(WASHINGTON) — A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer was shot and killed while working at a Florida gun range on Wednesday, officials said.
The incident occurred around 10:30 a.m. at the Trail Glades Range, police said.
“A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer working at the weapons range was critically injured while on duty and pronounced deceased earlier today,” CBP said in a statement.
Officers responded to the range “in reference to a person shot,” police said in a statement. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue airlifted the male officer to a trauma center where he succumbed to his injuries, police said.
The unidentified officer was a firearms instructor at the range and was assigned to the Miami International Airport, according to CBP spokesperson Michael Silva.
“Great officer, a great family, and it’s a tragic loss,” Silva told reporters during a press briefing in Miami. “Just all-around great guy.”
“He had that passion for firearms,” Silva added. “He was a great firearms instructor.”
Officials said they are investigating the incident and do not have details to provide, but local and federal law enforcement are involved.
The Miami-Dade Police Department Homicide Bureau is handling the investigation. Investigators are speaking with witnesses, police said.
CBP said it is cooperating with the investigation.
(NEW YORK) — In another sign New York City is grappling with an increase of migrants entering the shelter system, the city has officially opened a sprawling, 84,000-square-foot emergency shelter on Manhattan’s Randall’s Island.
ABC News and other outlets were given a first look inside the center, opening Wednesday, which has a total footprint of 6.4 acres encompassing dormitories, dining facilities, recreation centers and isolation centers for migrants that may contract COVID-19 or other communicable diseases.
The decision to open the center comes amid an effort spearheaded by Texas Gov. Abbott to bus migrants to Democrat-led cities.
While Abbott’s efforts have been criticized as a political stunt to call attention to a broken immigration system, a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams told ABC News that more than 20,500 asylum-seekers have moved through the shelter system since spring, with a majority of them arriving on buses from Texas.
“This situation is caused by political actors, as you know, and New York City is just having to respond and prepare for more people to arrive,” said Manuel Castro, commissioner of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.
The center will house nearly 500 single male adults, but capacity can be increased if necessary. Other migrants, including families with children, are being placed at shelters and other temporary housing arrangements throughout the city. Case workers and other resources will be provided to migrants at the Randall’s Island facility so that they can figure out the next steps in their pending immigration cases and how to reach their intended destinations.
The mayor’s office is looking into obtaining funding from the state government to help migrants purchase transportation to where they have family in the United States or where they are required to show up to immigration court to proceed with their asylum claims.
New York City Emergency Management had already started building the facility at Orchard Beach in the Bronx, but severe rains that moved over the region in recent weeks proved the location to be a flood risk, and the facility was moved to Randall’s Island, just northeast of Manhattan.
NYC Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol told reporters Monday that the decision to demobilize that location and install the facility on the island cost roughly $750,000.
Although officials aim to move migrants in and out of the center in under 96 hours, they will be allowed to stay longer on a case-by-case basis until they find more stable housing.
“New York City has had the need to open a welcome center big enough to have the capacity to welcome as many newly arrived immigrants, asylum-seekers,” said Castro. “We want to make sure that we’re able to meet all their immediate needs, which as you saw include medical attention, include an area to rest, take a shower, and most importantly, a way to connect to their loved ones. You want to help them to get to their final destination.”
Adams declared a state of emergency in the city earlier this month and said the migrant crisis would cost the city $1 billion. The city has appealed for help from the state and federal government.
“Although our compassion is limitless, our resources are not,” Adams said Oct. 7. “This is unsustainable.”
(RALEIGH, N.C.) — The parents of the 15-year-old suspected of killing five people, including a police officer, on a nature trail in Raleigh, North Carolina, said there weren’t “any indications or warning signs” their son “was capable of doing anything like this.”
“Words cannot begin to describe our anguish and sorrow,” Alan and Elise Thompson said in a statement issued Tuesday. “Our son Austin inflicted immeasurable pain on the Raleigh community, and we are overcome with grief for the innocent lives lost. We pray for the families and loved ones of Nicole Conners, Susan Karnatz, Mary Marshall, and Raleigh Police Officer Gabriel Torres. We mourn for their loss and for the loss of our son, James.”
“We pray that Marcille ‘Lynn’ Gardner and Raleigh Police Officer Casey Clark fully recover from their injuries, and we pray for everyone who was traumatized by these senseless acts of violence,” they continued. “We have so many unanswered questions. There were never any indications or warning signs that Austin was capable of doing anything like this. Our family will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement officials and do whatever we can to help them understand why and how this happened.”
The 15-year-old was taken into custody with life-threatening injuries following a standoff with police last Thursday after the shootings occurred, according to a memo issued by the Department of Homeland Security and obtained by ABC News. It’s not clear whether the suspect’s injuries were self-inflicted, the memo said.
The teen, who has not been named by authorities, was in the hospital in critical condition with life-threatening injuries as of Sunday, a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told ABC News. Detectives believe responding police fired at the suspect, so officer-involved-shooting protocols are being followed, the official said.
Among the victims was officer Gabriel Torres, 29, who was on his way to work when he was shot and killed, according to Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson. Torres, a former Marine, was a husband with a young daughter, according to ABC station WTVD-TV.
The four others killed were identified as Nicole Connors, 52; Susan Karnatz, 49; Mary Marshall, 34; and James Roger Thompson, 16.
Two people were also injured during the shooting, which took place in the vicinity of the Neuse River Greenway Trail, authorities said.
Chief Patterson will file a five-day report to the city manager on Thursday, which will include a detailed outline of the events during the shooting, Julia Milstead, public information officer for the city of Raleigh, told ABC News.
The report will include details on the suspect’s injuries and the type of weapon that was used in the shooting, Milstead said.
Al Diaz/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Three people are still missing from a Florida county weeks after Hurricane Ian slammed into the state as a Category 4 storm, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
According to Sheriff Carmine Marceno on Tuesday, Fort Myers Beach residents James Hurst and Ivonka Knes, and North Fort Myers resident Gary Luke are still unaccounted for in the aftermath of Ian.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has responded to 4,866 well-being checks as of Sept. 27, officials wrote on Facebook.
On Sept. 28, Hurricane Ian made landfall on Florida’s west coast, destroying homes with merciless winds topping 150 mph.
At least 127 people in Florida have died due to Hurricane Ian, according to local officials.
Additionally, Hurricane Ian caused 61 deaths in Lee County, the sheriff’s office said.
According to the governor’s office, five more people were also reported dead due to the storm in North Carolina.
The sheriff’s office further confirmed that 34 people were also arrested for looting.
Hurricane Ian demolished homes and businesses, damaged infrastructures like roads and bridges, and harmed citrus fruit trees that make up a key industry in the state.
The economic damage created by the hurricane could reach up to $75 billion, according to a projection by data firm Enki Research, which studies the financial impact of storms.
(LOS ANGELES) — A California jury has found Paul Flores guilty in the murder of 19-year-old college student Kristin Smart in 1996.
His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 9. He faces 25 years to life in prison.
His father, Ruben Flores, was found not guilty of accessory to murder in connection with the crime.
Paul Flores, a former classmate of Smart, was charged with murder, while his father was charged with being an accessory to the crime. Prosecutors say he helped hide Smart’s body on his property in Arroyo Grande before moving it in 2020.
Smart went missing walking home from a party at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Her body has never been found, but authorities arrested Paul and Ruben Flores in April 2021 and found alleged evidence related to Smart’s murder in their homes.
Paul and Ruben Flores were tried at the same time, but with separate juries hearing the case together. A verdict was reached in Ruben Flores’ case on Monday; that decision was sealed until Paul Flores’ jury reached its verdict Tuesday and they could be announced simultaneously.
Here’s how the news developed. All times Eastern:
Oct 18, 8:18 PM EDT
Prosecutor ‘extremely disappointed’ in not-guilty verdict
San Luis Obispo County Deputy District Attorney Chris Peuvrelle said he was “extremely disappointed” in the not-guilty verdict for Ruben Flores, telling reporters he felt he had proven the father’s guilt as an accessory to the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.
“Nevertheless, I think we all respect the jury’s verdict and appreciate the time that they spent on it,” he added.
Oct 18, 8:08 PM EDT
DA thanks podcaster for helping identify ‘critical’ evidence
San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow thanked a true-crime podcaster after a jury reached a guilty verdict in the trial over Kristin Smart’s murder.
Chris Lambert launched the series “Your Own Backyard” in 2019, recounting Smart’s disappearance, which renewed public interest in the case.
Lambert “devoted countless hours in order to keep Kristin’s memory alive and the case in the forefront of the hearts and minds of people in our communities,” Dow said.
The podcast also helped to identify additional witnesses and evidence that was “critical in the prosecution of this case,” he added.
Oct 18, 7:46 PM EDT
Sheriff vows to bring Kristin Smart home
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson told reporters that the Kristin Smart case “is not over.”
“This case will not be over until Kristin is returned home,” he said during a press conference Tuesday with the family. “That I remain committed to.”
Smart’s body was never found after she disappeared in 1996.
Oct 18, 7:38 PM EDT
Stan Smart: ‘Without Kristin, there is no joy or happiness with this verdict’
Kristin Smart’s father, Stan Smart, made a statement on behalf of the family in the wake of the guilty verdict.
“Without Kristin, there is no joy or happiness with this verdict,” he told reporters during a press conference with the San Luis Obispo County’s district attorney’s office and sheriff’s office Tuesday.
He called the journey to the trials a “long, overwhelming and emotional” one, and spoke directly to his daughter.
“To our Kirstin, almost three decades ago our lives were irreparably changed on the night you disappeared,” he said. “Know that your spirit lives on in each and every one of us.”
“Not a single day goes by that you aren’t missed, remembered, loved and celebrated,” he continued.
Kristin Smart’s mother, brother and sister were also present at the press conference.
Oct 18, 6:03 PM EDT
Ruben Flores: ‘There were a lot of made-up things’
Ruben Flores said he was “relieved” about his not-guilty verdict as he left the courthouse Tuesday.
“There was a lot of made-up things,” Ruben Flores told reporters. “You look through it and there is no evidence against anybody, me or Paul.”
When asked if he had any comments for Kristin Smart’s family, he said, “I feel bad for them because they didn’t get no answers about what happened to their daughter, and we don’t know what happened to their daughter.”
Ruben Flores’ attorney, Harold Mesick, said his client never should have been charged and that the verdict was the “just outcome.”
He said “there is a reasonable inference to be drawn” that Smart might still be alive, and that prosecutors never proved her death.
Commenting on the split verdict, Ruben Flores said the jurors who found his son guilty “were carried away with feelings about the family.”
Oct 18, 5:31 PM EDT
Smart family to join press conference
Kristin Smart’s family will join a press conference on the verdicts with the San Luis Obispo County’s district attorney’s office and sheriff’s office that’s scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, ABC News has learned.
Oct 18, 5:09 PM EDT
Ruben Flores found not guilty of accessory to murder
A jury has found Ruben Flores not guilty of accessory to murder after the fact.
Paul Flores was not in the courtroom for his father’s verdict.
Oct 18, 4:58 PM EDT
Sentencing set for Dec. 9
The sentencing for Paul Flores has been scheduled for Dec. 9. He has been remanded into custody with no bail.
The court is waiting on one juror in Ruben Flores’ trial to return to the courthouse and is in recess until 5 p.m.
(STOCKTON, Calif.) — The suspected Stockton, California, serial killer made his first court appearance Tuesday afternoon after police say he was apprehended while “out hunting” for another victim this weekend.
Wesley Brownlee, a 43-year-old who police say is linked to six slayings, has been charged with three counts of murder, with more charges expected, San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar said at a news conference Tuesday.
Cell data linked the suspect to areas near the scenes of at least three murders, officials revealed in court, ABC Sacramento affiliate KXTV reported.
Brownlee was held without bail, KXTV reported.
“This individual thought he could come to our community and do harm — not in our house,” the district attorney said. “You do not get to come into our house and do this kind of crime … and not think that [the Stockton Police Department] is not gonna … find you and hold you fully accountable.”
Brownlee was a truck driver and moved to Stockton this summer, the district attorney said.
Authorities said they zeroed in on Brownlee from tips and surveilled him as he allegedly prowled the streets for another victim. Brownlee was arrested early Saturday while he was driving, Stockton police chief Stanley McFadden said.
Brownlee was apprehended while wearing dark clothing and a mask around his neck, according to McFadden. He was also armed with a gun, police said.
“He was on a mission to kill. He was out hunting,” McFadden said in a statement. “We are sure we stopped another killing.”
The six slayings — all fatal shootings of men — spanned from April 2021 to September 2022, according to police.
Five of the six killings were in Stockton; one was in Oakland, about 70 miles away. All of the shootings were at night or in the early morning.
A seventh victim, a 46-year-old woman, was shot in April 2021 and survived her injuries, police said.
A motive isn’t known.
The police chief said the suspect was near perfect in covering up his tracks and being careful.
“He didn’t make many mistakes. We know he purposely stayed in the dark,” McFadden said Monday.
(PRINCETON, N.J.) — An undergraduate student at Princeton University has been reported missing, the school said.
“The Department of Public Safety is seeking information on the whereabouts of an undergraduate student, Misrach Ewunetie, who has been reported missing,” Princeton officials said on Twitter on Tuesday.
Ewunetie, 20, was last seen at about 3 a.m. on Friday, the school said.
“Anyone with information on her whereabouts should contact the Department of Public Safety at (609) 258-1000,” the school said.
She was last seen near Scully Hall on the school’s New Jersey campus, according to an alert sent to the Princeton community on Monday.
“She is 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs 130 pounds. She has brown eyes, black hair and light brown complexion,” the university said.
(SAVANNAH, Ga.) — Police in Savannah, Georgia, believe missing toddler Quinton Simon was left in a dumpster and authorities have now started scouring the local landfill for his body.
Police last week said they believe 20-month-old Quinton is dead and authorities named his mother, Leilani Simon, as the primary suspect. The little boy has been missing since Oct. 5.
No charges have been filed, Chatham County police chief Jeff Hadley said at a news conference Tuesday, adding that Leilani Simon remains the only suspect.
“We’re not ready to charge anyone yet. We still have work to do,” he said.
Hadley said Tuesday that police have started an “extensive search of the waste management landfill” in Chatham County. He said authorities believe Quinton “was placed in a specific dumpster,” which was eventually brought to the landfill.
The FBI’s Will Clarke said, “We are not just randomly searching this landfill,” stressing that evidence led police to the large property.
The landfill is the only focus of the current search, Hadley said.
Clarke added that authorities are not scouring the entire landfill.
He said, “We’ve brought in experts in landfill searches to guide us to the specific area where we’ll be searching.”
FBI agents from Atlanta and Quantico, Virginia, are on the scene to help conduct the “systematic search,” Clarke said.
Hadley called it “a physically, mentally and emotionally grueling task,” but he added, “I have every belief that we will find his remains here at the landfill.”
Quinton was last seen at his Savannah home around 6 a.m. on Oct. 5 by his mother’s boyfriend, the chief said. After Quinton’s mother woke up, she reported him missing around 9:40 a.m., he said.
(LOS ANGELES) — A California jury has found Paul Flores guilty in the murder of 19-year-old college student Kristin Smart in 1996.
His father, Ruben Flores, was found not guilty of accessory to murder in connection with the crime.
Paul Flores, a former classmate of Smart, was charged with murder, while his father was charged with being an accessory to the crime. Prosecutors say he helped hide Smart’s body on his property in Arroyo Grande before moving it in 2020.
Smart went missing walking home from a party at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Her body has never been found, but authorities arrested Paul and Ruben Flores in April 2021 and found alleged evidence related to Smart’s murder in their homes.
Paul and Ruben Flores were tried at the same time, but with separate juries hearing the case together. A verdict was reached in Ruben Flores’ case on Monday; that decision was sealed until Paul Flores’ jury reached its verdict Tuesday and they could be announced simultaneously.
Latest headlines:
-Paul Flores found guilty on count 1
-How attorneys summed up their case
-Juror dismissed after giving confession to priest
Here’s how the news developed. All times Eastern.
Oct 18, 6:03 PM EDT
Ruben Flores: ‘There were a lot of made-up things’
Ruben Flores said he was “relieved” about his not-guilty verdict as he left the courthouse Tuesday.
“There was a lot of made-up things,” Ruben Flores told reporters. “You look through it and there is no evidence against anybody, me or Paul.”
When asked if he had any comments for Kristin Smart’s family, he said, “I feel bad for them because they didn’t get no answers about what happened to their daughter, and we don’t know what happened to their daughter.”
Ruben Flores’ attorney, Harold Mesick, said his client never should have been charged and that the verdict was the “just outcome.”
He said “there is a reasonable inference to be drawn” that Smart might still be alive, and that prosecutors never proved her death.
Commenting on the split verdict, Ruben Flores said the jurors who found his son guilty “were carried away with feelings about the family.”
Oct 18, 5:31 PM EDT
Smart family to join press conference
Kristin Smart’s family will join a press conference on the verdicts with the San Luis Obispo County’s district attorney’s office and sheriff’s office that’s scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, ABC News has learned.
Oct 18, 5:09 PM EDT
Ruben Flores found not guilty of accessory to murder
A jury has found Ruben Flores not guilty of accessory to murder after the fact.
Paul Flores was not in the courtroom for his father’s verdict.
Oct 18, 4:58 PM EDT
Sentencing set for Dec. 9
The sentencing for Paul Flores has been scheduled for Dec. 9. He has been remanded into custody with no bail.
The court is waiting on one juror in Ruben Flores’ trial to return to the courthouse and is in recess until 5 p.m.
(LOS ANGELES) — The Los Angeles City Council elected Paul Krekorian as its new council president a week after the previous president resigned following a leaked recording of her making racist and offensive comments about the family of a fellow council member.
“Paul is a committed and conscientious leader who can bring a smart, collaborative, and effective approach to a painful moment when Angelenos deserve steady leadership on the City Council,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement Tuesday. “I am confident that he’ll assemble a leadership team of bridge builders, and I’ll work closely with the Council to help heal the wounds caused by the hateful words of a few.”
The city council has been embroiled in controversy after a recording posted anonymously to Reddit earlier this month captured then-council President Nury Martinez making allegedly racist and offensive comments about a fellow council member’s son.
Protesters called on Martinez to resign and have continued to call for the resignations of Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León, the two other city council members heard on the recording.
“Our collective mission must be partnering to press forward on the causes of racial justice and inclusive government — and pushing for new reforms to bring greater transparency, fairness, and decency to how business is conducted and people are treated by those who represent them at City Hall,” Garcetti said in a statement.
