(NEW YORK) — An LGBTQ+ Pride parade ended in gunfire near New York City’s historic Stonewall Inn on Sunday night, according to Mayor Eric Adams.
“Saddened to learn about the shooting by the Stonewall Inn tonight as Pride celebrations were winding down,” Adams wrote on X, adding, “During a time when our city should be rejoicing and celebrating members of our diverse LGBTQ+ community, incidents like this are devastating.”
Two teenage girls were injured in a shooting, according to New York ABC station WABC, which cited police. A 16-year-old girl was shot in the head and taken to the hospital in critical condition. A second girl, who was 17, was shot in the leg and taken to the hospital in stable condition.
The shooting appears to have stemmed from some sort of dispute, though the motive is unclear and no arrests have been made at this point in the investigation, WABC reported.
Shots rang out just after 10 p.m. at 3 Sheridan Square, in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village neighborhood.
A gun was recovered at the scene as the investigation into the incident is ongoing, according to WABC.
The Stonewall Inn, a gay bar and national historic landmark, became a monument in 2016 under former President Barack Obama, creating the country’s first national park site dedicated to LGBTQ+ history.
It was the site of the Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969, which began in response to routine police raids on the establishment, according to the Library of Congress. The conflict spanned multiple nights and drew national attention as bargoers resisted police.
ABC News’ Darren Reynolds and Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(COUER D’ALENE, Idaho) — The suspected gunman who fatally ambushed firefighters in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, on Sunday has been found dead, according to the county’s sheriff.
Responding SWAT team members located a deceased male on Canfield Mountain with a firearm nearby, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said in an update Sunday evening.
This comes after an hourslong, multi-agency manhunt in the area.
The ambush on Sunday left two people dead and another injured, gunfire erupting as firefighters responded to a brush fire on the mountain.
Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris said during a press briefing that the two fatalities were fire personnel — one from the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department and the other from Kootenai County Fire Department. “This was a total ambush,” Norris said. “These firefighters did not have a chance.”
The injured individual, who suffered a gunshot wound in the attack, was brought to the Kootenai Health Hospital, the medical center confirmed to ABC News.
The incident unfolded on Sunday afternoon, police said. Norris said the first report regarding the small brush fire was received at 1:21 p.m. Around 2 p.m., firefighters reported they were being shot at.
Some 300 law enforcement officers gathered at the scene, some of whom exchanged gunfire with the suspect, Norris said. Responding authorities received offers of help from the White House and FBI Director Kash Patel, the sheriff added.
At 6:30 p.m., those on the scene were told that the suspect should be neutralized as soon as possible. The notification that the suspect was dead was received at 7:40 p.m., Norris said. Law enforcement recovered the body before the fire spread to the spot, the sheriff said.
Based on the trajectory of fire and the weapon found close to the suspect’s body, Norris said officials believe there was only one shooter.
Law enforcement is investigating whether the fire could have been intentionally set in order to lure first responders to the scene, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Howard told ABC News.
The shelter-in-place order has been lifted for Canfield Mountain Trailhead and the surrounding area, but residents are advised to monitor for updates on the ongoing fire.
The FBI assisted authorities in Kootenai County, an agency spokesperson told ABC News.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little called the incident a “heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters.”
“Multiple heroic firefighters were attacked today while responding to a fire in North Idaho,” Little wrote in a post on X. “I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more,” he added.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been briefed on the shooting, a DHS official told ABC News.
ABC News’ Tristan Maglunog, Luke Barr, Pierre Thomas and Darren Reynolds contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(MINNEAPOLIS) — Tens of thousands of mourners packed a Minneapolis basilica Saturday to pay their final respects to Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark who were killed in their home two weeks ago in an alleged politically motivated shooting.
A who’s who of leaders from around the country, including former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris, attended the Catholic Mass where many of the couple’s friends, colleagues and family reflected on their years of service and friendship.
The couple and their dog Gilbert were shot in their home during the early morning hours of June 14, by a gunman who investigators say was targeting Democratic lawmakers. The suspect had shot and injured state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, a few hours earlier at their home.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz led the eulogies and honored Melissa Hortman for her years of work in the state House, callng her, “the most consequential speaker in Minnesota history.”
“I know millions of Minnesotans have lived their lives better because of Melissa and Mark,” he said.
Melissa Hortman was elected to state office in 2004 and rose through the ranks, becoming minority leader in 2017 and then speaker of the House two years later.
“She saw the humanity in every single person she worked with,” Walz said. “Her mission was to get as much good done for as many people as possible.”
Hortman and her husband were married for 31 years. Mark Hortman worked as a program manager for nVent Electric, a company that specialized in electronics, particularly green electronics, according to his Facebook and LinkedIn pages. The couple had two children, Sophie and Colin.
Walz talked about the couple’s warmth and dedication to their children and dog.
“You are amazing reflections of Mark and Melissa,” he said to their children.
A day before the funeral, the Hortmans lay in state as thousands of Minnesotans visited to pay their respects. Melissa Hortman is the first woman in Minnesota history to lie in state, according to the state House of Representatives.
Next to the Hortmans was their dog Gilbert, who was wounded in the attack and later had to be euthanized, officials said.
Vance Boelter was arrested a day after the murder and charged in their deaths along with the shootings of Hoffman and his wife earlier in the night.
The Hoffmans survived the shooting and are recuperating.
The suspect allegedly showed up to the legislators’ homes, impersonating a police officer and wearing a realistic-looking latex mask to carry out his “political assassinations,” prosecutors said.
Investigators recovered a list of about 45 elected officials in notebooks in his car, according to prosecutors.
Walz on Saturday noted growing political violence and tension in the country and said this moment was ” when each of us can examine the way we work together, the way we talk about each other, the way we fight for the things we care about.”
“But let’s not do it because of the way Mark and Melissa died. Let’s do it because of the way they lived, and the way they led,” he said.
ABC News’ Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.
(ATLANTA) — Nearly 400 flights were canceled into and out of Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Saturday after severe weather and hail fell overnight.
Weather so far has forced 380 Delta flight cancellations at the airport, with additional delays and cancellations expected.
Around 100 Delta Airlines aircrafts were inspected overnight for possible damage from the hail that fell last night, with nearly all having returned to service Saturday, according to a spokesperson for Delta.
“Delta people are working as safely and quickly as possible to recover flights impacted by thunderstorms, lightning, hail and winds at our Atlanta hub Friday night. We thank our customers for their continued patience and understanding,” the airline spokesperson said.
“Intense thunderstorms, including one that brought reports of microburst winds and quarter-inch hail to our hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, drove more than 90 diversions to other airports in the U.S. Southeast and a pause in airport operations for safety reasons the evening of June 27,” the spokesperson added.
Severe weather conditions in the area led to ground stops and flights being diverted at the airport on Friday.
The air traffic control tower that manages aircraft around the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta was briefly evacuated Friday evening due to “strong winds,” according to the FAA. The tower was not unstaffed during this time as few controllers stayed back to handle the air traffic in the area, the agency said.
In ATC recordings, controllers can be heard telling pilots that they evacuated due to weather and there are three personnel in the tower — controller, supervisor and traffic management.
Delta said it is performing inspections on its aircraft for any potential hail damage.
(DELAWARE) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is suing Fox News for $787 million for defamation.
Newsom’s allegations stem from Fox News host Jesse Watters’ coverage of the battle between the governor and President Donald Trump when the Trump administration sent the California National Guard to Los Angeles earlier this month.
Watters allegedly reported on Fox News that Newsom lied about a phone call with Trump, and the governor claims in his lawsuit that Watters’ show misleadingly edited a video of Trump to support the claim.
Trump, asked by a reporter on June 10 when was the last time he had spoken to Newsom, replied, “A day ago. Called him to tell him, got to do a better job, he’s doing a bad job” — even though, according to Newsom, the last time they had spoken was three days prior to that, at 1:28 a.m. ET on June 7, and Newsom said they had not discussed the riots in question.
After Newsom asserted on X that the two had not spoken on June 9 as Trump appeared to have said, Watters, according to the lawsuit, accused Newsom of lying and played the video clip of Trump telling the reporter the two had spoken — but edited out the start of the clip where Trump said “a day ago.”
“If Fox News wants to lie to the American people on Donald Trump’s behalf, it should face consequences — just like it did in the Dominion case,” Newsom said in a statement Friday, referring to the 2023 settlement Fox reached with Dominion Voting Systems — also for $787 million — after the voting machine company accused Fox News of knowingly pushing false conspiracy theories that Dominion rigged the 2020 presidential election in Joe Biden’s favor.
“I believe the American people should be able to trust the information they receive from a major news outlet,” Newsom said in his statement. “Until Fox is willing to be truthful, I will keep fighting against their propaganda machine.”
In a letter sent to Fox, Newsom’s attorneys said that unless Fox News issues a retraction and an on-air apology, “we will proceed with the lawsuit so that a jury can determine Fox News’s culpability and assign a monetary value to its ‘blatantly unethical’ conduct.”
Fox News, in a statement, said, “Gov. Newsom’s transparent publicity stunt is frivolous and designed to chill free speech critical of him. We will defend this case vigorously and look forward to it being dismissed.”
(BOULDER, Colo.) — The man accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at a group of Colorado marchers advocating for the release of hostages being held in Gaza pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges on Friday.
Mohamed Soliman, 45, appeared in federal court in Denver for his arraignment after being indicted this week on a dozen federal charges in connection with the June 1 attack. He had previously been charged by complaint with a federal hate crime offense.
Prosecutors say Soliman ignited and threw two Molotov cocktails at the Run for Their Lives group during their Boulder walk, at one point shouting, “Free Palestine!”
During an interview with law enforcement, Soliman said he learned of the Run for Their Lives walk after searching for “Zionist” events online, according to the 12-count indictment.
A handwritten document recovered from his vehicle stated, “Zionism is our enemies untill [sic] Jerusalem is liberated and they are expelled from our land” and described Israel as a “cancer entity,” according to the indictment.
He remains in federal custody.
Soliman also faces 118 state charges in connection with the attack, which left over a dozen people, including a Holocaust survivor, injured. The slew of charges includes 28 counts of attempted murder, along with assault and explosives charges.
He is next scheduled to appear in court in the state case on July 15.
(MINNESOTA) — Minnesotans are lining up at the state capitol on Friday to honor a slain lawmaker and her husband as their accused killer made a brief appearance in court.
Melissa Hortman is the first woman to lie in state, according to the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Next to the Hortmans was their golden retriever, Gilbert, who was wounded in the attack and later had to be euthanized, officials said.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and first lady Gwen Walz are among those paying their respects.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris will attend the couple’s private funeral on Saturday, according to a source familiar with Harris’ plans.
Harris spoke to the Hortmans’ two children, Sophie and Colin, in the last week “to express her deep condolences and offer her support,” the source said.
Meanwhile, the Hortmans’ alleged killer, Vance Boelter, who faces federal charges including stalking and state charges including first-degree murder, briefly appeared in federal court on Friday.
Boelter alleged the conditions in jail have kept him from sleeping for 12 to 14 days, according to Minneapolis ABC affiliate KSTP. Boelter claimed the doors are slammed incessantly, the lights are always and that he sleeps on a mat without a pillow, KSTP reported. He also allegedly said an inmate next to him spreads feces, KSTP reported.
The judge agreed to push back Boelter’s hearing to July 3, according to KSTP. Boelter has not entered a plea.
Boelter is accused of shooting and killing the Hortmans at their home in Brooklyn Park and shooting and wounding Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their house in nearby Champlin in the early hours of June 14, authorities said.
Boelter, 57, allegedly showed up to their doors, impersonating a police officer and wearing a realistic-looking latex mask to carry out his “political assassinations,” prosecutors said.
Investigators recovered a list of about 45 elected officials in notebooks in his car, according to prosecutors. Two other lawmakers were spared the night of the shootings, officials said.
ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway and Brittany Shepherd contributed to this report.
(MILWAUKEE) Two Milwaukee police officers were shot after responding to a call for a person with a weapon late Thursday, police said.
A suspect has been arrested in connection with the shooting on Friday morning, police said.
In what is being described as an “ambush,” officers were fired upon as they approached an alley, according to police.
A 32-year-old officer has been hospitalized in critical condition while a 29 year-old officer hospitalized with a non-life-threatening injury, police said.
The identity of the suspect has not been revealed by police, but officials said criminal charges will be presented to the Milwaukee district attorney’s office “in the upcoming days.”
“Thank you to our law enforcement partners who assisted us in taking the suspect into custody. As a start reminder, the Milwaukee Police Department will not tolerate harm to our community or our officers. Individuals inflicting harm against the public and our officers will be held accountable,” police said in a statement.
“It is with profound sorrow and outrage that we confirm that two Milwaukee police officers were tragically shot and critically injured in the line of duty tonight. Our thoughts are with these officers, their families, friends, and colleagues. These officers face unimaginable suffering and they have long roads ahead of them,” a statement from the Milwaukee Police Association said.
“This senseless act of violence has struck the very heart of our department and our community. We have reached a breaking point. Violence in our city is out of control, and those who protect our neighborhoods are increasingly in the crosshairs,” the statement continued. “We have had five officers killed in the line of duty over the past seven years and dozens of our officers have been shot and shot at while trying to serve our neighborhoods. Our officers wear the badge with pride and honor, but our officers need more leadership from the city to bring an end to this violence.”
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said in response to the shooting: “It’s a sad day. It’s a very sad day. Because no officer, no person in law enforcement should ever, ever be fired upon. For the person that shot at our police officer, I want you to know, you should turn yourself in. Know that the men and women on this police force, they are going to find you, they’re going to arrest you, and you’re going to be brought to justice anyway.”
ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
(MOSCOW, Idaho) — In a series of final rulings ahead of Bryan Kohberger’s capital murder trial, Judge Steven Hippler said lawyers for the man who could be executed, if convicted, won’t be permitted to present to the jury the theory that some unknown person is the real killer.
The trial in the Idaho college killings case will begin Aug. 18, a week later than originally planned, a judge ruled Thursday.
With jury selection starting on Aug. 4, a series of final rulings has cleared the path for the trial of Bryan Kohberger as Judge Steven Hippler said lawyers for the man who could be executed, if convicted, won’t be permitted to present to the jury the theory that some unknown person is the real killer.
However, Kohberger’s defense will be allowed to press investigators on whether they followed up on all plausible leads enough, beyond simply pursuing Kohberger, the judge said.
“Nothing links these individuals to the homicides or otherwise gives rise to a reasonable inference that they committed the crime; indeed, it would take nothing short of rank speculation by the jury to make such a finding,” the judge said.
Kohberger’s lawyers had offered the judge, under seal, what they said were four other people who might have killed Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in an off-campus house on Nov. 13, 2022.
Kohberger’s attorneys — who insist he is innocent — did acknowledge that they didn’t have enough to pursue that strategy at the trial’s outset and wanted the judge to give them “latitude” in building that theory when they cross-examine the prosecution’s witnesses.
The judge rejected the proof they offered as paper-thin at best, and “entirely irrelevant.”
“At best, [Kohberger’s] offer of proof can give rise to only wild speculation that it is possible any one of these four individuals could have committed the crimes,” Judge Steven Hippler said, adding the defense can’t “merely offer up unsupported speculation that another person may have committed the crime, which is all [Kohberger] has done here.”
In his ruling, Hippler said allowing the defense to indulge that theory would risk leading the jury “astray” and waste their “precious time,” the judge said.
Kohberger’s defense previously suggested there could be someone else behind the killings, pointing to the other unidentified male DNA samples found in the crime scene area. But, the judge noted, each of the four people proffered as alternates had cooperated with authorities, provided their DNA and fingerprints and that forensics had already excluded their DNA from the samples taken from the crime scene and victims.
The fourth individual offered as an alternate had a “passing connection” to one of the victims, the judge said: he “noticed her shopping at a store approximately five weeks prior to the homicides.”
“He followed her briefly out the exit of the store while considering approaching her to talk. He turned away before ever speaking to her,” the judge said.
Hippler added that the event was “captured on a surveillance camera,” and that this man had cooperated with authorities. His DNA had already been excluded from those taken from the crime scene.
In another new filing just posted to the docket, Judge Hippler also denied the defense’s attempt to further delay the trial.
Kohberger “has not made a showing that there is good cause to continue the trial,” Hippler said.
Kohberger’s lawyers had pushed for another delay, citing a massive trove of records turned over by the prosecution in such a high-stakes case, the “inflammatory” media coverage potentially biasing the jury, and because they needed more time to prepare their case for sentencing, should he be convicted.
The judge itemized the extensive investigation that Kohberger’s lawyers had already done to prepare for a possible sentencing phase that show an “expansive understanding” of who the man is and the world he’s been living in.
The list includes his educational, medical and mental health records; his father’s military records; “multiple” interviews with Kohberger himself as well as family members, two of his fourth-grade teachers, his former boxing coach, and a psychologist who evaluated Kohberger in 2005; interviews with his former Masters’ degree professor/advisor; and letters and jail calls between Kohberger and his family.
There is also a lengthy redacted section discussing “speculation” Kohberger’s lawyers want to “chase down,” which the judge calls “unsupported suspicions” that “smacks of tactical gamesmanship and delay.”
If they were “truly struggling” to be ready for an August trial, they should have said so sooner, before all the deadlines had passed, the judge said. Kohberger’s lawyers have “robustly litigated” this case so far, amassed dozens of experts and other team members and filed numerous briefs.
The judge also said he doubted the national media attention on the case would decrease with a delay.
“Four college students in a small Idaho college town were brutally stabbed to death by an unknown perpetrator,” the judge said. “It was an immediate media sensation and garnered widespread attention that not only continues to persist, but continues to grow.”
(CHELAN COUNTY, Wash.) — It’s been nearly a month since Travis Decker went on the run after allegedly killing his three young daughters near a Washington state campground, and at least one expert told ABC News he believes the fugitive father is likely still alive and will “eventually surface.”
Paityn Decker, 9; Evenlyn Decker, 8; and Olivia Decker, 5, were killed after they left home for a “planned visitation” with Decker at approximately 5 p.m. on May 30, officials said. At approximately 3 p.m. on June 2, officials located the bodies of the three girls, and Decker’s vehicle, near the Rock Island Campground in Chelan County, Washington.
Nearly one month later, the manhunt for Decker, an Army veteran, continues.
On Monday, officials said that “there is no certain evidence that Decker remains alive” or in the surrounding area after “seemingly strong early leads gave way to less convincing proofs over the last two weeks of searching.”
“We can’t and won’t quit this search,” Kittitas County Sheriff Clay Myers said in a statement. “Paityn, Evelyn and Olivia Decker deserve justice. Decker remains a danger to the public as long as he’s at large.”
But Todd McGhee, a law enforcement and security analyst and former Massachusetts state trooper, told ABC News he believes Decker is alive, especially since canines have “not picked up on any type of cadaver or any type of presence of a deceased body.”
“Canines are trained to look for cadavers and sniff for those types of odors, so he’s still maybe on the move,” McGhee told ABC News.
McGhee said he believes Decker may have “slipped out of the U.S.,” escalating the search into an “international manhunt.” An affidavit previously revealed that Decker’s Google searches leading up to the murders included “how does a person move to Canada” and “how to relocate to Canada.”
Decker has likely been able to evade from law enforcement for so long due to his military training, which allows him to “navigate with limited resources in the wilderness,” McGhee said. Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison previously said Decker’s father revealed that his son had been known to go out and live “off the grid” for up to 2 and a 1/2 months.
Since he has managed to hide from officials for an extensive period of time, McGhee said Decker could have developed an escape plan, allowing him at least time to “process everything as far as turning himself in [and] standing trial.”
McGhee said Decker will likely “leverage every bit” of his military experience but said he believes he will “eventually surface.”
“He’ll eventually have to surface through seeking shelter, seeking food, nutrition — those types of things will require him to come out of hiding and, to some degree, expose himself to the general public,” McGhee said.
Regardless of where Decker may be, McGhee said he is “confident” the search efforts will lead to some form of closure.
“I’m confident that something should reveal itself as far as a resolution as to where his existence is and hopefully a capture and an arrest,” McGhee told ABC News.
What we know about the deaths of Paityn, Evelyn and Olivia Decker
On May 30, Decker picked up the girls, talked to his ex-wife, Whitney Decker, for about 15-20 minutes and then left, according to Arianna Cozart, Whitney Decker’s attorney. While Whitney Decker had full custody of the children, Travis Decker was granted visitations to see the children for three hours on Fridays and eight hours every other weekend, so long as he remained in Wenatchee Valley with the girls, Cozart told ABC News.
“He said, ‘Hey, I will see you at 8 [p.m.]’ and he left, and he never came back,” Cozart said.
Whitney Decker contacted police that evening with a civil complaint, saying she had not heard from Travis Decker and he had failed to bring the girls home at their scheduled time, officials said.
Detectives later learned Travis Decker and his daughters did not arrive at a “planned 5K running event” on Saturday. Officials believe that Decker traveled to the campground where the girls’ bodies were found on May 29 and returned the next day with his three children, according to court documents.
When the girls were reported missing, the investigation had not met Amber Alert criteria, officials said, but an Endangered Missing Persons Alert had been issued through the Washington State Patrol.
When the bodies of the girls were discovered, there were plastic bags over the heads of each one and their wrists were zip-tied, according to court documents obtained by ABC News.
Around Decker’s vehicle, deputies located zip ties and plastic bags “strewn throughout the area.” The tailgate of the truck had what appeared to be “two hand prints of blood,” according to court documents.
An autopsy determined the girls were suffocated, the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said on June 9.
Decker’s mental health struggles, PTSD
Travis Decker had struggled with mental health issues, including PTSD, and was unable to access help through veterans’ resources, Cozart said.
“The courts didn’t fail these girls. It wasn’t the judge and it wasn’t Whitney; it was our system,” Cozart said. “[Whitney] feels like the system really let Travis down. If somebody would have provided Travis with the help that he needed, those girls would be alive.”
During a memorial service for the girls last weekend, Whitney Decker briefly spoke for the first time since her daughters’ deaths. She said the girls had “warm and open hearts.”
“I’m so thankful for the time that I had with the girls. I truly hope that the legacy of the girls’ lives lives in everyone’s hearts forever. They were incredible,” Whitney Decker said at the memorial on June 20.
Decker, who is described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall with black hair and brown eyes, was last seen wearing a light shirt and dark shorts, police said, and a new suspect flyer was released by authorities on June 16. He is currently wanted for three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of kidnapping, police said.
Officials said anyone who has any information on Decker or knows of his whereabouts should call 911 immediately.
