(LA CROSSE, Wis.) — Wisconsin officials continue to search for a 22-year-old graduate student who disappeared after leaving a bar early Sunday morning, according to the La Crosse Police Department.
Eliotte Heinz, a graduate student at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin, was last seen on Sunday at approximately 3:22 a.m. near the Mississippi River, police said. According to her missing person poster, Heinz was allegedly seen leaving Bronco’s Bar in La Crosse at approximately 2:30 a.m.
Police, along with Heinz’s family and friends, have made “several attempts to locate her with no success,” officials said in a statement on Sunday.
On Tuesday, police said the search for Heinz remains active, with “numerous resources” being utilized as they continue to receive tips.
Members of the community gathered on Tuesday to search for Heinz and hand out copies of her missing person poster.
Heinz’s family is asking for residents in the area to review home security camera footage from early Sunday morning between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., saying “even the smallest detail could make a difference.”
“The outpouring of supporting in the search efforts for Eliotte has been overwhelming, and we are deeply grateful for the kindness, prayers and encouragement from the community and beyond,” the family said in a statement shared on the university’s social media.
The family also said the “most important thing you can do is continue sharing Eliotte’s information on social media.”
Brielle Handrich, who went to high school with Heinz, told La Crosse ABC affiliate WXOW she hopes Heinz is “out there fighting her battle” and “knows that there’s people out there searching.”
Heinz is described as 5 feet, 4 inches tall, 106 pounds with blonde hair and blue eyes, police said. She was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and jean shorts, officials said.
Anyone who has any information on Heinz or her whereabouts should contact the La Crosse Police Department’s nonemergency line at 608-782-7575.
(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) — William McNeil, Jr., the 22-year-old Florida man whose violent arrest by Jacksonville sheriff’s deputies was caught in a viral video, addressed the incident publicly for the first time during a press conference on Wednesday morning.
McNeil began his brief remarks by thanking those who supported him, then turned to the Feb. 19 incident.
“I was getting pulled over, and I needed to step out the car, and I know I didn’t do nothing wrong. I was really just scared,” he said.
He was also asked by a reporter what he was taught about dealing with law enforcement.
“Basically, what I was taught is to, instead of fighting them on the street where we don’t have power, fight them in the courts,” McNeil said in response.
McNeil’s mother, Latoya Solomon, said during the press conference that watching the video was emotionally difficult for her and it took her months to watch it in its entirety.
“I’m thankful to God for protecting him, because I know what the outcome could have been,” Solomon said
His stepfather, Alton Solomon, was visibly emotional while reflecting on the incident.
“To see that video made me go back to the moment when I was 22. It hurt,” he said.
McNeil is student at Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina, where he is also the leader of the marching band.
Speaking during the press conference, one of McNeil’s attorneys, Ben Crump, called for the firing of the deputy who punched McNeil during the incident.
“If you don’t terminate this officer and you condone this type of police excessive force, then it sends a message to all of the other police officers on the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office team. It tells them, it is OK for you to treat citizens like this, it is okay to treat Black motorists like this,” Crump said. “In America, it is not OK.”
On Monday, attorney Harry Daniels told ABC News that his client plans to take legal action.
“We are planning to do everything we can do to secure justice,” Daniels said when asked if the legal team plans to file a lawsuit. “We are seeking all options to ensure accountability.”
The sheriff’s office said on Sunday that the agency launched an investigation into the incident after the 2-minute cell phone video captured by McNeil went viral. On Monday, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters also released body camera footage from two deputies who were present on the scene of the arrest.
In the video, sheriff’s deputies are seen beating and punching McNeil during the traffic stop after he repeatedly questioned why he was being pulled over and refused to exit his vehicle. The deputy who broke McNeil’s window and punched him was identified by Waters as D. Bowers.
“Pending the outcome of this administrative review, Officer Bowers has been stripped of his law enforcement authority,” Waters said. It is unclear if other deputies involved in the arrest have been placed on administrative leave.
Waters also announced on Monday that “the State Attorney’s Office has determined that none of the involved officers violated criminal law,” but highlighted that the deputies’ actions are now being examined in an “administrative review,” which will determine if the deputies “violated [Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office] policy.”
ABC News has reached out to the Office of the State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit serving Clay, Duval, & Nassau Counties for further comment.
It is unclear if Bowers has retained an attorney. ABC News has reached out to Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for further comment, but have not heard back.
“I will neither defend nor commend officer Bowers’ response to resistance until all the facts are known and the investigation is completed,” Waters said.
(WASHINGTON) — The head of FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue branch, Ken Pagurek, resigned on Monday, multiple sources confirmed to ABC News.
Pagurek told colleagues he was frustrated by the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to dismantle FEMA and by new hurdles that slowed the agency’s response to the catastrophic flooding in Central Texas earlier this month, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Sources said he pointed to a new DHS policy requiring all spending over $100,000 to be personally approved by Secretary Kristi Noem as a key factor behind the delays and, ultimately, his decision to step down.
The news was first reported by CNN.
Pagurek had worked with FEMA’s search and rescue operations for more than a decade and had served as its chief for the past year.
Pagurek did not respond to a request for comment by ABC News.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told ABC News, “The attempt to spin a personal career decision into some big scandal is RIDICULOUS. It is laughable that a career public employee, who claims to serve the American people, would choose to resign over our refusal to hastily approve a six-figure deployment contract without basic financial oversight.”
“We’re being responsible with taxpayer dollars, that’s our job,” McLaughlin said. “FEMA experienced no delays in deployment of assets, and Texas officials have unequivocally and vocally applauded the federal government and FEMA’s response. If anyone is upset by the end of unchecked, blank-check spending under President Trump’s administration, that says more about them than it does about us.”
(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) — William McNeil, Jr., the 22-year-old Florida man whose violent arrest by Jacksonville sheriff’s deputies was caught in a viral video, is expected to speak out about the incident during a press conference outside the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday morning.
The sheriff’s office said on Sunday that the agency launched an investigation into the Feb. 19 incident after the 2-minute cell phone video captured by McNeil went viral. On Monday, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters also released body camera footage from two deputies who were present on the scene of the arrest.
In the video, sheriff’s deputies are seen beating and punching McNeil during the traffic stop after he repeatedly questioned why he was being pulled over and refused to exit his vehicle.
What the video shows of McNeil’s arrest
McNeil was pulled over by a sheriff’s deputy at 4:15 p.m. local time for allegedly not having his headlights on due to “inclement weather” and not wearing a seat belt, according to a police report obtained by ABC News.
Body camera video shows McNeil telling the deputy that it wasn’t raining and he didn’t need to have his headlights turned on and asked to speak with a supervisor. After McNeil locks himself in his vehicle and repeatedly refuses to exit, the deputy threatens to break his window and calls for backup, the video shows.
The body camera video and the 2-minute cell phone video both captured McNeil being punched and beaten after a deputy broke his car window.
The videos show McNeil speaking with a group of deputies and appearing to explain why he was pulled over by the first deputy who arrived on the scene.
“There’s no rain,” McNeil says in the video.
“It doesn’t matter,” a sheriff’s deputy can be heard saying as they ask him to exit his vehicle.
Harry Daniels, one of the attorneys representing McNeil, told ABC News Live anchor Kyra Phillips in the interview on Monday that his client refused to exit his vehicle because he was “afraid” of police.
“He is afraid. You know, in this environment, policing in America, especially young men of color, are very afraid of police,” Daniels said, adding that his client decided to begin recording the incident once the deputy refused to call a supervisor so he could dispute the traffic stop.
After McNeil again asks to speak with a supervisor, the videos show a deputy — who was identified by Waters on Monday as D. Bowers — breaking McNeil’s car window and punching him in the face while McNeil is facing forward. McNeil then appears to be pulled out of his car and is punched again as he is pushed down to the ground by multiple deputies and seemingly beaten.
“You’re under arrest,” officers can be heard saying as they push McNeil to the ground and hold him down.
The charges against McNeil
Court records show that McNeil was arrested and charged with “resisting arrest without violence to his or her person,” possessing not more than 20 grams of marijuana with intent to use drug paraphernalia, driving while driver’s license is suspended, not wearing a seatbelt and no headlights in rain/fog/or smoke.
Additionally, court records show that he was sentenced to and served two days in jail for resisting arrest without violence and driving with a suspended license.
“McNeil was arrested and pled guilty to resisting a police officer without violence,” Waters said. “Force absolutely looks ugly, and because all force is ugly, whether or not the officer involved acted within outside [Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office] policy, that’s still what we’re investigating.”
In the incident report filed by Bowers, the deputy does not mention that he punched McNeil while he was sitting in his car, but says that “force” was used after McNeil was removed from the vehicle.
The report filed by Bowers also claims that McNeil reached for a knife on the floor of his vehicle as officers opened the door.
The body camera video does not show McNeil reaching for a knife on the floor of his car.
The video does appear to show an object that the sheriff’s office identified as a knife on the floor of McNeil’s car that officers recovered after he was removed from the vehicle. A deputy can be heard pointing it out in the video.
A reporter pressed Waters on the claim that McNeil reached for a knife, saying, “I couldn’t see any clear indication of that in the video. Do you see that when you’re watching?””
“No, actually, I don’t see where his hands are. I can’t assume, no one can assume,” Waters said.
Daniels told Phillips on Monday that the claim that McNeil reached for a knife is a “lie,” and criticized the deputy for not disclosing that he punched McNeil in the incident report.
What’s next for McNeil and the officer
Waters announced on Monday that “the State Attorney’s Office has determined that none of the involved officers violated criminal law,” but highlighted that the deputies’ actions are now being examined in an “administrative review,” which will determine if the deputies “violated [Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office] policy.”
ABC News has reached out to the Office of the State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit serving Clay, Duval, & Nassau Counties for further comment.
“Pending the outcome of this administrative review, Officer Bowers has been stripped of his law enforcement authority,” Waters said. It is unclear if other deputies involved in the arrest have been placed on administrative leave.
“I will neither defend nor commend officer Bowers’ response to resistance until all the facts are known and the investigation is completed,” Waters said.
It is unclear if Bowers has retained an attorney. ABC News has reached out to Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for further comment, but have not heard back.
On Monday, Daniels said that his client plans to take legal action.
“This officer broke his window and just punched him in his face. Mr. McNeil suffered very significant injury,” Daniels said.
“We are planning to do everything we can do to secure justice,” Daniels said when asked if the legal team plans to file a lawsuit. “We are seeking all options to ensure accountability.”
(DETROIT) — A man has been arrested and charged with murder in Michigan after a call for help suddenly cut off, police said.
The incident occurred on Saturday morning around 6:45 a.m. when police in Shelby Township, near Detroit, received a 911 call from a man who immediately hung up the phone, according to a statement from police.
Officers were then sent to the apartment to check on the welfare of the occupants, police said.
“Upon arrival, officers were met at the door by Terrance Lamar Bowie, a 29-year-old male from Casco, Michigan,” authorities said. “Bowie made statements to officers indicating that there was a dead body located inside of the apartment.”
Officers then found the body a 27-year old woman in a bedroom. She has not been identified.
“Evidence gathered from the scene indicates that this was a homicide, and the suspect, Terrance Lamar Bowie, was placed under arrest,” police said.
Authorities confirmed that this “was not a random act of violence, as the victim and Bowie were both known to each other.”
Bowie was arraigned on Tuesday in district court and charged with second degree murder and scene tampering. His bond was set at $2 million by Judge Stephen Sierawski.
Bowie’s next court appearance will be in August, officials said.
“Think twice before committing a crime in Shelby Township. Our team is committed to the safety and security of our residents and business owners,” said Police Chief Robert J. Shelide. “However, if you commit a violent crime in Shelby Township, we will leave no stone unturned and pursue you until you are brought to justice.”
Erik Menendez, 54, is in the hospital and has been diagnosed with a serious medical condition, his family confirmed to ABC News.
The condition has not been disclosed.
Erik and Lyle Menendez were resentenced in May to 50 years to life in prison, which makes them eligible for parole — the latest step in a yearslong battle for the brothers trying to get released after 35 years behind bars.
The brothers have a parole hearing on Aug. 21.
His attorney, Mark Geragos, appeared on TMZ calling for Erik Menendez’s immediate release.
“It’s a serious condition,” Geragos told TMZ.
“I just think he should be parole furloughed, I think is the proper term, and he could be medically furloughed in advance of the hearing so that he can work with the parole attorney and get up to speed and be ready and do it and give it his best shot. I think that it’s the only fair and equitable thing to do,” he said.
Erik and Lyle Menendez were initially sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman has fought against their release, calling the brothers’ claims of self-defense part of a litany of “lies.” But the brothers have the support of over 20 family members in their efforts to be freed.
Photo Credit: Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
(Mass.) — The deadly fire at an assisted-living facility in Fall River, Massachusetts, was accidental, however, the cause is classified as undetermined because investigators found two possible origins, officials said.
State Fire Marshal Jon Davine there are two possible causes that “were clearly accidental”: an electrical or mechanical failure involving an oxygen concentrator, or improper use or disposal of smoking materials.
Officials will continue to investigate, but may not be able to narrow it down to one cause, Davine said.
Ten people died and dozens were hurt in the July 13 blaze at the Gabriel House, which was home to about 70 people. The 10 residents killed ranged in age from 61 to 86.
The fire-alarm fire began in a second-floor resident’s room, where there was an oxygen concentrator and numerous smoking materials, Davine said at a news conference on Tuesday.
There were no signs of issues from cooking, candles, lighting, heating, electrical outlets or other appliances in the room, he said.
Responders did find the damaged remains of a battery-powered scooter, but Davine said investigators believe that was a product of the fire, not the cause.
The resident of the room was among the 10 people who died, so investigators could not get an account of the fire in its earliest stages, Davine said.
Investigators believe the presence of medical oxygen contributed to the fire’s rapid spread, Davine added.
Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III called the blaze an “unprecedented tragedy.”
Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon again commended the first responders who rushed into the flames.
“We mourn the lives lost and the decades of family memories were erased,” Bacon said. “I ask that you say a prayer for these families and I also ask that you spare a thought for the first responders confronting their own trauma.”
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey held a separate news conference earlier on Tuesday to discuss steps to ensure “tragedies like this don’t happen again.”
Healey announced the state is giving $1.2 million to Fall River to hire more emergency response personnel, stressing the importance of supporting firefighters and first responders.
Healey also said the state is launching a fire and life safety initiative to ensure all 273 assisted living facilities in Massachusetts “are prepared to prevent fires and protect residents during emergencies.”
All facilities must submit an emergency preparedness plan to the state within 30 days, she said. The state is also requiring all facilities to give residents and their families a letter outlining fire safety protocols, evacuation safety procedures and points of contact for questions or concerns, she said.
(LOS ANGELES) — The gun allegedly used in the killing of an “American Idol” music supervisor and her husband at their home in Los Angeles belonged to the victims, according to prosecutors.
Robin Kaye and her husband, Thomas Deluca, both 70, were found shot to death in their Los Angeles home during a welfare check on July 14, authorities said. Kaye had been with “American Idol” since 2009, according to a spokesperson for the ABC television show.
Responding officers found the victims dead with multiple gunshot wounds, including to the head, police said.
It is believed the couple was killed four days earlier, when the Los Angeles Police Department said it received two calls about a possible burglary at the Encino address.
The suspect — 22-year-old Raymond Boodarian — is accused of scaling a fence onto the property that day, entering the home through an unlocked door and then shooting and killing the couple when they arrived home from the grocery store about 30 minutes later, authorities said.
A firearm recovered from the suspect’s Encino residence came from the victim’s home, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
“It was a gun that he had recovered from the actual house. It was Robin and Tom’s gun,” Hochman said during a public safety forum in Encino on Monday. “It wasn’t his gun. Which is exceptionally tragic.”
Boodarian was arrested on July 15 and has since been charged with two counts of murder and a count of residential burglary, with the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders and murder during the commission of a burglary, the district attorney’s office said. He has not yet entered a plea to the charges. He is being held without bail and his next court hearing is Aug. 20.
Hochman said officers were led to Boodarian after the suspect called police.
“Mr. Boodarian got caught because he used his cellphone to contact police concerning this situation,” Hochman said during Monday’s meeting. “Police were able to ping the cellphone, find out where he lived, go to his residence and arrest him.”
LAPD Deputy Chief Marla Ciuffetelli told attendees of the packed forum that police are continuing to assess the initial July 10 response to the couple’s home.
Officers were unable to make entry into the home, which Ciuffetelli said was “quite fortified.” Police flew a helicopter over and saw no signs of a burglary or any other trouble and cleared the scene, detectives previously said.
“We’re always striving to try to respond better,” Ciuffetelli said. “We’re taking a very close look at the response. I’m not saying that there was any mistakes made, but we’re making sure that in similar circumstances, that we respond appropriately.”
In the wake of the killings, LAPD Capt. Michael Bland said the department was upping patrols overnight in Encino.
“This is not something we take lightly,” he told the crowd.
(NEW YORK) — A woman accused of impersonating four nurses from other states and using around 20 aliases since 2020 has been arrested and charged with dozens of counts, police said.
Shannon Nicole Womack, 39, has been charged with 43 counts, including endangering the welfare of a care-dependent person, identity theft, forgery and falsely pretending to hold a license, according to court records.
Womack is also charged with use and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to court records.
Womack was arrested on Monday, court records show.
Womack gave police false identification when she was pulled over by police in a routine traffic stop in April on Interstate 79, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
An investigation revealed that approximately 20 different aliases and seven different Social Security numbers were associated with Womack, according to police.
A search warrant was then executed on her vehicle, and investigators found multiple forms of identification, prescription medications prescribed to different victims, medical documents and various pieces of medical equipment, police said.
Womack posed as a licensed practical nurse, registered nurse and registered nurse supervisor at multiple rehabilitation and nursing home facilities throughout Pennsylvania, police said.
She was using the identities and credentials of four confirmed nurses from southern states, police said.
“Womack was able to secure these nursing positions through staffing agencies by submitting fraudulently signed documents and also by creating a false LLC to self-deploy herself to multiple jobs,” police said in a statement.
“Womack obtained employment through staffing agencies and even … was able to create her own host agency,” Pennsylvania State Police trooper Rocco Gagliardi said at a press conference. “So she was picking up the phone and transferring those employment jobs, careers, to herself.”
Police believe she began the deception in 2020 and continued it across many states on the eastern side of the country.
“During that COVID time, they got hit hard, and they needed help,” Gagliardi said. “So it wasn’t uncommon for these different residence locations, agencies, to reach out to host agencies and say we need some extra shifts filled. That started in 2020 and it was such an easy transition, she just kept going after that.”
The investigation remains ongoing, police said.
Womack’s bail was set at $250,000. Her next court appearance was scheduled for July 29.
(NEW YORK) — Columbia University announced on Tuesday that it is disciplining more than 70 students over anti-Israel protests that took over Butler Library on the New York City campus earlier this year and during Alumni Weekend last spring.
The disciplinary action came as the university seeks to work with the Trump administration, which in March accused the school of “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”
Most of the disciplined students received two-year suspensions or expulsions in the first punishments meted out by the university’s Provost’s Office. The Trump administration is withholding $400 million in federal grants from the university.
Columbia and the administration have been trying to work out a deal to restore the funding.
“Our institution must focus on delivering on its academic mission for our community. And to create a thriving academic community, there must be respect for each other and the institution’s fundamental work, policies, and rules,” the university’s statement said. “Disruptions to academic activities are in violation of University policies and Rules, and such violations will necessarily generate consequences.”
The University Judicial Board (UJB), which was placed under the Provost Office in March, determined the findings and disciplined the students. The UJB panel is comprised of professors and administrators who, the university said, “worked diligently over the summer to offer an outcome for each individual based on the findings of their case and prior disciplinary outcomes.”
The university did not disclose the names of the disciplined students.
The punishment stemmed from violations that occurred in May, when students took over the Butler Library during a pro-Palestinian protest, and from an illegal encampment students established on campus during Alumni Weekend in the spring of 2024, according to the university.
“The speed with which our updated UJB system has offered an equitable resolution to the community and students involved is a testament to the hard work of this institution to improve its processes,” the university said in its statement.
Following the Butler Library protest, which the university said affected hundreds of students attempting to study, the school launched an investigation, banned participating individuals from affiliated institutions and non-affiliates from campus, and placed Columbia participants on interim suspension.
“The University Judicial Board held hearings, in which respondents had an opportunity to be heard and make their case, and then determined findings and issued sanctions approximately 10 weeks following the incident,” according to the university’s statement.
In a March 13 letter to the university, the Trump administration listed nine demands Columbia must comply with “as a precondition for formal negotiations” regarding federal funding being withheld, including enforcing existing disciplinary policies.
Columbia also agreed to ban masks on campus, one of the Trump administration’s key demands, saying in the memo, “Public safety has determined that face masks or face coverings are not allowed for the purpose of concealing one’s identity in the commission of violations of University policies or state, municipal, or federal laws.”
