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(NEWSPORT NEWS, Va.) — The mother of a 6-year-old boy who allegedly shot a teacher at his Newport News, Virginia, elementary school is now facing charges, prosecutors announced Monday,
A grand jury returned two indictments charging Deja Taylor with felony child neglect and misdemeanor recklessly leaving a loaded firearm as to endanger a child, according to prosecutors.
Taylor’s 6-year-old son allegedly took a handgun from his home on Jan. 6, put it in his backpack and brought it to Richneck Elementary School where he allegedly shot and wounded 25-year-old teacher Abigail Zwerner in a first grade classroom. Zwerner suffered critical injuries but is expected to make a full recovery.
Zwerner has sued the school’s former superintendent, principal and assistant principal for $40 million, alleging negligence.
Zwerner’s lawyer, Diane Toscano, said in a statement about the new charges, “There were failures in accountability at multiple levels that led to Abby being shot and almost killed. Today’s announcement addresses but one of those failures. It has been three months of investigation and still so many unanswered questions remain.”
“Our lawsuit makes clear that we believe the school division violated state law, and we are pursuing this in civil court,” Toscano continued. “We will not allow school leaders to escape accountability for their role in this tragedy.”
Police said the 9 mm Taurus pistol was legally purchased by the boy’s mother.
In the wake of the shooting, the 6-year-old’s family said their son “suffers from an acute disability and was under a care plan at the school that included his mother or father attending school with him and accompanying him to class every day.”
“The week of the shooting was the first week when we were not in class with him,” the family said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump’s attorneys are appealing an order for former Vice President Mike Pence to testify before the special counsel investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, sources familiar with the matter confirm to ABC News.
Trump has previously sought to assert executive privilege in an attempt to block Pence’s testimony, but late last month the chief judge for the D.C. district court, James Boasberg, rejected his team’s arguments and ordered Pence to testify and provide records to special counsel Jack Smith.
Boasberg, however, did narrowly uphold parts of a separate legal challenge brought by Pence himself, who argued he should be shielded from having to testify on certain aspects related to his role as president of the Senate overseeing the certification of the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021.
Pence was subpoenaed by the special counsel in February, following months of negotiations between federal prosecutors and Pence’s legal team.
Pence said last week he would not seek further appeal, though said he was unsure whether Trump’s team would continue their own fight to prevent his testimony and bring their executive privilege claims before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The appeal was formally docketed Monday before the D.C. Circuit, court records show, though other details surrounding it will remain under seal due to its connection to grand jury matters.
In previous instances where Trump’s team has sought intervention from the D.C. Circuit, judges there have acted swiftly to order legal briefs from his team and the special counsel before rejecting his legal challenges.
A spokesperson for the special counsel’s office declined to comment to ABC News.
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Four victims were killed and eight others were injured following a mass shooting at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday morning, according to police.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 10, 11:27 AM EDT
McConnell ‘devastated’ by news of Louisville shooting
Republican leader and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, who lives in Louisville, tweeted that he’s “devastated” by the news of Monday morning’s mass shooting.
“We send our prayers to the victims, their families, and the city of Louisville as we await more information,” McConnell tweeted.
His fellow Kentucky senator, Rand Paul, tweeted, “Our hearts break for the families of those lost.”
Apr 10, 11:21 AM EDT
Officers exchanged gunfire with suspect who died at scene
Officers arrived within three minutes of being dispatched and found the suspect still firing, Louisville police said.
Officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect who died at the scene, police said. It’s not yet clear if the suspect’s wounds were self-inflicted, police said.
Four victims were killed and eight people are injured, police said.
At least two officers were shot during the exchange of gunfire, police said, including one who is undergoing surgery.
It appears the suspect was a previous or current employee, police said.
“This is awful. I have a very close friend that didn’t make it today. And I have another close friend who didn’t, either, and one who is at the hospital that I hope is gonna make it through,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference.
Apr 10, 10:53 AM EDT
At least 15 mass shootings so far this month
There have been at least 15 mass shootings in the U.S. in the first 10 days of April, including Monday morning’s shooting in Louisville, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
So far this year, the nation has seen at least 146 mass shootings.
The Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as at least four people shot, not including the suspect.
“It feels like every day in this country we are totally consumed by yet another mass shooting. Nowhere else in the developed world do people wake up to this preventable horror every single morning,” Kris Brown, president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said in a statement Monday. “Whether it’s a bank, a school, a supermarket, or a church, Americans no longer feel safe in their communities. And Americans are increasingly tired of living in fear of being a victim of a mass shooting.”
“It does not have to be this way,” Brown said. “But until the gun industry no longer has a vice grip on our elected officials, this will continue to be our daily reality.”
Apr 10, 10:32 AM EDT
Shooting unfolded in bank conference room
The gunman opened fire in the bank’s first-floor conference room at about 8:30 a.m. local time, according to officials.
Eyewitnesses said the shooter appeared to have been armed with a long gun.
“He just started shooting,” Troy Haste told ABC Louisville affiliate WHAS-TV. “Whoever was next to me got shot. Blood is on me from it.”
Police said the suspect is dead.
A responding police officer was shot in the head, sources told ABC News. The officer’s condition is unknown.
According to preliminary information, this shooting is not believed to have been terror-related, sources told ABC News.
Apr 10, 10:19 AM EDT
Suspected shooter neutralized
Louisville police tweeted that the “suspected shooter has been neutralized,” adding, “There is no longer an active aggressor threat.”
There is no longer an active aggressor threat. The suspected shooter has been neutralized.
Apr 10, 10:05 AM EDT
Residents urged to avoid area
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg tweeted that residents should avoid the area around Slugger Field until further notice.
There is an active police situation downtown. Please avoid the area around Slugger Field until further notice. We will provide information as soon as possible.
— Mayor Craig Greenberg (@LouisvilleMayor) April 10, 2023
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he is heading to the scene.
“Please pray for all of the families impacted and for the city of Louisville,” he tweeted.
FBI and ATF agents are assisting with the incident.
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Five people are dead and six others, including a police officer, are injured following a shooting at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday morning, according to police.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 10, 10:53 AM EDT
At least 15 mass shootings so far this month
There have been at least 15 mass shootings in the U.S. in the first 10 days of April, including Monday morning’s shooting in Louisville, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
So far this year, the nation has seen at least 146 mass shootings.
The Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as at least four people shot, not including the suspect.
“It feels like every day in this country we are totally consumed by yet another mass shooting. Nowhere else in the developed world do people wake up to this preventable horror every single morning,” Kris Brown, president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said in a statement Monday. “Whether it’s a bank, a school, a supermarket, or a church, Americans no longer feel safe in their communities. And Americans are increasingly tired of living in fear of being a victim of a mass shooting.”
“It does not have to be this way,” Brown said. “But until the gun industry no longer has a vice grip on our elected officials, this will continue to be our daily reality.”
Apr 10, 10:32 AM EDT
Shooting unfolded in bank conference room
The gunman opened fire in the bank’s first-floor conference room at about 8:30 a.m. local time, according to officials.
Eyewitnesses said the shooter appeared to have been armed with a long gun.
“He just started shooting,” Troy Haste told ABC Louisville affiliate WHAS-TV. “Whoever was next to me got shot. Blood is on me from it.”
Police said the suspect is dead.
A responding police officer was shot in the head, sources told ABC News. The officer’s condition is unknown.
According to preliminary information, this shooting is not believed to have been terror-related, sources told ABC News.
Apr 10, 10:19 AM EDT
Suspected shooter neutralized
Louisville police tweeted that the “suspected shooter has been neutralized,” adding, “There is no longer an active aggressor threat.”
There is no longer an active aggressor threat. The suspected shooter has been neutralized.
Apr 10, 10:05 AM EDT
Residents urged to avoid area
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg tweeted that residents should avoid the area around Slugger Field until further notice.
There is an active police situation downtown. Please avoid the area around Slugger Field until further notice. We will provide information as soon as possible.
— Mayor Craig Greenberg (@LouisvilleMayor) April 10, 2023
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he is heading to the scene.
“Please pray for all of the families impacted and for the city of Louisville,” he tweeted.
FBI and ATF agents are assisting with the incident.
(AKRON, Ohio) — A special grand jury will be seated Monday to decide whether to indict any of the eight Akron, Ohio, police officers involved in the death of Jayland Walker, a 25-year-old Black man who was shot more than 40 times following a 2022 attempted traffic stop, an episode that sparked riots in the city last summer.
Bracing for the Summit County grand jury’s decision, businesses in downtown Akron began boarding up windows over the weekend and the city has erected a fence and barricades around the courthouse where the special grand jury will be empaneled specifically to hear evidence in the Walker case.
“The city of Akron has been preparing for the grand jury results since last summer,” Stephanie Marsh, a spokesperson for the city, said at a news conference Friday. “The most important part of our preparation has been building relationships with our community members and establishing better lines of communication.”
Authorities are hoping to avoid a repeat of what occurred last summer when police used tear gas to disperse angry demonstrators gathered outside police headquarters and arrested about 50 protesters on charges of rioting, failure to disperse, disorderly conduct and misconduct at an emergency. The charges against most of those arrested were later dropped.
Anticipating “strong reactions to the impending grand jury decisions,” city officials have created a demonstration zone near the courthouse “to allow for residents to safely demonstrate, protest and exercise their first amendment rights to freedom of speech, assembly, and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances,” reads a statement issued on the city’s recently relaunched critical information website.
Prosecutor explains grand jury process
Craig Morgan, the city of Akron’s chief prosecutor, took the unusual step on Friday of holding a livestream seminar to explain to the community the basics of the grand jury process.
“A grand jury does not determine guilt or innocence,” Morgan said. “The purpose of the grand jury is to determine whether sufficient probable cause exists to charge a person or persons with a particular offense or offenses.”
Morgan said the state Attorney General, which is prosecuting the case, is presenting evidence to the special grand jury because in Ohio, most “felony matters flow through the grand jury at the beginning of the process.”
“This is done often in situations involving extremely lengthy investigations, investigations that involve a high volume of evidence and complex legal issues,” Morgan said.
Nine Summit County registered voters will be empaneled as primary grand jurors and three to five people will be picked to serve as alternates, Morgan said. At least seven jurors are required to vote yes in order to issue an indictment, also referred to as a true bill.
Morgan warned that any protesters who resort to violence will be arrested and prosecuted.
“The types of things that will cause a protest to transition into people being arrested is when windows are being smashed and fires are being set, people are being subjected to physical harm,” Morgan said.
He said it is expected to take a week for prosecutors to present the case to the grand jury.
“The variable, the unknown, that we don’t have is we don’t know how long it will take jurors to deliberate,” Morgan said.
Shot 46 times
The fatal shooting involving Walker unfolded just after midnight on June 27, 2022, when two police officers attempted to stop Walker for a minor vehicle equipment violation, police said. Walker led officers on a brief car chase before exiting out the passenger side door while his vehicle was still moving and attempted to run, authorities alleged.
Walker was unarmed when he was fatally shot while running away from eight officers, who opened fire on him, body camera footage released by the city showed.
An autopsy determined Walker suffered 46 gunshot wounds, according to the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office. Walker had injuries to his face, heart, both lungs, liver, spleen, left kidney, intestines, pelvis, iliac artery and several bones in his legs, according to the medical examiner.
About a week after Walker’s death, officials released police body camera footage from the incident. During a news conference, Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett freeze-framed a section of the footage capturing a flash of light coming from Walker’s car and said it appeared to be the muzzle flash of a gun fired from the driver’s side of the vehicle and aimed at pursuing officers.
In a second body camera video, officers are heard radioing that a shot was fired from Walker’s car. The footage shows an officer following Walker’s Buick off Route 8 and continuing the pursuit on side streets.
Mylett said as Walker jumped from his vehicle and ran, he appeared to reach for his waistband, turn toward the officers and move an arm forward, prompting the officers to open fire.
While the video confirmed Walker was unarmed when he was shot, Mylett said the body camera footage also captured a handgun with a separate loaded magazine and what appeared to be a gold wedding band left on the driver’s seat of Walker’s car.
While the eight officers who fatally shot Walker were initially placed on administrative leave, they were all reinstated to active duty in November. The officers were assigned to administrative duties due to a staffing “crisis,” according to Mylett said.
‘How do you need that many bullets for one person?’
Walker’s family is hoping justice will prevail and the officers are all indicted.
“That was too much. Too much. How do you need that many bullets for one person?” Walker’s mother, Pamela Walker, told ABC News in last July. “And he was a slight-build guy. He was 6 (foot) 2, but he only weighed probably 160 pounds. And I’m sure probably two of their bullets would have killed him anyway. And you needed eight people to be shooting at him like that? I can’t even fathom how you can stand there and just empty out your gun on someone who’s running away from you, who was running away whether he had a gun or not.”
None of the officers involved in the Walker shooting or their attorneys have spoken publicly about the case.
Akron’s Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge No. 7, the union that represents the officers, released a statement early in the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s independent probe of the shooting defending the actions of the officers.
“The decision to deploy lethal force as well as the number of shots fired is consistent with use of force protocols and officers’ training,” the union said.
According to the union, the officers “reasonably believed that Mr. Walker presented an immediate threat of serious physical harm or death and lawfully, based on their training as well as state and federal law, discharged their weapons.”
The union’s statement added, “We believe the independent investigation will justify the officers’ actions, including the number of shots fired.”
(TACOMA, Wash.) — The Tacoma Fire Department has issued a temporary shelter-in-place for some areas near Tacoma, Washington, as authorities continue to respond to a fishing vessel that has been on fire since Saturday and is carrying diesel and freon.
Since the Kodiak Enterprise caught fire Saturday morning while moored in the Hylebos Waterway of Tacoma, the fire has since progressed, and is now about 100 feet from the boat’s freon tanks, the Coast Guard said in their latest release Sunday.
Freon can be toxic if inhaled “in large quantities or in a confined space,” the Coast Guard said, but the release of freon in the atmosphere does not pose any risks to the general health and safety of the public at this time.
The temporary shelter in place is in effect for residents living in northeast Tacoma, Browns Point and Dash Point neighborhoods. The city asked those living in these areas to remain indoors and limit exposure to smoke.
“Residents concerned about smoky conditions can provide additional protections by keeping doors closed and shutting outside air vents,” Jim Ferrell, mayor of neighboring city, Federal Way, told residents living in the Twin Lakes and Green Gables neighborhoods on Twitter. “Residents may also want to avoid any strenuous activity or exercise outdoors.”
The Tacoma Fire Department, U.S. Coast Guard, Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology are responding at this time. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
(SANTA CRUZ, Calif.) — A 5-year-old girl was shot and killed on a Bay Area freeway Saturday night just before 7 p.m., the California Highway Patrol said.
The shooting on Interstate 880 near Dixon Landing Road was one of two reported in the area, Santa Cruz Police said.
Three suspects were arrested in Santa Cruz County, officials said. Santa Cruz Police said they initiated a car stop after locating a vehicle at about 9:30 p.m. that they suspected of being involved with the shootings.
“The vehicle did not yield, and a pursuit was initiated,” police said in a statement. “During the pursuit on Hwy 17, officers observed the vehicle’s occupants discarding a firearm from the car. The suspect driver stopped a short distance later.”
Police later recovered the firearm thrown from the vehicle, they said.
(NEW YORK) — A storm, for once, isn’t going to move cross-country this week, however, near-record-breaking temperatures will.
A major warming trend is expected to move across much of the country in the next few days, with temperatures coming in close to normal for the first half of the week but forecast to soar to summertime levels by Thursday and Friday.
Phoenix is expected to hit the high 90s this week, with Tuesday reaching 99 degrees and Las Vegas will reach 90 degrees on Monday.
Temperatures in Denver will hit the mid-80s on Tuesday and Wednesday. Billings, Montana, will reach 82 degrees on Tuesday, before an expected nearly 30-degree drop the following day, where the temperature is forecast to reach 55 degrees.
Meanwhile, a series of storms moving onshore in the Pacific Northwest will be dropping more rainfall.
As that storm moves eastward, the rainfall combined with above-normal temperatures will be melting much of the thick snowpack, which could contribute to flooding issues from Montana to Nevada throughout the week, with many rivers west of the continental divide likely seeing an abundance of water due to snow melt in the coming weeks.
Dozens of record-high temperatures may break across the East Coast, with cities like Philadelphia, New York and Boston heading into the 70s and 80s.
Philadelphia will reach 80 and 84 degrees on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
New York City is expected to reach 75 degrees on Wednesday, 77 on Thursday and 79 degrees on Friday.
Syracuse, New York, is forecast to hit a high of 84 degrees on Friday, while temperatures in Manchester, New Hampshire, will reach 81 degrees.
Last month, much of upstate New York and New Hampshire received heavy snow, with more than 2 feet of snow falling in several regions along the East Coast because of a nor’easter in March.
(NEW YORK) — The bodies of a father and son who went missing while on a kayaking trip in Arkansas last month have been recovered, authorities said Sunday.
The bodies of Chuck Morris, 46, and Charley Morris, 20, were recovered after 24 days of efforts, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office said in an announcement, adding: “Our heart goes out to the family of Chuck and Charley Morris, and we are thankful today that we can help bring closure.”
Jennifer Thompson had told ABC News last month that she believed her husband and son likely drowned after one fell into the cold Beaver Lake in Arkansas from a kayak and the other tried to rescue him. Lt. Shannon Jenkins of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office had confirmed at the time that the two were presumed dead.
“What saved me from the beginning of this is that they died together; they were together,” Thompson said.
Her son Charley was a sophomore at Ohio Wesleyan University where he played violin and guitar, competed as a three-season runner, led the orchestra, and aspired to be a lawyer. Her husband Chuck was a father to Charley and a 12-year-old daughter, as well as an acclaimed percussionist with the electronic-jam band Lotus.
According to Chuck’s bandmate Jesse Miller, Lotus had just finished a 25-city tour. Charley was home for vacation, and the family decided to travel from Kansas City to Beaver Lake, Arkansas to unwind.
“We thought it would be a great idea for Chuck and Charley to be able to get on the kayaks before a storm hit,” Thompson said.
While she and her daughter went into town, “the boys” went out on the kayaks on March 16, despite the cold water, strong currents and three-foot waves.
When Thompson returned, Chuck and Charley were nowhere to be found, which was not initially a cause for alarm.
“We got home, and they weren’t back yet. My husband being the adventurer that he is, we’re like, ‘oh, they must be having a great time,'” she said.
According to Thompson, “crisis mode” set in as time passed. They drove around the lake twice, scanning the water for the father-and-son kayakers. After failing to find them, Thompson called the police later that afternoon.
Rescue teams searched the area for days using helicopters, drones, sonar and dogs. Neighbors also used their boats to aid in the rescue.
On the first night, they recovered a kayak, and the next day another, Thompson said. They later found Chuck’s hat and his coat, but other than those traces, the two men disappeared.
“I guess the first couple of days I really just wanted to hold out some hope,” Miller recalled. “You know, as that dwindled, and the reality became more real, I guess the grief started to set in a little bit more.”
Looking back, Thompson said the cold and choppy conditions on the lake were “for all intents and purposes a perfect storm for drowning.”
As the rescue continued, friends of the family and fans of Lotus began an outpouring of support online, including a GoFundMe to support the family’s expenses. With the grief came memories of the father and son — musical dynamos who Thompson described as “beautifully gentle, loving men.”
“Chuck was fun and creative and funny, and Charley was pensive and serious and very much believed in the responsibility of people to be good,” she said.
Miller, who spoke to ABC on behalf of the band Lotus, said that while the group is grieving their late band member, they remember Chuck as a great musician, father and friend.
“When he was on stage, and he was playing that music, he embodied just beauty and spirit and love,” Thompson added.
