William J. Ryan is seen in this undated photo. – City of Newburgh Police Department via Facebook
(NEWBURGH, N.Y.) — A man was arrested Tuesday following an alleged racist road rage incident against a father and son in Newburgh, New York.
Robert Mclymore, who is Black, told New York ABC station that he slowed to let a car pass in front of him on June 11. William Ryan, 60, a white man, was driving behind him and began shouting racist slurs at Mclymore, who was driving with his son.
Ryan began waving a box cutter at the two of them and tried to rear-end the car, according to Mclymore.
The driver allegedly followed Mclymore into a restaurant parking lot and claimed to be an off-duty trooper while giving Mclymore the middle finger, he said. Mclymore caught the incident on his cellphone.
Mclymore told WABC that he is actually a police lieutenant and pastor in the neighboring town of Wallkill.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” Mclymore told WABC about the incident. “I couldn’t believe the racial epithets, him saying that he was a cop or a trooper, most of all him doing what he did and he’s an older gentleman.”
Ryan has been charged with second-degree menacing as a hate crime, a Class E felony, according to the Newburgh Police Department. He is being held in police custody until his arraignment on Wednesday evening.
“There is no place for hate in our community,” Newburgh Police Chief Anthony Geraci wrote in a statement. “Mr. Ryan will be held accountable for his criminal actions and deplorable speech. His racists (sic) threats were not only harmful to the victim in this case but echoes deep within our City.”
(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — Federal hate crime charges were announced against the Buffalo mass shooting suspect as Attorney General Merrick Garland arrived in the city Wednesday to meet with survivors and the families of the 10 victims.
Payton Gendron, 18, is accused of storming aTops grocery store on May 14 and gunning down 10 people, all of whom were Black, in an alleged hate crime.
At one point Gendron aimed his Bushmaster XM rifle at a white Tops employee, who was shot in the leg and injured. Gendron allegedly apologized to him before continuing the attack, Garland said at a news conference.
Gendron allegedly planned the massacre for months, including driving to the store to sketch the layout and count the number of Black people present, Garland said.
Federal prosecutors charged Gendron with a total of 26 counts of committing a hate crime resulting in death and a hate crime involving bodily injury. He’s also charged with using a firearm to commit murder during a crime of violence.
Gendron was allegedly motivated by the racist, far-right conspiracy theory known as the replacement theory and he wanted to “inspire others to commit similar attacks,” the complaint said. Markings on the rifle used in the shooting including the phrases “here’s your reparations” and “the great replacement,” the complaint said.
Garland said the Justice Department agrees with President Joe Biden that “18-year-olds should not be able to purchase a gun like this,” referring to the semi-automatic rifle used in the massacre.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke, who appeared at the news conference with Garland, added, “The Civil Rights division and the entire Justice Department will not stand by idly in the fight against white suprematist violence.” She promised, “We will pursue the perpetrators of hate crimes and hold them accountable.”
The Justice Department is also “hard at work addressing non-criminal acts of bias that rear their ugly head inside our schools, workplaces and our neighborhoods,” Clarke said, as well as addressing how to prevent hate crimes through education and awareness.
The Buffalo massacre could inspire more racially motivated attacks in the coming months, the Department of Homeland Security warned in a new report released this week.
Other charges against Gendron include 10 counts of first-degree murder and 10 counts of second-degree murder as a hate crime. The teen is the first person in state history to be charged with domestic terrorism motivated by hate. Gendron’s lawyers entered a plea of not guilty to the state charges on his behalf.
ABC News’ Alex Mallin and Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
Emily Curiel/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) — Multiple school districts in the Kansas City, Missouri, area closed their doors on Wednesday in the wake of a mass shooting threat.
The Blue Springs Police Department said someone called Tuesday morning to report a suspicious Snapchat post made by an individual “threatening ‘killing people — mass murdering.'”
No specific location was mentioned, police said, but the Blue Springs School District, the nearby Fort Osage School District and others decided to close as a precaution.
Blue Springs police said Wednesday morning that a suspect — a male former student — is in custody and charges are pending.
There’s no threat to the public, police said.
The FBI in Kansas City said it was notified of the threat but deferred further comment to Blue Springs police.
Lowell Police Department via John Guilfoil Public Relations
(LOWELL, Mass.) — A massive search for a 3-year-old Massachusetts boy who vanished from his babysitter’s yard entered its second day on Wednesday and involved nearly 200 law enforcement officers, authorities said.
The toddler, identified only as Harry, was reported missing at about 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday in Lowell, Massachusetts. Police said a search for the boy was immediately launched.
Police asked neighboring residents to search their properties, outbuildings and vehicles for the boy.
“He’s active. He likes going outside. When he’s at home, he goes to the yard and plays. He’s a healthy kid but he can’t speak. He’s trying to learn how to speak, but he can’t talk,” Harry’s father told ABC affiliate station WCVB in Boston in a phone interview.
Volunteers eager to join the search were asked by police stay away from the area around the babysitter’s home where police are focusing their efforts.
“Right now we are concentrating efforts with law enforcement personnel and we are trying not to contaminate search areas,” the Lowell Police Department said in a statement posted on Twitter Wednesday morning.
Harry was last seen wearing a long-sleeve maroon shirt and gray pants with a white stripe, police said.
Upon getting the call of the missing child, officers went to the babysitter’s home in the Pawtucketville section of northwest Lowell and immediately began searching the neighborhood. When they found no sign of the boy, they expanded the search to the nearby Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro State Forest and the Merrimack River.
Lowell Police Chief Barry Golner said Wednesday morning that investigators have found no evidence suggesting foul play in the boy’s disappearance.
“We are still treating the incident as a missing person, a missing child. All our efforts have been focused on re-searching, retracing. We brought in other assets today — the state police, we have everything from mounted units to marine units,” Golner said.
The child’s parents dropped him off at his babysitter’s house about 7 a.m. Tuesday, police said. At least one neighbor saw the child playing in his babysitter’s backyard around 9:15 a.m., police said.
Carlisle Police Chief John Fisher, president of the North Eastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council, which is assisting in the search, urged local residents with surveillance cameras, particularly those with Ring doorbells, to check their footage for any sign of the child.
“A 3-year-old of average mobility, unfortunately or fortunately, can get pretty far,” Fisher said.
Lowell police notified the community of the missing boy on Tuesday by using a reverse 911 system to contact residents and asked them to call the police immediately if they believe they have seen the boy or have information about his whereabouts.
(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — Attorney General Merrick Garland is in Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday to meet with the families of the 10 victims killed in last month’s mass shooting.
Garland will meet privately with families and survivors, visit the site of the massacre and hold a press conference.
Payton Gendron, 18, is accused of storming a Tops grocery store on May 14 and gunning down 10 people, all of whom were Black, in an alleged hate crime.
Charges against Gendron include 10 counts of first-degree murder and 10 counts of second-degree murder as a hate crime. The teen is the first person in state history to be charged with domestic terrorism motivated by hate. Gendron’s lawyers entered a plea of not guilty to all of the charges on his behalf.
Days after the massacre, Garland promised that the Justice Department would be “relentlessly investigating this as a hate crime and as a matter of racially-motivated violence extremism.”
“Confronting hate and preventing hate crimes is a moral obligation of every American if we want to continue to live in a Democracy,” he said.
The Buffalo massacre could inspire more racially motivated attacks in the coming months, the Department of Homeland Security warned in a new report released this week.
Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke have joined Garland for Wednesday’s trip.
(WASHINGTON) — In 2012, the Obama administration introduced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, protecting all eligible immigrants who came to the U.S. as children from deportation.
“DACA gave me hope,” program recipient Eddie Ramirez told ABC News. “And the biggest thing [DACA] gave me was a Social Security number with employment authorization, which allowed me to work to make money to pay for my schooling.”
Ramirez was born in Jalisco, Mexico, and arrived in the U.S. in 1994 at just 1 and a half years old. Ten years ago, in 2012, he received DACA status, ultimately enabling him to pursue his aspirations of becoming a dentist.
DACA students such as Ramirez are ineligible for federal aid, certain scholarships and internships. Limitations placed on DACA recipients drive various corporations and institutions to deny qualified individuals educational and employment opportunities due to their status.
“Not all institutions are friendly toward DACA,” Ramirez said.
During his last year of dental school, the 2017 rescission of DACA went into effect, threatening Ramirez’s citizenship status.
“It was this anxiety of am I going to be able to be a dentist,” Ramirez said. “Am I going to be able to continue practicing dentistry, everything that I went to school for?”
Ramirez is now a practicing dentist in Hillsboro, Oregon, but the future of his reality, and the life he built for himself, hangs in the balance as legislators delay policy reform that impacts his stability.
As of this year, DACA has promised security to a total of 3,467,749 applicants, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Over the past 10 years, DACA has faced many legislative challenges. Congress’ latest response to the demands of DACA recipients was U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen’s ruling last July outlawing the DACA program and closing the door on all new applicants. The Department of Justice’s appeal to that decision now makes its way to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Meanwhile, immigration reform is stalled in the Senate.
Hundreds of DACA recipients and supporters plan to rally as the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, calling on Congress to guarantee equal opportunity under DACA and the creation of a substantial pathway to citizenship.
One of those recipients is Greisa Martinez Rosas, executive director of immigrants’ rights advocacy organization United We Dream.
“What we’re seeking is permanent protection for us to be able to live without fear in our homes,” Rosas told ABC News. “To be able to drive to work without the fear of being separated from our families and be able to make plans for the future.”
Rosas met with Vice President Kamala Harris in January to stress the demands for permanent protection. She says that while “we felt heard and understood,” no action was taken to fortify a certain future for recipients.
Thousands of qualified students are vulnerable to deportation. Caught in the crossfire of the remnants of the previous administration, which Rosas described as “vehemently anti-immigrant,” and the efforts of the current administration, the realities of undocumented people remain in limbo.
Although DACA does not provide a pathway to citizenship, the last line of defense in the fight for protection is the anticipated American Dream and Promise Act. If signed into law, the bill is set to provide an official pathway to citizenship by granting permanent resident status for 10 years to qualifying undocumented immigrants.
Uncertainty for the future persists for thousands of families as they remain on standby for the outcome of oral arguments in Congress on July 6.
(EL MONTE, Calif.) — Two police officers have died after being shot in El Monte, California, Tuesday while responding to a possible stabbing at a motel, authorities said.
The El Monte Police Department said two officers “immediately took gunfire upon arrival” at the Siesta Inn.
The officers were taken to LAC-USC Medical Center, where they died of their injuries, ABC News Los Angeles station KABC-TV reported.
The suspect was also shot and died at the scene, according to KABC.
Neither the police officers nor the suspect have been identified, and additional details about the incident were not immediately available.
“There are no words to describe our grief and devastation by this senseless act as we learned about the passing of two of our police officers,” the city, police department and El Monte Police Officers Association said in a statement. “It weighs heavy on our hearts and we are sending our support to their families. We would also like to thank the El Monte community and our surrounding government agencies for the outpouring support we have received in the last few hours.”
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has taken over the investigation, the El Monte Police Department said.
(ATLANTA) — An armed man is in custody after officials say he threatened people inside a HomeGoods store in the Atlanta area.
The HomeGoods in Alpharetta, about 25 miles from Atlanta, was evacuated as were the neighboring businesses, authorities told reporters.
There were no reports of shots fired, the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety said.
“The manager came out of the office and she just told all of us to run,” one HomeGoods employee told ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB-TV.
Authorities said the suspect, who has not been identified, was located in the store and contained at 12:20 p.m. Police said negotiators tried to speak with him.
At 1:28 p.m., authorities announced that the suspect had been taken into custody.
(FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.) — Two wildfires are threatening communities near Flagstaff, Arizona, as the fire danger remains high due to dry, hot conditions.
The largest, the Pipeline Fire, has quickly swelled to over 20,100 acres since first reported on Sunday and is 0% contained. It is burning about 6 miles north of Flagstaff, with “critical” weather concerns due to warm and windy conditions, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center.
The Haywire Fire is also burning nearby, about 17 miles northeast of Flagstaff. It has grown to over 4,000 acres since first reported on Monday and merged with the smaller Double Fire and is also 0% contained.
On Monday, the Coconino County Board of Supervisors declared a state of emergency due to the Pipeline and Haywire fires.
Several communities are under evacuation and parts of the Coconino National Forest are temporarily closed due to the fires.
High winds and remote terrain have challenged the fire response, though aerial operations were seen on Tuesday. Some 500 fire personnel are working on both fires, with aerial resources including six helicopters and one fixed-wing aircraft, state officials said Tuesday.
“We are priority for all our aircraft, at least in the region if not the nation,” Aaron Graeser, incident commander for the U.S. Forest Service, told reporters Monday.
The causes of both fires are under investigation. Fire officials suspect a lightning strike caused the Haywire Fire. A 57-year-old man was arrested by U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officers for “federal natural resource violations” in connection with the Pipeline Fire, according to the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office.
Federal court records show Matthew Riser was charged with building a prohibited fire, residing on national forest lands and possession of a controlled substance (marijuana).
Riser allegedly lit toilet paper on fire in the Coconino National Forest around noon on Saturday. The Pipeline Fire was reported the following day at around 10:30 a.m. in the area, according to a statement of probable cause. Riser reportedly told a law enforcement officer that he did not see the “no campfire” signs, but saw them when he drove out of the area, the probable cause stated.
His attorney told Phoenix ABC affiliate KNXV there is no evidence that Riser started the fire. A detention hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
(RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif.) — The manager of a Northern California gas station was fired after he accidentally set the gas price to 69 cents a gallon.
John Szczecina, who served as the manager for a Shell gas station in Rancho Cordova, said he mistakenly placed the decimal in the wrong spot and that the price was supposed to be $6.99 a gallon.
“I put all three prices on there, except the diesel. The last one kind of didn’t go. So, I just took responsibility for it and said yeah, it’s my fault,” Szczecina told ABC News Fresno station KFSN.
The pricing error reportedly cost the gas station $16,000, as hundreds of drivers capitalized on the mistake and filled their tanks.
Szczecina told KFSN he’s worried the station owners will sue him for lost revenue, revealing that his family created a GoFundMe to help repay them.
According to auto club AAA, nationwide gas prices recently reached $5 a gallon for the first time.
Drivers in California are paying much higher prices for gas — an average of $6.43 per gallon — than the national average.
Gas prices have skyrocketed in the last few months, pinching the pockets of millions of Americans who are struggling to fill their tanks amid inflation costs.
More motorists are also poised to hit the road as the busy summer season gets
