(CHARLOTTE, N.C.) — Two construction workers were killed in a massive fire at a Charlotte construction site Thursday, which fire officials said was accidental.
Reginald Johnson, the fire chief for the Charlotte Fire Department, told reporters Friday that the bodies of the two construction workers who were unaccounted for in the five-alarm blaze on Liberty Row Drive were discovered in the wreckage earlier in the morning.
Their identities weren’t publicly released.
The family of one of the victims, Demonte Sherrill, 30, told ABC affiliate WSOC that he was one of the deceased men.
Demonte Sherrill’s parents said he was a good man who worked hard to provide for his four children.
“He got that job, and he was doing real good at it, so I was very, very proud of him,” Sherrill’s father, Terry Campbell, told WSOC.
Over 90 firefighters responded to the residential construction site on Liberty Road around 9 a.m. and within 10 minutes, the blaze grew to five alarms, told reporters Thursday.
“It was a very fast-moving fire [with] high heat conditions well over 2000 degrees. And as a construction site is open, a lot of wood is exposed the fire moved very rapidly,” Johnson said.
Firefighters rescued 15 construction workers from the fire, including one person who was stuck on top of a crane. Johnson said that firefighters had to set up hose lines to protect the crane before they could go and make the rescue.
Johnson also confirmed that two “maydays” were issued after firefighters had issues getting out of the fire while rescuing some of the construction workers.
Johnson told reporters Friday that the fire department’s investigation determined the blaze began accidentally and started in a spray insulation foam trailer on the ground floor.
“We seldom have large fires of this magnitude,” he said.
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Louisville police caught a convicted felon who they say escaped police custody on Thursday and then briefly kidnapped two people, forcing them to drive him away.
“He was in the area of Brownsboro and Lindsey. Close to the Thorntons where we get our doughnuts. #BigMistake,” Louisville police said in a Facebook post Saturday announcing his capture.
A Kentucky deputy jailer was transporting Norman Wolfe, 31, when he kicked out the back window of an unmarked police vehicle and jumped onto Interstate 265 on Thursday, according to police.
Once he escaped the vehicle, Wolfe began running across several lanes of traffic on I-265, wearing orange clothing, according to police.
Upon further investigation, police said that the inmate allegedly kidnapped two victims and forced them to drive him to River Road and Edith Avenue shortly after his escape.
Both victims were found unharmed, according to police.
Area businesses and schools had been advised to take precautions on Friday as the search continued.
“LMPD’s Investigation into this incident is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the anonymous Crime Tip Hotline at 502-574-LMPD (5673) or utilize the online Crime Tip portal at LMPD Crime Tip Portal,” Louisville police said in a statement.
Prior to his escape, Wolfe was facing new charges of first- and third-degree burglary; fleeing and evading police; and a convicted felon in possession of a handgun.
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Krieg Butler, a 36-year-old white man who shot and killed 13-year-old Sinzae Reed, in Columbus, Ohio, in October was indicted by a grand jury Friday on charges of tampering with evidence and improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle.
No charges were brought against Butler directly related to the fatal shooting of the Black teenager.
The indictment comes after the office of Franklin County Prosecutor G. Gary Tyack presented evidence surrounding the death of the teen to a Franklin County grand jury on May 17 and 18. Multiple witnesses testified under oath.
Reed’s family says it is planning a protest on Saturday with local activists at the Ohio Statehouse. His mother, Megan Reed, shared a statement with ABC News on Friday through Columbus community activist Dejuan Sharp after the indictment was announced.
“The family, although disappointed with the grand jury decision, we will not be deterred from getting justice on a federal level,” Megan Reed said in the statement. “We believe our local government is grasping at the lowest hanging fruit. Partly because of [Ohio governor] Mike DeWine’s rush to implement stand your ground legislation without giving our courts and police, proper legal guidance.”
DeWine signed a “Stand Your Ground” bill in January of 2021, which removed the requirement for someone to retreat before self-defense.
Attempts by ABC News to reach Butler for comment were unsuccessful and it is unclear if he has retained an attorney.
According to a police affidavit, a witness to the shooting saw Butler shoot and kill Reed during an encounter outside of an apartment complex on Oct. 12, 2022. The witness said Butler exited his truck, fired shots at Reed and drove off, according to the complaint.
Butler was arrested days after the shooting and charged with murder, but those charges were dropped at the time pending completion of the investigation after prosecutors said Butler claimed self-defense in the shooting during his arraignment in October, according to a statement from the Columbus Police Department. Police told ABC News they have completed their investigation.
Court documents obtained by ABC News show no record that Reed had a weapon during the encounter with Butler.
According to a Franklin County autopsy report released on Jan. 17, the teen was shot twice, once in the hand and once in the chest, concluding the manner of death was a homicide.
The Franklin County prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Friday that they would not comment further as Butler’s case will be actively prosecuted.
Megan Reed told ABC News’ Linsey Davis in an interview on ABC News Live in January that she is seeking justice for her son.
“I need justice for my son. My son’s no longer here,” she said. “I’m going to continue this war, and I will be his voice until he gets justice.”
She added, “I’m very frustrated because I know if it was the other way around…if it was a Black man and my child was white, the Black man would be in jail and my son would have justice.”
(LAFAYETTE, Ind.) — A shooting in Indiana that injured two people after a three-year-old accessed a gun led to the arrest of a man wanted for murder in Illinois, authorities said.
Trayshaun Smith, 23, was arrested on Thursday after he visited a hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, according to Lt. Justin Hartman of the Lafayette Police Department.
Investigators eventually determined that the shooting that sent Smith and another victim to the hospital occurred when a three-year-old was able to access a gun and fire a single round.
“It was determined that a three year old child at that location accessed a gun and fired one round striking two people,” according to Hartman.
The police department said officers initially found both shooting victims at the Franciscan Health Lafayette East Hospital, where they were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. They later determined that the shooting occurred at an apartment complex in Lafayette, Indiana.
Smith was arrested on an active murder warrant from neighboring Cook County, Illinois. The Lafayette Police Department said it is coordinating with police in Markham, Illinois, regarding the arrest.
Smith resides in Lafayette, according to authorities.
A representative for the Markham Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the arrest.
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Louisville, Kentucky police are searching for a convicted felon who escaped police custody on Thursday and then briefly kidnapped two people, forcing them to drive him away.
A Kentucky deputy jailer was transporting Norman Wolfe, 31, when he kicked out the back window of an unmarked police vehicle and jumped onto Interstate 265 on Thursday, according to police.
Once he escaped the vehicle, Wolfe began running across several lanes of traffic on I-265, wearing orange clothing, according to police.
Upon further investigation, police learned that the inmate kidnapped two victims and forced them to drive him to River Road and Edith Avenue shortly after his escape.
Both victims were found unharmed, according to police.
As of Friday morning, Wolfe was still on the run, according to police. Area businesses and schools have been advised to take precautions as the search continues.
“LMPD’s Investigation into this incident is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the anonymous Crime Tip Hotline at 502-574-LMPD (5673) or utilize the online Crime Tip portal at LMPD Crime Tip Portal,” Louisville police said in a statement.
Prior to his escape, Wolfe was facing new charges of first- and third-degree burglary; fleeing and evading police; and a convicted felon in possession of a handgun.
Anyone who sees Wolfe is advised to not approach him and call 911.
(NEW YORK) — Nearly four years after an abandoned newborn was found alive in a plastic bag in Georgia, an arrest has been made in the case, authorities announced.
The baby girl was found in good condition in a wooded area in Forsyth County on the night of June 6, authorities said. A local family told ABC News’ Good Morning America at the time they had heard crying and called 911 after finding the newborn in a plastic bag.
The baby, temporarily named India, was likely born within hours of being found, authorities said. Her umbilical cord was still attached.
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office released remarkable body camera footage of first responders recovering the baby from the scene in the weeks following the discovery as they attempted to identify her.
The Forsyth County Major Crimes Unit has been “tirelessly working” on the “Baby India” case ever since, and on Thursday morning, deputies made an arrest, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
The sheriff’s office will be holding a press conference on Friday at 2 p.m. ET to discuss the case. Members of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the FBI will also be in attendance.
People were “waiting in line” to adopt India following her miraculous recovery, Tom Rawlings, then-director of Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Service, told Good Morning America at the time.
“In child protective services we deal with a lot of tragedy, of course, but it’s great to have a miracle,” Rawlings said of baby India’s survival. “And this truly is a miracle.”
Rawlings was not able to disclose too much about where the baby was due to confidentiality reasons.
The first deputy to the scene recounted finding the baby in an interview with Good Morning America.
“I wanted to give her comfort,” Forsyth Sheriff’s Deputy Terry Roper said in the weeks after the discovery. “A little bit later I realized it was the first time she had felt love, and I felt honored to be able to give her that.”
Two sisters heard India’s cries and went to investigate with their parents, after initially thinking it might have been a cat.
“It sounded like a baby, but you never would think that it’s a baby,” Kayla Ragatz told Good Morning America at the time.
When they found the baby in the plastic bag, her sister, Kyler Ragatz, said she “started bawling” due to the emotional discovery.
(NEW YORK) — Mildred Mahazu, the aunt of Jordan Neely, spoke exclusively in an interview with ABC News’ Byron Pitts about her nephew’s death after a former Marine placed him in a chokehold on a New York City subway train.
Neely, whose funeral is scheduled for Friday, was described by his aunt as a “diamond.”
“Jordan was a very, very sweet person,” Mahazu said in the interview that aired Friday. “He liked to be loved and he loved people. He was very, very, very friendly.”
She said she’s “not a judge,” but offered that Daniel Penny, the man who is charged in Neely’s death, “should be punished.”
“Why would you put your arm, your head around someone’s neck and choke him when you know you would die in less than 2 or 3 minutes? That means murder,” Mahazu said in the interview.
On May 1, Neely was on a Manhattan-bound F train making outbursts, according to what witnesses told investigators. He didn’t appear to threaten anyone specifically, according to witness accounts in court documents.
Penny, 24, engaged with Neely, allegedly put him in a chokehold and held him down for several minutes, according to investigators and bystander video of the incident. At least two other people are seen holding Neely down during the ordeal.
Neely was taken to a hospital and declared dead. The medical examiner would later rule Neely’s death a homicide.
Police sources told ABC News that Penny was not specifically being threatened by Neely when he intervened. Sources also added that Neely had not become violent and had not been threatening anyone in particular.
Neely had been previously arrested for several incidents on the subway, though it’s unclear how many, if any, led to convictions, sources close to the investigation told ABC News.
Although Penny was initially questioned by police, he was not arrested and was released later that night.
News of the incident sparked protests from New Yorkers and some leaders who called for Penny to be charged. On May 12, Penny turned himself in to the police as he was charged with second-degree manslaughter in Neely’s death.
He pleaded not guilty and was released on bond.
Penny’s attorneys have maintained their client never intended to kill Neely and was just trying to protect himself and others as Neely was allegedly threatening him.
“Mr. Neely had a documented history of violent and erratic behavior, the apparent result of ongoing and untreated mental illness,” said the statement from the law firm of Raiser and Kenniff.
Penny’s next court appearance is scheduled for July 17. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
“He needs to make some time for that,” Mahazu said. “You don’t need to walk a free man.”
The other persons in the video holding down Neely have not been publicly identified or charged in connection with his death.
(NEW YORK) — A 17-year-old girl has been charged with murder in the overdose deaths of two of her classmates, authorities said Thursday.
Two teenage girls were found dead Tuesday at Fayette Ware Comprehensive High School in Somerville, Tennessee, after overdosing on fentanyl. A third teenager was transported to the hospital in critical condition. One of the girls was 16 years old and the two others were 17 years old, according to the school district.
District Attorney Mark Davidson told ABC News the surviving girl was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of possession of a controlled substance.
All three girls were juniors at the high school, which held its graduation ceremony just hours after the overdoses.
The school held a balloon release vigil for the students in the school’s parking on Thursday. The school also made counselors and religious leaders from across the district available to the community through next week.
“We want to send our thoughts and prayers to the families of the young ladies who lost their lives. A common thread throughout our district is family. This situation has rocked our family,” Versie Hamlett, Fayette County Public Schools’ superintendent, said in a letter to the community.
Murder charges for someone involved in overdose deaths are “unusual,” Davidson said.
“I’ve never seen it; not in a situation of this gravity,” he added, saying his office has charged adults for providing deadly drugs but never a juvenile.
The girl, who has not been named by officials, will appear in juvenile court June 7 for a status hearing.
(NEW YORK) — A middle school teacher in Illinois says she was forced to resign from her job after parents called the police on her for including the book This Book is Gay in a slate of books made available to students during a reading activity.
Sarah Bonner, who has been a teacher for roughly 20 years, says she is just one of many teachers facing pressure from certain parents to shun LGBTQ identities from classrooms.
“I think the day that we give up on public education is a very sad day,” she said. “I feel like this particular incident has empowered me to do more.”
She told ABC News that she and her students had Reading Mondays, when they celebrate independent reading and the love of reading.
Students get to share and swap ideas about what they love to read and what they’re reading, she said.
In March, Bonner said she held a “book tasting,” so students can see what books are out there and available to read. She teaches in a rural setting, and said “sometimes access to books can get shaky.”
She said she went to a local library to gather almost 100 titles based on the interests her students had expressed and on the recommendation of several young adult literature lists.
“I thought about my student interests and the questions that they had been asking around some of the research things that we’d been working on in class, and I developed a whole entire list of young adult reads at the library that day,” Bonner said.
However, several parents filed a report to local police over that one book, claiming Bonner was “grooming” students with the book. Opponents of the book criticized the book’s reference to sexual activities. This Book Is Gay is one of the top targeted books, according to the American Library Association.
ABC News confirmed with police that the information was recorded by them, and a fact finding investigation was to be pursued. Bonner was to then be placed on leave with pay by school officials, according to the police report.
The report states that the police were “not aware of any student that had actually been affected by the book being in the classroom” except for one student who was instructed to take pictures by their parent. None of the parents wanted to pursue this criminally by the end of the police investigation, the report states.
When Bonner spoke with her husband regarding the report, “we both looked at each other and just said I had to resign, there was no way I was going to be able to go back and be the teacher that I want to be or could be with my students having this now be put in place.”
Although she believes the police report would not have gone anywhere, she said she worked with administrators to draw up settlement agreements for her resignation following the accusation.
As a teacher, Bonner said she has fought to include a diverse set of reading materials so students who grew up in her predominantly white, rural town can learn about different perspectives and experiences.
“I did that through literature. I did that through bringing in books that not only the students can see themselves in, but also to see others as outdoor windows into spaces that they had never seen before,” Bonner said.
She urges parents with concerns to reach out to teachers: “Dialogue between parents and teachers are so key because we both want the best for your children,” she said.
Bonner, who won an award from the National Council of Teachers of English for “Outstanding Middle Level Educator” in 2018, said she fears for the state of public education amid attacks on different identities.
“The importance of representation — it’s needed now more than ever,” Bonner said. “We need more inclusivity, we need more access, and the books, literatures, texts — they are so key to supporting our students’ ability to read the world.”
Jamie Gregory, a librarian in South Carolina, has been facing similar backlash for tweeting about her teen child’s defense of a highly-banned book called “Gender Queer,” and his opposition of its removal from local schools.
The book has been criticized for its depiction of nudity and sexual references.
Book ban efforts have risen dramatically across the U.S., with a record-breaking 1,269 demands made to censor library books and resources in 2022 alone, according to the American Library Association.
These efforts primarily target books written by or about people of color or who are LGBTQ, according to the ALA. Librarians and teachers continue to face immense pressure from political groups about what they can and cannot talk about — with laws across the country restricting content about race, gender identity, sexual orientation and more in schools.
“You certainly have the right as a parent to tell your child what they can and cannot read, but explain to them how that doesn’t mean, though, that you actually remove the materials so that no one else can access it,” Gregory added.
Once Gregory’s tweet was spread online by conservative extremists, she told ABC News she began receiving threatening messages and had her personal information shared online.
“It’s not just political rhetoric. I’m a real person. And this has really happened to me. In my life,” Gregory said she told a representative from a conservative group backing book bans. “You’re saying things that are not true, and making people paranoid and making people angry. You’re accusing people like me of felonies.”
Gregory and Bonner say their experiences represent a growing hostility towards public education and its inclusion of marginalized identities. The increased scrutiny has come amid growing fears of teacher shortages, and empty positions plaguing school districts nationwide.
Shelly Fitzgerald, who was fired from her teaching job at a Christian school in 2018 for being a lesbian, believes her firing was a sign of what was to come, and what people are experiencing now.
She believes laws that restrict content in classrooms in Florida, Texas, Oklahoma and elsewhere are designed to “stop teaching empathy,” “support” and “history.” She fears how laws restricting discussion on gender identity and sexual orientation in the classroom will impact her daughter, who has two mothers and could be restricted from talking about her home and family life.
Bonner, who now teaches pre-service middle school teachers, urges her students to prepare for a fight ahead.
“The more we ban, the more we erase,” Bonner said. “My heart just aches for the LGBTQ students in my classroom that have questions.”
(NEW YORK) — A small earthquake shook buildings across the New York metropolitan area Friday morning.
A 2.2 magnitude impacted the New York metropolitan area around 1:50 a.m., according to the United States Geological Service.
The tremor struck south of Hastings-on-Hudson, a village in Westchester County about 10 miles north of New York City. There were no initial reports of damage or injuries from the seismic activity.
Residents in New York and New Jersey described the quake’s impact as dramatic and noticeable, though it did not cause any damage.
Yonkers, NY, resident Sophia Balaj told ABC News that the quake produced a loud rumble for a few seconds, noticeable enough to prompt all the members of the video call she was on to ask each other if they felt the same shaking.
Englewood, NJ, resident Erica Diggs, a military veteran who completed two deployments to Iraq, compared the feeling of the earthquake to a mortar.
“What it felt like was a mortar, and what it sounded like was a mortar.” She later added the quake “gave me flashbacks of being in my trailer when I was in Iraq and the mortars would hit that close.”
White Plains, NY, resident Allison Solin added that her unfamiliarity with earthquakes as a New Yorker led to some panic about the source of the shaking that impacted her home.
“I was like, ‘That’s not wind,’” she told ABC News. “And then I thought, oh my god, is there a bomb explosion nearby?”
Like Solin, many residents near New York City took to social media early Friday morning to ask if others had felt a similar shake.
Earthquakes near New York City are relatively uncommon, though the occasional tremor has impacted the region.
A 5.8 earthquake struck Virginia in 2011, sending noticeable tremors up the eastern seaboard, including New York City. Another 3.9 magnitude earthquake in 2010 off the coast of Southampton caused similar alarm for residents in New York.
The New York earthquake occurred the same evening as a significantly stronger 7.7 magnitude earthquake generated a small tsunami in the Pacific Ocean.
