While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, May 27

Law enforcement officials have come under fire amid claims that they were slow to intervene in a mass shooting at a South Texas elementary school. PHOTOS: REUTERS

Texas shooting: Videos show parents urging police to intervene

Desperate parents shouted at police to enter the South Texas elementary school where a massacre was unfolding, with some trying to approach the building themselves before being restrained by officers, according to videos recorded during Tuesday's attack.

The videos emerging on Thursday - along with initial accounts of the shooting timeline from authorities - suggest up to an hour passed between the time the attack began and the moment specially trained officers breached the fourth-grade classroom where 18-year-old Salvador Ramos had killed 19 children and two teachers, shooting him dead.

The New York Times reported that most, if not all, of the victims of the worst school shooting in nearly a decade likely died in the first few minutes of the attack, citing a person familiar with a preliminary timeline compiled by investigators.

A spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, Chris Olivarez, told CNN earlier on Thursday that investigators were still trying to confirm a precise minute-by-minute account, including how long Ramos remained barricaded inside the classroom.

READ MORE HERE

Toronto police kill man carrying gun near schools

Toronto police shot and killed a man who was walking down a street carrying a gun in a city neighbourhood on Thursday afternoon, an incident that prompted five nearby schools to be placed under precautionary lockdowns, city officials said.

Officers responding to a report of an armed man in the area fired after the gunman confronted them, Toronto police chief James Ramer said at a media briefing. He declined to give further details, citing an ongoing investigation.

Earlier on Twitter, Toronto police said officers had fired and the suspect, described as a male in his late teens or early 20s, was injured.

READ MORE HERE

Finland PM visits Kyiv, says Russian actions a 'turning point'

Finland's prime minister said on Thursday that Russia's actions in Ukraine were a turning point for the world and relations with Moscow could not go back to how they were before its invasion.

Prime Minister Sanna Marin made her comments during a trip to Ukraine that included visiting the towns of Irpin and Bucha, where Ukraine suspects Russian troops carried out atrocities, an allegation denied by Moscow.

"We, Finland, support all the actions of the International Criminal Court to consider these crimes, collect evidence for future proceedings and convict Russia," Marin said after meetings with Ukraine's president and prime minister.

READ MORE HERE

Romanian player sorry as thrown racquet hits youngster

Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu apologised on Thursday for petulantly throwing her racquet into a French Open crowd where it hit a child in the face.

The youngster wept unconsolably after Begu's racquet bounced off the ground and flew towards the fans during the second set of her match against Ekaterina Alexandrova on Court 12.

"It's an embarrassing moment for me, so I don't want to talk too much about it. I just want to apologise," said the 31-year-old after her 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-4 win.

READ MORE HERE

Goodfellas actor Ray Liotta dead at 67

Actor Ray Liotta, who starred in Martin Scorsese’s gangster classic Goodfellas, has died suddenly in the Dominican Republic, officials and police said Thursday. He was 67.

Liotta, whose blistering turn as real-life mobster Henry Hill in Scorsese’s crime masterpiece won universal admiration, was shooting a new film in the country when he died in his sleep.

Police said emergency services were called early Thursday morning to a hotel in Santo Domingo where they found Liotta already dead.

READ MORE HERE

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.