(LOS ANGELES) — Police have arrested a driver who allegedly crashed his car through a street carnival in South Los Angeles on Saturday night, injuring seven people.
The Los Angeles Police Department arrested 23-year-old Steven Weems for felony hit and run, officials told ABC News. Weems is being held on $50,000 bail, the LAPD confirmed.
The incident occurred near the 3000 block of South Trinity Street, Los Angeles Fire Department officials said.
Police told ABC News Los Angeles station KABC that the victims were between 30 and 50 years old. The police also told ABC News the victims in the incident suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
(DALLAS) — Six people are dead following a collision that occurred at a World War II air show in Dallas, authorities said Sunday.
Two vintage aircraft collided in mid-air and crashed during the event Wings Over Dallas on Saturday, organizers said. The event featured flying demonstrations of WWII fighter planes at the Dallas Executive Airport.
“Authorities will continue working today on the investigation & identification of the deceased. Please pray for their families and all involved,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said Sunday.
A Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra collided and crashed around 1:20 p.m. local time, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Five of the victims were on the B-17, while one victim was on the P-63 when they crashed, National Transportation Safety Board member Michael Graham told reporters during a news conference on Sunday.
Investigators are using radar to pinpoint the point of collision, Graham said. They are also interviewing other pilots and looking into the training records of the pilots involved, including how they practiced the maneuvers they planned and cleared with officials, as well as the maintenance records of the aircraft, according to the NTSB.
They were no black boxes on the planes, NTSB officials said, adding that the planes are not required to have them.
The air show, timed to coincide with Veterans Day, is organized by the Commemorative Air Force, an education association focused on American military aviation.
Leah Block, a spokesperson for Commemorative Air Force, told ABC News she believes there were five crew members on the B-17 and one aboard the P-63, which is a single-seat plane. The Houston-based aircraft were not giving rides to paying customers at the time, she said.
There were no injuries to spectators or others on the ground, according to Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson.
The airport said there was an “incident” during the show and that Dallas Fire and Rescue were responding.
Bystanders captured a cloud of black smoke following the crash. Debris from the planes could also be seen littering a nearby highway.
The debris field includes the airport grounds, Highway 67 and a nearby strip mall, the mayor said.
Commemorative Air Force CEO and President Hank Coates said there will counseling available for first responders and attendees who witnessed the crash.
“It’s very difficult for me to talk about it because I know all these people, these are family and they’re good friends,” he told reporters.
This was the company’s seventh air show in Dallas and had anywhere from 4,000 to 6,000 attendees and volunteers present at the time of the crash, organizers said.
“This is the first issue like this that we’ve ever had to deal with,” Coates said.
The FAA and the NTSB are investigating the collision. The NSTB will release a preliminary report, Coates said.
“The NTSB is launching a go-team to investigate Saturday’s mid-air collision between a Boeing B-17G and a Bell P-63F near Dallas, Texas. Member Michael Graham will serve as spokesperson on scene. Team expected to arrive tomorrow,” the NTSB said Saturday in a statement.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called the incident a “tragedy” and said on Twitter state agencies were assisting local officials in the response.
ABC News’ Jeffrey Cook, Amanda Maile and Nicholas Kerr contributed to this report.
(WARSAW, Ind.) — At least 16 were injured Saturday night, after a tractor-trailer ran a red light and slammed into a bus carrying high school hockey players in Warsaw, Indiana, according to law enforcement officials.
In a press release Sunday, the Warsaw Police Department said it received reports of a semi-truck speeding excessively and swerving into other lanes.
According to the students’ high school, Saint Ignatius College Prep, there were 23 students on the bus, with 16 being injured. Three students were critically injured and required surgery, the school said.
The students ranged between the ages of 14 and 17 years old, with most of them being 15 years old, police said. The students were traveling from Chicago for a weekend hockey tournament. Warsaw is about 120 miles south of Chicago.
“The Saint Ignatius Wolfpack Hockey Club says, ‘we will get through this together.’ Our thoughts, prayers, and heartfelt concern are with them,” the school’s president John Chandler and director of communications Kristyn Hartman said in a statement on the school’s website.
Police arrested the suspected semi-truck driver, identified as 58-year-old Victor Santos from Brooklyn, New York, on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
Authorities said they smelled alcohol on the suspect when they arrived and noticed he was slurring his words. Santos reportedly failed a field sobriety test, according to Warsaw police.
Police are currently investigating the crash and continuing to hold the suspect in custody due to pending drunk driving charges.
(CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.) — A suspect is on the run after at least three people were killed and two others were injured in a shooting at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville on Sunday night, authorities said.
In a statement sent to the university’s community early Monday and subsequently shared with ABC News by school officials, University of Virginia President Jim Ryan identified the suspect as student Christopher Darnell Jones, Jr. The University of Virginia Police Department also named Jones as the suspect at large via Twitter.
Both Ryan and police confirmed that “multiple” law enforcement agencies are actively searching for Jones, who they said is “armed and dangerous.” Police ordered the university community to “shelter in place” in the meantime.
“As of this writing, I am heartbroken to report that the shooting has resulted in three fatalities; two additional victims were injured and are receiving medical care,” Ryan said in the statement. “We are working closely with the families of the victims, and we will share additional detail as soon as we are able.”
Jones is described as a Black man wearing a burgundy jacket, blue jeans and red shoes. He may be driving a black SUV with Virginia license plates, police said.
The UVA Police Department is looking for Christopher Darnell Jones regarding the shooting incident that occurred on the grounds of the University of Virginia. Call 911 if seen, do not approach. pic.twitter.com/mKcxF6ksxw
The shooting was reported on the University of Virginia’s campus in the area of Culbreth Road on Sunday at about 10:30 p.m. local time, according to Ryan and police.
University of Virginia sophomore Em Gunter said she was in her dormitory doing schoolwork when she heard gunshots late Sunday.
“I looked over to my friend and like, ‘Did you hear that?’ I was like, ‘I think that was like gunfire,'” Gunter recalled in a telephone interview with ABC News early Monday, while sheltering in place.
Gunter said she and her peers have been sheltering in place in their dorm rooms for nearly six hours.
“I’m terrified,” she added. “I have no words.”
The university’s president cancelled classes for Monday due to the deadly shooting, which he called a “traumatic incident for everyone in our community.”
“This is a message any leader hopes never to have to send, and I am devastated that this violence has visited the University of Virginia,” Ryan added. “I am holding the victims, their families, and all members of the University of Virginia community in my heart today, and we will make plans to come together as a community to grieve as soon as the suspect is apprehended.”
Gunter invited her friend Nicholas Lansing to shelter in her third-floor dorm room, since his is on the ground floor.
“I have one locked door, but I also have a glass window that leads directly outside. So I’ve been up here on the third floor in Em’s room for the past three and a half hours,” Lansing, a University of Virginia junior, told ABC News via telephone. “I don’t want to go downstairs with an active shooting and suspects still not found.”
ABC News’ Peter Charalambous, Melissa Gaffney and Lauren Minore contributed to this report.
(CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.) — A suspect is in custody after three football players were killed and two other students were injured in a mass shooting at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville on Sunday night, authorities said.
The shooting took place on a bus full of students returning home from a class field trip to see a play in Washington, D.C., university officials said.
All three victims killed were on the football team, University of Virginia President Jim Ryan said at a news conference.
The suspect, identified as student Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., was taken into custody Monday morning following an overnight manhunt, authorities announced.
UVA UPDATE: Police have the suspect in custody. This is the final alert message.
Jones was a running back for the university’s football team in 2018, though he never played in a game.
A motive is not clear, Ryan said.
One injured student is in critical condition and the other is in good condition, Ryan said Monday.
The shooting was reported on the University of Virginia’s campus at about 10:30 p.m. local time, according to police.
University of Virginia sophomore Em Gunter said she was in her dormitory doing schoolwork when she heard gunshots.
“I looked over to my friend and like, ‘Did you hear that?’ I was like, ‘I think that was like gunfire,'” Gunter recalled in a telephone interview with ABC News early Monday, while sheltering in place.
“I’m terrified,” she said.
Gunter invited her friend Nicholas Lansing to shelter in her third-floor dorm room, since his is on the ground floor.
“I have one locked door, but I also have a glass window that leads directly outside. So I’ve been up here on the third floor in Em’s room for the past three and a half hours,” Lansing, a University of Virginia junior, told ABC News via telephone.
The university’s president cancelled classes for Monday.
“This is a message any leader hopes never to have to send, and I am devastated that this violence has visited the University of Virginia,” Ryan said. “I am holding the victims, their families, and all members of the University of Virginia community in my heart today.”
ABC News’ Peter Charalambous, Melissa Gaffney and Lauren Minore contributed to this report
(MOSCOW, Idaho) — Four University of Idaho students who were found dead on Sunday were believed to be the victims of homicide, school officials said.
The students, who have not been identified, lived in Moscow, Idaho, near the university campus, officials said.
“The Moscow Police Department is investigating and the families of these students have been notified,” university officials said in a message posted to Twitter.
Police said they responded to King Road for a report of an unconscious person. When officers arrived, they “discovered four individuals who were deceased,” according to a press statement.
The university said it canceled all Monday classes.
ABC News’ Marilyn Heck contributed to this report.
(SIMI VALLEY, Calif.) — Rachel Castillo, a mother of two who disappeared last week under suspicious circumstances from her home in Simi Valley, California, has been found dead, authorities said.
Castillo’s remains were found in a remote location in Antelope Valley, the Simi Valley Police Department said Sunday.
Police have named Castillo’s ex-husband, 25-year-old Zarbab Ali of Hawthorne, as the primary suspect. He was arrested Sunday afternoon at this parent’s house in Victorville in connection with the homicide, Simi Valley police said.
“This investigation has rapidly evolved over the past few days,” police said. “This case is still under investigation and some details cannot be released due to legal and investigative reasons. The Simi Valley Police Department will release additional details related to this case when it is available.”
local police said earlier Sunday that there was “a significant amount of blood” left at the scene following Castillo’s disappearance.
“Upon further investigation, a significant amount of blood was located in her home. Rachel’s whereabouts are unknown. Given the circumstances, it is believed Rachel is at risk,” the Simi Valley Police Department had said in an earlier statement.
Castillo, 25, has two children and lives with her sister just miles away from their parents, her family told ABC affiliate KABC.
She had dropped off her children to their father Thursday morning, before she disappeared, her family told KABC.
“As soon as I saw the blood, that’s when I realized something wasn’t right,” Emily Castillo, her sister, told the local station. She had returned home Thursday night. “So I called my mom to let her know to come over and then I immediately called 911.”
Many of her belongings — including her phone, keys and car — were still at the home, her family said.
Anyone with information can contact the Simi Valley Police Department at 805-583-6950.
(LOS ANGELES) — Rachel Castillo, a mother of two, disappeared last week under suspicious circumstances from her home in Simi Valley, California, leaving behind “a significant amount of blood” at the scene, according to local police.
Simi Valley Police believe Castillo is in danger, and the family is desperately seeking answers.
“Upon further investigation, a significant amount of blood was located in her home. Rachel’s whereabouts are unknown. Given the circumstances, it is believed Rachel is at risk,” the Simi Valley Police Department said in a statement.
Castillo, 25, has two children and lives with her sister just miles away from their parents, her family told ABC affiliate KABC.
She had dropped off her children to their father Thursday morning, before she disappeared, her family told KABC.
“As soon as I saw the blood, that’s when I realized something wasn’t right,” Emily Castillo, her sister, told the local station. She had returned home Thursday night. “So I called my mom to let her know to come over and then I immediately called 911.”
Many of her belongings – including phone, keys and car – were still at the home, her family said.
Detectives said Castillo is 5 feet 2 inches tall, and weighs 105 pounds. She has brown hair and eyes.
Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts can contact the Simi Valley Police Department at (805) 583-6950.
(DALLAS) — A collision occurred at a World War II airshow in Dallas on Saturday, authorities said.
The crash occurred at the event Wings Over Dallas at the Dallas Executive Airport, which was holding flying demonstrations of WWII fighter planes.
A Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra collided and crashed around 1:20 p.m. local time, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. It is unclear how many people were on board the bomber and fighter aircraft, it said.
The airport said there was an “incident” during the show and that Dallas Fire and Rescue is responding.
Bystanders captured a cloud of black smoke following the crash. Debris from the planes could also be seen littering a nearby highway.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the collision.
The airshow, timed to coincide with Veteran’s Day, is organized by the Commemorative Air Force, an education association focused on American military aviation.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called the incident a “tragedy” while updating on Twitter that state agencies were assisting local officials in the response.
ABC News’ Amanda Maile contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(ATLANTA) — A passenger on a Frontier Airlines flight who allegedly boarded the plane with two box cutters and was seen acting erratically was taken into custody after an emergency landing Friday night, according to the airline and the Transportation Security Administration.
Several passengers on the flight, including military veterans and a former law enforcement officer, helped crew members subdue the man after they landed, according to eyewitnesses.
The flight was en route to Tampa from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport when it was diverted to Atlanta “after a passenger on board the aircraft was observed in possession of a box cutter,” Frontier said in a statement.
TSA said in a statement on Saturday that the plane was diverted around 9:30 p.m. “after a disturbance involving a disruptive passenger, in possession of a box cutter was declared.” Following a search, a second box cutter was found in the unidentified passenger’s carry-on, according to TSA.
Atlanta police assisted federal partners in detaining the suspect, Atlanta Police Department spokesperson Officer John Predmore said. Predmore directed further questions to the FBI, which is leading the investigation.
The FBI declined to comment and instead referred ABC News to the TSA statement.
No injuries to passengers or crew have been reported, the airline said. The Federal Aviation Administration, which is also investigating, said the plane landed safely “after the crew declared an emergency due to an unruly passenger.”
Before the emergency landing, multiple passengers noticed the man acting erratically, eyewitnesses said.
Passenger Ben Mutz told ABC News he spoke to the person who was in the window seat next to the man after they deplaned. The passenger told Mutz that the man “flashed a box knife at me and said, ‘I want to kill or I want to stab people,'” Mutz said.
Larry Cumberbatch was seated in the third row, flying from Cincinnati to Tampa to visit his son for his birthday. He told ABC News that a woman who was initially sitting in an aisle seat next to the man reported seeing “some kind of knife” and was afraid for her safety.
Flight attendants asked if anyone had any military or police background and would switch seats or go to the back of the plane, he said. Cumberbatch, a Navy veteran, volunteered to switch seats with the woman, he said.
At the back of the plane, Cumberbatch found the man leaning against the window-seat passenger with his feet up in the aisle seat, before getting up to go to the bathroom.
When the man exited the bathroom, he confronted Cumberbatch in the aisle, in what Cumberbatch described as a “showdown.”
“People back there, you could literally see they’re afraid. So that’s why I stood there, to give them a calming presence and let this guy know there’s somebody watching, someone who you will have to deal with if you take it to the next level,” Cumberbatch said.
Cumberbatch said a former law enforcement member talked to the man during the landing to calm him down.
Once the plane touched down, passengers were told to leave without taking any of their belongings, according to Mutz. He said he and others were unaware they had made an emergency landing until they turned on their phones and realized they were in Atlanta.
Cumberbatch and an Army veteran remained on the plane while the former officer helped escort the man down the aisle, he said. When police officers arrived, the man “got agitated” and the former officer gave him a warning before tackling him, Cumberbatch said.
“In my mind, he was really the hero right at that moment,” Cumberbatch said.
The man was then taken into custody by police, according to Cumberbatch, who said he spoke to FBI agents following the incident.
Cumberbatch said he “wasn’t surprised” that veterans responded in the moment.
“We’re going to take control of any situation that we’re in,” he said.
The passengers on the flight were provided hotel accommodations and rebooked on a new flight to Tampa on Saturday morning.
Box cutters are banned in the cabin, but allowed in checked luggage.
TSA said it is conducting an internal review of the incident and will examine surveillance footage and “airport security checkpoint processes/operations.”
