(BALTIMORE) — The city of Baltimore is in mourning after three firefighters were killed when they responded to a fire and became trapped inside.
Lt. Paul Butrim, firefighter Kelsey Sadler and firefighter Kenny Lacayo died while battling a blaze at a vacant row-home Monday morning.
The house partially collapsed, trapping them inside, along with a fourth firefighter, John McMaster, who survived and is in critical but stable condition.
Lt. Butrim was a 16-year veteran of the department. Sadler spent 15 years with the department and Lacayo was with the department for seven years.
“This is a gut-wrenching tragedy for our city, the Baltimore City Fire Department, and most importantly the families of our firefighters,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said in a statement. “My heart is with the firefighters, their families, and the entire Baltimore City Fire Department who put the lives and safety of others before their own wellbeing each and every day. I ask that all of Baltimore keep them in our prayers during this extremely difficult time.”
Baltimore Fire Chief Niles Ford said, “From this moment, we will honor those we lost today, for their bravery, their courage, their love for helping others and the respect they had for the Baltimore City Fire Department.”
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan ordered flags lowered to half-staff.
Law enforcement and sports teams in Baltimore are also offering their condolences.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.6 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 868,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 63.4% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jan 25, 4:40 pm
Weekly reported cases set new record at more than 21 million
Over 21 million new weekly cases were reported across the globe — the most recorded since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the World Health Organization.
The U.S. (4,215, 852 new cases — a 24% decrease from the previous week) reported the most, followed by France (2,443,821 new cases — a 21% increase).
The U.S. also recorded 10,795 deaths — the most of any nation.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
Jan 25, 4:25 pm
US hospital admissions drop 8% even as 13 states see surges
Nearly 20,000 Americans with COVID-19 are being admitted to hospitals each day — an 8% drop over the last week, according to federal data.
But 13 states saw COVID-19-related hospital admission rates jump by at least 10%: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Emergency department visits for diagnosed COVID-19 cases declined nearly 24% over the last two weeks, according to federal data.
While the U.S. case rate is steadily falling — down by 15% in the last week to an average of 664,000 new cases — case rates still remain higher than any other point of the pandemic, according to federal data.
Wisconsin is leading the nation in new cases per capita, followed by Rhode Island, Utah and South Carolina.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Jan 25, 12:18 pm
Elton John tests positive, Dallas concerts postponed
Elton John has tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him to postpone his concerts on Jan. 25 and Jan. 26 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, according to a statement from the venue.
“Elton is fully vaccinated and boosted, and is experiencing only mild symptoms,” the statement said. “Fans should hold on to their tickets as they will be honored at the rescheduled dates to be announced soon.”
Jan 25, 12:02 pm
Florida governor vows to ‘fight back’ against FDA’s ‘reckless’ decision
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has vowed to “fight back” against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s “reckless” decision to limit the use of two monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19 that were found to be ineffective against the now-dominant omicron variant.
“This is wrong what they are doing, and we have many people now who are very concerned because they were going to go in and get it today or tomorrow,” DeSantis said during a press conference Tuesday.
While the governor acknowledged that the treatments are less effective against omicron, he claimed that people in Florida have seen their COVID-19 symptoms clear up in the last month after receiving the treatments. DeSantis, however, did not offer data to support that claim.
“We’re going to fight back against this,” he told reporters.
When asked whether he plans to take legal action against the federal government, DeSantis said: “I don’t know. We’re going to see what we can do.”
With omicron accounting for more than 99% of COVID-19 infections nationwide, the FDA on Monday revised its authorizations for two of the main monoclonal antibody treatments that have been widely used across the country — one made by Eli Lilly and the other by Regeneron. The FDA said both treatments are no longer authorized for use in any U.S. state, territory or jurisdiction and should not be used for treatment against COVID-19. In the future, the treatments could still be used to help patients who become sick with other variants, according to the FDA.
Following the FDA’s decision, Florida health officials announced that monoclonal antibody treatment sites would be shut down across the state. More than 2,000 appointments for the treatments were canceled statewide on Tuesday alone, according to the governor’s office.
“Unfortunately, as a result of this abrupt decision made by the federal government, all monoclonal antibody state sites will be closed until further notice,” the Florida Department of Health said in a statement late Monday. “Florida disagrees with the decision that blocks access to any available treatments in absence of clinical evidence. To date, such clinical evidence has not been provided by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).”
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie and Sasha Pezenik
Jan 25, 10:43 am
Kentucky governor’s son tests positive as state’s cases skyrocket
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s son has tested positive for COVID-19 as cases in the state skyrocket.
“My son is generally asymptomatic, we believe because he is vaccinated and boosted,” Beshear said Monday.
The governor and the rest of his family tested negative on Monday, according to Beshear’s office.
Kentucky reported 81,473 cases for the week ending on Sunday — a record high.
Hospitalizations are also approaching a record high, his office said.
Jan 25, 9:18 am
WHO warns of rising cases of omicron sub-variant
The World Health Organization is sounding the alarm over rising cases of a new omicron sub-variant.
In an updated post to its website on Monday, the WHO said the new sub-variant, called BA.2, is a descendant of omicron, the now-dominant, highly contagious variant of the novel coronavirus. Unlike omicron, BA.2 is currently not considered a “variant of concern.” But because it is spreading in many countries, the WHO is asking governments and scientists across the globe to monitor the situation and study the new sub-variant, as many have already been doing.
As of last Friday, BA.2 had already been detected in at least 40 countries, including the United States. It has already spread quickly in Denmark, where early reports indicate it doesn’t appear to be deadlier than its parent variant. The sub-variant is now also spreading rapidly in the United Kingdom.
While BA.2 is a descendent of omicron, it has slightly different mutations. Omicron has several sub-variants, as does the previously dominant, highly transmissible delta variant.
-ABC News’ Sony Salzman
Jan 25, 6:45 am
Pfizer, BioNTech announce clinical studies for omicron-based vaccine
Pfizer and BioNTech said on Tuesday they have initiated clinical studies to evaluate an omicron-based vaccine for adults.
The trials will evaluate the “safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity” of the omicron-based vaccine for healthy adults between 18 and 55 years old, the companies said. About 1,400 participants will receive one of three combinations of the companies’ current vaccine and the omicron-based vaccine.
“While current research and real-world data show that boosters continue to provide a high level of protection against severe disease and hospitalization with Omicron, we recognize the need to be prepared in the event this protection wanes over time and to potentially help address Omicron and new variants in the future,” said Kathrin U. Jansen, Ph.D., senior vice president and head of vaccine research & development at Pfizer, said in a statement.
The companies said 615 participants will receive a dose of the omicron booster after two doses of the current vaccine. Another 600 participants will receive a dose of the omicron booster after three doses of the current vaccine. The final 205 participants, who have not been vaccinated, will receive three doses of the omicron vaccine.
Pfizer and BioNTech said they expected to have initial findings in the first half of 2022. ABC News has also learned Moderna is expected to start similar human trials of an omicron-specific vaccine within the coming days.
-ABC News’ Eric Strauss
Jan 25, 6:34 am
London police probe Downing Street lockdown parties
London police said Tuesday they are investigating parties that allegedly took place at British Prime Minister Boris Johnon’s official residence and executive office while England was under strict lockdown because of COVID-19.
In a statement before the London Assembly, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick announced the investigation into “a number of events” at 10 Downing Street.
“The fact that we are now investigating does not, of course, mean that fixed penalty notices will necessarily be issued in every instance and to every person involved,” Dick said. “We will not be giving a running commentary on our current investigations.”
Johnson is facing growing anger and calls for his resignation over claims he and his staff flouted COVID-19 restrictions imposed by his government. In the latest allegation, ITV News reported that the prime minister attended a surprise birthday party held for him at his office during the first lockdown in June 2020 and later hosted friends in his apartment upstairs that evening. At that time, people in England were barred from meeting more than one individual outside their household.
A spokesperson for Johnson’s office called the claim “totally untrue,” telling ITV News in a statement that, “in line with the rules at the time, the prime minister hosted a small number of family members outside that evening.”
Earlier this month, Johnson acknowledged for the first time that he went to a garden party at 10 Downing Street during the first lockdown in May 2020. While he didn’t explicitly admit that he had broken any rules, the prime minister apologized and said he had considered the garden party to be a work event to thank his staff for their efforts during the pandemic.
It was unclear which events London’s Metropolitan Police Service is investigating.
Jan 25, 5:42 am
Crisis standards of care activated in southern Idaho
Crisis standards of care have been adopted in much of southern Idaho, as hospitals grapple with a surge in COVID-19 patients.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, citing severe staffing and blood supply shortages, activated crisis standards of care on Monday for the southwest, central and south central public health districts, which encompass 18 counties including the Boise, Nampa and Twin Falls metropolitan areas. Crisis standards of care provide legal and ethical guidelines for how health care providers should allocate scarce, life-saving resources, such as ventilators and intensive care unit beds, during an overwhelming public health emergency.
“The highly contagious Omicron variant has thrown us a curve ball,” Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen said in a statement Monday. “Once again, the situation in our hospitals and health systems is dire — we don’t have enough resources to adequately treat patients.”
It was the second time amid the coronavirus pandemic that the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has activated crisis standards of care. Health care rationing was authorized in northern Idaho last September before being extended to the entire state 10 days later. The guidelines were fully deactivated by the end of December.
The latest activation came in response to a request from Saint Alphonsus Health System, which has hospitals in southwestern Idaho as well as eastern Oregon. Jeppesen convened Idaho’s crisis standards of care activation advisory committee last Friday, and the committee recommended that the guidelines be activated statewide. Jeppesen decided to only make the designation for southern Idaho, but said other parts of the state will likely be added if current COVID-19 trends continue.
Jeppesen urged residents to get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 and to wear high-quality face masks in public places.
“Omicron is so much more contagious than previous variants, and even though a lower percentage of cases are ending up in the hospital, the record number of cases is still putting strain on our healthcare system,” he said.
Jan 24, 4:05 pm
Pediatric cases sky-high but hospitalizations show decline
More than 1.1 million children tested positive for COVID-19 last week — nearly five times the rate of the peak of last winters’ surge, according to a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.
A total of 10.6 million children have tested positive since the onset of the pandemic. A fifth of those children — over 2 million kids — tested positive in just the last two weeks, according to the two organizations.
Pediatric cases in the Northeast are seeing a dramatic drop but new cases in the West, South and the Midwest are still surging.
But there is positive news: COVID-19-related hospitalizations among children fell this week for the first time in one month.
More than 28.4 million eligible children remain unvaccinated.
(NEW YORK) — A second NYPD officer has died after being shot at a domestic violence call in Harlem this weekend.
Officer Wilbert Mora, 27, who died Tuesday, is “3 times a hero,” Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell tweeted. “For choosing a life of service. For sacrificing his life to protect others. For giving life even in death through organ donation.”
Mora was shot while responding to a 911 call Friday night from a woman who was in a dispute with her son. She said her son was in a back bedroom, and when the officers approached the bedroom, the door swung open and the suspect fired, police said.
Mora’s partner, officer Jason Rivera, 22, was struck first at the scene and died from his injuries.
A third officer, 27-year-old Sumit Sulan, opened fire on the suspect, LaShawn McNeil.
McNeil, 47, later died from his injuries.
Mora and Rivera are among five NYPD officers who have been shot this month, the commissioner said.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a former NYPD captain, on Monday unveiled a new strategy to combat violent crime.
“New Yorkers feel as if a sea of violence is engulfing our city,” Adams said. “But as your mayor, I promise you I will not let this happen. We will not surrender our city to the violent feud. We won’t go back to the bad old days.”
(FORT PIERCE INLET, Fla.) — The Coast Guard was combing the waters off eastern Florida Tuesday afternoon, looking for 39 people on a boat that capsized.
The vessel may have been part of a “human smuggling venture,” the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard said it had received a report from a good Samaritan who rescued a man clinging to the vessel, roughly 45 miles east of Fort Pierce Inlet, around 8 a.m.
The survivor said he left Bimini, Bahamas, on Saturday night, and that their boat encountered turbulent weather. No one was wearing a life jacket, according to the survivor.
Coast Guard boats and aircraft were searching throughout the morning, and as of 4 p.m. Tuesday, no other survivors had been discovered.
(NEW YORK) — A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the conviction of the Mexican drug lord known as El Chapo.
Joaquin Guzman sought to overturn his conviction in Brooklyn federal court on ten grounds. The appellate court concluded “none of these claims has merit.”
Among Guzman’s arguments, the strict conditions of his confinement before trial inhibited his rights to prepare a defense and benefit from the assistance of counsel.
“The District Court did not err in concluding that Guzman was able to assist in his own defense and receive a fair trial, despite the conditions of his pretrial confinement,” the decision from the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals said. “The conditions of Guzman’s pretrial confinement, harsh as they were, do not provide a basis for disturbing his conviction.”
“While respecting the Court’s ruling, we’re disappointed that substantial allegations of grave jury misconduct continue to be swept under the rug and left wholly unexamined in a case of historic proportion — all, it appears, because of the defendant’s matchless notoriety,” said Guzman’s attorney, Marc Fernich, in a statement Tuesday.
Guzman was convicted in 2019 of conducting a continuing criminal enterprise, including large-scale narcotics violations and a murder conspiracy, drug trafficking conspiracies, unlawful use of a firearm, and a money laundering conspiracy. He is currently serving a life sentence.
El Chapo was the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. Under his leadership, the Sinaloa Cartel imported more than a million kilograms of cocaine and hundreds of kilograms of heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine into the United States. Trial evidence proved the cartel used murder, kidnapping, torture, bribery of officials, and other illegal methods to control territory throughout Mexico and to subdue opposition.
In November, Guzman’s wife, Emma Coronel Aispuro, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana for import into the U.S; money-laundering and helping run the Mexican drug cartel in which her husband was the boss.
(MILWAUKEE) — Six people were found dead at a home in Wisconsin’s largest city in what police are investigating as a homicide.
Officers were conducting a welfare check at a residence in Milwaukee’s Park West neighborhood on Sunday afternoon when they discovered the bodies of four men and one woman, according to the Milwaukee Police Department. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office announced early Monday that the body of a fifth man was also found at the location.
During a press conference Sunday night, Milwaukee Police Assistant Chief Paul Formolo said all of the deaths are being considered homicides, though he did not provide a cause of death. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed via Twitter overnight that the sixth body was also a homicide victim. Autopsies are expected to be conducted Monday, according to Formolo.
Investigators are still working to determine the identities of the deceased and for how long they were dead before officers arrived, Formolo said.
When asked whether a weapon was found in the home, Formolo told reporters that officers are actively searching the residence but did not give further information. He did not confirm if a suspect was among the deceased and could not comment on the relationships between the victims. However, he said there was no indication to suggest that the incident poses a threat to the community.
An investigation into the deaths is ongoing. A motive was unknown, according to Formolo.
Arnitta Holliman, director of the Milwaukee Office of Violence and Prevention, urged members of the community to contact the Milwaukee Police Department or Milwaukee Crime Stoppers if they think they have any relevant information.
“The community is tired, we are tired of seeing people’s lives snuffed out too soon in preventable situations,” Holliman told reporters. “Each and every one of us has to step up, speak up, stand up, do something.”
“Milwaukee is great place and can continue to be one,” she added, “but we cannot continue to see the kind of violence, level of violence, that we’ve been seeing.”
Acting Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson released a statement on Sunday evening describing the deaths as “horrific.”
“It is important not to feel numbed by the ongoing violence in our community,” Johnson said. “A horrible crime has again occurred, and it is not a movie or a fictional account. These victims died in our city, in one of our neighborhoods.”
ABC News’ Jakeira Gilbert contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.6 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 868,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 63.4% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Latest headlines:
-Pediatric cases sky-high but hospitalizations show decline
-31 states report plateauing or decreasing new case rates
-Palin tests positive for COVID, delaying her libel trial against New York Times
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Jan 24, 4:05 pm
Pediatric cases sky-high but hospitalizations show decline
More than 1.1 million children tested positive for COVID-19 last week — nearly five times the rate of the peak of last winters’ surge, according to a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.
A total of 10.6 million children have tested positive since the onset of the pandemic. A fifth of those children — over 2 million kids — tested positive in just the last two weeks, according to the two organizations.
Pediatric cases in the Northeast are seeing a dramatic drop but new cases in the West, South and the Midwest are still surging.
But there is positive news: COVID-19-related hospitalizations among children fell this week for the first time in one month.
More than 28.4 million eligible children remain unvaccinated.
ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Jan 24, 1:18 pm
New Jersey cases drop by two-thirds in 2 weeks
The omicron surge appears to be letting up in New Jersey, where cases are now down by roughly two-thirds from two weeks ago, Gov. Phil Murphy announced.
While hospitalization numbers have been falling this week, Murphy stressed that they’re still “higher than anything we had seen with the two prior surges.”
“We also remain very concerned about the ICU and ventilator numbers, which are coming down much more slowly,” the governor said.
Jan 24, 12:26 pm
31 states report plateauing or decreasing new case rates
Following weeks of increasing infections, COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are rising. The nation is now reporting nearly 2,000 new COVID-19-related deaths per day — up by 30% in the last two weeks, according to federal data.
But there’s continued evidence that the nation’s most recent surge may be receding in many regions. Thirty-one states as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico are now reporting decreasing or plateauing new case averages, according to federal data.
The only states with an increase in new cases are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Nationwide, the U.S. is reporting an average of 716,000 new cases per day, down by about 10% in the last week.
However, case levels in the U.S. remain incredibly high. In the last seven days, the U.S. reported more than 5 million new cases. Only 1% of U.S. counties aren’t reporting high transmission, according to federal data.
ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Jan 24, 11:51 am
Palin tests positive for COVID, delaying her libel trial against New York Times
Former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin has tested positive for COVID-19, a Manhattan federal court judge announced Monday, as her libel trial against the New York Times was about to begin.
“Since she has apparently tested positive three times I’m going to assume she’s positive,” Judge Jed Rakoff said.
The libel case between Palin and the newspaper has now been delayed until Feb. 2.
Palin sued the New York Times after an editorial incorrectly linked her political rhetoric to the mass shooting that gravely injured Rep. Gabby Giffords. Palin is expected to testify.
(NEW YORK) — Shane Lee Brown, a 25-year-old Black man, is suing two Nevada police departments after he says he was misidentified as a now-51-year-old white man who had an active felony warrant out against him.
Brown was arrested on January 8, 2020, during a traffic stop with Henderson, Nevada, police. Brown didn’t have his driver’s license with him but gave his name and Social Security information to police, according to the lawsuit.
When officers performed a records check on the name “Shane Brown,” a felony bench warrant for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person appeared, according to the lawsuit.
Brown was then arrested and jailed and two days later, he was put in custody of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
“Despite being informed of this mistaken identity, none of the unknown LVMPD police or LVMPD corrections officers bothered to review its own records to determine whether Shane Lee Brown was the subject of the warrant,” the lawsuit said.
Henderson police told ABC News that the arrest was lawful and that Shane Lee Brown was arrested for driving with a suspended license and for failing to pay a warrant issued by Henderson Municipal Court.
“The plaintiff in this lawsuit has not presented all the facts and circumstances behind his lawful and proper arrest by Henderson Police, which will be further addressed in the City Attorney’s response to the court,” the police department says, commenting on the lawsuit.
On Jan. 14, a Clark County District Court judge confirmed that he was not Shane Neal Brown at a hearing and was released from custody, the lawsuit states.
He is suing the Las Vegas and Henderson police departments for $50,000 for civil rights violations, false imprisonment, negligence and other wrongful conduct.
According to the lawsuit, Brown told police several times that he was not Shane Neal Brown. Shane Neal Brown is an ex-felon who was wanted for missing a court hearing while on parole following a possession of a firearm charge. He pleaded guilty to the charges. The lawsuit indicates that there were likely prior booking photos of Shane Neal Brown available.
“Had any of the LVMPD police or corrections officers performed any due diligence, such as comparing Shane Lee Brown’s booking photo against the existing mug shot belonging to the world, white ‘Shane Brown’ named in the warrant, they would have easily determined that Shane Lee Brown has been misidentified as the subject of the warrant,” the lawsuit said.
Brown’s attorney, E. Brent Bryson, has accused law enforcement officials of ignoring the conflicting details including mismatched photos, fingerprints, dates of birth, physical descriptions or criminal identification numbers in the process of Brown’s arrest and incarceration.
Bryson did not respond to ABC News requests for comment. LVMPD declined ABC News’ request for comment.
(NEW YORK) — A federal prosecutor on Monday called Michael Avenatti “a lawyer who stole from his client” and promised jurors “you’re going to follow the money” at the opening of Avenatti’s trial in Manhattan federal court.
Avenatti, seated at the defense table in a mask and dark suit, is charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for forging the signature of his most well-known client, the adult film actress Stormy Daniels, and steering $300,000 she was owed by a book publisher into an account he controlled.
“The defendant betrayed the victim, stole her money and lied to cover it up,” the prosecutor, Andrew Rohrbach, said during his opening statement.
Avenatti has pleaded not guilty and his attorney said there was no theft.
“Mr. Avenatti didn’t steal Storm Daniels money,” defense attorney Andrew Dalak said, instead casting the matter as a “disagreement” or fee dispute.
“This disagreement has no business in federal criminal court,” Dalak said in his opening statement.
Daniels was supposed to be paid $800,000 in four installments for writing her autobiography, including details of her long-denied affair with former President Donald Trump. The prosecution said Avenatti stole two of those payments because he was having personal financial problems and his law firm was having trouble making payroll and paying for office space.
“There was no agreement for the defendant to get any piece of Ms. Daniels’ book money,” Rohrbach said. “She didn’t know her lawyer had stolen her money.”
The defense has suggested it might question the credibility of Daniels, who Dalak called an “obscure adult entertainer” before she received a hush payment from Trump and sued to get released from a nondisclosure agreement. The defense will also be allowed to question Daniels about her beliefs in the paranormal related to her “Spooky Babes” television show in which she explores paranormal activity.
Anticipating the line of questioning, Rohrbach said actresses in adult films and paranormal investigators “can be victims of fraud and identity theft too.”
The government’s first witness is Lucas Janklow, Daniels’ literary agent, who testified he first knew Avenatti by reputation as “a folk hero” who was “very aggressive and very effective at fighting for the 70 million people who didn’t vote” for Trump.
(NEW YORK) — A $60,000 reward is being offered in the search for the suspect identified in the fatal ambush shooting of a Texas constable deputy during a traffic stop on Sunday.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner named 51-year-old Oscar Rosales as the suspect who allegedly gunned down Cpl. Charles Galloway of the Harris County Precinct 5 office.
“We have video evidence of him shooting our constable,” said Finner, who released a photo of Rosales and pleaded for the public to share any information they had about the suspect.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said Rosales has been charged with capital murder in Galloways’ death. Ogg described Rosales as “a bold and incredibly dangerous fugitive.”
“Mr. Rosales, you can run but you cannot hide,” said Ogg, adding that the search for the suspect is now nationwide.
Galloway, 47, was shot multiple times while still seated in his patrol car and reportedly had no time to defend himself when the motorist he stopped got out of his car and opened fire without warning, authorities said.
“We will not stop until this individual is apprehended,” Precinct 5 Constable Ted Heap said during Monday’s news conference. “This is a murderer. This is a ruthless, savage execution and somebody like this needs to be removed from the streets quickly.”
The shooting started at about 12:45 a.m. Sunday when Galloway, a training officer, pulled over a newer-model white Toyota Avalon in a residential neighborhood of southwest Houston, according to Finner.
Finner said the suspect immediately got out of the car and began firing at Galloway multiple times with an assault-type rifle, before driving off. He said Galloway did not have an opportunity to defend himself.
Ogg said Rosales’ wife, Reina Marquez, and her brother, Henri Mauricio Pereira-Marquez, have both been arrested on charges of tampering with evidence.
Finner said Reina Marquez and her brother are alleged to have tampered with the Toyota Avalon, which has since been recovered by police.
He said the reward being offered for information leading to the capture and prosecution of Rosales came from donations from Crime Stoppers of Houston, the Fallen Heroes Fund 100 Club and Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, who put up $50,000.
The deadly episode came during a string of law enforcement officer deaths in-the-line duty nationwide. On Friday night, a 22-year-old rookie New York City police officer was fatally shot and his partner was critically wounded when they responded to a domestic incident in Harlem.
On Dec. 29, Bradley, Illinois, Police Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic, 49, was fatally shot and her partner was wounded when they responded to a barking dog complaint at a hotel. Two people arrested in the case, including one who allegedly shot Rittmanic with her own gun, were arrested and are facing the death penalty if convicted.
Galloway’s death comes about three months after Harris County Constable Precinct 4 deputy Kareem Atkins, 30, was shot to death in an ambush outside a Houston sports bar that left Atkins’ partner wounded. A 19-year-old suspect was arrested in December and charged with capital murder.
“These are not assaults, these are not attacks, these are brutal, brutal murders. We have to put an end to this,” Heap said. “We cannot have people like this on our streets. I don’t want to raise my family, my grandchildren in a county where this type of crime is running rampant.”
Heap nor Finner would comment on why Galloway, who was assigned to the toll road enforcement division, initiated the traffic stop.
Finner said his departments investigative and homicide units are leading the investigation.
Heap said Galloway is survived by a daughter and a sister. He said Galloway was a 12 1/2-year veteran of Precinct 5 and had voluntarily switched to a night shift position to become a training officer.
“There are a lot of very broken up officers who he (Galloway) meant a lot in their lives because he was the one sitting in the front seat with them,” Heap said. “He was the one who was teaching them what to do and how to get home safely to their families.”
