(SAN FRANCISCO) — The occupants of two vehicles exchanged gunfire as they raced through the streets of San Francisco on Sunday, leaving people injured by gunshots and flying glass along a mile-long path near the Embarcadero, police said.
Six people were injured during the “car-to-car” shooting, San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said.
The injured included two people who were hit by gunfire, one of whom sustained life-threatening injuries, police said. A 10-year-old was also hit by a vehicle as she walked a bike across a street and three other people were injured by flying glass, police said.
“It appears that this was an isolated incident,” Scott said during a press conference. “And these individuals were targeting each other. We don’t believe this was random at all.”
The shooting began just before 7 p.m. near the intersection of Beach and Stockton streets, Scott said. The intersection is about a block south of Pier 39, a popular tourist destination along the city’s Embarcadero.
The vehicles — a black SUV and white sedan — then chased each other for about a mile, racing down the Embarcadero as the occupants exchanged gunfire, police said.
“And the cars basically drove very recklessly and chased each other while engaged in gunfire — in exchange of gunfire — until that incident concluded right behind me at Howard and the Embarcadero,” Scott said.
Officers arrived within four minutes and nobody has yet been taken into custody, Scott said. He said he expects there will be “a lot” of video of the incident, including cellphone footage.
ABC News’ Flor Tolentino and Amanda Morris contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Three women were injured late Sunday afternoon in a series of subway slashing incidents, New York Police Department officials said, as they released photos of a suspect.
At about 4:14 p.m., police received reports of a slashing that took place at the 86th Street-Lexington Avenue subway station, police said. A 19-year-old woman exited a southbound 4 train and was walking up the platform stairs when a male suspect slashed her right leg, the NYPD said in a press release.
The suspect then is alleged to have attacked a 48-year-old woman at the same station, slashing her on her right leg as she stood on the subway platform, police said.
The suspect fled on a downtown 4 train, and both victims were transported and treated at a local hospital for their injuries, police said.
A second incident was reported just minutes later, at about 4:32 p.m., when a 28-year-old woman who was sitting on a southbound 4 train heading toward the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station was slashed in her left leg, police said.
The suspect again fled the scene, police said. The victim was transported to a local hospital for her injuries, which police described as a “severe laceration.”
Police said they are looking for a male with short black hair and brown eyes. The about 5-foot-8-inch man is about 220 lbs, police said.
The suspect, according to police, was last seen wearing a white shirt, blue pants, black sneakers, and a black baseball cap.
(MIFFLINTOWN, Pa.) — A state police trooper was killed and another was critically injured during two violent encounters with the same armed suspect in central Pennsylvania, the first unfolding in the parking lot of a state police barracks, authorities said.
The suspect, Brandon Stine of Thompsontown, Pennsylvania, was fatally shot during a gunfight with officer Jacques Rougeau Jr., a 29-year-old state police trooper, who was killed, according to the Pennsylvania State Police.
State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens described the exchange of gunfire between the officer and suspect as being like in “a warzone,” according to ABC affiliate station WHTM-TV in Harrisburg.
The violence began at 12:45 p.m. Saturday when the gunman opened fire on Pennsylvania state trooper James Wagner in the parking lot of the Lewiston Station state police barracks near Mifflintown, about 45 miles northwest of Harrisburg, according to police. Wagner was taken to the hospital and was listed in critical condition on Sunday, police said.
After allegedly shooting Wagner, Stein fled the scene, setting off an intense search that lasted more than two hours, according to police.
During the search, Stine called 911 several times, Bivens said. State police officers attempted to talk Stine into surrendering but Bivens said the suspect seemed to be “playing a game of cat and mouse.”
Police eventually tracked down Stein and cornered him in Walker Township, about 50 miles northwest of Mifflintown, Bivens said.
Rougeau was among the first officers to arrive at the scene in Walker Township and was hit by a bullet that was fired through his windshield in what authorities said appeared to be an ambush by Stine, according to Bivens. Rougeau managed to return fire, killing Stine, according to police.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania State Police Col. Christopher Paris visited Wagner and his family in a hospital.
“I thanked his colleagues for their service and prayed for his recovery,” Shapiro said in a statement released on Twitter.
Shapiro said he and his wife Lori “send our love to the family of the trooper killed.”
Shapiro praised the two state troopers who were shot, saying, “Each one put themselves on the line to protect their fellow troopers — and to protect their fellow Pennsylvanians.”
A motive for the shootings remained under investigation Sunday.
At least 25 U.S. law enforcement officers have now been shot to death in the line of duty this year, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. In 2022, a total of 61 U.S. law enforcement officers were killed by gunfire in the line of duty, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page website.
Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(WILLOWBROOK, Ill.) — At least 23 people were injured, one fatally, when gunfire erupted early Sunday at a Juneteenth celebration in suburban Chicago, authorities said.
The shooting unfolded about 12:30 a.m. in the parking lot of a strip mall in Willowbrook, about 23 miles west of Chicago, according to the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office.
The gunfire erupted during a large gathering of several hundred people to commemorate Juneteenth, Battalion Chief Joe Ostrander with the Tri-State Fire Protection District told ABC Chicago station WLS-TV.
Victims were taken to multiple area hospital with gunshot wounds, according to the sheriff’s office. One person was pronounced dead and at least two were in critical condition, Deputy Chief Eric Swanson of the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office said at a news conference.
No arrests have been announced.
A motive for the shooting is under investigation.
Sheriff’s deputies had been monitoring the annual Juneteenth celebration when they responded to a 911 call of a fight breaking out nearby, the sheriff’s department said. While deputies were investigating the report of the fight, they heard gunshots and immediately returned to the Juneteenth celebration, authorities said.
“An unknown number of suspects fired multiple rounds from multiple weapons into the crowd,” police said in a statement.
In addition to those shot, several victims were treated at area hospitals for injuries they suffered attempting to flee the area, according to the sheriff’s office.
Detectives were combing through security video and witness cellphone video Sunday afternoon in hopes of identifying suspects, authorities said.
Witnesses described a scene of panic with people scattering in all directions, seeking cover from the barrage of gunfire.
“It was supposed to be like a Juneteenth celebration; we just started hearing shooting, so we dropped down until they stopped. They just kept going. After that, we literally scattered away,” witness Markeshia Avery told WLS-TV.
(ST. LOUIS) — An overnight shooting at a party in a downtown St. Louis office building injured at least 10 people and killed one person, St. Louis police chief Robert Tracy said at a press conference Sunday afternoon.
Eight out of the 11 victims, including the deceased, were minors, according to St. Louis police. Five of the victims were male, while six were female.
The victims are between 15 and 19 years old, according to police.
The deceased victim has been identified as Makao Moore, a 17-year-old boy, according to St. Louis Police Department Sgt. Charles Wall.
A 17-year-old girl was trampled when trying to run from the shooting, resulting in serious spinal cord injuries, Tracy said.
Police recovered multiple firearms and shell casings at the scene, including “AR-style rifle pistols” and a handgun, according to Tracy.
The suspect in custody is a17-year-old male who lives outside of St. Louis, Tracy said.
The shooting took place on the fifth floor of an office building in downtown St. Louis, according to authorities.
The initial investigation suggested the social gathering was organized through social media direct messaging platforms, though law enforcement does not currently know how the attendees got access to the office building.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones attributed the shooting to Missouri’s “lax” gun laws, including the state legislature’s February decision to continue allowing minors to carry firearms, as well as downtown St. Louis being a late-night gathering place for young people from outside the city.
“Rather than celebrating 10 fathers [and] father figures, families in our very own community are dealing with the unthinkable,” Jones said at the press conference.
“It’s every parent’s worst nightmare, tenfold,” she said of the shooting. “My heart goes out to all of the families in pain today. All those attending will carry with them the scars, physical and mental, from the gun violence that tore into their lives.”
Missouri has some of the weakest gun laws in the country, according to the nonprofit anti-gun violence organization Everytown for Gun Safety.
The state does not require a background check to buy or own a gun, according to Everytown.
Anyone 19 and older can legally conceal and/or open carry a gun in Missouri without a permit, according to the law, and the state also recognizes concealed weapon permits issued by other states.
(OKLAHOMA CITY) — While tens of millions of Americans in the South are enduring a sweltering heat wave, another round of severe storms is threatening other parts of the region.
Nearly 300,000 customers across Oklahoma were without power following severe storms Saturday into Sunday morning, according to two of the state’s power providers, Oklahoma Gas and Electric and the Public Service Company of Oklahoma.
Relentless rounds of severe thunderstorms continue to batter parts of the South this weekend, with thunderstorms expected to touch down from Arkansas to the Florida Panhandle from Sunday afternoon through the evening, forecasts show.
Strong, potentially damaging wind gusts and large hail remain the primary hazards of the latest sequence of storm systems, with the possibility of isolated tornadoes and frequent lightning.
The severe weather threat will linger across parts of the northern Gulf Coast region on Monday, focusing from the Mississippi coast and eastward across the Florida Panhandle, including cities such as Mobile, Alabama, and Tallahassee, Florida.
Any strong, slow-moving thunderstorms bringing torrential rain could trigger areas of flash flooding on Monday across parts of the Southeast, as well.
By early Sunday afternoon, nearly 300 reports of severe weather were issued from Colorado to Florida over the weekend. The majority of the reports detailed strong wind gusts, wind damage and large hail, as well as multiple tornado reports since Saturday. Most of the tornados were reported as either brief, weak or taking place in open fields.
Hail larger than baseballs was reported in multiple locations, including central Texas, the Oklahoma panhandle and southwestern Kansas, according to the National Weather Service. Numerous wind gusts topping 70 mph were reported across northern Oklahoma on Saturday evening, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, was hit hard with widespread wind damage and power outages reported in the city. Wind gusts up to 100 mph were reported there on Saturday night.
In Oklahoma, outages centralized in the Tulsa and McAlester metro areas were caused by severe weather, including wind gusts up to 90 mph that caused “sustained substantial damage to the grid including transmission structures, broken poles, cross-arms and downed wires,” PSO said in a statement.
The outages are “the most significant restoration event” since an ice storm severely damaged the grid in 2007, PSO said, adding that it will take several days to recover power.
The system comes days after five people were killed as tornadoes rolled through Texas last week.
And another strong storm system could be approaching from the Atlantic in the coming weeks.
A tropical disturbance located several hundred miles southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands is showing signs of better organization and will likely develop into a tropical depression within the next 48 hours, forecasts show. The system will continue to move westward over the central Atlantic Ocean and could be near the Lesser Antilles by the end of the week.
ABC News’ Nicholas Kerr contributed to this report.
(GEORGE, Wa.) — A suspect was detained after at least two people were killed during an “active shooter” situation at a campground near the Gorge Amphitheatre on Saturday in Washington, the sheriff said.
“Officers pursued, closed in on the suspect, and have the suspect in custody. Multiple individuals have suffered gunshot wounds,” the Grant County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post at about 10:50 p.m.
Three others, including the alleged shooter, were injured, said Kyle Foreman, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office.
The suspect opened fire at about 8:20 p.m. in an area about 100 yards away from the venue, Foreman said during a press briefing.
After the alleged shooter “walked away,” law enforcement officials arrived and tracked the suspect down, Foreman said. The suspect “continued to shoot randomly into the crowd” before being taken into custody, he said.
The sheriff had earlier posted that there was an “active shooter at Gorge Amphitheatre,” adding, “If at the Gorge, seek cover. Run, hide or fight suspect.”
The open-air venue, which can host up to 27,500 people, was scheduled on Saturday to host Beyond Wonderland, an electronic dance festival.
“Please avoid the Gorge Gate H campgrounds area as it is closed due to an incident that has been handled by local authorities,” Beyond Wonderland said on Twitter. “There is no current danger to festival-goers or the campgrounds.”
Promoters of the electronic dance festival announced Sunday morning that the second day of the festival has been canceled “due to the incident that took place in the overflow camping area.”
“We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the local authorities and staff who acted quickly and managed the situation,” the promoters said in a statement. “Our heartfelt thoughts and condolences go out to the family, friends, and all those affected by this tragic event.”
ABC News’ Victoria Arancio and Amanda Morris contributed to this story.
(TOPEKA, Kan.) — The FBI and multiple state agencies are investigating after dozens of letters containing a “suspicious” white powder were sent to Kansas state legislators and public officials on Friday.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation initially stated on Saturday that more than 80 such letters had been reported across the state, but that number increased to more than 90 by Sunday, according to a spokesperson for the bureau.
The substances tested so far have not been deemed explosive nor are they a biohazard, a source familiar with the matter told ABC News. Many of the letters were sent to Republican legislators and Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, the source said.
One of the legislators who received an envelope told ABC News that it contained a message that was “cryptic.”
“Law enforcement is working to safely collect the letters and investigate the incidents,” the Kansas Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. “Currently, no injuries have been reported, but we ask everyone to remain vigilant in handling mail.”
The FBI, Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the Office of the State Fire Marshal, Kansas Highway Patrol and multiple local authorities have responded to reports of unidentified government officials receiving mail containing a white powder.
Kansas state Rep. Tory Marie Blew indicated in a social media post that she received one of the letters. She shared a photo of a white envelope addressed to her state district office.
“This is not okay,” Blew, a Republican who represents the Great Bend area, said in the post. “I’m very thankful for our first responders — words can’t describe my gratitude after this event.”
The investigation remains ongoing, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation said.
(HOUSTON) — A relentless heat wave with triple-digit temperatures is continuing to affect millions of people in the South.
Much of Texas and Louisiana will have temperatures at the 100-degree mark by Sunday afternoon, but the heavy humidity will cause heat indexes to soar another 10 to 20 degrees, forecasts show.
More than 33 million Americans are currently under heat alerts from Houston to New Orleans. The temperature in Houston has not dropped below 80 degrees in nearly a week, with no relief in sight. Lack of overnight cooling can strongly contribute to heat-related illnesses.
Numerous records have been set in southeast Texas for warmest low temperature. The heat wave is considered to be much more dangerous than the typical scorching climate the South is known for during the summer and has arrived much earlier in the season than normal.
A persistent ridge of high pressure is what’s causing the heat wave to sit over parts of the U.S., Tim Cady, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Houston, told The Associated Press.
It could be more than a week before the region starts to see some relief from the extreme temperatures.
Heat is the No. 1 weather-related killer. More than 600 people die from heat-related illnesses every year in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On average, more people in the U.S. die from extreme heat than any other severe weather event.
Mild symptoms of heat-related illness are typically sunburn or a heat rash or heat cramps, with signs including muscle pain and spasms. These symptoms can progress to heat exhaustion — which includes symptoms of headaches, dizziness, muscle cramps, nausea and vomiting — and possibly heat stroke, if the body reaches extremely high temperatures.
Populations including the elderly, infants and young children, outdoor workers and people with low socioeconomic status are at higher risk of heat-related illness.
A perilous heat wave is also currently plaguing India, where nearly 100 people have died in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and eastern Bihar over the last several days, the AP reported.
Temperatures in parts of the region reached up to 109 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday — five degrees higher than normal, according to the AP.
(NEW YORK) — Relatives and friends poured into a funeral home in the Bronx Friday to pay respect and condolences to the family of Anadith Danay Reyes Álvarez, an 8-year-old girl who died in U.S. Border Patrol custody in Texas last month.
Teddy bears and pink balloons featuring Minnie Mouse surrounded the casket. A Honduran flag was prominently placed near the front of the chapel during the service.
Anadith was a Panamanian national and her parents are Honduran.
“We are not going to bury her. We are planting her. May the future generations know who she was,” said Pastor Arnold Ciego.
Her father shared that Anadith was a caring girl who would turn to him and say “let’s help them” when she saw people in need on the street.
Anadith died on May 17 and an ongoing investigation by U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), which upholds the agency’s ethical standards, has resulted in several of the medical providers involved in the incident being prohibited from working in CBP facilities.
A CBP official told ABC News the agency’s top medical officer, Dr. David Tarantino, has been temporarily reassigned, but did not disclose what his new roles would be.
“Dr. David Tarantino has played a key role in significantly expanding the provision of medical care to individuals in CBP custody. As CBP works to implement required improvements to our medical care policies and processes, including from the ongoing investigation into the tragic in-custody death of a child in Harlingen, we are bringing in additional senior leadership to drive action across the agency,” CBP said in a statement.
Anadith’s parents and two siblings were taken into custody near Brownsville, Texas, on May 9, according to CBP. During a medical screening the next day, the family reported Anadith suffered from sickle cell anemia and heart disease. CBP says Anadith complained of abdominal pain, nasal congestion, and a cough on May 14 and tested positive for influenza.
Medical personnel gave Anadith flu and nausea medication and transferred the family to a Border Patrol station in Harlingen, Texas, that is used for detainees that need medical isolation or who have been exposed to communicable diseases.
Between May 14 and the early hours of May 17, medical personnel had around 9 encounters with the girl and her mother, Mabel, the preliminary CPB report said.
On May 16, she had a fever of 104.9 degrees, the review said. Personnel treated her with ice packs, fever reducing medications and a cold shower.
“Despite the girl’s condition, her mother’s concerns, and the series of treatments required to manage her condition, contracted medical personnel did not transfer her to a hospital for higher-level care,” CBP said in a statement.
The OPR investigation found that Anadith was seen by a nurse four times after she complained of stomachache, nausea, and difficulty breathing on May 17.
The nurse “reported denying three or four requests from the girl’s mother for an ambulance to be called or for her to be taken to the hospital,” CBP said.
The investigation also found the nurse had “declined” to review a “pile of documents” that were in the family’s possession, but gave the girl a folic acid tablet upon her mother’s request. By 1:55 PM, Anadith “appeared to be having a seizure” and became unresponsive. Doctors at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen declared her deceased by 2:50 p.m.
CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller said in a statement earlier this month, that in addition from barring some of the medical providers involved in the incident from working at CBP facilities, the agency is addressing “deficiencies.”
The agency is now deploying clinicians from the United States Public Health Service to CBP facilities across the country and it has ordered a review of the medical contractor’s practices, Miller said.
The ongoing investigation also revealed that medical personnel “failed to document numerous medical encounters, emergency antipyretic interventions, and administrations of medicine.”
“Ana’s death could have been prevented if her and her mother’s cries for medical attention were not dismissed while in CBP custody. When it comes to Black people, we always must fight to prove our humanity and even then, our humanity is denied. No mother and father should have to endure this immense pain,” said Guerline Jozef, the co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit Haitian Bridge Alliance.
OPR said records indicated here was an outage of the camera surveillance system at Harlingen Station during the time of the incident and that it was not reported to them as required.
“The recent in-custody death of an eight-year-old child in our custody in Harlingen, Texas was a deeply upsetting and unacceptable tragedy. We can —and we will— do better to ensure this never happens again,” Miller said.
