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(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — At least one person was killed and six others were injured in a shooting at Florida State University in Tallahassee on Thursday, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News.
One person is in critical condition and five are in serious condition, according to Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare.
The number of injured is subject to change, sources told ABC News, as law enforcement is actively searching to determine how many might be injured.
A suspect is in custody, multiple sources told ABC News, adding that the search for possible additional shooters is ongoing.
The shooting took place near the Student Union, according to an FSU Alert, which had advised students to continue to shelter in place due to reports of an active shooter.
Student Daniella Streety told ABC News she was in the building across the street from the Student Union when alert sirens started blaring, and people who were standing outside ran into her building.
Students then fled from the Student Union as law enforcement flooded the scene, she said.
Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter, Jaime, was killed in the Parkland high school shooting in South Florida in 2018, said some of Jaime’s classmates now attend FSU.
“Incredibly, some of them were just a part of their 2nd school shooting and some were in the student union today,” Guttenberg, who has become a gun reform supporter, wrote on social media. “As a father, all I ever wanted after the Parkland shooting was to help our children be safe. Sadly, because of the many people who refuse to do the right things about reducing gun violence, I am not surprised by what happened today.”
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said it’s “actively engaged in the incident.” The FBI is also assisting authorities at the university, an agency spokesperson told ABC News.
President Donald Trump has been briefed on the shooting, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
FSU said classes are canceled through Friday.
Leon County public schools have been placed “on lockout as a precaution,” according to the school district.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said, “My heart breaks for the students, their families, and faculty at Florida State University. There is no place in American society for violence. Our entire nation is praying for the victims and their families.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Sony Salzman and Luke Barr contributed to this report.
(CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich.) — An elderly man with dementia was rescued by officials after his foot got stuck in a window and he ended up dangling from the second-story of his home in Michigan, the Canton Township Police Department told ABC News.
The incident, which occurred on April 12 at approximately 2:49 a.m., was captured on police body-worn camera footage, showing officers on the ground building a human pyramid to attempt to free the dangling man while others inside the home supported him with cables.
In the footage reviewed by ABC News, the man can be heard screaming, “I can’t hold this much longer, I really can’t.”
The man’s wife, Lynnette Barnett, told ABC Detroit affiliate WXYZ that her husband, who is in the late stages of dementia, was trying to get out of the room, was unsure how, so he decided to leave through the window.
“He’s not steady on his feet, the window he chose to come out of is the only window in the house that you need to prop open, because if you don’t prop it open, it will fall shut,” Barnett told WXYZ.
If the window had not shut on the man’s foot, Barnett said her husband “would have been dead.”
Officials, along with the help of “swift-acting neighbors” who provided a ladder, were successfully able to return the man to safety, intervening in a way that “saved this man’s life and prevented a tragedy,” Canton Police Chief Chad Baugh said in a statement to ABC News.
“This incident reflects the heart of public service, and we remain committed to working with every available resource to provide wraparound support for those facing cognitive challenges,” Baugh said.
Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — At least six people were injured in a shooting at Florida State University in Tallahassee on Thursday, according to Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare.
One person is in critical condition and five are in serious condition, according to the hospital.
The number of injured is subject to change, sources told ABC News, as law enforcement is actively searching to determine how many might be injured.
A suspect is in custody, multiple sources told ABC News, adding that the search for possible additional shooters is ongoing.
The shooting took place near the Student Union, according to an FSU Alert, which had advised students to continue to shelter in place due to reports of an active shooter.
Student Daniella Streety told ABC News she was in the building across the street from the Student Union when alert sirens started blaring, and people who were standing outside ran into her building.
Students then fled from the Student Union as law enforcement flooded the scene, she said.
“It’s too early to understand the extent of the violence, but early reports are very disturbing,” Rep. Neal Dunn, R-Fla., said in a statement. “Shelter in place. Stay Safe. Thank you to our brave first responders for responding to the situation.”
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said it’s “actively engaged in the incident.” The FBI is also assisting authorities at the university, an agency spokesperson told ABC News.
President Donald Trump has been briefed on the shooting, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Sony Salzman and Luke Barr contributed to this report.
(LOS ANGELES) — Erik and Lyle Menendez’s long-awaited resentencing hearing will move forward on Thursday despite a new filing from Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who wants to keep the brothers behind bars.
In a filing late Wednesday, prosecutors urged the court to obtain a copy of a recently completed risk assessment conducted on the brothers by the California Board of Parole Hearings at the request of Gov. Gavin Newsom. The filing by the district attorney’s office urged the judge to delay the sentencing if the court couldn’t get a copy of the report in time for the hearing.
Outside the courthouse Thursday morning, Hochman said he wants all of the facts to come out, but added that his team is proceeding with the hearing.
The Menendez brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, called the last-minute attempt to delay the resentencing hearing a “Hail Mary” by Hochman.
The brothers — who are serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez — are fighting to be released after 35 years behind bars.
At the resentencing hearing — which begins Thursday and is likely to last through late Friday — 10 family members are ready to take the stand, ABC News has learned. A prison expert and former inmate may also testify.
This comes one week after Lyle and Erik Menendez had a major win in court when the judge ruled in their favor at a hearing regarding Hochman’s motion to withdraw the resentencing petition submitted by the previous DA, George Gascón, who supported resentencing and the brothers’ release.
In the DA’s three-hour argument Friday, he argued the brothers — who were listening to the hearing via video — haven’t taken responsibility for their actions and he called their claims of self-defense part of a litany of “lies.” Hochman also dismissed the brothers’ claim that they were sexually abused by their father.
This comes one week after Lyle and Erik Menendez had a major win in court when the judge ruled in their favor at a hearing regarding Hochman’s motion to withdraw the resentencing petition submitted by the previous DA, George Gascón, who supported resentencing and the brothers’ release.
In the DA’s three-hour argument Friday, he argued the brothers — who were listening to the hearing via video — haven’t taken responsibility for their actions and he called their claims of self-defense part of a litany of “lies.” Hochman also dismissed the brothers’ claim that they were sexually abused by their father.
Geragos called the decision “probably the biggest day since they’ve been in custody.”
“They’ve waited a long time to get some justice,” he said.
Hochman said in a statement after the ruling, “We concluded that the case was not ripe for resentencing based on the Menendez brothers’ continuing failure to exhibit full insight and accept complete responsibility for the entire gamut of their criminal actions and cover-up, including the fabrications of their self-defense defense and their lies concerning their father being a violent rapist, their mother being a poisoner, and their trying to obtain a handgun for self-defense the day before the murder.”
“Until the Menendez brothers finally come clean with all their lies of self-defense and suborning and attempting to suborn perjury, they are not rehabilitated and pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety,” he said.
This potential path to freedom gained momentum in October, when Hochman’s predecessor, Gascón, announced he was in support of resentencing.
Gascón recommended their sentences of life without the possibility of parole be removed, and said they should instead be sentenced for murder, which would be a sentence of 50 years to life. Because both brothers were under 26 at the time of the crimes, they would be eligible for parole immediately with the new sentence.
Gascón’s office said its resentencing recommendations take into account many factors, including rehabilitation in prison and abuse or trauma that contributed to the crime. Gascón — who lost his reelection bid to Hochman in November — praised the work Lyle and Erik Menendez did behind bars to rehabilitate themselves and help other inmates.
Over 20 Menendez relatives are in support of the brothers’ release. Several of those relatives spoke with ABC News last week, including cousin Diane VanderMolen, who said Erik Menendez asked her to relay a message.
“They are truly, deeply sorry for what they did. And they are profoundly remorseful,” VanderMolen said. “They are filled with remorse over what they did. And through that, they have become pretty remarkable people.”
Besides resentencing, the brothers have two other possible paths to freedom.
One is their request for clemency to California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom announced in February that he was ordering the parole board to conduct a 90-day “comprehensive risk assessment” investigation into whether Lyle and Erik Menendez pose “an unreasonable risk to the public” if they’re granted clemency and released.
After the risk assessment, which Hochman said in the filing is now complete, Newsom said the brothers will appear at independent parole board hearings in June.
The other path is the brothers’ habeas corpus petition, which they filed in 2023 for a review of two new pieces of evidence not presented at trial: a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin eight months before the murders detailing his alleged abuse from his father, and allegations from a former boy band member who revealed in 2023 that he was raped by Jose Menendez.
In February, Hochman announced he was asking the court to deny the habeas corpus petition, arguing the brothers’ new evidence wasn’t credible or admissible.
Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — Multiple people are injured in a shooting at Florida State University in Tallahassee, according to a senior administration official.
Police are responding to the scene, which is near the Student Union, according to an FSU Alert, which had advised students to continue to shelter in place due to reports of an active shooter.
“FDLE is actively engaged in the incident on FSU’s campus, and we will update the public with more information as soon as possible,” according to a statement from Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
The FBI is assisting authorities at the university, an agency spokesperson told ABC News.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(Grant County, Ind.) — Over 50 years after a mom was killed and her daughter was left abandoned with her body, the young mom’s cold case murder has been solved, Indiana authorities said.
On the night of July 7, 1972, Phyllis Bailer, 26, and her 3-year-old daughter were driving the 100 miles from Indianapolis to Bluffton, Indiana, to visit Bailer’s parents — but they never made it, the Indiana State Police said.
The next morning, around 10:30 a.m., Bailer’s car was found empty in Grant County, Indiana, police said.
About one hour later, a woman driving in Allen County, Indiana, discovered Bailer and her daughter along the side of the road in a ditch.
Bailer had been sexually assaulted and shot to death, police said. Her 3-year-old daughter was with her and unharmed.
No arrests were made.
Years later, a partial DNA profile was developed from Bailer’s clothing, which eliminated authorities’ main suspect, police said.
The murder continued to go unsolved for decades.
Last year, “a much stronger DNA profile” was developed from Bailer’s clothes, police said, and investigators started working with a forensic genealogy company.
Genetic genealogy is an investigative tool — first used in 2018 in the arrest of the Golden State Killer — in which unknown DNA from a crime scene is identified by comparing it to family members who voluntarily submit DNA samples to a database.
Through genetic genealogy, police identified Fred Allen Lienemann as the person who left DNA on Bailer’s clothing, authorities announced on Wednesday.
Lienemann, who was 25 years old at the time of the murder, “had no known connections to Phyllis Bailer but had a significant criminal history,” police said.
Lienemann was killed in Detroit in 1985, police said. If he was alive, prosecutors would charge him with Bailer’s murder, police said.
“Phyllis Bailer never made it to Bluffton to visit her family,” state police spokesperson Sgt. Wes Rowlader wrote on social media. “After years of questions, this family finally has answers about what happened to her.”
(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) — More than 6 million people in multiple states across the Southwest and South Plains are under red flag warnings Thursday as strong winds and warm temperatures are forecast to increase wildfire threats.
Firefighters in New Mexico, West Texas, Colorado, eastern Arizona, central Kansas and parts of Oklahoma are among the states bracing for critical to extreme threats of wildfires erupting and rapidly spreading.
The entire state of New Mexico is under red flag warnings, including the cities of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, which were both under critical threat of fire danger Thursday morning. Other cities in New Mexico that are under extreme risk of wildfires erupting include Silver City, Deming, Los Lunas and Socorro.
“Extremely critical fire weather conditions are expected across much of New Mexico today due to very strong winds combined with a dry airmass,” the National Weather Service office in Albuquerque said in a statement posted on social media.
The NWS said critical fire weather conditions across central and eastern New Mexico will stretch into Friday.
Extremely low relative humidity, ranging 5% to 15%, combined with winds forecast to gust between 45 and 65 mph or higher, could cause any new fires to spread rapidly, officials said.
Much of New Mexico continues to battle severe to extreme drought conditions, which will also exacerbate the fire threat.
The extreme warning means a “threat to life and property from existing or potential wildfires due to weather and fuel conditions,” according to the NWS.
Several wildfires have already erupted across New Mexico this year, including one that ignited in the Carson National Forest in northern New Mexico last week. Firefighters responded to the blaze quickly and managed to keep it from spreading beyond three acres, officials said.
On March 19, several wildfires broke out across New Mexico, including the Gail Fire west of the town of Mayhill that burned 235 acres, officials said.
“We’ve been saying that this year’s fire season will potentially be early and significant, and here we are,” Forest Fire Management Officer Brent Davidson of the U.S. Forest Service in New Mexico said in a statement earlier this month. “Wildfires do not stop at property boundaries and we hope this puts into focus how important it is for everyone to prepare. Whether you have 10 minutes or 10 hours, you can do something to get ready for wildfire.”
Raging wildfires also broke out in Oklahoma last month, leaving four people dead and more than 140 injured, according to the state’s medical examiner. The multiple Oklahoma fires erupted amid gusty winds, low humidity and dry vegetation. More than 400 homes and structures were destroyed and at least 170,000 acres burned across the state of Oklahoma.
ABC News’ Shawnie Caslin Martucci contributed to this report.
Extensive fire damage to the Pennsylvania Governor’s Mansion and Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence / Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images
(HARRISBURG, Pa.) — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wants Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the arson attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence as a possible antisemitic hate crime.
“While the local district attorney has not yet filed hate-crime charges, he acknowledged that Governor Shapiro’s religion appears to have factored into the suspect’s decisions,” Schumer wrote in a letter to Bondi on Thursday. “Our federal authorities must bring the full weight of our civil-rights laws to bear in examining this matter. No person or public official should be targeted because of their faith, and no community should wonder whether such acts will be met with silence.”
“I appreciate your strong condemnation of the attack and urge you to ensure that the federal government does everything in its power to pursue justice and uphold the fundamental values of religious freedom and public safety,” Schumer added. “I look forward to your response and to the Justice Department’s continued vigilance in the face of antisemitic violence.”
The fire at the governor’s residence was reported at about 2 a.m. ET Sunday and the family was safely evacuated. The attack occurred hours after the Shapiro family hosted more than two dozen people for the first night of Passover.
Investigators have not released a motive, but search warrants provide the most direct indication of why suspect Cody Balmer allegedly hopped a fence at the governor’s mansion, broke windows and hurled inside Molotov cocktails police said he made from beer bottles and gasoline.
Balmer, 38, called 911 less than an hour after the attack, identified himself and told the call-taker that he will not take part in Shapiro’s plans “for what he wants to do to the Palestinian people,” a search warrant said. Balmer added that Shapiro needed to “stop having my friends killed.”
“Our people have been put through too much by that monster,” Balmer said, according to the document.
After turning himself in, Balmer allegedly told police he would have attacked Shapiro with a hammer if he happened upon the governor inside the residence, according to court documents.
Balmer faces eight criminal charges, including attempted murder, terrorism and aggravated arson. Prosecutors at this time have not invoked a hate crime law, which in Pennsylvania is known as ethnic intimidation.
Attorney General Pam Bondi strongly condemned the attack in remarks at the Department of Justice on Wednesday, but she declined to label the act “domestic terrorism” or commit to opening a separate federal case against the suspect.
“It is absolutely horrific what happened to him,” Bondi said. “We have been praying for Josh, for his family. Those photos, it was horrible. I firmly believe that they wanted to kill him. … We are working with state authorities to do — it’s now a pending investigation — anything we can to help convict the person that did this and keep them behind bars as long as possible.”
Bondi did not answer a direct question from a reporter about whether she would label the action “domestic terrorism,” as she has repeatedly described the wave of attacks carried out on Teslas and dealerships around the country in recent months.
“Prosecutors will ultimately determine what motivated this,” Shapiro told reporters at the opening of a new Hershey’s Chocolate processing facility in Hershey, Pennsylvania. “The district attorney and the Department of Justice can comment on that further.”
When asked by a reporter if he wants hate crime charges filed, Shapiro said that’s a decision for the district attorney and the Department of Justice.
(NEWARK, NJ) — A Florida man allegedly boarded an Amtrak train in New Jersey carrying ammunition, multiple handguns and an AR-15 style rifle, New Jersey authorities said.
Jeffrey O. Kennerk, 34, of Fort Lauderdale, was indicted on several charges, including aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose and causing or risking widespread injury or damage, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office and the Division of Criminal Justice said in a press release on Wednesday.
“This defendant allegedly hauled a small arsenal of deadly weapons and ammunition through busy transit stations, and on a train filled with passengers,” New Jersey’s Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said in a statement.
Transit police at Penn Station in Newark, New Jersey, noticed an unattended black-and-white-zebra-pattern bag on Jan. 3, according to officials. A K-9 team cleared the bag for the presence of explosives, then the officers opened it and found inside a case for a Glock handgun, according to a press release, which cites two complaints and an indictment.
Inside the case was a handgun with a loaded 18-round magazine, officials said. Also in the bag were an AR-style magazine with rifle rounds and a “plastic bag containing a shirt and two boxes labeled 9 mm bullets; four boxes of .223 caliber bullets.”
“A zipped secondary compartment in the suitcase contained a pink duffle bag containing a black Zastava Arms AK-47 style rifle with one round loaded in the chamber and multiple loaded magazines,” the A.G.’s press release said.
After law enforcement found the bag, at about 2:55 p.m., they reviewed camera footage from the station, which appeared to show a man, whom police allege was Kennerk, who was carrying two suitcases, including the one with the zebra pattern.
“The subject walked away, allegedly, leaving behind the zebra print suitcase, and went to the Amtrak ticket window,” officials said. “It was learned that the subject was boarding an Amtrak train bound for Virginia and the next stop would be the Trenton Transit Center.”
Two officers boarded that train as it arrived in Trenton, officials said. When they approached Kennerk, he allegedly showed them a valid Amtrak ticket — although it was for another train. Police officers in Trenton had been notified that Newark officials were searching for Kennerk. He was arrested before he could board his ticketed train, officials said.
“The collective actions of law enforcement eliminated the possible carnage that could have been caused by the weapons involved in this case,” New Jersey Transit Police Chief Christopher Trucillo said in a statement.
As Kennerk was arrested, police searched his second suitcase and found multiple other weapons, officials said. He was allegedly carrying in that “dark maroon colored” suitcase an AR-15-style rifle, along with “multiple caches of ammunitions, multiple extended magazines, and multiple handguns,” officials said.
“The indictment of this individual underscores the severe threat posed by those who amass illegal weapons with blatant disregard for public safety,” said Col. Patrick J. Callahan, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, in a statement.
Deputy Attorney General Karen Bracizewsk, of New Jersey’s Division of Criminal Justice, is expected to lead the prosecution against Kennerk, officials said.
ABC News’ Jessica Gorman and Victoria Arancio contributed to this report.
(LOS ANGELES) — Hours before a long-awaited, critical hearing in Erik and Lyle Menendez’s attempts to get out of prison, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office indicated it wants to put Thursday’s hearing on hold.
Lyle and Erik Menendez are set to return to court on Thursday for a high-stakes resentencing hearing that could bring them one step closer to potential freedom, despite objections from Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
Now, in a filing late Wednesday, prosecutors have urged the court to obtain a copy of a recently completed risk assessment conducted on the brothers by the California Board of Parole Hearings at the request of Gov. Gavin Newsom. The filing by the district attorney’s office urges the judge to delay the sentencing if the court cannot get a copy of the report in time for the hearing.
“On April 15, 2025, the People were made aware that the Parole Board has completed its Comprehensive Risk Assessment Reports for Lyle and Erik Menendez,” the filing states, later adding, “There is no legitimate reason why the Court should not now possess the most current and up to date risk assessments before making any resentencing decisions in this case. The People believe that the Court should have all available information before making any sentencing decisions in this case.”
“To the extent the Court needs additional time to obtain these documents from the Governor’s office, the People request a continuance as necessary,” the filing adds.
The brothers — who are serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez — are fighting to be released after 35 years behind bars.
If the court decides to move forward with Thursday’s resentencing hearing, a judge will decide whether they deserve freedom. Ten family members are ready to take the stand at the hearing, ABC News has learned, while a prison expert and former inmate may also testify.
On Friday, Lyle and Erik Menendez had a major win in court when the judge ruled in their favor at a hearing regarding DA Nathan Hochman’s motion to withdraw the resentencing petition submitted by the previous DA, George Gascón, who supported resentencing and the brothers’ release.
In the DA’s three-hour argument Friday, he argued the brothers — who were listening to the hearing via video — haven’t taken responsibility for their actions and he called their claims of self-defense part of a litany of “lies.” Hochman also dismissed the brothers’ claim that they were sexually abused by their father.
Menendez attorney Mark Geragos fired back, calling Hochman a “’90s Neanderthal” for refusing to believe the brothers.
The judge on Friday denied Hochman’s motion to withdraw and said the brothers’ resentencing hearing will proceed as planned this Thursday and Friday.
Geragos called the decision “probably the biggest day since they’ve been in custody.”
“They’ve waited a long time to get some justice,” he said.
Hochman said in a statement after the ruling, “We concluded that the case was not ripe for resentencing based on the Menendez brothers’ continuing failure to exhibit full insight and accept complete responsibility for the entire gamut of their criminal actions and cover-up, including the fabrications of their self-defense defense and their lies concerning their father being a violent rapist, their mother being a poisoner, and their trying to obtain a handgun for self-defense the day before the murder.”
“Until the Menendez brothers finally come clean with all their lies of self-defense and suborning and attempting to suborn perjury, they are not rehabilitated and pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety,” he said.
This potential path to freedom gained momentum in October, when Hochman’s predecessor, Gascón, announced he was in support of resentencing.
Gascón recommended their sentences of life without the possibility of parole be removed, and said they should instead be sentenced for murder, which would be a sentence of 50 years to life. Because both brothers were under 26 at the time of the crimes, they would be eligible for parole immediately with the new sentence.
Gascón’s office said its resentencing recommendations take into account many factors, including rehabilitation in prison and abuse or trauma that contributed to the crime. Gascón — who lost his reelection bid to Hochman in November — praised the work Lyle and Erik Menendez did behind bars to rehabilitate themselves and help other inmates.
Over 20 Menendez relatives are in support of the brothers’ release. Several of those relatives spoke with ABC News last week, including cousin Diane VanderMolen, who said Erik Menendez asked her to relay a message.
“They are truly, deeply sorry for what they did. And they are profoundly remorseful,” VanderMolen said. “They are filled with remorse over what they did. And through that, they have become pretty remarkable people.”
Besides resentencing, the brothers have two other possible paths to freedom.
One is their request for clemency to California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom announced in February that he was ordering the parole board to conduct a 90-day “comprehensive risk assessment” investigation into whether Lyle and Erik Menendez pose “an unreasonable risk to the public” if they’re granted clemency and released.
After the risk assessment, which Hochman said in the filing is now complete, Newsom said the brothers will appear at independent parole board hearings in June.
The other path is the brothers’ habeas corpus petition, which they filed in 2023 for a review of two new pieces of evidence not presented at trial: a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin eight months before the murders detailing his alleged abuse from his father, and allegations from a former boy band member who revealed in 2023 that he was raped by Jose Menendez.
In February, Hochman announced he was asking the court to deny the habeas corpus petition, arguing the brothers’ new evidence wasn’t credible or admissible.
