The most documented genocide in history continues as Palestinians are slaughtered everyday by Israeli forces who drop bomb after bomb on schools, refugee camps, homes, hospitals, and aid facilities with the full backing of the U.S. The Lancet, a peer-reviewed medical journal and one of the highest-impact academic journals in the world, estimates that Israel has killed more than 186,000 Palestinians since October 2023. Its July 5th study found the actual death toll is higher than 40,000 because the UN’s toll doesn’t count the thousands of bodies buried under rubble, nor the deaths caused by Israel’s destruction of health facilities in Gaza.

So-called “evacuation orders” force surviving Palestinians into tiny concentration zones where deliberate starvation and disease spread are rampant. Others face torture and sexual abuse in Israeli prisons where systemic assaults by soldiers are well-doucmented, just as they were decades earlier.

On July 19, the ICJ ruled that Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the West Bank is illegal, and its laws are “tantamount to the crime of apartheid.” However, that hasn’t stopped pro-Israel groups like AIPAC from pumping $100 million into U.S. elections to force out anti-genocide lawmakers and install their candidates.

As part of the genocide, Israel has also killed record numbers of aid workers and falsely accused the UN agency, UNRWA, of employing terrorists. Israel has never provided proof of its claims, and an international investigation on April 22 found no evidence of terrorism with UNRWA workers. Still, Israeli soldiers have killed at least 284 total aid workers, including 212 from UNRWA.

Please consider giving to this vital UN aid agency – especially as the U.S. funds Israel’s genocide, no matter how many “red lines” it crosses.

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Armando Garcia-Muro: Teenager Killed By LA Sheriffs As They Shot A Dog

Armando Garcia-Muro in an undated photo. (Source)

September 6, 2021 ~ By Shari Rose

Garcia-Muro was 17 years old when LASD deputies shot him at a Palmdale apartment complex

On June 22, 2017, Los Angeles County Sheriffs’ Department received a complaint about loud music at an apartment complex in Palmdale. Sergeant James Dillard and deputy Victor Ekanem entered a carport where they found Armando Garcia-Muro and others sitting around and hanging out with a dog.

The deputies allege that they went to pet the dog in a friendly way, but it bit one of them. One of the residents sitting down then went to chain up the dog. The deputies went back to take photos of the dog to potentially charge the owner or put down the animal.

Scene where Armando Garcia Muro was shot and killed

The outdoor carport in Palmdale where the two Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies shot and killed Armando while trying to kill a dog that belonged to one of the residents. (Source)

However, the dog broke free of his chain and began charging them. Armando got up to try to control or protect the animal, and the deputies started firing. They fired six times at close range, and a ricocheting bullet hit the teenager in the chest.

Armando Garcia-Muro died at the hospital. The eldest of four children, Armando was going to be a highschool senior in the fall.

LASD labels Armando a “suspect” after the shooting

Armando Garcia-Muro in an undated photo. (Source)

Offensively, the LASD put out a press release about the shooting, and identified Armando as “suspect.” The teenager was not a suspect in any crime. Armando was an innocent bystander who was shot to death while Dillard and Ekanem attempted to kill a dog. The animal was taken to a veterinarian’s office and was soon put down due to its injuries.

As per usual, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office found Dillard and Ekanem justified in the killing. No charges or reprimands for the officers.

Armando’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit and alleged that the two officers delayed giving her son medical attention as they figured out how to explain the shooting. It appears that the suit is still in litigation.

Amber Alcantar, Armando’s aunt, said the teenager tried to save the animal because “the cops started shooting at the dog. He put his life on the line for an animal that wasn’t even his.”

In the aftermath of the shooting, Armando’s mother told reporters that her son loved dogs.

This story about Armando Garcia-Muro is part of a larger project that looks at recent police shootings of Latinos in Los Angeles.

Shari Rose

Owner of Blurred Bylines 💖💜💙

I created Blurred Bylines in an effort to bring stories from marginalized perspectives into the national conversation. As a former copy editor at the largest newspapers in Arizona and Colorado, I’ve seen first-hand the potential of accurate and accessible information to change minds and affect national policy.

My stories focus on individuals fighting for justice and their own rights as Americans, survivors of violent crime who rebuilt their lives after tragedy, shifting political trends that seek to strip the LGBTQ+ community and other minority groups of their freedoms, and forgotten figures in U.S. history whose fights for equality persist today.

Through writing these articles, I stumbled upon the power of search engine optimization (SEO) to attract interested audiences to my writing. In addition to the ad-free and paywall-free stories I write at Blurred Bylines, I also perform SEO services for businesses, nonprofits, and fellow freelancers around the country so they can grow their organizations through search engines.

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Armando Garcia-Muro: Teenager Killed By LA Sheriffs As They Shot A Dog

Garcia-Muro was 17 years old when LASD deputies shot him at a Palmdale apartment complex

LASD labels Armando a “suspect” after the shooting

Shari Rose

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