(AUSTIN, Texas) — A 34-year-old former Army infantry officer was identified Wednesday morning as the suspect in a central Texas shooting rampage that unfolded over hours in two large cities and left his parents and four other people dead, and three people injured, including two police officers, authorities said.
Austin police investigators “strongly believe” the suspect, Shane James, is connected to the violent string of incidents in Austin that unfolded over a span of eight hours on Tuesday. James was being held Wednesday without bail on a charge of capital murder, authorities said, adding that more charges were pending.
Interim Police Chief Robin Henderson said the chain of events occurred at four different locations in the state capital on Tuesday and one near San Antonio. She said the deadly crime spree began in Austin Tuesday morning with the shooting of an Austin Independent School District police officer near Northeast Early College High School, prompting a lockdown of the school.
“Based on the information obtained over the course of these investigations, we strongly believe one suspect is responsible for all of the incidents,” Henderson said at a news conference Tuesday night.
Investigators are working to determine any relationship James may have had with the people who were shot in Austin and what prompted the violence.
The two victims found dead at a home near San Antonio Tuesday night were James’ parents, 56-year-old Shane James Sr. and 55-year-old Phyllis James, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
Henderson said investigators didn’t connect the series of episodes until the final one occurred around 7 p.m. Tuesday, when an Austin police officer was wounded in a gunfight with the suspect in the backyard of a home, where two people were later found dead inside.
Henderson said the wounded officer, a 12-year veteran of the Austin Police Department, responded to the residence in southwest Austin after a 911 caller reported a burglary in progress at the location.
The officer went to the backyard of the home on Austral Loop and encountered the suspect, who immediately opened fire, hitting the officer multiple times, Henderson said. She said the officer, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, returned fire but missed the assailant, who ran to a vehicle and fled the scene.
Other officers chased the suspect, who crashed at an intersection and was taken into custody, Henderson said.
The names of the two victims killed in the Austral Loop shooting have not been released.
Following James’ arrest, Austin police contacted the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and informed them the suspect had a connection to a residence near San Antonio, about 80 miles southwest of Austin, Sheriff Salazar said.
Salazar said deputies who were sent to the house to do a welfare check on the occupants found a “grisly” scene and the bodies of the suspect’s parents, who were shot multiple times with a large-caliber weapon and “wedged inside a very small room.”
Salazar said investigators believe the parents were killed sometime between 10 p.m. on Monday and 9 a.m. on Tuesday, before the suspect went to Austin to continue his alleged killing rampage. He said James’ parents were last heard from around 10 p.m. on Monday.
Salazar also said James was involved in several previous incidents where deputies were called to the family’s house to intervene. He said James, whom he described as a former member of the military, struggled with mental health issues for years.
Army spokesman Bryce Dubee confirmed to ABC News that James served as an infantry officer from February 2013 to August 2015. His records, according to Dubee, showed James had no deployments and separated from the service on Aug. 17, 2015, with the rank of first lieutenant.
Salazar said that on Jan. 6, 2022, James was arrested on three misdemeanor counts stemming from an alleged assault on his parents and a sibling.
“The family stated that James does not belong in jail, that he has mental health issues,” Salazar said.
He said James was released from jail on March 7, 2022, after a judge reduced his bond from $500 on each misdemeanor count to $100 on each account and relaxed restrictions on him from having no contact with his parents or siblings to having no threatening or harmful contact with them.
Salazar said that as part of James’ release, he was required to wear an ankle monitoring device. He said a day after James was released from jail, he cut off his ankle monitoring device, prompting misdemeanor warrants to be issued for his arrest.
Salazar said the last time his deputies had contact with James was in August when they were called to the family’s home again. He said James’ father asked deputies to intervene, claiming his “son was naked, he was acting out, had a mental health episode and was upstairs in his bedroom.”
He said deputies tried to talk James into coming out of his room but were limited by law in what they could do because James was only wanted at the time on misdemeanor warrants.
“They were making every effort to avoid a violent confrontation,” Salazar said of his deputies, adding that at the time, James was unarmed and yelling derogatory comments at the deputies.
Salazar said that as deputies stood by, James’ father partially forced open his son’s bedroom door, which was blocked by a bed, and deputies could see James lying naked on a bed.
Unable to get James to come out of the room, the deputies left the house and asked the father to call them if he came out of the room, Salazar said. He said the father never called back.
“I wish we could have been able to get him into custody,” Salazar said.
Salazar said James is expected to be charged in Bexar County with either murder or capital murder.
The series of shootings in Austin began at about 10:43 a.m. on Tuesday, when the school resource officer was shot in the leg, Austin Independent School District Police Chief Wayne Sneed said.
About two hours later, a man and a woman were found shot inside a home near Shadywood Drive on Austin’s south side, said Austin police Sgt. Destiny Silva. She said officers responded to the home after multiple 911 callers reported gunshots coming from the residence. Austin police identified the victims found at the house as 32-year-old Emmanuel Pop Ba, who was pronounced dead at the scene, and 24-year-old Sabrina Rahman, who died after being taken to a hospital.
Silva said one of the victims was pronounced dead at the scene and the other died after being taken to a hospital.
At about 5 p.m. Tuesday, a 39-year-old cyclist called 911 and reported he’d been shot and injured near the 5700 block of West Slaughter Lane in Austin, police said.
Roughly two hours later, the gunfight between the veteran police officer and the suspect erupted on Austral Loop that preceded the suspect’s arrest.
Henderson said the gunfight between the suspect and the veteran police officer was captured on the cop’s body camera, and the footage will be made public within 10 business days in keeping with Austin Police Department policy.
As police were investigating the Texas rampage, an unrelated shooting broke out at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in which three staff and faculty members at the school were killed. The suspect, who law enforcement sources identified to ABC News as 67-year-old Anthony Polito, died in a gunfight with police. Polito had applied for a college professorship at UNLV, but was not hired, sources said.
President Joe Biden released a statement responding to the Texas and Nevada shootings, saying he and first lady, Jill Biden, “join citizens across our nation in praying for the families of our fallen, and for those who were injured during these latest acts of senseless violence.”
“Federal law enforcement officials are on the ground working with state and local law enforcement in both states and I have directed that all necessary support be provided to assist in the investigations and support these communities,” Biden said. “This year alone, our nation has experienced more than 600 mass shootings, and approximately 40,000 deaths due to gun violence. This is not normal, and we can never let it become normal. For all the action we have taken since I’ve been president, the epidemic of gun violence we face demands that we do even more.”
ABC News’ Luis Martinez contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — An off-duty pilot who admitted to taking psychedelic mushrooms two days before he was accused of trying to shut down the engines of an Alaska Airlines jet in mid-flight from a cockpit jumpseat pleaded not guilty Thursday to 84 charges stemming from the attempted sabotage.
Joseph David Emerson was arraigned in Multnomah County Court in Portland, Oregon, on 83 counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count of endangering aircraft in the first degree — charges connected to the Oct. 22 emergency that unfolded aboard Flight 2059 from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco.
A not-guilty plea to all of the charges was entered on Emerson’s behalf by his attorney, Levi Horst.
A judge approved Emerson’s release from custody after Horst and prosecutors informed the court that Emerson agreed to abide by seven conditions of his release, including having no contact within 30 feet of any operable aircraft.
Emerson also agreed to post a $50,000 security bond and is required to engage in mental health services and avoid taking any intoxicants, including alcohol.
Emerson of Pleasant Hill, California, was initially arrested on 83 counts of attempted murder based on the number of people aboard the plane, but a Multnomah County grand jury that heard evidence in the case indicted him on lesser charges, prosecutors announced on Tuesday.
The 44-year-old pilot was charged in Oregon because the flight was diverted to Portland, where he was arrested.
Emerson was seated in a flight deck jumpseat in the cockpit of the 737 jet, hitching a ride to San Francisco, when he allegedly tried to shut down the engines by attempting to pull the fire extinguisher handles on the engines, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case. He was allegedly overheard saying, “I’m not okay,” before attempting to sabotage the flight, according to the complaint.
The two pilots flying the plane stopped Emerson before he could fully activate the engine fire extinguishers, grabbing his wrists and wresting with him in the cockpit for 25 to 30 seconds before subduing him, the complaint alleges.
Emerson’s attorneys previously said he “suffered a panic attack” while on the flight and was in a dream-like state during the incident. They also said he had taken “a small amount of psilocybin,” which is found in mushrooms, two days prior to the flight.
The pilot told investigators he had not slept for 40 hours prior to the incident and believed he was having a “nervous breakdown,” according to the criminal complaint.
In a statement on the grand jury indictment, the defense attorneys said Emerson “never intended to hurt another person or put anyone at risk — he just wanted to return home to his wife and children.”
“Simply put: Captain Emerson thought he was in a dream; his actions were taken in a single-minded effort to wake up from that dream and return home to his family,” the statement said.
Emerson’s attorneys said they were “disappointed” that the grand jury indicted the pilot on 84 counts.
“Captain Emerson had no criminal intent, and we look forward to being able to present a fulsome defense at trial and bring forth all the facts and circumstances to a jury,” his attorneys said in the statement.
(DALLAS) — A judge granted a Texas woman’s request for an abortion for a pregnancy with a severe anomaly on Thursday.
The woman, Kate Cox, had filed a lawsuit against the state over its restrictive abortion bans, asking a judge to grant her a temporary restraining order that would allow her to get an abortion.
“The idea that Miss Cox wants desperately to be a parent, and this law might actually cause her to lose that ability is shocking, and would be a genuine miscarriage of justice,” Judge Maya Guerra Gamble said Thursday.
It’s the first publicized case of a woman suing for an emergency abortion since Roe vs Wade in 1973.
Cox is currently carrying a pregnancy with virtually no chance the baby — who has trisomy 18 — will survive to birth or long afterward. She’s said she has been denied the safest form of abortion care for her — a dilation and evacuation procedure.
The hearing was held in Travis County’s 459th District Court in Austin, and lasted about a half hour before the ruling was delivered.
Cox’s lawsuit stands separate from a suit filed by 20 women who say their lives were put in danger due to Texas’ abortion bans.
That suit is before the Texas state Supreme Court for a ruling on whether the challenge can continue and if a temporary hold on implementation of the bans in cases of fatal fetal anomalies and medical emergencies can go into effect.
Texas has multiple overlapping abortion bans in effect with severe punishments for violations of the bans.
Texas’ bans include exceptions that allow abortions in cases of medical emergencies and fatal fetal diagnoses, but doctors and patients claim, in another lawsuit filed in March, that they are unable to provide care or have been denied care, respectively, under the laws.
Under Texas’ bans, it is a second-degree felony to perform or attempt an abortion, punishable by up to life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. The law also allows private citizens to sue anyone who “aids or abets” an abortion.
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York in a $250 million civil lawsuit that could alter the personal fortune and real estate empire that helped propel Trump to the White House.
Trump, his sons Eric Trump and and Donald Trump Jr., and other top Trump Organization executives are accused by New York Attorney General Letitia James of engaging in a decade-long scheme in which they used “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation” to inflate Trump’s net worth in order get more favorable loan terms. The trial comes after the judge in the case ruled in a partial summary judgment that Trump had submitted “fraudulent valuations” for his assets, leaving the trial to determine additional actions and what penalty, if any, the defendants should receive.
The former president has denied all wrongdoing and his attorneys have argued that Trump’s alleged inflated valuations were a product of his business skill.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Dec 07, 8:34 AM EST
Donald Trump set to attend trial today
Donald Trump is set to return to his civil fraud trial as a spectator today, marking the first time the former president has attended the proceeding in over a month.
Trump has attended eight of the trial’s 41 days, including when he testified as the last witness in the state’s case on Nov. 6. He is scheduled to return to the stand as the final witness in the defense’s case on Monday.
This morning, Trump’s lawyers will call New York University professor Eli Bartov as their second-to-last witness.
Trump attorney Chris Kise cited Bartov’s testimony in his opening statement as vital to proving that Trump fully complied with all accounting rules and regulations when he submitted his statements of financial condition, which underpin the attorney general’s allegations in the case.
“The statements are … the beginning, not the end, of a highly complex valuation process,” Kise said.
Dec 06, 4:42 PM EST
Potential for violence justifies gag order, judge’s lawyer argues
Judge Arthur Engoron’s attorney argues in a new court filing that the willingness of Donald Trump’s followers “to engage in violence to show their support” for Trump justifies the limited gag order in the former president’s civil fraud trial.
Trump filed an Article 78 proceeding against Engoron earlier this month to remove the gag orders the judge imposed prohibiting him from commenting on the judge’s staff, but a panel of judges vacated a temporary stay of the gag orders last week.
“It is undisputed that Mr. Trump has an inordinate ability to draw attention, fervor, and animosity to those he singles out for attention. Whether he seeks it or not, some of Mr. Trump’s followers are willing to engage in violence to show their support,” said Engoron’s attorney Michael Suidzinski, an assistant deputy counsel with the New York State Office of Court Administration.
Engoron’s attorney questioned Trump’s need to speak about the judge’s staff during the trial or his campaign, adding that the gag order still permits him to criticize Engoron, the attorney general, the case itself, witnesses, and the entire judicial process.
“It is unclear, however, how his ability to talk about Justice Engoron’s court staff is necessary for his campaign when this country faces a number of issues more worthy of debate,” Suidzinski wrote.
“Given the real and demonstrated likelihood of harm that could come to Justice Engoron’s court staff if the gag orders were annulled, Justice Engoron’s legitimate and justifiable interest in preventing such harm greatly outweighs the de minimis interference to Mr. Trump’s rights,” Suidzinski wrote.
Dec 06, 12:07 PM EST
Court is off today after Eric Trump’s testimony is called off
Court is not in session today after the defense yesterday called off the testimony of Eric Trump, who was scheduled to be today’s lone witness.
Donald Trump’s legal spokesperson, Alina Habba, said that testimony from Eric Trump was no longer needed because the court has heard sufficient testimony from defense experts and Deutsche Bank executives.
Eric Trump, who took the stand in the state’s case last month, was scheduled to testify for the defense today — but defense lawyers abruptly called off his testimony yesterday in order to streamline their case, defense attorney Clifford Robert said in court yesterday.
“Although Eric Trump was certainly prepared to testify again, his testimony is no longer necessary. He has already testified fully and well in the case,” Habba said.
In a social media post Tuesday night, Donald Trump said he directed Eric not to testify.
“I told my wonderful son, Eric, not to testify tomorrow at the RIGGED TRIAL,” Trump wrote.
Dec 06, 11:02 AM EST
Trump confirms he’ll testify Monday
Former President Trump has confirmed he plans to testify as a defense witness on Monday.
“I will be testifying on Monday,” Trump wrote on his social media platform.
Court is not in session today, but Trump is expected to be in attendance tomorrow.
Trump’s plan to testify was thrown into question on Tuesday after Judge Arthur Engoron denied a request from the defense to delay the testimony to accommodate Trump’s effort to appeal the limited gag order in the case that prohibits him from commenting on the judge’s staff.
“He is not capable of fully testifying because he is subject to the gag order,” Kise said, arguing for a delay.
“Absolutely not. No way, no how. It’s a nonstarter,” Engoron said in response to the defense’s request for a delay. “If he is going to testify, it’ll be Monday, and that’s that.”
While Trump’s lawyers have attempted to appeal the limited gag order to a higher court, their application to expedite the appeal was denied on Monday, ensuring that the limited gag order will be in place when Trump testifies.
During a campaign stop in Iowa, Trump repeated his claims that his opponents are trying to silence him, describing the gag order as an “honor.”
“In many ways, it’s an honor because if they wanted to hear me speak, they wouldn’t do the gag order,” Trump said.
When asked if he’s concerned about his scheduled court testimony, Trump said, “No, not at all.”
Trump is set to be the final witness for the defense case when he testifies on Monday.
Dec 05, 5:04 PM EST
Defense expert quotes John Lennon, compares Trump to MLK
Prior to his brief cross-examination, real estate valuation expert Lawrence Moens quoted John Lennon’s “Imagine” and compared Donald Trump to Martin Luther King Jr. at the conclusion of his direct testimony.
“You may say I am a dreamer, but I’m not the only one,” Moens said, quoting the “Imagine” lyrics before comparing Trump to Thomas Jefferson and Martin Luther King Jr.
“He’s a dreamer for sure. If you have a dream and are a great American, I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” Moens said of Trump, whose Mar-a-Lago estate he praised as “something breathtaking” and “amazing to see.”
Moens’ cellphone went off during his testimony, and he briefly interrupted his direct examination to answer a call.
“I’ll call you right back … love you,” Moens said in a quiet tone as Judge Engoron watched in disbelief.
Moen apologized to the judge, explaining that the call was from his elderly father.
Court was adjourned for the day after Moens stepped off the witness stand.
Dec 05, 4:45 PM EST
Mar-a-Lago valuation expert is also Mar-a-Lago member
During a short cross-examination of the defense’s real estate valuation expert, Lawrence Moens, state attorney Kevin Wallace attempted to highlight flaws in Moens’ analysis that valued Mar-a-Lago at $1.2 billion in 2021.
Wallace noted that Moens’ analysis added over $100 million in membership dues to the value of the property, while Trump’s own statements of financial conduction didn’t include the membership fees since they’re refundable.
“Some get paid back, and some are nonrefundable,” Moens said in response. “I don’t know what their methodology is in those numbers.”
Wallace also asked if Moens had a membership in the club he had been paid to value.
“Are you a member at the club?” Wallace asked.
“I am,” Moens said, adding that he joined in 1995 or 1996.
“I don’t go too often. I don’t like clubs,” he said.
Moens described his process for valuing properties as comparable to a baker making a cake by taste, rather than a recipe. By his own admission, the process was not replicable or scientific.
“You’re not running a process that is recreatable … is that fair?” Wallace asked.
“That’s fair,” Moens said.
Like during his direct examination, Moens appeared confident and playful on the stand, even taking a job at the profession of a colleague mentioned in an email.
“I think he is still a liar — I mean a lawyer,” Moens said. “Sorry, I apologize, it was really low.”
Dec 05, 3:51 PM EST
Eric Trump will not be called as defense witness
Defense attorney Clifford Robert said the defense team was able to “streamline” their case and cut Eric Trump from their witness list.
After being called to the stand by the state last month, Eric Trump had been scheduled to testify for the defense on Wednesday, but now he will not appear.
Trump lawyer Chris Kise also requested that Judge Engoron postpone Donald Trump’s testimony until the New York Court of Appeals rules on Trump’s appeal of the case’s gag order.
“He is not capable of fully testifying because he is subject to the gag order,” Kise said.
Engoron flatly denied the request to delay Trump’s testimony, which is scheduled for Monday.
“Absolutely not. No way, no how. It’s a nonstarter,” Engoron said. “If he is going to testify, it’ll be Monday, and that’s that.”
Dec 05, 3:03 PM EST
Defense expert says Mar-a-Lago was worth $1.2 billion
Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club was worth more than $1.2 billion in 2021 — roughly double the value listed in Trump’s statement of financial condition — according to defense expert Lawrence Moens.
Describing Mar-a-Lago as a castle nestled on 17.6 acres of waterfront property, Moens said he determined the value by considering nearby properties and adding the total value of the club’s 500 memberships, which in 2021 cost $350,000 each.
Between 2011 and 2021, Moens’ analysis found that Trump undervalued Mar-a-Lago in his statements of financial condition — but his analysis appeared to be based on Trump being able to sell the property to an individual to use it as a private residence, which the New York attorney general says Trump is prohibited from doing based on a 2002 deed he signed that would “forever extinguish their right to develop or use the Property for any purpose other than club use.”
Judge Engoron only qualified Moens as an expert on the value of residential real estate.
Moens spoke with confidence about his ability to value real estate in Palm Beach, saying that he has sold billions of dollars of real estate since his first sale as a broker in 1982. Asked if any broker has sold more Palm Beach real estate than he has, Moens replied, “They don’t exist.”
“I am on the front lines everyday of selling properties, and I have a pretty good handle of what is going on currently in the market,” Moens said.
He later added, “My numbers are usually right.”
Moens also put together a seven-minute promotional video about Mar-a-Lago, which was played during his testimony. Set to relaxing music, the video included high-resolution drone shots and dramatic panning shots of the property’s amenities. After the video played, Moens highlighted details such as hand-carved stones, gold decorations that cost millions to construct, and other details that required years of work from tradesmen.
“I invited the attorney general’s office to come see it anytime. The offer still stands,” Moens said. “I will make sure he is not there when you come,” he said of Trump.
Engoron appeared attentive to Moen’s testimony — but once Moens left the courtroom, he indicated that he wasn’t as concerned about Mar-a-Lago’s specific value as he was about whether it was misrepresented.
“I see this case about the documents — whether the defendants used false documents when transacting business,” Engoron said. “I am not trying to figure out what the value is … I don’t necessarily consider it relevant.”
Dec 05, 12:31 PM EST
Mar-a-Lago would be residence if club was abandoned, expert says
Defense expert John Shubin attempted to explain that a 1993 agreement preserved Donald Trump’s right to sell his Mar-a-Lago social club as a private residence.
The testimony came after Judge Engoron prevented Shubin from sharing his own conclusion about whether Mar-a-Lago was a residence, leading Shubin to read into the record several documents involving the issue.
Shubin suggested that a 1993 agreement between Trump and the town of Palm Beach included a provision that Trump’s property would revert from a social club to Trump’s private residence if the club was ever abandoned, despite Trump’s 2002 deed restricting the property’s use to a social club.
Shubin also read into the record documents related to a 2021 Town of Palm Beach town meeting concerning whether Trump could continue to live at Mar-a-Lago as his residence.
“In sum, it is argued that Mar-a-Lago is either a private residence or a club, but cannot be both,” Palm Beach Town Attorney John C. Randolph wrote in a report read by Shubin.
“If he is a bona fide employee of the Club, absent a specific restriction prohibiting former President Trump from residing at the club, it appears the Zoning Code permits him to reside at the Club,” Randolph’s report concluded.
According to Shubin, no action was taken by the town after the meeting, suggesting Town officials concluded that Trump had the right to use the club as a residence.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has accused Trump of valuing the property as a residence worth upwards of half a billion dollars in Trump’s financial statements, while treating it as social club worth between $18 million and $28 million for tax purposes.
Dec 05, 11:03 AM EST
‘No prohibition’ on using Mar-a-Lago as residence, expert says
Introduced as an expert on land use, planning, entitlements and zoning, a witness for the defense immediately pushed back on New York Attorney General Letitia James’ chief argument that Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property was restricted to use as a social club — a claim that Judge Engoron called the “ultimate issue on Mar-a-Lago.”
“There is absolutely no prohibition on the use of Mar-a-Lago as a single-family residence,” said defense witness John Shubin.
Engoron barred Shubin from testifying about legal conclusions and immediately sustained an objection from the state regarding the testimony.
“It absolutely is a legal conclusion,” Engoron said, prompting defense lawyer Clifford Robert to unsuccessfully try to rephrase his question.
“Why don’t we just look through the documents and run backwards?” defense lawyer Chris Kise suggested.
Shubin’s testimony runs contrary to evidence presented by state lawyers that Trump signed a 2002 deed that surrendered his right to develop the property “for any purpose other than club use.”
Dec 05, 9:36 AM EST
Defense focusing on value of Mar-a-Lago
Donald Trump’s lawyers plan to call two experts, Lawrence Moens and John Shubin, to testify on Trump’s valuation of his Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Florida.
Moens is a well-known real estate broker in Palm Beach, and Shubin is an expert on deeds and land restrictions.
The value of the property has been bitterly contested by Trump’s lawyers since the start of the trial, after Judge Arthur Engoron, in his pretrial partial summary judgment determined that Trump overvalued the property by at least 2,300%. When Trump testified in the trial in November, he repeatedly lashed out at Engoron for what he called a “crazy” assessment of the property.
“He said in his statement that Mar-a-Lago is worth $18 million and it’s worth 50 times to 100 times more than that, and everybody knows it. And everybody is watching this case. He called me a fraud and he didn’t know anything about me,” Trump said on the stand.
According to evidence shown at trial, Trump agreed in a 2002 deed to “forever extinguish [his] right to develop or use the Property for any purpose other than club use.” While Trump Organization executives were aware of the limited use of the property, they allegedly valued the property as a residence in Trump’s financial statements while treating it as a social club for tax purposes, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James.
In Trump’s statements of financial condition, he valued the property between $426 million and $612 million, despite a local tax assessor appraising the market value of the property between $18 and $27 million. Engoron, in his summary judgment ruling, wrote that James had proven that Trump was liable for a false valuation of the property.
Trump has repeatedly argued that Engoron misunderstood the purpose of a tax assessment, going as far as to call Engoron’s finding “fraud.”
“Are you paying taxes on an $18 million valuation of Mar-a-Lago or $1.5 billion?” state attorney Kevin Wallace asked Trump during his direct examination.
“You know that assessments are totally different from the valuation of property,” Trump responded.
(NEW YORK) — A gunman opened fire at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Wednesday, killing three and injuring another in a “heinous” incident that shattered the peace of the campus, officials said.
The gunman, who law enforcement officials have not named, went floor to floor in Beam Hall and was only stopped by campus police officers who engaged him in a shootout, according to the authorities.
“What happened today is a heinous, unforgivable crime,” Sheriff Kevin McMahill said during a news conference.
“[T]here was a gathering just outside of the building where the students were playing games and eating food,” he continued. “There were tables set up for them to build Legos, and if it hadn’t been for the heroic actions of one of the police officers who responded, there could have been countless additional lives taken.”
The shooting was first reported at 11:45 a.m., and McMahill said the incident originated on the fourth floor of Beam Hall.
“We heard shots; we heard a bunch of shots, and the second police got there, they went in, and more shots were fired,” UNLV junior Danny Coleman told KTNV ABC 13.
The officers engaged the suspect in a firefight, where he was struck and killed, according to the police.
UNLV said police were working to evacuate buildings one at a time, and students were urged to shelter in place. The order was lifted late Wednesday night, university president Keith E. Whitfield announced in a letter to the community.
Three died in the incident, and a fourth gunshot victim was taken to Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center in critical condition. Their condition was later upgraded to stable, police said.
Four other students were transported to the hospital suffering panic attacks, according to McMahill. Some law enforcement officers sustained minor injuries in the incident.
“We watched a lot of fear among the men and women at UNLV today. It’s unfortunate they had to go through that,” McMahill said.
Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center confirmed it treated three patients brought to the facility from the scene.
UNLV student Mike Henderson told ABC News that he was in a hallway when the shooting started and immediately ran into a classroom and sheltered in place.
He said he was later escorted out by police and saw someone with their face down, bleeding.
“[It’s] not something I thought would ever happen to me personally,” he said.
Authorities said there is no further threat to the university, which has been closed for the rest of the week as a result of the shooting.
In his message to the university community on Wednesday night, President Whitfield called the incident “unfathomable.”
“We’re all still in shock as we process the unfathomable event,” he wrote. “Members of our community lost their lives, and others were injured. My heart aches for our UNLV family. I know all of us are sending our love and support to the victims, their families, and friends during this difficult time.”
A ground stop that had been initiated at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport was lifted Wednesday night.
McMahill said law enforcement had identified the now-deceased shooter but did not release the name Wednesday night as next of kin had to be notified. There were no details on the shooter’s motive or the weapon used in the incident.
Gov. Joe Lombardo said in a statement that he was in communication with the school and law enforcement as the investigation continued.
President Joe Biden said he was “praying for the families” affected by the shootings in San Antonio and Las Vegas and praised “courageous” officers “who risked their own safety to bring an end to these deadly shooting sprees,” in a statement on Wednesday.
The president added that he “directed that all necessary support be provided to assist in the investigations and support these communities” while calling on Congress to pass gun safety laws.
(LAS VEGAS) — Multiple law enforcement sources tell ABC News the deceased suspect in the University of Nevada, Las Vegas shooting is Anthony Polito, 67.
Polito, the sources say, had applied for a college professorship at UNLV, but was not hired. He has ties to North Carolina and Georgia, where he previously worked as a college professor.
Polito was armed with a handgun during Wednesday’s attack. Police say he was killed in a shootout with two police detectives who responded to the active shooting scene.
Detectives have been working into the night and plan on continuing their investigation through the overnight hours.
A law enforcement official briefed on the probe said one apartment in Henderson, Nevada — believed to be the shooter’s home — is currently being searched. Detectives have also retrieved the suspect’s phone and are now feverishly examining its contents for clues about what motivated the killer to mount his alleged attack Wednesday.
Police are also combing his professional writings to determine whether something in those texts could shed light on the events that occurred on the UNLV campus.
Investigators have now determined that the victims killed were not students, but faculty or staff. That suggests to detectives that the rampage may not have been random, but may have been an attack that targeted certain people because of some sort of previous relationship or interactions.
According to preliminary investigative information, the gunman fired on police, which is what led them to shoot him.
(NEW YORK) — Lori Vallow, the mother convicted of murdering two of her children in a so-called doomsday plot, is scheduled to be arraigned in Arizona Thursday morning on charges alleging she killed her fourth husband and plotted to kill the ex-husband of her niece.
Lori Vallow, 50, was extradited from Idaho to Arizona last week and booked in Maricopa County on first-degree murder and first-degree premeditated murder. She has been held without bond since her initial court appearance on Nov. 30.
Her arraignment is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. MT Thursday.
The court proceedings come after she was indicted by a Maricopa County grand jury in 2021 in connection with the killing of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, who was fatally shot by her brother in 2019 during a confrontation at her Arizona home.
She was subsequently indicted by a Maricopa County grand jury in 2022 for allegedly scheming with her brother to kill Brandon Boudreaux, the ex-husband of her niece.
Lori Vallow, also known as Lori Vallow Daybell, is currently serving life in prison without parole at the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center in Pocatello, Idaho, after a jury found her guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for the 2019 deaths of her children, Joshua “J.J.” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16.
Lori Vallow denied murdering her children, saying in court at her sentencing in July: “Jesus Christ knows the truth of what happened here. … No one was murdered in this case. Accidental deaths happen. Suicides happen. Fatal side effects from medications happen.”
Her attorney filed a notice of appeal in October in the case.
J.J. and Tylee were last seen in September 2019 and, following a monthslong search, their remains were found on an Idaho property belonging to her fifth husband, Chad Daybell, in June 2020.
Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell, the author of religious fiction books, both reportedly adhered to a doomsday ideology. She once claimed she was “a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ’s second coming in July 2020” and didn’t want anything to do with her family “because she had a more important mission to carry out,” according to court documents obtained by ABC News.
Friends have said Lori Vallow’s 13-year marriage to Charles Vallow started to deteriorate after she became a fan of Daybell’s books, with the two separating in 2019. Their blended family had included Tylee from Lori Vallow’s third marriage, and Charles Vallow’s nephew J.J., whom they adopted.
While at his estranged wife’s home in Chandler, Arizona, to take J.J. to school in July 2019, Charles Vallow was fatally shot by her brother, Alex Cox. Her brother told police he shot his brother-in-law in self-defense. Police were investigating the claims when Cox himself died from natural causes months later.
Following a yearslong investigation, prosecutors alleged that Lori Vallow conspired with Cox to murder Charles Vallow, calling the case “complex” and “difficult.”
Three months after the shooting of Charles Vallow, Boudreaux called 911 in October 2019 to report that someone driving by in a Jeep shot his vehicle outside his home in Gilbert, Arizona. He told police at the time he thought Cox was behind the wheel.
The indictment against Lori Vallow in the shooting alleges that she and Cox planned to murder Boudreaux. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office released the indictment in May with no further comment due to the pending case.
Her trial has been scheduled to start on April 4, 2024.
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. military is grounding all of its Osprey V-22 aircraft in the wake of last week’s deadly U.S. Air Force crash off the coast of Japan that left eight airmen dead.
The coordinated announcement means that all versions of the Osprey flown by the Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy are being grounded as part of an operational standdown.
“Out of an abundance of caution, following the AFSOC operational stand down, NAVAIR is instituting a grounding bulletin for all V-22 Osprey variants Dec. 6. This decision comes after the V-22 Osprey mishap on Nov. 29, off the shore of Yakushima, Japan,” read statements from the Marines and Navy.
The Air Force and Marines also said in separate statements that the cause of last week’s crash is “unknown at this time,” but “preliminary investigation information indicates a potential materiel failure caused the mishap.”
“While the mishap remains under investigation, we are implementing additional risk mitigation controls to ensure the safety of our service members,” read a statement from the armed forces.
The Osprey aircraft carrying eight airmen crashed off the Japanese coast at about 3 p.m. last Wednesday, U.S. officials previously said.
The crash took place during a “routine training mission,” the U.S. Air Force said last week.
(NEW YORK) — Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford has announced felony charges against six so-called “fake electors” for their alleged role in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, his office announced Wednesday.
Among those charged are some of the top officials from the Nevada Republican Party, including Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald, Nevada Republican Party National Committeeman Jim DeGraffenreid, Clark County Republican Party Chairman Jesse Law and Storey County Clerk Jim Hindle, as well as Republican operatives Shawn Meehan and Eileen Rice.
The six defendants were indicted by a grand jury in the Eighth Judicial District Court in Nevada for falsely portraying themselves as Nevada’s presidential electors after the last presidential election, the attorney general’s office said.
Each of the defendants have been charged with felonies including offering a false instrument for filing, offering a forged instrument, and offering a false instrument titled “Certificate of the Votes of the 2020 Electors from Nevada” to the President of the Senate; the Archivist of the United States; the Nevada Secretary of State; and the United States District Court for the District of Nevada.
Several of them met with the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, and McDonald and DeGraffenreid reportedly testified before a federal grand jury that was empaneled in Washington, D.C., to investigate Jan. 6 earlier this year.
“When the efforts to undermine faith in our democracy began after the 2020 election, I made it clear that I would do everything in my power to defend the institutions of our nation and our state,” Ford, a Democrat, said in a statement. “We cannot allow attacks on democracy to go unchallenged. Today’s indictments are the product of a long and thorough investigation, and as we enter into litigation, I am confident that our judicial system will see justice done.”
DeGraffenreid and Law declined to comment to ABC News. McDonald, Law, Hindle, Meehan and Rice could not be immediately reached for comment.
This is the third criminal indictment state attorney generals have filed against so-called “fake electors,” who allegedly pledged false electoral votes to Donald Trump in their respective states during the 2020 election, despite Joe Biden winning those states.
Three such “fake electors” were among the 18 co-defendants charged, along with Trump, in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. Defendants Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell, Jena Ellis and Scott Hall subsequently took plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify against other defendants, while all other defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in July charged 16 “alternate electors” for conspiracy to commit forgery, among other charges. Nine subsequently entered not guilty pleas.
(NEW YORK) — A suspect is dead following a fatal shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, on Wednesday, according to authorities and sources.
There is at least one fatality, according to multiple sources. Sheriff Kevin McMahill said there were three victims in unknown conditions, adding, “That number could change.”
UNLV said shots were reported at Beam Hall, home to the business school, as well as the student union, which is next door.
The shooting was reported at 11:45 a.m. and police responded and “engaged” the suspect, authorities said.
A ground stop was initiated at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport on Wednesday due to the close proximity of the airport runways to UNLV, and because of the police response to the shooting, which included helicopters, according to an official briefed on the incident.
UNLV said police were working to evacuate buildings one at a time and students were urged to shelter in place.
Authorities said there is no further threat to the university, which has been closed for the rest of the day.
