(TULSA, Okla) — At least three people are dead and multiple people are injured following a shooting at the Natalie Building at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Wednesday, according to police.
Police received a call of a man walking with a rifle near a medical office. When police responded, they said it turned into an active shooter situation, according to Tulsa Police Captain Richard Meulenberg.
When police entered the building, they found multiple people shot.
“Officers immediately rushed to the second floor where the shooting was taking place, when they got there they found a few people had been shot, a couple were dead at that time,” Meulenberg told ABC News. “We also found at that time who [we] believe and still believe to [be] the shooter because he had a long rifle and a pistol with him.”
Tulsa police said the shooter is dead. It’s unclear if he was shot by police, Meulenberg said.
Police said they are going through the five-story medical complex room by room to secure the building.
“We are doing a meticulous floor-by-floor, room-by-room search … It’s calmed down. We’re trying to connect people and we’re hoping not to find any victims,” Meulenberg said.
The Tulsa Police Department said to stay away from the area and that reunification for families will be at Memorial High School on the west side of LaFortune Park.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(TULSA, Okla.) — Fatalities are reported and multiple people are injured following a shooting at a medical center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Wednesday, according to police.
Police received a call of a man walking with a rifle near a medical office. When police responded, they said it turned into an active shooter situation, according to Tulsa Police Captain Richard Meulenberg.
When police entered the building, they found multiple people shot.
The shooter is believed to be down, but it’s unclear if he was shot by police, Meulenberg said.
Police said they are going through the five-story medical complex room by room to secure the building.
The Tulsa Police Department said to stay away from the area and that reunification for families will be at Memorial High School on the west side of LaFortune Park.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LARGO, Fla.) — A Florida man killed in a suspected alligator attack was likely looking for Frisbees in a lake, authorities said.
The Largo Police Department said Tuesday it is investigating the death of a man at Taylor Lake in Largo, a city in the Tampa Bay area.
“At this time, detectives believe the victim was looking for Frisbees in the water and a gator was involved,” the department said in a statement.
The man was found along the shoreline by a bystander walking their dog in Taylor Park, home to a 53-acre freshwater lake, and police were contacted around 8 a.m. Tuesday, according to Largo Police Department spokesperson Megan Santo.
Police identified the victim Wednesday as 47-year-old Sean Thomas McGuinness. Investigators believe he was looking for Frisbees in the water at night when an alligator likely attacked him.
“According to Park Management, McGuinness was known to frequent the park and enter the lake with disregard to the posted ‘No Swimming’ signs,” the department said in a statement. “A witness also advised detectives that McGuinness was known to sell discs back to people within the park as the park is equipped with a disc golf course and McGuinness was found within a few feet of a disc in the water.”
The medical examiner will determine the exact cause of death, though it was apparent from the injuries that alligators were involved, police said.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded to the scene Tuesday.
“A contracted nuisance alligator trapper is working to remove a nearby alligator and efforts will be made to determine if it was involved in this situation,” the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a statement Tuesday.
Police urged residents and visitors to avoid going near or swimming in the lake at any time. There are “no swimming” signs posted at the lake, according to police.
Fatal alligator bites are rare. From 1948 to 2021, Florida reported 442 unprovoked bite incidents from alligators, 26 of which resulted in fatalities, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. In the last 10 years, the state has averaged eight unprovoked bites a year that require medical treatment, the agency said.
The likelihood of someone being seriously injured during an unprovoked alligator incident in Florida is roughly one in 3.1 million, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The last fatal alligator attack in Florida was in 2019, according to the agency.
A man was bitten in the face by an alligator at Taylor Park in 2020 while looking for frisbees in the lake, ABC News Tampa affiliate WFTS reported at the time. The injury was non-life-threatening.
(MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin) — A Wisconsin police officer, who killed three people in the line of duty over five years, will not be charged in a fatal 2016 shooting of a 25-year-old man he found sleeping inside a car at a park, special prosecutors said Wednesday.
The special prosecutors, Milwaukee attorney Scott Hansen and La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke, announced their review of the incident did not find any legal basis for charging former Wauwatosa police officer Joseph Mensah in the shooting of Jay Anderson Jr.
Mensah, who is now a detective at the Waukesha, Wisconsin, County Sheriff’s Office, told investigators that after approaching Anderson’s parked car around 3 a.m. on June 23, 2016, he noticed a handgun lying on the front seat, according to a synopsis from the Milwaukee Police Department, which investigated the shooting. He claimed that Anderson initially complied with his orders to keep his hands up, but then lunged for the gun, prompting him to use deadly force.
Dash-camera video from Mensah’s squad car showed him shooting Anderson. The autopsy determined Anderson was shot five times in the head and once in the shoulder.
Hansen said Wednesday that a criminal case would have been hard to prove beyond reasonable doubt to a jury that Mensah did not act in self-defense when he shot Anderson.
“We believe the evidence will not permit that,” Hansen said.
The decision by the special prosecutors appears to align with a decision made by Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm in 2016 not to charge Mensah.
Chisholm previously cleared Mensah in the fatal 2020 shooting of a 17-year-old, who allegedly refused commands to drop a stolen gun, and the 2015 fatal shooting of a 29-year-old man, who allegedly refused orders to drop a sword.
Milwaukee County Judge Glenn Yamahiro appointed the special prosecutors to review the case last year after hearing evidence in a so-called John Doe hearing that an attorney for Anderson’s family sought. Yamahiro found probable cause to bring homicide charges against Mensah, concluding the evidence showed the officer did not act in self-defense and was negligent in the handling of a dangerous weapon when he shot Anderson.
But the judge declined to file charges and opted to have the case reviewed by special prosecutors he appointed.
Yamahiro denied a motion filed Wednesday by Kimberley Motley, the Anderson family’s lawyer, to appoint new special prosecutors to review the case again.
But Yamahiro said, “I continue to believe that this entire tragedy was avoidable.”
Following Wednesday’s hearing, Anderson’s mother, Linda Anderson, vowed to keep fighting for justice for her son.
“I’m not stopping until that man is behind bars, where he needs to be,” Linda Anderson said.
(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.
