(FLORENCE, Ala.) — A manhunt is intensifying in Florence, Alabama, for an escaped murder suspect and a corrections officer who have been missing for days.
A warrant has been issued for Lauderdale County assistant director of corrections Vicki White on charges of committing or facilitating an escape, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said at a news conference Monday.
Vicki White “participated” in the escape with inmate Casey White, the sheriff said, adding, “Whether she did that willingly or she was coerced, threatened … not really sure.”
The employee and inmate — who went missing on Friday — are not related.
The sheriff said law enforcement have no idea where they are, but promised, “They will be brought back to justice.”
On Friday morning, Vicki White allegedly told her colleagues that she was taking 38-year-old Casey White to the Lauderdale County Courthouse for a “mental health evaluation,” though no court appearance was scheduled for the inmate, Singleton said. Vicki White violated sheriff’s office policy by escorting Casey White alone, the sheriff said.
Vicki White also allegedly told her colleagues that she was going to seek medical attention after dropping the inmate off at court because she wasn’t feeling well, but Singleton said his office confirmed that no medical appointment was made.
Vicki White had been talking about retiring for the last few months and turned in her paperwork on Thursday, Singleton told ABC News. Friday — the day the two went missing — was set to be her last day at work, he said.
Authorities are reviewing video to see if she spent an extraordinary amount of time at his cell. She had several opportunities each day to be in contact with any inmate, the sheriff said.
Singleton called Vicki White, a 17-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, “an exemplary employee.”
“The employees are just devastated,” the sheriff said. “Nobody saw this coming.”
Casey White is charged with two counts of capital murder in September 2020 for the stabbing of 58-year-old Connie Ridgeway, authorities said. He could face the death penalty if convicted, the sheriff said.
Casey White previously planned an escape from the Lauderdale County Detention Center in the fall of 2020, but officials thwarted the plot before he could attempt it, Singleton said. When officials got word of the plot, they found a homemade knife in his possession and learned that he was planning to take a hostage, the sheriff said. Casey White was subsequently transferred to a state prison, where he remained until early this year, when he returned to the Lauderdale County facility for court appearances related to the murder charge, the sheriff said.
Marty Keely, U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Alabama, called this a “major case for the United States Marshal Service.”
Casey White is 6 feet 9 inches tall. Anyone who sees them is urged to call 911, Keely said.
The U.S. Marshals Service is offering up to $10,000 reward for information leading to their capture, Keely said.
(PARKLAND, Fla.) — Jury selection in the death penalty trial of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz is set to resume on Monday after dissolving into disarray last week when the presiding judge admitted she erroneously dismissed prospective jurors and other would-be panelists were cut loose for threatening the defendant.
The 23-year-old Cruz has pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder stemming from the Feb. 14, 2018, mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
The Broward County Circuit Court jury being picked for the case will eventually recommend if Cruz, 23, should be sentenced to death or be sent to prison for the rest of his life without the possibility of parole.
Presiding Judge Elizabeth Scherer admitted last week that she made an error on April 5, the second day of jury selection, when she asked would-be jurors if they could follow the law if picked to serve on the case and then dismissed 11 who said they could not.
Scherer acknowledged that she should have allowed attorneys for the defense and prosecution to question the prospective candidates about their answers before dismissing them. She initially ruled that she was starting jury selection over, but then reversed her decision after hearing an argument from the defense.
Scherer’s mistake prompted defense attorneys to file a motion accusing the court of committing double jeopardy and asking that the death penalty phase of the case be declared a mistrial and that Cruz be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In an attempt to remedy her error, Scherer is summoning back to court on Monday the 11 jurors she dismissed to be questioned and possibly be rehabilitated and added to a pool of more than 300 candidates.
For the initial phase of jury selection, questions should have been limited to whether the potential jurors had a hardship that prevented them from serving on the case, which is expected to last four to six months. More probing questions like the one the judge asked should have been reserved for the voir dire phase of jury selection, when prosecutors and defense attorneys are given the chance to grill jury candidates on their answers.
Twenty jurors, including eight alternates, will eventually be chosen to serve on the panel.
The jury selection process hit another snag last week when a potential juror disrupted the proceedings when he entered the courtroom and allegedly mouthed expletives and threats to Cruz, who was seated at the defense table. The outburst apparently inspired other would-be jurors in the courtroom to make similar threats to Cruz and prompted bailiffs to press Cruz against a wall to protect him.
Scherer described that particular group of jury candidates as “belligerent” and dismissed them all.
Cruz pleaded guilty in October to committing the 2018 Valentine’s Day massacre at the Parkland high school. During the hearing attended by loved ones of the 17 he killed, Cruz said he wished it was up to the survivors of the shooting to determine whether he lived or died.
“I’m very sorry for what I did,” Cruz said at his plea hearing. “I can’t live with myself sometimes.”
(FLORENCE, Ala.) — Multiple law enforcement agencies are continuing their search for a murder suspect who escaped an Alabama jail by apparently feigning a trip to the courthouse with a corrections officer, according to authorities.
Vicki White, the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office assistant director, was last seen escorting inmate Casey White to the local courthouse on Friday morning for an “alleged mental health evaluation,” Sheriff Rick Singleton told reporters on Saturday. The two are not related, the sheriff said.
Casey White, 38, was arrested in 2020 and charged with two counts of capital murder that authorities said was a murder for hire in a case that went cold for nearly five years, AL.com reported at the time.
“Indications are” that Vicki White, who has worked for the sheriff’s office for 25 years, assisted in the escape, but it is unclear whether she did so willingly or if Casey White coerced her into doing so “by threatening her and/or her family or other means,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Investigators are searching for any footage that can shed light on what happened and are also combing through Casey White’s phone calls and looking into the previous interactions between him and Vicki White to determine whether the escape was premeditated, Singleton said.
Here is a timeline of events, according to the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office:
Friday, April 29
8:47 a.m.: Transport van No. 5 leaves the detention center with seven inmates, escorted by two deputies.
8:56 a.m.: Transport van No. 2 leaves the detention center with five inmates, escorted by two deputies.
9:20 a.m.: Vicki White instructs a corrections deputy to prepare Casey White for transport to the courthouse. The deputy then removes Casey White from his jail cell and takes him to booking, where the deputy places him in handcuffs and shackles his legs.
9:41 a.m.: Vicki White leaves the detention center with Casey White in a patrol car for an inmate “mental health evaluation.” Prior to leaving, Vicki White tells the booking officer that she is the only deputy available who is firearm certified and that she is dropping him off to other deputies at the courthouse and would then be going to Med Plus, an urgent care center, because she is not feeling well.
11:34 a.m.: A police officer with the Florence Police Department, unaware of the situation at the time, spots the patrol vehicle in a parking lot near cars that are for sale.
3:30 p.m.: A booking officer reports to detention center administration that they have been trying to contact Vicki White to check on her but that her phone is going directly to voicemail. The booking officer also advises that inmate Casey White has not returned to the detention center with the other inmates.
The administrator contacts the sheriff’s office, and officers begin a search of the courthouse to determine whether Casey White is still in the building. Over the next several minutes, they determine that Casey White was not in the courthouse and that there was not a court appearance or evaluation scheduled. Security footage shows that Vicki White never arrived at the courthouse.
After a national bulletin is released with details of Casey White and Vicki White, a witness reports that she saw the patrol vehicle on her lunch break at a shopping center. Deputies retrieve the patrol car but do not find any information on their whereabouts.
5:30 p.m.: About 20 agents from the U.S. Marshals, the FBI, the ATF, the Secret Service and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency join the investigation.
Morning: The son of Connie Ridgeway, the woman Casey White is accused of killing, tells ABC Huntsville, Alabama, affiliate station WAAY that he is in disbelief his mother’s accused killer is on the loose.
“I’m shocked,” Austin Williams told the station after Casey White had been on the run for at least 24 hours. “I mean, how is that even possible that someone with that rap sheet got out that easily?”
Singleton announces during a press conference that it was a “strict violation of policy” for Vicki White to be alone with an inmate, adding that Casey White should have been escorted by two deputies, given his charges.
In her role as assistant director of corrections, Vicki White is in charge of coordinating transportation between the detention center and the court, Singleton said. The breach of protocol wasn’t flagged by her employees.
Evening: Singleton tells ABC News that it appears the escape was “orchestrated.”
Casey White previously planned to escape from the Lauderdale County Detention Center in the fall of 2020, but officials thwarted the plot before he could attempt it, Singleton said. When prison officials got word of the plot, they found a homemade knife in White’s possession and learned that he was planning to take a hostage.
Casey White was subsequently transferred to a state prison, where he remained until early this year, and would return to the Lauderdale County facility for court appearances related to the murder, Singleton said.
Vicki White is “an exemplary employee” who is well-liked by all her colleagues, Singleton said. She interacts with inmates several times a day as part of her job, Singleton said, adding that he is unaware of any kind of relationship between Vicki White and Casey White.
“We’re very concerned for her safety,” he said.
Morning: The U.S. Marshals Service announces a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the capture for Casey White.
“Casey White is believed to be a serious threat to the corrections officer and the public,” U.S. Marshal Marty Keely said in a statement.
Afternoon: Singleton tells ABC News that Vicki White had been talking about retiring for three or four months prior to the escape. She turned in her paperwork on Thursday, and Friday, when the escape occurred, was set to be her last day at work.
ABC News’ Jack Date, Meredith Deliso, Elwyn Lopez, Will McDuffie and Ben Stein contributed to this report.
(MANASSAS, Virginia) — At least three people were injured Sunday when gunfire erupted near a middle school athletic field in Virginia, marking the third time in seven days that a shooting has occurred near youth sports facilities across the country.
The latest incident unfolded Sunday morning near Benton Middle School in Manassas, Virginia, about 30 miles southwest of Alexandria, according to the Prince William County Police Department.
Police said a youth flag football game was going on when the gunfire erupted. The circumstances of the shooting are under investigation.
Three gunshot victims were taken to area hospitals, but their ages and conditions were not immediately released.
No arrests were reported, but police said officers had secured the scene.
Prince William County Supervisor Yesli Vega released a statement on Facebook saying her office was monitoring the situation closely.
“For those who reside near Benton Middle School, please stay in your homes until we have further updates,” Vega said in her statement.
The shooting came just three days after nearly two dozen shots were fired near a high school baseball game in Chicago, prompting players on the field to drop to the ground and others to dive for cover. The shooting occurred just after 5 p.m. on Friday during a freshman baseball game between St. Rita High School and Marmion Academy.
No one was injured in that shooting, and police said they suspect the gunfire came from a McDonald’s across the street from the athletic field where gunmen were firing at a moving car, according to the Chicago Police Department.
On April 25, a barrage of gunfire interrupted a youth league baseball game in North Charleston, South Carolina. Dozens of shots were fired near Pepperhill Park, police said.
Cell phone video showed players on the field diving to the ground and their teammates, coaches and spectators seeking cover.
The North Charleston Police said no one was injured in the shooting. No arrests have been made.
North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrests of those responsible for the shooting.
“It destroyed the hearts of a lot of people: mothers, fathers, children out here participating in sports within our city,” Summey said at a news conference last week. “We will not tolerate this behavior, and we will not allow this behavior to carry forward.”
Gun violence prevention organization Everytown released a report last year showing that between Aug. 20 and Sept. 25, 2021, at least 22 incidents involving guns occurred at football games, soccer matches and Little League games in 14 states. Some incidents turned deadly, including a college football game in Durham, North Carolina, on Sept. 18, where police said two people were fatally shot.
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military last month launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, attempting to capture the strategic port city of Mariupol and to secure a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 02, 5:48 am
Pelosi leads delegation to Poland after visiting Ukraine
A high-level U.S. congressional delegation led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw on Monday, a day after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
“Our distinguished Congressional delegation came to Poland to send an unmistakable message to the world: that America stands firmly with our NATO allies in our support for Ukraine,” Pelosi said in a statement.
Pelosi said their talks with Duda and other Polish officials in the Polish capital “will be focused on further strengthening our partnership, offering our gratitude for Poland’s humanitarian leadership, and discussing how we can further work together to support Ukraine.”
Earlier, Pelosi and the half dozen U.S. lawmakers with her traveled to the southeastern Polish city of Rzeszow, where they met with U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division stationed in Poland to reassure NATO allies and deter Russian aggression.
“These engagements are even more meaningful following our meeting in Kyiv with President Volodymr Zelenskyy and other top Ukrainian leaders,” Pelosi said. “In that profound and solemn visit, our delegation conveyed our respect and gratitude to President Zelenskyy for his leadership and our admiration of the Ukrainian people for their courage in the fight against Russia’s diabolical invasion. Our Members were proud to deliver the message that additional American support is on the way, as we work to transform President Biden’s strong funding request into a legislative package.”
Pelosi, second in line to the U.S. presidency after the vice president, was the most senior American lawmaker to visit Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24. The delegation’s trip to the Ukrainian capital was not disclosed until they were safely out of the country.
-ABC News’ Chad Murray
May 01, 4:57 pm
Russian shelling of Mariupol steel plant resumes: Ukrainian officials
Russian forces resumed shelling the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol on Sunday after some civilians inside the facility and in nearby homes were evacuated during a brief cease fire, according Ukrainian officials.
“They are shelling the plant with all kinds of weapons,” said Denis Schlega, commander of the 12th Brigade of Operational Assignment in Mariupol.
Earlier Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations and Russian Ministry of Defense all confirmed that some civilians were evacuated from the steel plant, where a Ukrainian military unit is making a last stand in the port city that is almost entirely under Russian control.
Zelenskyy said about 100 civilians were evacuated from the steel plant on Sunday and were being taken to Zaporizhia, a city under Ukrainian control.
The Mariupol City Council said in a statement that evacuations from Mariupol had stopped Sunday afternoon due to “security reasons.” The city council said the evacuations would resume on Monday.
May 01, 4:13 pm
Civilians killed, injured in shelling of Kharkiv region: Ukrainian official
At least three civilians were killed and eight others injured on Sunday as a result of heavy shelling from Russian forces in the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian official.
The casualties were reported in the residential areas of Saltivka, Bohodukhiv and Zolochif, according to Oleg Sinegubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
May 01, 12:24 pm
Pope Francis condemns ‘macabre regression of humanity’ in Ukraine
Pope Francis on Sunday described the war in Ukraine as a “macabre regression of humanity” that makes him “suffer and cry.”
Speaking to thousands of people crowded into St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, the pope called for humanitarian corridors to be opened to evacuate civilians trapped inside or near a steel plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.
Evacuation of civilians at the Azovstal steel plant, where Ukrainian forces have been staging a last stand against Russian troops, have started, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Red Cross and the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed on Sunday.
During Sunday’s Vatican service, Francis repeated his criticism of Russia for invading Ukraine.
“My thoughts go immediately to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, the city of Mary, barbarously bombarded and destroyed,” the pontiff said of the Russian-controlled southeastern port city, which is named after Mary. “I suffer and cry thinking of the suffering of the Ukrainian population, in particular the weakest, the elderly, the children.”
In Catholicism, the month of May is dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Francis asked for monthlong prayers for peace in Ukraine.
“While we are witnessing a macabre regression of humanity, I ask you, together with so many anguished people, if we are really seeking peace, if there is the will to avoid a continuous military and verbal escalation, if we are doing everything possible to make the weapons stop? Please, let us not give in to the logic of violence, to the perverse spiral of arms. Let us take the path of dialogue and peace. Let us pray.”
(MANASSAS, Virginia) — At least three people were injured Sunday when gunfire erupted near a middle school athletic field in Virginia, marking the third time in seven days that a shooting has occurred near youth sports facilities across the country.
The latest incident unfolded Sunday morning near Benton Middle School in Manassas, Virginia, about 30 miles southwest of Alexandria, according to the Prince William County Police Department.
Police said a youth flag football game was going on when the gunfire erupted. The circumstances of the shooting are under investigation.
Three gunshot victims were taken to area hospitals, but their ages and conditions were not immediately released.
No arrests were reported, but police said officers had secured the scene.
Prince William County Supervisor Yesli Vega released a statement on Facebook saying her office was monitoring the situation closely.
“For those who reside near Benton Middle School, please stay in your homes until we have further updates,” Vega said in her statement.
The shooting came just three days after nearly two dozen shots were fired near a high school baseball game in Chicago, prompting players on the field to drop to the ground and others to dive for cover. The shooting occurred just after 5 p.m. on Friday during a freshman baseball game between St. Rita High School and Marmion Academy.
No one was injured in that shooting, and police said they suspect the gunfire came from a McDonald’s across the street from the athletic field where gunmen were firing at a moving car, according to the Chicago Police Department.
On April 25, a barrage of gunfire interrupted a youth league baseball game in North Charleston, South Carolina. Dozens of shots were fired near Pepperhill Park, police said.
Cell phone video showed players on the field diving to the ground and their teammates, coaches and spectators seeking cover.
The North Charleston Police said no one was injured in the shooting. No arrests have been made.
North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrests of those responsible for the shooting.
“It destroyed the hearts of a lot of people: mothers, fathers, children out here participating in sports within our city,” Summey said at a news conference last week. “We will not tolerate this behavior, and we will not allow this behavior to carry forward.”
Gun violence prevention organization Everytown released a report last year showing that between Aug. 20 and Sept. 25, 2021, at least 22 incidents involving guns occurred at football games, soccer matches and Little League games in 14 states. Some incidents turned deadly, including a college football game in Durham, North Carolina, on Sept. 18, where police said two people were fatally shot.
(SANTA FE, N.M.) — New mandatory evacuation orders have been issued in parts of New Mexico due to the rapid growth of a massive wildfire east of Santa Fe.
Since merging into one blaze a week ago, the Calf Canyon and Hermit’s Peak fires have burned 97,064 acres as of Saturday morning — a growth of over 30,000 acres in 24 hours, according to updates from state fire officials.
The blaze, which is primarily impacting San Miguel and Mora counties, is 32% contained with over 1,000 firefighters responding.
High wind speeds on Friday caused rapid fire spread east toward Las Vegas and south across Gallinas Canyon, fire officials said.
“It appears that part of the fire that had continued to grow through the night collapsed and sent a lot of embers out and caused some significant fire growth to the south,” Jason Coil, an operations section chief for a Southwest incident management team, said during a briefing Saturday.
Several areas in the south are now in mandatory evacuation status amid the rapid fire growth. Officials in San Miguel and Mora counties warned that the “emerging situation remains extremely serious, and that failure to evacuate could be fatal.”
Fire officials expect higher temperatures, lower relative humidity and wind conditions to make for a very active fire day Saturday.
“Today we’re supposed to get southwest winds… Tomorrow stronger, more southerly winds,” Coil said. “So there’s gonna be a big emphasis today to construct and hold this line and make sure that we do everything we can to protect structures within the perimeter.”
The fire danger continues throughout parts of the Southwest this weekend, with strong, gusty winds amid persistent dry conditions in the region. Red flag warnings are in effect from Nevada to New Mexico.
Several large wildfires continue to burn from the Texas Panhandle to Arizona, most of which are in New Mexico.
The widespread, relentless drought continues to provide ample dry fuels for fires to spread, with little relief in sight for the foreseeable future for a large swath of the drought zones. More than two-thirds of New Mexico is now facing extreme drought conditions, while the exceptional drought area has more than doubled in size over the past week, encompassing more than 15% of the state.
(FLORENCE, Ala.) — An Alabama corrections deputy and suspect charged with capital murder have been missing since Friday morning after leaving the jail for a court appointment that did not exist, said authorities, who warned the suspect should be considered armed and “extremely dangerous.”
Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office employee Vicky White was last seen escorting inmate Casey White to the local courthouse on Friday around 9:40 a.m. for an “alleged mental health evaluation,” Sheriff Rick Singleton told reporters.
“We have confirmed that there was no mental health evaluation scheduled,” Singleton said.
Vicky White was also alone with the inmate, which is a “strict violation of policy,” he said, noting that Casey White should have been escorted by two deputies given his charges. The two are not related, the sheriff said.
As the assistant director of corrections, Vicky White is in charge of coordinating transportation between the detention center and the court, and the breach of protocol wasn’t flagged by her employees, the sheriff said.
Vicky White told a booking officer that she was going to the doctor after dropping off the inmate, but she never made that appointment either, authorities said.
The sheriff’s office did not realize the two were missing until 3:30 p.m. Friday, when the booking officer reported he was unable to get ahold of Vicky White and her phone was going to voicemail. They then realized that the inmate was not back at the detention center, either, Singleton said.
The patrol vehicle the two took from the detention center was located in the parking lot of a nearby shopping center, authorities said. The car was spotted in the parking lot as early as 11 a.m. Friday, authorities said.
Investigators are searching for any footage that can shed light on what happened, going off the inmate’s phone logs to determine if his escape was premeditated and looking into the previous interactions between the deputy and inmate. Authorities are considering all angles, Singleton said.
“Did she assist him in escaping? That’s obviously a possibility,” Singleton said. “We’re assuming at this point that she was taken against her will unless we can absolutely prove otherwise.”
Vicky White has been an employee of the sheriff’s office for 25 years. The office is “shocked” that she is missing, Singleton said, describing her as an “exemplary employee.”
The deputy was armed with a 9 mm pistol, authorities said.
“Casey White should be considered armed and extremely dangerous,” Singleton said. “Right now we hope and pray we get him before somebody gets hurt.”
The FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency are assisting in the search, according to Huntsville ABC affiliate WAAY.
The state has issued a “blue alert,” which is activated when an Alabama officer has been killed or seriously injured and the perpetrator is at large.
Casey White, 38, is described by authorities as 6 feet, 6 inches tall and 252 pounds, with salt and pepper hair, hazel eyes and tattoos on both arms. Vicky White, 56, is described as 5 foot, 5 inches tall and 160 pounds, with blonde hair and brown eyes.
“Casey White is believed to be a serious threat to the corrections officer and the public,” the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said in its alert.
The suspect was arrested in 2020 and charged with two counts of capital murder in a nearly 5-year-old cold case that authorities said was a murder for hire, AL.com reported at the time. He was in the Lauderdale County jail awaiting trial, set to begin on June 13, according to WAAY.
(GRAY, Ga.) — A husband has been charged with the murder of his wife in Georgia after it was initially claimed in a 911 call that she had died by suicide, according to the Jones County Sheriff’s Office.
Shyanne Schroeder was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head on March 27, when deputies responded to the call, the sheriff’s office said.
Her husband, Troy Newton Scarborough, of Gray, Georgia, was arrested following his wife’s death and charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
However, while he remained in custody, police reviewed the evidence in their investigation and now believe he was responsible for killing Schroeder.
“The responding deputies got the feeling that something wasn’t right about this case, and thankfully they trusted their instincts,” Sheriff Butch Reece said in a statement.
Scarborough was charged Friday with felony murder, multiple counts of aggravated assault and possession of firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with his wife’s death.
“I would like to thank our investigators and deputies for all their hard work, without which there may have been a huge miscarriage of justice,” Reece said in the statement. “I also want to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigations for their technical expertise and assistance in this case.”
Scarborough is being held without bond, according to the sheriff’s office.
(NEW YORK) — Anyone who has lived in New York or visited the city is likely familiar with the smells — and especially, the tastes — of its beloved halal carts.
And yet, for one entire month of the year, the workers running these carts can’t eat their own food during daylight.
During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world fast from dawn to dusk. The exact dates are determined by the lunar Islamic calendar, which is a few days shorter than the standard 365-day solar calendar, meaning Ramadan occurs 10 days earlier each year and cycles throughout all seasons. This year, it is being observed from April 2 to May 1.
Abstaining all day from food and drink, including water, is no easy feat for anyone, but those whose livelihoods involve serving food may face an added level of difficulty.
“It can be hard to have a job over a hot grill, especially when Ramadan is in the summer, in this small space and you’re fasting for 15, 16 or 17 hours,” said Ahmed Ahmed, who has worked at a halal cart off Everitt Street in DUMBO, Brooklyn, since immigrating to New York five years ago. “But that is just part of it.”
Originally from Egypt, Ahmed said he wouldn’t characterize the food he serves as similar to what he’d find on the street back home. Indeed, “halal” is not actually a certain genre of dishes. While the popularity of these carts have nearly caused “halal” to become synonymous with a type of cuisine, it’s just an Arabic word describing permissible foods and meats under Islamic law — much as “kosher” is in Judaism.
At these carts, the meat is halal, meaning it was butchered in line with Islamic protocol underscoring hygienic and ethical practices.
“It’s a blessing to be able to serve people food, especially to fellow Muslims looking for halal food in specific,” said Alam Hussain, who runs a cart in Long Island City in Queens and emigrated from Bangladesh 11 years ago.
Despite their strong presence and followings, halal carts are relatively new in New York. While food carts have a long history in the city, halal offerings were not part of the story until the late 1980s and early 1990s, when a growing influx of South Asian and Arab immigrants entered the street vendor space. As the ethnic composition of the city changed, so did its offerings on its streets.
For about a century and a half, street vending has been a common entry-point into the job market for New York’s immigrants. Since the mid 1800s, several immigrant populations — including Greeks, Italians and Jews — have reigned over the city’s street food scene at different points. Most recently, it’s been New York’s Muslim community.
Research from Queens College, comparing street vendor demographic data, tallied that 306 German and Italian immigrants ran street carts in New York in 1990, compared to none in 2005.
Meanwhile, immigrants from Egypt, Bangladesh and Afghanistan accounted for 69 vendors across New York in 1990, yet 563 in 2005.
Halal carts seem to be operated predominantly by those hailing from these three nations, but there are Muslim vendors from several other countries, too. This also means that each cart offers its own take on the popular dishes. The lamb or chicken served is spiced differently cart to cart. Some include grilled peppers and onions, and others top their plates off with french fries. (There are also many carts that serve other, distinct cuisines — like African or Asian food — that just happen to use halal meat.)
“Chicken over rice is the most popular dish at my cart,” Hussain said. “But I serve samosas, too.” As a South Asian immigrant, he also offers mint chutney, as well as other items and condiments that reflect the food of his personal background.
Across the board, however, one thing remains key: the legendary white sauce. “It’s yogurt, mayonnaise, tons of spices. There’s not really anything like it anywhere else. It’s halal cart sauce,” explained Hussain.
At first, however, these halal carts did not sell the chicken, rice and white sauce you’d expect to see today. Halal Guys — likely the most well-known cart that began as a small operation in midtown Manhattan and now operates almost 100 stores internationally — began as a hot dog stand.
Its founders, Mohamed Abouelenein, Ahmed Elsaka, and Abdelbaset Elsayed, all of whom were born in Egypt, opened their cart in 1990 outside the Hilton hotel on 53rd Street and Sixth Avenue. They sold typical fare found at other carts at the time: hot dogs. During this era, New York saw a rising wave of Muslim immigrants, many of whom began working as cab drivers who’d stop at the stand and suggest that the three friends sell hot, affordable, tasty, familiar halal meals on the go.
The history of halal carts, as well as their passionate fanbases, speaks both to Muslim immigration patterns and to the community’s relationship with the city. Still, Muslims lived in New York well before the 1980s, dating all the way back to the 17th century when Dutch merchants colonized Manhattan. Historians also estimate that about 10% to 15% of slaves brought to America from West Africa were Muslim, although many were coerced to convert to Christianity.
Today, about 9%, or 800,000, of New Yorkers are Muslim, according to researched published by Muslims for American Progress in 2018. It’s a striking number compared to the national figure: Muslims account for just 1% of Americans. This means over 20% of the U.S. Muslim population lives in New York City alone. While the community has long been a pillar of New York’s economy and culture, it is slowly becoming more represented in policies and leadership, too. Eid-ul-Fitr, a celebration all about feasting and family to commemorate the end of Ramadan, has been a New York City public school holiday since 2015. It will be observed this year on May 2.
Of course, the journey for visibility and equality has been one full of obstacles. The Sept. 11 attacks notably shed a light, one that was often misinformed and narrow, on Muslim Americans, especially in New York City.
Eraky Badawy, who emigrated from Egypt in 1999 and has worked at a halal cart in the Financial District close to Ground Zero for over 20 years, says he did face disparaging comments after 2001. “But I just have to be good, you know, that’s all I can do. I feed people, and I talk to people. It’s my job, and I care about giving people food and kindness.”
Badawy’s attitude is common across the Muslim-American community, and he attributes his values and sense of self to his faith. Even with fasting during Ramadan, he says he wouldn’t necessarily classify it as difficult. “Hard? Not hard. My eight year old daughter does it! It’s not about being easy or hard. It’s part of our religion and what it teaches us and how it brings people together.”
