Blogging
Blogging is not just a great way to build authority in your space, but through SEO with the right keywords and phrases it can function as a digital handshake with the Google Gods, keying them to direct users to your site!
I've also worked as a freelance blogger, creating viral listicles detailing fascinating topics.
Blogging is all about the depth of your research and your ability to convey that info in a fun and engaging way that makes readers forget they're learning!
10 Most Dangerous Prison Gangs
Prisons are meant to keep dangerous criminals from causing the public harm and to hopefully reform them into functioning members of society. These best laid plans however tend to backfire.
Putting dangerous actors under one roof inadvertently allows them to foster alliances, not only posing threats to fellow inmates, but to the outside world. Many of the worst gangs history has ever seen originated in prisons.
Divided by race and extremist beliefs, prison gangs are as deadly to each other as they are to us. These men with nothing to lose are responsible for some of the most monstrous acts imaginable, but which pack of villains are the worst of the worst? We’ve compiled a list of the 10 most dangerous prison gangs that you definitely don’t want cross paths with.
10. Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13)
“Rape, control, kill.” Those are the words on this Salvadorian gang’s coat of arms. The number 13 is believed to represent the 13th letter in the alphabet, M for Mara. MS-13 is made up of “cliques” with names such as the Sailors, Normandy, Peajes, Uniones and Fultons. Working through a partnership they call “La Hermandad” or “the Brotherhood,” clique leaders known as “La Palabra” green-light the killings of rivals, brutalizing of police informants, extortion of business people, and drug dealing in competition with other gangs.
MS-13 is believed to have between 1500 and 3000 members, many between the ages of 16 and 18. “The gang has been linked to shootings, baseball bat beatings, the stabbing of a pregnant teenager who was a federal witness, and the removal of four fingers from a 16-year-old boy’s hands using a machete.”
9. Texas Syndicate
The Texas Syndicate originated in California’s Folson prison in the 70s to protect Texas inmates that were being preyed upon by other gangs, most notably the Aryan Brotherhood and Mexican Mafia. They are mainly Mexican-American/Hispanic but they have recently begun accepting members from Latin American countries such as Colombia, Cuba, and Mexico.
Unlike many other Hispanic gangs, the Texas Syndicate is known to be much more strongly associated with Mexican immigrant prisoners. Along with MS-13, the TS has been known to carry out assassinations for the cartel. The Texas Syndicate likes to note that they don’t hurt innocent people, but the amount of deaths on their hands is still staggering, most notably the deaths of those that betray them and rivals gangs.
The scariest part is that while it is estimated that they are around 4,000 strong, law enforcement has yet to discover just how many members the Syndicate holds.
8. Dead Man Incorporated
Dead Man Inc is a predominantly white prison gang originating in Maryland. Founder Perry Roark had gained respect from many members of the Black Guerilla Family, but due to his white skin color he was not permitted to join. Instead he created Dead Man Inc, following much of the BGF’s anti-government and anti-authority philosophy.
DMI quickly grew in numbers, absorbing many other smaller gangs until it became one of the largest gangs on the East Coast. They are well known for their violent ways, originally carrying out contract killings for the BGF and later various other gangs. This paved the way for them to enter the drug trafficking game and other crimes as their numbers grew.
7. 415 Kumi Nation
The 415 Kumi is a primarily Black gang originating in the San Francisco Bay Area. 415 comes from their home’s area code, and Kumi is Swahili for the sum of those numbers, “ten.” The founders of 415 were originally members of the Black Guerilla Family that had grown unsatisfied with the gang’s leadership.
415 Kumi Nation seek to “take back the streets” by any means necessary. They have been known to align themselves with prison guards in order to carry out attacks on fellow inmates. They employed one guard to lead a rival gang member into an enclosed area where 415 members proceeded severely beat him. The guard in question was later sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison for his involvement.
6. Nazi Lowriders
The Nazi Lowriders or NLR is a neo-nazi gang originally formed in Costa Mesa, California in 1978 and were later adopted and reorganized by the Aryan Brotherhood in 1985. “The Nazi Lowriders operate in an unorganized fashion and are involved in crimes such as Methamphetamines dealing, robbery and murder.”
Despite their white supremacist origins, the NLR has begun recruiting hundreds of new Hispanic members. This did not sit well with the Aryan Brotherhood. They demanded the NLR to kill all their non-white members but the Nazi Lowriders refused, resulting in the end of their 20-year alliance.
5. Nuestra Familia
Spanish for “our family,” Nuestra is a gang of Mexican American men whose main focus is distributing cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine both in and out of jail. Northern California Latinos created the gang in order to defend against the wrath of the Southern California ran Mexican Mafia.
Outside of prison, Nuestra operates in the scenic Salinas, California, littering the sleepy town with bodies. In Julia Reynold's book, "Blood In the Fields: Ten Years inside California's Nuestra Familia Gang," she describes one of Nuestra’s violent dealings:
“Sal lay beneath his leafy canopy reposed like a saint, only instead of being arched in prayer, his hands were artfully arranged so that the right displayed one pointed finger, the rest curled under. The left hand had four fingers extended, thumb tucked neatly into the palm. To gangsters all over the West, that meant one-four—fourteen—Nuestra Familia’s symbolic number (because N is the 14th letter in the alphabet) and a sign to all that a traitor had been dealt with.”
4. Aryan Brotherhood
The ironclad motto of this white supremacist group is “Blood in Blood out,” meaning to enter you need to kill a black or Hispanic prisoner, and the only way to get out is to be on the other side of the shiv.
Forming in order to protect its members from the black and Mexican gangs, the Aryan Brotherhood is now 10,000 members strong, with interests shifting to drug trafficking, extortion, prostitution, and contract killings, both in and out of prison. “Aryan Brotherhood members make up less than one-tenth of one percent of the nation's prison inmate population, yet the white power gang is responsible for 18% of all prison murders, according to the FBI.”
3. Black Guerilla Family - USA
Also known as the “Black Family” or “Black Vanguard” the Black Guerilla Family formed in 1966 among other now infamous prison gangs in the California Penitentiary system, however their ideology is a bit different than the rest of their colleagues. They are the most politically orientated, created under the umbrella of the Black Power Movement, the BGF’s goals were to eradicate racism, struggle to maintain their dignity in prison, and ultimately overthrow the United States Government.
The Black Guerilla Family is known for recruiting recently imprisoned gang members from the Bloods, Crips, and many others. Their members are forced to swear a death oath, pledging their lives to the gang.
The BGF’s crimes include drug trafficking, car theft, and murder. Their violence was so recognizable that HBO’s The Wire used one of its members, Marlow Bates Sr. as inspiration for the merciless gang boss Marlow Stanfield.
It has come under recent attention that one of the gang’s leaders, Tavon White, who has basically been running things in the Baltimore City Detention Center through contraband smuggling and control of cell phones inside the prison, has been receiving some inside help. It was uncovered that White had been engaging in sexual relationships with four guards, fathering five children with them. An inmate witness later estimated that between 65-75% of the female guards (which make up 75% of the prison’s guard staff) were engaged in sexual relationships and smuggling jobs for the BGF.
2. Mexican Mafia
Also known as La Eme, Spanish for the letter “M,” the Mexican Mafia is the most powerful gang in the California prison system. They’ve earned this title by being organized, commanding, and having deep roots in the prison system and Hispanic community of Southern California.
Originating in the 1960s, the Mexican Mafia’s extreme violence birthed many other gangs on our list, forming to protect themselves from La Eme’s wrath.
With deep ties to the Mexican cartel, and “virtually all the southwestern gangs of Mexican heritage (Surenos or Southsiders) under their control,” La Eme is as dangerous within prison walls as they are in the free world.
The chain of command however begins in chains. The heads of La Eme are behind bars in supermax prisons such as Pelican Bay, but their intelligence network is topnotch. “Something can happen in Whittier this morning and by the afternoon the brothers in Pelican Bay know all about it. And by the next morning they’ve already issued instructions to address the problem. The Crips, Bloods, AB, NLR- none of them have that level of command and control.”
1. The Numbers Gang
While a number of the world’s most horrifying gangs have sprouted from the California Penitentiary system, the title of Most Dangerous has to go to South Africa’s Numbers Gang. Since their forming in 1911 it is believed that the Numbers Gang control most, if not all, of South Africa’s prisons.
They divide their members up into three factions: the 26s, the 27s and the 28s. The 26s are responsible for obtaining money through stealing, gambling or any other monetary crimes, the 27s are the law-keepers amongst the gang, and the 28s are the warriors. They are an insanely violent gang known for attacking prison guards. In Pollsmoor Prison, where their numbers are at their highest, up to 50% of the guards have been stabbed or cut.
The Numbers Gang has strict rules and regulations, as well as various mandatory rituals that are assigned to different days of the week. If a member violates any of the rules, they are given a trial. “If the verdict is death, the member is often asphyxiated or has their throat slit. For less serious crimes, the member will have a cut made in their anus in order to let blood, and will then be raped by an inmate who is HIV positive.”
The most notorious of the Numbers Gang is John Mongrel, “The General” of the Pollsmoor Prison 28s. Mongrel is believed to be responsible for as many as 1,000 killings and has openly admitted that he can have any prison staff, Guard, Captain or Warden killed at his whim.
Conclusion:
While prisons were designed to uphold law and order, the proliferation of organized crime within their walls poses significant challenges to institutional integrity and public safety.
Understanding the motivations and operations of these formidable prison gangs is essential for implementing effective measures to curb their influence and ensure the safety of both inmates and society at large.
The 10 Strangest Diseases
The human body is an incredible and complex work of biology. While it manages to hold all our bones, organs, and liquids together for decades, its complexity can prove to be a great weakness. It leaves us vulnerable to a greater number of medical conditions and diseases too grand for our kind’s greatest brains to keep up with.
While scientists continue to hunt for the cure for horrible illnesses such as cancer and AIDS, there exist plenty of other, less common diseases that cause their own brand of suffering. These rare conditions often leave those afflicted feeling more alone and helpless than anyone. It can be hard to understand just what they are going through, but the first step is to educate yourself. Here are the 10 strangest diseases human kind has encountered.
10. Stone Man Disease
Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva is an extremely rare disease that mutates the body’s repair mechanism. The result is that when an area is injured, whether muscle, tendon, or ligament, the body regrows bone where the soft tissue once was.
This new addition of bone to our natural skeletons causes those inflicted with FOP to lose the ability to move that part of their body. The bone growth can disrupt joints and any other part of the body that injury occurs. Even attempting to surgically remove the new bone only results in the body repairing the new cut with more bone.
It’s an awful disease that causes those afflicted to slowly become caged by their own skeletons. Luckily, as of 2015, science has taken an important step towards curing the often fatal disease. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. based in Tarrytown, NY discovered that the disorder is caused by a mutation in a gene called “ACVR1” that controls bone and muscle development. They are developing an antibody that stops the over active gene. Successful trials have already been run on mice without apparent side effects, so there’s new hope for the 800 plus cases around the world.
9. Walking Corpse Syndrome
This rare mental illness causes people to believe that they are dead, have lost body parts, or simply don’t exist. Living as a real life zombie has its highs and lows. While at first it comes with a cathartic feeling of freedom from the trivial matters we living deal with on the day to day, but it is quickly followed up with an overwhelming depression and nihilistic outlook. They feel completely detached from the rest of the world, alone in their afterlife.
Since Cotard’s Syndrome deludes it’s victims into thinking they are already dead or don’t exist, they are also convinced that they do not need to eat or bathe, turning them into the skeletal, rotten smelling image that comes to mind when we think “zombie.” While denial of self-existence is most common with Cotard’s Syndrome, it is nearly just as likely for them to believe they have become immortal.
In 1880, neurologist Jules Cotard studied one patient titled “Mademoiselle X” who was convinced that because she had no brain, nerves, chest, stomach, or intestines she had no need to eat. Mademoiselle X later died of starvation.
8. Alice In Wonderland Syndrome
This neurological disease affects human perception, leading those inflicted to perceive their body parts or objects as much larger or smaller than they actually are. These temporary episodes are closely linked to migraines, brain tumors, and the use of hallucinogenic drugs. The person affected by AIWS may also lose the sense of time. It will appear that time is moving very slowly, much like an LSD experience.
Alice In Wonderland Syndrome most commonly occurs in childhood, beginning around age 6, and can slow or even cease through teenage years into adulthood. However, it can return later in life from either stress or natural changes that occur in the brain as someone ages.
7. Tree Man Syndrome
In one study, a 17 year old male described his experience: "Quite suddenly, objects appear small and distant or large and close. I feel as I am getting shorter and smaller ‘shrinking’ and also the size of persons are not longer than my index finger. I may hear the voices of people quite loud and close or faint and far. Occasionally, I experience attacks of migrainous headache associated with eye redness, flashes of lights and a feeling of giddiness. I am always conscious to the intangible changes in myself and my environment.”
Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) is a rare, recessive hereditary skin disorder that causes the growth of scaly maculopapular lesions mainly on the hands and feet. The thick, tree-bark like warts can grow all over the body, as well as on the inside of the skin. “Hands and feet have been described as looking like contorted, yellow-brown branches extending up to 3 feet,” this can make it extremely difficult to use these extremities. The skin becomes thick and hardened, as old skin dies, new skin is generated.
The disorder is associated with a high risk of skin cancer; they are also highly susceptible to HPV virus, which triggers the growth of the lesions.
6. Xeroderma Pigmentosum, “Vampire Syndrome”
While there is no definitive treatment right now, there have been benefits from avoiding sunlight, UV-B exposure, UV-A exposure, and x-ray irradiation, which are suspected to progress benign warts into cancerous ones. Surgery to remove benign and premalignant skin lesions has also beneficial, as well as cryotherapy and skin grafting if necessary.
So far, more than 200 cases of Tree Man Syndrome have popped up. EV is universal, affecting people of all races. It is most common to onset between the ages of 1-20, but can occur at any age, the average age of those with EV is 39.
“In people with a genetic predisposition, there is a mutation of chromosome 17 occurring within two genes – EVER2 or EVER1, which leads to lowering of the immunological potential of the skin, such that it becomes easily penetrable by HPV virus up to the deep layers of the skin and there is emergence of clinical symptoms, whereas this same Virus (in favorable genetic conditions) is tolerated by the immune system.”
The human body needs sunlight in order to generate Vitamin D, but the Sun’s powerful UV rays are also capable of hurting our skin. The 1 in 1 million people that suffer from Xeroderma Pigmentosum can’t take in UV rays at all without facing intense sunburn or breakdowns of the skin. It is extremely easy for them to contract skin cancer, leaving these people no choice but to avoid the sun all together.
“Xeroderma pigmentosum is caused by a rare recessive mutation of the nucleotide excision repair enzymes. Functioning normally, these enzymes correct damaged DNA that can be caused by UV rays. For those with this condition, the enzymes do not work properly and DNA damage persists and accumulates. While there are some treatments available, the best prevention from damage is merely staying completely out of sunlight, just like a vampire.”
5. Alien Hand Syndrome
“The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing” is actually true for some people. Alien Hand Syndrome (AHS) s a rare neurological disorder that causes your hand to move without your knowledge or control. It is common for the hand to reach out and grab things against the owner’s wishes, and there have even been instances where those with this syndrome have been awoken to their hand trying to strangle themselves. Often one must use the healthy hand to restrain the rogue extremity.
Alien Hand Syndrome stems from trauma to the brain, usually after brain surgery or a stroke. The area of the brain that is damaged, as well as the dominant hand, determines which subtype of AHS one is inflicted with. “More complex hand movements such as unbuttoning or tearing of clothes are usually associated with brain tumors, aneurysms or strokes.”
There is currently no treatment for Alien Hand Syndrome; the only way to counter it is to keep the hand busy by giving it an object to hold.
Persistent Sexual Arousal Syndrome (or Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder) isn’t as fun as it sounds. Primarily found in women, both young and old, PSAS is categorized by a persistent feeling of “vaginal congestion” and other physical signs of sexual arousal without any actual sexual desire bringing them on. These symptoms can last from hours, days, to even months at a time and are completely unpredictable.
A month long orgasm certainly isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Most afflicted women report feels of shame and discomfort from their condition. There also comes a great struggle for the public to take the disorder seriously, choosing instead to glamorize it.
Achieving natural orgasm can provide some temporary relief, but there is no lasting cure or treatment. While most women find the syndrome dreadful and unwanted, there are some cases where women find the constant arousal as pleasurable and mysterious. Because of this, it is believed that the phenomenon is underreported, causing PSAS to be less recognized and evaluated than it ought to be.
4. Persistent Sexual Arousal Syndrome
3. Elephantiasis
Also known as Lymphatic filariasis, Elephantiasis is caused by parasitic worms. It is not uncommon for cases of this disease to exist without symptoms, but some people develop large amounts of swelling of the arms, legs, or genitals. Over 120 million people worldwide are infected, with about 40 million disfigured and incapacitated by the disease. Infection is most commonly transmitted through mosquitoes that are carrying filarial parasites, though the painful swelling will not occur until later in the victim’s life.
The tropical disease is most predisposed to those living in Bangladesh, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Nepal, Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania.
There is no cure for Elephantiasis, the best results coming from preventive measures done by each individual community, as there are varying forms of the disease based on location. Vigorous cleaning as well as chemotherapy has proven to be effective treatments, as well as some surgeries for genital infection. As of 2015, the Ministry of Health has given up on searching for a vaccine and instead has chosen to focus on mass drug administration in areas where the worms are discovered in hopes of preventing further infection.
2. Werewolf Syndrome
Some of us are hairier than others, but those with Hypertrichosis are far beyond the norm. The condition causes excessive hair growth without discrimination of age, sex, or race, it can even be found in babies. Not to be confused with hirsutism, which is classified by the unwanted male-pattern hair growth on a woman’s face, chest and back, Hypertrichosis can develop hair all over their bodies or just in isolated areas.
Those afflicted have commonly been featured in carnival sideshows, hyped up for their werewolf like traits. It is unknown what exactly causes Hypertrichosis, but it is believed to stem from rare genetic mutations, as it is always distinguishable at birth.
The only treatment available presently is the same action you would take against any unwanted hair: shaving, waxing, etc. This has proven to last ranging from days to weeks. Even laser hair removal will not permanently cure the issue, and runs the risk of causing scarring, dermatitis or hypersensitivity.
1. Foreign Accent Syndrome
Mimicking another country’s accent is more than an impressive party trick for some; it’s a way of life. Most commonly developed after a traumatic brain injury such as resulting from a stroke, or can even come from a migraine, FAS causes those inflicted to speak in their native language with a “foreign” accent.
The condition is very rare, less than 100 reported cases since 1907. FAS has been documented all around the world, some accent changes include Japanese to Korean, British English to French, American-English to British English, and Spanish to Hungarian.
There was even an incident where a Norwegian woman was hit by shrapnel during World War II, resulting in her developing a German accent. Not being the best time in the world to develop an Axis tongue, she was ostracized by her people. However, some people have claimed to enjoy their change in speech, saying it gives them more confidence and proves to be a great conversation
15 Famous Figures Who Took a Bullet and Lived to Tell the Tale
In theory, being a celebrity sounds great. Having your name known around the world, getting paid just to show up to a party, or wearing a company’s clothing are some of the perks. There are plenty of great opportunities that one can only know after achieving a certain level of stardom; however, there are plenty of horrors that come with fame as well.
Beyond losing any sense of privacy and being under scrutiny from thousands of people they've never met, celebrities also constantly run the risk of undergoing physical harm. Whether it’s a crazed fan or an envious observer of the glamorous life, there is plenty of potential for danger.
The brighter the star, the bigger the target; there has been a wide range of incidents where celebrities have met the less friendly side of a barrel. From rappers to presidents, and even a Pope, plenty of the rich and famous have been shot and lived to talk about it. Here are their stories.
1. Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson
If he’s not the celebrity who’s taken the most bullets, he’s definitely the one who has talked about them the most. Predating his rise to fame, Curtis Jackson was shot in April of 2000. He took nine bullets at close range from a 9mm handgun. 50 was shot in the hand, arm, hip, both of his legs, chest, and left cheek.
After 13 days in the hospital, 50 left with a newfound appreciation for his life and body. He began rigorous exercise regimens and transformed his body into the hardened steel he’s now known for. But the greatest transformation impacted him musically.
2. 2PAC
The shot to the face resulted in what would grow to become the rapper’s trademark slightly slurred manner of speech, as the doctor elected to leave a piece of the bullet in his tongue since removal was too risky. He would later be quoted saying that “Gettin' shot just totally fixed my instrument." And with that new instrument, as well as aid from Eminem and Dr. Dre, 50 Cent would grow to become the biggest rapper in the game.
Fame has a way of getting inside you and affecting your judgment and actions. 2Pac’s skyrocketing stardom, combined with less-than-reliable teammates on his side, had a turbulent effect on the prolific poet. He began living his “thug life” persona and creating enemies left and right, which would ultimately lead to his doom.
But before his fatal shooting, he took five bullets in a recording studio in Times Square in 1994. While the police took the assault as a mere robbery, Pac was convinced that Bad Boy Records, owned by Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs, had set him up because he refused to join them. This ignited the “East Coast vs. West Coast” war that would end with both 2Pac and Bad Boy Records star Biggie Smalls’ deaths.
2Pac makes several references to the setup in the song “Against All Odds” off his final album, calling out several of his enemies by name. Included is James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond, who has since confessed to orchestrating the shooting but cannot be tried as he admitted it while involved in a drug-trafficking investigation involving millions of dollars of cocaine, which he was later convicted of running.
3. Larry Flynt
Larry Flynt is one of the biggest publishers of pornography, best known for the magazine Hustler. Being one of the early adopters of the “sex sells” ideology, Flynt ran into plenty of legal troubles, which resulted in him becoming an unlikely champion of civil rights for his unwavering defense of the First Amendment.
Flynt was shot outside a Georgia courthouse by white supremacist Joseph Paul Franklin. The injuries were severe, causing permanent paralysis of his legs. After the shooting, Flynt renounced his enlightened Christian thinking and retreated to his Bel Air estate with his wife, developing a dependence on painkillers until multiple surgeries deadened the affected nerves.
Joseph Paul Franklin later confessed to the shooting, claiming he was outraged by an interracial photo shoot in Hustler. He was charged in Missouri with eight counts of murder, suspected to be as many as 20, as he "targeted blacks and Jews in a cross-country killing spree from 1977 to 1980."
While he was put to death in 2013 via lethal injection, Flynt stated that he did not want Franklin to be executed. "A life spent in a 3-by-6-foot cell is far harsher than the quick release of a lethal injection," he stated in a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter. "I have had many years in this wheelchair to think about this very topic."
4. Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol is an artist in every sense of the word. Drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, film, music—Warhol did it all. He even managed to dabble in computer-generated art shortly before his death in 1987. So who would want to shoot him? An "artist" of a very different caliber: Valerie Solanas.
Valerie Solanas was a radical feminist known for founding the "Society for Cutting Up Men," of which she was the only member, as well as her self-published SCUM Manifesto, in which she advocated the elimination of government, money, and the male sex. Solanas would have likely been forgotten by the annals of history had she not forced her way into the records.
Solanas had badgered Warhol to read her play two years earlier, and while he had little interest in her crazed scribbles, she did manage to gain an appearance in his 1968 film "I, a Man." What set in motion these tragic events was Solanas requesting the return of her script, which seemed to have been misplaced.
She then showed up at Warhol’s office and, without a word, fired a barrage of bullets at Andy and a business associate. While his friend sustained minor injuries, Warhol was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, with his odds of survival 50/50. "One bullet had entered his left side, above his hip, gone around his rib cage, and emerged from his back, after narrowly missing his spinal cord."
Solanas turned herself in to a rookie cop a few days later, claiming Warhol "had too much control over [her] life." She finally gained the attention she craved, but at a grave cost. Warhol recovered from the shooting but with lasting physical and psychological damage. His newfound fear of hospitals prevented him from gaining medical attention for his gallbladder until the last minute. While the surgery was a success, he suffered a fatal heart attack the next day.
5. Akon
Akon is one of those megastars whose fame just fizzled out over time. At the height of his stardom, he was unavoidable; now you’d have to explain his entire existence to the new generation of music listeners.
Luckily, it wasn’t a bullet that knocked the R&B singer out of the limelight. In 2004, Akon and his manager, Robert “Screw” Montanez, were meeting with rapper Capone of Capone-N-Noreaga to tape a promotion between the two artists outside a New Jersey bar. A man, later identified as Almalik Ward, began trying to take Capone’s chain.
Akon’s manager got between the two, and a fight quickly broke out between Ward and Montanez. They wrestled to the ground, but the fight ended with Ward firing his gun into Screw and then firing into the crowd, hitting Akon in the shoulder. While Akon may have been fine, Montanez did not survive the shooting.
6. Bob Marley
You’re probably wondering how an advocate for peace like Bob Marley could wind up in such a violent situation. It all stems from the two warring political parties of Jamaica at the time: the People’s National Party (PNP) and the Jamaican Labour Party (JLP). Bob did his best to stay out of the political war, but being such a huge figure made it impossible.
In an attempt to bring the people together, Bob Marley was set to headline a free concert called "Smile Jamaica." However, the event was organized by then-Prime Minister Michael Manley of the PNP. People saw this as Marley aligning himself with the party. Two days before the event, gunmen attacked his home, resulting in Bob, his wife, and manager all sustaining injuries.
Marley was shot in the chest and arm. The doctors told him that if they removed the bullet from his arm, there was a risk he might lose control of his fingers. Unable to imagine a world where he couldn’t play instruments, the bullet stayed in his arm where it would remain for the rest of his life.
Bob Marley played the Smile Jamaica concert two days later, delivering one of his greatest performances for 80,000 people. When asked why he played the concert, the legend had this to say: “The people who are trying to make this world worse aren’t taking a day off. How can I?”
7. Pope John Paul II
Here’s one sure fire way to earn a one way ticket to Hell. In 1981, Mehmet Ali Ağca stuck Pope John Paul II with four bullets as he rode through St. Peter’s Square in his Popemobile. Two of the bullets lodged into his lower intestine, the other two hitting his left index finger and right arm, as well as injuring two bystanders.
Ağca attempted to escape in the chaos, and even planned to set off a bomb to add even more confusion, but was apprehended by the Vatican security chief, a nun, and several spectators before he had the chance. An Italian court sentenced the would-be assassin with life in prison, however president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi would later pardon him after 19 years of his sentence upon the Pope’s request.
Mehmet was deported to his birthplace of Turkey, where he had escaped another life long prison sentence for the murder of left-wing journalist Abdi İpekçi, as well two bank raids that occurred in the 1970s. He was returned to jail, and The Turkish Supreme Court ruled that his time served in Italy would not be reduced from his sentence. It wasn’t until 2010, after nearly 29 years behind bars, that he was released.
After 6 hours on the operating table and four days in recovery, Pope John Paul II forgave his attacker, asking the people to pray for him. He even visited Ağca in prison two years after the attack to forgive him in person. Reportedly, Ağca even kissed the Pope’s ring at the end of their visit.
The two maintained a relationship, with Pope John Paul II meeting and keeping in touch with Mehmet’s family over the years, and the his attempted killer sending the Pope a letter during his illness in 2005 wishing him well. In December 2014, Mehmet returned to Rome and laid two dozen white roses at the pope’s tomb.
8. Brandon Call
The former child star known for playing T.J. Lambert on the CBS sitcom Step by Step was driving home after a day of taping when he noticed a car following him. He tried to lose it, but in doing so he made a wrong turn and winded up in a cul-de-sac. Call went to turn around, but that’s when they chose to open fire.
The 19 year old was shot in both arms, but managed to drive himself to the police station where they dressed his wounds and got him to the hospital. Brandon made a full recovery, though his career never did after Step by Step ended in 1998.
9. Ol' Dirty Bastard
Teenager Tommy Eugene Lewis was eventually convicted of attempted premeditated murder, though the reason for his actions is unknown. Some believe it had something to do with a traffic dispute. Hopefully the rest of you LA drivers remember that.
Ol’ Dirty Bastard, a founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan and one of the wildest rappers to ever pick up a mic. ODB’s crazed antics landed him in plenty of legal trouble, but he also found himself in a number of violent situations.
While there was only one instance where the Wu-Tang Clan rapper was proven to have committed an act of violence, he was commonly the victim of attack. In 1994, he was shot in the stomach after a street argument with another rapper in Brooklyn.
Four years later, two assailants forced their way into ODB’s girlfriend’s apartment where they stole money and jewelry from the rapper before leaving him with another bullet wound as a parting gift. The bullet went through his back and out his arm, leaving no severe damage. After hours of treatment he ignored the hospital’s request for overnight observation and walked out of the hospital on his own.
While neither of his run-ins with gunmen were severe, Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s luck would finally run out in 2004. Recording in fellow Wu member the RZA’s studio, ODB collapsed from what was later deemed an accidental overdose from a mixture of cocaine and prescription drug tramadol, just two days before his 36th birthday.
There are plenty of absurd things men do to impress women, but attempting to assassinate the president has to be at the top of the list. After seeing the 1976 film Taxi Driver, loner John Hinckley Jr. left the theater with two things: an admiration for Robert DeNiro’s crazed Travis Bickle and an obsession with DeNiro’s co-star Jodie Foster.
Over the years, Hinckley wrote Foster multiple letters and managed to speak with her on the phone a few times. Despite her declining any interest in him, he only became more determined. He was sure that if he managed to become a national figure, he would be on equal footing with Foster and she would finally accept him.
Just like Travis Bickle, Hinckley began stalking President Jimmy Carter, learning just how easy it was to get within range of a president. He was apprehended at the Nashville International Airport for the illegal possession of firearms, but despite Carter being in the city at the time, the FBI did not connect the two and therefore the Secret Service was not notified.
A year later, newly elected President Ronald Reagan visited Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., where he recalled having a strange sensation of vulnerability while eyeing where President Lincoln had been shot. About a week later, Reagan delivered a speech at the Washington Hilton Hotel and then exited through the “President’s Walk,” an enclosed passageway built after JFK’s assassination.
Hinckley stood amongst admirers behind the ropes as Reagan walked through the passage to his limousine. As Reagan passed right in front of Hinckley, he knew he had to act. He took out his revolver and fired six shots of explosive rounds in less than two seconds from about 10 feet away.
The first five bullets either missed or were taken by secret service agents, but the sixth ricocheted off the armored side of the limousine and pierced the president in his left underarm, grazing a rib and lodging into his lung. This caused it to partially collapse, but also stopped the bullet nearly one inch from his heart. Because of Hinckley’s poor shooting, only one of the rounds exploded, but the doctors had to wear bulletproof vests while operating for fear of a latent explosion.
Thanks to the quick actions of the Secret Service, Reagan became the second president to walk off a bullet. John Hinckley Jr. was not found guilty by reason of insanity. After the trial, he stated that the shooting was "the greatest love offering in the history of the world.”
11. Cam'ron
Rappers are known for flaunting what they’ve got, and Cam’ron is no exception, but sometimes it’s a good idea to keep your chain tucked, or in this case, your Lamborghini in the garage.
In 2005, Cam’ron was driving home from a homecoming party in Washington D.C. He cruised through the streets in his royal blue Lamborghini Gallardo, wearing what a friend described as $200,000 worth of diamonds and other jewelry when he stopped at a fateful red light. Another car pulled up next to him, and an armed assailant exited.
The gunmen tried to rob Killa Cam’s Lamborghini, but the rapper refused, instead cursing out his attacker and driving off, but not before receiving a bullet through each of his arms. Despite sustaining these injuries, the rap legend managed to drive himself to the hospital. After being released from the hospital, he had this to say: "I got shot three times, and my album comes out Nov. 22. It was a sloppy job on their part. They didn't get anything; I still got my car and my jewelry."
This happened in the midst of a feud between Cam’ron and Jay Z, but it is widely believed that Jigga had little to do with the attack.
12. Kelly Preston
In 1990, actress Kelly Preston, known for her role in "Jerry Maguire," was shot in the arm. Initially, she led everyone to believe that her fiancé at the time, Charlie Sheen, was responsible. However, it later emerged that Preston had actually shot herself.
According to Sheen, Preston went to pick up a pair of his pants in the bathroom when a revolver in his pocket fell to the ground and discharged. Sheen claims the bullet hit the toilet, and a piece of shrapnel or porcelain ricocheted and hit her. He says he wasn’t even in the room when it happened; he heard the shot from downstairs and saw a naked Kelly Preston covered in blood at the top of the stairs. Sheen also says that he immediately knew he’d be blamed for it.
The two broke off their engagement shortly after the incident, but Kelly Preston has since come out and admitted that it was not Charlie who shot her. The reasons for the delayed revelation are unclear, but Charlie Sheen certainly seemed like the perfect person to pin it on.
13. Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt was a tough man. If the mustache doesn’t prove it, maybe this story will. While campaigning in Milwaukee, Roosevelt was shot by a saloonkeeper named John Flammang Schrank. The bullet lodged itself into his chest, but not before passing through both his steel eyeglass case and the 50-page speech he was to deliver that day.
Being the hunter that he was, Roosevelt deduced that since he was not coughing up blood, the bullet had failed to reach his lungs, and therefore he would deliver his speech as scheduled. He opened with “Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible,” followed by the punch line of “I don’t know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot.”
He unbuttoned his vest to reveal his bloodstained shirt to the aghast crowd. He then pulled out his hole-filled 50-page manuscript and proceeded to deliver a 90-minute speech. Roosevelt glared off his team from trying to get him to stop and go to the hospital, or when they readied to catch him if he fell. Only after finishing his speech did Theodore Roosevelt agree to be brought to the hospital.
14. Isaiah Washington
Isaiah Washington has a long history of running his mouth off. The Grey's Anatomy actor got into serious heat for his repeated use of gay slurs in the 2000s, once about his co-star T.R. Knight, who later came out as gay (awkward), and then again backstage at the Golden Globes. This would cost him his role on Grey's Anatomy, as well as put his acting career into a tailspin, leading him to move to a village in Sierra Leone where he would become a chief known as Gondobay Manga II.
Before his mouth was damaging his career, it was damaging his health. Isaiah claims that back in the 1980s, he was shot in the hip for “popping his mouth to the wrong person.” Just 19 years old at the time, Washington later went on to serve a four-year tour of duty in the United States Air Force before coming back to pursue an acting career.
15. The Game
A lot of rappers borrow the persona of pistol-toting gang members and other hardened thugs to tell a story from that perspective or to appear tougher than they are. Game is not one of these rappers. Born and bred in Compton, Jayceon Terrell Taylor grew up to become a member of the Bloods street gang, known for terrorizing the streets of Los Angeles through their eternal war with the rival gang, the Crips.
Despite being raised in foster care for most of his childhood, The Game managed to avoid the street life for the most part. He was academically and athletically talented and managed to enroll in Washington State University with a basketball scholarship, only to be expelled for drug possession (though the university denies ever having Taylor enrolled in their program). This is when he turned to the streets, welcomed by his older half-brother, a leader of the Cedar Block Piru Bloods.
Game and his brother reigned over the Compton drug trade for a while, but it did not last long. In 2001, one of their regular customers arrived at their apartment late at night accompanied by two other men. A fight broke out, and though The Game went to reach for his pistol, he was too slow on the draw, ending up shot 5 times. He lay in his blood for a bit before managing to use his cellphone to call an ambulance.
The Game was in a coma for 3 days, and when he came out, he told his brother to buy him all the classic hip-hop records he could find. He studied all of them, ready to follow his childhood hero Eazy-E and N.W.A's path and become a rapper. Surely, he had no idea that years later, N.W.A's own Dr. Dre would sign him to his label Aftermath and bring the trash-talking Blood into the spotlight.
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