(WASHINGTON) — The search for a suspect in a series of small but damaging explosions in Washington, D.C., continued on Monday.
The explosions, all of which occurred early Sunday, seem to be isolated to three incidents in the northeast part of the district and are likely the work of a local vandal or vandals, multiple sources tell ABC News.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ local office responded to the explosions over the weekend and announced a $20,000 reward “for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those involved.”
A suspect believed to be connected to the explosive incidents was captured in surveillance camera footage, according to the city’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
“In each of these offenses, it appears the suspect targeted commercial establishments and it does not appear the suspect was targeting any members of the public,” the MPD said in a statement. “The establishments were closed at the time of the offenses. There were no reported injuries as a result of these offenses.”
The suspected is believed to have detonated one explosive near a bank and ATM and another near a shoe store, according to the MPD.
Within 15 minutes, the suspect also threw a “Molotov cocktail style object” at a nearby grocery store, police said.
There are no current threats to the city, a police official said Monday afternoon. As part of July 4th holiday safety preparation, D.C. police are boosting staffing levels and coordinating with federal officials.
Interim D.C. Police Chief Ashan Benedict warned visitors and residents on Friday against shooting guns into the air and asked the public not to touch or handle commercial-grade fireworks.
“It opens yourself up to punitive damages, including federal prosecution when it comes to guns,” Benedict said. “For some reason, people like to shoot guns on the Fourth of July and also on New Year’s Eve. And it just boggles my mind because what goes up must come down.”
Police will rely in part on the public to report shootings over the holiday given the challenges of using gunshot detection technology during fireworks.
(NEW YORK) — A murder investigation is underway after six people were found dead at the scene of a house fire in Colleton County, South Carolina, the local sheriff’s office said.
A seventh victim, a 13-year-old, survived the attack in Green Pond, about 40 miles west of Charleston, and was hospitalized in critical condition, the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office said.
When authorities responded to a 911 call on Sunday reporting a stabbing and a fire, they found the home fully engulfed in flames and the only survivor outside, Colleton County Sheriff Guerry “Buddy” Hill Jr. said at a news conference Monday.
The surviving teenager, who suffered stabs and cuts, told police the first name of the suspect and said the victims had been stabbed, the sheriff said.
The suspect, Ryan Manigo, 33, was arrested nearby, the sheriff said.
Manigo is the father of one of the slain victims — an 11-year-old girl — and the brother-in-law of another slain victim, the sheriff said.
No motive is known, the sheriff said.
Manigo has been charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, and more charges are expected, Solicitor Duffie Stone said. Manigo is being held without bond.
“He’ll never be forgiven,” a relative of the victims said at Manigo’s bond hearing Monday.
“I wish you death. I wish they give you the death penalty. … We hate you,” she said.
(BALTIMORE) — As investigators worked Monday to identify the suspects who killed two people and injured 28 others when they unleashed a barrage of gunfire early Sunday on a Baltimore block party, a reward was offered for information leading to the arrests and prosecution of the perpetrators.
During a news conference Monday, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott expressed concerns about more violence erupting during gatherings on the Fourth of July.
“As we head into tonight and tomorrow, the Fourth of July, we know that people will continue to gather with their loved ones to celebrate. We want people to gather and celebrate at the Inner Harbor, at Cherry Hill, where they have their festival as they do every year,” Scott said. “But I implore everyone to please be safe. Think of those around you and the lives that you could potentially impact if you make a wrong choice.”
The mayor added, “We are gearing up every resource at our disposal … as we work to ensure that we have a safe Fourth of July.”
Acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley said investigators are working to identify the suspects but added no arrests have been made.
“I strongly urge anyone with information to help us bring these individuals to justice,” Worley said.
He announced that a $28,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible for the shooting rampage.
The mass shooting unfolded around 12:30 a.m. in the Brooklyn Homes neighborhood in the southern district of the city. Worley said police officers rushed to the scene when numerous 911 callers reported shots being fired.
Worley said the barrage of gunfire broke out during a block party at a housing development in the 800 block of Gretna Court. The event was not permitted, he later told the media.
Killed in the shooting were 18-year-old Aaliyah Gonzales and 20-year-old Kylis Fagbemi, according to police.
Among the 28 other victims who were shot, 15 were between the ages of 13 and 17, Worley said.
Based on different caliber shell casings collected at the scene, investigators believe multiple people fired weapons during the mass shooting, officials said.
Scott said seven of the victims remained in hospitals on Monday, including four who are in critical condition.
Dr. Hania Habeeb, associated chair of the emergency department at MedStar Harbor Hospital in Baltimore, said 19 victims, including 14 teenagers, were brought to her medical facility for treatment for gunshot wounds.
“We didn’t know if we were safe. We didn’t know if the shooter or shooters were right outside our hospital doors,” Habeeb said. “We approached what could have been an overwhelming and mentally chaotic and terrifying situation with calmness, bravery and a systematic approach with a key being teamwork.”
(NEW YORK) — College admissions have come under scrutiny following the Supreme Court’s decision to curtail affirmative action in higher education.
On Monday, several civil rights and advocacy groups including the Chica Project and Lawyers for Civil Rights filed a federal civil rights complaint against Harvard College. The complaint calls on the Department of Education to launch a federal investigation into Harvard’s practices surrounding legacy and donor preferences.
“Harvard’s practice of giving a leg-up to the children of wealthy donors and alumni – who have done nothing to deserve it – must end,” Michael Kippins, a fellow at the Lawyers for Civil Rights, said in a statement. “Particularly in light of last week’s decision from the Supreme Court, it is imperative that the federal government act now to eliminate this unfair barrier that systematically disadvantages students of color.”
A 2019 National Bureau of Economic Research study of publicly released reports from Harvard University found that almost half of the university’s white students were either related to alumni, recruited athletes or children of faculty and staff.
Less than 16% of African American, Asian American and Hispanic students at Harvard fall into these “ADLC” categories, according to the study.
ADLC candidates make up less than 5% of applicants to Harvard but constitute around 30% of admitted students, according to Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissenting opinion.
“Given the lengthy history of state-sponsored, race-based preferences in America, to say that anyone is now victimized if a college considers whether that legacy of discrimination has unequally advantaged its applicants fails to acknowledge the well documented ‘intergenerational transmission of inequality’ that still plagues our country,” she wrote.
ABC News has reached out to Harvard University for comment.
In response to the Supreme Court ruling, the university said in a statement that it will continue to consider race in admissions via “an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life.”
“We write today to reaffirm the fundamental principle that deep and transformative teaching, learning, and research depend upon a community comprising people of many backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences,” the university said in a statement. “That principle is as true and important today as it was yesterday. So too are the abiding values that have enabled us—and every great educational institution—to pursue the high calling of educating creative thinkers and bold leaders, of deepening human knowledge, and of promoting progress, justice, and human flourishing.”
President Joe Biden also criticized the practice of using such preferences in the college admissions process.
He told reporters he would direct the Department of Education “to analyze what practices help build a more inclusive and diverse student bodies and what practices hold that back, practices like legacy admissions and other systems that expand privilege instead of opportunity.”
(NEW YORK) — Thirty-six million Americans are on alert for dangerously high temperatures, with the center of the heat dome over the West.
On Monday, temperatures could reach a scorching 111 degrees in Phoenix, 108 in Las Vegas, 112 degrees in Palm Springs and 118 in Death Valley, California.
On the July 4 holiday, the record heat expands north. Portland, Oregon, could near its record high of 97 degrees.
Triple-digit heat is also baking the South.
The heat index — what the temperature feels like with humidity — is expected to climb Monday to 104 degrees in Dallas, New Orleans and Raleigh, North Carolina; 105 degrees in Jackson, Mississippi, and Naples, Florida; and 102 degrees in Tallahassee and Orlando, Florida.
(NEW YORK) — Millions of Americans experienced severe weather Sunday as thunderstorms and extreme heat alerts were in effect for multiple states.
Americans in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri and one county in North Carolina were under a severe thunderstorm watch through the evening, according to meteorologists.
Another severe thunderstorm watch was also in effect along the Texas/Oklahoma panhandle, and it includes parts of northeast New Mexico, according to weather experts.
The main threat for millions of people was damaging winds, but some tornadoes threatened to develop, meteorologists said.
The overall risk zone for severe thunderstorms stretched from Arkansas to New Jersey, as several clusters of storms were expected to flare up as the afternoon progressed into the evening.
Just north of the severe weather threat, there was an ongoing flash flood warning for the Chicago area.
A low-pressure system sitting directly over Chicago, dropped ample amounts of rainfall, according to experts.
Chicago saw more rain Sunday than throughout the months of May and June combined, meteorologists said. The Midway Airport picked up nearly four inches of rain on Sunday.
The extreme heat also stretched from coast to coast, with temperatures soaring above the 100-degree mark in California, and heat indexes (the feel-like temperatures) up to 110 degrees in the southeastern U.S.
About 68 million Americans from Oregon to Arizona and from Texas to North Carolina were under either excessive heat warnings or heat advisories.
The southwest won’t see a cooldown anytime soon, meteorologists said. The 7-day forecast in Phoenix, Arizona, is calling for temperatures above 110 degrees every day next week, with temperatures on Monday expected to reach 115 degrees.
In the southeast, temperatures will return to more typical summertime levels as we head through the week, according to meteorologists.
In parts of the South on Saturday, the heat index ranged from 105 to 115 degrees in at least eight southern states from Texas to Georgia. The entire state of Mississippi was under an excessive heat warning.
Air quality has improved significantly across the northeast since Saturday, in large part to the storm system bringing scattered rain and thunderstorms to the eastern U.S.
There were 19 states under air quality alerts on Friday. As of Sunday, air quality alerts had been canceled for every state but northern Michigan.
ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab and Kenton Gewecke contributed to this report.
(BALTIMORE) — At least 30 people were injured, two fatally, when a mass shooting erupted early Sunday in Baltimore, turning what had been a festive neighborhood block party into what one witness described as a “war zone.”
An 18-year-old girl was found dead at the scene from a gunshot wound and a 20-year-old man was taken to a hospital, where he died, authorities said. Three of the injured people were in critical condition, officials said.
The deceased victims were later identified by police by the Baltimore Police Department as Aaliyah Gonzales, 18, and Kylis Fagbemi, 20.
At a press conference held Sunday afternoon, Police Commissioner Richard Worley told reporters that all victims are gunshot victims. They range in age from 13 to 32, with around 14 victims under 18, police said.
Among the victims were girls aged 13, 14 and 15; 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds, as well as women aged 18, 19, 20, 23 and 32, police said.
Among the victims were boys aged 13 and 15; 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds, as well as men aged 18, 22 and 31, according to Baltimore police.
“It was a war zone. It was definitively a warzone,” one witness, who only wanted to be identified by her initials L.N. because she feels unsafe in Baltimore, told ABC News.
The mass shooting unfolded around 12:30 a.m. in the Brooklyn Homes neighborhood in the southern district of the city. Worley said police officers rushed to the scene when numerous 911 callers reported shots being fired.
Worley said the barrage of gunfire broke out during a large block party at a housing development in the 800 block of Gretna Court. The event was not permitted, he later told the media.
“When officers got here, we located multiple victims suffering from gunshot wounds,” Worley said.
Worley said authorities are looking for multiple suspects.
At press time, no suspects had been arrested in the violence Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott described as “a reckless, cowardly act.”
“This morning, all of Baltimore is grieving the lives that were lost here, and our hearts are with those who are recovering as a result of this mass shooting,” Scott said at a news conference near the crime scene. “We will not stop until we find those cowards who decided to just shoot dozens of people, causing people to lose their lives.”
Worley said investigators are combing through security video in an attempt to identify suspects. He said a motive also remains under investigation.
Directing his comments to the assailants, Scott said, “I want those responsible to hear me clearly, we will not stop until we find you. And, we will find you.”
“Until then, I hope that with every single breath you take, you think about the lives that you took and you think about the lives that you impacted here tonight.”
Both the mayor and Worley asked for the community’s help in finding the perpetrators.
“If you saw anything or know anything, please call 911,” Worley said.
Scott added, “Treat this as if it were your family, how you would want to be treated if you were mourning, if this was your neighborhood, if this was an event in your community.”
The names of the slain victims were not immediately identified.
The witness, L.N., told ABC News that she was leaving the annual “Brooklyn Day” neighborhood block party and as she was walking to her car, she heard what she immediately recognized as gunfire.
“I mean, it was it was loud,” said L.N. “It was messy, all these people were running around the building running everywhere. It was just … oh my god, all these young people running.”
L.N. said two young women who had been shot approached her and asked for help. She said she put both shooting victims in her car and drove to MedStar Harbor Hospital, running red lights along the way. She said one of the wounded women in her car “kept screaming every time I hit a bump.”
“I wanted them babies to be OK. They are babies. These are young people, very young people, that were out there,” L.N. said.
Worley said nine people, including the young man who died, were taken to area hospitals by ambulance. Additionally, 20 other victims walked into hospital emergency rooms throughout the region seeking treatment for gunshot wounds, he said.
At Sunday afternoon’s update, Worley said all but nine of the victims who went to area hospitals had been released, with a few remaining in critical condition.
“This is an extensive crime scene,” Worley said. “Our detectives will be here quite a while.”
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore released a statement Sunday, condemning “yet another mass shooting (to) strike our community where a celebratory gathering turned deadly.”
“Maryland has had enough of watching gun violence continue to ravage our state and our nation,” Moore said. “The fact that these horrific shootings continue to take place is abominable. We as a state will continue to do everything we can to prevent senseless acts of violence like the one we saw last night.”
ABC News’ Deena Zaru and Teddy Grant contributed to this report.
(WICHITA, Kan.) — Eight people were shot and two were trampled when a gunfight involving multiple patrons erupted early Sunday inside a Wichita, Kansas, nightclub, sparking a chaotic stampede for the exit door, according to police.
Among those shot, two are in critical condition, Wichita Police Department Officer Juan Rebolledo told ABC News.
At least four guns were fired during the wild shootout that erupted at 12:58 a.m. inside the City Nightz nightclub in the Old Town section of Wichita, Lt. Aaron Moses, executive officer of the Wichita Police Department, said at a news conference on Sunday.
Moses said an individual suspected of being one of the gunmen who opened fire inside the nightclub was taken into custody, and investigators are working to identify others involved in the shooting.
“Our investigation has shown us that at least four firearms were discharged inside the establishment during this incident,” Moses said.
The shooting came despite an increased police presence in the Old Town area due to previous problems, including a shooting in May that killed a 19-year-old woman, officials said.
Officers were on patrol outside City Nightz when “they heard a disturbance and screams from inside the business and then a large number of people exited the business,” Moses said.
“Through that chaos … we ended up identifying, at this point, seven shooting victims and two traumatic injury victims,” Moses said. “We believe all of the injuries occurred inside the business.”
He said the two people who suffered traumatic injuries, a 30-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man, were trampled in the mass scramble to escape the gunfire.
He said a motive for the shooting is under investigation.
At least four guns were seized from inside the nightclub and police were analyzing them to determine if any of them were used in the shooting, Moses said.
He said the shooting victims included two women and five men ranging in age from 21 to 34.
Five of the victims were taken to hospitals by ambulance, while the others showed up at emergency rooms on their own. One of the people injured was in critical condition, while the others are expected to survive non-life-threatening injuries, Moses said.
“As the mayor of the city of Wichita, we have to take actions to push back against this increase in gun violence that we have been seeing,” Mayor Brandon Whipple said at a news conference Sunday. “We have to come together as a community and talk with our young people, in particular, that resorting to gun violence is not a way to resolve any of the problems or issues.”
Witchita Police Chief Joe Sullivan said he was disturbed to learn so many guns were either used or seized inside the nightclub.
“There’s going to be an extensive investigation to find out how firearms got into this club and who’s responsible for bringing them in there,” Sullivan said.
Detective Chris Merceau of the Wichita Police Department said at Sunday’s news conference that police have responded to 12 incidents associated with City Nightz in the past year, including investigating aggravated battery cases and a May 21 drive-by shooting.
Owners of City Nightz could not be reached for comment. A phone message left at the club was not immediately returned.
Merceau said the past problems at the nightclub prompted an investigation by the police department’s Special Investigations Bureau. He said officers met with the club owners on May 25 to discuss security concerns.
“We discussed the importance of wanding people using metal detectors, having working video cameras, maintaining the parking lot and other best practices,” Merceau said. “Whether or not those practices and recommendations were followed here will be determined by this investigation.”
(BALTIMORE) — At least 30 people were injured, two fatally, when a mass shooting erupted early Sunday in Baltimore, turning what had been a festive neighborhood block party into what one witness described as a “war zone.”
An 18-year-old girl was found dead at the scene from a gunshot wound and a 20-year-old man was taken to a hospital, where he died, authorities said. Three of the injured people were in critical condition, officials said.
“It was a war zone. It was definitively a warzone,” one witness, who only wanted to be identified by her initials L.N. because she feels unsafe in Baltimore, told ABC News.
The mass shooting unfolded around 12:30 a.m. in the Brooklyn Homes neighborhood in the southern district of the city. Acting Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said police officers rushed to the scene when numerous 911 callers reported shots being fired.
Worley said the barrage of gunfire broke out during a large block party at a housing development in the 800 block of Gretna Court.
“When officers got here, we located multiple victims suffering from gunshot wounds,” Worley said.
No suspects have been arrested in the violence Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott described as “a reckless, cowardly act.”
“This morning, all of Baltimore is grieving the lives that were lost here, and our hearts are with those who are recovering as a result of this mass shooting,” Scott said at a news conference near the crime scene. “We will not stop until we find those cowards who decided to just shoot dozens of people, causing people to lose their lives.”
Worley said investigators are combing through security video in an attempt to identify suspects. He said a motive also remains under investigation.
Directing his comments to the assailants, Scott said, “I want those responsible to hear me clearly, we will not stop until we find you. And, we will find you.”
BPD is on scene of a masa shooting incident in the 800 blk of Gretna Court in our Southern District. Acting Commissioner Worley and PIO are on scene. Media Staging Area will be located at the intersection of 6th Street and Audrey Avenue. pic.twitter.com/2JK5F09WMB
— Baltimore Police (@BaltimorePolice) July 2, 2023
“Until then, I hope that with every single breath you take, you think about the lives that you took and you think about the lives that you impacted here tonight.”
Both the mayor and Worley asked for the community’s help in finding the perpetrators.
“If you saw anything or know anything, please call 911,” Worley said.
Scott added, “Treat this as if it were your family, how you would want to be treated if you were mourning, if this was your neighborhood, if this was an event in your community.”
The names of the slain victims were not immediately identified.
The witness, L.N., told ABC News that she was leaving the annual “Brooklyn Day” neighborhood block party and as she was walking to her car, she heard what she immediately recognized as gunfire.
“I mean, it was it was loud,” said L.N. “It was messy, all these people were running around the building running everywhere. It was just … oh my god, all these young people running.”
L.N. said two young women who had been shot approached her and asked for help. She said she put both shooting victims in her car and drove to MedStar Harbor Hospital, running red lights along the way. She said one of the wounded women in her car “kept screaming every time I hit a bump.”
“I wanted them babies to be OK. They are babies. These are young people, very young people, that were out there,” L.N. said.
Worley said nine people, including the young man who died, were taken to area hospitals by ambulance. Additionally, 20 other victims walked into hospital emergency rooms throughout the region seeking treatment for gunshot wounds, he said.
“This is an extensive crime scene,” Worley said. “Our detectives will be here quite a while.”
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore released a statement Sunday, condemning “yet another mass shooting (to) strike our community where a celebratory gathering turned deadly.”
“Maryland has had enough of watching gun violence continue to ravage our state and our nation,” Moore said. “The fact that these horrific shootings continue to take place is abominable. We as a state will continue to do everything we can to prevent senseless acts of violence like the one we saw last night.”
(WICHITA, Kan.) — Seven people were shot and two others were trampled when a gunfight involving multiple patrons erupted early Sunday inside a Wichita, Kansas, nightclub, sparking a chaotic stampede for the exit door, according to police.
At least four guns were fired during the wild shootout that erupted at 12:58 a.m. inside the City Nightz nightclub in the Old Town section of Wichita, Lt. Aaron Moses, executive officer of the Wichita Police Department, said at a news conference on Sunday.
Moses said an individual suspected of being one of the gunmen who opened fire inside the nightclub was taken into custody, and investigators are working to identify others involved in the shooting.
“Our investigation has shown us that at least four firearms were discharged inside the establishment during this incident,” Moses said.
The shooting came despite an increased police presence in the Old Town area due to previous problems, including a shooting in May that killed a 19-year-old woman, officials said.
Officers were on patrol outside City Nightz when “they heard a disturbance and screams from inside the business and then a large number of people exited the business,” Moses said.
“Through that chaos … we ended up identifying, at this point, seven shooting victims and two traumatic injury victims,” Moses said. “We believe all of the injuries occurred inside the business.”
He said the two people who suffered traumatic injuries, a 30-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man, were trampled in the mass scramble to escape the gunfire.
He said a motive for the shooting is under investigation.
At least four guns were seized from inside the nightclub and police were analyzing them to determine if any of them were used in the shooting, Moses said.
He said the shooting victims included two women and five men ranging in age from 21 to 34.
Five of the victims were taken to hospitals by ambulance, while the others showed up at emergency rooms on their own. One of the people injured was in critical condition, while the others are expected to survive non-life-threatening injuries, Moses said.
“As the mayor of the city of Wichita, we have to take actions to push back against this increase in gun violence that we have been seeing,” Mayor Brandon Whipple said at a news conference Sunday. “We have to come together as a community and talk with our young people, in particular, that resorting to gun violence is not a way to resolve any of the problems or issues.”
Witchita Police Chief Joe Joe Sullivan said he was disturbed to learn so many guns were either used or seized inside the nightclub.
“There’s going to be an extensive investigation to find out how firearms got into this club and who’s responsible for bringing them in there,” Sullivan said.
Detective Chris Merceau of the Wichita Police Department said at Sunday’s news conference that police have responded to 12 incidents associated with City Nightz in the past year, including investigating aggravated battery cases and a May 21 drive-by shooting.
Owners of City Nightz could not be reached for comment. A phone message left at the club was not immediately returned.
Merceau said the past problems at the nightclub prompted an investigation by the police department’s Special Investigations Bureau. He said officers met with the club owners on May 25 to discuss security concerns.
“We discussed the importance of wanding people using metal detectors, having working video cameras, maintaining the parking lot and other best practices,” Merceau said. “Whether or not those practices and recommendations were followed here will be determined by this investigation.”
