(NEW YORK) — Four people were killed and two others remain in critical condition after a fire caused by a lithium-ion battery broke out in an e-bike repair shop and tore through a New York City building overnight, authorities said.
Reports of smoke and fire coming from the Manhattan building, which has an e-bike repair shop on the ground floor and residential units above it, came in just after midnight Tuesday, New York City Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said.
Firefighters pulled six residents from the building in critical condition, though four have since died, Kavanagh said. One firefighter suffered minor injuries, authorities said.
“It is very clear that this was caused by lithium-ion batteries and e-bikes,” Kavanagh said at a press briefing Tuesday near a pile of charred and mangled rubber, bicycle frames and electrical components.
Information on the victims has not yet been released.
Following the fire, which occurred in lower Manhattan near Chinatown, the Red Cross said it was providing emergency housing to eight households — including 23 adults and two children.
The location — HQ E-Bike Repair — was known to the fire department, which had cited it for violations in 2021 and 2022, fire officials said.
HQ E-Bike Repair was cited for multiple fire code violations in August 2022, found guilty and fined $1,600, according to Chief Fire Marshal Daniel Flynn. The violations were related to the charging of and number of batteries at the location, he said.
The officials recently did surveillance at the property and found violations regarding the number of batteries, Flynn said.
Kavanagh stressed the danger associated with e-bike fires, which she described as more akin to an “explosion” than a “smoldering fire.”
“The sheer volume of fire is incredibly dangerous,” she said. “We’ve said this over and over — it can make it nearly impossible to get out in time.”
Including Tuesday’s incident, there have been 108 fires related to lithium-ion batteries this year in New York City, resulting in 13 fatalities, according to Kavanagh. By this time last year, the city had two fatalities from similar incidents, she said.
The mayor’s office recently enacted e-bike safety legislation that, among other measures, bans the resale of bikes or batteries and restricts the reconditioning of used batteries. Though some 65,000 e-bikes were purchased before the law took effect in New York.
“So even as we regulate them, we have to make sure we’re getting the word out about how dangerous these unregulated bikes are and the fact that they are here already in the city,” Kavanagh said.
Paul Morigi/Getty Images for World Food Program USA
(NEW YORK) — Hunter Biden, the president’s son, has agreed to plead guilty to a pair of tax-related misdemeanors and enter a deferred prosecution program for one felony gun possession charge, which would potentially end a yearslong probe, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
Biden will acknowledge his failure to pay taxes on income he received in 2017 and 2018, according to the agreement. In exchange, prosecutors will recommend probation, meaning he will likely avoid prison time. For the gun charge, he will agree to pretrial diversion, with the charge being dropped if he adheres to certain terms.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jun 20, 10:45 AM EDT
AG Garland declines to comment, left decision on deal to Weiss
A spokesperson for Attorney General Merrick Garland declined to comment when asked about the plea deal reached with Hunter Biden.
Garland is currently overseas in Stockholm, Sweden for the EU/US Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial meeting.
The decision to enter this deal was entirely left to U.S. Attorney David Weiss’ discretion, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Garland has previously told Congress that Weiss had full authority to bring whatever charges he may deem proper in accordance with DOJ’s guidelines.
He has also testified repeatedly that Weiss’ investigation has remained free from any improper political interference, which he affirmed in a press conference last month when asked about allegations by a purported IRS whistleblower who has sought to alert congressional leaders about potential misconduct in DOJ’s handling of the probe.
-ABC News’ Alexander Mallin
Jun 20, 10:33 AM EDT
Republicans on Capitol Hill vow to continue investigation into Bidens
While the federal investigation is over, the investigations will continue on Capitol Hill. The investigative committees have indicated they intend to keep pursuing Hunter Biden’s business dealings in foreign countries and whether he was trading on his family name.
The chair of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer, R-Ky., issued a statement saying this reveals a “two-tiered system of Justice” and calls it just a “slap on the wrist.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., tweeted it was a “stunt” to make Hunter Biden “look like he is just cooperating with DOJ.”
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders
Jun 20, 10:21 AM EDT
Trump calls plea agreement ‘a mere traffic ticket’
Former President Donald Trump, who was defeated by Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election and could face him again in 2024, has posted to his Truth Social, calling the plea agreement “a mere ‘traffic ticket'” and saying “Our system is broken.”
Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for pro-Trump super PAC Make America Great Again Inc., called it a “sweetheart deal” and added, “The American people need President Trump back in office to appoint a truly independent special prosecutor that will finally bring justice.”
-ABC News’ Soorin Kim
Jun 20, 10:16 AM EDT
President, first lady say they ‘love’ and ‘support’ son
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden have released a statement through a spokesperson supporting their son.
“The President and First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life,” White House spokesperson Ian Sam said in a statement. “We will have no further comment.”
Jun 20, 10:08 AM EDT
Plea agreement could end yearslong probe
Federal authorities with the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware, led by U.S. Attorney David Weiss, a Trump-era appointee, opened their investigation into Hunter Biden in 2018. The investigation spilled into public view in December of 2020, shortly after Joe Biden secured the presidency, when Hunter Biden confirmed the probe into his “tax affairs.”
Prosecutors have since examined a range of potential crimes as part of their investigation and brought several witnesses before a federal grand jury empaneled in Wilmington, Delaware.
The impetus for the probe and investigators’ primary focus was whether Hunter Biden paid adequate taxes on millions of dollars of his income. The younger Biden paid off at least one significant tax liability of nearly $2 million in 2021 with the help of a Los Angeles-based entertainment lawyer name Kevin Morris, ABC News has reported.
Beyond his taxes, investigators scrutinized a gun application form signed by Hunter Biden in 2018. On the form, he checked a box indicating he was not an “unlawful user” of drugs, despite later acknowledging that he was indeed addicted to crack cocaine around that time, ABC News has reported.
A Yale-trained lawyer, Hunter Biden repeatedly said he was cooperating with investigators and remained “100% certain” that he would be cleared of any wrongdoing. Joe Biden has said he’s never spoken to his son about his foreign business and recently said Hunter Biden “has done nothing wrong.” There are no indications that the federal investigation involved the president in any way.
The White House has repeatedly sought to distance the president from the probe, and Attorney General Merrick Garland assured Congress that there would not be “interference of any political or improper kind.”
Jun 20, 10:05 AM EDT
Hunter Biden to plead guilty to tax charges, enter pretrial program for gun charge
Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, has agreed to plead guilty to a pair of tax-related misdemeanors as part of a deal that would potentially end a politically fraught and yearslong probe into his personal and professional life, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
Under an agreement negotiated with the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware, the younger Biden, 53, will acknowledge his failure to pay taxes on income he received in 2017 and 2018. In exchange, prosecutors will recommend probation, meaning he will likely avoid prison time.
The agreement also includes what is known as a pretrial diversion for one felony count related to illegal possession of a firearm, which would not require Hunter Biden to submit a plea on that charge and stipulates that prosecutors would agree to drop it if he adheres to certain terms over a specified period of time.
If a federal judge accepts the deal, Tuesday’s development would mark the conclusion of an investigation that has dogged not only Hunter Biden, but also his father, whose political foes have latched onto the younger Biden’s overseas business dealings to level allegations depicting the entire Biden family as corrupt.
Paul Morigi/Getty Images for World Food Program USA
(NEW YORK) — Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, has agreed to plead guilty to a pair of tax-related misdemeanors as part of a deal that would end a politically fraught and years-long probe into his personal and professional life, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
Under an agreement negotiated with the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware, the younger Biden, 53, will acknowledge his failure to pay taxes on income he received in 2017 and 2018. In exchange, prosecutors will recommend probation, meaning he will likely avoid prison time.
The agreement also includes what is known as a pretrial diversion for one felony count related to illegal possession of a firearm, which would not require Hunter Biden to submit a plea on that charge and stipulates that prosecutors would agree to drop it if he adheres to certain terms over a specified period of time.
If a federal judge accepts the deal, Tuesday’s development would mark the conclusion of an investigation that has dogged not only Hunter Biden, but also his father, whose political foes have latched onto the younger Biden’s overseas business dealings to level allegations depicting the entire Biden family as corrupt.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
File image of the Titan submersible prior to commence diving. (Ocean Gate)
(NEW YORK) — A submersible carrying five people has gone missing while on a tour of the underwater wreckage of the Titanic off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
The deep-sea vessel, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, lost contact about an hour and 45 minutes after submerging on Sunday morning with a 96-hour oxygen supply. The United States Coast Guard immediately launched a search and rescue operation for the 21-foot craft, named Titan, in coordination with the Canadian Coast Guard and the Canadian Armed Forces.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jun 20, 8:19 AM EDT
What to know about the 5 people aboard the missing sub
Renowned explorers and a father-son duo were among the five people aboard a submersible that disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday while touring the Titanic wreckage, ABC News has learned.
ABC News has confirmed and identified four of those on aboard as Hamish Harding, a British businessman, pilot and space tourist; Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French diver and Titanic expert; Shahzada Dawood, a Pakistani businessman, and his son Suleman Dawood.
Jun 20, 7:48 AM EDT
US Coast Guard commander talks search for missing sub
The United States Coast Guard commander leading the search for a missing submersible off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, said Tuesday morning that crews in multiple aircraft have flown over an area of the Atlantic Ocean “roughly about the size of Connecticut” while “looking for any signs of surfacing.”
“As we continue on with the search, we’re expanding our capabilities to be able to search under the water as well,” Rear Adm. John Mauger, commander of the First Coast Guard District, told ABC News’ Robin Roberts during an interview on Good Morning America.
A commercial vessel with remotely operated vehicles is now on scene that will allow rescuers to search underwater, according to Mauger.
“This is a complex case,” he added. “The Coast Guard doesn’t have all the resources to be able to affect this kind of rescue, although this is an area that’s within our search zone.”
In many cases, Mauger said, the Coast Guard’s role is to coordinate all of the assets and technical expertise that can be used in a search, in addition to operating aircraft or ships when necessary.
“In this particular case, we’ve established a unified command with the United States Navy, with the Canadian Armed Forces, with the Canadian Coast Guard and with the private operator OceanGate Expeditions to make sure that we understand what’s needed and deploy all available equipment to the scene that could be used to locate this submersible, whether it’s on the surface or down beneath the surface,” he said.
Crews have been working “around the clock” to locate the deep-sea vessel since it lost contact with its operator on Sunday morning, according to Mauger.
In the last 24 hours, a Canadian aircraft has been dropping sonar buoys into the water that can pick up sound the submersible may be emitting. Vessels that have the capability to listen with their own sonar equipment are also on scene, according to Mauger.
“If they are making sound, that’s certainly one of the ways that we’re going to use to locate them,” he said.
Jun 20, 6:18 AM EDT
Missing sub is believed to be deeper than NATO rescue capability
A tourist submersible that disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday is believed to be at depths that greatly exceed the capabilities of the NATO Submarine Rescue System (NSRS), according to a spokesperson for the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense.
“As the host nation for NATO’s multinational submarine rescue capability, we continue to monitor the incident in the North Atlantic and will guide and assist in any response activity as appropriate,” the spokesperson told ABC News in a statement on Tuesday.
The U.K. has not been approached to offer assistance in the ongoing search for the deep-sea vessel off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, according to the spokesperson.
Initial reports indicate that the depths of water involved greatly exceed that which the NSRS team can safely operate — 610 meters for the NSRS submersible and 1,000 meters for the NSRS remotely operated vehicle, according to the spokesperson.
The NSRS is based at the home of the U.K. Royal Navy Submarine Service in HM Naval Base Clyde, the U.K. Royal Navy’s headquarters in Scotland. Introduced in 2006, the tri-national capability team can respond to a stricken submarine in rescuable water which is capable of mating with the NSRS submarine rescue vehicle, according to the spokesperson.
Jun 20, 5:03 AM EDT
Former Navy sub captain on rescue options
Rescuers racing against the clock to save the five people trapped in a tourist submersible nearly two miles deep in the Atlantic Ocean are facing major obstacles that could make saving the people onboard extremely difficult, according to a former U.S. Navy submarine commander.
Retired Capt. David Marquet told ABC News on Monday that this type of rescue operation is complicated because there aren’t nearby U.S. or Canadian underwater vessels that can go as deep as the Titanic wreckage, which sits 13,400 feet below the ocean’s surface. Also, the ocean is pitch black at that depth.
“The odds are against them,” Marquet said. “There’s a ship in Boston that has this ability to either lower cable and connect to it or have a claw. It’s still a thousand miles away.”
Even if a vessel was able to locate the submersible and lower a cable, it’s extremely difficult to safely navigate the waters and attach it, according to Marquet.
“You’ve got to get it exactly right,” he told ABC News. “It’s sort of like … getting one of those toys out of those arcade machines. In general, you miss.”
Rescuers do have one advantage, Marquet said, as weather conditions off the coast of Newfoundland are not rough and will not disturb any boat or vessel there.
Marquet added that if the five people aboard are still alive, they would be asked to sleep to conserve their oxygen.
“We would put the vast majority of the crew to sleep because that’s when you’re using the least amount of oxygen and you’re expelling the least amount of carbon dioxide,” he said.
Jun 20, 4:27 AM EDT
What to know about the missing sub
A submersible on a tour of the Titanic wreckage was reported overdue by its operator OceanGate Expeditions on Sunday, prompting the United States Coast Guard to launch a search and rescue effort for the 22-foot, 23,000-pound vessel.
Designed with life support to sustain five crew members for 96 hours, the submersible would need to be rescued in three days to save its five passengers, according to the Coast Guard.
Stockton Rush founded Washington-based OceanGate in 2009 to make deep-sea exploration more accessible to scientists and tourists. Fourteen years, more than 200 dives and three submersible designs later, the company now finds itself in a desperate search to recover the submersible carrying five people aboard that’s gone missing off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
OceanGate confirmed Monday it had lost contact with a submersible, saying in a statement: “We are exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely. Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families. We are working toward the safe return of the crewmembers.”
File image of the Titan submersible prior to commence diving. (Ocean Gate)
(NEW YORK) — A submersible carrying five people has gone missing while on a tour of the underwater wreckage of the Titanic off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
The deep-sea vessel, operated by OceanGate Expeditions, lost contact about an hour and 45 minutes after submerging on Sunday morning with a 96-hour oxygen supply. The United States Coast Guard immediately launched a search and rescue operation for the 21-foot craft, named Titan, in coordination with the Canadian Coast Guard and the Canadian Armed Forces.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jun 20, 6:18 AM EDT
Missing sub is believed to be deeper than NATO rescue capability
A tourist submersible that disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday is believed to be at depths that greatly exceed the capabilities of the NATO Submarine Rescue System (NSRS), according to a spokesperson for the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense.
“As the host nation for NATO’s multinational submarine rescue capability, we continue to monitor the incident in the North Atlantic and will guide and assist in any response activity as appropriate,” the spokesperson told ABC News in a statement on Tuesday.
The U.K. has not been approached to offer assistance in the ongoing search for the deep-sea vessel off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, according to the spokesperson.
Initial reports indicate that the depths of water involved greatly exceed that which the NSRS team can safely operate — 610 meters for the NSRS submersible and 1,000 meters for the NSRS remotely operated vehicle, according to the spokesperson.
The NSRS is based at the home of the U.K. Royal Navy Submarine Service in HM Naval Base Clyde, the U.K. Royal Navy’s headquarters in Scotland. Introduced in 2006, the tri-national capability team can respond to a stricken submarine in rescuable water which is capable of mating with the NSRS submarine rescue vehicle, according to the spokesperson.
Jun 20, 5:03 AM EDT
Former Navy sub captain on rescue options
Rescuers racing against the clock to save the five people trapped in a tourist submersible nearly two miles deep in the Atlantic Ocean are facing major obstacles that could make saving the people onboard extremely difficult, according to a former U.S. Navy submarine commander.
Retired Capt. David Marquet told ABC News on Monday that this type of rescue operation is complicated because there aren’t nearby U.S. or Canadian underwater vessels that can go as deep as the Titanic wreckage, which sits 13,400 feet below the ocean’s surface. Also, the ocean is pitch black at that depth.
“The odds are against them,” Marquet said. “There’s a ship in Boston that has this ability to either lower cable and connect to it or have a claw. It’s still a thousand miles away.”
Even if a vessel was able to locate the submersible and lower a cable, it’s extremely difficult to safely navigate the waters and attach it, according to Marquet.
“You’ve got to get it exactly right,” he told ABC News. “It’s sort of like … getting one of those toys out of those arcade machines. In general, you miss.”
Rescuers do have one advantage, Marquet said, as weather conditions off the coast of Newfoundland are not rough and will not disturb any boat or vessel there.
Marquet added that if the five people aboard are still alive, they would be asked to sleep to conserve their oxygen.
“We would put the vast majority of the crew to sleep because that’s when you’re using the least amount of oxygen and you’re expelling the least amount of carbon dioxide,” he said.
Jun 20, 4:27 AM EDT
What to know about the missing sub
A submersible on a tour of the Titanic wreckage was reported overdue by its operator OceanGate Expeditions on Sunday, prompting the United States Coast Guard to launch a search and rescue effort for the 22-foot, 23,000-pound vessel.
Designed with life support to sustain five crew members for 96 hours, the submersible would need to be rescued in three days to save its five passengers, according to the Coast Guard.
Stockton Rush founded Washington-based OceanGate in 2009 to make deep-sea exploration more accessible to scientists and tourists. Fourteen years, more than 200 dives and three submersible designs later, the company now finds itself in a desperate search to recover the submersible carrying five people aboard that’s gone missing off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
OceanGate confirmed Monday it had lost contact with a submersible, saying in a statement: “We are exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely. Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families. We are working toward the safe return of the crewmembers.”
(NEW YORK) — Rescuers racing against the clock to save the five people trapped in a tourist submersible nearly two miles deep in the Atlantic Ocean are facing major obstacles that could make saving the people onboard extremely difficult, according to a former Navy submarine commander.
Retired Capt. David Marquet told ABC News on Monday that this type of rescue operation is complicated because there aren’t nearby U.S. or Canadian underwater vessels that can go as deep as the Titanic wreckage, which sits 13,400 feet below the ocean’s surface. Also, the ocean is pitch black at that depth.
“The odds are against them,” Marquet said. “There’s a ship in Boston that has this ability to either lower cable and connect to it or have a claw. It’s still a thousand miles away.”
Even if a vessel was able to locate the submersible and lower a cable, it’s extremely difficult to safely navigate the waters and attach it, Marquet said.
“You’ve got to get it exactly right. It’s sort of like … getting one of those toys out of those arcade machines. In general, you miss,” he said.
Rescuers do have one advantage, Marquet said, as weather conditions off the coast of Newfoundland are not rough and will not disturb any boat or vessel there.
The 21-foot submersible lost communication with the mainland 1 hour and 45 minutes after it embarked on its tour of the Titanic wreckage. Marquet said if the boat made it to the surface, the submersible crew would be able to open the hatch to allow for more oxygen while it was adrift.
The vessel is designed to hold 96 hours of oxygen, Rear Adm. John Mauger, Cmdr. of the U.S. Coast Guard First District, told reporters Monday.
Marquet told ABC that if the five people are still alive, they would be asked to sleep to conserve their oxygen.
“We would put the vast majority of the crew to sleep because that’s when you’re using the least amount of oxygen and you’re expelling the least amount of carbon dioxide,” he said.
(NEW YORK) — Dozens of Pride flags were vandalized on Sunday at the Stonewall Monument National Park in New York City, according to the New York Police Department.
Police discovered 33 Pride flags broken and on the ground when they arrived on the scene, authorities said, in the latest incident this month of flags at the Greenwich Village site being vandalized.
The NYPD said three men were walking past the monument on June 10, and allegedly broke multiple Pride flags that were on the fence.
In another incident, police found multiple broken Pride flags on June 15 at Stonewall Monument National Park, according to the NYPD.
No arrests have been made in any of the three incidents, and the NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is currently investigating.
The Stonewall National Monument didn’t immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Threats of violence against the LGBTQIA+ community are on the rise and intensifying, according to a May 2023 briefing by the Department of Homeland Security.
Domestic violence extremists and people who commit hate crimes have increased threats of violence against the LGBTQIA+ community within the last year, the DHS document said.
“These issues include actions linked to drag-themed events, gender-affirming care and LGBTQIA+ curricula in schools,” DHS said.
A New York City woman was arrested in February after she was seen on video allegedly setting fire to a gay pride flag outside a Manhattan restaurant.
Angelina Cando, 30, was charged with arson as a hate crime, criminal mischief as a hate crime and reckless endangerment as a hate crime, police said.
Cando was found mentally unfit for trial in May, after a brief appearance in court. She’s still being held at Riker’s women’s facility, court records show. It was unclear when her next court date is.
One out of 10 violent crimes against members of the LGBTQIA+ community is a hate crime, according to a 2022 study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law.
Members of the LGBTQIA+ community are nine times more likely than those not in the community to be victims of hate crimes, according to the study.
Approximately 20% of all hate crimes reported throughout the country in 2021 were motivated by bias linked to sexual orientation and gender, according to DHS.
Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQIA+ civil rights organization, declared a state of emergency earlier this month for LGBTQIA+ people in the U.S.
The organization cited the record-breaking wave of legislation targeting the LGBTQIA+ community and an increasingly hostile environment.
“The multiplying threats facing millions in our community are not just perceived — they are real, tangible and dangerous,” Kelley Robinson, the president of HRC, said in a statement at the time.
ABC News’ Josh Margolin, Kiara Alfonseca, Aaron Katersky and Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.
(HARRISBURG, Penn.) — In his nearly 40 years as a member of the Pennsylvania State Police, Lt. Col. George Bivens said he’s never witnessed a gunfight more intense than the one that erupted over the weekend with a suspect alleged to have ambushed and killed one trooper and critically wounded another.
“What I witnessed …. was one of the most intense, unbelievable gunfights I have ever witnessed,” Bivens said at a news conference on Sunday.
The suspect, 38-year-old Brandon Stine, was fatally shot by police in the gunbattle on Saturday in which Bivens said “hundreds of rounds” were fired.
State Police Commissioner Christopher L. Paris said Stine was armed with a high-powered .458 magnum rifle, which he said is normally used by large game hunters.
“This was as harrowing as it gets,” Paris said of the gunfight that ended with Stine’s death.
Bivens said the rifle Stine allegedly used “would defeat any body armor” the officers he confronted were wearing.
A motive for the rampage remains under investigation, and authorities declined to comment on whether state police had previous contact with Stine, who is from Thompsontown, Pennsylvania, in Juniata County.
Bivens described the initial attacks on the troopers as an “ambush” and said the suspect called 911 several times to give his location in an apparent effort to lure officers into a trap.
The violence unfolded about 11 a.m. Saturday when Stine drove his 2008 Chevrolet pickup truck into the parking lot of the state police Troop G barracks in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, got out of his vehicle and fired several shots at parked patrol cars before driving off. Surveillance cameras captured Stine firing his weapon in the parking lot and enabled police to obtain his license plate number and identify him as the registered owner and likely assailant, Paris said.
The state police immediately launched a massive search for the suspect, who was spotted at 12:45 p.m. Saturday in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, about 13 miles northwest of Lewistown, by state police Lt. James Wagner, Paris said. Wagner was critically wounded in a confrontation with the suspect, Paris said.
He said several civilians came to the 45-year-old Wagner’s aid and used his radio to call for help.
Around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Trooper Jacques F. Rougeau Jr., 29, a member of the state police force since 2020, was fatally shot in his patrol vehicle as he participated in the search for Stine.
Bivens alleged that Rougeau was “ambushed” by Stine as the trooper was driving in Walker Township.
He said Rougeau was fatally shot from a distance through the windshield of the patrol vehicle. He said Stine then drove into a residential area and was eventually spotted again by officers in the parking lot of a store and restaurant.
“There were people in the lot that were patronizing that business,” said Bivens, who was in a police helicopter overhead directing the pursuit.
Bivens said the troopers put themselves between the suspect and the civilians and used their patrol vehicle to force the suspect away from the businesses. He said several troopers were shot at by the suspect.
“It was such a fluid situation that our patrol car members were literally bailing out of cars while they were running,” Bivens said.
In an apparent attempt to escape, Stine drove across the yard and garden of a home and got stuck against a row of trees, Bivens said. He was fatally shot during a final gunbattle with police, Bivens said.
Paris added, “It’s a miracle that no members of the public were killed or injured as a result.”
(NEW YORK) — A submersible with five people aboard has gone missing while on a tour of the wreckage of the Titanic off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, according to officials.
The Coast Guard said the 21-foot submersible went underwater Sunday morning, and lost contact about 1 hour and 45 minutes later.
The Coast Guard was notified Sunday afternoon that the vessel belonging to the deep sea exploring company OceanGate was overdue, and crews immediately launched search and rescue operations, Rear Adm. John Mauger, U.S. Coast Guard 1st District commander, said at a news conference Monday.
The vessel was designed to have 96 hours of oxygen available, he said.
The search is taking place in remote waters about 13,000 feet deep, Mauger said.
“It is a challenge to conduct a search in that remote area, but we are deploying all available assets to make sure that we can locate the craft and rescue the people on board,” Mauger said.
OceanGate confirmed Monday that it lost contact with a submersible.
“We are exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely. Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families,” OceanGate said in a statement. “We are working toward the safe return of the crewmembers.”
OceanGate’s website says it offers paying customers the opportunity to explore the wreckage of the Titanic.
One of the passengers was Hamish Harding, who worked for the sales company Action Aviation, a colleague told ABC News.
“This is on the site of a wreckage, the wreckage of the Titanic, and so there’s a lot of debris on the bottom, and locating an object on the bottom will be difficult,” Mauger told Fox News on Monday.
“We have lives that are potentially at risk,” he said.
On April 14, 1912, the Titanic hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage from England to New York. Over 2,200 passengers and crew were on board, and more than 1,500 people died when the ship sank.
The ship wreckage was found in 1985, almost 12,500 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.
ABC News’ Miles Cohen, Josh Hoyos, Alex Faul and Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — A submersible has gone missing while on a tour of the wreckage of the Titanic off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, according to a Coast Guard official.
The Coast Guard was notified Sunday afternoon that a vessel belonging to the deep-sea exploring company OceanGate was overdue, and crews immediately launched search and rescue operations, Rear Adm. John Mauger, U.S. Coast Guard 1st District Commander, told Fox News.
The capsule is advertised to have 96 hours of oxygen for survival, which “gives us some time to continue searching and continue to use all our means to try and locate the crew members,” Mauger said.
He noted that this is in a remote part of the Atlantic Ocean.
“This is on the site of a wreckage, the wreckage of the Titanic, and so there’s a lot of debris on the bottom and locating an object on the bottom will be difficult,” Mauger said.
“We have lives that are potentially at risk,” he said.
OceanGate confirmed Monday that it lost contact with a submersible.
“We are exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely. Our entire focus is on the crewmembers in the submersible and their families,” OceanGate said in a statement. “We are working toward the safe return of the crewmembers.”
OceanGate’s website says it offers paying customers the opportunity to explore the wreckage of the Titanic. The website says it has five-person submersibles.
On April 14, 1912, the Titanic hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage from England to New York. Over 2,200 passengers and crew were on board, and more than 1,500 people died when the ship sank.
The ship wreckage was found in 1985, almost 12,500 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.
ABC News’ Josh Hoyos, Alex Faul and Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
