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(VIRGINIA) — A Virginia jury found that an assistant principal acted with gross negligence when a then-6-year-old student shot his first grade teacher in a lawsuit filed over the 2023 shooting.

The jury awarded the teacher, Abby Zwerner, $10 million in damages, with award interest beginning on June 1, 2024.

The verdict comes after the jury began deliberations Wednesday afternoon in the high-profile civil case.

Zwerner was shot in January 2023 in her classroom at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia. Her complaint alleged the school’s assistant principal at the time, Ebony Parker, failed to act after being informed multiple times that her student had a firearm on the day of the incident and did not let staff search him prior to the shooting.

Parker did not react as the verdict was read in court on Thursday.

Zwerner’s attorneys said they are “very happy with the outcome.”

“I remember just three years ago, almost to this day, hearing for the first time Abby’s story and thinking that this could have been prevented,” one of the attorneys, Diane Toscano, told reporters outside the courthouse in Newport News. “So now to hear from a jury of her peers that they agree that this tragedy could have been prevented.”

When asked about the payment of the damages, one of Zwerner’s attorneys noted Parker is insured under an insurance policy for the Newport News School Board, but noted there are pending post-trial motions.

The civil complaint, which was seeking $40 million in damages, alleged Parker acted with gross negligence and in “reckless disregard” for Zwerner’s safety and claimed Zwerner continues to suffer pain and emotional distress over the shooting.

The bullet went through Zwerner’s left hand, which she had lifted, and then into her chest, where it remains. She was initially hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, police said.

“Those choices that she made to treat Jan. 6, 2023, like any other day, even though a gun should change everything, is why we’re here,” Zwerner’s attorney, Kevin Biniazan, said during closing arguments on Wednesday.

Biniazan argued there were multiple opportunities for Parker to investigate and take immediate action after several school workers “sounded the alarm” about a possible gun in the school. He said the defense will attempt to play the “blame game” and point the finger at others on staff, but each of them had a “piece of the puzzle” while Parker “had the entire puzzle.”

“A gun changes everything. You stop and you investigate,” he said. “You get to the bottom of it to know whether that gun is real and on campus so you can deal with it. But that’s not what happened.”

On the millions in damages sought, Biniazan asked the jurors, “What number do you arrive at for somebody who didn’t want this and it’s been inserted into her life like a bullet fragment against her spine?”

During the defense’s closing arguments, an attorney for Parker said the case is about “real-time judgments, not hindsight judgments,” and the low likelihood that a 6-year-old boy would have a firearm that day and shoot his teacher.

“It was a tragedy that, until that day, was unprecedented, it was unthinkable and it was unforeseeable, and I ask that you please not compound that tragedy by blaming Dr. Parker for it,” the defense attorney, Sandra Douglas, said.

Zwerner testified during the trial, which began in late October, recounting the moment she was shot.

“I thought I had died,” she recalled on the stand. “I thought I was either on my way to heaven or in heaven. But then it all got black and so I then thought I wasn’t going there.”

“My next memory is, I see two co-workers around me, and I process that I’m hurt, and they’re putting pressure on where I’m hurt,” she continued.

Parker did not testify during the trial.

Three other defendants initially listed in Zwerner’s complaint — two school administrators and the Newport News School Board — were dismissed from the lawsuit ahead of the civil trial.

Zwerner and Parker both resigned following the shooting. Zwerner said she has since completed a cosmetology program but has not yet started working as her hand heals following her most recent surgery.

Parker has also been charged with eight counts of felony child abuse with disregard for life in connection with the shooting — one count for each bullet that was in the gun, according to the Newport News Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. A trial on the criminal charges is scheduled to start this month.

The student brought the gun from home, police said. His mother, Deja Taylor, was sentenced to two years in state prison for child neglect in connection with the shooting, which she is currently serving. Taylor was also sentenced to 21 months in prison on federal firearm and drug charges, which she has since served.

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(NEWPORT NEWS, Va.) — A Virginia jury found that an assistant principal acted with gross negligence when a then-6-year-old student shot his first grade teacher in a lawsuit filed over the 2023 shooting.

The jury awarded the teacher, Abby Zwerner, $10 million in damages, with award interest beginning on June 1, 2024.

The verdict comes after the jury began deliberations Wednesday afternoon in the high-profile civil case.

Zwerner was shot in January 2023 in her classroom at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia. Her complaint alleged the school’s assistant principal at the time, Ebony Parker, failed to act after being informed multiple times that her student had a firearm on the day of the incident and did not let staff search him prior to the shooting.

Parker did not react as the verdict was read in court on Thursday.

Zwerner’s attorneys said they are “very happy with the outcome.”

“I remember just three years ago, almost to this day, hearing for the first time Abby’s story and thinking that this could have been prevented,” one of the attorneys, Diane Toscano, told reporters outside the courthouse in Newport News. “So now to hear from a jury of her peers that they agree that this tragedy could have been prevented.”

When asked about the payment of the damages, one of Zwerner’s attorneys noted Parker is insured under an insurance policy for the Newport News School Board, but noted there are pending post-trial motions.

The civil complaint, which was seeking $40 million in damages, alleged Parker acted with gross negligence and in “reckless disregard” for Zwerner’s safety and claimed Zwerner continues to suffer pain and emotional distress over the shooting.

The bullet went through Zwerner’s left hand, which she had lifted, and then into her chest, where it remains. She was initially hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, police said.

“Those choices that she made to treat Jan. 6, 2023, like any other day, even though a gun should change everything, is why we’re here,” Zwerner’s attorney, Kevin Biniazan, said during closing arguments on Wednesday.

Biniazan argued there were multiple opportunities for Parker to investigate and take immediate action after several school workers “sounded the alarm” about a possible gun in the school. He said the defense will attempt to play the “blame game” and point the finger at others on staff, but each of them had a “piece of the puzzle” while Parker “had the entire puzzle.”

“A gun changes everything. You stop and you investigate,” he said. “You get to the bottom of it to know whether that gun is real and on campus so you can deal with it. But that’s not what happened.”

On the millions in damages sought, Biniazan asked the jurors, “What number do you arrive at for somebody who didn’t want this and it’s been inserted into her life like a bullet fragment against her spine?”

During the defense’s closing arguments, an attorney for Parker said the case is about “real-time judgments, not hindsight judgments,” and the low likelihood that a 6-year-old boy would have a firearm that day and shoot his teacher.

“It was a tragedy that, until that day, was unprecedented, it was unthinkable and it was unforeseeable, and I ask that you please not compound that tragedy by blaming Dr. Parker for it,” the defense attorney, Sandra Douglas, said.

Zwerner testified during the trial, which began in late October, recounting the moment she was shot.

“I thought I had died,” she recalled on the stand. “I thought I was either on my way to heaven or in heaven. But then it all got black and so I then thought I wasn’t going there.”

“My next memory is, I see two co-workers around me, and I process that I’m hurt, and they’re putting pressure on where I’m hurt,” she continued.

Parker did not testify during the trial.

Three other defendants initially listed in Zwerner’s complaint — two school administrators and the Newport News School Board — were dismissed from the lawsuit ahead of the civil trial.

Zwerner and Parker both resigned following the shooting. Zwerner said she has since completed a cosmetology program but has not yet started working as her hand heals following her most recent surgery.

Parker has also been charged with eight counts of felony child abuse with disregard for life in connection with the shooting — one count for each bullet that was in the gun, according to the Newport News Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. A trial on the criminal charges is scheduled to start this month.

The student brought the gun from home, police said. His mother, Deja Taylor, was sentenced to two years in state prison for child neglect in connection with the shooting, which she is currently serving. Taylor was also sentenced to 21 months in prison on federal firearm and drug charges, which she has since served.

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(NEW YORK) — One of the strongest geomagnetic storms of the year will create auroras in a large swath of the northern continental U.S., possibly even as far south as Oregon and Illinois.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center is tracking four “notable” coronal mass ejections [CME] — a sudden eruption of plasma and magnetic fields from the Sun’s corona — that occurred between Monday and Wednesday.

At least one of the CMEs is expected to arrive late Thursday into early Friday as a strong G3 geomagnetic storm, according to NOAA.

Two dozen states could see the northern lights, NOAA’s viewline map shows: Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Some of the northernmost states could continue to see auroras on Friday night, the map shows.

A geomagnetic storm watch will remain until Friday morning, according to NOAA. A G3-level geomagnetic storm could impact technology due to the impact on satellite operations — especially GPS technology, the Space Weather Prediction Center said.

Northern light displays occur when a solar flare interacts with the atoms and molecules in Earth’s atmosphere.

As the solar flare clashes with the upper atmosphere, it causes the atoms to emit a glow, creating a spectrum of light in the night sky.

The sun’s magnetic field reached its solar maximum phase of its 11-year cycle in October 2024, which has led to an increase in northern lights activity, according to NASA.

Intense magnetic activity caused by sunspots are expected to last through 2026, according to NOAA, and the best times to see the northern lights in the U.S. is between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m.

The Space Weather Prediction Center recommends traveling to the darkest location possible for the best viewing.

Smartphones and digital cameras are more sensitive to the array of colors and may be able to capture images of the auroras, even if not visible to the naked eye, according to NASA.

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(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Nine people remain missing after a UPS plane departing Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky on Tuesday crashed in a ball of flames, killing at least 12 people. Officials continue to search through half a mile of “charred, mangled” debris to find any additional victims, authorities said.

“It’s been a long 36 hours of tragedy,” Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said at a press conference on Thursday.

UPS Flight 2976 crashed around 5:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter plane was headed to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, when the plane’s left engine detached after a “large plume of fire” erupted from the plane’s left wing, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

The aircraft’s three crew members are believed to be among the deceased, Greenberg said. The coroner is working on identifying the other nine victims who were found, Greenberg added.

Authorities will now begin to move the debris, including the “charred, mangled metal,” to see if they can locate additional individuals, Greenberg said.

The nine missing individuals are believed to have been near the scene at the time of the crash, Greenberg said.

“Our hope is that we have located all the victims at this point, but we don’t know,” Greenberg said.

Two individuals who were hospitalized still remain in critical condition, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said on Wednesday.

During a briefing on Wednesday, the NTSB said the plane’s black boxes have been recovered and they will be sent to Washington, D.C., for analysis.

A probable cause of the crash has not been revealed, the NTSB said.

“The plane lifted off and gained enough altitude to clear the fence at the end of runway 17R. Shortly after clearing that fence, it made impact with structures and the terrain off of the airport property,” according to NTSB board member Todd Inman.

The NTSB is scheduled to provide an update on the investigation on Thursday afternoon.

Video captured the moment the plane — loaded with thousands of gallons of fuel for a long-distance flight to Hawaii — crashed, resulting in a large fireball.

Two businesses on the ground were impacted by the crash, Beshear said.

The FBI, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are now assisting in the investigation, Greenberg said.

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(NEW YORK) — A federal appeals court on Thursday ordered a lower court to take another look at whether President Donald Trump’s criminal hush money prosecution in Manhattan deserved to be heard in federal court.

After Trump was convicted last year on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, he sought to move the case into federal court from state court due to the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling last year granting the president immunity for official acts.

U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied the request, concluding that Trump failed to show good cause for move after the jury had rendered its verdict.

On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Hellerstein to reconsider.

“We cannot be confident that in doing so, the District Court adequately considered issues relevant to the good cause inquiry so as to enable meaningful appellate review,” the opinion said.  For example, the District Court did not consider whether certain evidence admitted during the state court trial relates to immunized official acts or, if so, whether evidentiary immunity transformed the State’s case into one that relates to acts under color of the Presidency.”

Trump was found guilty last year of orchestrating an illegal scheme to influence the 2016 presidential election by directing his personal lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, to pay $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to prevent her from publicly discussing a long-denied sexual encounter with Trump, and then falsifying New York business records to cover up that alleged criminal conduct.

New York Judge Juan Merchan, on the eve of Trump’s inauguration in January, sentenced him to an unconditional discharge — the lightest possible punishment allowed under New York state law — saying it was the “only lawful sentence” to prevent “encroaching upon the highest office in the land.”

Trump is separately appealing his conviction in a New York appellate court, arguing that it was based on evidence the Supreme Court later decided should have been off limits.

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(NEW YORK)- — A father’s lawsuit against the online gaming platform Roblox will remain in the public eye after a California judge denied the company’s attempt to force the dispute into a private resolution process.

While the ruling issued last week by California Superior Court Judge Nina Shapirshteyn applies only to one case in San Mateo County, attorneys representing dozens of families view the ruling as a legal precedent that opens the door for other victims to pursue their lawsuits against the company through the judicial system.

Roblox, launched in 2006, has been at the center of recent controversy, with some parents alleging that the platform has been used to help facilitate child sexual exploitation and grooming. The company is facing over 35 lawsuits, with one law firm telling ABC News that it is investigating thousands of child sexual exploitation and abuse claims.

Roblox had nearly 83 million average daily active users in 2024, according to its financial reports. It reported $3.6 billion in revenue last year.

The attorneys general of Louisiana and Kentucky have filed lawsuits against the company, and recently Florida’s attorney general subpoenaed Roblox for information about its age verification and chat moderation policies.

The company has consistently responded to the lawsuits and allegations by stating that protecting children is a priority and announcing investments in safety measures, including artificial intelligence age verification.

“We are deeply troubled by any allegations about harms to children online and are committed to setting the industry standard for safety,” a spokesperson for Roblox told ABC News. “To protect our users, we have rigorous, industry-leading policies, including limiting chat for younger users and employing advanced filters designed to block the sharing of personal information. Roblox also does not allow users to share images or videos. We also collaborate closely with law enforcement.”

The Roblox spokesperson told ABC News the company disagrees with the ruling from the California judge and plans to appeal.

‘The gateway to all of this happening’
Steve, the father whose lawsuit prompted last week’s ruling in California, told ABC News that in 2023, he created a Roblox account for his son who was 13 years old at the time.

A year later, Steve — who asked ABC News not to publish his last name out of concern for his son’s safety — made a devastating discovery. He says he found messages on his son’s phone from an individual who, according to civil court documents, found his son on a children’s game in the online platform and initiated contact, despite him and his son not being “friends” on the platform.

According to Steve and court records, the perpetrator, who had initially posed as a 16-year-old, moved communication off of Roblox and onto Discord, a separate communication platform. Once there, he allegedly began exploiting Steve’s son by offering Robux gift cards — Roblox’s in-game currency — in exchange for explicit images and videos.

The messages Steve found allegedly included direct threats after his son failed to show up to an arranged in-person meeting, with the accused predator reminding the teenager that he knew his New Jersey address, according to the complaint.

“He had our home address, what school he went to, his phone number, everything,” Steve said.

Steve told ABC News he immediately contacted local police who later told him that the man who messaged his son was a known predator who was facing charges in another case for sexually exploiting another child. According to the complaint, authorities believe the same individual similarly exploited at least 26 other children using online platforms.

In February, Steve filed a lawsuit against Roblox and Discord, alleging the companies misled him and other parents about the platforms’ safety and features, leading directly to his son’s “sexual exploitation and abuse.”

In a statement to ABC News, a Discord spokesperson said the company is “committed to safety” and said it requires all users to be 13 to use their platform. 

“We maintain strong systems to prevent the spread of sexual exploitation and grooming on our platform and also work with other technology companies and safety organizations to improve online safety across the internet,” the spokesperson said.

“I’ve traditionally kept myself as a ‘helicopter parent,’ so I did all my research,” Steve said. “I did my best to enable every parental control I could find, and a lot of them are pretty confusing, but I tried my best to keep him safe online and teach him as best I could, and it still happened.”

Steve told ABC News that Roblox “was the gateway to all of this happening” because that’s where “all the conversations started.”

‘Everyone deserves a day in court’
Alexandra Walsh, the attorney representing Steve and about a dozen other clients suing the company, said Roblox’s response to the lawsuit was to file a motion to compel arbitration — a private, out-of-court process where claims are settled confidentially by a third party.

“[It was] a motion to silence this family, to prevent this family from presenting what happened to them to a judge and jury, and instead put it into a secret rigged system,” Walsh told ABC News. “Roblox has followed suit in multiple other cases … they’ve either filed similar motions to compel arbitration, or made very clear that they intend to do so.”

In court filings, Roblox has said the dispute must be settled confidentially, because Steve, when he signed up for Roblox, was provided notice of the Terms of Service and the Arbitration Agreement mandating that any dispute “will be subject only to binding arbitration.”

The company said in filings that their arbitration agreement is “consumer friendly and cost friendly.”

Last week, Judge Shapirshteyn rejected Roblox’s motion to compel arbitration.

Walsh told ABC News the company has a right to defend itself, but it should do so “in the light of day so the public can see, and so that a jury made up of citizens of this country can decide if they’re liable or not.”

Steve told ABC News the ruling was “reassuring.”

“Everyone deserves a day in court, but Roblox and these companies don’t want that to happen,” Steve said. “They want to keep things quiet.”

Steve told ABC News that his family moved across the country because they did not feel safe in their home.

“It was an eye-opening experience,” he said. “Predators aren’t down at your local park anymore. They’re not hanging out in the dark city places … it has become just so easy for them to come online and pretend to be somebody that they’re not.”

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(NEW YORK) — Two New Jersey teenagers have been arrested in connection with an alleged ISIS-inspired Halloween attack in Michigan that the FBI announced it had thwarted last week, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

The NYPD and FBI-Newark arrested Tomas Kaan Guzel, 19, before he could board a flight to Istanbul, the sources said.

A second 19-year-old, Milo Sedanet, was also arrested, according to sources.

Two other men, Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud, were arrested on Friday for their alleged roles in the plot, according to court records unsealed on Monday.

They allegedly “used online encrypted communications and social media applications to share extremist and ISIS-related materials,” and allegedly used the term “pumpkin day” for their plans, according to the complaint.

According to sources, an NYPD undercover had been monitoring Guzel, who was allegedly in communication with those arrested in Michigan and others overseas. The group allegedly talked about an attack on the LGBTQ community in Detroit and about traveling to Syria to train with ISIS, sources said.

Guzel allegedly had planned to travel in two weeks to Turkey and onward to Syria from there, but it’s believed he got spooked after last week’s arrests and moved his flight up, sources said.

There were searches at his home in Montclair and also in Seattle as part of the investigation, the sources said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(WASHINGTON) — The man accused of throwing a sandwich at a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent in Washington, D.C., waived his right to testify in court Wednesday, ahead of closing arguments in his ongoing misdemeanor assault case.

Sean Charles Dunn, a former Department of Justice staffer, was charged with a misdemeanor after a grand jury failed to indict him on a more serious felony assault charge.

Both sides are expected to deliver closing arguments later today in the case that first went viral during the federal surge of law enforcement in D.C.

Dunn was caught on camera throwing a Subway sandwich at a Border Patrol agent in August.

According to the earlier felony criminal complaint, Dunn allegedly approached the officer while shouting “f— you! You f—— fascists! Why are you here? I don’t want you in my city!”

After several minutes of confrontation, Dunn allegedly threw the sandwich, striking the officer in the chest, the complaint says.

His sudden launch into the public spotlight inspired a groundswell of attention to his case in the early days of the surge.

The court will resume this afternoon for closing arguments.

-ABC News’ Alex Mallin contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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(CHICAGO) — A federal judge is set to hear arguments Wednesday and is weighing extending restrictions on the use of force by federal immigration agents in the Chicago area.

Attorneys representing journalists, clergymen and protesters who say they’ve been harmed by federal immigration agents during lawful protests are expected to show images and call on witnesses they say prove the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents are “increasingly reckless and dangerous.”

Videos of several violent immigration arrests and clashes between federal agents and protesters in the region have become a flashpoint in the nation’s debate over immigration enforcement. But the Department of Homeland Security says their agents have been harassed and followed by violent protesters and are responding appropriately to a 1,000%-increase in attacks on agents across the United States.

“Although some protests remained peaceful, others turned violent,” the government claimed in court filings. “Rioters have attacked law enforcement personnel with fireworks, rocks, and other objects. Rioters also breached the perimeter of federal buildings, blocked all traffic into the only immigration facility in the region, damaged federal vehicles, and injured officers. At some violent protests, officers responded by issuing dispersal orders and using nonlethal crowd-control devices.”

In October, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis issued a temporary restraining order restricting federal agents from “using riot control weapons” against journalists, protesters and religious practitioners without first issuing warnings unless necessary to stop “an immediate and serious threat of physical harm” to agents or others.

Ellis also prohibited agents from “dispersing, arresting, threatening to arrest, threatening or using physical force” against anyone they should reasonably know is a journalist. The judge expanded the order on Oct. 16 to include a requirement for federal agents equipped with body-worn cameras to wear them and keep them on during “law enforcement activities” in the Chicago region. That order is set to expire on Thursday, Nov. 6.

But in recent weeks, plaintiffs in the case have provided several accounts, often caught on tape, of incidents they say are evidence that DHS is violating her court order. Attorneys submitted video from an incident in Evanston, IL last Friday which allegedly showed agents clashing with protesters and individuals involved in a collision with a government vehicle.

Videos taken of the incident showed a federal agent pressing a man’s head to the ground for nearly two minutes as the man yelled “I can’t breathe.” In one declaration submitted in court, an eyewitness who took a video of the incident said she saw a federal agent “bash his head on the street at least two times.” The eyewitness said she then saw the agent “strike the young man in his head with his hand or fist at least two times.”

Another declarant, David Brooks, who filmed the incident said a Border Patrol agent pointed a pistol at him.

“Step back or I’m going to shoot you,” the agent allegedly told Brooks.

“I took a step back and said ‘you’re gonna what,’” Brooks wrote.

“He then pulled out his pistol from his holster and pointed it directly at me. I was startled and stepped back again. He holstered the gun,” he added in his declaration.

In a statement about the Evanston incident, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said agents were being “aggressively tailgated” by a vehicle that crashed into them.

“A hostile crowd then surrounded agents and their vehicle and began verbally abusing them and spitting on them. One physically assaulted a Border Patrol agent and kicked an agent. As he was being arrested, he grabbed the agents’ genitals and squeezed them. As you know this is an extremely painful experience for most human beings and justifies certain responses, the agent delivered several defensive strikes to the agitator to free his genitals from the agitator’s vice,” she said.

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(LOUSIVILLE, Ky.) — At least three people are dead after a UPS aircraft crashed upon departing the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky, officials said Tuesday, sending a massive plume of smoke into the air and leading authorities to urge residents of a large swath of the nearby area to shelter in place following the fiery crash.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he believes the number of fatalities will increase following the “catastrophic” crash.

At least 11 people were injured, some with “very significant” injuries,” he said.

Three crew members were on board the plane, according to UPS, which said it has not confirmed any injuries.

“We do not, at the moment, have the status of the crew,” Beshear said during a press briefing Tuesday. “Watching that video, I think we’re all very, very worried about them.”

Video captured the moment the plane crashed, resulting in a large fireball.

A shelter-in-place was initially issued within 5 miles of the airport but was subsequently expanded to all areas north of the airport to the Ohio River, police said. Areas south of the Outer Loop have since been cleared from the shelter-in-place, police said.

“This is an active scene with fire and debris. Stay away,” the Louisville Metro Police Department said on social media.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg called the incident an “incredible tragedy that our community will never forget” and said the city has “every emergency agency responding to the scene.”

“There are multiple injuries and the fire is still burning,” he said on social media. “There are many road closures in the area — please avoid the scene.”

UPS Flight 2976 crashed around 5:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter plane was headed to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, the agency said.

It appears there was an engine issue during takeoff, sources told ABC News.

Small plane crashes in California park, injuring pilot and pedestrian, officials say
UPS said it has been “notified of an incident/accident involving one of our aircraft” in Louisville.

The airport is home to UPS Worldport, the company’s massive package handling facility.

Boeing, which acquired McDonnell Douglas in 1997, said,” Our concern is for the safety and well-being of all those affected.”

“We stand ready to support our customer and have offered technical assistance to the NTSB,” it said.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

The airport confirmed there was an “aircraft incident” and that the airfield is closed.

ABC News’ Luke Barr, Sam Sweeney and Ayesha Ali contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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