(EL PASO, Texas) — One person has died after a train derailed in El Paso, Texas, Monday night, the El Paso Fire Department said.
“Nearby homes are being evacuated as a safety precaution. Please avoid the area of Franklin and Barton as it is an active emergency scene. TXGas en route,” the fire department tweeted.
There were no other injuries reported at this time, according to the fire department.
Story developing…
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(DETROIT) — Using research and statistics, experts examine America’s history with guns, the real-life impacts of gun violence and what can be done going forward to mitigate the problem.
A 19-year-old man with no apparent criminal history was arrested for allegedly killing three people and wounding a fourth in a series of random, unprovoked shootings in Detroit on Sunday, police said during a news conference Monday.
The suspect, whose name has not been released, was arrested roughly 12 hours after allegedly committing the last shooting when someone close to him recognized him in a surveillance photo police officials released during a search for him and contacted authorities, officials said.
“Yesterday, I made a plea to family and friends of the shooter to turn him in. It didn’t seem likely that he could be taken into custody without incident,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said during Monday’s news conference. “But, in fact, somebody close to him did respond. It was that community input that allowed the police officers to take this individual into custody without any further violence.”
Police Chief James White said investigators are probing the suspect’s movements prior to his arrests to determine if he targeted anyone else.
“I will tell you that it’s a 19-year-old and we don’t see any criminal history at this time, and we have some indication that there is mental illness,” White said.
The random shootings all occurred on the west side of Detroit in the span of 2 hours and 25 minutes Sunday morning.
The sole survivor of the rampage, an 80-year-old man, described being shot while out walking his dog.
An all-hands-on-deck search involving multiple law enforcement agencies — including the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Department of Homeland Security — took place Sunday afternoon after police determined the same gun was used in all four shootings, authorities said. While ATF did not respond physically to the scene, ABC News was told the agency is assisting with an urgent trace on the weapons and working on analyzing the shell casings.
White said a 9mm handgun was recovered from a residence where the assailant was arrested. He said ballistic tests done immediately on the firearm confirmed suspicions from shell casings collected at each crime scene that it was used in all of the shootings.
When asked whether detectives have determined a motive for the rampage, White said, “Obviously, there is nothing that should motivate you to do something this tragic.”
Commander Michael McGinnis of the Detroit Police Department laid out a timeline of the shootings, saying the first occurred at 4:45 a.m. when a 28-year-old man was approached by the suspect and shot.
McGinnis said the shooting was unprovoked and that the suspect walked away briefly before returning and shooting the victim several more times, killing him.
McGinnis noted that no one called 911 to report the first shooting, a detail both White and Duggan said they found troubling.
“I know from the time I spent with the officers yesterday, they’re going to be haunted for a long time. They very likely could have prevented two and probably three tragedies had they had an immediate notice,” Duggan said.
Detroit does not have a ShotSpotter gunfire detection system like many large cities, which immediately notifies police of the location of gunshots, Duggan and White said.
White added, “What we don’t want to happen is gunshots to become commonplace in our community. We don’t want to become desensitized to someone shooting in our community. There should never be a condition ever that someone uses a gun in our community that’s unaccounted for.”
McGinnis said the second shooting happened 30 minutes after the first shooting. In that episode, a 911 caller reported that a woman in her 40s was lying on a sidewalk with multiple gunshot wounds. He said the victim was found three blocks from the first shooting.
The victim, who died at the scene, has yet to be identified, McGinnis said.
McGinnis said that as officers were investigating the second shooting, they responded to the sound of gunshots nearby and found another woman fatally shot. He said the woman had been waiting for a bus when the suspect walked by her, returned and shot her without provocation.
He said the suspect walked away, but returned and shot the woman again.
At 7:10 a.m., an 80-year-old man out walking his dog was confronted by the suspect, who allegedly shot him and his dog in yet another unprovoked attack. The victim suffered a bullet wound to the leg, and neighbors who heard the gunshots likely saved the man’s life by coming to his aid and putting a tourniquet on his leg and getting him to a hospital immediately, McGinnis said.
The names of the victims were not immediately released.
White said the suspect did not rob or attempt to rob any of the victims.
White said technology played a key role in cracking the case, explaining that it allowed investigators to quickly analyze shell casings from each of the crime scenes and determine that the same gun was used in all four shootings.
“If someone uses a weapon in our community, we’re going to use every resource we have to lock you up and we make no apologies about that,” White said. “Enough is enough. This is unacceptable and it needs to stop.”
ABC News’ Alex Stone contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(CHARLOTTE, N.C.) — Almost 400 teaching positions remain open as students return to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina on Monday.
In addition to the 390 teaching positions that remain unfilled, there are an additional 38 vacancies for bus drivers, according to a spokesperson for the district.
The shortage affects the second-largest school district in the state, with over 140,000 enrolled students from kindergarten to 12th grade, according to the district.
To make up for the shortage, 427 “guest teachers” will step in starting Monday across the district’s 181 campuses, a CMS spokesperson told ABC News.
While all guest teachers need to be licensed, they are not required to have a bachelor’s or master’s degree, CMS officials said.
Guest teachers will make between $150 and $180 per day, depending on their certification level, according to Christine Pejot, director of human resources at the district.
According to Pejot, guest teachers differ from substitute teachers because they are assigned to a specific school and are on a full-time contract with benefits included.
Guest teachers do not need to have teaching certification, Pejot said. Instead, the role requires a licensure that is granted by the state through passing certain tests to become licensed in that area of teaching.
Pejot said COVID-19 relief funds issued to the district are funding the new positions and that funding is available until 2024.
Not one school in particular has been affected by the teacher shortage, Pejot said, as all campuses are experiencing vacancies. However, Pejot said the district is experiencing the most vacancies for special education teachers and teachers in elementary grades K-6.
Pejot told ABC News the changes in available teachers this year has been alarming. While the district was already experiencing a shortage, an additional 77 teachers resigned when they returned to the district in mid-August, Pejot said.
According to Pejot, there are fewer college students pursuing education as a major, and more existing teachers are choosing a different career and leaving the field. The combination of these factors is significant, Pejot said.
It is unclear how long into the school year the district will rely on the guest teachers.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(JACKSON, Miss.) — Flood waters in central Mississippi have peaked and will soon recede, officials said on Monday.
Officials projected on Saturday that water levels would reach 36 feet on Monday, but were measured at a peak of 35.37 as of Monday morning, a spokesperson from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency told ABC News.
Only one home had water actually breach the structure and no injuries or deaths have been reported due to the floods, Jackson, Mississippi, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said at a press conference on Monday.
Officials at the Ross R Barnett Reservoir, connected to Pearl River, said they increased the discharge of water from 55,000 cubic feet of water per second to 60,000. This continued for Sunday and Monday morning, ABC News Jackson affiliate WAPT said.
Officials said at Monday’s press conference that they were able to reduce the flows out of the reservoir by another 10,000 cubic feet per second and are working to reduce even more.
Marty Pope, service hydrologist at the National Weather Service, said it will take several days for the water to continue falling downstream. However, Pope predicts the water level will crest at 33 feet on Wednesday and could be as low as 28 feet on Thursday.
Pope said at a press conference Monday that while there will be scattered rains throughout the rest of the week, the lowering levels are a “very positive thing.”
Officials said residents should wait to get clearance in their areas before moving back into their homes. Once they return, residents should report any damage.
Two shelters remain open in the area, one in Jackson and one in Madison. According to officials, one person stayed in each of the shelters on Sunday night.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves issued a State of Emergency for parts of central Mississippi on Saturday, to “allow our state agencies to better assist in our response efforts and carry out their emergency responsibilities.”
According to Reeves, the state has deployed 126,000 sandbags to help residents block water from entering their homes. Reeves also reported that search and rescue teams are on standby and prepared to respond to local authorities’ needs.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency had drones in the air to assess water levels along the Pearl River, Reeves said.
Last week, evacuations drew residents from their homes in the area, including dozens of elderly people evacuated from a senior living facility.
The Pearl River area experienced severe flooding in 2020, when water levels crested at 36.67 feet.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(NEW YORK) — NASA kicked off Monday its plan to send an unmanned space capsule into the moon’s orbit, marking the initial launch in an ambitious plan to establish a long term presence on the moon for scientific discovery and economic development.
The space capsule, called Artemis 1, will travel for roughly 40 days — reaching as close as 60 miles from the moon, and then 40,000 miles above the moon when orbiting over its dark side — before landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.
After the launch was scrubbed, the next attempt will occur Sept. 2.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Aug 29, 10:20 AM EDT
VP Harris praises NASA team behind Artemis launch
Vice President Kamala Harris praised the NASA team behind the Artemis I mission after the launch had to be scrubbed Monday due to an engine problem.
Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff had been visiting the Kennedy Space Center before the launch was postponed.
The scrubbed launch was “about showing the great work that happens here,” Harris told reporters.
“These exceptional public servants, these exceptional skilled professionals who have the ability to see what is possible and what has never been done before. How exciting is that?” she said.
According to a White House official, Harris and Emhoff will continue with their visit under a revised itinerary.
“She met with astronauts at NASA Operations Support Building II and will proceed to a tour of Artemis II and Artemis III hardware as planned. The Vice President will gaggle following the tour and then depart,” the official said.
Aug 29, 9:40 AM EDT
‘We don’t launch until it’s right,’ says NASA administrator
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson defended the scrubbing of the Artemis I launch, saying the launch shouldn’t take place until the team is sure it’s ready.
“We don’t launch until it’s right,” he said during an interview on NASA TV Monday morning.
“There are certain guidelines. And I think it’s just illustrative that this is a very complicated machine, a very complicated system, and all those things have to work, and you don’t want to light the candle until it’s ready to go,” he said.
Nelson said the engineers will continue to “stress” and “test” the rocket to make sure it’s ready by the next attempt, which is Sept. 2.
Earlier in the day, Nelson had welcomed several Biden administration officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, to the Kennedy Space Center ahead of the launch.
He said the vice president has been briefed and the White House will continue to receive regular updates.
Aug 29, 8:48 AM EDT
NASA scrubs Artemis I launch
NASA announced a few minutes after Artemis I was initially scheduled to lift off that the launch has been scrubbed.
Engineers said the problem came from a liquid hydrogen line that was not chilled enough inside one of the rocket’s four core-stage engines, which needs to occur before they can be ignited.
The next attempt will occur on Sept. 2.
Aug 29, 8:31 AM EDT
Artemis launch delayed due to storms, rocket troubleshooting
Artemis I will likely not be launching at 8:33 a.m. ET as originally planned after NASA ran into several delays in its preparation to send it into space.
The process of tanking, which includes filling the rocket’s core stage with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, was delayed due to some passing storms and lightning in the area, NASA said.
Moreover, a leak was discovered in the hydrogen fuel line, which NASA quickly resolved. The leak concentration was “at an acceptable level,” NASA said.
Engineers also discovered a potential crack in the inner stage flange, which connects two of the rocket’s cylinders.
The countdown clock is currently paused at T-40 and the launch can go as late as 10:33 a.m. ET If that window passes, the next attempt at launch will be Sept. 2.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(BEND, Ore.) — At least three people are dead following a shooting inside a Safeway supermarket in Oregon on Sunday evening, police said.
The incident was reported just after 7 p.m. local time at The Forum Shopping Center in Bend, a small city on the Deschutes River, some 130 miles southeast of Oregon’s capital, Salem. The suspected shooter is among the dead, the Bend Police Department told ABC News.
Police believe the armed suspect entered from the back of the shopping center and initially fired into a Costco parking lot and a Big Lots store. There were no injuries reported at either of those locations, according to police.
Police believe the suspect then entered the Safeway and shot at least one person near the west entrance. That individual was transported to a local hospital and confirmed dead, police said.
The suspect continued inside the supermarket, shooting and killing at least one additional person, according to police.
Officers responding to the shooting entered the Safeway and found another individual, believed to be the shooter, dead inside the store. The officers fired no shots, police said.
At a press conference late Sunday, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz told reporters that the suspect was carrying an AR-15 style rifle and a shotgun. The identities of the suspect and the victims were not released.
Krantz noted the size of the crime scene, saying it will take time to collect and process all evidence.
The deadly shooting remains under investigation.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(DETROIT) — The city of Detroit was on edge after police said a single gunman randomly shot four victims, three fatally, in 2 hours and 25 minutes Sunday morning.
The sole survivor of the killing rampage, an 80-year-old man, described being shot after spotting the suspect looking into cars and confronting him, police said.
Detroit police said Sunday night that the suspect is now in custody, and an investigation is in the early stages.
An all-hands-on-deck search involving multiple law enforcement agencies — including the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Department of Homeland Security — took place Sunday afternoon after police determined the same gun was used in all four shootings, authorities said.
During a news conference Sunday afternoon, Detroit Police Chief James White had described the suspect as a Black man in his mid-20s to early 30s, wearing all black, including a black Carhartt jacket with a hood.
“Evidence suggests a single suspect,” White said. “At this time, we believe this to be a random act. There does not appear to be any relation between any of the crimes.”
He said one of the victims was shot while waiting for a bus and another was shot while out walking a dog. Three of the four victims were fatally shot, police told Detroit ABC affiliate WXYZ-TV.
The shooting began at 4:45 a.m. when a 40-year-old woman was discovered shot multiple times in a neighborhood on the west side of Detroit, the chief said. Police said the woman died from her injuries.
While officers were investigating the shooting, a witness walked up and informed them of another victim nearby, White said. Police found a 28-year-old man who had also been shot multiple times, the chief said. He also died from his injuries.
At 6:50 a.m., the third victim, a woman in her 40s, was found shot multiple times, also on the west side of the city, and died, White said.
And at 7:10 a.m., the fourth victim, an 80-year-old man, was shot after he spotted the suspect peering into the windows of vehicles and confronted him, White said.
“When he told him to get away from the vehicles, he turned and fired at him, striking him once,” said White, adding that the victim was shot in the arm.
The octogenarian victim was in stable condition at a hospital Sunday night, police said.
The names of the victims were not immediately released.
White said the suspect did not rob or attempt to rob any of the victims.
Using technology, investigators were able to quickly analyze shell casings from each of the crime scenes and determine that the same gun was used in all four shootings, White said.
“We have mobilized all of our technology, our personnel, our intelligence and our community assets to investigate these incidents. We are currently searching to apprehend the suspect,” White said, adding that law enforcement helicopters were also scouring the city.
“To the families and friends of these victims, we will continue to work to get this suspect into custody,” White said.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan pleaded for the public’s help in catching the suspect. He asked people to study the surveillance photo released of the armed-and-dangerous perpetrator and to contact police if they see him. He said anyone who comes in contact with the suspect should not attempt to approach him.
He said the most important thing that can happen is that someone who knows the suspect or has a relationship with him comes forward to law enforcement immediately before he surfaces and strikes again.
“Nobody in this department wants a violent confrontation with this individual,” Duggan said. “It’s not safe for our officers, it’s not safe for the perpetrator, it’s not safe for civilians in the area.”
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(PHOENIX) — A child was killed and four other people were seriously injured Sunday morning in a three-vehicle crash involving a school bus on I-40 in Arizona, authorities said.
The collision took place around 9:27 a.m. in Apache County when the school bus, which had been slowing down in traffic, was rear-ended by a commercial semitruck going eastbound at mile marker 328, Arizona Department of Public Safety Sgt. Jesus Gastelum said in a press release to Phoenix ABC affiliate KNXV-TV.
Eastbound traffic was slowed at the time due to a previous collision that morning, of a single commercial vehicle rollover, DPS said.
“Due to the impact, the school bus was pushed into the van,” Gastelum said.
There were 19 people on the school bus at the time, according to DPS, which said one child on the school bus died and “four other school bus occupants sustained serious injuries.” It was not immediately clear if the injured occupants were also children.
There were no other serious injuries reported, and an investigation is ongoing, Gastelum added.
DPS said there was a “full closure” going eastbound on I-40 and traffic was being diverted.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(HOUSTON) — A man wielding a shotgun allegedly killed three of his neighbors after setting fire early Sunday to multiple units at a Houston rental complex, including one he was recently evicted from, apparently to lure the victims into an ambush, police said.
The suspect, described as a Black man in his 40s, was shot to death outside the burning residences by a police officer who arrived at the scene as Houston firefighters came under fire and were forced to retreat, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said at a news conference on Sunday.
“This suspect, unfortunately, and very sadly, very evilly, set fire to several residences, laid (in) wait for those residents to come out and fired upon them,” Finner said.
The episode unfolded just after 1 a.m. Sunday in a southwest Houston neighborhood.
Finner said the suspect, whose name was not immediately released, was recently informed he was being evicted from his room. But Finner said a motive is still under investigation.
“He’s been a longtime resident here and that may have been a trigger point for him. I don’t know, but that’s part of the investigation,” Finner said.
The chief said multiple 911 calls were made beginning around 1:07 a.m. reporting a fire and a shooting.
Fire crews arrived at the scene before police and encountered gunshots, causing them to retreat, said Assistant Chief Michael Mire of the Houston Fire Department.
“As our firefighters came in the crossfire and they retreated, they still focused their attention on possible victims inside the structure. There were two that they were able to pull out,” Mire said.
Finner said a seven-year veteran of the Houston police force arrived at the scene after firefighters came under fire. Finner said the officer saw the armed suspect in a prone position in a parking lot across the street from the blaze and fatally shot him.
“Our officer arrived and took action, and for that, I’m very proud of him,” Finner said.
The officer, whose name was not immediately released, has been placed on administrative leave, pending the outcome of an investigation, he said.
Finner said investigators found a shotgun with a spent shell lying next to the alleged gunman’s body. He said it remains under investigation whether the man fired at the officer before he was shot dead.
Finner said two white men, both in their 60s, were fatally shot and perished at the scene. A third gunshot victim he described as a Black male in his 40s was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
He said a man in his 40s or 50 was shot in the arm and another survivor was injured running away from the scene.
The landlord of the multi-unit rental complex where the fiery ambush occurred told ABC station KTRK-TV in Houston that the suspect had lived in the complex since 2013, but did not pay rent. The landlord, who asked that his name not be published, confirmed the suspect was evicted and had turned in his keys on Saturday.
Among the victims killed in the episode was the property manager of the rental complex, according to the landlord.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
(PHILADELPHIA) — One year after 8-year-old Fanta Bility was fatally shot by police while leaving a football game in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania, her family is grieving her loss and fighting for justice.
“I miss my baby,” Fanta’s mother, Tenneh Kromah, told ABC Philadelphia station WPVI-TV. “Me and Fanta were so close. The other kids, they used to say ‘you love Fanta too much.’ I would say yes.”
Kromah held back tears as she reflected on her love for her daughter. She said that coping with Fanta’s loss — the youngest of her six children — has been “very difficult” over the past year.
The 8-year-old was a “very friendly” girl, her mother said, who loved fashion and enjoyed recording videos on TikTok.
Fanta was shot while exiting a football game with her family at Academy Park High School on Aug. 27, 2021, when officers Brian Devaney, Devon Smith and Sean Dolan fired their weapons toward the crowd after two teens opened fire in a personal dispute close to the high school, according to Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.
The three officers were each charged on Jan. 18 with 12 criminal counts of manslaughter and reckless endangerment.
“We have now concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that it was, in fact, shots from the officers that struck and killed Fanta Bility and injured three others,” Stollsteimer said in a January press release announcing the charges.
“This is a terrible tragedy that was caused by armed and violent criminals who turned a high school football game into a crime scene in which an innocent child lost her life and others were seriously injured,” Raymond Driscoll, Steven Patton and Charles Gibbs, the lawyers for the three officers, said in a joint statement after the charges were announced. “These three officers ran to the sound of gunshots and risked their own lives to protect that community. These three good men are innocent, and remain heartbroken for all who have suffered because of this senseless violence.”
The Sharon Hill Borough Council voted on Jan. 21 in favor of terminating the three officers from their positions at the Sharon Hill Police Department.
ABC News reached out to the attorneys representing the three former officers, but requests for comment were not immediately returned.
Family, friends and community members held a rally on Saturday in Sharon Hill to call for justice on the one-year anniversary of Fanta’s death.
Her family shared a photo with WPVI that was taken of Fanta the day she was fatally shot. They said the 8-year-old was napping and initially wanted to stay home but eventually decided to accompany members of her family to the football game to support her sister, who was a cheerleader.
As they cope with her death, there are no photos of Fanta in the family’s living room.
Abu Bility, Fanta’s uncle, told WPVI that videos are now too painful for her mother to watch.
“Whenever she sees Fanta’s photo… it kind of refreshes her memory that it just happened,” he said.
Fanta’s family expressed outrage last month over the release of a heavily redacted report about their daughter’s shooting in Sharon Hill, a suburb of Philadelphia.
The highly anticipated report, which outlines the findings of an independent investigation into the police policies and procedures related to the shooting, was released by the Sharon Hill Borough Council, but many of its findings and recommendations were redacted.
Bruce Castor, the attorney for Fanta’s family, told ABC News in a statement on July 31 that the redacted report is “unacceptable” and “an insult to the memory of Fanta.”
“The heavily edited report raises more questions in the minds of the family and the public than it answers,” Castor said.
“The world will eventually learn how Sharon Hill Borough officials failed to make certain its police trained under realistic scenarios and understood fully when deadly force is permitted under the law and when it is not,” he added.
Courtney Richardson, the Sharon Hill Borough solicitor, defended withholding the information, telling ABC News in a statement on July 31 that the Sharon Hill Borough Council redacted information to protect the ongoing investigation.
“Council has only redacted conclusions and recommendations of Special Counsel in the interest of justice, considering the active litigation in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania,” Richardson said.
The redacted report is the conclusion of that nine-month investigation and comes after attorneys for the three officers filed a motion to drop the voluntary and involuntary manslaughter charges against the officers, according to WPVI.
When asked about the motion to dismiss the charges, Castor told ABC News on July 31 that the family wants the DA’s office to “do its best to obtain convictions holding the police officers criminally accountable for their actions.”
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.