The Wire - April 15, 2025

//The Wire//2300Z April 15, 2025//
//ROUTINE//
//BLUF: SMALL ARMS ATTACKS REPORTED AT MULTIPLE PRISONS IN FRANCE. TRACK MEET STABBING TRIAL INFLAMES SOCIAL TENSIONS. SCHOOL SHOOTING WOUNDS FOUR IN DALLAS, POLICE CONCEAL SHOOTER'S IDENTITY DESPITE SHOOTER REMAINING A FUGITIVE.//

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-International Events-

France: Over the weekend, a series of riots and attacks has taken place at various prisons around the country. Several prison gates and entrances were engaged with small arms fire by unidentified gunmen over the weekend, who conducted various levels of drive-by attacks at multiple facilities.

AC: This latest wave of attacks is probably related to the ongoing narcotics trafficking problems that have become more of a concern throughout western France. Back in November, there were several high-profile incidents arising from turf wars and counter-narcotics operations, which included several small arms skirmishes around the country. As demonstrated by the past few years of increasingly more complex attacks (including a heist that involved rescuing one of their bosses from a prison van in transit), these types of organized crime elements are becoming vastly more sophisticated than the average street criminal.

-HomeFront-

Texas: A shooting was reported at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Dallas this afternoon. Three students were shot by another student, prompting a lockdown. The suspect has allegedly been identified, though he remains at large. Authorities have not provided a description of the shooter, and are actively concealing the shooter's identity.

AC: It is often hard to obtain the public's help in catching a wanted fugitive who engages in gunplay at a school without telling the public who the suspect is. It's one thing to conceal the identity of an active shooter who is deceased for investigative purposes, but it's entirely a different story to aid and abet a school shooter who is actively on the run.

Also in Texas, a situation is developing regarding the impending murder trial of Karmelo Anthony, who confessed to stabbing Austin Metcalf in the chest during a track meet on April 2, 2025. Anthony has been released from jail after his bail was reduced by the judge, leading to increased tensions on a local level (and also nationwide).

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Analyst Comments: Under normal circumstances, a single murder (despite being horrific) is something that is more localized and not really of national or strategic significance. However, the Karmelo Anthony trial has already become a flashpoint for long-held sentiments. As distasteful as it may be to comment on, the developments in this case are probably a barometer for accurately measuring societal concerns. In short, this trial is probably our modern-day version of the OJ Simpson trial, in nearly the same manner. It's not just about a murder anymore, this is approaching concerning levels of racially-motivated violence. For instance, an online GiveSendGo donation campaign to support the killer has received overwhelming support (over 12,800 donors as of this report, totaling roughly $435,000). Mainstream media reporting from this morning suggests that the family of the killer has moved into a luxury mansion in Frisco, a detail which was confirmed by their attorneys this afternoon.

In addition to the high levels of support the killer has received monetarily, online the rhetoric is in many ways more concerning. It's hard to say how much real-world mobilization these atmospherics will result in, but the open calls online for murder purely along racial lines is concerning nonetheless. This situation will probably will result in a heightened state of similarly-motivated violence; since the killer is being showered with moral and financial support, this will also be a good motivator for similar crimes to be committed by others in the near future. To put