Is there a link between CTE brain disease and violent crime?

Published

1 year ago

February 19, 2024

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When Noah Green, a 25-year-old with no known history of violence, crashed his car into a barricade at the Capitol building in Washington DC, killing one police officer, before lunging at others with a knife, his own family were grappling for answers.

“My heart just sank,” his mother, Mazie Green, tells me. It was a murder, which, on the face of it, had nothing to do with American football.

But three years on and speaking publicly for the first time since that day, Mazie says she now believes it has everything to do with American football.

Green was shot dead by responding police, and in the days after the killing the FBI recommended that Mazie submit Noah’s brain to be analysed.

The diagnosis came back months later, indicating Green had stage one Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, more commonly known as CTE.

It’s a brain disease caused by repetitive blows to the head and it afflicts participants of contact sport, including American football. Symptoms include aggression, paranoia and problems controlling impulses.

“Noah took big hits,” Mazie says. At Alleghany High School in rural Virginia, Green had played in defence and was voted most valuable player and he later played for Christopher Newport University.

Teammates recall him being dependable and good-natured but Mazie says she noticed changes after he suffered several head injuries.

“He wanted to be tough, to prove himself,” Mazie says, “But there were changes. He would start wearing blankets around his head and I thought it was a teenage thing, but it was because he was so sensitive to the light. Then he would lose his keys and he forgot how to cook, prepare his meals.

“After that, he started with these really bad headaches. One day he said ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me, mum, I’ve lost 20 pounds…. I feel like I need to leave. I’ve got to get out of the country. They’re going to kill me, the FBI, they’re going to kill me.’

“He was paranoid.”

Officer William Evans, the police officer who Noah Green killed, left behind two young children. I ask Mazie if she has any message for his family.

“Officer Evans should not have died that day,” she says, “Noah should not have died that day. Someone has to take the responsibility for telling parents what to do if something’s just not quite right with those kids that are out there playing football for entertainment.”

Shannon Terranova, the former spouse of Officer Evans and mother of his two young children, said: “I want to be mindful of all who are impacted by this real-life horror; but it is difficult for me to comprehend any rationalisation of what happened to Billy and the events that led up to his death. I appreciate the efforts in bringing awareness to the long-term implications of bodily trauma caused by sports injuries. However, nothing can justify what Billy’s co-workers and family experienced, saw, and felt on April 2 2021, and every day since.”

Christopher Newport University declined to comment on Noah Green’s case. Alleghany High School did not respond to Sky News’s request for comment.

The question over whether CTE is linked to violent crime has come to the fore after numerous incidents of violent ex-football players.

Former San Francisco 49ers star Phillip Adams shot dead six people in an explosion of violence in 2021.

He murdered doctor Robert Lesslie, his wife, Barbara Lesslie, and two of their grandchildren, Adah, 9, and Noah, 5 at their home in South Carolina.

He also killed James Lewis and Robert Shook, who were working on an air conditioning unit at the house. Analysis of Adams’ brain showed he had severe CTE.

Kellen Winslow, another former NFL player, was convicted of multiple rapes in 2021.

His lawyer argued for his sentence to be reduced because of what he says was head trauma suffered on the football field. That potential mitigating factor was rejected by a judge.

Most experts say it is hard to say definitively what motivates someone to commit a crime, but the symptoms CTE causes could all contribute. More research into the causes of CTE and what factors might make some people more susceptible is under way.

Sky News was given access to the national sports brain bank in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where former professional and amateur American footballers are being urged to donate their brains for study.

Inside the histology laboratory, Dr Julia Kofler slices open a brain with a knife to show me the cross-section.

It is impossible to diagnose CTE with the naked eye so she takes a tiny sample of the brain tissue and loads it onto a slide so it can be analysed under the microscope.

I ask if she thinks there is a link between CTE and violent crime. “It’s really difficult to draw any conclusions about what motivates someone to commit a crime based just on their pathology,” she says, “but we certainly know that neurodegenerative diseases can cause all sorts of different behavioural changes and changes in executive function and judgement, so it certainly could have contributed.”

‘We watched him lose himself’

Karen Kinzle Zegel is one of those fighting for more research. Her son, Patrick Risha, had CTE and died by suicide aged 32. He had played American football throughout his childhood and at university.

“We watched him over 10 years, sadly lose himself, lose his dignity,” she says, “He was paranoid, he was argumentative.

“One time there was an incident with him and he said a homeless guy attacked him in Pittsburgh and he broke his hand punching this person. The rage he had was definitely scary.”

Through her organisation Stop CTE, Karen is campaigning for the brains of those who commit mass violence to be analysed for traumatic injury.

“Every time we’re looking at the symptoms like ‘they lost a job, they, broke up with their girlfriend’.

“Everybody wants to know why, why would someone take another person’s life? But if you’ve dealt with somebody whose brain became unwired you see the lack of empathy. They don’t care about other people, sadly.

“We’re not going back to the root cause, which could be a damaged brain.”

Concerns about brain injuries have contributed to the growth of flag football, a lesser contact sport which means fewer big hits and not an obvious danger.

But the popularity of the NFL as a spectator sport is enduring. Last week’s Super Bowl final was the most-watched TV event in American history.

But for its stars, the damage may already been done. The human cost of the richest sport league in the world is far too difficult to count.

Sky News contacted the NFL for comment about our report. In response, the NFL provided details of the funding they are giving into CTE-related research, mental health support and the physical safety measures they say they are taking in the sport.

US

Washington shooting suspect accused Israel of ‘atrocities’ in social media post, Sky News finds

Published

14 hours ago

May 22, 2025

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Washington shooting suspect accused Israel of 'atrocities' in social media post, Sky News finds

A social media post believed to have been published by the suspect in the killing of two Israeli embassy workers in Washington DC accuses Israel of “atrocities” against Palestinians.

The suspect, identified as Elias Rodriguez, 30, from Chicago, chanted “free, free Palestine” as he was arrested, footage shows.

The victims, who were attacked as they were leaving an event at a Jewish museum, have been identified as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, a young couple who were about to be engaged.

Israel accuses Starmer over killings – read latest updates

Sky News has uncovered what is believed to be a statement by the shooting suspect posted at 10pm local time, around an hour after the shooting – suggesting it was scheduled.

The letter, signed with Rodriguez’s name, was dated 20 May 2025.

In the lengthy essay, Rodriguez criticises Israel’s actions in Gaza and attacks the US government’s position.

“The atrocities committed by the Israelis against Palestine defy description and defy quantification,” it says.

“Instead of reading descriptions mostly we watch them unfold on video, sometimes live. After a few months of rapidly mounting death tolls Israel had obliterated the capacity to even continue counting the dead.”

The statement adds: “Public opinion has shifted against the genocidal apartheid state, and the American government has simply shrugged, they’ll do without public opinion then, criminalize it where they can, suffocate it with bland reassurances that they’re doing all they can to restrain Israel where it cannot criminalize protest outright.”

Rodriguez concludes the statement: “I love you Mom, Dad, baby sis, the rest of my familia, including you, O***** . Free Palestine.”

Israel has repeatedly denied accusations of genocide in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described a UN report accusing Israel of carrying out “genocidal acts” against the Palestinians as biased and antisemitic.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Mr Netanyahu and his former defence secretary Yoav Gallant – as well as a senior Hamas commander – for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza.

Mr Netanyahu has decried what he said were the “false and absurd charges of the International Criminal Court, a biased and discriminatory political body”.

Analysis: Trump team will worry about Washington attacker being glorified

The attack

The couple were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum when the suspect approached a group of four people and began shooting, Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a news conference.

She said the suspect was seen pacing outside the museum before the shooting.

“After the shooting, the suspect entered the museum and was detained by event security,” Ms Smith said.

“Once in handcuffs, the suspect identified where he discarded the weapon, and that weapon has been recovered, and he implied that he committed the offence.”

When he was taken into custody, the suspect began chanting, “Free, free Palestine,” Police Chief Smith said.

Suspect believed to have been member of revolutionary socialist group

Rodriguez is believed to have been a member of the Party of Socialism and Liberation, which describes itself as a revolutionary socialist party.

An article in the group’s Liberation paper about a protest outside the home of Chicago’s then mayor Rahm Emanuel in October 2017 features a picture of Rodriguez at the demonstration as well as quotes from him. The protest was not linked to Israel or Gaza. The article was taken down from the paper’s website on Thursday.

Since 2024, Rodriguez has worked as an administrative specialist for the American Osteopathic Association, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Before that he was an oral history researcher at The HistoryMakers, an online archive developed by Carnegie Mellon University to tell the stories of African Americans.

A profile for Rodriguez on the website says he was born and raised in Chicago and has a BA degree in English from the University of Illinois Chicago.

“He enjoys reading and writing fiction, live music, film, and exploring new places,” the profile says.

Rodriguez is also believed to have donated $500 to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign in March 2020, when he was running in the Democratic Party presidential primaries.

Israel began its war against Hamas in Gaza after the militant group stormed across the border on 7 October 2023 and killed 1,200 people, taking 250 hostages.

Since then Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed more than 53,000 people, mostly children, according to the enclave’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count.

The war has displaced 90% of Gaza’s population of roughly two million people and left much of the territory in ruins.

Reporting by Samuel Osborne, news reporter, and Sam Doak, OSINT producer

US

Small plane crashes into San Diego neighbourhood in ‘direct hit to multiple homes’

Published

16 hours ago

May 22, 2025

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Small plane crashes into San Diego neighbourhood in 'direct hit to multiple homes'

A small plane has crashed into a San Diego neighbourhood in what authorities are calling a “direct hit to multiple homes”.

About 15 homes have caught fire as well as vehicles, and people living in several blocks are being evacuated.

“We have jet fuel all over the place,” assistant fire department chief Dan Eddy told reporters. “Our main goal is to search all these homes and get everybody out right now.”

The fire chief said there had been a “direct hit to multiple homes” as he described it as a “a gigantic debris field”.

It is currently unknown if there have been any deaths or injuries.

Describing the scene “like something from a movie”, Mr Eddy told reporters: “This is a worst-case scenario, right, a plane into homes off of a runway.

“So, as of now though, the best thing that I have for you is that no one has been transported from the scene so far.

“We’ll continue to search to find out where the plane came from, and continue to work on that and give you updates.”

It was said to be foggy at the time the private plane crashed. Mr Eddy said: “You could barely see in front of you.”

Christopher Moore, who lives one street over from the crash site, said he and his wife were awakened by a loud bang and saw smoke when they peered out the window.

As they fled the neighbourhood with their two young children, they spotted a car engulfed in flames.

Mr Moore said: “It was definitely horrifying for sure, but sometimes you’ve just got to drop your head and get to safety.”

Police rescued three husky puppies from one of the homes, while evacuated families were spotted standing in their pyjamas in a parking lot a few blocks away.

Many military service members live in the neighbourhood, which is made up of single family homes and townhomes. It also is heavily populated by small civilian and military aircraft.

Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport and Gillespie Field are nearby.

San Diego Police Department (SDPD) confirmed the force is responding to the crash in the neighbourhood of Tierrasanta.

Posting on X, a SDPS spokesperson warned people to avoid the area while emergency crews get to work and urged all those who smell jet fuel or find debris to alert the authorities.

Evacuations are taking place in Salmon Street, Sample Street and Sculpin Street. The southbound Santo Road has also been closed at Aero Drive.

An evacuation site has been set up at Miller Elementary School.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the Cessna 550 crashed near Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.

In a statement, the agency said: “The number of people on board is unknown at this time.

“The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate. The NSTB will lead the investigation and provide any updates.”

The plane can carry six to eight people.

US

Donald Trump ambushes South African president at White House meeting by playing video alleging ‘genocide’

Published

20 hours ago

May 22, 2025

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Donald Trump ambushes South African president at White House meeting by playing video alleging 'genocide'

Donald Trump has ambushed South Africa’s president during a White House meeting by playing a video purportedly showing evidence of a “genocide” of white farmers in the African country.

The US president, who was hosting leader Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office, said the footage showed the graves of more than a thousand white farmers and “it’s a terrible sight… I’ve never seen anything like it. Those people are all killed”.

After an initial friendly chat where Mr Trump complimented South African golfers in the room, a montage of clips was played as Mr Ramaphosa sat quietly and mostly expressionless. He later said: “I’d like to know where that is because this [the alleged burial site in the video] I’ve never seen”.

The lights were dimmed in the Oval Office as the clips were shown, including of South African officials allegedly calling for violence against white farmers.

The scene in the heart of the White House administration was reminiscent of Mr Trump’s ambush of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February.

But later, as he left after around three hours at the White House, Mr Ramaphosa insisted his meeting with Mr Trump went “very well”.

And he told a news conference: “There is just no genocide in South Africa.”

The White House’s official account on X posted the footage that was shown in the Oval Office, saying it was “proof of persecution in South Africa”.

South Africa has rejected the allegation that white people are disproportionately targeted by crime.

The clips included one of communist politician Julius Malema playing a controversial anti-apartheid song that includes lyrics about killing a farmer.

Mr Trump accused South Africa of failing to address the killing of white farmers.

“We have many people that feel they’re being persecuted, and they’re coming to the United States. So we take from many… locations, if we feel there’s persecution or genocide going on,” the US president said, referring specifically to white farmers.

He added: “People are fleeing South Africa for their own safety. Their land is being confiscated and in many cases they’re being killed.”

Alluding to people in the clips, Mr Trump said: “These are people that are officials and they’re saying… kill the white farmer and take their land.”

The US president then displayed printed copies of news articles that he said showed white South Africans who had been killed, saying “death, death” as he flipped through them.

He added of one article: “Here’s burial sites all over the place, these are all white farmers that are being buried.”

South African leader rejects allegations

Mr Ramaphosa pushed back against Mr Trump’s accusations, by responding: “What you saw, the speeches that were being made, that is not government policy. We have a multi-party democracy in South Africa that allows people to express themselves, political parties to adhere to various policies.

“And in many cases, or in some cases, those policies do not go along with government policy.

“Our government policy is completely, completely against what he [a person in the video montage] was saying, even in the parliament. And they are a small minority party which is allowed to exist in terms of our constitution.”

An uncomfortable meeting where facts were dismissed as a difference in opinion

The screens, the visuals and President Trump’s foreshadowing mentions of a “bloodbath” all point to one thing – this ambush was planned.

As the yells of anguish and violent rhetoric echoed in the Oval Office, President Ramaphosa craned his neck with a stern expression to watch the “evidence” of a repeatedly disproven “white genocide” in his country.

He interjected only to question the location of the videos – to which Mr Trump replied, almost with a “duh” tone of voice, “South Africa” – and then pushed on to direct his team to verify them.

That was the singular point of outright defiance from South Africa’s leader in an uncomfortable meeting where facts were dismissed as a difference in opinion and outdated videos were played as breaking news.

For the rest of the meeting, Nelson Mandela’s former chief negotiator kept calm and played the charm offensive – appealing to Mr Trump’s ego at every sharp turn while maintaining that black South Africans are disproportionately impacted by the country’s harrowing murder rate.

The charm and calm may seem like dull knives in this sword fight but are necessary for peacekeeping in a meeting where £6bn in trade hangs in the balance.

South Africa has the most to lose in the deteriorating bilateral relations.

In just five months, the Trump administration has cut off vital humanitarian aid, including HIV assistance of which South Africa is the biggest beneficiary; expelled South Africa’s ambassador; and offered white South Africans refugee status as millions of black Africans suffer across the continent.

The potential futility of Mr Ramaphosa’s strategy came into vision as cameras panned to the back of the Oval Office at the end of the meeting to show a stony-faced Elon Musk.

The false claims of white genocide Musk has championed on X are now a powder keg in US-South African relations, as he works to get Starlink licensed in his home country. A business strategy that even South Africa’s iconic negotiator may not be able to contend with.

Mr Ramaphosa also said of the behaviour alleged by Mr Trump: “We are completely opposed to that.”

The South African leader said there was crime in his country, and the majority of victims were black. Mr Trump cut him off and said: “The farmers are not black.” The South African president responded: “These are concerns we are willing to talk to you about.”

In February, Mr Trump issued an executive order which cut all funding to South Africa over some of its domestic and foreign policies. He also expelled South Africa’s ambassador and offered refuge to white minority Afrikaners based on racial discrimination claims which Pretoria says are baseless.

Experts in South Africa have said there is no evidence of white people being targeted, although farmers of all races are victims of violent home invasions in a country that suffers from a very high crime rate.