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(SAN ANTONIO) — At least 53 people are dead after dozens were found inside a tractor-trailer in San Antonio on Monday evening in a suspected case of human smuggling, authorities said.

Of the 53 bodies in the custody of the medical examiner’s office, 40 are male and 13 are female, the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday

Rebeca Clay-Flores, the Bexar County Precinct 1 commissioner, said at a press conference Tuesday that some of those found are under the age of 18, likely teenagers.

Thirty-seven of the victims have potential identification, officials said.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed in a statement to ABC News on Tuesday that the total number of victims was 51 and that those who have been identified so far were from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. The criminal investigation remains ongoing, as Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and partners continue to work to identify all of the victims, according to ICE.

It’s the deadliest incident of human smuggling in U.S. history, an HSI spokesperson told ABC News on Tuesday.

Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, citing information provided by U.S. authorities, said the death toll was at least 50, including 22 Mexican citizens, seven Guatemalan citizens and two Honduran citizens. The other victims have yet to be identified and Mexico is working with the U.S. on an investigation, according to Ebrard.

“We are in mourning,” Ebrard said in a statement Tuesday via Twitter. “Huge tragedy.”

The incident unfolded in the south-central Texas city on Monday evening at around 5:50 p.m. local time, when a nearby worker heard a cry for help and found the tractor-trailer with the doors partially opened and the bodies of 46 people inside, according to San Antonio Police Chief Bill McManus and San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood.

An additional 16 people — 12 adults and four children — were transported to area hospitals in what officials called a “mass casualty event.”

Chris Magnus, the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), told reporters he was “horrified” by the incident.

“Horrified at this tragic loss of life near San Antonio,” Magnus said Monday. “This speaks to the desperation of migrants who would put their lives in the hands of callous human smugglers who show no regard for human life.”

The trailer was refrigerated but did not have a visibly working air-conditioning unit and there were no signs of water inside, according to Hood.

Three people are in custody in connection with the incident, according to McManus, who added that the case is now a federal investigation. One of the suspects was a driver who was spotted fleeing the scene by an eyewitness who called 911, McManus told ABC News.

Hood told ABC News that the the smell of meat tenderizer, which was reportedly put on top of the bodies before the suspects fled, was overwhelming.

The victims taken to hospitals were hot to the touch and all suffering from heat stroke and heat exhaustion, Hood said. There were no child fatalities that authorities know of so far, he added.

“They suffered, horrendously, could have been for hours,” Hood said.

Hood said there were personal items near where the bodies were found, including prayer cards in Spanish and a new pair of Air Jordan’s.

U.S. President Joe Biden issued a statement Tuesday calling the deaths “horrifying and heartbreaking,” blaming the criminal smuggling industry for preying on migrants. Biden also highlighted the anti-smuggling campaign the U.S. has launched with its partners, saying they have made over 2,400 arrests.

“Exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit is shameful, as is political grandstanding around tragedy, and my Administration will continue to do everything possible to stop human smugglers and traffickers from taking advantage of people who are seeking to enter the United States between ports of entry,” Biden said.

ICE said initially that HSI agents found more than 40 deceased individuals upon arrival at the scene on Monday when responding to a call from the San Antonio Police Department regarding “an alleged human smuggling event.”

“HSI continues its enforcement efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of our communities,” ICE said in its statement. “We will continue to address the serious public safety threat posed by human smuggling organizations and their reckless disregard for the health and safety of those smuggled. To report suspicious activity, we encourage people to call the HSI Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. All calls are kept confidential.”

HSI is the arm of ICE responsible for taking down smuggling networks

The San Antonio Fire Department confirmed to ABC News that HSI and CBP are taking over the investigation from local authorities.

CBP is the umbrella agency of the U.S. Border Patrol, which responded to assist at the scene and is supporting ICE in the federal investigation, according to Magnus, the CBP commissioner.

“We will be working with our federal, state and local partners to assist in every way possible with this investigation,” Magnus told reporters Monday night.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration will “continue to take action to disrupt human smuggling networks which have no regard for lives.”

“Our prayers are with those who tragically lost their lives, their loved ones, as well as those still fighting for their lives. We are also grateful for the swift work of federal, state and local first responders,” Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday.

When asked about the criticism from Republicans, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who say Biden’s border policies have led to dangerous journeys for immigrants, Jean-Pierre said the White House is focused on the victims and their families.

“But the fact of the matter is, the border is closed, which is in part why you see people trying to make this dangerous journey using smuggling networks,” Jean-Pierre said.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas took to Twitter to say that he was “heartbroken by the tragic loss of life today and am praying for those still fighting for their lives.”

“Far too many lives have been lost as individuals — including families, women, and children — take this dangerous journey,” he tweeted Monday night. “Human smugglers are callous individuals who have no regard for the vulnerable people they exploit and endanger in order to make a profit. We will work alongside our partners to hold those responsible for this tragedy accountable and continue to take action to disrupt smuggling networks.”

Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security released more details on the Biden administration’s efforts to combat human smuggling and unauthorized migration in conjunction with the Summit of the Americas held in Los Angeles.

The series of operations launched across the Western Hemisphere is part of the largest human smuggling crackdown ever seen in the region, with more than 1,300 deployed personnel and nearly 2,000 smugglers arrested in just two months.

Agencies from across the administration, including the intelligence community and the U.S. Treasury Department, have engaged to disrupt smuggling operations in real-time and strip down the financial backing of the transnational criminal organizations that coordinate these crimes.

“The Biden administration is focused on putting these organizations out of business,” DHS said in a recent statement prior to Monday’s incident. “But human smuggling is, by definition, a transnational problem and we are committed to working with our regional partners in the Americas to commit our collective expertise and resources to put an end to human smuggling.”

ABC News’ Luke Barr, Marilyn Heck, Matt Gutman, Robert Zepeda, Anne Laurent, Scottye Kennedy and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Three tropical systems are churning in the Atlantic basin that could develop into a tropical storm or tropical depression over the next two days.

The closest system to the U.S. is near the Texas coast. It has a 40% chance of strengthening into a tropical depression as it moves on shore just south of Houston in the next 24 hours.

Up to six inches of rain is possible south of Houston and three to four inches is expected for Houston itself Wednesday night through Friday morning. Street flooding is possible.

The second system is in the southern Caribbean and has a 90% chance of developing into Tropical Storm Bonnie.

Gusty winds and heavy rain are expected in Aruba and life-threatening flash flooding is forecast for Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

The third tropical system is now moving through the central Atlantic and will be hovering over the eastern Caribbean by this weekend. This storm may bring heavy rain and gusty winds to Puerto Rico for the 4th of July.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(SAN ANTONIO) — At least 51 people are dead after dozens were found inside a tractor-trailer in San Antonio on Monday evening in a suspected case of human smuggling, authorities said.

Of the 51 bodies in the custody of the medical examiner’s office, 39 are men and 12 are women, Rebeca Clay-Flores, the Bexar County Precinct 1 commissioner, said at a press conference Tuesday. Some of those found are under the age of 18, likely teenagers, she added.

At least 34 of the victims have been identified as of Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed in a statement to ABC News on Tuesday that the total number of victims was 51 and that those who have been identified so far were from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. The criminal investigation remains ongoing, as Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and partners continue to work to identify all of the victims, according to ICE.

It’s the deadliest incident of human smuggling in U.S. history, an HSI spokesperson told ABC News on Tuesday.

Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, citing information provided by U.S. authorities, said the death toll was at least 50, including 22 Mexican citizens, seven Guatemalan citizens and two Honduran citizens. The other victims have yet to be identified and Mexico is working with the U.S. on an investigation, according to Ebrard.

“We are in mourning,” Ebrard said in a statement Tuesday via Twitter. “Huge tragedy.”

The incident unfolded in the south-central Texas city on Monday evening at around 5:50 p.m. local time, when a nearby worker heard a cry for help and found the tractor-trailer with the doors partially opened and the bodies of 46 people inside, according to San Antonio Police Chief Bill McManus and San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood.

An additional 16 people — 12 adults and four children — were transported to area hospitals in what officials called a “mass casualty event.”

Chris Magnus, the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), told reporters he was “horrified” by the incident.

“Horrified at this tragic loss of life near San Antonio,” Magnus said Monday. “This speaks to the desperation of migrants who would put their lives in the hands of callous human smugglers who show no regard for human life.”

The trailer was refrigerated but did not have a visibly working air-conditioning unit and there were no signs of water inside, according to Hood.

Three people are in custody in connection with the incident, according to McManus, who added that the case is now a federal investigation. One of the suspects was a driver who was spotted fleeing the scene by an eyewitness who called 911, McManus told ABC News.

Hood told ABC News that the the smell of meat tenderizer, which was reportedly put on top of the bodies before the suspects fled, was overwhelming.

The victims taken to hospitals were hot to the touch and all suffering from heat stroke and heat exhaustion, Hood said. There were no child fatalities that authorities know of so far, he added.

“They suffered, horrendously, could have been for hours,” Hood said.

Hood said there were personal items near where the bodies were found, including prayer cards in Spanish and a new pair of Air Jordan’s.

U.S. President Joe Biden issued a statement Tuesday calling the deaths “horrifying and heartbreaking,” blaming the criminal smuggling industry for preying on migrants. Biden also highlighted the anti-smuggling campaign the U.S. has launched with its partners, saying they have made over 2,400 arrests.

“Exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit is shameful, as is political grandstanding around tragedy, and my Administration will continue to do everything possible to stop human smugglers and traffickers from taking advantage of people who are seeking to enter the United States between ports of entry,” Biden said.

ICE said initially that HSI agents found more than 40 deceased individuals upon arrival at the scene on Monday when responding to a call from the San Antonio Police Department regarding “an alleged human smuggling event.”

“HSI continues its enforcement efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of our communities,” ICE said in its statement. “We will continue to address the serious public safety threat posed by human smuggling organizations and their reckless disregard for the health and safety of those smuggled. To report suspicious activity, we encourage people to call the HSI Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. All calls are kept confidential.”

The San Antonio Fire Department confirmed to ABC News that HSI and CBP are taking over the investigation from local authorities.

CBP is the umbrella agency of the U.S. Border Patrol, which responded to assist at the scene and is supporting ICE in the federal investigation, according to Magnus, the CBP commissioner.

“We will be working with our federal, state and local partners to assist in every way possible with this investigation,” Magnus told reporters Monday night.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration will “continue to take action to disrupt human smuggling networks which have no regard for lives.”

“Our prayers are with those who tragically lost their lives, their loved ones, as well as those still fighting for their lives. We are also grateful for the swift work of federal, state and local first responders,” Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday.

When asked about the criticism from Republicans, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who say Biden’s border policies have led to dangerous journeys for immigrants, Jean-Pierre said the White House is focused on the victims and their families.

“But the fact of the matter is, the border is closed, which is in part why you see people trying to make this dangerous journey using smuggling networks,” Jean-Pierre said.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas took to Twitter to say that he was “heartbroken by the tragic loss of life today and am praying for those still fighting for their lives.”

“Far too many lives have been lost as individuals — including families, women, and children — take this dangerous journey,” he tweeted Monday night. “Human smugglers are callous individuals who have no regard for the vulnerable people they exploit and endanger in order to make a profit. We will work alongside our partners to hold those responsible for this tragedy accountable and continue to take action to disrupt smuggling networks.”

Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security released more details on the Biden administration’s efforts to combat human smuggling and unauthorized migration in conjunction with the Summit of the Americas held in Los Angeles.

The series of operations launched across the Western Hemisphere is part of the largest human smuggling crackdown ever seen in the region, with more than 1,300 deployed personnel and nearly 2,000 smugglers arrested in just two months.

Agencies from across the administration, including the intelligence community and the U.S. Treasury Department, have engaged to disrupt smuggling operations in real-time and strip down the financial backing of the transnational criminal organizations that coordinate these crimes.

“The Biden administration is focused on putting these organizations out of business,” DHS said in a recent statement prior to Monday’s incident. “But human smuggling is, by definition, a transnational problem and we are committed to working with our regional partners in the Americas to commit our collective expertise and resources to put an end to human smuggling.”

ABC News’ Luke Barr, Marilyn Heck, Matt Gutman, Robert Zepeda, Anne Laurent and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW HAVEN, Conn.) — Civil rights attorney Ben Crump has joined the legal team of Richard “Randy” Cox, a 36-year-old Black man who was injured while being transported by New Haven police in the back of a van.

Crump held a news conference with Cox’s family members in Connecticut Tuesday, along with co-counsel Jack O’Donnell and Louis Rubano, as well as local government and civil rights leaders.

New Haven police arrested Cox on June 18 for allegedly unlawfully possessing a firearm, without incident, after a person attending a block party reported that Cox was carrying a gun. Video of the arrest shows the officers then placed Cox in the back of a police van without seatbelts.

During an abrupt stop, Cox was thrown head-first into the back wall of the van, his lawyers said, and the video shows. When the van arrived at the police station, the video shows, he was still lying on the floor of the vehicle. Cox can be heard in the video telling the officers that he couldn’t move.

The surveillance video of the incident indicates that the officer driving the van and other officers present flouted protocol, the police department and Cox’s lawyers said, failing to wait for medical assistance and dismissing Cox’s pleas for help, allegedly assuming he was drunk.

In the video, one of the officers can be heard saying, “He just drank too much” and then later asks Cox, “Did you have any drugs or alcohol?” and “How much did you have to drink?” The footage also shows the officers dragging Cox by his feet and throwing him into a wheelchair, which his lawyers said could have exacerbated his already life-threatening injuries.

The case has prompted a state investigation and resulted in the officers involved being placed on administrative duty.

Crump said Cox’s case reminded him of the death of Freddie Gray, a Black man who was killed in 2015 while also being transported in a police van. Gray’s death was ascribed to injuries to his spinal cord.

“This is the Freddie Gray case on video,” Crump said. “Thank God, we got the video, so they can’t deny what happens. They can’t deny that they had a man handcuffed and put him in the back of this paddy wagon inappropriately and drove.”

Cox’s oldest sister, LaQuavius LeGrant, 39, said although he is in stable condition, Cox is currently paralyzed from the neck down, requiring a ventilator, breathing tube and feeding tube to survive. He is currently unable to talk and is unlikely to walk again, she said.

“It’s absolutely heartbreaking to go to that hospital room, the ICU, to look in his eyes — his eyes are awake — and can’t do anything about it,” she said. “Knowing that he would never walk again possibly, it’s disheartening. What happened is unacceptable and it’s inexcusable.”

Through tears, Doreen Coleman, Cox’s mother, said she and her family are nevertheless praying for Cox’s full recovery.

“I don’t want to see my son in that damn room with that thing on his neck, on his face,” she said. “I want him to keep coming in and out of the house, saying, ‘You alright? You need to go eat,’ or ‘You need something?’ Now I don’t know how long it’s going to be before he gets to go outside.”

LaToya Boomer, another one of Cox’s sisters, said she could barely finish watching the surveillance video of her brother. She demanded that the officers be held accountable for their actions.

“I’m calling for the officers involved to be fired and arrested,” she said. “And I’m calling for any bystanders that was watching but didn’t participate, that didn’t say anything, for them to be suspended and retrained because I always say, if you see something, say something, intervene.”

“Nobody said anything,” she added.

Crump also raised allegations that the officer driving the van could have been speeding or texting while driving. He said Cox’s family and legal team are demanding transparency from the police department about whether this was, in fact, the case.

The New Haven Police Department did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment. ABC News also reached out to the New Haven Police Union.

“We want the cell phone records. We want the transcripts from the inner department communications. We want the policies and procedures,” Crump said. “We’re going to fully explore … every possible legal remedy to give full justice, not just partial justice, but full justice to the family of Randy Cox and Randy Cox himself.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(IDAHO FALLS, Idaho) — A 34-year-old man is recovering from injuries sustained at Yellowstone National Park after he was charged at and brutally gored by a bison when he and his family got too close to the animal.

The incident occurred near Giant Geyser at Old Faithful on Monday when the unidentified man from Colorado Springs, Colorado, was walking with his family on a boardwalk at Yellowstone National Park when a bull bison began charging at them, according to a press release issued by the park.

“Family members did not leave the area, and the bull bison continued to charge and gored the male,” the statement from Yellowstone continued. “The male sustained an injury to his arm and was transported by ambulance to the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.”

It is unclear whether the family had gotten too close to the animal or if the attack was unprovoked but Yellowstone officials confirmed that the incident remains under investigation and did not disclose any further information on the man’s condition.

Yellowstone warned that park regulations mandate people stay at least 25 yards away from bison at all times because they are unpredictable animals and can run three times faster than humans can.

“This is the second reported incident in 2022 of a visitor getting too close to the animal and the bison responding to the perceived threat by goring the individual,” said Yellowstone National Park.

That incident occurred just last month on May 30 when a 25-year-old woman from Grove City, Ohio, approached a bison within 10 feet near Black Sand Basin, located just north of Old Faithful at Yellowstone, causing the animal to charge at her. The victim was subsequently gored by the bison and tossed 10 feet into the air before she was immediately taken to the hospital for treatment, according to a statement from Yellowstone National Park released at the time of the incident.

“Yellowstone’s scenic wonders are sure to take your breath away: don’t let them take your life,” warns Yellowstone National Park on its page online for park safety. Some of the rules highlighted by the park include never approach wildlife, stay on boardwalks and trails in thermal areas, and never feed wildlife.

“Bison have injured more people in Yellowstone than any other animal,” says the park. “Always stay at least 25 yards (23 m) away from bison.”

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(NEW YORK) — Singer and convicted sexual predator R. Kelly will appear before a judge today for sentencing in a Brooklyn federal court for racketeering that involved a dozen separate criminal acts, including sex with underage girls.

The former R&B crooner, whose real name is Robert Kelly, could spend the rest of his life in prison. Federal prosecutors say he deserves to be sentenced in “excess of 25 years” due to the severe nature of his offenses.

In September, during his sex-trafficking trial, a jury found Kelly, 55, guilty on nine counts, including leading a criminal enterprise that recruited women and children for sex, which prosecutors called “calculated” and “methodical.”

During his trial, nearly four dozen witnesses testified for the prosecution, alleging that he preyed upon children and women for his sexual gratification.

He was also convicted in a bribery scheme involving a public official to get a fake ID for the late singer Aaliyah, so the two could marry when she was 15 and he was 27. Kelly believed Aaliyah was pregnant at the time, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo.

Kelly produced Aaliyah’s debut album, titled “Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number.” She died in a plane crash in 2001 at 22 years old.

“Kelly relied upon his fame, money and popularity as an R&B recording star and used the large network of people his status afforded him — including his business managers, security guards and bouncers, runners, lawyers, accountants and assistants to both carry out and conceal his crimes,” prosecutors said. “He continued his crimes and avoided punishment for them for almost 30 years and must now be held to account.”

The singer declined to testify at the six-week trial but could speak during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing. His defense team is asking for less than 14 years in prison, citing Kelly’s traumatic childhood.

In 2016, he revealed in a GQ interview that a female family member sexually abused him.

The defense also cast his accusers as motivated by money.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(MENDON, Mo.) — Four people were killed and dozens were injured Monday when an Amtrak train derailed after hitting a dump truck that was in an uncontrolled public crossing in Mendon, Missouri, according to Amtrak and officials.

Eight passenger cars and two locomotives derailed at about 12:42 p.m. local time, Amtrak said.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Cpl. Justin Dunn initially said two of the train’s passengers were killed, along with someone who was in the dump truck.

On Tuesday, the highway patrol said a third train passenger died overnight, bringing the total number of deaths to four.

At least 150 people involved the crash were treated at 10 hospitals in the area for minor to serious injuries, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement, citing updated information from Amtrak and law enforcement.

NTSB investigators said Tuesday that the dump truck was transporting aggregate to contractors nearby for an Army Corps of Engineers project. The NTSB said the vehicle was crossing the track when the backside was hit by the train.

The agency said it was downloading the event recorders from the train and noted the train had two forward-facing cameras. The dump truck also had a data recorder that investigators are trying to examine, according to the NTSB.

“It was something that you never think is going to happen, but when it does happen, it’s far worse than anything you could have imagined,” Jason Drinkard, a passenger on the train, told ABC affiliate station KMBC in Kansas City, Missouri.

Drinkard, a high school teacher, said he was traveling with his wife and six students to Chicago for a conference, when the crash occurred. He described seeing the “carnage,” with injured passengers and crew unable to walk.

The train was en route from Los Angeles to Chicago with 275 passengers and 12 crew members on board at the time of the crash, Amtrak said. All the train occupants from the scene were evacuated, according to Dunn.

Officials at Hendrick Medical Center accepted seven patients from the scene, while officials at MU Health Care University Hospital/Columbia said its facility was treating 16 patients as of 10 p.m. ET Monday. Pershing Memorial Hospital received between 15 and 20 people from the accident.

Passenger Rob Nightingale, 58, told ABC News his train car tipped to the side and he climbed through a window to escape. He said he saw a little girl crying and her family trying to comfort her.

Some people were covered in blood, he added.

Aboard the train were two Boy Scout troops from Appleton, Wisconsin, that sprang into action, breaking windows and helping to evacuate passengers, two of the scouts’ mothers told ABC affiliate station WBAY in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Berken and Tierney said they both described a nerve-racking period of time between learning of the crash and hearing that their sons survived the crash without injuries.

“Until I heard from my son an hour later, that he was OK, I couldn’t stop shaking or crying,” Berken said.

Tierney added, “It was a phone call that no parent should ever have to receive. It was probably way up there on the scariest moments of my life.”

Scott Armstrong, a spokesman for the Boy Scouts of America, told ABC News Tuesday that there were 16 scouts, ages 14 to 17, and eight adult chaperones who were returning home from a week-long backpacking trip at a wilderness camp in New Mexico. He said three of the adult chaperones suffered non-life-threatening injuries and remained in the hospital in stable condition.

Armstrong said one of the scouts was treated at a hospital for minor injuries and released.

“Our scouts immediately sprung into action and assisted other people in getting out of the train wreckage,” Armstrong said. “The train itself is physically on its side, which can be very traumatic and disorienting, and (the scouts) helped a lot of people with basic first aid and made sure they got the proper medical attention once it arrived on scene.”

He said most of the scouts on the trip had achieved their first aid merit badge and some had been awarded their emergency preparedness merit badge.

“Frankly, we know what these kids are capable of,” Armstrong said. “I’ve always described that scouting takes ordinary kids and enables them to do extraordinary things and that was on full display yesterday.”

Armstrong said one of the scouts, a 15-year-old he described as a troop senior patrol leader, went to the front of the train and discovered the driver of the dump truck that was hit, who had been ejected from his vehicle and landed in field adjacent to the toppled train. He said the scout attempted first aid on the dump truck driver and summoned state police and emergency responders, who continued to try to save the man’s life.

“They continued to give aid and then wound up just giving comfort, frankly, as he passed away on the scene, unfortunately,” Armstrong said.

He said the scouts will be monitored in the coming weeks to ensure they are both mentally and physically OK.

“It’s a pretty traumatic experience,” Armstrong said. “It’s not always evident immediately after any incident like this and so we have mental health professionals that we’re in consultation with to make sure that those services are available to the scouts and the leaders as necessary.”

Missouri Public Safety officials, highway patrol troopers and other personnel were dispatched to the scene, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson tweeted.

Mendon is about 100 miles northeast of Kansas City, Missouri.

The NTSB also said there are 130,000 passive crossings in America right now, which account for about half of all crossings. The agency said it has made recommendations for years about transforming and improving “passive” crossings.

It would’ve cost $400,000 to add cross arms, lights, and bells to the Mendon crossing, according to the NTSB.

The crash came a day after an Amtrak train collided with a car in California, killing three people.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement, “My thoughts are with the victims and families affected by today’s Missouri train derailment and the Northern California collision that occurred over the weekend. I have been updated on these crashes and my team is in communication with Amtrak and the relevant authorities.”

Federal Railroad Administration personnel are en route to Mendon, where they will support NTSB investigators, Buttigieg added.

ABC News’ Sam Sweeney, Gio Benitez and Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(PENSACOLA, Fla.) — A 45-year-old man was arrested after his 8-year-old son found his loaded gun in a Florida motel room, fatally shot a 1-year-old girl and wounded her 2-year-old sister, authorities said.

The shooting unfolded Saturday night in Pensacola and investigators alleged the father attempted to cover up the incident by removing the gun and suspected drugs from the room before sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene.

The boy’s father, Roderick Dwayne Randall, was arrested on charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, tampering with evidence, culpable negligence and failure to safely store a firearm.

The baby girl who was killed and her sister are the daughters of Randall’s girlfriend, who was asleep in the motel room when the shooting occurred, Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons said at a news conference on Monday.

“Roderick leaves the hotel, but leaves his firearm in a closet [in] apparently what he thought was a safe holster,” Simmons said.

Simmons said Randall’s son knew where his father had hidden the gun.

“He pulls the gun from the holster, starts playing with it and fires a round into the 1-year-old toddler, ultimately killing the 1-year-old,” Simmons said.

He said the bullet went through the toddler and hit her sister. A third child in the room, the twin of the injured girl, was not injured, Simmons said.

Simmons said Randall returned the room following the shooting. He alleged that Randall removed the gun and a bag of suspected drugs from the room before returning.

“This is not how we treat our children,” Simmons said. “Our hearts go out to the rest of the families. This is ridiculous.”

Simmons said Randall has a 129-page criminal history that includes 14 previous felony convictions.

He was booked at the Escambia County Jail on $41,000 bond.

Relatives of the dead girl identified her as Kacey Bass.

Kacey’s mother was not charged in the episode.

At the same news conference, Simmons detailed an unrelated case of another parent arrested over the weekend on child neglect charges. He announced the arrest of a 27-year-old woman he alleged left her 1-year-old son in a hot car with the windows rolled up while she went to a bar.

Madison Haley Hart was jailed on $15,000 bond on a charge of child neglect with great bodily harm, according to online jail records.

Simmons alleged that Hart was apparently intoxicated when she showed up at the Ticket Sports Bar on Saturday night and stayed for about 20 minutes. He said bar employees stopped Hart from leaving due to her impaired condition and called the sheriff’s office.

Simmons said deputies exercised the Myers Act, which allows law enforcement officers to detain people for involuntary detox or alcohol treatment if they appear to be a danger to themselves or others. After deputies took Hart to a medical facility, a relative of the woman contacted authorities and informed them Hart should have been with her 1-year-old child and gave them a description of Hart’s car, Simmons said.

Simmons alleged that Hart denied driving to the bar and never mentioned her child was in a car outside the establishment.

He said that deputies went back to the bar and found the toddler locked inside a car with the windows rolled up. By the time deputies discovered the child, the boy had been in the car for more than an hour, Simmons said.

“We actually have to break the windows out to save this child, who was suffering from heat-related illness,” said Simmons, adding that Hart’s son was treated at a hospital and turned over to the custody of a child protective team. “You can imagine the shock of the employees and of the deputies when we find out that there was a 1-year-old left in a car in this type of heat.”

Simmons used the examples of Randall and Hart to “encourage parents to do better.”

“Ms. Hart and Mr. Randall will have their day in court,” Simmons said.

It was not clear if Hart or Randall had retained or were appointed defense attorneys.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(MISHAWAKA, Ind.) — A young Indiana corrections officer who hoped to become a police officer has been killed in a drive-by shooting, authorities said.

St. Joseph County correctional officer Rhema Harris was killed around 6 p.m. Sunday “in yet another senseless act of violence,” St. Joseph County Sheriff William Redman said.

Harris, 28, was inside her home in Mishawaka, which is just outside of South Bend, when one bullet struck her in the chest, Mishawaka police’s detective bureau division chief Dan Gebo told ABC News.

The shooter then sped away and has not been identified, Gebo said.

The shooting was believed to be a retaliation in a feud, Gebo said, stressing that the corrections officer was not the target and she was just “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Several people were in the house with Harris, including minors, Gebo said.

Authorities have talked to several witnesses and persons of interest, Gebo said.

Harris was hired as a St. Joseph County correctional officer in July 2021 and was assigned to the midnight shift at the jail, Redman said.

“Rhema proudly served her country in the United States Army,” Redman said. “She received a national defense service award, global war on terrorism service medal and an Army service ribbon, before being honorably discharged in 2016.”

She hoped to become a St. Joseph County police officer, Redman said.

This drive-by shooting comes amid a concerning rise in gun violence. The U.S. lost 20,923 people to gun violence-related incidents last year, excluding suicides. Last year marked a big increase from 2020, when 19,515 died from gun violence, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

There are 200 million to 350 million guns in the U.S., according to estimates for this year from the World Population Review.

ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report.

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(SAN DIEGO, Calif.) — Residents in the San Diego area took to social media after mysterious lights were spotted in the sky just off the coast Monday night.

With no clear indication of what the lights could be, dozens began posting photos and videos on Twitter, questioning what was happening in their night sky.

The posts offered several possible sources for the unusual lights, including UFOs or drones from the Imperial Beach Police Department, which is planning a drone light show for the Fourth of July.

However, the IBPD did not claim the lights as their own.

The San Diego Police Department told ABC News on Tuesday morning that the mysterious lights were actually flares being used for military exercises.

While nearby Naval Air Station North Island and Camp Pendleton both said that they did not know what the lights were, the SDPD said that the lights had been confirmed to them by military officials as being used for exercises.

Gabe Gunlock, a Mission Hills resident, took to Twitter with a video of the lights.

Gunlock told ABC News that he did a double take around 9 p.m. on Monday night, noticing strange, bright lights far off the coast.

He explained that he lives right near the airport in the area, so there are always planes and lights near his home.

However, he said there was something different about the lights he saw off of the coast.

At 9:55 p.m., Gunlock tweeted, “Multiple floating lights over the ocean. Very still, very bright. Orange, reddish light. Patterns of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6,” alongside a video of distant blinking lights.

Gunlock said that his Twitter post quickly gained views, with other San Diego locals acknowledging the lights and wondering what they were.

“It was a super crazy night, super fun to connect with San Diego,” Gunlock told ABC News.

Gunlock added that his post now has over 100,000 impressions on Twitter.

“All I wanted to know is, ‘what’s going on,’” he said. “It had to be miles and miles off of the coast, it was burning extremely bright.”

When Gunlock heard that the lights were from military exercises, he said that it made sense that they weren’t from the airport, especially because they were so strikingly bright.

San Diego is home to several military bases, with more than 100,000 active duty service members in the area.

Over 15,000 active duty service members transition out of active duty service in San Diego each year. According to Thomas Jefferson School of Law, over half of those transitioning out of active duty decide to stay in San Diego, where there is a deep community of over 240,000 veterans.

San Diego, home to 60% of the ships in the fleet of the U.S. Navy and one third of all active duty service members in the U.S. Marine Corps, could have more mysterious lights in the sky for its civilian neighbors in the future.

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