National

(NEW YORK, NY) — The number of police officers who died in the line of duty decreased by over 30% over the first six months of this year compared to 2021, but the number of officers killed by gun deaths increased by nearly 20%, according to a new report released Thursday by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

The numbers, part of the organization’s mid-year report on all officer fatalities, found that, so far this year, 129 federal state, tribal and local officers died in the line of duty, compared to 188 over the same time period last year.

The organization says the decrease is almost entirely due to a reduction in COVID-19 deaths but the virus continues to be the biggest killer of law enforcement in 2022, with 54 officers losing their lives because of it, compared to 98 at the same time last year.

Thirty-three officers died from gun deaths in 2022 compared to 28 during the previous year at the same time.

Sgt. Joshua Caudell, a K-9 officer with the Arkansas Department of Corrections was one of the officers shot and killed.

The family of the nine-year police officer called his death “devastating” according to local reports.

NLEOMF says the most of the gun-related deaths were carried out with handguns, and involved domestic disturbances. The month of June saw most gun violence with 12 officer deaths.

Traffic deaths, the group said, are also down 9%, while automobile crashes are up.

“Of the 31 traffic-related fatalities, 19 were automobile crashes and 1 was a motorcycle crash,” the report says. “During the same time period last year, 13 officers were killed in automobile crashes and three died in motorcycle crashes.

The 20 total crashes over the first six months of 2022 represent a 25% increase compared to 16 in the same time period in 2021.”

The report found that 53 were city officers, 41 were from sheriff’s offices and 19 were from state police agencies.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(BUFFALO, NY) — A federal grand jury returned an indictment Thursday charging the alleged Buffalo, New York, mass shooter with federal hate crimes.

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.

At one point, Gendron aimed his Bushmaster XM rifle at a white Tops employee, who was shot in the leg and injured, Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters last month. Gendron allegedly apologized to him before continuing the attack, Garland said.

The federal hate crime charges were announced last month.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(BUCHANAN COUNTY, Va.) — Everyone has been accounted for in Buchanan County, Virginia, on Thursday after a severe storm struck the area, bringing heavy rain and flooding, officials said.

At the height of the flooding, 44 people were unaccounted for on Wednesday. Floodwaters are now receding, said authorities in Buchanan County, which sits at the borders of Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky.

There are no reports of deaths or injuries, the sheriff’s office said.

The flooding came after 4 to 6 inches of rain pounded the area within hours Tuesday night. Some spots reported 3 inches of rain in just 90 minutes. A frontal system stalled over the region, which can produce copious amounts of rain in a very short period of time.

The damage spreads across about 10 miles, officials said, adding that the worst impact was downstream of where several streams join together.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has declared a state of emergency.

“I want Virginians in Buchanan County to know that we are making every resource available to help those impacted by this storm. As we continue to assess the situation, I want to thank our first responders and the personnel on the ground for providing assistance with our ongoing operations,” he said in a statement.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(BUCHANAN COUNTY, Va.) — Three people remain unaccounted for in Buchanan County, Virginia, on Thursday after a severe storm struck the area, bringing heavy rain and flooding, officials said.

At the height of the flooding, 44 people were unaccounted for on Wednesday. Floodwaters are now receding, said authorities in Buchanan County, which sits at the borders of Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky.

The declining number of unaccounted for is due to a combination of increased cellphone service and access to previously unreachable areas, Buchanan County Emergency Management Coordinator Bart Chambers told ABC News.

There are no reports of deaths or injuries, the sheriff’s office said.

The flooding came after 4 to 6 inches of rain pounded the area within hours Tuesday night. Some spots reported 3 inches of rain in just 90 minutes. A frontal system stalled over the region, which can produce copious amounts of rain in a very short period of time.

The damage spreads across about 10 miles, officials said, adding that the worst impact was downstream of where several streams join together.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has declared a state of emergency.

“I want Virginians in Buchanan County to know that we are making every resource available to help those impacted by this storm. As we continue to assess the situation, I want to thank our first responders and the personnel on the ground for providing assistance with our ongoing operations,” he said in a statement.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — Two months after a white teenager allegedly killed 10 Black people in what authorities described as a racially motivated mass shooting, the Buffalo, New York, supermarket where the massacre occurred is set to reopen.

The store will open to the public again on Friday following a prayer service and a moment of silence scheduled on Thursday afternoon to honor the victims, store workers and community members affected by the May shooting, Tops Friendly Markets said in a statement. Tops executives, along with community members, local dignitaries and other guests are expected to be on-hand Thursday, two months to the day of the shooting, and the company said the store “will quietly and respectfully reopen to the public,” in its statement.

Thursday’s ceremony is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m., marking the time the mass shooting began on May 14.

The store has undergone extensive renovations to repair the damage left by the mass shooting, in which the suspected gunman fired more than 60 shots from a high-powered, AR-15-style rifle, killing people inside and outside the Jefferson Avenue store and leaving three wounded.

The store was turned back over to Tops after investigators spent five days combing through it for evidence. FBI officials said investigators used state-of-the-art, scene-scanning tools, spherical and drone photography, conducted a bullet trajectory analysis of the shooting and reconstructed the shooting while the store was declared a crime scene.

During a May 19 news conference, Tops president John Persons promised the community that the store would “open it in a respectful manner for our associates, our employees and for the community at large.”

At the time, Persons said the renovations would include some way to memorialize the victims of the shooting.

“We have been committed to the city of Buffalo since our founding 60 years ago and this event doesn’t stop that commitment,” Persons said. “We will be here. We will be in this store.”

The market has served as a vital part of the east Buffalo neighborhood, local leaders said. In the predominantly Black neighborhood, which has struggled to thrive after years of historic segregation and divestment, residents said the area’s lone grocery store has been a central resource and gathering place providing access to fresh food and medicine. One Buffalo city councilman described the store to ABC News as “an oasis in the middle of a food desert.”

Investigators said the suspected shooter, 18-year-old Payton Gendron, allegedly targeted the store after conducting reconnaissance on it for at least two months.

Gendron drove three hours from his home in Conklin, New York, a day before the shooting and allegedly spent time conducting a final reconnaissance on the store before allegedly committing the mass shooting on a Saturday afternoon.

Authorities allege Gendron stormed the store wielding a Bushmaster XM-15 .223-caliber rifle and dressed in military fatigues, body armor and wearing a tactical helmet with a camera attached. Gendron allegedly livestreamed the attack on the gaming website Twitch before the company took down the live feed two minutes into the shooting.

Among those killed was 55-year-old Aaron Salter Jr., a retired Buffalo police officer who was working as a security guard at the supermarket. Authorities said Salter fired at the gunman, but the bullets had no effect due to the bulletproof vest the suspect wore.

Gendron was indicted on 25 counts, including 10 counts of first-degree murder, 10 counts of second-degree murder as a hate crime, three counts of attempted murder as a hate crime, and one count of criminal possession of a weapon. He is also the first person in New York history charged with domestic terrorism motivated by hate, a crime enacted in November 2020.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

Gendron has also been charged with 26 federal counts, including 10 counts of committing a hate crime resulting in death. He has yet to enter a plea to the federal charges.

Federal prosecutors have not yet announced whether they will seek the death penalty in the case.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Amtrak has announced an extreme heat warning for the Northeast region, signaling that trains running between New York and Philadelphia might experience delays.

“This is a typical protocol for warm summer months,” a spokesperson for Amtrak told ABC News.

High temperatures cause the rails and overhead wires to expand. The service is affected because the trains have to travel at lower speeds to avoid accidents.

A rail temperature of 131 degrees Fahrenheit, for example, requires the train to slow down to 100 mph or less, where an Amtrak train would usually travel between 125 and 150 mph.

With extreme heat also comes the risk of rails warping, which can cause train derailments, rolling black outs and subsequent service disruptions, according to Nick Bassill, a meteorologist at the University of Albany who regularly works with state governments and utility companies.

A spokesperson for the Department of Transportation wrote in an email to ABC News that “one issue that receives attention during summertime is ‘sun kink’ which is a track buckling condition that can occur during extended periods of extremely high temperatures where continuous welded rail is in use.”

A train derailment in the San Francisco bay area this May was due to “a rapid increase in ambient temperatures,” according to local transit authorities.

During the record-breaking heatwave in the Pacific Northwest last summer, in which temperatures reached 115°F, roads buckled and power cables melted. Amtrak announced delays in service during that period.

A 2019 article in the publication Transport Policy estimated that delays in the U.S. rail network due to temperature could cost between $20 and $60 billion by 2100.

Paul Chinowsky, professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, laid out three possible solutions in an interview with ABC News.

The first is upgrading the rails to be more temperature resistant, which Chinowsky said is already being enacted in Great Britain and France. In this case, the steel mix is changed to be less brittle, said Chinowsky.

The obstacle is that the United States has over 140,000 miles of rails, compared to 10,000 miles in the U.K. and 18,000 in France.

“We have started that a little bit, but not nearly at the rate that’s keeping up with the rising temperatures,” said Chinowsky.

Another option, which is already being implemented in the U.S., is a system of heat sensors which provide localized information about when and where trains need to slow down.

It enables a “more accurate analysis,” Chinowsky said, so that the train slowing could be targeted for a set number of miles and hours.

That way, “you don’t have to shut down the whole Northeast corridor,” he said.

A final opinion Chinowsky mentioned was planting trees, or using some other natural solution, to create shade. This could be implemented around train stations, Chinowsky said, although this planning is “still in the very early stage.”

“We’re not even in the worst part of the summer yet,” said Chinowsky. “So we’ll keep seeing [delays]. It’s going to get worse as we go along.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — More than 300 damaging storm reports came from Maine to Arkansas, as severe storms moved through.

More than 100,000 people in Virginia and Maryland were left without power on Tuesday night, as storm damage left its mark on homes, power lines and cars. Particularly, fallen trees were captured smashing into cars and parts of homes.

Heavy rains, up to 4 inches in some areas, caused flooding into Wednesday morning in the Dollywood theme park area in Tennessee.

Officials reported that over a dozen people were rescued Tuesday night after flash flooding in Greenbrier Campground in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

The Gatlinburg Fire Department responded to a call just before 11 p.m. that 14 people were trapped at the campground due to flooding, officials said.

Throughout the night, the Sevier County Emergency Management Agency continued to monitor the situation, first posting at 11:10 p.m. that anyone in the Greenbrier Island area and anyone downstream of Pigeon River should seek high ground, due to rapidly rising water with recent heavy thunderstorms.

As reports emerged of displaced people in the area, a temporary evacuation shelter was opened at Pittman Center Elementary School around midnight, SCEMA said.

At 2 a.m., SCEMA said that the water was continuing to recede, but that roads and low-lying areas were expected to remain submerged for the next several hours.

Farther south and out West, this summer’s extreme weather continues to manifest in dry, scorching heat.

Texas cities including Austin, San Antonio and Tyler, saw record-high temperatures on Tuesday, coming in at 109, 105 and 106 degrees, respectively.

For Wednesday, Austin is set for a heat index of 110 degrees.

According to the National Weather Service, the heat isn’t going anywhere, and will likely spread to the Midwest, the Great Lakes and parts of the East by next week.

For Phoenix, the heat will also stay steady through the end of the week, forecasted at 112 and 113 degrees for the end of the week.

Heat alerts have been issued for Nevada, Idaho, Utah and Montana.

Heat advisories have been issued for much of Texas, as well as in Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Colorado and parts of Montana.

An excessive heat warning has been enacted in the Salt Lake City area.

Out West, the extreme heat coupled with dry weather, maintains the region’s fire risk.

The Washburn Fire continues to burn in southern Yosemite National Park as it reaches 3,516 acres burned and is 17% contained.

Hot and dry weather will continue in the area.

Red flag warnings have been issued for dry lightning and gusty winds, making the perfect circumstances for fire, from northern California to Nevada, including parts of southern Colorado.

To add to the eastern floods, southern heat and western fire, the Gulf Coast may be hit with tropical moisture and heavy rain.

Flash flooding from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, may come as rains could reach half a foot in a short period of time on Wednesday.

As the weather across the U.S. remains extreme, remember to stay safe in life-threatening situations such as high temperatures. Learn more about hot weather safety here.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Five men were killed in separate shootings that erupted on the streets of New York City during a violent four-hour streak, police said.

The slayings occurred between 9 p.m. Tuesday and 1 a.m. Wednesday, including three in the city’s Brooklyn borough and two in the Bronx, according to the New York Police Department.

No arrests have been announced in any of the homicides.

The latest killing occurred just after 1 a.m. Wednesday in the Fordham Heights neighborhood of the Bronx when police said two gunmen on dirt bikes opened fire on a 34-year-old man standing in front of his apartment building, police said.

Officers called to the scene found the man shot in the torso and unconscious, according to the NYPD. The victim, identified as Melquan Cooper, was taken to Saint Barnabas Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

About a half-hour earlier, a 24-year-old man was found shot in the torso outside a home in the Cypress Hills neighborhood of Brooklyn, police said. The man, whose name was not immediately released, was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, police said. No further details were released on the homicide.

The string of fatal shootings started around 9:13 p.m. Tuesday, when police officers were called to investigate a report of shots fired in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn and found a 26-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the chest outside a New York City Housing Authority complex, according to the NYPD. The man was taken to Brookdale Hospital Medical Center, where he died, police said.

The man’s name was not immediately released and homicide investigators were working Wednesday to identify suspects.

More gunfire rang out at 10:46 p.m. Tuesday outside an apartment building in the Wakefield neighborhood of the Bronx, police said. Officers, who responded to a 911 call of a person shot, discovered a 31-year-old man unconscious and with a gunshot wound to the torso, according to the NYPD. The victim was pronounced dead at Saint Barnabas Hospital, police said.

The victim’s name was not immediately released, pending notification of his relatives.

Another fatal shooting happened about 11:10 p.m. Tuesday outside an apartment building in the Ocean Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, police said. Officers discovered a 29-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg.

The victim, whose name was not immediately released, was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.

The latest NYPD crime statistics show that as of Sunday, 222 homicides have occurred across New York City this year, a nearly 8% decrease from the same period as last year.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(AKRON, Ohio) — Jayland Walker’s funeral took place Wednesday, as Akron, Ohio, recognizes an official citywide day of mourning for the police shooting victim declared by city officials days earlier.

Services began midday Wednesday with musical performances. Singers and speakers were flanked by photos of Walker in the Akron Civic Theatre.

“Jayland was a kind and gentle soul who loved to make others laugh,” said Pastor Marlon Walker. “A true family man, Jayland cheers the time he spent with his mother, sister and grandmother. He had a zeal for life and love, traveling with his beloved fiancee. He loved underground music and basketball. He was just beginning to live his life, saving money to become a successful entrepreneur with aspirations of starting a business.”

Speakers took to the stage to not only honor Walker’s life, but also call for accountability in his death.

“One of the things that we cannot do, we must not do, is — we must not normalize this,” said Bishop Timothy Clarke. “We cannot make the deaths of our sons and daughters at such an early age the normal thing. … We should not be here and Jayland should not be in that box.”

The ceremony will be followed by a press conference with representatives of the family, who plan to discuss Walker’s death.

Walker’s sister previously told Good Morning America about how she remembers her brother as a funny, kind brother who looked out for his family and had big goals for his future.

“It’s hard to just talk about somebody who you expect to live your life out with,” Jada Walker said.

The 25-year-old unarmed Black man was fatally shot by officers of the Akron Police Department on June 27.

Officials said they attempted to pull over Walker for a traffic violation and an equipment violation with his car. He allegedly refused to stop, which set off a chase that ended in his death.

Officials said a flash of light seen in body camera footage appeared to be the muzzle flash of a gun coming from the driver’s side of Walker’s car.

In a second body camera video, officers are heard radioing that they heard a shot being fired from Walker’s car. The footage shows the officer following Walker’s Buick off Route 8 and continuing the pursuit on side streets.

At one point, Walker slowed down and jumped out of the passenger side door before it came to a full stop. As Walker ran away from police, several officers simultaneously fired several bullets, fatally shooting him.

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, officials said.

His death has prompted weeks of protests across the city.

“Tomorrow, Jayland Walker, a beloved son, brother, nephew, and friend will be laid to rest,” said Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan on Tuesday. “I want to thank Akron City Council for passing this resolution declaring tomorrow a day of mourning, in support of Jayland’s family and friends and to respect them in their time of grief. I know our entire city is also grieving. I offer my sincerest condolences to Jayland’s mom, sister, family, and friends during this difficult time.”

The citywide day of mourning aims to address ongoing unrest concerning Walker’s death.

“The City encourages robust discussions about difficult topics and supports advocacy to change unjust laws, and supports those who press for meaningful change, by engaging their local, state, and federal legislatures,” the resolution to enact the honorary day reads.

In it, officials also call for peaceful protesting and healing throughout the community: “The City urges that the friends and family of Jayland Walker, and the entire Akron community, be surrounded with love and peace, and that the City would begin to heal.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A Manhattan bar agreed Wednesday to pay $500,000 to current and former employees who said managers called them “cows,” remarked on their underwear and used racial slurs to refer to colleagues of certain origin, according to the New York Attorney General’s Office.

The bar, Sweet and Vicious in the Nolita neighborhood, maintained what the attorney general’s office called “a hostile and discriminatory workplace” that subjected employees to sex discrimination, sexual and gender-based harassment and race and national origin discrimination.

The bar’s owner, Hakan Karamahmutoglu, was accused of making inappropriate comments regarding employees’ race, sexuality, bodies and appearances. Employees suffered unwelcomed sexual advances from managers and customers, according to the attorney general’s office.

“This settlement is a reminder that no matter the perpetrator, we will not tolerate sexual harassment, discrimination, or wage theft of any form in the workplace,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “For far too long, workers in the hospitality industry have been forced to weather a pervasive culture of sexual harassment and discrimination that has gone unreported.”

The agreement is the culmination of a 16-month investigation into allegations against Karamahmutoglu and Sweet and Vicious. Documents, records and interviews with current and former employees revealed a pervasive culture of discrimination and repeated pattern of harassment, the attorney general’s office said.

According to investigators, Karamahmutoglu routinely insulted female employees, calling them “b——” and “cows” and scrutinized their appearance, commenting on their bodies and clothing. Multiple female employees were sexually harassed by male managers who made unwanted sexual advances, including an instance of an employee announcing the color of a female bartender’s underwear and saying he wanted to engage her in a sexual manner as well as a manager repeatedly finding opportunities to rub himself up against a female employee.

Several female bartenders said they experienced frequent harassment by violent customers who would threaten to stab, rape and beat them.

“I wish I could say this was the first time I was harassed by my employer in the service industry, or even the first time I’ve received a settlement for nonpayment of wages. This case is emblematic of intersecting national problems: the subjugation of workers, and sexual harassment of women in the workplace,” said Veronica Leventhal, a former Sweet and Vicious employee. “Sweet and Vicious is not an anomaly — it is a prime example of how men with unchecked power take advantage of their employees.”

Karamahmutoglu allegedly called Black employees “gangsters” and referred to a Puerto Rican manager as a “terrorist” and “Puerto Rican trash.” The owner and managers also frequently used anti-gay slurs.

In addition to paying $500,000 to the workers, the agreement requires the revision of anti-discrimination and harassment training materials and the display and distribution of notices regarding anti-discrimination and harassment rights and responsibilities. Sweet and Vicious will also be subject to periodic monitoring and oversight, including the submission of reports to the attorney general’s office to certify compliance.

“The time that I spent working at Sweet and Vicious has reinforced traumas that I will undoubtedly spend years trying to overcome in therapy. It was, without a doubt, the most abusive company that I have ever had the misfortune of working for,” said a former Sweet and Vicious employee identified only as former employee No. 2. “The racial, sexual and gendered humiliation and degradation that myself and my coworkers silently endured is more than anyone should ever have to experience while trying to earn a livable wage.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.