Burial set for U.S. volunteer warrior
BOSTON — Funeral arrangements for an American killed in Syria while fighting the Islamic State have been set for later this week.
Keith Broomfield, who had no military training, is believed to be the first U.S. citizen to die fighting alongside Kurdish forces against the Islamic extremist group.
Broomfield, 36, who had ties to Bolton and Westminster, will be buried Wednesday at a private ceremony after a morning funeral at Grace Baptist Church in Hudson. A wake will be held at the church Tuesday evening.
Broomfield died June 3. His body arrived in Boston’s Logan Airport on Saturday via a Turkish Airlines plane and was taken to Tighe Hamilton Funeral Home in Hudson.
His obituary said he died “in defense of those being persecuted for their Christian faith” and that “his heart was for the protection of the innocence of Kurdish women and children.”
Kurdish officials have said Broomfield died in battle in a Syrian village near Kobani. Hundreds of people came out to bid farewell to Broomfield before his body was handed over to his family at a Turkish border crossing.
Broomfield had joined the People’s Protection Units, known as the YPG, on Feb. 24 under the nom de guerre Gelhat Rumet.
Police arrest teen in 4 Ohio killings
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Police investigating the fatal shootings of four people at an Ohio home said they have arrested a teenager on murder and kidnapping charges.
Columbus police said Sunday they have arrested a 16-year-old boy in the four deaths.
Police have not provided a motive for the slayings.
Authorities responded to a report Saturday of a woman with blood on her, and officers found a teenage girl injured outside the home, then discovered the four dead inside the residence.
The girl was treated at a hospital and released.
The victims were identified as 41-year-old Michael Ballour; 36-year-old Daniel Sharp; 35-year-old Angela D. Harrison; and 18-year-old Tyajah Nelson.
Official of NAACP cancels meeting
SPOKANE, Wash. — The leader of the Spokane NAACP, Rachel Dolezal, has canceled a chapter meeting for today at which she was expected to speak about the furor sparked over her racial identity.
Her parents have said the 37-year-old activist has falsely portrayed herself as black for years.
Dolezal sent out an email Sunday canceling the monthly membership meeting “due to the need to continue discussion with regional and national NAACP leaders.”
Shortly after her announcement, the head of the chapter’s executive committee, Lawrence Burnley, questioned whether Dolezal had the right to arbitrarily cancel the meeting, KREM-TV in Spokane reported, quoting an email thread mailed to NAACP members.
“I don’t see any language in the by-laws that empowers you, or any one member, to arbitrarily cancel/postpone tomorrow’s meeting,” Burnley wrote Sunday.