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(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.2 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 789,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Just 60% 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:

Dec 06, 10:26 pm
Omicron detected in Houston’s wastewater, Houston Health Department reports

The omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 has been found in Houston’s wastewater, the Houston Health Department announced Monday night. “The detection is the first indication the new variant is in Houston, although a case has not yet been confirmed in the city,” the department said.

Wastewater samples collected between Nov. 29 and Nov. 30 showed omicron at eight of the city’s 39 wastewater treatment plants, and the genomic sequencing results confirming the variant were received Monday evening.

“The Houston Health Department and Houston Water continue to do an exceptional job tracking the impact of the virus in our community. While no specific case of the Omicron variant has been confirmed in an individual in the city of Houston, we should use this information as a reminder to get fully vaccinated, including a booster shot,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a statement. “Vaccines help protect us, our loved ones, friends, and colleagues in the work environment. As the holidays approach, I encourage everyone to remain vigilant about their health and safety.”

The health department said it routinely tests the city’s wastewater for COVID-19, including variants, and recently started testing samples for omicron, as “people infected with COVID-19 shed the virus in their feces.”

“The wastewater data helps to more quickly identify emerging outbreaks and hotspots needing interventions to help stop the spread of the virus,” the health department added.

Dec 06, 8:40 pm
CDC recommends people use rapid tests before indoor gatherings

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance on COVID-19 testing and is advising people, even those who are vaccinated, to get a test before they head to an indoor gathering.

The agency said a rapid test ahead of a gathering is important if the gathering includes unvaccinated children and older people who are more vulnerable to COVID-19.

“Even if you don’t have symptoms and have not been exposed to an individual with COVID-19, using a self-test before gathering indoors with others can give you information about the risk of spreading the virus that causes COVID-19,” the CDC said in its guidance.

-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty

Dec 06, 8:12 pm
Omicron detected in Harris County, Texas

Harris County, Texas, Judge Linda Hidalgo tweeted Monday night that the area recorded its first case of the omicron COVID-19 variant.

The judge shared few details about the case but said the patient was “a woman in her 40s from [north west] Harris County with no recent travel history.”

ABC News’ Scottye Kennedy

Dec 06, 6:05 pm
France shuts down night clubs as cases rise

French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced that the country’s night clubs will be closed for four weeks starting Friday, amid rising cases in the country.

“We are doing this because the virus is spreading amongst young people, even those who are vaccinated, because it is extremely difficult to keep a mask on at these venues,” Castex said at a news conference Monday.

The decision came after the French Health Defense Council held a meeting to decide on what new health measures have to be taken to stop the spread of the virus in France.

Castex also announced that primary school students would have to wear face masks at recess and between classes — not only inside the classroom — starting Thursday.

France will not follow other European Union countries, like Germany and Italy, that are imposing restrictions on unvaccinated residents, the prime minister said.

ABC News’ Christine Theodorou

Dec 06, 5:57 pm
2nd omicron case detected in Los Angeles

Los Angeles health officials announced Monday a second case of the omicron variant was detected in the county.

The patient is a student at the University of Southern California, who was returning from a trip from the East Coast, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

The student likely acquired the infection outside of LA county, health officials said in a statement.

“The individual is fully vaccinated, had mild symptoms, and is self-isolating,” the health department said in a statement.

Officials at USC said the student “did not attend classes or organized activities on campus during their infectious period.”

ABC News’ Bonnie McClean and Jen Watts

Dec 06, 3:17 pm
Northeast sees highest number of child cases since beginning of pandemic

Another 133,000 children tested positive for COVID-19 last week, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association. Hospital admissions among children have also increased by 20% over the last week, according to federal data.

The Northeast is currently seeing its highest number of child cases since the beginning of pandemic, though the Midwest continues to see the highest number of pediatric cases.

Twenty million children ages 5 to 17 have received at least one vaccine dose, accounting for about 38.3% of that population.

Severe illness due to COVID-19 remains “uncommon” among children, the two organizations wrote in the report. However, AAP and CHA continue to warn that there is an urgent need to collect more data on the long-term consequences of the pandemic on children, “including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(VISALIA, Calif.) — All four people on board a small plane that crashed in California Saturday are dead, according to the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office. They were all related.

It is unknown what led to the crash.

Around 6:35 p.m. Saturday, deputies were called to the area of Road 68 and Avenue 288 near the Visalia Airport in Visalia, California, for a possible downed plane, authorities said.

When deputies arrived, they found a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza had crashed, killing all on board.

The National Transportation Safety Board ​said Sunday it is investigating the crash.

ABC News California affiliate KFSN reported the plane crashed just a few seconds after taking off.

Late Monday night, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office identified the victims as 78-year-old David Chelini, his 58-year-old nephew, Steven Chelini, and his two daughters, 46-year-old Karen Baker and 48-year-old Donna Chelini.

All of the victims were from the Sacramento area.

“Sheriff Boudreaux asks that you keep the Chelini family in your prayers during this incredibly difficult time,” the sheriff’s office said.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.2 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 789,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Just 60% 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:
-France shuts down night clubs as cases rise
-2nd omicron case detected in Los Angeles
-Northeast sees highest number of child cases since beginning of pandemic
-NYC mandating vaccines for all private sector employees
-Man who became one of the 1st omicron cases in US speaks out

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.

Dec 06, 8:12 pm
Omicron detected in Harris County, Texas

Harris County, Texas, Judge Linda Hidalgo tweeted Monday night that the area recorded its first case of the omicron COVID-19 variant.

The judge shared few details about the case but said the patient was “a woman in her 40s from [north west] Harris County with no recent travel history.”

ABC News’ Scottye Kennedy

Dec 06, 6:05 pm
France shuts down night clubs as cases rise

French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced that the country’s night clubs will be closed for four weeks starting Friday, amid rising cases in the country.

“We are doing this because the virus is spreading amongst young people, even those who are vaccinated, because it is extremely difficult to keep a mask on at these venues,” Castex said at a news conference Monday.

The decision came after the French Health Defense Council held a meeting to decide on what new health measures have to be taken to stop the spread of the virus in France.

Castex also announced that primary school students would have to wear face masks at recess and between classes — not only inside the classroom — starting Thursday.

France will not follow other European Union countries, like Germany and Italy, that are imposing restrictions on unvaccinated residents, the prime minister said.

ABC News’ Christine Theodorou

Dec 06, 5:57 pm
2nd omicron case detected in Los Angeles

Los Angeles health officials announced Monday a second case of the omicron variant was detected in the county.

The patient is a student at the University of Southern California, who was returning from a trip from the East Coast, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

The student likely acquired the infection outside of LA county, health officials said in a statement.

“The individual is fully vaccinated, had mild symptoms, and is self-isolating,” the health department said in a statement.

Officials at USC said the student “did not attend classes or organized activities on campus during their infectious period.”

ABC News’ Bonnie McClean and Jen Watts

Dec 06, 3:17 pm
Northeast sees highest number of child cases since beginning of pandemic

Another 133,000 children tested positive for COVID-19 last week, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association. Hospital admissions among children have also increased by 20% over the last week, according to federal data.

The Northeast is currently seeing its highest number of child cases since the beginning of pandemic, though the Midwest continues to see the highest number of pediatric cases.

Twenty million children ages 5 to 17 have received at least one vaccine dose, accounting for about 38.3% of that population.

Severe illness due to COVID-19 remains “uncommon” among children, the two organizations wrote in the report. However, AAP and CHA continue to warn that there is an urgent need to collect more data on the long-term consequences of the pandemic on children, “including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects.”

 

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — As the criminal trial of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime companion of serial sex offense Jeffrey Epstein, entered its second week, a woman identified by the pseudonym “Kate” testified that Maxwell recruited and groomed her for sexual activity with Epstein when she was a young woman, under the pretense that they were “friends.”

“Kate” said she was approximately 17 years old and living in London when she met Maxwell during a trip to Paris. “Kate” gave Maxwell her phone number, she said, and Maxwell called her a few weeks later to invite her over for tea. “Kate” was excited, she said, to have made such a “sophisticated and elegant” connection.

“She seemed to be everything I wanted to be,” she said. “She seemed as excited as I was to have a new friend.”

Within a few weeks, “Kate” said,” she was engaging in sexually explicit massages with Epstein at Maxwell’s London townhouse, which was in the same neighborhood where “Kate” then lived with her mother.

Prior to her testimony, Judge Alison Nathan read to the jury a “limiting instruction” informing them that “Kate” was over the legal age of consent at all relevant times and locations, and therefore the jury cannot convict Maxwell of any charges in the indictment based on her testimony. The government is thus only permitted to describe her as a “witness” but not a “victim.”

Prosecutors argued that “Kate’s” testimony was relevant to show Maxwell’s modus operandi and that Maxwell knew that massages with Epstein would be sexualized.

During her first trip to Maxwell’s home in London, “Kate” said she noticed lots of photographs of Maxwell with an older man with peppered hair. The man in the pictures, she learned later, was Epstein, and Maxwell introduced “Kate” to him as “the girl I told you about” on her next visit.

Maxwell, “Kate” said, encouraged her to massage Epstein’s feet and shoulders. Epstein was “very approving,” she said, but then he took a phone call, “Kate” said, and Maxwell ushered her out. A few weeks later, “Kate” said, Maxwell called again, claiming a massage therapist had cancelled at the last minute, and she asked if “Kate” could “do her a favor” by coming over to massage Epstein again.

This time, “Kate” said Maxwell led her upstairs to a small, dimly-lit room with a massage table. Epstein was wearing a robe, but he took it off after Kate entered. Maxwell, she said, closed the door. Asked by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Pomerantz if Epstein initiated sexual conduct with her during the massage, Kate answered, “Yes.”

On her way out, “Kate” said Maxwell asked, “How did it go? Did you have fun? Was it good? She seemed very excited and happy and thanked me again.”

Two days later, “Kate” said, she returned to give Epstein another massage, and Maxwell lead her to the same room where further sexual contact with Epstein occurred. Afterwards, “Kate” said, Maxwell told her, “You’re such a good girl. … He really likes you.”

“Kate” traveled with Epstein and Maxwell occasionally over the next several years, she said, visiting them in Florida, New York and the Virgin Islands. Kate said she understood Maxwell’s role to be “to take care of Jeffrey’s needs” and noted that she seemed very involved in managing the properties and staff.

Maxwell’s attorney have sought through the case to distance her from Epstein, suggesting in their opening statements that Epstein hid his prurient activities from others, including Maxwell.

“Jeffrey Epstein manipulated the world around him and the people around him,” Maxwell attorney Bobbi Sternheim said last week. “He compartmentalized his life, showing only what he wanted to show to the people around him, including Ghislaine.”

During one visit to Epstein’s Palm Beach estate, “Kate” said she arrived at her guest room to find a “schoolgirl outfit” laid out on her bed. When she asked Maxwell why it was there, “Kate” said Maxwell told her she “thought it would be fun for you to take Jeffrey his tea in this outfit.”

Asked why she continued to spend time Epstein and Maxwell despite what she alleges was happening, “Kate” said she “wanted to maintain a relationship with Ghislaine.”

“I thought,” “Kate said, “she was going to be my friend.”

During cross examination by Sternheim, “Kate” acknowledged she was in contact with Epstein through 2012 — including emails before, during and after he was incarcerated in Palm Beach. And in one email correspondence in 2011, “Kate” was the one who initiated contact with Epstein to say she wanted to visit him in New York.

“Kate” said was not in contact with Maxwell during that same period.

During her testimony, “Kate” acknowledged that she had abused alcohol, cocaine and sleeping pills in her teens and young adulthood but she denied that substance abuse could have impacted her memories of Epstein and Maxwell.

“The memories I have of significant events in my life have never changed,” she said.

 

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — In a report shared with the family of Emmett Till, the Justice Department said that it had concluded that the investigation into the 14-year-old’s murder and decided the case should be closed without a new federal prosecution.

While the department and the FBI called Till’s murder “one of the most horrific examples of the violence routinely inflicted upon Black residents,” in a letter to Till’s family, they said that the new investigation did not uncover new facts that differed from those found in the previous investigation.

Officials from the Department of Justice and the FBI, including Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke, met privately with Till’s family to share the findings of the report.

“Today is a day that we’ll never forget,” Rev. Wheeler Parker, Till’s cousin who was in the house the night Till was kidnapped, said at a press conference Monday.

“Officially, the Emmett Till case has been closed after 66 years,” Parker said. “For 66 years we have suffered pain for his loss, and I suffered tremendously because of the way that they painted him.”

Till, 14, was killed in 1955 while visiting family in Mississippi after he was accused of whistling at and making sexual advances toward a white woman, Carolyn Bryant. He was kidnapped, badly beaten and found in the Tallahatchie River several days later.

Carolyn Bryant’s husband, Roy Bryant, and his half-brother J.W. Milam were charged with Till’s murder and acquitted by an all-white jury. The two men later confessed to the killing in a paid magazine interview months later.

Till’s cousin Parker — who was 16 at the time — was in the house when Roy Bryant and Milam came looking for Till.

“I’m waiting to be shot, and I close my eyes,” Parker recalled in an interview with ABC News for an upcoming documentary series “Let the World See.” “I wasn’t shot, I opened my eyes and they’re passing by me. The guy said we’re looking for fat boy, the fat boy from Chicago.”

“They left with him, and that’s the last time we saw him alive,” he added.

Till’s murder came at a time of intense racial unrest and animosity. When his mother, Mamie Till Mobley, demanded an open casket at his funeral, it helped spark the civil rights movement.

The Justice Department opened an investigation into Till’s killing in 2004 but determined that there was no federal jurisdiction due to the statute of limitations. The investigation was originally closed in 2007 after a local grand jury declined to indict anyone on state charges.

It was reopened in 2018, following the publication of Timothy Tyson’s book “The Blood of Emmett Till,” in which Carolyn Bryant revealed she had not been telling the truth when she testified that Till had grabbed her and uttered obscenities. The Bryant family now deny that she had recanted her allegations.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — For years, thousands of sexual assault kits sat on the shelves in Wisconsin crime labs, leaving victims and investigators desperately waiting for crucial data, according to state officials.

But new legislation that went into effect Monday aims to clear up this backlog and provide victims with more information about their investigations.

Gov. Tony Evers signed two bills that have been in the works since 2019 that establish a detailed procedure for the collection and processing of sexual assault kits. The bills also create a tracking system where victims can see the progress of the tests.

“Victims and survivors of sexual assault have already gone through the unimaginable, and their path to justice should never be obstructed or delayed,” Evers said in a statement.

Under the new laws, when a health care professional collects sexual assault evidence, a victim will have the choice to report the incident to law enforcement.

If the victim chooses to report the incident, officers have up to 72 hours to collect the kit from the health care professional, and then 14 days to send the kit to the state crime laboratories for analysis.

If the victim chooses not to report the incident, the health care provider is required to send the kit to the state crime laboratories for storage within 72 hours. The kit will remain in storage for up to 10 years, and if a victim reconsiders reporting the incident, the kit will be tested.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice will track the kits and maintain the database for the victims.

The two bills were approved by the Wisconsin state Senate in 2019, but didn’t pass in both houses until this year.

Wisconsin is the latest state to address its sexual assault kit backlog.

Virginia and Missouri have also taken efforts to streamline the process and test thousands of kits that were in storage at labs in their jurisdictions.

 

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A suburban New York man threatened to attack the 2021 New York City Pride March with “firepower” that would “make the 2016 Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting look like a cakewalk,” federal prosecutors said Monday.

Robert Fehring, 74, of Bayport, New York, allegedly sent at least 60 letters threatening to assault, shoot and bomb LGBTQ-affiliated individuals, organizations and businesses. He was arrested Monday morning.

A search of his home last month turned up photographs from a 2021 Pride event in East Meadow, New York, two loaded shotguns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, two stun guns and a stamped envelope addressed to an LGBTQ-affiliated attorney containing the remains of a dead bird, federal prosecutors said.

“As alleged, the defendant’s hate-filled invective and threats of violence directed at members of the LGBTQ community have no place in our society and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” United States Attorney Breon Peace said.

Forty-nine people were killed, and dozens were injured in the mass shooting Fehring reportedly referenced at Pulse nightclub, an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in June 2016.

Fehring has reportedly been sending these kinds of threatening letters since at least 2013, according to the unsealed criminal complaint. In them, he threatened the use of firearms and explosives.

Along with the letter threatening the New York City Pride March — in which he wrote there would “be radio-controlled devices placed at numerous strategic places” — the criminal complaint also quoted from a letter Fehring allegedly sent to the organizer of the Pride event in East Meadow.

“[W]e were right there you…FREAK!!! They couldn’t get a shot off at you, slithering around the back stage area like a snake. Too many cops. Very disappointed. But your time has come. … They are out to KILL you….and your boyfriend. You are being watched. No matter how long it takes, you will be taken out…. high-powered bullet…. bomb….knife…. whatever it takes,” the letter said.

Fehring will appear before a judge Monday afternoon.

 

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The family of Emmett Till is expected to address the final report from the FBI and Justice Department’s investigation into Till’s 1955 murder at a press conference on Monday.

Till, 14, was killed while visiting family in Mississippi after he was accused of whistling at and making sexual advances toward a white woman, Carolyn Bryant. He was kidnapped, badly beaten and found in the Tallahatchie River several days later.

Carolyn Bryant’s husband, Roy Bryant, and his half-brother J.W. Milam were charged with Till’s murder and acquitted by an all-white jury. The two men later confessed to the killing in a paid magazine interview months later.

Rev. Wheeler Parker, Till’s cousin — who was 16 at the time — was in the house when Roy Bryant and Milam came looking for Till.

“I’m waiting to be shot, and I close my eyes,” Parker recalled in an interview with ABC News for an upcoming documentary series “Let the World See.” “I wasn’t shot, I opened my eyes and they’re passing by me. The guy said we’re looking for fat boy, the fat boy from Chicago.”

“They left with him, and that’s the last time we saw him alive,” he added.

Till’s murder came at a time of intense racial unrest and animosity. When his mother, Mamie Till Mobley, demanded an open casket at his funeral, it helped spark the civil rights movement.

The Justice Department opened an investigation into Till’s killing in 2004 but determined that there was no federal jurisdiction due to the statute of limitations. The investigation was originally closed in 2007 after a local grand jury declined to indict anyone on state charges.

It was reopened in 2018, following the publication of Timothy Tyson’s book “The Blood of Emmett Till,” in which Carolyn Bryant revealed she had not been telling the truth when she testified that Till had grabbed her and uttered obscenities. The Bryant family now deny that she had recanted her allegations.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

 

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.2 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 788,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Just 59.6% 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:

Dec 06, 8:42 am
NYC mandating vaccines for all private sector employees

New York City Bill de Blasio on Monday announced a vaccine mandate for all private sector employees.

On the talk show Morning Joe, the mayor called the mandate, which goes into effective Dec. 27, a “preemptive strike.”

Dec 06, 8:01 am
Man who became one of the 1st omicron cases in US speaks out

Peter McGinn was one of the first known people in the United States to contract the omicron variant.

The 30-year-old Minnesota resident, who is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and has received a booster shot, said he believes he became infected after attending a massive anime convention in New York City in late November. McGinn said he and several other attendees, who are also fully vaccinated, went out together after the event. Half of that group has since tested positive for COVID-19, according to McGinn.

McGinn said he tested positive after returning home to Minnesota and learning that a friend with whom he attended the convention had contracted the virus.

“I felt perfectly safe with the people that I was with, and so it never really crossed my mind to think that I had COVID,” McGinn told ABC News on Sunday. “I was just a little taken aback.”

Several dozen cases of omicron, a newly discovered variant of the novel coronavirus, have now been reported in at least 17 states across the country, according to Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dec 06, 6:12 am
17 people test positive for COVID-19 on cruise ship in New Orleans

At least 17 people aboard a Norwegian Cruise Lines ship docked in New Orleans have tested positive for COVID-19, officials said Sunday.

The cases were found among both passengers and crew members on the Norwegian Breakaway cruise ship. A probable case of the omicron variant was also identified among a member of the crew, who is not a Louisiana resident and did not leave the ship, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.

Earlier Sunday, Louisiana confirmed its first case of omicron, which the health department said did not include any of the passengers or crew members from the Norwegian Breakaway.

The Norwegian Breakaway had departed New Orleans on Nov. 28 and returned this weekend as scheduled. Over the past week, the cruise ship made stops in Belize, Honduras and Mexico.

The ship docked in New Orleans on Sunday and all individuals on board were tested prior to disembarkation, according to a spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Lines.

“In addition to requiring that 100% of guests and crew are fully vaccinated, per the Company’s comprehensive health and safety protocols, we have implemented quarantine, isolation and contact tracing procedures for identified cases,” the spokesperson told ABC News in a statement Sunday. “Any guests who have tested positive for COVID-19 will travel by personal vehicle to their personal residence or self-isolate in accommodations provided by the Company according to CDC guidelines.”

All of the identified cases on board were asymptomatic, according to the spokesperson.

“We take this matter extremely seriously and will continue to work closely with the CDC, the office of Governor John Bel Edwards, the Louisiana Department of Health as well as the city and port of New Orleans,” the spokesperson added.

-ABC News’ Mina Kaji and Anthony Mcmahon

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(DETROIT) — The parents of Ethan Crumbley, the 15-year-old who authorities said killed four classmates at his Michigan high school, are still in jail after a judge assigned them each a $500,000 bond on manslaughter charges related to the shooting.

James and Jennifer Crumbley were taken into custody early Saturday after they failed to turn themselves in Friday afternoon for a scheduled arraignment, prompting an hourslong search for the couple. They remained in the Oakland County jail on Sunday and have not posted bail, online jail records show.

The couple was captured in Detroit after a business owner called 911 after spotting the suspects’ car in their parking lot and Jennifer Crumbley standing next to it, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office. She fled the area on foot, but the couple was located in a commercial building in an art studio after an extensive search of the area.

They were “aided in getting into the building,” Detroit Police Chief James White told reporters at a 3 a.m. press conference Saturday, adding that it was “very likely” they were trying to flee to Canada. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said his office would be presenting potential charges to the prosecutor’s office against the person who allegedly helped them gain access to the building.

The 65-year-old Detroit artist whose studio Jennifer and James Crumbley used to hide as they allegedly fled authorities on Friday is maintaining his innocence in their movements that day, his attorney, Clarence Dass, told ABC News.

The lawyer for Andzrej Sikora told ABC News on Sunday that the Crumbleys came to Sikora on Friday morning, the day the county leveled charges of involuntary manslaughter against the couple in the Oxford school shooting. The Crumbleys knew Sikora through a ski club, Dass said.

Dass declined to describe the interaction Friday morning and would not say whether Sikora gave the couple keys to the Detroit building that houses his studio. Sikora was not aware the couple was facing charges in the shooting, saying that he “knew what was going on” but wasn’t following the news closely, Dass said.

When Sikora woke up on Saturday and saw the news of the Crumbleys’ overnight arrest, he went to the Detroit Police Department and told them he was the owner of the studio, Dass said. Authorities then directed him to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, where he provided information about what he knew, before hiring Dass as counsel.

Sikora has not been arrested and no charges have been filed against his client, Dass said, but he did not rule out the possibility that authorities could charge the artist this week.

Each parent is facing four counts of involuntary manslaughter for what authorities are saying was a failure to properly secure the firearm that was used in the shooting. They have both pleaded not guilty to the charges.

On Tuesday, the morning of the shooting, a teacher at Oxford High School saw a note on Ethan Crumbley’s desk with a drawing of a semi-automatic handgun pointing at the words, “The thoughts won’t stop, help me,” prosecutors said. Another drawing depicted a bullet with the words “Blood everywhere” above it and a drawing of a bleeding person who appeared to have been shot twice, according to prosecutors.

Ethan Crumbley was then removed from class, and his parents, who school officials said were “difficult to reach,” were called to the school.

Ethan Crumbley told school guidance counselors that the drawings were for a video game he was designing, Oxford Community Schools Superintendent Tim Throne said in a statement Saturday. His parents did not indicate that they had recently purchased a firearm for him and led the counselors to believe there was no threat of violence, to himself or to others, Throne said.

It is not clear whether the gun was in Ethan Crumbley’s backpack at the time, Throne added. Due to his lack of disciplinary record, they sent him back to class instead of home, Throne said. His parents were then told that they were required to get their son into counseling within 48 hours.

Hours later, Ethan Crumbley was armed with a 9 mm Sig Sauer pistol his father bought on Nov. 26 as he walked down the hallway, aiming into classrooms, Oakland County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Marc Keast said during Wednesday’s arraignment. There were 18 live rounds left in the firearm when he was apprehended in the hallway, Bouchard told reporters Wednesday.

Ethan Crumbley has been charged as an adult with four counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of assault with intent to murder — actions that prosecutors allege were premeditated.

Throne has requested a third-party probe to investigate how the school handled the events leading up to the shooting.

“I have personally asked for a third-party review of all the events of the past week because our community and our families deserve a full, transparent accounting of what occurred,” Throne said.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has also reached out to the Oxford Community Schools to offer help in investiating the shooting and events leading up to it.

“Our attorneys and special agents are uniquely qualified to perform an investigation of this magnitude,” Nessel tweeted.

ABC News’ Meredith Deliso, Ahmad Hemingway, Will McDuffie and Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.

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