Parolee charged in fatal shooting of 2 Dallas hospital workers: Officials

Parolee charged in fatal shooting of 2 Dallas hospital workers: Officials
Parolee charged in fatal shooting of 2 Dallas hospital workers: Officials
Jack Berman/Getty Images

(DALLAS) — A 30-year-old man recently paroled after serving a sentence for robbery, is facing capital murder charges stemming from a shooting at a Dallas medical center on Saturday that left two employees dead, including a nurse, officials said Sunday.

A suspect in the double homicide at Methodist Hospital in Dallas on Saturday was identified as Nestor Hernandez, law enforcement officials told ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas.

Hernandez was paroled on Oct. 20, 2021, after serving a prison sentence for aggravated robbery, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice told ABC News.

“He was on parole with a special condition of electronic monitoring,” the spokesperson said.

Hernandez was granted permission to be at the hospital to be with his significant other during the delivery of their baby, the spokesperson said, adding that the state Office of Inspector General is working with Dallas Police as they investigate.

Police with the Methodist Health System and Dallas Police Department responded to reports of an active shooter at Methodist Dallas Medical Center around 11 a.m. Saturday.

A Methodist Health System police officer “confronted the suspect, and fired his weapon at the suspect, injuring him,” the hospital said in a statement. “The suspect was detained, stabilized, and taken to another local hospital.”

The names of the victims were not immediately released.

The shooting occurred near the medical center’s labor and delivery area, according to police.

A motive for the shooting has yet to be disclosed.

“The Methodist Health System family is heartbroken at the loss of two of our beloved team members,” Methodist Health System said in a statement. “Our entire organization is grieving this unimaginable tragedy.”

The investigation is ongoing, with Dallas police assisting the Methodist Health System police, the hospital confirmed.

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia slammed the “broken” justice system for allowing the suspect out on the streets, where he could allegedly obtain a gun.

“I’m outraged along with our community, at the lack of accountability, and the travesty of the fact that under this broken system, we give violent criminals more chances than our victims.The pendulum has swung too far,” Garcia said in a statement he posted on Twitter.

Dr. Serena Bumpus, CEO of the Texas Nurses Association, issued a statement calling the shooting “unacceptable.”

“No person should fear for their life for merely going to work, especially a nurse or healthcare worker whose passion is to help others heal,” Bumpus said in statement. “We hope our legislators understand that we need to protect our healthcare workers.”

Bumpus also released statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, showing workplace violence has increased during the pandemic, and the risk to nurses was three times greater than “all other professions.”

ABC News’ Lisa Sivertsen contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Missing Michigan family of 4 found safe in Wisconsin: Police

Missing Michigan family of 4 found safe in Wisconsin: Police
Missing Michigan family of 4 found safe in Wisconsin: Police
Fremont Police Dept.

(FREMONT, Mich.) — Michigan police announced they found the family of four who had been missing since Oct. 16 after the father exhibited “paranoid behaviors” last weekend, authorities said.

“The Fremont Police Department would like to thank you for all the helping locating the Cirigliano Family,” the department said in a statement on Sunday. “They family was successfully located in Wisconsin.”

Sunday’s news follows a confirmed sighting that last placed them in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula earlier this week, though police said they have no indication of where they might be traveling.

The family — Anthony “Tony” John Cirigliano, 51, his wife Suzette Lee Cirigliano, 51, as well as their two sons, Brandon Michael Cirigliano, 19, and Noah Alexander Cirigliano, 15 — “unexpectedly” left their house in Fremont, about 45 miles north of Grand Rapids, on Oct. 16, police said. The sons both have autism, authorities said.

The family’s cellphones have all been turned off and they left behind their pets as well as Suzette’s elderly mother, who has dementia and requires full-time care, police said. The grandmother, who lives with them, was found disoriented in the neighborhood on Oct. 17 and police were unable to reunite her with the family. She is now being cared for by other relatives, according to Fremont Police Chief Tim Rodwell.

“They’re all very concerned that Tony and Suzette and the boys have not been in contact with anyone,” Rodwell told Grand Rapids ABC affiliate WZZM.

Since announcing their search for the missing family, police have received over a dozen tips, Rodwell told reporters Friday. That includes a confirmed sighting at a gas station in Gulliver on Oct. 17, he said. The gas station manager contacted police saying she believed she had seen the family, which was corroborated by surveillance footage, Rodwell said.

The footage captured the four family members in the station buying food and fuel for the minivan shortly before 11 a.m. local time, police said. There was no indication where they might have been traveling, Rodwell said.

The search comes after police responded to the Ciriglianos’ home shortly after midnight on Oct. 16 after Tony called 911 expressing concern about information he said he had about the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, according to Rodwell.

“My officers talked with him at length and just were concerned about his mental well-being,” he said. “They made contact with Suzette and looked at the two boys to make sure they were OK.”

Tony, who is self-employed, has no known mental health issues and police didn’t find any signs of foul play, struggle or violence inside the home to indicate a suspicious disappearance, according to Rodwell, who told WZZM that he is worried about the family.

“Everyone describes [Tony] as an extremely loving father, dedicated to his family,” the police chief added. “It’s really been an all-hands-on-deck for the officers in Fremont.”

Rodwell said the Ciriglianos do not have a history of run-ins with police, apart from an issue involving Brandon that occurred last summer in downtown Fremont. But Rodwell said the family was “very cooperative” and the matter was settled “amicably.”

“My officers found Tony to be, again, very loving and caring and worried about his kid,” he noted.

Both police and neighbors described the Ciriglianos’ disappearance as “uncharacteristic” because the family is known to spend a lot of time at home and typically don’t travel far when they do leave.

One neighbor, Sue Schondelmeyer, told WZZM that the Ciriglianos moved to the neighborhood about five years ago. Previously, the family lived in North Carolina, according to Rodwell.

“They were always friendly,” Schondelmeyer said. “When I moved in, they brought me cookies.”

“When my power was out, [Tony] helped with the generator to boost my power, my refrigeration and wouldn’t even take money for the gas,” she added.

Schondelmeyer told WZZM that she would always see the Ciriglianos out walking. Her grandchildren would often hang out with Brandon and Noah whenever they were visiting, she said.

“I realized I hadn’t seen them this week,” she added. “It is kind of scary to think that a whole family can just disappear with nothing.”

As for the minivan the Ciriglianos are believed to be traveling in, Schondelmeyer said she only saw the vehicle for the first time a couple weeks ago. She recalled Tony had driven it home and Brandon and Noah were checking it out.

“That was the first and only time I’ve ever seen it,” she told WZZM. “They usually had just plain cars, not a van.”

Another neighbor, Josh Brinkman, told WZZM his family is friends with the Ciriglianos and that he goes to school with the two boys, whom he described as having “high-functioning autism.” Brinkman said he hasn’t hung out with Brandon or Noah in a while and that the last time he did, about two months ago, everything seemed “normal.”

As for the boys’ father, Brinkman said Tony is a “good guy” and has never shown any strange behavior, despite losing his job a few years ago. When asked if he has a message for the Ciriglianos, he urged them to “stay safe” and let their family and friends know if they’re OK.

“We care about you,” he added.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Woman mauled by bear while walking dog: Police

Woman mauled by bear while walking dog: Police
Woman mauled by bear while walking dog: Police
Owen Smith/Getty Images/STOCK

(LEAVENWORTH, Wash.) — A woman suffered “significant” injuries Saturday after being charged by a black bear near her home in Washington state, authorities said.

The incident occurred before 7 a.m. in Leavenworth, in central Washington, while the woman was walking her dog, police said.

“The woman had let her dog out that morning when she was charged by an adult female black bear,” the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police said in a statement.

The victim sustained “significant” injuries, according to the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, which responded to the scene and called in Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officers to assist.

She is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a local hospital, authorities said.

Using a Karelian bear dog, officers located and “lethally removed” an adult female black bear near where the incident occurred later that morning, police said. Two approximately 9-month-old cubs were also captured and transported to a wildlife rehabilitation facility, police said.

“We are extremely thankful that the victim is receiving medical care from this unfortunate encounter,” Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police Captain Mike Jewell said in a statement. “Public safety is our priority; our officers and staff were quick to mobilize to locate the animal and secure the scene.”

The sheriff’s office had warned residents to avoid the area following the bear attack.

Since 1970, Washington state authorities have recorded 20 human-black bear encounters that resulted in a documented injury, including one fatal attack. 

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky tests positive for COVID-19

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky tests positive for COVID-19
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky tests positive for COVID-19
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and prevention tested positive for COVID-19 Friday night, the agency announced Saturday.

Walensky is up to date on her vaccines and is experiencing mild symptoms, according to the CDC.

She is isolating at home and will participate in her planned meetings virtually, the CDC said in a statement.

CDC senior staff and close contacts of Walensky have been informed of her positive test and are taking “appropriate action to monitor their health,” the agency said.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Small plane crashes into New Hampshire home, killing two people on board

Small plane crashes into New Hampshire home, killing two people on board
Small plane crashes into New Hampshire home, killing two people on board
mbbirdy/Getty Images/Stock

(KEENE, N.H.) — A small plane crashed into multifamily residential building in Keene, New Hampshire, on Friday, killing both people on the board and igniting a 3-alarm fire, city officials said Saturday.

None of the eight adults who were in the building’s four apartments at the time of the crash were injured, despite all the units being occupied at the time of the crash, according to officials. Eight residents who lived in the building have all been displaced from their homes due to the extent of the damage.

The plane crashed into a two-story garage attached to the building. The two-story building sustained “significant damage” to an estimated 20% of the rear of the structure, and it will remain uninhabited until it can be further assessed, Keene Fire Chief Donald Farquhar said at a press conference Saturday.

The single-engine aircraft departed from Keene Dillant-Hopkins Airport shortly before the accident. The aircraft was owned by Monadnock Aviation, a business that operates in New Hampshire, according to City Manager Elizabeth Dragon.

The plane was a Beechcraft Sierra and the crash occurred at 6:55 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Shortly after emergency crews arrived on scene, the fire was upgraded to a 2-alarm fire and then a 3-alarm fire, pulling in more resources from throughout the county, Farquhar said.

The Red Cross helped relocate the eight people who were displaced, Keene Mayor George Hansel said at the press conference.

The city’s fire department responded to the scene of the crash after receiving a 911 call just before 7 p.m. The fire was declared out at 8:47 p.m., Hansel said.

There are identifiable parts of the plane that are still in the building and will be left there until the investigation concludes. Officials will then remove what they can of the plane before returning the building to its owners, Farquhar said.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing. Hansel said it is too early to determine what caused the crash.

The FAA, New Hampshire Department of Transportation and National Transportation Safety Board are all on site and the NTSB will be the lead agency conducting an investigation, according to Dragon.

The aircraft was not equipped with a recording that could help investigators determine what went wrong, David Hickling, the director of the airport, said at the press conference. The airport was also unaware of any emergency call coming from the cockpit before the crash, Hickling said.

There are no indications from the plane’s history that there had been problems with it in the past, Hickling said.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Two arrested in connection with mass shooting at Louisiana frat house

Two arrested in connection with mass shooting at Louisiana frat house
Two arrested in connection with mass shooting at Louisiana frat house
Richard Williams Photography/Getty Images/STOCK

(BATON ROUGE, La.) — Two men are in custody in connection with a mass shooting at a Louisiana fraternity house that left nearly a dozen people injured, police said.

Police responded to the fraternity house near Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, shortly before 2 a.m. Friday following a reported shooting.

Initial reports indicated that nine people sustained non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, though that number has since increased to 11 after two more victims came forward, Baton Rouge Deputy Chief Myron Daniels told reporters late Friday.

Southern University, which is in the midst of celebrating its homecoming, said the shooting occurred off-campus at a non-university-sponsored event.

Two men were taken into custody Friday in connection with the shooting with the help of the U. S. Marshall Task Force, police said. Daryl Stansberry, 28, and Miles Moss, 24, have both been charged with 11 counts of accessory after the fact to attempted first-degree murder and illegal use of a weapon, police said. It is unclear if they have an attorney.

“Based on all the information that has been obtained, investigators believe this to be an isolated incident,” Daniels said. “There is no ongoing threat on the campus of Southern University.”

Daniels said no further information will be released at this time amid the investigation, which he called “fluid.”

The school said in a statement that the Southern University Police Department and other officials “are continuing to work to ensure that students, employees, alumni and other visitors to campus are safe during this Homecoming weekend,” adding that the university “strongly condemns any act of violence.”

Any witnesses with photos, videos or details are urged to contact police at 225-389-2000.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Two people die in Chicago weeks after being diagnosed with monkeypox

Two people die in Chicago weeks after being diagnosed with monkeypox
Two people die in Chicago weeks after being diagnosed with monkeypox
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

(CHICAGO) — Two Chicago residents died after being diagnosed with the monkeypox virus, the city’s Department of Health announced. The two were diagnosed with monkeypox over six weeks ago and had been hospitalized.

The two had several other health conditions, including weakened immune systems, city officials said. The two deaths were unrelated to each other, they said.

“Though the number of new MPV cases has declined substantially since summer, this is a stark reminder that MPV is dangerous and can cause serious illness, and in very rare cases, even death,” said Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwady on Friday. “Our hearts go out to these individuals’ families and friends.”

Officials said they would not disclose any other information about the two cases, including where they were being treated, to protect their privacy.

The U.S. has reported over 27,000 cases and six total deaths due to monkeypox, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Monkeypox cases have been reported in all 50 states.

The first confirmed case of monkeypox in the U.S. was reported in Massachusetts in May.

Monkeypox symptoms usually start within three weeks of exposure to the virus and the illness typically lasts two to four weeks, according to the CDC.

People with monkeypox get a rash that may be located on or near the genitals or anus and could be on other areas like hands, feet, chest, face or mouth. Other symptoms can include fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, exhaustion, muscle aches and backache, headache and respiratory symptoms, according to the CDC.

Those infected may experience all or only a few symptoms. If someone has flue-like symptoms they will usually develop a rash one to four days later, the CDC says.

Officials said death due to monkeypox still remains rare. Among more than 75,000 cases reported in 2022, there have been 32 reported deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

“The vast majority of people with [monkeypox] who died have had other health conditions along with [monkeypox] causing severely weakened immune systems,” said Arwady.

She added, “Please continue to take it seriously. If you’re at risk of MPV infection, take prevention steps and get vaccinated to protect yourself and your loved ones. These measures are especially important if you have comorbidities and/or a weakened immune system.”

Chicago health officials encourage individuals who meet the eligibility criteria to get two doses of the monkeypox vaccine, 28 days apart.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

$580 million up for grabs in Saturday night Powerball jackpot drawing

0 million up for grabs in Saturday night Powerball jackpot drawing
0 million up for grabs in Saturday night Powerball jackpot drawing
Scott Olson/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — The Saturday night Powerball prize rose to an estimated $580 million, giving players a chance at winning the 10th largest jackpot in the game’s history. The prize has a cash value of $278.2 million.

The game has had 33 drawings in a row without a winner.

The Powerball jackpot was last won with a ticket in Pennsylvania, which won a $206.9 million jackpot on Aug. 3.

There have been a total of five Powerball jackpot winners this year.

The top winners from Wednesday night’s drawing include two tickets sold in Michigan and New Jersey that won $1 million each and a third ticket sold in New Jersey that won $2 million.

The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 24.9 and the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, according to a statement from Powerball.

The largest Powerball jackpot in the game’s history was $1.586 billion, won on Jan. 13, 2016. The winning tickets were sold in California, Florida and Tennessee.

Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to a Powerball website.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Officers under review after brutal arrest of two men go viral

Officers under review after brutal arrest of two men go viral
Officers under review after brutal arrest of two men go viral
Douglas Sacha/Getty Images/STOCK

(WASHINGTON) — Several police officers in Washington D.C. are facing allegations of police brutality and excessive force after video of a brutal arrest of two men went viral and the Metropolitan Police Department’s Internal Affairs Bureau is now investigating the incident as city leaders and activists call for swift action from D.C. Police.

Police responded to a report of possible gunshots in Southeast D.C. at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Thursday night when police say they located a stolen unoccupied vehicle with visible shell casings inside and the motor still running. Authorities tell ABC News, “a group of subjects approached the officers while they were searching the vehicle. A male in the group threatened ‘to smack’ a female police officer. In response, an officer pushed the male against a fence and took him into custody.”

The two men arrested were later identified as Ty’Jon “TJ” Jackson, 23, and Tejuan “TC” Colman, 30.

D.C. Councilmember Trayon White, who arrived on the scene an hour after the incident began told reporters on Friday, “this incident was totally unacceptable on so many levels.”

He noted that no one should threaten “to smack” an officer. However, he notes, that shouldn’t be the reasoning for an aggressive arrest.

“If a guy threatens a female officer, he does not deserve to be kicked in his upper body or face, right? One doesn’t equal the other. I think they have enough training. We have enough protocols, policies, and procedures to address situations and that’s not it. And it’s totally unacceptable. So if the police department is using that as an excuse to escalate violence, that is just not acceptable.”

DC police said both “individuals were transported to an area hospital for medical evaluation and have since been released back to MPD custody and will be presented in court today.”

Tejuan Colman’s mother, Aminah Saladin, told reporters on Friday that the situation “was heart wrenching, very disappointing. Anyone else could have been shot during that time. Their total focus was on a car that no one was actually in.”

The investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Mississippi city of Greenwood unveils Emmett Till memorial statue

Mississippi city of Greenwood unveils Emmett Till memorial statue
Mississippi city of Greenwood unveils Emmett Till memorial statue
Scott Olson/Getty Images

(GREEENWOOD, Miss.) — The Mississippi community of Greenwood erected a towering statue Friday in honor of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old Black boy whose murder sparked much of the 20th century civil rights movement.

“I feel that when young people ask me what the memory of Emmett Till is, we have this statue as a memory,” Mississippi state Sen. David Jordan, who represents Greenwood, told ABC News. “He liberated all Black people for all that he sacrificed.”

The memorial statue stands at 9-feet tall — a bronze figure reminiscent of Till’s infamous portrait with a white button-down shirt, slacks and his left hand tipping his hat with a slight grin on his face.

The statue’s unveiling comes just a week after the release of “Till,” a film detailing the untold chapter of Till’s story centered around his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, who championed civil rights activism following the murder of her son.

“This is a great day as we take another leap forward in recognizing the life and legacy of Emmett Till,” the Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr., Till’s only remaining family member who saw his cousin the night he was kidnapped, told ABC News.

Till, a Chicago native, was murdered in in August 1955 after he was accused of whistling at a white woman in a grocery store in Drew, Mississippi, about 40 miles north of Greenwood, the county seat in the Delta region. The two white men arrested for kidnapping, torturing and lynching the 14-year-old were acquitted by an all-white jury.

Till-Mobley insisted on an open-casket funeral for her son to allow the surrounding community to witness the torture inflicted onto her son. She became a prominent leader of the civil rights movement, adamant that her son should not have died in vain.

Jet Magazine published the daunting image of Till’s battered face that changed lives forever. Numerous Black publications, including The Chicago Defender, New York Amsterdam News and various others, were charged with moving the needle forward reporting on the atrocity.

“When I met Rosa Parks in 1961, she said she didn’t get out of that seat for Emmett Till,” Jordan said.

But there are still reminders of Mississippi’s segregated past everywhere. A Confederate monument stands outside the Greenwood courthouse’s lawn, only a few miles away from Greenwood’s Rail Spike Park where Till’s new statue is located.

“As so many people are determined to erase our history, we are blessed to have so many more allies in the struggle to keep our story alive,” Parker said. “This statue is affirmation that our lives matter.”

Despite the demographics of Greenwood and Leflore County being about 70% Black, it took state officials years to erect the statue. This year, Jordan was finally able to allocate $150,000 in state funding to commission Utah artist Matt Glen to sculpt the statue.

“I am elated that it happened here in Mississippi, and this is a glorious day for all of the people in Greenwood, Mississippi,” Jordan said.

ABC News’ Fatima Curry and Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.