponsored by O’Neal. The former NBA MVP is a licensed police deputy in multiple states, including California and Georgia, and serves as an honorary deputy in southeast Texas, the Dallas Morning News reported. O’Neal did not attend the event, though the local sheriff said he endorsed the initiative.
“I support Sheriff Brown’s initiatives; Sheriff is doing the right thing and keeping our communities safe,” O’Neal said in a press release ahead of the event, local outlet WFAA reported.
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A gun owner expresses shock over Shaquille O’Neal sponsoring a gun buyback program in Texas. (NRA)
Sheriff Marian Brown, a Democrat, announced the county’s first-ever gun buyback event earlier this month, when she encouraged locals to turn over “unwanted weapons that are lying around the house.”
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“This is an opportunity for law enforcement to educate and equip community members with the tools to properly dispose of unwanted firearms,” Brown said, according to the Dallas Morning News. “Too many deaths have occurred from firearms lying around, and they end up in the hands of our vulnerable population.”
Pictured: Shaquille O’Neal on Thursday, March 14, 2019. (Getty Images)
The county offered $100 gift cards for handguns and $125 gift cards to residents with long guns.
Gun owners attending NRA event react to a gun buyback program sponsored by Shaq in Texas. (NRA)
The NRA members and gun owners, who were attending the Second Amendment group’s Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, when the video was filmed, gave a resounding “no” and “absolutely not” when asked about the gun buyback initiative.
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“[It’s] a way for the government to take more control of what we can and cannot do,” one woman said in a video published by the NRA.
Gun owners reacted to Dallas County’s first-ever gun buyback event that was sponsored by NBA legend Shaq. (NRA)
Another woman noted that her guns are “my protection” and that she would not sell them back, while yet another woman was puzzled over the amount offered to sell the guns back.
“I’m not sure the last time you bought a gun, but they’re a lot more expensive than $100 or $125,” she said.
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Another man noted that guns have been passed down in his family from generation to generation, and that he would not give those up.
A gun owner reacts to a gun buyback program in Dallas County, Texas. (NRA)
Gun buyback initiatives are largely promoted by Democratic elected officials at the local level in an effort to cut back on crimes and violence. A working paper published on the National Bureau of Economic Research’s website in 2021 found “no evidence” such programs “reduce gun crime.”
“That feels like with his celebrity status, he could probably do something more productive than this,” one man in the video said of O’Neal’s involvement in the initiative.
Fox News Digital reached out to O’Neal’s agent but did not immediately receive a reply regarding the gun owners’ comments.
The Dallas Sheriff’s office reported that they “collected more than 130 firearms” following the gun buyback event on Feb. 10.
“You’re not taking it for $100,” one gun owner said in the video. “You’re surely not taking it for $125, and there is no amount of money you’re taking it for.”
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Southwest
Texas sheriff ‘strongly’ believes remains found belong to missing teen Camila Mendoza Olmos
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This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
The Texas sheriff spearheading the search for a missing San Antonio teen said Wednesday that he “strongly” believes remains found in a field next to a gun Tuesday afternoon belong to Camila Mendoza Olmos, who vanished on Christmas Eve.
The 19-year-old was last seen at 7 a.m. that day, walking about two blocks away from her home.
“Although it is still too early to definitively say it is her, the body that we found, or what happened to that body that caused the death, I feel personally, feel strongly, that it is her,” Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said in a Facebook Live video Wednesday. “Certainly a heartbreaking case.”
MISSING CAMILA MENDOZA OLMOS: DASHCAM CAPTURES LAST SIGHTING OF TEXAS TEEN WHO VANISHED CHRISTMAS EVE
Camila Mendoza Olmos, 19, was last seen outside her home in San Antonio, Texas, on Christmas Eve, authorities said. (Bexar County Sheriff’s Office)
He previously told reporters there were no signs of foul play and that the body appeared to have been there for several days. In his video Wednesday, he urged residents to check on their loved ones.
“Especially those that have been going through tough times,” he said.
Olmos had a history of suicidal ideation and depression, he said.
Camila Olmos was reported missing on Christmas Eve. (Bexar County Sheriff)
BODY FOUND DURING SEARCH FOR MISSING TEXAS TEEN CAMILA MENDOZA OLMOS AS ANOTHER TEEN DISAPPEARS
“It’s been a heartbreaking week,” Salazar added.
Olmos was one of three teens in the county reported missing in under a week.
Another, 14-year-old Sofia Peters-Cobos, was recovered safely. The third, 17-year-old Angelique Johnson, has been missing since Christmas Day.
This combination image shows missing Bexar County residents James Nunnery, 55, and Angelique Johnson, 17. They were reported missing in unrelated cases on Christmas. (Bexar County Sheriff’s Office)
A fourth missing person, a 55-year-old man named James Nunnery, also vanished on Christmas, according to the sheriff’s office. He was partway through a road trip to Mississippi and last spoke with a relative around 10 a.m., telling his mother he was 180 miles outside Dallas.
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Anyone with info is asked to call the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office at (210) 335-6000 or email the BCSO Missing Persons Unit at missingpersons@bexar.org.
Fox News’ Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
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Southwest
Texas requires students learn about ‘perils of communism’ in sweeping new curriculum overhaul
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A rewrite of Texas’ social studies curriculum will require educators to teach students about the perils of communism, according to a recent report.
“The new framework, known as the ‘comprehensive’ model, introduces a novel chronological approach to history and signals that the process will result in drastically different new standards,” the Houston Chronicle reported.
Set to take effect in the fall of 2030, “the model, favored by conservatives on the board, boosts the proportion of Texas history, and removes standalone world cultures courses,” the piece said.
“Third grade will now begin with ‘birth of Western civilizations’ and eighth grade will become a Texas history-only capstone course.”
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A rewrite of Texas’ social studies curriculum will require educators to teach students about the perils of communism, according to a recent report. (fstop123/iStock via Getty Images Plus)
The State Board of Education approved the Social Studies plan by a vote of 8-7 in September.
Under the revised standards, the curriculum will focus more on Texas history and U.S. history rather than world history and cultures.
The Houston Chronicle reported that Democrats on the board raised concerns about the changes.
“Democrats on the board say the new framework reduces representation, will be more difficult for teachers to explain and delays lessons about nonwhite people to later grades,” the piece said.
“Looking at this storytelling thing, when do people that look like me get to learn about themselves before the fifth grade?” Staci Childs, D-Houston, was quoted as saying in the article, speaking about herself and other Black or Hispanic members of the board.
The Houston Chronicle also reported, “The standards are also being revised to align with recently-passed state law that requires students to be taught about the perils of communism.”
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Under the revised standards, the curriculum will focus more on Texas history and U.S. history rather than world history and cultures. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)
In the revised framework, according to the report, “Students must learn about ‘atrocities attributable to communist regimes,’ including the Cambodian genocide, guerrilla movements in Latin America and the ‘oppression and suffering experienced by people living under communist regimes.’ The lessons must also touch on modern threats posed to the U.S. and its allies by communist regimes and ideologies.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Texas State Board of Education; Rep. Aaron Kinsey, R-Midland, chair of the Texas State Board of Education; and Childs for comment.
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State Democrats raised concerns about the new curriculum, with one state lawmaker saying it reduces representation of Black and Hispanic Texans. (Getty)
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Southwest
San Antonio teen who vanished Christmas Eve found dead by suicide in nearby field after days-long search
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This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Texas authorities confirmed on Thursday a missing San Antonio teen who vanished on Christmas Eve took her own life.
Camila Mendoza Olmos, 19, was last seen alive at about 7 a.m. on Dec. 24, walking a few blocks from her home.
Olmos’ body was found Tuesday in a field just a few hundred yards from her home, next to a gun, according to a report from affiliate FOX 7 Austin.
Officials confirmed they found the body of Camila Mendoza Olmos, who went missing on Christmas Eve. (Help Find Camila Mendoza Olmos via Facebook)
BODY FOUND DURING SEARCH FOR MISSING TEXAS TEEN CAMILA MENDOZA OLMOS AS ANOTHER TEEN GIRL DISAPPEARS
The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the body as Olmos on Wednesday, determining the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head and ruling the manner of death a suicide, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office previously said Olmos had a history of suicidal ideation and depression, noting there were no signs of foul play.
Camila Olmos was reported missing on Christmas Eve morning. (Bexar County Sheriff)
MISSING CAMILA MENDOZA OLMOS: DASHCAM CAPTURES LAST SIGHTING OF TEXAS TEEN WHO VANISHED CHRISTMAS EVE
The body appeared to have been in the location where it was found for several days, according to authorities.
In a Facebook post Wednesday afternoon, family members thanked the community for their support.
“In the name of the Olmos family, we want to give a humble and heartfelt thank you to all the news reporters, churches, friends, families, and communities for your support and prayers,” Nancy Olmos wrote in the post. “Our beloved Camila Mendoza Olmos is now with the Good Lord.”
Camila Mendoza Olmos’ manner of death was ruled a suicide, according to officials. (Help Find Camila Mendoza Olmos via Facebook)
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“We kindly ask that you please respect our pain and, most importantly, keep my cousin Rosario—Camila’s mom—and my nephew Carlos—Camila’s brother—in your prayers during this incredibly difficult time,” she added. “Thank you, and God bless you all.”
Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
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