(HIGHLAND PARK, Ill.) — A gunman opened fire on a Fourth of July parade in an affluent suburb north of Chicago on Monday, killing at least seven people and injuring more than two dozen others, including children.
Five of the victims died at the scene of the shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, while one died at a hospital, according to officials. On Tuesday afternoon, a seventh victim succumbed to their injuries at Evanston Hospital, officials said.
The Northshore University Hospital system, which includes Evanston, Glenbrook, Highland Park and Skokie hospitals. treated a total of 39 patients from the scene, according to hospital officials.
Highland Park Hospital admitted 25 people with gunshot wounds, 19 of whom were treated and discharged. The others were in “more serious condition,” said Dr. Brigham Temple, medical director of emergency preparedness.
The wounded ranged in age from 8 to 85, according to Temple. One child was taken to Evanston, for further treatment and another was medically evacuated to the University of Chicago Hospital, about 30 miles south of Highland Park.
As of Tuesday, eight patients remained hospitalized in the Northshore facilities, officials said.
Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital, some 8 miles north of Highland Park, said it received nine patients from the shooting, including six gunshot victims. Five were discharged and the remaining four are in good or fair condition, according to the hospital.
Here’s what we know so far about the people who were killed.
Jacki Sundheim
Jacki Sundheim, a dedicated congregant and worker at her synagogue, North Shore Congregation Israel in Glencoe, Illinois, was shot and killed at the Independence Day parade in Highland Park, according to the synagogue.
In a statement, the North Shore Congregation Israel described Sundheim as a “beloved” staff member who spent her early days teaching preschool and her entire life worshipping at the synagogue.
“There are no words sufficient to express the depth of our grief for Jacki’s death and sympathy for her family and loved ones,” the synagogue said.
Nicolas Toledo, 73
Nicolas Toledo was one of the slain victims from the parade, according to his family.
“My grandpa was a funny man. He’d always joke around and be playful with his grandkids. He arrived [at] the U.S. in the ’80s and worked around the Highland Park area for many years. He spent his last days swimming and fishing and being among family,” Toledo’s grandson, David Toledo, told ABC News in a statement.
Stephen Straus, 88
Stephen Straus was killed during the shooting, according to his son John Straus.
ABC News’ Will McDuffie, Caroline Guthrie and Darren Reynolds contributed to this report.
(BOSTON) — Boston officials are responding to the growing threat of white supremacists, just days after Patriot Front members marched through the city and reportedly assaulted a Black man.
“We know these threats are continuing to escalate across the country, and that Boston must be the leading light in how we are acting in a coordinated way and tackling and supporting our community members,” said Mayor Michelle Wu Tuesday. She joined officials from the local and state police departments, the FBI and the attorney general’s office to discuss impending actions of known extremist groups.
The Anti-Defamation League, which tracks hate groups nationwide, has called Patriot Front a white supremacist group that spreads racism, antisemitism, and other forms of hate online. The ADL says the group is focused on “preserving America’s identity as a European-American one.”
The group marched in Boston on Saturday with concealed faces and flags, wearing shirts that read “Reclaim America.”
U.S. District Attorney Rachael Rollins said officials “are working hard to make sure that if there are any federal charges we can bring or if there are any state charges that can be brought — we will be looking at this. We don’t want to wait until there’s violence. If there are threats we will charge those as well.”
They will not yet release the information shared at the briefing to the public. Joseph R. Bonavolonta, the Special Agent in Charge, told reporters at the presser that the government cannot track or monitor domestic groups based on their ideology, but can take action based on the threat or execution of violence.
Officials said they plan to question officers’ actions during the march, asking themselves “if this was a Black Lives Matter protest, would the response have been different than this white supremacist group?”
Black community leaders in Boston marked the Fourth of July by denouncing racism and showing support for a man who says he was assaulted by Patriot Front members.
Police say a Black man reported that he was assaulted during the march, after the man said he was trying to record the group on his cellphone. In the police report sent to ABC News by Boston Police Department officials, the man said Patriot Front members with shields began to surround and shove him after he started to record.
When he tried to shove back in order to free himself, he was knocked to the ground, kicked and beaten, the police report said.
The man suffered lacerations to his head, arms and hands, and was treated at a nearby hospital, according to the report. No arrests have been made.
The man later identified himself as Charles Murrell, an artist and social justice organizer. He spoke Monday at a gathering of Black leaders and urged listeners to attend local events about race, diversity and justice.
“There are ambassadors, artists, and people who care about the city and the image of this city, that have been doing the work, and we are inviting you to come share space with us,” Murrell said.
Mawakana Onifade, a friend and mentor of Murrell, said, “We will always stand in the face of the new Klan, there’s no mistake about this. When one covers one’s face, we know what is behind that.”
Local Black leaders called Patriot Front the “children of the KKK.”
“We’re not surprised. Boston has had a long legacy of racism,” said Reverend Kevin Peterson. “In fact, the city was founded on racism. Slaves were imported here. And that legacy continues into 2022.”
Leaders are calling on Wu to act quickly against the spread of hateful and dangerous ideologies.
“We can’t look at this as the new age. This is the old age that needs to be dismantled,” said Onifade. “Mayor Wu, what are you going to really do besides the words that we have been reading about. What is the call to action? Where is the accountability?”
Wu has condemned the march, tweeting that the “disgusting hate of white supremacists has no place here.”
In a statement, Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn warned about growing white supremacist sentiment in the region.
“It is wholly repugnant to once again read reports and see videos on social media about dozens of Neo Nazis making another brazen public display with their hateful ideology,” Flynn wrote. “They have continued to make their presence known, most recently in March at the St. Patrick’s Day parade,” when Patriot Front members reportedly held up a “Keep Boston Irish” banner.
Wu said the investigation into the latest incident is ongoing and is being spearheaded by the city’s Civil Rights Unit. Because Patriot Front members had their face covered, officials at the Tuesday press conference say it adds a layer of difficulty to cracking the case. However, law enforcement officials say they are still looking for the culprits, even if they came to the city from out of state.
“We’re looking into their identities and there already has been some information shared in various parts about the national leaders of this group who were part of this effort, who were in town, were present at the recent events as this group has gone to terrorize other communities as well,” Wu said in a Monday news conference on the incident.
(CHICAGO) — Authorities believe Monday’s mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, had been planned for weeks, and they say more than 70 rounds were fired from the gunman’s high-powered rifle, which was similar to an AR-15.
The 21-year-old suspect, Robert “Bobby” Crimo III, is accused of opening fire from a roof of a business, which he accessed from a fire escape ladder, police said.
Six people were killed and over 30 were injured in the suburban Chicago shooting.
Police said Crimo wore women’s clothing during the shooting to apparently allow him to hide his facial tattoos and blend in with the crowd to flee.
“Following the attack Crimo exited the roof, he dropped his rifle and he blended in with the crowd and he escaped,” police said Tuesday. “He walked to his mother’s home who lived in the area and he blended right in with everybody else.”
It appears Crimo bought the high-powered rifle legally in Illinois, police said.
No motive is known, police said. When asked by reporters if the gunman targeted anyone specifically, police said the “shooting appears to be completely random.”
Crimo is answering questions from investigators and has made statements taking responsibility for the attack, according to multiple law enforcement sources.
Crimo — who was apprehended Monday evening after an hours-long manhunt — is believed to be linked to social media posts that discuss or depict acts of violence, including shooting people, a law enforcement source briefed on the case told ABC News.
Online posts include a video showing what appears to be a portion of the same parade route where the shooting took place.
In a video posted over a year ago to his YouTube page, Crimo is shown in what appears to be a depiction of the aftermath of a school shooting.
Crimo had been living with his uncle, Paul Crimo, but the two barely interacted beyond exchanging hellos, Paul Crimo told ABC News.
Paul Crimo said he last spoke to his nephew the evening before the shooting and said he was shocked to learn about his alleged involvement.
He described his nephew as quiet and respectful and said the 21-year-old never mentioned firearms.
The mass shooting broke out when Highland Park’s parade was about three-quarters of the way through Monday morning, authorities said.
Revelers fled in panic, leaving behind empty strollers, overturned chairs and half-eaten sandwiches.
When the gunfire erupted, parade-goer Zoe Nicole Pawelczak grabbed her dad and started running through the sea of people.
“I saw multiple people slaughtered,” she told ABC News.
“Everybody is crying. We ended up making it behind a corner and we hid behind a dumpster. This man was there with his two very young children and he had put them in the dumpster for safety,” she said.
Pawelczak said the man wanted to leave to find his other son, and asked her to watch the two children in the dumpster.
“So I watched his kids for him,” she said. “They were like, ‘What’s going on?’ And I was like, ‘It’s just fireworks, it’s OK,’ just trying to keep them calm.”
Dr. David Baum was watching his grandson, daughter and son-in-law march in the parade when the gunfire began.
“Bodies were horribly, horribly, horribly injured from, you know, guns and bullets that were made for war — not for parades,” Baum said of some of the victims.
“The paramedics went quickly and assessed the damages — saw bodies that were blown apart and put a blanket over them quickly. And then went on to try and help other people,” he told ABC News. “These are injuries that nobody should have to see.”
Five people — all adults — died at the scene and a sixth adult died at a hospital, officials said.
Crimo was at large for hours after the shooting. After police released an image of Crimo and his car Monday evening, he was spotted driving and led police on a brief pursuit, authorities said.
He was stopped at U.S. Highway 41 and Westleigh Road in Lake Forest, Illinois, where he surrendered, according to police.
A second weapon, also purchased legally by Crimo, was found in the car, police said.
President Joe Biden said in a statement that he “surged Federal law enforcement to assist in the urgent search for the shooter.”
“Members of the community should follow guidance from leadership on the ground, and I will monitor closely as we learn more about those whose lives have been lost and pray for those who are in the hospital with grievous injuries,” Biden said.
He noted that he recently signed into law the most significant gun control legislation in decades, adding, “But there is much more work to do, and I’m not going to give up fighting the epidemic of gun violence.”
Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement, “On what should be a celebratory day with family and friends, we are grieving the lives that were taken in another act of senseless gun violence.”
“More should be done to address gun violence in our country,” she said. “President Biden recently signed into law the first major bipartisan gun reform legislation in almost 30 years — and we will continue fighting to end this senseless violence.”
An impassioned Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said, “It is devastating that a celebration of America was ripped apart by our uniquely American plague. A day dedicated to freedom has put into stark relief the one freedom we as a nation refuse to uphold: the freedom of our fellow citizens to live without the daily fear of gun violence.”
“I’m furious that yet more innocent lives were taken by gun violence. I’m furious that their loved ones are forever broken by what took place today. I’m furious that children and their families have been traumatized,” he said. “While we celebrate the Fourth of July just once a year, mass shootings have become our weekly — yes, weekly — American tradition. There are going to be people who say that today is not the day that now is not the time, to talk about guns. I’m telling you there is no better day and no better time than right here and right now.”
“Our founders carried muskets, not assault weapons. And I don’t think a single one of them would have said that you have a Constitutional right to an assault weapon with a high-capacity magazine — or that that is more important than the right of the people who attended this parade today to live,” the governor said.
Representatives of the gun reform group March For Our Lives, founded by survivors of the 2018 high school mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, said in a statement, “Just three weeks ago, young people organized a March For Our Lives in Highland Park, along with communities across the country.”
“We are grieving for the horrific loss of life in Highland Park, and the carnage brought on by a high-powered rifle,” they said. “We wish eternal peace for those who were murdered, and we will fight like hell for the living.”
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is among the leaders reacting to the nation’s latest mass shooting, tweeting, “Not even a parade on the Fourth of July celebrating our nation’s independence is immune from our nation’s gun violence epidemic. Tomorrow, I will sign seven sweeping commonsense gun safety bills into law. We cannot wait.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement that the U.S. must “address the epidemic of targeted gun violence, including the development and implementation of new community-based models of prevention and intervention.”
“The Department of Homeland Security will redouble its work in this critical area and help lead the effort to prevent violence,” he vowed.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Josh Margolin, Pierre Thomas, Aaron Katersky, Alex Perez, Jack Date, Will Steakin, Jeff Cook, Will McDuffie and Caroline Guthrie contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Three people were killed and 21 were wounded in shootings in New York City. Authorities reported 14 separate shootings from Monday into Tuesday morning.
In one incident on Monday, three men were shot, two fatally, inside the Spring Creek Food Mart in Brooklyn just after 11:35 p.m. A 23-year-old man was shot in the neck and a 21-year-old was shot in the head, both of whom were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the New York Police Department.
The third man, 18, is in critical condition at Brookdale University Hospital. A suspect was taken into custody at the scene and police found three guns at the bodega, according to police.
John Edwards, 62, was fatally shot in the Bronx in a separate incident. He suffered a gunshot wound to the chest, police said. Edwards was transported to Saint Barnabas Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to police.
The second victim, a 23-year-old male with a gunshot wound to the right leg, was also transported to Saint Barnabas Hospital and is in stable condition. A third victim, a 26-year-old male with a gunshot wound to the right arm, is listed in stable condition. There have been no arrests and an investigation is ongoing.
Edwards was not the target of the shooting, according to police.
There have been 213 homicides in the city so far this year, down 10.12% from 237 homicides last year, according to the NYPD.
The shootings come as a gunman opened fire at a parade in Highland Park, Illinois, killing six people and seriously injuring 24 others. Another July 4 shooting in Wisconsin left one person dead and four injured.
(KENOSHA, Wis.) — One person has died and four people have been seriously injured in a Fourth of July shooting at a residence in Kenosha, Wisconsin, police said.
The incident occurred at approximately 10:20 p.m. at a home in the 6300 block of 25th Avenue when authorities responded to reports of a shooting at the house and encountered a “chaotic scene with obvious evidence of multiple gunshots being fired,” according to a statement released by the City of Kenosha Police Department.
“There were five victims from this shooting, all adults,” authorities continued. “One of the victims is deceased. The other four victims were transported to local hospitals with two being transferred to Milwaukee area hospitals due to serious injuries.”
As of now, the Kenosha Police Department say there is no known motive, no suspects in custody and that the investigation into the shooting is “open and active.”
Police are asking for cooperation with the public and are urging anyone with information to contact the Kenosha Police Detective Bureau at (262) 605-5203 or the Kenosha Area Crime Stoppers at (262) 656-7333.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(CHICAGO, ILLANOIS) — Authorities are combing through social media posts they believe are associated with the 22-year-old person of interest in Monday’s mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
Six people were killed and about 24 others were seriously hurt in the suburban Chicago shooting, which police described as a “random act of violence.”
It appears the gunman fired from a roof where a high-powered rifle was recovered, police said.
Person of interest Robert “Bobby” Crimo III — who was apprehended Monday evening after an hours-long manhunt — is believed to be linked to social media posts that discuss or depict acts of violence, including shooting people, a law enforcement source briefed on the case told ABC News.
Analysts say Crimo appears to have had an extensive online presence that was littered with signs of hatred, mental health issues and a gravitation toward hard-right and neo-fascist ideologies.
The mass shooting broke out when Highland Park’s parade was about three-quarters of the way through Monday morning, authorities said. Revelers fled in panic, leaving behind empty strollers, overturned chairs and half-eaten sandwiches.
Police ran toward the shots but the gunman had already fled, Lake County Sheriff Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said at a news conference.
When the gunfire erupted, parade-goer Zoe Nicole Pawelczak grabbed her dad and started running through the sea of people.
“I saw multiple people slaughtered,” she told ABC News.
“Everybody is crying. We ended up making it behind a corner and we hid behind a dumpster. This man was there with his two very young children and he had put them in the dumpster for safety,” she said.
Pawelczak said the man wanted to leave to find his other son, and asked her to watch the two children in the dumpster.
“So I watched his kids for him,” she said. “They were like, ‘What’s going on?’ And I was like, ‘It’s just fireworks, it’s OK,’ just trying to keep them calm.”
Dr. David Baum was watching his grandson, daughter and son-in-law march in the parade when the gunfire began.
“Bodies were horribly, horribly, horribly injured from, you know, guns and bullets that were made for war — not for parades,” Baum said of some of the victims.
“The paramedics went quickly and assessed the damages — saw bodies that were blown apart and put a blanket over them quickly. And then went on to try and help other people,” he told ABC News. “These are injuries that nobody should have to see.”
Five people — all adults — died at the scene and a sixth victim died at a hospital, said Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek.
The NorthShore University Health System said it received a total of 31 patients; most suffered gunshot wounds and a few were hurt in the chaos. At least one child was critically injured, Highland Park Fire Chief Joe Schrage said.
Crimo was at large for hours after the shooting. After police released an image of Crimo and his car Monday evening, he was spotted driving and led police on a brief pursuit, authorities said.
He was stopped at U.S. Highway 41 and Westleigh Road in Lake Forest, Illinois, where he surrendered, according to police.
The neighboring suburb of Evanston canceled its own Fourth of July parade in the wake of the shooting, Evanston police said.
President Joe Biden said in a statement that he “surged Federal law enforcement to assist in the urgent search for the shooter.”
“Members of the community should follow guidance from leadership on the ground, and I will monitor closely as we learn more about those whose lives have been lost and pray for those who are in the hospital with grievous injuries,” Biden said.
He noted that he recently signed into law the most significant gun control legislation in decades, adding, “But there is much more work to do, and I’m not going to give up fighting the epidemic of gun violence.”
Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement, “On what should be a celebratory day with family and friends, we are grieving the lives that were taken in another act of senseless gun violence.”
“More should be done to address gun violence in our country,” she said. “President Biden recently signed into law the first major bipartisan gun reform legislation in almost 30 years — and we will continue fighting to end this senseless violence.”
In an impassioned statement Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said, “There are no words for the kind of monster who lives in wait and fires into a crowd of families with children celebrating a holiday with their community. There are no words for the kind of evil that robs our neighbors of their hopes, their dreams, their futures.”
“Prayers alone will not put a stop to the terror of rampant gun violence in our country,” the governor wrote. “We must — and we will — end this plague of gun violence.”
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) July 4, 2022
Representatives of the gun reform group March For Our Lives, founded by survivors of the 2018 high school mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, said in a statement, “Just three weeks ago, young people organized a March For Our Lives in Highland Park, along with communities across the country.”
“We are grieving for the horrific loss of life in Highland Park, and the carnage brought on by a high-powered rifle,” they said. “We wish eternal peace for those who were murdered, and we will fight like hell for the living.”
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is among the leaders reacting to the nation’s latest mass shooting, tweeting, “Not even a parade on the Fourth of July celebrating our nation’s independence is immune from our nation’s gun violence epidemic. Tomorrow, I will sign seven sweeping commonsense gun safety bills into law. We cannot wait.”
Law enforcement has long been concerned about gunmen firing from elevated positions, which police say can give them a strategic advantage.
The deadliest example of that is the 2017 Las Vegas massacre, during which the shooter took up a window position in the Mandalay Bay hotel. Fifty-nine people were killed in what became the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
In the wake of the Vegas massacre, law enforcement around the country placed a greater emphasis on securing elevated locations surrounding public events, but police have acknowledged how daunting a task it is to secure all such positions.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Josh Margolin, Pierre Thomas, Alex Perez, Jack Date, Will McDuffie and Caroline Guthrie contributed to this report.
(CHICAGO) — Authorities are combing through social media posts they believe are associated with the 22-year-old person of interest in Monday’s mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
Six people were killed and about 24 others were seriously hurt in the suburban Chicago shooting, which police described as a “random act of violence.”
It appears the gunman fired from a roof where a high-powered rifle was recovered, police said.
Person of interest Robert “Bobby” Crimo III — who was apprehended Monday evening after an hours-long manhunt — is believed to be linked to social media posts that discuss or depict acts of violence, including shooting people, a law enforcement source briefed on the case told ABC News.
Analysts say Crimo appears to have had an extensive online presence that was littered with signs of hatred, mental health issues and a gravitation toward hard-right and neo-fascist ideologies.
The mass shooting broke out when Highland Park’s parade was about three-quarters of the way through Monday morning, authorities said. Revelers fled in panic, leaving behind empty strollers, overturned chairs and half-eaten sandwiches.
Police ran toward the shots but the gunman had already fled, Lake County Sheriff Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said at a news conference.
When the gunfire erupted, parade-goer Zoe Nicole Pawelczak grabbed her dad and started running through the sea of people.
“I saw multiple people slaughtered,” she told ABC News.
“Everybody is crying. We ended up making it behind a corner and we hid behind a dumpster. This man was there with his two very young children and he had put them in the dumpster for safety,” she said.
Pawelczak said the man wanted to leave to find his other son, and asked her to watch the two children in the dumpster.
“So I watched his kids for him,” she said. “They were like, ‘What’s going on?’ And I was like, ‘It’s just fireworks, it’s OK,’ just trying to keep them calm.”
Dr. David Baum was watching his grandson, daughter and son-in-law march in the parade when the gunfire began.
“Bodies were horribly, horribly, horribly injured from, you know, guns and bullets that were made for war — not for parades,” Baum said of some of the victims.
“The paramedics went quickly and assessed the damages — saw bodies that were blown apart and put a blanket over them quickly. And then went on to try and help other people,” he told ABC News. “These are injuries that nobody should have to see.”
Five people — all adults — died at the scene and a sixth victim died at a hospital, said Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek.
The NorthShore University Health System said it received a total of 31 patients; most suffered gunshot wounds and a few were hurt in the chaos. At least one child was critically injured, Highland Park Fire Chief Joe Schrage said.
Crimo was at large for hours after the shooting. After police released an image of Crimo and his car Monday evening, he was spotted driving and led police on a brief pursuit, authorities said.
He was stopped at U.S. Highway 41 and Westleigh Road in Lake Forest, Illinois, where he surrendered, according to police.
The neighboring suburb of Evanston canceled its own Fourth of July parade in the wake of the shooting, Evanston police said.
President Joe Biden said in a statement that he “surged Federal law enforcement to assist in the urgent search for the shooter.”
“Members of the community should follow guidance from leadership on the ground, and I will monitor closely as we learn more about those whose lives have been lost and pray for those who are in the hospital with grievous injuries,” Biden said.
He noted that he recently signed into law the most significant gun control legislation in decades, adding, “But there is much more work to do, and I’m not going to give up fighting the epidemic of gun violence.”
Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement, “On what should be a celebratory day with family and friends, we are grieving the lives that were taken in another act of senseless gun violence.”
“More should be done to address gun violence in our country,” she said. “President Biden recently signed into law the first major bipartisan gun reform legislation in almost 30 years — and we will continue fighting to end this senseless violence.”
In an impassioned statement Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said, “There are no words for the kind of monster who lives in wait and fires into a crowd of families with children celebrating a holiday with their community. There are no words for the kind of evil that robs our neighbors of their hopes, their dreams, their futures.”
“Prayers alone will not put a stop to the terror of rampant gun violence in our country,” the governor wrote. “We must — and we will — end this plague of gun violence.”
Representatives of the gun reform group March For Our Lives, founded by survivors of the 2018 high school mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, said in a statement, “Just three weeks ago, young people organized a March For Our Lives in Highland Park, along with communities across the country.”
“We are grieving for the horrific loss of life in Highland Park, and the carnage brought on by a high-powered rifle,” they said. “We wish eternal peace for those who were murdered, and we will fight like hell for the living.”
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is among the leaders reacting to the nation’s latest mass shooting, tweeting, “Not even a parade on the Fourth of July celebrating our nation’s independence is immune from our nation’s gun violence epidemic. Tomorrow, I will sign seven sweeping commonsense gun safety bills into law. We cannot wait.”
Law enforcement has long been concerned about gunmen firing from elevated positions, which police say can give them a strategic advantage.
The deadliest example of that is the 2017 Las Vegas massacre, during which the shooter took up a window position in the Mandalay Bay hotel. Fifty-nine people were killed in what became the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
In the wake of the Vegas massacre, law enforcement around the country placed a greater emphasis on securing elevated locations surrounding public events, but police have acknowledged how daunting a task it is to secure all such positions.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Josh Margolin, Pierre Thomas, Alex Perez, Jack Date, Will McDuffie and Caroline Guthrie contributed to this report.
David Barnes is seen in an undated photo provided by his family. – Courtesy Carol Barnes
(HUNTSVILLE, Ala.) — A Texas man who has spent more than five months in a Russian detention center is facing a different challenge from other recent American detainees such as Trevor Reed and Brittney Griner, as authorities in Moscow are accusing him of wrongdoing in his home country.
David Barnes, a Huntsville, Alabama, native who has lived in the Houston area in recent years, was taken into custody by law enforcement in Moscow in January and has been incarcerated on Russian soil ever since.
“If I could go over there and just sit in that place with him, I would do it in a minute, because this is the most unjust situation I’ve ever experienced in my entire life,” Carol Barnes, David’s older sister, told ABC News. “I feel like part of me is missing.”
David Barnes was in Russia attempting to gain legal clearance to either see his children or bring them home, after his Russian ex-wife allegedly violated a court custody order and fled the United States with them, his family says.
On Jan. 13, Russian investigators apprehended Barnes in Moscow, accusing him of abusing his two children years earlier in Texas, according to translations of court documents. Similar allegations against Barnes were brought to authorities in Texas by his now-ex-wife Svetlana Koptyaeva during their long and acrimonious divorce proceedings. The allegations were investigated in 2018 by the Department of Family and Protective Services, which found insufficient evidence to support them and closed the case without any findings of abuse or any charges against Barnes.
Barnes’ ex-wife is herself now wanted in the U.S. on a felony charge of interference with child custody, after she fled with the children in 2019.
“His mission was to save his children,” Carol Barnes said. “His mission all along has not been really revenge against her at all.”
With her brother locked up abroad in a country that is currently fighting a war in Ukraine that has lead to a diplomatic dispute with the United States, Carol Barnes says she worries about his future.
“I’ve never been so sad and so hurt,” she said. “All I think about is the conditions that he’s living in.”
Making ‘examples out of U.S. citizens’
For much of his time in Russia, David Barnes has been in Moscow’s Detention Center 5, according to his family. He is not the only American — or even the only Texan — who has been held there in recent years.
Trevor Reed, a former Marine from Texas, was arrested by Russian authorities in 2019 and sentenced to nine years in prison. After being accused of assaulting two police officers in Moscow, Reed spent part of his time behind bars in Detention Center 5.
After Reed’s case gained widespread publicity in the U.S., he was released by Russian authorities in April in exchange for a Russian man who was being held in Connecticut on a federal drug trafficking conviction.
In an interview with ABC News, Reed described his pretrial Russian detention facility as rat-infested and “extremely dirty.”
“It took Trevor Reed three years to get out and his alleged crime was much less severe than what David is being accused of,” Carol Barnes said. “We’re talking about Russia. They’re going to make examples out of U.S. citizens.”
Another Texan, Brittney Griner, is still being held by Russian law enforcement in the Moscow area. The WNBA star and Olympic gold medalist was arrested at an airport after Russian authorities alleged that she had vape cartridges with hashish oil in her luggage, but the U.S. government says Griner is being “wrongfully detained.”
Barnes had been living in Texas since 2007, working initially as a design engineer for an Alabama-based software company’s Houston office.
Houston is where he met Svetlana Koptyaeva, who was also living there for work. The two would go on to marry and have two sons, at least one of whom has dual Russian and American citizenship.
“I saw a difference in him when he had those two children,” Carol Barnes said. “His boys were his only focus in this life.”
Svetlana Barnes filed a petition for divorce in 2014, and over the next five years, a lengthy and ugly custody battle ensued between the two parents, resulting in a jury trial and numerous court hearings in Texas.
“It was horrible,” David Barnes’ younger sister Margaret Aaron said. “She tried everything she could to take the children from him and to get sole control, and he fought her tooth and nail.”
Of Barnes’ two children, Carol Barnes said, “He wanted them — even though their parents were divorcing — to have two parents. He thought that children should be raised by two parents’ influence.”
Paul Carter, a lifelong friend of David Barnes who is also divorced with two sons, said the struggle between Barnes and his ex-wife became “a cascading series of events” stemming from “her desire to not have David in any part of their lives.”
“My boys are everything,” Carter said. “Watching my sons grow up has been a wonderful experience. I’ve wanted so much for David to have that.”
‘Completely and totally devastated’
In early 2019, as part of a custody arrangement, Svetlana Barnes was expected to bring the children to an agreed-upon meeting point so David Barnes could have the boys for a few days.
However, she never showed with the children. According to law enforcement records, David Barnes called the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office multiple times to ask for welfare checks on the two boys.
“She was a flight risk and somehow was able to flee with the passports,” Carter said. “I think that’s a real travesty. It’s a real breakdown of the system.”
By April 6, 2019, the FBI was able to track Svetlana Barnes to Turkey, according to a criminal complaint.
“He was completely and totally devastated,” Aaron said. “He had gotten their room ready at his apartment and bought them toys, and he was just so happy that they were going to come back to him, and then they were gone. He was crushed.”
In August 2020, a judge in Montgomery County signed an order designating David Barnes as the sole managing conservator of his children, which gave him rights to decide the primary home for his children, make decisions regarding their education, represent them in legal actions, and possess their passports.
Yet despite the order, the two boys were nowhere to be found in the U.S. and Barnes was unable to reestablish contact with them.
His family said he had a gut feeling about where the children had ended up.
“He was pretty certain what had happened, that [Svetlana] had taken them back to Russia,” Aaron said. “He knew that she would probably do this if she had the opportunity.”
Svetlana Barnes was eventually traced to her homeland, with court-appointed receiver Robert Berleth writing in a November 2020 report, “It is understood by the Receiver the Defendant has fled to Russia and has no intention of returning” to her home in Texas.
Carol Barnes said that after locating and hiring an attorney in Moscow, her brother decided to fly there in December 2021 to see if he could secure at least partial custody or limited rights to visitation with his children in Russian court.
“Society doesn’t consider fathers to be as important as mothers,” Carol Barnes said. “They don’t take into consideration that maybe there are fathers out there that are willing to fight for their children.”
Not long after David Barnes arrived in Moscow and rented a room near where Svetlana Barnes was believed to be living, the former spouses ran into each other, according to Carol Barnes, who alleges that the ex-wife then contacted Russian authorities to make the same past child abuse allegations that Texas authorities could not substantiate.
David Barnes was soon arrested by law enforcement in Moscow.
“After reviewing the decision to initiate a criminal case against me, I think that this is absurd,” court records say that David Barnes told Russian investigators during an interrogation. “I did not take the actions set forth in the decision to initiate a criminal case against me.”
“I’m sure he was panicked,” Aaron said. “You feel so helpless.”
‘It was all made up to destroy him’
David Barnes’ detention in Russia has come as news to prosecutors in the Lone Star State.
“We were not aware that Mr. Barnes was being held in a Russian detention center,” Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office Trial Bureau Chief Kelly Blackburn told ABC News when informed of Barnes’ incarceration. “At this time, there are no accusations out of Montgomery County that we are aware of that would allow Mr. Barnes to be held in custody.”
Nor have any child abuse charges been made against David Barnes in neighboring Harris County, which covers the part of Houston also referenced in Russian court documents, according to the district attorney’s office there.
A 2014 petition for divorce that was filed on Svetlana Barnes’ behalf said that “Petitioner believes that Respondent [David Barnes] has a history or pattern of sexual abuse directed against” one of the children, but did not go into detail.
“There was not a lot of information in 2014,” Carol Barnes said. “All I remember from talking to David was she started accusing him of some kind of abuse, but there was nothing definitive really said.”
In 2017, a settlement agreement between David and Svetlana Barnes noted in part that Svetlana Barnes was “to refrain from making statements, either written or oral, to any third party, alleging that … [David Barnes] … molested his minor child and/or engaged in improper sexual contact with his minor child” — though she did not waive any legal reporting duties.
An incident report from a constable’s office in Montgomery County said that law enforcement interviewed Svetlana Barnes and the children in 2018 regarding sexual assault concerns that she reported. A search warrant was subsequently executed on David Barnes’ apartment in The Woodlands, but no charges were ever filed.
“I know my brother. I know that he loved his children and he would never do those things that she has accused him of,” Aaron said. “It was all made up to destroy him and to get the children away from him.”
While David Barnes is not currently facing criminal charges in Texas, the same cannot be said for Svetlana Barnes, who was indicted in 2019 for interference with child custody, a felony.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office alleged that despite a judgment allowing David Barnes to have partial custody of the two children, Svetlana Barnes “failed to comply with any condition for travel outside of the United States with the children,” and left the country with the boys on a Turkish Airlines flight from Houston to Istanbul on March 26, 2019.
“Svetlana Barnes still has yet to be arrested on the charge of interference with child custody, and the warrant for her arrest is still active,” Blackburn said.
Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, considers March 26, 2019, to be the date on which the children disappeared. The organization, which published yellow global police notices containing pictures of the boys, still considers them missing.
In an attempt to reach Svetlana Barnes for comment, ABC News sent an email to an address previously associated with her, but received an unsigned response from the email account that stated in part, “as her attorney I won’t recommend her talking to you.”
‘I want to see his release’
The news that David Barnes is being detained in Russia has prompted calls for his release from many of those closest to him, including his employer.
“We continue to hope for his well-being and safe return home as soon as possible,” Philip Ivy, vice president of Houston-based engineering firm KBR, said.
David Barnes’ arrest was covered by state media outlets in Russia, but has not previously made headlines in the U.S.
In the months since he was taken into custody, Barnes has been visited by representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, according to emails between his family and the State Department. A trial date has not yet been scheduled and his future remains uncertain.
“We are aware of reports of the arrest of a U.S. citizen in Moscow,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson told ABC News. “We take seriously our responsibility to assist U.S. citizens abroad, and are monitoring the situation. We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular services in cases where U.S. citizens are detained abroad.”
Back in Huntsville, his family and friends are hoping that he will be able to rejoin them soon.
“I want to see his release,” said his sister Margaret Aaron. “He is being held there as guilty until they can prove him innocent, but there’s nothing to hold him there, there’s no evidence of anything, [and] he did not do anything. We would like some action taken for his freedom.”
“President Biden, if you could help David in any way, God bless you,” said his friend Paul Carter. “We want him back.”
ABC News’ Patrick Linehan contributed to this report.
(AKRON, Ohio) — Ohio police officials released officer body-camera footage of a 25-year-old Black man killed in a hail of bullets fired by eight officers while he was unarmed and running away.
As Jayland Walker’s family has demanded answers about the circumstances of last week’s killing, which authorities said occurred following a police chase, large protests have erupted in Akron, Ohio, with demonstrators marching on the city’s police headquarters.
Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan and Police Chief Steve Mylett, during a news conference Sunday afternoon, joined the Walker family in calling for peaceful protests and for patience as the investigation continues in the man’s death.
“When an officer makes the most critical decision in his or her life as a police officer, it doesn’t matter where in the country this happens, when they make that most critical decision to point their firearm at another human being and pull the trigger, they’ve got to be ready to explain why they did what they did,” Mylett said Sunday. “They need to be able to articulate what specific threats they were facing, and that goes for every round that goes down the barrel of their gun.”
Mylett began the news conference by expressing his “deepest sympathies to Jayland’s family” and apologized for their loss.
“I cannot imagine the sense of loss, the pain they are going through right now,” Mylett said. “I want to personally thank you for the way in which you have been dealing with this situation. You have asked for peace in an environment that is rife for aggression and violence. If Jayland reflects the character of this family, which I continually heard that he did, you raised a good son.”
Before the body-camera footage was shown, Horrigan said he was “beyond outraged” at the situation, and told reporters that “the video you are about to watch is heartbreaking.”
Akron police officials said the fatal incident unfolded about 12:30 a.m. on June 27 in Akron’s North Hill neighborhood when officers attempted to pull over Walker for a traffic violation and an equipment violation with his car. Police said the driver allegedly refused to stop, setting off a chase that ended in his death.
Police officials played footage from two police body-camera videos, the first showing police pursuing Walker’s silver Buick onto Route 8 in Akron.
The video showed the Buick taking an onramp and a flash of light that Mylett said appeared to be the muzzle flash of a gun coming from the driver’s side of Walker’s car. Police officials also released freeze frames of the flash coming from the vehicle’s window.
A second body-camera video recorded officers radioing that they heard at least one shot being fired from Walker’s car. The video also shows the officer following the Buick off Route 8 and continuing the pursuit on side streets.
At one point, Walker slowed down and jumped out of the vehicle before it came to a full stop. The footage showed a man, who police said was Walker, exiting the car’s passenger side door wearing a ski mask.
Multiple officers are seen in the footage running after Walker, who appeared to look over his shoulder as officers fired their weapons at him.
Mylett said he has watched the video at least 40 times and said there are still photos showing Walker appear to reach for his waistband, turn toward the officers and move an arm forward.
Mylett said Walker’s face and body were blurred out in the video shown to the public at the request of the Walker family.
The chief said he is reserving further comment on the video and judgment on the incident until the Ohio Bureau of Investigation completes its probe.
In an earlier statement, Akron police officials said, the “actions by the suspect caused the officers to perceive he posed a deadly threat to them. In response to this threat, officers discharged their firearms, striking the suspect.”
Despite the shooting occurring seven days ago, Mylett said none of the officers have been interviewed by investigators. The chief said the police union president has assured him that all of the officers involved in the shooting will fully cooperate.
The officers involved in the shooting are on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation being led by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Following the news conference, Bobby DiCello, an attorney for Walker’s family, said the key fact of the case, which Mylett confirmed, is that Walker was unarmed when he was killed.
Mylett said while the video confirmed that Walker was unarmed when he was shot, he said the footage also captured a handgun with a separate loaded magazine and what appears to be a gold wedding band left on the driver’s seat of Walker’s car.
The body-camera videos were released in accordance with a city law passed last year requiring police body-camera footage be made public seven days after an officer’s use of force resulted in death or great bodily injury.
DiCello said the videos show Walker did not pose a threat to the officers when they fired more than 60 shots.
“You can see his hands as he is running on the video,” DiCello told ABC News’ Good Morning America after watching the video before it was made public.
He said the first two Akron police officers to engage Walker, deployed their stun guns. Mylett confirm that officers deployed Tasers, but they had no effect.
“Why do eight men shoot him, mostly from behind, as he’s running away?” DiCello told GMA of the troubling list of questions he has over the shooting.
DiCello said he saw no evidence in the video he reviewed of Walker posing a threat to the officers.
“Just sprinting away from these men, he is shot as he starts to turn and look over his shoulder,” DiCello said.
Walker’s aunt, LaJuana Dawkins, told GMA, “We’d like to know why he was shot down like a dog.”
DiCello said Sunday that Walker was saddened over the recent death of his girlfriend, but relatives told him they did not notice anything about his behavior that would have led them to believe he would allegedly lead police on a chase or shoot at officers.
DiCello accused Mylett of playing “armchair quarterback” during Sunday’s news conference without knowledge of all the facts.
“I’m disappointed. They want to turn him into a masked monster with a gun,” DiCello said. “He wasn’t a criminal, he was obviously in pain. He didn’t deserve to die.”
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost attempted to assure the public on Sunday that the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation “will conduct a complete, fair and expert investigation.”
“People want and deserve answers, and they shall have them,” Yost said in a statement. “Body-worn camera footage is just one view of the whole picture — before drawing conclusions, the full review must take place.”
He said the investigative file will be made public at the conclusion of the case and people will be able to review it online.
“The goal is the truth, and we need to talk to anyone who knows anything,” Yost said. “Silence will never produce justice.”
(BATTLECREEK, Mich.) — One person is dead after an accident during the “pyrotechnic portion” of an air show in Michigan, police said.
The incident occurred Saturday shortly after 1 p.m. at the Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show and Balloon Festival, held at Battle Creek Executive Airport.
Chris Darnell, 40, died while driving a race truck dubbed the Shockwave Jet Truck during the air show, police said in an update Saturday evening. The accident is under investigation.
Dramatic video by attendees of the air show captured the truck racing two aircraft on the runway before the accident occurred. A small fire behind the truck can be seen as the vehicle slides past a large fireball and crashes.
“Oh boy, we’ve got an incident here with our Shockwave out here at Air Show Center,” the announcer can be heard saying following the accident.
The Battle Creek Fire Department, Battle Creek Police Department and Federal Aviation Administration responded to the scene, police said.
Police have not released any further information amid the investigation.
The remainder of Saturday’s air show was canceled “out of respect for the incident that has occurred,” Battle Creek Field of Flight said in a statement. Saturday evening’s activities were scheduled to resume at the festival, which runs through Monday.
Shockwave, a custom-built race truck, is owned by Darnell Racing Enterprises, based in Springfield, Missouri. ABC News has reached out to the company for comment.
The truck, which was equipped with three flame-shooting jet engines, was capable of racing at over 350 mph, according to its owners. It frequently appeared at air show and drag racing exhibitions across the country.
Darnell was involved in motorsports “his entire life,” according to a bio on Darnell Racing’s website, and worked with his father in the business.
In a Facebook post Sunday, Neal Darnell described his son as a “family man” who leaves behind a wife and two daughters.
“We have lost our youngest son Chris in an accident doing what he loved; performing with Shockwave,” Neal Darnell wrote. “Chris so loved life and his huge air show and drag racing family.”
