(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — A first-in-the-nation task force in California created to examine slavery and its impact on the Black community released an almost 500-page report on the ongoing harms caused by slavery, political disenfranchisement, segregation and other racist and discriminatory practices.
The report tackles how the impact of systemic racism continues to impact Black Californians to this day.
“Government actions intertwined with private action and segregated America, leading to environmental harms, unequal educational and health outcomes, and over-policing of Black neighborhoods in California and across the nation,” the report states.
It adds, “Government actions and failures over 400 years have created a wealth gap that persists between Black and white Americans at all levels of income, regardless of education or family status.”
The task force, established through a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2020, sought to offer recommendations for how to remedy that impact – including through monetary compensation, mental, emotional and other types of rehabilitation and other forms of restitution for Black Californians.
“Without accountability, there is no justice. For too long, our nation has ignored the harms that have been — and continue to be — inflicted on African Americans in California and across the country,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta in a statement Wednesday.
He added, “California was not a passive actor in perpetuating these harms. We must double down on our efforts to address discrimination in our state and nation and take a hard look at our own history, including at the California Department of Justice.”
The report says federal, state and local government actions have been used to oppress Black people.
California entered the Union in 1850 as a free state. However, up to 1,500 enslaved African Americans lived in California by 1852, according to the report.
The early state government supported slavery and enforced a harsh fugitive slave law, it says.
The report shows that California did not ratify the Fourteenth Amendment and Fifteenth Amendment until 1959 and 1962, respectively.
The task force’s researchers found that state agencies were also responsible for demolishing Black neighborhoods in the name of urban renewal and park construction. They say these policies led to the closure of hundreds of businesses, displaced thousands of households and damaged the lives of nearly 20,000 people in San Francisco alone.
The report also says that several cities in the state wouldn’t hire Black workers until the 1940s, while certain public sectors continued to avoid hiring Black workers into the 1970s.
“Today, by some measures, California’s two major industries, Hollywood and Silicon Valley, disproportionately employ fewer African Americans,” the report says.
The report offers several ways in which Black people continue to be disadvantaged.
For example, California remains the sixth most segregated state in the country for Black students. Schools mostly attended by white and Asian children receive more funding and resources than those with predominantly Black and Latino children, according to the report.
In 2021, the life expectancy of an average Black Californian was 75.1 years, six years shorter than the state average. Nearly 40% of California’s homeless population is Black, though the Black population in the state is only 6%, the report states.
These are only a few examples of the ways that racial discrimination has continued to impact Black Californians – from their health to their financial stability, according to the report.
Reparations for these many forms of oppression can be delivered in different ways, it says.
In March, the task force said it would limit reparations to people who could trace their lineage to free and enslaved Black people living in the U.S. during the 19th century.
The decision quickly received criticism by opponents who say the pool of recipients should be widened, considering that enslaved people may not have kept quality records, or that names may have changed since the 19th century.
Dr. Amos C. Brown, the task force’s vice chair, said in a statement Wednesday it was “a privilege” to serve on a task force with “the moral obligation” to right the wrongs perpetuated against the African American community.
“Other groups that have suffered exclusion, oppression, and downright destruction of human existence have received reparations, and we should have no less,” Brown said.
The task force will now consider several different avenues of remedying the damaging effects of racism.
The report says this includes ending “legal slavery” by removing discriminatory language that still remains in California law, paying incarcerated people fairly, eliminating discrimination in policing and developing policies that eliminate the emotional, financial and medical toll that systemic racism has had on Black people.
The task force could weigh policies concerning education, the environment, cultural institutions, voting and more.
An upcoming final report will include the task force’s official recommendation, but a date has not been set for its release.
(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — A grand jury in Erie County, New York, has returned an indictment against alleged Tops supermarket shooter Payton Gendron.
The specific charges contained in the indictment will not be made public until after arraignment, which is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday, however, a law enforcement source told ABC News it’s a 25-count indictment.
Gendron, 18, had previously been indicted on a first-degree murder charge that accused him of killing 10 Black people inside the supermarket on a Saturday afternoon. He pleaded not guilty to that charge and was held without bail.
In addition to the 10 deaths, three others were injured in the attack.
Gendron drove several hours from his home in Conklin, New York, specifically to target the predominantly Black community in what law enforcement has called a racially motivated attack.
The FBI is also conducting an investigation, which the Department of Justice said could lead to federal hate crime and terrorism charges.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
(UVALDE, Texas) — Amerie Jo Garza, 10, one of the 21 victims of the Robb Elementary School shooting, was a proud Girl Scout who had completed her bridging ceremony — moving from one level of Girl Scouts to the next — the week before she died.
On Tuesday, the day she was laid to rest in her hometown of Uvalde, Texas, it was announced that Amerie Jo was awarded one of Girl Scouts’ highest honors.
The fourth grade student was awarded the Bronze Cross, an award given “for saving or attempting to save life at the risk of the Girl Scout’s own life,” according to Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas, which announced the honor.
“On May 24, 2022, Amerie did all she could to save the lives of her classmates and teachers,” the Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas said in a statement, adding, “We will carry her story with us always and ensure her brave actions will endure for generations.”
In addition to presenting the Bronze Cross to Amerie Jo’s family, the Girl Scouts said they also honored the 10-year-old with a Presentation of Colors at her funeral.
“Amerie was a bright and outgoing fourth-grader who loved Play-Doh, playing with friends at recess — and being a Girl Scout,” Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas said in a statement. “She was proud of the badges she earned.”
On May 24, Amerie Jo was in a fourth grade classroom at Robb Elementary School when a gunman entered the school and then her classroom, killing 19 students and two teachers.
Amerie Jo’s father, Angel Garza, told ABC News last week that his daughter just turned 10 on May 10.
“Thank you everyone for the prayers and help trying to find my baby,” Garza wrote in a statement to ABC News. “She’s been found. My little love is now flying high with the angels above. Please don’t take a second for granted. Hug your family. Tell them you love them. I love you Amerie Jo. Watch over your baby brother for me.”
A visitation was held for Amerie Jo on Monday at Hillcrest Memorial Funeral Home in Uvalde.
Her funeral was held the next day, Tuesday, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, also in Uvalde.
(EDNA, Texas) — A Texas man worked for days on end to customize caskets for the 19 children who were killed after a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, last Tuesday.
Trey Ganem, the owner of SoulShine Industries, a company that specializes in custom caskets and urns, said he was contacted by a trooper and funeral directors after the shootings to see if he could help.
“They know I deal with a lot of children and that I can make sure that things get done as far as doing customization and doing something special because this wasn’t your typical funeral arrangements,” Ganem, 50, told Good Morning America.
SoulShine Industries teamed up with Cherokee Casket Company of Griffin, Georgia, and trucking companies to acquire the child-sized caskets and ship them to Texas. The caskets were donated and arrived for Ganem and his team in Edna, Texas, on Friday, ahead of Memorial Day weekend.
“We got to talk with the families and the funeral directors have helped us, and it’s just been wonderful to be able to know exactly what they wanted and [ensure] each one [is] personalized to that specific person,” Ganem said.
One casket was painted a glossy blue and prominently features the bright red and yellow shield of Superman, DC Comics’ legendary superhero.
Another blue casket has a cheery green dinosaur chasing a green bat on its lid.
A third casket is coated in white paint with pink accents and includes a TikTok logo on top.
“When they’re telling me that their son or daughter loved baseball or softball or TikTok, they light up because now they’re remembering the good things and the fun times that they had when they were alive and here, and we incorporate all that into the caskets,” Ganem said.
He said he feels speaking with the families and parents of the children directly has started the healing process.
“We’re bringing light to this time,” he said. “When they start talking about a dinosaur holding a flashlight with a pickle, that’s gonna put a smile on your face. It’s kind of one of those things where we listen to what they have to say. We cry with them. We hug each other but in the end, we make the most beautiful creation and the last resting bed for their loved ones.”
Ganem and his team rushed to complete the special caskets in time for the scheduled funerals and visitations in Uvalde. The first two funerals were held Tuesday, one for Amerie Jo Garza and another for Maite Rodriguez, both 10 years old.
“Our emotions when we finished the last casket, we all just looked at each other and we started crying and when you’re hugging, it was like, ‘we did it and they all turned out beautiful.’ We did 19 caskets in three and a half days. But it was just a relief.”
Twenty-one individuals — 19 third and fourth grade students and two teachers — were killed in the May 24 shooting after 18-year-old Salvador Ramos entered Robb Elementary School with an AR-15 style rifle and opened fire.
Ganem estimates at least 30 people chipped in to help sand caskets, make deliveries, brought food and offered a hand in some way.
“The community was fantastic just trying to help us and they wanted to do whatever they could to help the families in Uvalde also,” he said.
“It’s beautiful, to be able to know the joy that we’re going to bring for them.”
(MARATHON, Fla.) — A woman was killed and two children injured in a parasailing accident in the Florida Keys on Monday, authorities said.
The individuals were parasailing shortly before 5:30 p.m. when the vessel’s tow line snapped, causing them to drag across the water, according to a Florida Department of Law Enforcement incident report.
The winds had “picked up” and the parasail struck the Old Seven Mile Bridge near Pigeon Key, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a statement Tuesday.
According to an incident report from the FWC, a strong gust of wind “pegged” the parasail, which is jargon for when the parasail chute becomes controlled by the wind speed rather than the operation of the vessel.
When this took place, the captain “cut the line” that was tethered to three parasailers,” who then “dropped from an unknown height and dragged through the water by the inflated parasail,” according to the FWC incident report.
“The chute continued to drag the victims through and across the surface of the water” until the collision, the report stated.
The woman and one of the boys were unconscious following the collision, police said. A good Samaritan helped bring the three individuals to a nearby dock, according to the incident report.
The Coast Guard said in a statement that Station Marathon boat crews, partner agencies and a good Samaritan recovered a deceased woman and rescued two children on Monday. The good Samaritan arrived on the scene, took the three parasailers aboard and brought them to Sunset Grill Marina where they were transferred to EMTs, the Coast Guard said, and were then taken to Fisherman’s Hospital in Marathon.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene after first responders attempted life-saving measures, police said. The boy regained consciousness and was transported to Miami Children’s Hospital for treatment, authorities said. His current condition is unclear. The other boy suffered minor injuries, authorities said.
“Our condolences are with the family and loved ones of those affected by Monday’s accident,” Capt. Jason Ingram, Coast Guard Sector Key West commander, said in a statement. “This was a tragedy for a family seeking to enjoy their visit to the Florida Keys. Our team, and our partners at Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, are investigating the accident to determine the causal factors and mitigate future casualties to make the waterways as safe as possible.”
There were between 10 to 12 family members at the scene, including the woman’s husband, according to the incident report.
The victims were from Schaumburg, Illinois, and had been on a parasail ride with Lighthouse Parasail, based in Marathon, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The FWC incident report identified the woman as Supraja Alaparthi.
ABC News did not immediately hear back from Lighthouse Parasail for comment.
(UVALDE, Texas) — The Uvalde Police Department and the Uvalde Independent School District police force are no longer cooperating with the Texas Department of Public Safety’s investigation into the massacre at Robb Elementary School and the state’s review of the law enforcement response, multiple law enforcement sources tell ABC News.
The Uvalde police chief and a spokesperson for the Uvalde Independent School District did not immediately respond to requests for comment from ABC News.
According to sources, the decision to stop cooperating occurred soon after the director of DPS, Col. Steven McCraw, held a news conference Friday during which he said the delayed police entry into the classroom was “the wrong decision” and contrary to protocol.
Reached by ABC News, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety said, “The Uvalde Police Department and Uvalde CISD Police have been cooperating with investigators. The chief of the Uvalde CISD Police provided an initial interview but has not responded to a request for a follow-up interview with the Texas Rangers that was made two days ago.”
Last Tuesday’s attack, one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history, left 19 children and two adults dead.
(UVALDE, Texas) — Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo was sworn in as a city council member Tuesday night.
Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said members were sworn in per the city’s charter.
“Out of respect for the families who buried their children today, and who are planning to bury their children in the next few days, no ceremony was held,” he said in a statement obtained by ABC News Austin affiliate KVUE-TV.
“Our parents deserve answers and I trust the Texas Department of Public Safety/Texas Rangers will leave no stone unturned,” McLaughlin continued. “Our emotions are raw, and hearts are broken, and words are sometimes exchanged because of those emotions.”
“I want Lt. Governor Dan Patrick to know that I misunderstood statements I thought he said. We both attended the same law enforcement briefing. We appreciate the concern Dan Patrick has for the citizens of Uvalde and local law enforcement,” the mayor added. “I ask everyone to pray for us, the citizens of Uvalde as we grieve, and live through the pain, and the healing process.”
The ceremony comes exactly one week since the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. Nineteen students and two teachers were killed in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.
The first funerals for two of the victims, both 10, took place on Tuesday.
Multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News Tuesday that the Uvalde Police Department and the Uvalde Independent School District police force are no longer cooperating with the Texas Department of Public Safety’s investigation into the massacre and the state’s review of the law enforcement response.
The Uvalde police chief and a spokesperson for the Uvalde Independent School District did not immediately respond to requests for comment from ABC News regarding their cooperation with the investigation.
Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images, FILE
(UVALDE, Texas) — The Texas Department of Public Safety is correcting previous comments it made stating that a teacher had left a door propped open that the Uvalde gunman used to enter Robb Elementary School prior to the shooting.
Texas Department of Public Safety press secretary Ericka Miller confirmed to ABC News that investigators have now determined that the teacher closed the door but that the door did not lock. Law enforcement is looking into why the door did not lock, DPS confirmed to ABC News.
The clarification comes just days after Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said the teacher left the door propped open prior to the gunman entering the school.
“The teacher runs to the room, 132, to retrieve a phone, and that same teacher walks back to the exit door and the door remains propped open,” McCraw said during a press conference last Friday.
A lawyer for the teacher told the San Antonio Express-News that the teacher “saw the wreck” and then “ran back inside to get her phone to report the accident. She came back out while on the phone with 911. The men at the funeral home yelled, ‘He has a gun!’ She saw him jump the fence, and he had a gun so she ran back inside.”
The lawyer added, “She kicked the rock away when she went back in. She remembers pulling the door closed while telling 911 that he was shooting. She thought the door would lock because that door is always supposed to be locked.”
(PIGEON KEY, Fla.) — A woman was killed and two children injured in a parasailing accident in the Florida Keys on Monday, authorities said.
The individuals were parasailing shortly before 5:30 p.m. when the vessel’s tow line snapped, causing them to drag across the water, according to a Florida Department of Law Enforcement incident report.
The winds had “picked up” and the parasail struck the Old Seven Mile Bridge near Pigeon Key, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a statement Tuesday.
The woman and one of the boys were unconscious following the collision, police said. A good Samaritan helped bring the three individuals to a nearby dock, according to the incident report.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene after first responders attempted life-saving measures, police said. The boy regained consciousness and was transported to Miami Children’s Hospital for treatment, authorities said. His current condition is unclear. The other boy suffered minor injuries, authorities said.
There were between 10 to 12 family members at the scene, including the woman’s husband, according to the incident report.
The victims, who have not been publicly identified, were from Schaumburg, Illinois, and had been on a parasail ride with Lighthouse Parasail, based in Marathon, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. ABC News did not immediately hear back from Lighthouse Parasail for comment.
(NEW YORK) — Even as the first funerals of the 21 victims of the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting were commencing, gunfire continued to wreak havoc across the United States over the Memorial Day weekend as police in eight major cities investigated incidents in which three or more people were shot, including 16 children.
The gun violence was especially acute in Philadelphia and Chicago, where police departments in both cities dispatched officers to more than 40 shootings between Friday afternoon and Monday night.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, a website that keeps track of shootings across the country, there have been 17 episodes across the nation in which four or more people have been shot since the Uvalde mass shooting on May 24.
14 fatally shot in Philly
At least 14 people, including a 9-year-old boy and his father, were killed in Philadelphia over the holiday weekend.
Philadelphia has already recorded 209 homicides this year, just three less than at this time in 2021 — a year that saw a record 562 homicides, according to Philadelphia Police Department crime statistics.
Among those killed this weekend in Philadelphia were 37-year-old Gerald Parks and his 9-year-old son, Jamal. Police said the father and son had just arrived home in the city’s Wissinoming section Sunday night when a barrage of gunfire erupted.
Parks and his son, who were coming from a holiday cookout, were found dead in their car. No arrests had been made as of Tuesday.
In a separate episode Monday evening, one person was killed and another was seriously injured when at least 70 shots were fired in a North Philadelphia neighborhood near Temple University, police said. Apparently several shooters, who remain unidentified and at large, were involved in the incident at about 6:30 p.m. and four guns were found at the scene, according to police.
Hours later, more than 40 gunshots rang out at a party in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia, leaving a 16-year-old girl and a 21-year-old woman dead, according to police. Investigators believe that at least two gunmen were involved in the shooting that also left a 14-year-old girl and a 21-year-old man injured. No arrests have been announced.
Also on Monday, three people were shot, one fatally, on a street in West Philadelphia, police said. One of the victims shot is believed to be an innocent bystander who was hit by a stray bullet, according to police.
The shooting happened around 11 p.m. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a 32-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
Police also learned a 29-year-old woman who was a passenger in a moving car was hit by a stray bullet and critically injured. The third victim ran and was found shot twice in the leg a few blocks away by officers and paramedics.
Police said at least 34 spent shell casings were found at the West Philadelphia crime scene.
“This violence must stop. Families and friends are losing loved ones, and our youth are having their lives and potential cut short,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney tweeted Monday night. “We must all work together to end this heartbreaking, maddening epidemic and make a safer city for everyone.”
9 killed in Chicago
At least 47 people were injured and nine killed in a series of shootings across Chicago over the weekend, according to police.
Five people, including a 16-year-old girl, were shot in one incident in Chicago’s West Garfield Park neighborhood early Sunday morning. The shooting occurred during a gathering to commemorate a teenager who was fatally shot two years ago, according to police.
Shell casings from at least three guns, including an AK-47 rifle, were found at the scene, police said. No arrests have been announced.
Also on Sunday, a 69-year-old man was killed and four other people were injured in a shooting that erupted in Chicago’s West Humboldt Park neighborhood, police said. Police said the shooting stemmed from a domestic violence incident and that a 23-year-old man who was shot in the foot has been arrested in connection with the incident.
Chicago has recorded 232 homicides this year, a 10% decrease from the same period in 2021, according to police department crime statistics.
The shootings in Chicago this weekend came despite an order canceling days off for police officers over the Memorial Day weekend and the city expanding the hours of a curfew on minors unaccompanied by adults in Millennium Park, a major tourist attraction where a 16-year-old boy was fatally shot two weeks ago.
10 people shot in Charleston
Ten people, including a 17-year-old, were injured in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, late Monday night, including a police officer, when gunfire erupted. The incident remained under investigation Tuesday.
The shooting unfolded at about 11:40 p.m., police said.
In the aftermath of the shooting, several fights broke out and two officers were assaulted, according to police. Two women were arrested and charged with the assaults on the police officers, authorities said.
6 teenagers shot in Chattanooga
Six teenagers were shot and wounded, two critically, Saturday night when multiple people opened fire in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, during a confrontation between two large groups of young people, authorities said.
Chattanooga police officers were patrolling the downtown area at around 11 p.m. when they heard the gunshots and immediately responded to help those injured, Chattanooga Police Chief Celeste Murphy said during a news conference on Sunday.
No arrests have been announced.
7 injured, 1 killed, in shooting at Memorial Day event in Oklahoma
One person was killed and seven were injured after a shooting broke out during a Memorial Day festival in Oklahoma.
About 1,500 people were in attendance at the festival at the Old City Square in Taft, about 45 miles southeast of Tulsa, when the shooting took place just after midnight Sunday, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
A 39-year-old woman was killed in the incident and a 9-year-old child was among those injured, authorities said.
Police said the 26-year-old suspect, Skyler Buckner, turned himself in Sunday afternoon.
4 shot at Houston party
Gunfire erupted at a Houston house party Sunday night, leaving four people wounded, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
All of the victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries. But police said one of the shooting victims hit and killed a motorcyclist while attempting to drive himself to a hospital.
Teenager killed, five injured in Phoenix shooting
An 18-year-old man was fatally shot and five other teenagers were wounded during a shooting at a house party in Phoenix, Arizona early Sunday.
Police said the wounded victims ranged in age 16 to 18, and all are expected to survive.
No arrests have been announced and police said at least two different guns were used in the shooting.
1 dead, 6 hurt, in Michigan bar shooting
A shooting outside a Michigan bar left a 19-year-old man dead and six other people injured early Sunday morning.
The shooting unfolded around 2:30 a.m. outside the Ajay’s Lounge and A and D Liquor Store in Benton Harbor.
Witnesses told ABC affiliate WBND in South Bend, Indiana, that prior to the shooting, a fight broke over a ticketed event Ajay’s Lounge in which a rapper people thought was going to perform only made an appearance.
No arrests have been announced in the shooting.
7 hurt in Nevada freeway shooting involving motorcycle gangs
Seven people were injured, two critically, Saturday when gunfire erupted on a freeway in Henderson, Nevada, police said.
The Henderson Police Department said a preliminary investigation indicates the shooting occurred just before noon on Interstate 95 and stemmed from an altercation between members of rival motorcycle gangs.
Three suspects were identified and arrested on charges of attempted murder, felony battery, conspiracy to commit murder and discharging a gun at occupied vehicles. Police identified the suspects as 66-year-old Richard Devries, 46-year-old Stephen Alo and 26-year-old Russell Smith.
4 people shot in Memphis
Four people were shot Friday night near a rogue car show in Memphis, Tennessee, police said.
One of the people wounded in the shooting was arrested and charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun.
It was unclear if the 27-year-old man taken into custody was involved in the shooting.
Police said the victims all suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
6 shot at Alabama graduation party
Six people, including a 14-year-old child, were injured in a shooting at a graduation party in Anniston, Alabama, on Friday, police said.
About 150 people were at the party when the shooting broke out in the town about 64 miles east of Birmingham, police said.
Investigators said they recovered dozens of shell casings at the scene and that multiple cars in the area were struck by gunfire.
No arrests were announced.
Florida house party shooting leaves 4 wounded
Four teenagers were shot when a fight broke out at a house party in Malabar, Florida, on Saturday night, according to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
The shooting erupted just before midnight in the city about 77 miles southwest of Orlando, authorities said.
The victims ranged in age from 15 to 18 and all suffered non-life-threatening injuries, the sheriff’s office said.
No arrests have been announced.
1 killed, 3 injured in Fresno, California
A teenager was killed and three others were injured in a shooting near a park in downtown Fresno, California, on Friday, police said.
The shooting started about 9 p.m. near Radio Park and left a 17-year-old boy dead. A 15-year-old boy and two 16-year-olds were wounded in the shooting, according to the Fresno Police Department.
The injured victims are all expected to survive, police said.
No arrests have been made.
1 dead, 3 injured in Colorado Springs
An 18-year-old man was killed and three 18-year-old women were wounded in a drive-by shooting early Friday in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The victims were standing in the parking lot of a bar around 1:15 a.m. when gunfire erupted from a passing car, police said.
No arrests have been announced.
A mother, 3 children fatally shot in Michigan
A 40-year-old mother and her three children — ages 6, 4 and 3 — were allegedly shot to death on Friday by the stepfather of the children, police said.
The quadruple homicide occurred at a house in Austin Township, Michigan, north of Grand Rapids, according to the Mecosta County Sheriff’s Office.
The stepfather of the children, identified by relatives as Charles Gillard, 51, is suspected of committing the killings around 2:30 p.m. Friday, according to the sheriff’s office.
Charles Gillard was found with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and was in critical condition at a hospital on Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said.
Relatives identified the victims as Dawn Gillard and her children, 6-year-old Katelynn, 4-year-old Ronald, and 3-year-old Joshua.
“I am in total shock. I am so devastated,” Hailey Salisbury, the daughter of Dawn Gillard’s daughter and the half-sister to the young children who were killed, told ABC affiliate station WZZM in Grand Rapids.
