(CABO ROJO, Puerto Rico) — Three federal marine agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection were shot at after they approached a suspected smuggling boat off the coast of Puerto Rico Thursday morning, officials said.
The agents returned fire at the suspected smuggling vessel, which was about 14 miles off the coast of Cabo Rojo, according to a statement from Customs and Border Protection.
The agents “suffered various gunshot injuries” and were airlifted to the Puerto Rico Trauma Center in unknown conditions, according to the statement.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said at a congressional hearing Thursday that one member of CBP’s Air and Marine operation was “gravely injured” and four others were shot at during the situation in Puerto Rico. He said he was briefed on the shooting early Thursday morning.
“The difficulty of this job cannot be compared to the difficulty that our front-line personnel face every day,” he said, alluding to his own role.
ABC News’ Luke Barr contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(BETHLEHEM, Pa.) — Hundreds of homes are being evacuated and the American Red Cross is responding after a gasoline tanker overturned early Thursday morning spilling thousands of gallons of fuel.
The American Red Cross Greater Pennsylvania Region confirms they are responding to a “significant fuel oil spill affecting hundreds of homes” in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
“At the request of Northampton EMA, we are responding to the area of Paul Ave & West Union Blvd in Bethlehem (PA) following a significant fuel oil spill affecting hundreds of homes,” the American Red Cross said in a tweet regarding the incident on social media. “Currently, we are providing canteen services to responders, mobilizing shelter teams to support the evacuation site, and coordinating with local officials to determine community needs and next steps. This response (& spill) is still active.”
A local middle school campus is being used as a shelter for displaced families and are operating on a two-hour delay to opening as a result.
“Due to a fuel spill on the west side of Bethlehem, our school is being used as a shelter for displaced families,” according to a statement posted on the Bethlehem Area School District’s website. “We will delay the opening of school for two hours to ensure that our building is ready to function normally for students and staff while also serving our community’s needs.”
(UVALDE, Texas) — The Uvalde school board on Wednesday unanimously approved the hiring of an interim school district chief of police, Josh Gutierrez, to fill the gap left after the August ousting of the then-chief of police, Pete Arredondo.
“This is our first step in taking to rebuild our school district police force with baby steps, with very careful consideration of who comes into the department — people with integrity and professionalism,” said Uvalde Interim Superintendent Gary Patterson, during his first school board meeting in his new role.
Since Oct. 7, the entire district police force present during the May 24 massacre that saw 19 children and two teachers killed has been on suspension. Gutierrez will start in his new role Thursday.
Gutierrez most recently served as the director of Bexar County Learning Center, a school located inside a juvenile correction center in San Antonio.
Patterson said he has known Gutierrez for more than a decade and has worked with him in previous school districts. In addition to being a police officer, Gutierrez has served in several instructional and administrative roles in various Texas schools.
Gutierrez declined to answer questions after his approval.
Patterson also revealed that the Uvalde school district will forge a partnership with East Central School District because it has been declared an official certified training site for active shooter training, emergency operations training, school resource officer training, and gun and rifle training.
“We will have a close working relationship with them so we can get the training right away,” Patterson said about the new police force.
Additionally, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) contributed a blueprint to Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District — written by retired and active police chiefs around the state — on how to build a police force for a school.
“My observation as an outsider is that many times we’ve seen this room filled with a lack of trust, anger and frustration,” Patterson said at the start of the meeting. “My hope is that we can all work to make that better.”
The theme of rebuilding lasted throughout the school board meeting Wednesday.
The board also unanimously approved a plan to build a new $50 million school two miles from the site of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, ensuring the demolition of the building where 21 lives were taken.
The new building concept, which was first presented to the community on Monday, plans to break ground next summer, opening its doors to hundreds of elementary school students in the fall of 2024.
The board approved the motion for site selection of the new elementary school, as well as the spaces and conceptual design.
The plan was one that involved dozens of Uvaldeans. Since mid-August, a community advisory committee has met six times to discuss the building, what it should look like and who it should serve. Members traveled to other communities to survey the options. The proposed concept derived from their discussions, said Natalia Arias, co-chair of the committee.
“With this evening’s approval of the site and conceptual design by the UCISD school board, we now move to the schematic design phase of the project,” Tim Miller, executive director of the Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation, said.
(CHICAGO) — An 8-year-old boy was not properly harnessed to a safety rope when he fell 24 feet off a climbing wall at Chicago’s Navy Pier this summer, suffering severe injuries, his parents allege in a new lawsuit.
Erin and Gideon Brewer took their three children to Navy Pier on July 27 while visiting the city from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
When their son George went up the climbing wall, he made it to the top before plunging 24 feet to the ground, according to the family. The fall was caught on camera by his mother, who said she was unaware he was not properly harnessed.
“It felt like a nightmare,” his mother, Erin Brewer, said during a press briefing Wednesday.
There was no cushion at the bottom of the climbing wall when George slammed into the concrete, his family said. As a result, he suffered “severe injuries” all over his body and has undergone multiple surgeries, according to the complaint.
“We thought he was dead when he fell,” his father, Gideon Brewer, told reporters. “His little brothers saw him too, saw the whole thing, and were asking us, ‘Is George dead? Is George dead?'”
As a result of the fall, George broke his tibia, pelvis and chin, shattered his femur, had a concussion and sustained damage to his growth plate, Erin Brewer said.
“Hearing your child asking if he’s going to die. I mean, he’s an 8-year-old boy,” Erin Brewer said. “It’s like his innocence was taken from him.”
George has needed four surgeries so far, and has another surgery scheduled for the end of January, his parents said. Due to the severity of his injuries, he had to start the school year in a wheelchair, his mother said.
“It’s infuriating because this was 100% preventable. This should never have happened ever,” Erin Brewer said.
A spokesperson for Navy Pier said they have not seen the lawsuit.
“It is our standard practice not to comment on litigation,” the spokesperson said.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Circuit Court of Cook County on George’s behalf, alleges negligence and willful and wanton conduct by the defendants, including the two operators of the climb wall. The family is suing for George’s medical and hospital expenses, among other damages.
(WASHINGTON) — The Environmental Protection Agency announced last month that the water in Jackson, Mississippi, is now safe to drink, though agency administrator Michael Regan admits that there is still a lot of work to be done.
“The state and the city, the federal government, we’re all at the table with our sleeves rolled up looking for and identifying this path forward,” he told ABC News’ GMA3.
Regan joined GMA3 to talk about his visit to Jackson, his so-called “Journey to Justice” tour across the country and what climate action we can expect from the U.S. moving forward.
In addition to Jackson, Regan has also recently traveled to Egypt to participate in the COP27 conference on climate change, where the U.S. announced it would make significant efforts to curb methane emissions.
GMA3:Joining us now from Jackson, Mississippi, is the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Michael Regan. Thank you so much for being with us. I know you’ve made several trips down there to Jackson. I believe this is your fourth trip. What is the latest information you can share about what’s happening there on the ground?
REGAN:Well, good afternoon and thank you for having me, Amy. You know, this is my fourth trip, and it was a great trip.
The purpose for being there was to host a roundtable, engaged with community members and give them an update on the fact that the state, the federal government and the city are at the table negotiating some near-term solutions that hopefully will be overseen by a federal court if we reach an agreement.
So we are optimistic about moving forward to secure some longer term stability for the drinking water here in Jackson.
GMA3:And I know you’ve been meeting with residents there in Jackson. You’ve been hearing their personal stories about how this has impacted their lives. Can you share some of them with us?
REGAN:Well, I was, you know, my second visit with Miss Ali Anderson yesterday. She invited me back to her home. She’s 98 years old, a lifelong resident of Jackson. And she just walked me through day in and day out what it’s like for her to try to lift these crates of bottled water and how to use bottled water to cook and brush your teeth.
And, you know, she’s extremely frustrated but very optimistic. And she gave me some really sage advice two trips ago, and that is ignore the politics on the ground and focus on solutions. And so that’s why I convened the governor and the mayor and the entire Mississippi delegation to think about how do we chart a path forward. And that’s what we’ve been doing.
GMA3:Is there a permanent solution available or known at this point?
REGAN:You know, we have a lot of options that are on the table. We are in confidential negotiations about how to continue that process. So I can’t go into too many details. But what I can say is I’m optimistic about the path that we’re charting forward and the state and the city, the federal government, we’re all at the table with our sleeves rolled up looking for and identifying this path forward.
GMA3:All right. And Michael, I know you’ve been traveling from Mississippi. You were in Egypt, I believe, just last week for the United Nations Climate Change Conference. And the U.S. made a big announcement regarding methane emissions. Tell us what that announcement was, how it affects all of us here in this country and why this is such a big deal.
REGAN: Well, you know, I was proud that the president announced a number of actions that we’re taking to combat methane, which is a really powerful greenhouse gas pollutant. And the EPA announced that, you know, we’re going to push out supplemental regulation, basically a technology standard that gives us the ability to reduce 87% of the methane coming out of existing facilities and new facilities by 2030.
This is a really big deal because it’s allowing us to leverage technology to reduce this powerful pollutant while also reducing the loss of the gas product itself. And so we partner with industry, we partner with the environmental community, you know, unions, environmental justice community. This is a win-win not only for technology and for reducing pollution, but also for public health. And we’re really excited about that announcement that the president made in Egypt.
GM3:And what is the hope that this will have in terms of impact on the environment, on climate change, by making this big change?
REGAN:Well, you know, the goal worldwide is for us to keep global warming from increasing 1.5 degrees Celsius. We believe that this is a significant step forward to keep us on that path. You know, we have this saying keep 1.5 alive globally and the United States is doing its part. Again, methane is a very powerful pollutant. President Biden said from day one that America was back on the international stage and that we would lead. And he is walking the world through that vision with action and some of the actions that are being taken like this methane proposal. So we’re playing our part and we’re doing it well.
GMA3:I mentioned you’ve been traveling. You actually have legitimately been on a tour. You call it the ‘Journey to Justice’ tour going across the country. Tell us what the tour is and what you’ve learned and what the EPA is doing about getting some of that information from the people you’ve been speaking with.
REGAN:You know, thank you for asking that question. Our ‘Journey to Justice’ tour really is about getting from behind the desk in Washington, D.C., and traveling and meeting people where they are and hearing their stories. My tour started here in Jackson, Mississippi, and went through the Black Belt of the South.
But I’ve also been to Puerto Rico as well. And we’re looking to move to to take a trip to the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia soon. The goal is to really highlight the infrastructure needs, the lack of investment in many of our Black and brown and low-income and tribal communities.
And the reality is, is that we’re finally at a point where we have the resources at the federal level to match to many solutions that these communities have had for decades.
Thanks to the president’s leadership and to Congress, we have a number of historic pieces of legislation that finally give us billions of dollars that we could put into the hands of states, communities, nonprofits to really provide that path forward for clean air and clean water and environmental justice and equity for everyone in this country.
GMA3: Well you are certainly a very busy man. So we appreciate your time today. EPA Administrator Michael Regan, thank you so much.
(MOSCOW, Idaho) — Police in Moscow, Idaho, are pleading with the public to help them find the unknown suspect who stabbed four University of Idaho students to death in a house near campus.
“That individual is still out there,” Moscow Police Chief James Fry said during a news conference Wednesday. “We cannot say there is no threat to the community.”
The victims were killed with a knife in “an isolated, targeted attack”, Fry said.
The students, who were killed early Sunday morning and found hours later, were identified as Ethan Chapin, 20, of Conway, Washington; Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Avondale, Arizona; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho.
Two other roommates were home at the time of the crime, and they were not hurt, Fry said. It was not a hostage situation, he added.
Those roommates were home when police responded to a call for an unconscious individual at about noon on Sunday, Fry said.
Police said they are working to determine the victims’ timeline Saturday night.
Chapin and Kernodle were at a party on campus while Goncalves and Mogen were at a downtown bar that night, Fry said.
Chapin didn’t live in the house but was sleeping over with his girlfriend, Kernodle, according to his mother, Stacy Chapin.
Goncalves and Mogen had been best friends since childhood and “did everything together,” Goncalves’ sister, Alivia Goncalves, told ABC News.
She said she finds some solace that the friends were together in their final moments.
Autopsies are taking place Wednesday, Fry said.
He urged anyone with information about the victims’ whereabouts to call the tip line at 208-883-7180.
(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — Western New York is bracing for a “significant” lake-effect snowstorm that could dump up to 4 feet of snow in the Buffalo region over the coming days.
A lake-effect snow warning is in effect starting 7 p.m. Wednesday through 1 a.m. Saturday for southern Erie County.
The long-duration event is also expected in the east and southeast Great Lakes region, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.
Up to 4 feet of snow is possible for the region by Saturday morning. Winds gusting as high as 35 mph are also forecast.
“Travel could be very difficult to impossible,” the National Weather Service in Buffalo warned. “The hazardous conditions will impact the commutes from Thursday morning through Friday evening.”
Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour are forecast for the Thursday morning commute.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced she plans to issue a state of emergency that will into effect Thursday morning and will deploy emergency response assets ahead of the storm.
“Hazardous travel conditions and local power outages as a result of the storm are likely due to the combination of snow, ice and wind in the forecast,” her office said in a statement Wednesday.
Parts of the New York State Thruway will also be closed to commercial traffic starting at 4 p.m. Thursday, she said.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz advised private businesses and schools to close on Friday if the forecast holds.
“We are gonna have a doozy,” he said during a press briefing on Wednesday.
Lake-effect snow is common in the late fall and early winter along the downwind shores of the Great Lakes, which is caused by cold air flowing over the warmer waters of the Great Lakes.
In November 2014, more than 5 feet of lake-effect snow fell just east of Buffalo, in what was one of the most significant winter events in the city’s history, according to the National Weather Service. A second lake-effect event days later dropped another 1 to 4 feet of snow in the same area, bringing the total from the two storms to nearly 7 feet, it said.
Beyond Buffalo, snow is also expected over upper New England on Wednesday, with winter weather advisories issued for the area.
Upstate New York, northern Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine are expected to see more than 3 inches of fresh snow, with more than 6 inches expected in northern Maine. More than a foot is possible along the Canadian border in Maine.
ABC News’ Kenton Gewecke and Brian Hartman contributed to this report.
(WAUKESHA, Wisc.) — Darrell Brooks was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility for parole for driving his SUV into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, last year, killing six people and injuring dozens more, after being removed twice from the courtroom for disrupting the proceedings.
“This community can only be safe if you are behind bars for the rest of your life,” Judge Jennifer Dorow said in announcing her sentencing for the six counts of first-degree intentional homicide, which she said will be served consecutively.
Wednesday’s sentencing comes after dozens of victims of the attack confronted Brooks in angry, emotional statements on Tuesday.
Brooks and his family had raised his mental health issues in his defense. Though Dorow said his actions behind the wheel that day — including choosing to drive toward the parade despite multiple opportunities to avoid it — did not support a claim of mental illness, and that he acted “recklessly, carelessly and maliciously.”
“It is very clear to this court that he understands the difference between right and wrong, and he simply chooses to ignore his conscious,” Dorow said. “He is fueled by anger and rage.”
“Some people unfortunately choose a path of evil. And I think, Mr. Brooks, you are one of those such persons,” she continued.
The judge teared up talking about the footage from the scene.
“Those are images that frankly kept me up at night,” she said.
Dorow spoke about the impact on the victims, including their statements on Tuesday, before announcing her sentencing.
“This trial is unlike anything that I’ve ever been a part of,” she said. “The sheer magnitude of the crime, the number of people impacted, how they were impacted. The vicious, senseless nature of it.”
She highlighted his lack of remorse during a two-hour statement made in court ahead of his sentencing and criticized a “feeble attempt to blame mental health.”
“I waited for a true apology. I didn’t get it,” she said. “Not for my benefit, but for the victims.”
Brooks was removed from the courtroom during the judge’s sentencing remarks for what Dorow described as a “tirade” and placed in another courtroom with audio access to the proceedings. He was brought back for the sentencing, though the judge removed him again for failing to be orderly.
Prior to Dorow’s sentencing, several people spoke on Brooks’ behalf in Waukesha County court on Wednesday over Zoom, starting with his mother, Dawn Brooks.
“Jail is not the only answer,” she told the court. “Help, treatment, hospitalization and medication — it plays a big role in preventing this, where we are today, if it would have been offered sooner.”
She also read the Maya Angelou poem “Caged Bird.”
“Everyone who suffers from mental illness is caged. All they want is to be free of their illness and become mentally well,” she said, adding that she believes society has an obligation to help others through treatment and medication.
Brooks’ grandmother, Mary Edwards, told the court that he has suffered from bipolar disorder since the age of 12.
“It was that disorder that caused him to drive through that crowd,” she said. “It is my prayer that he will be treated for this illness.”
Court-ordered examinations diagnosed Brooks with antisocial personality disorder, according to Dorow.
Brooks himself addressed the court for over two hours in a wide-ranging, rambling statement that touched on his faith, upbringing, children and mental illness. At one point, he apologized for the incident, which he said was not “planned” or “plotted.”
“I want everyone to know, also the community of Waukesha, I want you to know that not only am I sorry for what happened, I’m sorry that you could not see what’s truly in my heart. That you cannot see the remorse that I have,” he said.
He also apologized to the judge for his antics and outbursts throughout the trial.
“Nothing about it was personal,” he said. “I think it was just the pot boiling over.”
At one point he asked to turn to address the victims in the gallery, which the judge denied.
“I don’t think they’re ready for that yet,” Dorow said.
A jury found Brooks, 40, guilty last month on all 76 counts, including six counts of first-degree intentional homicide, for barreling his SUV into a Christmas parade on Nov. 21, 2021.
Those killed were Tamara Durand, 52; Wilhelm Hospel, 81; Jane Kulich, 52; Leanna Owen, 71; Virginia Sorenson, 79; and Jackson Sparks, 8.
When Dorow asked him what he thinks the court should do in regard to sentencing, Brooks said he did not understand the “true nature and cause of the charges.”
“I also believe a decision was already made before we even got here,” he said.
When asked what he thinks of a potential sentence of life without the possibility of parole, Brooks said he would like to go somewhere “where I can be helped.”
Addressing the court on Tuesday during the first day of the sentencing, survivors detailed how Brooks robbed them of their sense of personal safety, trust and peace and affected them physically and mentally. Parents recalled frantically searching for their children, and the injuries they endured in the attack. Family members honored the memory of those who were killed. Many who addressed the court asked for the maximum sentence possible.
Several of those who spoke in court were children who recounted the horror and long-lasting impact of that day.
“I know that I lost a piece of myself that day, and I’m still trying to find it,” one young victim who was dancing in the parade when the attack occurred told the court on Tuesday.
Another dancer who was injured in the parade spoke of being scared of cars at the bus stop.
“It is getting closer and closer to Nov. 21 and I don’t think I’m ready for this day to come,” the 12-year-old victim told the court on Tuesday. “On this day each year, I and many others will think of how a peaceful event that has been a tradition in Waukesha for over 50 years, and brought smiles and laughter to everyone, turned into tragedy.”
The sentencing hearing was briefly paused Tuesday morning after an unknown person threatened a mass shooting at the Waukesha County Courthouse, authorities said. The threat is under investigation and security at the courthouse was increased, the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office said.
Brooks was also briefly removed from the courtroom on Tuesday for what Dorow described as his continued “defiant behavior,” which had included shouting at and interrupting the judge and prosecutors.
Brooks initially pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease but withdrew the plea in September. He dismissed his public defenders during the trial and went on to represent himself.
Prior to the start of the trial, Brooks’ mother had written to the judge in September asking that he not be allowed to represent himself in court because “he is not stable mentally enough,” Milwaukee ABC affiliate WISN reported at the time.
(LOS ANGELES) — Twenty-five police recruits were injured while on a run in Los Angeles early Wednesday when they were struck by a man driving the wrong way, officials said.
About 75 recruits were on the run. The group was mostly Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department recruits, but also included others from nearby police departments, including Pasadena and Glendale.
“It looked like an airplane wreck, there were so many bodies scattered everywhere,” LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said at a news conference.
Five of the recruits were critically hurt, four suffered moderate injuries and 16 have minor injuries, officials said at a news conference.
Injuries include head trauma, loss of limb and broken bones, officials said. At least one victim is on a ventilator, the sheriff said.
The 22-year-old driver, who has been detained, has minor injuries, Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Sheila Kelliher said.
The cause of the crash is unknown. The California Highway Patrol said it’ll investigate whether the crash was intentional or the result of distracted driving or driving under the influence.
Villanueva said the driver blew a 0.0 on a Breathalyzer test.
“It looks like it’s an accident, a horrific accident,” Villanueva said.
The recruits were running on a routine route at the time of the crash, which took place around 6:29 a.m. Wednesday, while it was still dark out, officials said.
“Road guards” wearing reflective vests ran on the outside of the recruits, officials said.
The sheriff’s office also had two patrol cars escorting the runners.
The accident took place just outside of a fire station, so firefighters immediately raced to the scene, officials said.
Some recruits estimated the car was going about 30 mph, officials said.
“It is hard to see, because these young people are getting ready to go put themselves in the line of danger in their career. And who knows that while you’re training to do that you are actually in harm’s way,” Kelliher said at a news conference. “So my heart goes out to all of them as they pursue this career. I hope that they all have speedy recoveries.”
(WAUKESHA, Wis.) — Darrell Brooks is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday for driving his SUV into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, last year, killing six people and injuring dozens more.
Wednesday’s sentencing comes after dozens of victims of the attack confronted Brooks in angry, emotional statements on Tuesday.
Prior to Judge Jennifer Dorow’s sentencing, several people spoke on Brooks’ behalf in Waukesha County court on Wednesday over Zoom, starting with his mother, Dawn Brooks.
“Jail is not the only answer,” she told the court. “Help, treatment, hospitalization and medication — it plays a big role in preventing this, where we are today, if it would have been offered sooner.”
She also read the Maya Angelou poem “Caged Bird.”
“Everyone who suffers from mental illness is caged. All they want is to be free of their illness and become mentally well,” she said, adding that she believes society has an obligation to help others through treatment and medication.
Brooks’ grandmother, Mary Edwards, told the court that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 12.
“It was that disorder that caused him to drive through that crowd,” she said. “It is my prayer that he will be treated for this illness.”
A jury found Brooks, 40, guilty last month on all 76 counts, including six counts of first-degree intentional homicide, for barreling his SUV into a Christmas parade on Nov. 21, 2021.
Those killed were Tamara Durand, 52; Wilhelm Hospel, 81; Jane Kulich, 52; Leanna Owen, 71; Virginia Sorenson, 79; and Jackson Sparks, 8.
Addressing the court on Tuesday during the first day of the sentencing, survivors detailed how Brooks robbed them of their sense of personal safety, trust and peace and affected them physically and mentally. Parents recalled frantically searching for their children, and the injuries they endured in the attack. Family members honored the memory of those who were killed. Many who addressed the court asked for the maximum sentence possible.
Several of those who spoke in court were children who recounted the horror and long-lasting impact of that day.
“I know that I lost a piece of myself that day, and I’m still trying to find it,” one young victim who was dancing in the parade when the attack occurred told the court on Tuesday.
Another dancer who was injured in the parade spoke of being scared of cars at the bus stop.
“It is getting closer and closer to Nov. 21 and I don’t think I’m ready for this day to come,” the 12-year-old victim told the court on Tuesday. “On this day each year, I and many others will think of how a peaceful event that has been a tradition in Waukesha for over 50 years, and brought smiles and laughter to everyone, turned into tragedy.”
The sentencing hearing was briefly paused Tuesday morning after an unknown person threatened a mass shooting at the Waukesha County Courthouse, authorities said. The threat is under investigation and security at the courthouse was increased, the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office said.
Brooks was also briefly removed from the courtroom on Tuesday for what Dorow described as his continued “defiant behavior,” which had included shouting at and interrupting the judge and prosecutors.
Brooks initially pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease but withdrew the plea in September. He dismissed his public defenders during the trial and went on to represent himself.
Prior to the start of the trial, Brooks’ mother had written to the judge in September asking that he not be allowed to represent himself in court because “he is not stable mentally enough,” Milwaukee ABC affiliate WISN reported at the time.
