Why are snipers in the Free Syrian Army attired in sweatshirts bearing the logo of a high school in Minnesota?

The sniper trains his scoped rifle through the hole in the wall, finds his target and squeezes the trigger. With each round, a man is heard declaring “Allahu Akbar (God is great).”

Shots apparently fired in return send the sniper scurrying for cover, his Robbinsdale Cooper High School sweatshirt coming into the view of the videographer’s lens.

Just over 6,000 miles from the Minneapolis suburb’s school of 2,000 or so pupils the distinctive “HAWKS” lettering and the Cooper school name were adorning the chest of a man shooting to kill from a battered building amid the unrest in the Middle Eastern nation.

The 81-second video is among thousands from global war zones on the website LiveLeak.com, this one under the headline “Sniper almost sniped.” It went live four days ago, and the site gives it a tally of more than 620,000 views as of Tuesday.

“It’s definitely from Syria,” said Hayden Hewitt, who co-founded the British-based website seven years ago. “He’s trying to kill somebody, and somebody returned fire and penetrated the wall.”

Hewitt said the sniper appears to be a member of the Free Syrian Army, the armed opposition of Syria’s ruling government. He estimates that the video was posted “within a couple of days” and possibly on the same day that it was recorded.

A still photo from the video was sent to Robbinsdale Cooper for verification, and Tim Palm, who handles the Cooper Hawks’ apparel needs, said that while the image is not that clear, the sweatshirt looks like one of theirs.

On Tuesday, Cooper Principal Michael Favor sent a voice-mail to school families alerting them to the Star Tribune report about the video. “The person in the video is not connected with Robbinsdale Cooper High School, and we have no idea how the sweatshirt got to Syria,” the voice-mail said. http://www.startribune.com/local/193282531.html?refer=y

Favorite

0 members favorited this

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

Comment by Dave Phillips on March 30, 2013 at 2:02am: Really apeman? That is some heavy duty shit, can you enlighten me as I am not familiar being in Australia of those people and shit?

Comment by apeman2502 on March 30, 2013 at 1:59am: Ask Michelle Bachmann's husband. He might know. Also, while you're at it, ask him WTF he was talking to Anders Breivik about just a week or two before Breivik returned to the Oslo, Norway area and mowed don over 75 kids and young adults at a festival. Then ask him what he doses Michelle with to get that 'DEER STUCK IN THE HEADLIGHTS look'.

Comment by Edward L Buchman on March 30, 2013 at 1:55am: Cooper Principal Michael Favor, "I know nuttzing!!!"

Comment by Sweettina2 on March 30, 2013 at 1:33am: The US just sent them a ton of money. Wasnt it Clinton that announced that funding?

Comment by Dave Phillips on March 29, 2013 at 11:03pm: Amazing where the shit people throw out at the charity bins and collections sometimes end up! Like seeing those kids in the Congo wearing English Premier League shirts, or Afghan children wearing knitted jumpers with cartoon characters on them. Nothing sinister in this, just someone's goodwill donation to an op-shop being well travelled.

Comment by truth on March 29, 2013 at 7:07pm: go git em !

Comment by Charleston Voice on March 29, 2013 at 7:06pm: Re-forwarded to my entire list of Minnesota senate and assembly, over 170 legislators.

Are Minnesotans unknowingly sponsoring CIA-coordinated terrorist elements in Syria?

Charleston Voice