The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "death by friendly fire" ...
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A Girl's Life
The single 7,500-word story chronicled the life and death of Acia Johnson, a South Boston girl who seemed to be doing everything right: getting good grades in school, becoming a standout basketball player with a chance at a scholarship to go to a good high school and taking care of her younger sister. That was until her house was set ablaze last April in what authorities said was a jealous rage by her mother's lover. Acia burned to death along with her three-year-old sister in her third-floor bedroom closet. Her mother stood, safe, on the ground with the family dog. Her father was in jail. It was the last in a long list of instances of neglect recounted in the story. Anyone could have saved her life--her parents, drug addicts and sometimes violent petty criminals who never managed to get straight' neighbors who knew about the violent family fights and often didn't call police; friends who did nothing though thought it unusual that Acia was left to care for her sister while their parents were out running thr streets; social workers who had declared Acia's parents unfit in 2003 and placed her in the custody of her grandmother but who never figured out that she was still living with her mother. They didn't figure it out even though they frequently visited Acia at her mother's house, including two days before the fire. They didn't figure it out even though her mother reported Acia was living with her when she applied for housing subsidies, food stamps and cash assistance. And they didn't figure it out even though her mother's house was listed as Acia's primary residence at her middle school.
Tags: social workers; arson; child death; neglect; custody; Boston
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An Un-American Tragedy
Pat Tillman was a former college football star and NFL player who enlisted in the Army and became an Army Ranger after the events of September 11, 2001. His death in 2004 in Afghanistan was presented by the military as a heroic act, but as more details emerged, it became clear that he died not from the enemy's bullets, but rather was a victim of friendly fire. ESPN.com investigated, interviewing some of the soldiers who witnessed the chaos which led to Tillman's death, and examining whether or not the Army artificially inflated Tillman's battlefield deeds in order to present him as a hero.
Tags: Pat Tillman; Army Rangers; death by friendly fire; fratricide; Silver Star; death coverup
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Killing our own
Hearst Newspapers (New York) series reveals the real toll that "friendly fire" had on allied troops during the Persian Gulf War; finds the Pentagon suppressed the cause of death of many soldiers in order to avoid the embarrassment, and that accidental attacks on American troops by American forces claimed a higher percentage of U.S. casualties than during any previous American war in the 20th century, J