Massachusetts Daily Collegian: March 23, 2016

Page 1

THE MASSACHUSETTS

A free and responsible press

DAILY COLLEGIAN

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

DailyCollegian.com

Serving the UMass community since 1890

News@DailyCollegian.com

At least 30 killed in Brussels terrorist attacks Country plans 3-day national mourning By aLexanDra Mayer-HoHDaHL dpa

BRUSSELS — A series of terrorist attacks in the Belgian capital left at least 30 people dead and 230 injured on Tuesday, with the Islamic State extremist group claiming responsibility for the explosions at a subway station and Brussels’ international airport. The Sunni jihadist organization, which controls a swath of territory in Iraq and Syria, said a group of its “soldiers” had attacked “carefully selected targets” in “crusader Belgium, which has not stopped attacking

Islam and its people.” Belgium is part of the U.S.-led coalition that has carried out airstrikes against the Islamic State. The extremist group threatened further attacks on members of the coalition in a statement posted on social media by Islamic State supporters and described by the U.S.-based monitoring group SITE Intel as a “formal communique.” It said that “what is coming will be harsher and bitterer.” The group’s Amaq news agency said Islamic State fighters opened fire in the Brussels airport before detonating suicide belts. It did not say how many were involved. The attack, which featured two consecutive explosions in the airport’s departure hall around 8 a.m., left at least 10 people dead and

some 100 people injured, according to an initial estimate by Belgium’s crisis center. One other suicide attacker targeted the Maelbeek metro station, according to Amaq. That explosion _ which took place at around 9:15 a.m. as many commuters were heading to work _ left at least 20 people dead and some 130 injured, the crisis center said. Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel called the attacks “blind, violent and cowardly.” Three days of national mourning are to be held in the European country beginning Wednesday, while investigators hunt for the perpetrators. Police asked for help in identifying a man they suspect of carrying out the attack at the airport, which

By patricia LeBoeuf Collegian Staff

Shawn Wyatt, 22, of Framingham, appeared in Eastern Hampshire District Court Tuesday for a detention hearing in connection with his alleged involvement in the armed assault last month in Pierpont Hall dormitory on the University of Massachusetts campus.

In the aftermath of the Brussels attacks, a paper reads “share your love” in French in front of the Bourse in Brussels on Tuesday. the attack, but one did not explode, the governor of the Flemish Brabant province, Lodewijk De Witte, was quoted as saying by the Belga news agency. The bombs contained nails, an official from a hos-

pital treating some of the victims told Belga. Most of the 13 victims brought to the Gasthuisberg hospital in the city of Leuven had suffered fractures, burns and serisee

BRUSSELS on page 3

the entire UMass campus, according to another release from the district attorney’s office. He must also remain drug and alcohol-free with random testing, report to probation weekly and not leave the state. Wyatt’s next court date is scheduled for April 20, according to a second statement from the office. McKeown was arraigned on the same charges — armed robbery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and bat-

Wyatt was arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court on March 16 on charges of armed robbery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery Wyatt’s bail was set at $15,000, which he had not posted as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the clerk’s office. Wyatt was arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court on March 16 on charges of armed robbery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery. He is a defendant in the alleged assault of a UMass student in Pierpont Hall on Feb. 18, according to a statement by the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office. The first suspect, William McKeown, 19, of Framingham, turned himself in on Feb. 19 after being charged with the same crimes as Wyatt. Wyatt appeared in Framingham District Court March 15 on a warrant related to the charges of armed robbery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery, First Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Steven E. Gagne said in an email to the Massachusetts Daily Collegian. If Wyatt posts bail, he must stay away from McKeown, the victim and

KEVIN VAN DEN PANHUYZEN/NURPHOTO/SIPA USA/TNS N

ISIS AS IT IS

Bail established for second UMass assault suspect Shawn Wyatt’s bail placed at $15K

is located about 9 miles from the center of Brussels. A video surveillance picture released by police shows a man wearing glasses, a black hat and white jacket. He is pushing an airport trolley carrying a black duffel bag. Police raids are being carried out in connection with the investigation into the attacks, federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw said. U.S. President Barack Obama offered Michel support in the investigation, according to the White House. Police spent much of Tuesday searching for weapons and suspects in the sprawling airport building, at one point neutralizing a “suspicious package.” There were a total of three bombs used during

tery — in Eastern Hampshire District Court on Feb. 22. Both men are not UMass students. McKeown was released on $7,500 cash bail on Feb. 24 and was placed under GPS monitoring and house arrest. The alleged dangerous weapon in both cases is a BB gun. The original criminal complaint against McKeown listed a handgun as the weapon in question. The weapon was changed to a BB gun in the criminal complaint against McKeown at the request of the Commonwealth on Feb. 24. The Commonwealth alleges Wyatt struck the victim in the head with the BB gun, not McKeown, said Gagne in the email. The Commonwealth also alleges that McKeown and Wyatt attempted to pass off shredded vegetables as marijuana during the incident, according to the office’s second statement. An altercation ensued when the plan failed. Patricia LeBoeuf can be reached at patricialebo@umass.edu or on Twitter at @leboeuf_trisha.

DANIEL MALDONADO/COLLEGIAN

Professor Vincent Ferraro speaks to UMass students on the current status of the Islamic State on Tuesday night in Machmer Hall.

UMass professor hosts talk on Syria, Islamic State with students Tuesday Student questions fuel discussion By HannaH Depin Collegian Correspondent Political science professor Vincent Ferraro presented a question-and-answer discussion for students on Syria and the Islamic State Tuesday night, hosted by the political science honors society Pi Sigma Alpha. Students filled room W-11 of Machmer Hall for Ferraro’s hour-long informal chat, which covered the origins of the conflicts in Syria and the rise of the Islamic State. Ferraro, who is an expert in post-Cold War international relations, said that few people understand what is really going on in Syria and Iraq. He outlined five major current wars in Syria including the Syrian Civil War, the war against ter-

rorism and the battle over access to natural gas in the Middle East. Ferraro joked that because the conflict in Syria has many underlying causes, the students might not leave the discussion with any more clarity about the situation. Ferraro also spent time discussing the Islamic State’s current condition. He explained that the Islamic State seeks to establish a caliphate for radical Islamists, but he believes that as long as it supports terrorism outside of its borders, it has no path to becoming a legitimate nation-state. Other countries will always respond in the face of terrorism because inaction would be “suicide,” Ferraro said. He added that the United States’ efforts to cut off the Islamic State’s oil supplies have successfully diminished its wealth. Previously, the Islamic State could offer fighters a salary of 400 euros

per week. Money has since become far less available. However, lack of wealth does not deter terrorist attacks abroad, Ferraro said. Terrorist attacks are inexpensive to carry out, as the recent bombings in Brussels demonstrated. Ferraro said that there is “no real cure” for terrorism short of eliminating civil liberties altogether. Students asked questions throughout the event, ranging from the role of climate change in the Syria conflict to the threat that Islamophobia poses in the United States. Ferraro referred to climate change as the underlying source of the Arab Spring and its subsequent conflicts. Global warming also necessitates the mass movement of people and is a major cause of political instability. Currently, the Middle East is experiencing its longest drought in 900

years, he said. “We’ll keep seeing people moving all across the planet, and the hostility that this engenders is only going to get worse,” Ferraro said. One student asked about the seriousness of Islamophobia in the United States and Europe. Ferraro answered that historically, racist and xenophobic sentiments grow whenever people feel insecure. “But of course we have hope,” he said. “My God, you can all say something (about racism and xenophobia).” Ferraro concluded that he is encouraged by the younger generations and the new “global civic culture” that encourages the exchange of ideas around the world. The Internet and study abroad help young students form connections and understand the world around them, Ferraro added. “My advice to your generation is to learn how to dis-


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.