Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on March 24, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
(BIDDLEFORD, Maine) — Federal immigration authorities were involved in a shooting in Biddeford, Maine, multiple sources told ABC News.
Local elected leaders, including Maine Speaker Ryan Fecteau, said in social media posts that at least one person was killed in the incident.
“A person was killed. ICE was involved,” Fecteau alleged in a post on his Facebook account. “State Police and the Department of Public Safety are now on scene to gather details and would expect the FBI to investigate as well.”
Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, said in a social media post that she is “aware of reports that someone was fatally shot in Biddeford this morning, and ICE may be involved.
“My team and I are working to get more information and will share more as we learn it,” Pingree said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
An ABC News graphic shows the forecast on Monday, July 13, 2026. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — Dangerous heat from Los Angeles to Boston is expected to impact more than 100 million Americans this week.
Multiple cities in the West, from Utah to Montana, experienced their hottest temperatures on record Sunday afternoon, shattering previous heat records.
The preliminary high temperature in Salt Lake City was 109 degrees F, breaking the previous all-time record high of 107 degrees, previously set in 1960, 2002, 2021, and twice in 2022. Temperature records for the city go back to 1874.
Billings, Montana reached a preliminary high temperature of 111 degrees on Sunday afternoon, shattering the previous all-time high of 108 degrees set on July 14, 2002.
In Miles City, Montana, the temperature rose to a preliminary high of 115 degrees on Sunday afternoon, also shattering its previous all-time high of 111 degrees set on June 26, 2012.
For reference, the hottest temperature ever recorded in the state of Montana is 117 degrees, observed in the town of Medicine Lake on July 5, 1937, and in Glendive on July 20, 1893.
A heat dome has set up over the Northern Plains, with extreme heat and humidity over America’s northern tier.
An extreme heat warning is in place through Thursday for Minneapolis, Minnesota, with daily high heat index up to 100 possible.
Other extreme heat warnings are in place from Utah to the upper peninsula of Michigan.
In Utah, places like Zion Canyon could feel like 110 today, while Salt Lake City and Billings reach above 100.
Fargo, North Dakota, is under an extreme heat warning for a heat index as high as 110 today and Tuesday.
The heat index for places like Calumet, Michigan, and Duluth, Minnesota, could reach near 100.
On Tuesday, Detroit, Michigan, is under an extreme heat watch for a heat index near 107.
In the Northeast, a heat wave is set to begin on Tuesday, with three or more days of temperatures over 90 degrees for New York City, Philadelphia and D.C.
A heat advisory is in place for at least Tuesday and Wednesday across much of the Northeast due to heat indices around 100 expected.
The upper Northeast will be hottest on Tuesday with a heat index of 100 to 104 from Rochester to Albany to Boston.
New York City to D.C. is likely the hottest on Wednesday with heat indices near 100 in NYC and near 105 in D.C.
Out West, Southern California is under heat alerts through Thursday.
Temps will reach 85 to 90 across the coastal valleys and up to 105 for the interior valleys through Tuesday.
Wednesday and Thursday will be hotter, with temps in downtown LA reaching the middle to upper 90s and interior valleys reaching up to 105.
Tuesday severe weather threat for northern New England
Fueled by the extreme heat and humidity and a sinking cold front from Canada, severe storms capable of destructive winds over 70 mph, large hail large than ping pong balls and a strong tornado or two will move over northern New England.
A level 3 of 5 risk is in place from northeast New York through northern Vermont, northern New Hampshire, and northern Maine on Tuesday afternoon and evening. It includes Burlington, Vermont; Plattsburgh, New York; Caribou, Maine; Colchester, Vermont; and Massena, New York.
Storms are most likely after 5 p.m. ET and continuing into the night as the cold front sinks south.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department released this photo during the search for Nolan Xavier Wells, 18, in Mississippi. (Jackson County Sheriff’s Department)
(NEW YORK) — A viral video depicting a Fourth of July party at a barrier island off the coast of Mississippi does not depict an argument involving Nolan Wells, a childhood friend of the late teen, said to ABC News Sunday in a broadcast exclusive.
Wells, an 18-year-old Mississippi football player, died last weekend following an all-day party on Horn Island, off the coast of Ocean Springs, his hometown. Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Wells’ parents, said Friday that Wells is among a group of people standing on the island and is heard on the video, shot from a boat on the water, demanding his phone back. However, Tracestin Shepherd, a long-time Wells friend, said the voice heard on the video was his own. Wells is not in the video, he said.
“That’s me yelling. … there was no talk about a phone in that video,” but instead, Shepherd said, he was telling both friend Jayvon Williams, and a family member, who were both restraining him, to let him off the boat so he could continue the fight. “Nolan wasn’t on the island” at that time, he claimed.
Shepherd said the altercation was between him and another man, a stranger, who allegedly started a fight with him. He said that he and his group of friends, which included Wells, had been drinking alcohol since the late morning after multiple boats, all containing his friends, arrived on the island for an outing that had been planned to be “one last hurrah” before returning to either school or work after the holiday break. About 300 people, many of them former high school classmates, were concentrated on their portion of the island.
Later in the day, after being told the boat needed to return to shore due to an electrical issue, Wells said he wanted to stay behind because he met a girl and would return on another friend’s boat, Shepherd said.
Wells’ body was recovered on Monday in water off the island shore. Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter told ABC News he suspects Wells drowned, but is still investigating. An autopsy is being conducted by the state medical examiner. The results are pending, said Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd Jr.
Shepherd said he and Wells were among a tight circle of friends who had known each other since their freshman year at Ocean Springs High School. Shepherd, 20, said Wells “was just somebody that you automatically just felt so comfortable to talk to” and they bonded through athletics. Their friend group was “very diverse” in race and ethnicity, and he said they all had one thing in common: Admiration for Wells.
“Nobody would ever hurt Nolan in our friend group. We would die for him. We would do everything in our power for that guy. If he needed anything, we would do it,” he said. “Nolan brought us all together.”
Shepherd declined to be interviewed on camera out of fear for his safety. He said he and other friends have been besieged by death threats since Wells’ body was found last Monday from people accusing them of playing a role in his death.
He said he wanted to speak publicly because he wanted to set the record straight due to what he said was misinformation and speculation swirling online. Crump told “Good Morning America” Thursday that a key piece of evidence was Wells’ phone, which he said was retrieved from his friends — something he said was suspicious.
Shepherd said it was very common for everyone to leave their phones in boats. He said few videos or photos exist from that day because “everybody was in the water” and not on their phones.
“All our friends are out there. Who are we communicating with? And we’re in salt water. We’re not in fresh water,” he said.
Wells, he said, placed his phone in the boat of one of their friends. “When Nolan got in the water, he put his phone on the [boat] dash also with probably 15 other phones.” Shepherd’s uncle, who asked not to be named and was piloting one of the boats that day, said it is normal for people in the boating community to ignore their phones while on the water.
“That’s not uncommon. I’ve even gotten home and had phones on my deck; I didn’t know whose they were. They come and get the phones later. Out there, they can give a care less about their phone. They get up in the boat, take a picture, set it down, get back in the water,” he said.
Ledbetter told ABC News that Crump has not yet turned over Wells’ phone to his investigators. Crump said Friday that the family planned to turn over the phone after they conducted their own independent investigation.
Shepherd also said that a photo that Crump shared on his Instagram, which supposedly shows Wells at a pool party, was not from July 5, as the caption claims. He said the party took place on June 27 in nearby Pass Christian, Mississippi.
Investigators from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department talked to Shepherd and his group of friends on Monday and on Friday he gave an official statement.
He said he is upset by the suggestion from Crump that race may have played a role in Wells’ death. As a result, he said, he and his friends have become targets. “They’re trying to spin a narrative that’s not there,” he said. “He’s wrong.”
“I understand [Wells’] parents are grieving and I really think he’s taken a little bit of advantage of that. And I don’t like that. I really don’t because they’re vulnerable,” he said.
Shepherd said he wants “everybody just to relax and let everybody mourn the loss of Nolan. And let us remember him as the sweet guy he was and not something we’re scared of because of the trauma we’ve had,” he said. “If Ben Crump is doing his own investigation, let him do it. And then let the sheriff’s office conclude with their investigation and figure out what the facts are on their end. Let us all just know the truth instead of jumping to two conclusions about things.”
“We all cared and loved Nolan, and nobody wanted to see Nolan die. Nobody wanted his life taken so short,” he said. “He had everything going for him.”
Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe waits for U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s arrival at Kansas City International Airport May 18, 2026, in Kansas City, Missouri. Vance will be in Kansas City, where he will deliver remarks on the Trump administration’s efforts to support American manufacturing during a visit to a facility. (Photo by Eric Lee-Pool/Getty Images)
(MISSOURI) — Emergency responders are at the scene of a campground in Missouri where a building reportedly collapsed into floodwaters amid flash flooding on Friday.
Initial reports indicate 10 to 17 individuals may have entered the water as a result of the collapse, according to the Reynolds County Sheriff’s Office.
Five campers who were previously reported missing from Bearcat Getaway Campground have been located and accounted for while the search for those who may have been in the building that collapsed continues.
Over 90 water rescues have been conducted involving residents, campers and motorists affected by rapidly rising floodwaters, the sheriff’s office said.
The governor of Missouri declared a state of emergency on Friday in response to flash flooding.
“Over the past 24 hours, intense storms have created dangerous flash flooding across several regions of Missouri, resulting in multiple swift-water rescues. Activating the State Emergency Operations Plan allows our agencies to move quickly, coordinate resources, and support local response efforts,” Gov. Mike Kehoe said in a statement Friday.
“With additional heavy rain expected through the weekend, the threat is not over. If you’re camping, floating, or spending time near rivers and streams, move to higher ground and stay alert of weather conditions,” Kehoe said. “Missourians should continue to monitor local forecasts and follow the guidance of local authorities.”
Rescue operations began around 2:30 a.m. on Friday after emergency calls reported numerous campers trapped by rising water, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
A flash flood emergency has been declared for several locations in Missouri and additional thunderstorms with heavy rain are expected to continue throughout the evening.
Water rescues were reported amid catastrophic flooding.
In parts of Iron and Reynolds counties, 7 to 12 inches of rain have fallen. The Black River at Lesterville rose 8 feet in an hour, with that water working its way toward Annapolis, where river levels quickly rose.
This emergency includes recreational places such as Johnson’s Shut-Ins and Taum Sauk Mountain State Park. Towns in the emergency include Viburnum, Annapolis, Glover, Oates, Bixby, Lesterville, Black, Hogan, Chloride, and Sabula.
Additional rounds of heavy rain and storms will continue from the central Plains east to the Ohio Valley and interior parts of the Northeast through this weekend.
There is a level 3 of 4 (moderate risk) for excessive rainfall over already hard-hit southeastern Missouri on Friday. Also, a level 2 of 4 (slight risk) for excessive rainfall from parts of the Mid-Mississippi Valley to the Central Appalachians.
A Flood Watch is in effect for over 21 million Americans, from Pennsylvania to Tennessee and west to Missouri.
Officials are warning Missourians not to attempt to drive through floodwaters even if the water appears shallow.
Just six inches of floodwater can sweep a person off their feet, and as little as one foot of water can move most cars off the road.
“More than half of flood deaths in Missouri are victims in vehicles. Nighttime severe weather is particularly dangerous because visibility is severely reduced. If you find yourself stranded by floodwaters, immediately call for help and seek higher ground,” the governor’s office warned Friday.
An undated photo of 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells, whose body was believed to be recovered after going missing on July 4, 2026. (Courtesy of the Wells Family)
(NEW YORK) — The parents of Nolan Xavier Wells, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, broke their silence on their son’s mysterious death in an interview with “Good Morning America” anchor Michael Strahan on Friday morning.
“We just want honesty and transparency. We want a thorough investigation,” Christine Wonsley said. “We want that same respect that would be given to anybody else, and that’s it. We just want answers.”
The Wonsleys, who were joined by their attorney Ben Crump, called for a “thorough” and independent investigation.
They also expressed the need to shed more light on unanswered questions, including what they allege are deleted messages from their son’s phone, that have led them to become “suspicious” about his death following a July 4 boating trip.
“Nolan was just like this bright light … his smile, his energy was just, just so infectious,” Christine Wonsley said. “He was just a genuinely a good person. Like I always say, all the best parts of me are with him.”
Elmore Wonsley said Wells “was very loving.”
“There was not a friend that he couldn’t make … he’s gonna be really missed,” he said.
Wells, who played football at Southwest Mississippi Community College, went missing during a Fourth of July celebration with high school friends on Horn Island, a popular undeveloped island just south of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, officials said.
The 18-year-old’s body was recovered on Monday. Authorities said they suspect Wells drowned, but are still investigating. An autopsy was conducted but results could take weeks, officials said.
The disappearance
According to Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter, a friend of Wells contacted the Coast Guard around 11 p.m. last Saturday, July 4. Separately, Wells’ mother contacted the sheriff’s office about her son around midnight leading into Sunday, July 5.
The Wonsleys cast doubt on claims by friends that Wells decided to stay behind on the island, while his friends left.
“That we cannot answer,” Christine Wonsley said when asked why Wells would stay behind. “I just, I can’t — I can’t fathom why he would.”
Elmore Wonsley said that would have gone against the advice they gave Wells.
“We always told him, if you go with a group, you stay with a group,” he said.
Ledbetter told ABC News in an interview that aired on “GMA” on Friday that nothing “yet” from the evidence they collected indicates that foul play was involved in Wells’ death, but the investigation will take time and is ongoing, he added.
“We’re working towards the same goal as the family. We want a thorough investigation. We’re trying to find out everything ,” he said. “We are providing a thorough, professional, and accurate investigation. That’s what we’re going to continue to do, until we arrive at the answers that the family deserves.”
Crump, the attorney representing the Wonsleys, told ABC News Live in an interview on Wednesday that Wells could swim, his family is “not accepting that Nolan drowned accidentally.”
Unanswered questions
Christine Wonsley told “GMA” that his family tracked his phone, but when she went to pick it up from Wells’ friends, she said it appears that some texts and SnapChat messages had been deleted. It is unclear which friends Wells’ phone was retrieved from and who could have been in possession of it prior to that.
“When we finally got his phone, me and my sister went through the phone. We went in his Snapchat. He had two accounts. Absolutely nothing,” Christine Wonsley said. “It wasn’t even 24 hours, which is how long videos and pictures stay in Snapchat … even my sister was like ‘Yeah, that’s suspicious.'”
Crump, who joined the Wonsleys on “GMA” Friday, said that the family has questions about a cell phone video of an “argument” that was posted online.
“You can hear an argument going where Nolan is saying, ‘Give me my freaking phone! What are you freaking doing?’ And so then his phone ends up missing,” Crump said.
“No young person leaves their cell phone,” he added. “It’s not adding up, and that is the problem when you think about the history of Mississippi. Yeah, so there are so many questions that need to be answered.”
Ledbetter told GMA on Thursday night that Wells’ phone has not been turned over to investigators yet.
“It may be important, may be a piece that we haven’t got yet,” he said.
Ledbetter noted that the “argument” video will be part of the investigation.
As the family searches for answers, the investigation will continue in Washington, D.C., Crump said, where “we are having an independent autopsy done at behest of his family.”
He noted that former NFL football star Colin Kaepernick helped pay for it.
“We flew his body up from Mississippi to D.C. because they wanted an autopsy done by a person with no interaction with the Mississippi law enforcement because there’s an issue of trust here that is really important,” Crump said.
Ledbetter told “GMA” that the sheriff’s office welcomes the independent investigation.
“By all means, that’s more information looking into the death of Nolan that will be made available and another set of eyes looking at it,” he said.
Ledbetter asked the public for “patience” as investigators look into a “substantial amount” of tips, in addition to reviewing photo and video evidence.
The sheriff’s department stressed Wednesday that the investigation is ongoing and urged anyone who was on or near the northwest tip of Horn Island to come forward with photos or videos, “particularly those depicting alleged altercations or containing images of, or believed to include Nolan Wells.”
ABC News’ Sasha Pezenick, Kirk Cohall and Mark Guarino contributed to this report.
Portia Duncan becomes emotional as she speaks about her late daughter, 7-year-old Jor’Dynn Duncan, during a news conference on July 7, 2026, in Melville, New York. (Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The birth mother of a 7-year-old girl from Long Island, New York, is planning to sue the county and school district following the death of her daughter in December 2025.
Portia Duncan filed a notice of claim against Suffolk County for allegedly neglecting her daughter, Jor’Dynn Duncan, by placing her in the care of her legal guardian, Emily Kelly, who Portia Duncan alleges physically abused, neglected and tortured Jor’Dynn.
Kelly was charged with second-degree murder and pleaded not guilty in court on June 23.
In addition to Kelly, her mother, Barbara Renner, and her daughter, Elyssa Seymore, were also arrested on charges regarding their alleged involvement in Jor’Dynn’s death. Renner was charged with second-degree manslaughter and Seymore with unlawful imprisonment, among other charges. They both pleaded not guilty.
Portia Duncan also filed a notice of claim against Bayport-Blue Point School District for allegedly failing to act on indicators of abuse she said Jor’Dynn presented.
“I miss her dearly, dearly,” Portia Duncan said amid tears in a press conference on Tuesday. “She was such a sweet, beautiful, smart, fun, girly girl. If I could turn back the time, I would’ve done things so much different.”
An autopsy determined that Jor’Dynn’s death on Dec. 29, 2025, was due to a massive untreated infection from more than 90 injuries that were found on her body at the time of her death, according to a Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office press release.
“These claims arise from the placement of seven-year-old Jor’Dynn Duncan, while she was in the custody of the County of Suffolk, into a home in which she was subjected to a prolonged, systematic, and ultimately fatal course of physical abuse, torture, and neglect; from the failure of the County of Suffolk, the Suffolk County Department of Social Services and Suffolk County Child Protective Services to adequately investigate and vet the caregiver with whom they placed her, to monitor her health, safety and general well-being during the approximately one year she remained in that place, and to act upon the indicators of abuse she and other presented; and from the failure of the Bayport-Blue Point School District and its personnel, in their capacity as mandated reporters, to report the outwardly observable indicia of abuse and Jor’Dynn’s chronic school absenteeism,” the notice said.
Jor’Dynn allegedly missed 40 days of school between January and June 2025, according to the notice of claim. The child allegedly wore makeup to conceal injuries she incurred from the abuse on the days she did attend school, the notice said.
Kelly allegedly called the school with several excuses for Jor’Dynn’s absences to cover up the alleged abuse, including fake illnesses, deaths in the family and trips to Disney World, the District Attorney’s press release said.
Kelly gained full custody of Jor’Dynn in April 2025 upon her request, an investigation by the Suffolk County Police Department found. Kelly is the fiancée of Jor’Dynn’s father, who was in prison, according to the notice of claim.
Jor’Dynn was removed from Portia Duncan’s custody on account of a failed drug test, her attorney said.
The police investigation allegedly found extensive photo and video evidence of abuse captured on Kelly’s cell phone and other cloud-based accounts, the press release stated.
“The placement of Jor’Dynn Duncan with Emily Kelly was what led to her death,” Derek Sells, an attorney representing Portia Duncan, said in a press conference. “The failure to properly screen that placement, the failure to properly supervise that placement, and the failure to report clear abuse in the form of neglect, not going to school, all led to this death. And we’re gonna hold those people accountable.”
Sells said the filing of claims is the “first step” in the process of holding parties accountable for Jor’Dynn’s death. Filing a Notice of Claim typically comes before filing a lawsuit against the state, local government or a government agency in New York.
Both the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and the Bayport-Blue Point School District declined to comment on the claims.
Attempts to reach Suffolk County for a comment were unsuccessful.
The three women are set to return to court at the beginning of August, ABC News New York affiliate WABC reported.
“She pled not guilty at the arraignment, my client asserts her innocence, and we are vigorously going to defend her throughout these proceedings,” said John LoTurco, Kelly’s defense attorney, according to WABC.
“I’m so thankful to the Lord for giving me the chance to be in my daughter’s life the way that I was,” Portia Duncan said. “I’m very upset that she’s been taken from me.”
Law enforcement gather evidence at the scene of a state trooper-involved shooting in LaPorte County, Indiana, July 10, 2026. (WLS)
(CHICAGO) — An Indiana state trooper is recovering in a hospital after he was shot by a suspect Friday who was being pursued by law enforcement across two states in a stolen car.
Indiana State Police later found the unidentified suspect dead following a manhunt.
The incident began around 5:30 a.m., when officers were in pursuit over a stolen truck in Berrien County, Michigan, which ultimately continued to LaPorte County, Indiana, Indiana State Police Sgt. Glen Fifield said during a news conference.
The unidentified suspect allegedly drove into a cornfield to elude police and ultimately got on I-94 and then US-421 in Indiana, Fifield said.
The suspect and the unidentified officer collided in Michigan City, Indiana, and the suspect allegedly began firing, according to Fifield.
Even though he was hit several times, the trooper was able to return fire before the suspect got back in the truck and fled, according to Fifield.
The trooper was transported to the hospital and was listed in stable condition, according to the police.
The wounded officer was in surgery and in good spirits, according to Fifield.
Investigators located the truck around 9:16 a.m. in a tree line in the Westville, Indiana area, Fifield said.
Officials urged those in the area to remain indoors and report anything suspicious as they continue to search for the suspect in that wooded area, Fifield said. About 100 officers were searching for the suspect, he added.
Around 1:15 p.m., Fifield said that the suspect was found deceased and that he had injuries consistent with gunshot wounds.
A law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation told ABC News that preliminary information suggests the suspect died of a self inflicted gunshot wound.
An undated photo of 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells, whose body was believed to be recovered after going missing on July 4, 2026. (Courtesy of the Wells Family)
(NEW YORK) — The parents of Nolan Xavier Wells, the 18-year-old student-athlete whose body was recovered on July 6 after a Fourth of July boating trip, called for a transparent investigation as they seek answers about the mysterious death of their son.
Christine and Elmore Wonsley told “Good Morning America” anchor Michael Strahan in an interview on Friday that they have called for a “thorough” investigation as they seek answers about their son’s mysterious death.
“We just want honesty and transparency. We want a thorough investigation,” Christine Wonsley said. “We want that same respect that would be given to anybody else, and that’s it. We just want answers.”
Wells, who played football at Southwest Mississippi Community College, went missing during a Fourth of July celebration with high school friends on Horn Island, a popular undeveloped island just south of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, officials said. A body believed to be Wells was recovered on Monday. According to Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter, a friend of Wells contacted the Coast Guard around 11 p.m. on July 4. Separately, Wells’ mother contacted the sheriff’s office about her son around midnight leading into July 5.
The Wonsleys cast doubt on claims by friends that Wells decided to stay behind on the island, while his friends left.
“That we cannot answer,” Christine Wonsley said when asked why Wells would stay behind, “I just, I can’t — I can’t fathom why he would.”
“We always told him, if you go with a group, you stay with a group,” Elmore Wonsley said.
Ledbetter told ABC News in an interview that aired on “GMA” on Friday that nothing “yet” from the evidence they collected indicates that foul play was involved in Wells’ death, but the investigation will take time and is ongoing, he added.
“We’re working towards the same goal as the family. We want a thorough investigation. We’re trying to find out everything ,” he said. “We are providing a thorough, professional, and accurate investigation. That’s what we’re going to continue to do, until we arrive at the answers that the family deserves.”
“This is a very difficult time for our community. This is a very difficult time for Nolan’s family,” he added. “Our main objective and our priority is to produce an accurate and professional and very thorough investigation into the death of Nolan, for the sake of his family and for the sake of the community.”
The sheriff urged the public for “patience” as investigators look into a “substantial amount” of tips and review photo and video evidence.
“Jackson County is a community that supports its people,” he said. “Our community is there for the family.”
Christine Wonsley told “GMA” that his family tracked his phone on the Life360 application, but when she went to pick it up from friends, she found that some texts and messages had been deleted, particularly pointing to his Snapchat account.
“When we finally got his phone, me and my sister went through the phone. We went in his Snapchat. He had two accounts. Absolutely nothing,” Christine Wonsley said. “It wasn’t even 24 hours, which is how long videos and pictures stay in Snapchat … even my sister was like, yeah, that’s suspicious.”
“No young person leaves their cell phone,” civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the family, told “GMA.” “It’s not adding up, and that is the problem when you think about the history of Mississippi. Yeah, so there are so many questions that need to be answered.”
Crump told ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis in an interview on Wednesday that the family will “not allow” investigators to “sweep” their son’s death “under a rug.”
“You’re trying to tell us just accept this an accident and sweep it under the rug,” Crump said. “His mother, Christine, his father, Elmore, say, no, they will not allow that to happen.”
According to Crump, while authorities have told the family that they “don’t see any evidence of any foul play,” Wells’ parents have questions after learning more details about what allegedly took place before their son’s disappearance and are calling for a transparent investigation.
Crump said the family is aware of an “altercation” that was “recorded” by students who were on the boat, where “Nolan and somebody” were “yelling at one another.”
Crump also said that Wells’ friends took his phone with them when they left Horn Island and when his family got his phone back, some messages had been deleted.
“That’s something that’s really troubling to his family,” Crump said.
Asked if Wells could swim, Crump said his father described the 18-year-old college football player as “an elite athlete.”
“He said that his son could swim. And so, they’re just not accepting that Nolan drowned accidentally,” Crump said.
As the family searches for answers, they will conduct an independent autopsy in Washington, D.C., Crump said.
The sheriff’s department stressed Wednesday that the investigation is ongoing and urged anyone who was on or near the northwest tip of Horn Island to come forward with photos or videos, “particularly those depicting alleged altercations or containing images of, or believed to include Nolan Wells.”
The sheriff’s department said it’s also looking for anyone who may have seen Wells or “observed or heard an argument, disturbance, or other unusual activity while on the island.”
“Even information that may seem insignificant could prove valuable to investigators. We encourage anyone with firsthand knowledge to come forward,” the department said.
“Our thoughts, prayers, and condolences remain with Nolan Wells’ family during this difficult time,” the department added.
ABC News’ Sasha Pezenick, Kirk Cohall and Mark Guarino contributed to this report.
A person places flowers at the site where Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was killed, on July 9, 2026, in Houston, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
(HOUSTON) — The man fatally shot during a traffic stop by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Houston this week was seemingly not the original target of the immigration enforcement operation, a Department of Homeland Security official told ABC News.
The DHS official said Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national, “resembled the target.”
“After receiving a credible tip from our law enforcement partners, our officers conducted surveillance on a target’s address. Weeks prior to the incident, they noted two white vans at the property,” the official said. “On July 7, officers were almost at the target’s address when they observed a white van with an individual who resembled the target. Officers then initiated the vehicle stop.”
The Harris County Medical Examiner has listed Lorenzo Salgado’s death as a homicide. The primary cause of death was “penetrating gunshot wound of the torso,” according to the office.
The update from DHS comes as Salgado’s family and local officials are pushing for answers and demanding an independent and transparent investigation into the incident.
In a previous statement, ICE said officers attempted to stop a vehicle driven by Salgado Araujo around 6:50 a.m. on Tuesday as part of a targeted operation.
Salgado Araujo allegedly didn’t follow verbal commands, according to ICE, and the agency alleged that Salgado Araujo “weaponized his vehicle” and tried to run over an officer during the stop, prompting the officer to fire their weapon “in self-defense.”
DHS said the shooting remains under investigation by its Office of the Inspector General.
Earlier Thursday, DHS said the ICE officers involved in the incident had not been issued body-worn cameras.
Salgado Araujo’s sons have called for an independent investigation into their father’s death, as they say they have many questions for ICE, including why he was targeted and why deadly force was used.
“My dad had no criminal history,” Ronaldo Salgado, 29, one of Salgado Araujo’s three sons, told ABC News on Thursday. “My dad, you know, wasn’t doing anything illegal. He was picking up his workers to go to work.”
Ronaldo Salgado said no one from DHS or ICE has contacted the family, and that he and only learned of their father’s death on social media, watching a Facebook post of his father, lying on the street after being shot.
“We still don’t have any answers,” Ronaldo Salgado said. “All we have to go for is their statement that they released.”
Four Democratic Texas congress members — Reps. Sylvia Garcia, Al Green, Lizzie Fletcher and Christian Menefee — have also called for an “immediate, fully independent, and transparent investigation” into Salgado Araujo’s death.
In a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Acting ICE Director David Venturella on Wednesday, the four lawmakers demanded answers to multiple questions about the incident, including whether the officers had body-worn cameras, and asked for the “complete, unedited body camera footage from all officers present at the incident, as well as all dash camera footage from both vehicles.”
Salgado Araujo, who had been in the U.S. for nearly 35 years, was undocumented, according to ICE. Ronaldo Salgado said his father’s priority had been providing for his family and getting his three sons through school, and that last year he had started the process of getting a work permit.
“I just want all Americans to know that my dad was a hardworking man, a family man who wanted nothing more than to put food on the table and to watch his sons achieve the American dream,” he told ABC News.
Three men, including Salgado Araujo’s brother, who were in the van being driven by Salgado Araujo were detained in the incident, according to the Texas congress members, who asked for an update on their current status in their letter to the DHS and ICE leaders.
The deadly shooting has sparked protests in Houston, with hundreds of people marching Wednesday through the neighborhood where the incident occurred.
In the wake of the shooting, Mexican officials said they plan to file criminal complaints over the deaths of Mexicans in the U.S. in connection with immigration operations.
Mexico’s foreign affairs secretary, Roberto Velasco, referenced Salgado Araujo’s death during a press briefing announcing the legal measures on Thursday, calling it a “painful situation,” and said Mexico’s president has instructed them to begin legal action to “protect the human rights of Mexicans in the United States.”
Regarding body-worn cameras, a DHS spokesperson said the officers involved in the incident were “not issued” them, pointing to two partial government shutdowns — one in the fall of 2025 and the other one earlier this year — for the delay in issuing cameras to ICE law enforcement officers.
“The process of purchasing and issuing body-worn cameras to all of our ICE field offices was interrupted by the Democrats multiple government shutdowns,” the spokesperson said. “Body cameras have been deployed to more than half the field offices with the remaining half to receive them in the next 60 days.”
A video of a police interview with Lance Twiggs is played in the courtroom during a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, July 9, 2026. (Utah Courts)
(UTAH) — Over objections from defense attorneys, a video was played in a Utah courtroom on Thursday in which the roommate of Tyler Robinson, the suspect charged in the 2025 killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, claimed Robinson confessed to the shooting.
Lance Twiggs, Robinson’s roommate and romantic partner, claimed in the highly redacted videotaped interview with prosecutors and detectives that Robinson told him in person that he killed Kirk.
“He didn’t go into detail. I just asked him in person what he said was true the night before, and he said it was,” Twiggs said in the video filmed in April 2026 at the Utah County Attorney’s Office. “He started crying a little bit and he said he wishes he hadn’t done it, and kept going around just doing stuff, I think to keep himself busy or distracted, or something.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
