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Gun store stops selling Muslim target

ROYAL OAK, Mich., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- A Muslim civil rights group said the owner of a Michigan gun shop has agreed to halt sales of a target picturing a skeleton in Muslim garb with an AK-47.

Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Michigan, said he had a meeting Thursday with Ray Jihad, owner of Target Sports in Royal Oak, and he agreed to stop selling the target, The Detroit News reported Friday.

"He was extremely friendly and understanding," Walid said. "We welcome the decision of Target Sports to discontinue selling such targets, which could have the effect of perpetuating misconceptions that Muslims, in particular those wearing certain attire, are to be viewed as a threat that should be eliminated."

Walid said he received a complaint last week about the target, which depicted a skeleton with a long beard, a turban and a robe, holding an AK-47.

The target was manufactured by Thompson Target of Ohio, which also offers "Wall Street Zombie" and "Redneck Zombie" targets. The company owner declined to comment, The Detroit News said.

The newspaper said it was unable to reach Jihad for a comment.

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Former herder helps NYPD nab goat

NEW YORK, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Police said a parking lot attendant who used to herd goats in Mali was able to lasso one of them seen running through New York City traffic.

Officers Peter Stark and Anthony Vitale spotted the goat in traffic in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood around 1:30 a.m. Thursday and chased the animal, the New York Daily News reported Friday.

Ndiaye Seydou, a parking lot attendant who herded goats with his father in Mali, saw the pursuit and fashioned a lasso out of some rope.

"They [the officers] were trying to catch the goat but had no idea how to do it," Seydou said.

He said he was eventually able to grab the goat by the horns and hold it while the officers tied up its legs.

Police said the goat may have escaped from a neighborhood slaughterhouse but would be sent to live at an upstate farm.

Man arrested for 'explosives' remark sues

NEW YORK, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- A man who was locked up for 25 hours after joking about "explosives" in his peanut butter at a New York airport is suing authorities.

Frank Hannibal, 50, said he was arrested in front of his wife and twin 6-year-old daughters at LaGuardia Airport after he joked to his family while Transportation Security Administration screeners were analyzing his jar of peanut butter, the New York Daily News reported Friday.

"They're looking to confiscate my explosives," Hannibal said he told his family sarcastically.

TSA worker Edwin Sanchez overheard the comment and called Port Authority police. Officer Spencer Newman arrested Hannibal on a felony count of falsely reporting an incident.

Hannibal spent 25 hours in lockup before the district attorney decided not to prosecute.

"It sounds laughable now but at the time to be led out of there like a terrorist was unbelievable," Hannibal said. "My whole life was up in the air. It was a nightmare. My children were overwhelmed. It was crazy."

The lawsuit, which names Sanchez and Newman, is seeking $5 million in damages.

"It's a sorry state of affairs in this country when sarcasm is considered a felony," said Alan Levine, Hannibal's lawyer.

Mom passes drugs with open-mouth kiss

PENN YAN, N.Y., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Authorities in New York state said a mother used an open-mouth kiss to smuggle Oxycodone to her son in a jail.

The Yates County Sheriff's Department said Kimberly Margeson, 54, put the prescription pills "into her mouth and brought them into the jail when she visited her son," William Partridge, 30, who was arrested on a weapons charge, thesmokinggun.com reported Friday.

Margeson allegedly passed two pills "from her mouth to her son's mouth when she kissed him."

Deputies said they believe the pills were for Partridge's personal use and not to sell inside the jail.

Margeson was arrested on a felony drug charge and a misdemeanor charge of promoting prison contraband. Partridge was also charged with the contraband count.

Margeson pleaded not guilty Tuesday and was released after posting $2,000 bail.