(DAVIS, Calif.) — A former UC Davis student has been arrested in connection with three stabbings — two of which killed a college senior and a homeless man — in Davis, California, police announced Thursday.
The suspect, 21-year-old Carlos Dominguez, was arrested on Thursday for two counts of homicide and one count of attempted homicide, Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel said at a news conference.
He was a UC Davis student until last week, he said.
The suspect was identified on Wednesday afternoon when about 15 people called the authorities, reporting seeing someone near Sycamore Park who matched the suspect description, Pytel said.
When the suspect was stopped by patrol officers, he had “physical evidence” on him that “might be part of the investigation,” and he appeared to be wearing the same clothing described by witnesses at the third attack, Pytel said. Based on an interview, collected physical evidence and his clothing, he was initially arrested for possessing a large knife, Pytel said.
The “brazen” attacks, which all unfolded within one week, left the UC Davis campus and the surrounding college town on edge.
The first attack was on April 27, when David Breaux, a beloved homeless man who was a staple in Davis for over a decade, was stabbed multiple times and killed in the city’s Central Park, according to police. He was found on a park bench where he often slept, police said.
Two days later, UC Davis senior Karim Abou Najm, a 20-year-old computer science major, was stabbed to death at Davis’ Sycamore Park, according to the university and police.
Then, on Monday, a woman, Kimberlee Guillory, was stabbed multiple times through her tent at a transient camp, police said. She survived and was listed in critical but stable condition. Police said Thursday that she’s recovering.
There’s no information that Dominguez knew any of the victims, police said.
(NEW YORK) — Repairing the damage to writer E. Jean Carroll’s reputation caused by then-President Donald Trump’s Oct. 12, 2022, social media post that allegedly defamed her could cost up to $2.7 million, a marketing expert testified Thursday in Carroll’s defamation and battery case against the former president.
Carroll, who brought the lawsuit in November, alleges that Trump defamed her in his Truth Social post by calling her allegations “a Hoax and a lie” and saying “This woman is not my type!” when he denied her claim that Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s.
The former Elle magazine columnist added a charge of battery under a recently adopted New York law that allows adult survivors of sexual abuse to sue their alleged attacker regardless of the statute of limitations. Trump has denied all allegations that he raped Carroll or defamed her.
Northwestern University professor Ashlee Humphrey testified Thursday that Trump’s post, in which he called Carroll’s claim a “con job,” was viewed between 13 and 18 million times, and she estimated that about 5 million users believed its content.
Humphreys told the jury that although Trump posted his statement solely on his Truth Social platform, “it appeared widely” throughout the mass media.
Repairing Carroll’s reputation through a publicity campaign would cost between $368,000 and $2.7 million, Humphreys testified.
The testimony is the first that speaks to a potential damage award if the jury finds Trump liable for defamation or battery. The nine-member jury of six men and three women is weighing Carroll’s defamation and battery claims and deciding potential monetary damages.
On cross-examination, Humphreys agreed that Trump’s views of Carroll’s rape allegation were well-known by the time he made the post in October 2022.
“The horse was kind of out of the barn,” defense attorney Perry Brandt said.
Earlier in the day, the jury viewed clips from Trump’s videotaped deposition, including the moment when he was shown a photograph of Carroll from the 1980s and said, “That’s Marla,” momentarily confusing his rape accuser for his second wife, Marla Maples.
Carroll’s attorneys argued that belies Trump’s assertion that Carroll is not his type.
Asked during the deposition about the so-called “Access Hollywood” video in which Trump is heard bragging about how he grabs and kisses women without consent, Trump was seen dismissing the remarks as “locker room talk.”
Trump was also seen on the deposition video calling Carroll a “nut job.”
On Wednesday, defense attorney Joe Tacopina told Judge Lewis Kaplan that Trump would not be mounting a defense in the case. The case’s final witness was expected to be Roberta Myers, former editor of Elle magazine, where Carroll used to write her advice column.
Summations are expected Monday, with jury deliberations expected to start Tuesday.
Carroll’s lawsuit is her second against Trump related to her rape allegation.
She previously sued Trump in 2019 after the then-president denied her rape claim by telling The Hill that Carroll was “totally lying,” saying, “I’ll say it with great respect: No. 1, she’s not my type. No. 2, it never happened. It never happened, OK?” That defamation suit has been caught in a procedural back-and-forth over the question of whether Trump, as president, was acting in his official capacity as an employee of the federal government when he made those remarks.
If Trump is determined to have been acting as a government employee, the U.S. government would substitute as the defendant in that suit — which means that case would go away, since the government cannot be sued for defamation.
This month’s trial is taking place as Trump seeks the White House for a third time, while facing numerous legal challenges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, his handling of classified material after leaving the White House, and possible attempts to interfere in Georgia’s 2020 vote. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said last week she would decide whether to file criminal charges against Trump or his allies this summer.
(RICHMOND, Va.) — One of the two inmates who escaped a Virginia jail has been arrested in Mexico following a dayslong manhunt, according to the FBI.
Alder Alfonso Marin-Sotelo, 26, was taken into custody by Mexican authorities in the state of Guerrero on Thursday afternoon, the FBI said.
“The investigation to determine his exact movements is ongoing,” the FBI said.
Marin-Sotelo, 26, and Bruce Callahan, 44, both federal detainees, escaped over the weekend from the Piedmont Regional Jail in Farmville, which is about 70 miles west of Richmond, according to the Prince Edward County Sheriff’s Department.
“They somehow, we think, were potentially able to manipulate some locks, crawled through an opening that led them out into the rec-yard area,” U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Larry Moltzan, told ABC News in an exclusive interview. “From there, they scaled two fences to get away from the jail.”
Moltzan said one escapee left 20 hours before the other, but he believes they might’ve talked about their plans.
“I think it’s fair to reason that they may have talked about it, given that it was so similar,” Moltzan said. “But they did not escape at the same time and didn’t necessarily help each other in that way.”
Callahan is convicted of multiple federal drug charges and Marin-Sotelo is convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm, the sheriff’s department said. Both are from North Carolina, the department said.
Marin-Sotelo is also a defendant in the murder of deputy Ned Byrd of the Wake County Sheriff’s Department in North Carolina, Wake County officials said.
Marin-Sotelo fled the jail in a 2003 red or burgundy Ford Mustang, which remains missing, the FBI said. Authorities are asking for help finding the car, which has a 30-day North Carolina temporary tag.
His sister, Adriana Marin-Sotelo, has been arrested for allegedly helping her brother escape, Raleigh ABC station WTVD reported.
(ATLANTA) — A gunman killed one and wounded four others in a mass shooting in an Atlanta medical center waiting room on Wednesday, police said.
The suspect, identified as 24-year-old Deion Patterson, was apprehended following an hourslong manhunt, police said Wednesday night.
Here’s how the news developed. All times Eastern:
May 04, 12:15 PM EDT
Hospital gives updates on injured victims
Three of the four women who were shot and injured remain in the intensive care unit, Dr. Robert Jansen, the chief medical officer at Grady Health, said at a news conference Thursday.
Two of those three women are “critical” and will return to the operating room for additional procedures, he said. The third patient in intensive care is stable and hopefully can move out of the ICU later in the day, he said.
The fourth woman who was shot is in stable condition, he said.
“As of right now everybody is as stable as they can be given the nature of their injuries,” Jansen said.
Jansen said he’s spoken with two of the injured victims.
“They have been traumatized,” he said.
“They are very grateful for the support and care they’ve received,” he said, however, “the fact that they were in a health care facility just makes it worse.”
Jansen noted that “the impact” of this shooting “on the staff is something you can’t imagine.”
“Unfortunately, in this day and age, seeing shooting victims is almost a daily occurrence here,” he said.
“But when they come in like this, particularly because it happened in a health care setting, it resonates more,” he said, adding that the hospital staff is being offered support.
May 04, 11:44 AM EDT
Suspect charged with murder, aggravated assault
The suspected gunman, 24-year-old Deion Patterson, has been charged with one count of murder and four counts of aggravated assault.
He waived his Thursday court appearance, according to Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB.
May 04, 10:37 AM EDT
Suspect had semi-automatic handgun
The suspected gunman, 24-year-old Deion Patterson, was armed with a semi-automatic handgun when he allegedly shot five people in a medical center waiting room, according to court documents.
The documents identify the surviving victims as Georgette Whitlow, Lisa Glynn, Jazzmin Daniel and Alesha Hollinger. All four of them remain hospitalized.
Hollinger was shot in the face, according to the documents, while Daniel was shot multiple times in the abdomen. Whitlow was shot in the arm and Glynn was shot in the abdomen.
Amy St. Pierre, 39, an employee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was killed in Wednesday’s shooting.
May 04, 10:27 AM EDT
Atlanta mayor: ‘It’s the guns’
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens released an impassioned letter addressed to city residents on Thursday pleading for change in the wake of Wednesday’s mass shooting in a medical center waiting room.
“This suspect was arrested and will stand trial for his crimes,” the mayor said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that one woman died, and four others were seriously injured. It doesn’t change the fact that our city experienced a collective trauma. Families are grieving today, and our community is on edge.”
“We will learn more in the coming days about the circumstances of this shooting. But one thing we already know is that an incident like this is tragically too common in America,” Dickens said. “We need national action to change the way we treat mental health. And we need action that keeps guns out of the hands of people who should not have them.”
“We cannot accept mass shootings as normal in our country,” he continued. “Other nations have challenges with mental health, but they don’t have this level of gun violence that we do.”
“It’s the guns,” the mayor stressed. “While we respect the rights conveyed by the 2nd Amendment, we also need more actions to protect the rights of our citizens to go about their lives — to go to a doctor’s office, a supermarket, a gas station, their school — without the threat of being gunned down.”
May 04, 8:50 AM EDT
Suspect charged with murder, aggravated assault
The suspected gunman, 24-year-old Deion Patterson, has been charged with one count of murder and four counts of aggravated assault.
He’s due in court at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.
May 03, 11:00 PM EDT
Victim identified as CDC employee
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the 39-year-old victim who was killed in Wednesday’s shooting as Amy St. Pierre.
“CDC is deeply saddened by the unexpected loss of a colleague killed today in the Midtown Atlanta shooting,” it said in a statement. “Our hearts are with her family, friends and colleagues as they remember her and grieve this tragic loss.”
May 03, 9:34 PM EDT
Suspect taken into custody without incident, technology ‘played a huge role’: Police
The suspect was taken into custody without incident, police said Wednesday during a press conference.
The suspect entered the medical facility shortly before noon and allegedly shot the first victim shortly after, Deputy Chief Charles Hampton said. The suspect spent two minutes in the building before exiting and going to a Shell gas station, where he commandeered a pickup truck, according to Hampton.
Officers were able to place the license plate number into the reader system, Hampton said, and received an alert at approximately 12:30 that the suspect was in Cobb County.
Technology “played a huge role,” Cobb County Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer said, “but technology doesn’t work without the dedicated people behind it.”
Police had checked and cleared an unoccupied building they knew the suspect had gone into, VanHoozer said, adding that a “real-time operator” took a 911 call and had an instinct that it was legitimate, and they prioritized that call.
An undercover officer made the first contact with the suspect and had backup from uniformed officers, the chief said.
May 03, 8:00 PM EDT
Suspect has been captured, police say
The suspect, Deion Patterson, has been apprehended following an hourslong manhunt, Atlanta police said.
May 03, 6:49 PM EDT
Suspect seen in Cobb County shortly after shooting, police say
Police in Cobb County said Deion Patterson was seen on video in the county around 12:30 p.m. ET, roughly 20 minutes after the shooting, though it’s unclear if he’s still in the area.
Cobb County Police Sgt. Wayne Delk said during a press briefing that after learning Patterson might be in the area, his team checked flock cameras and “did discover that the vehicle had entered Cobb County,” located northwest of Midtown Atlanta, where the shooting occurred.
“Around 12:30 p.m., we did spot what appeared to be a suspect in this area, which is why we have such a heavy presence,” Delk said.
Police did not discover the video footage until around 2:30 p.m., and Delk acknowledged it’s unclear if Patterson is still in the county.
“He might still be in the area,” he said.
The vehicle Patterson was believed to be driving was recovered by Atlanta police in a parking garage, Delk said.
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie
May 03, 5:24 PM EDT
3 patients remain ‘critically ill’
Of the four women who were shot and injured in the medical facility waiting room, three of them are considered “critically ill” and are in the intensive care unit, according to Dr. Robert Jansen, the chief medical officer at Grady Health.
The most seriously injured patient remains in the operating room, Jansen said, while a second victim has completed an operation.
Another victim underwent an interventional radiology procedure, which is used to repair vascular injuries, and will need more procedures in the future, he said.
The fourth patient is considered stable, he said.
-ABC News’ Darren Reynolds
May 03, 4:51 PM EDT
Sen. Warnock, in grief for his home state, begs Congress to take action
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., gave a passionate speech on the Senate floor in the wake of the latest mass shooting to strike the nation, this one unfolding in his “own backyard.”
“I rise today in shock and sorrow and in grief for my home state,” Warnock said.
Police officers work the scene of a shooting near a medical facility, May 3, 2023, in Atlanta.
Warnock noted that his two children were under lockdown at school on Wednesday amid the ongoing hunt for the Atlanta gunman.
“We behave as if this is normal — it is not normal. It is not right for us to live in a nation where nobody is safe, no matter where they are. We’re not safe in our schools. We’re not safe in our workplaces. We’re not safe at the grocery store. We’re not safe at movie theaters. We’re not safe at spas. We’re not safe in our houses of worship. There is no sanctuary in the sanctuary. We’re not safe at concerts. We’re not safe at banks. We’re not safe at parades. We’re not safe in our own yards and in our own homes,” he said. “And now, today, we can add medical facilities to that list.”
He warned, “It’s only a matter of time that this kind of tragedy comes knocking on your door.”
As a pastor, Warnock said, “I’m praying for those who are affected by this tragedy,” but he stressed, “It is a contradiction to say that you are thinking and praying and do nothing. … We pray by taking action.”
Warnock said he’s “pleading” with his colleagues in Congress to pass stricter gun reforms to “do everything we can to protect all of us and certainly all of our children.”
-ABC News’ Trish Turner
May 03, 3:50 PM EDT
39-year-old woman killed, 4 women injured
The manhunt is ongoing for the mass shooting suspect, 24-year-old Deion Patterson, Atlanta police said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. Police said the gun has not been recovered.
The shooting, which unfolded in a medical center waiting room, killed a 39-year-old woman, police said.
The four injured victims, who are all women, are “fighting for their lives,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said. They are ages 71, 56, 39 and 25, police said.
“As soon as possible I’ll be in touch with the families of the victims,” he said.
Patterson’s family is cooperating with the investigation, police said.
May 03, 3:17 PM EDT
Doctor recounts performing surgery as shooting unfolded 1 floor below
Dr. Timothy Simons was performing surgery one floor above the scene where the shooting unfolded.
He told ABC News he completed the surgery and then sheltered in place.
When police came to clear the building floor by floor, Simons said he was told to put his hands up to verify that he was not the shooter.
“Then they escorted us all down the stairs,” he said.
-ABC News’ Janice McDonald
May 03, 2:58 PM EDT
Carjacking may be connected to shooting
As Atlanta police search for the suspected gunman, 24-year-old Deion Patterson, they say a car was stolen “not long after the shooting” and remains missing.
“We are working to locate the carjacked vehicle and to determine whether it is connected to the shooting,” police said.
May 03, 2:31 PM EDT
Doctor saw officers swarm his building
Dr. Ahmed Ali, a radiation oncologist at the building, told ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB that he was returning from his lunch break when he saw armed officers swam the scene.
“I was worried what was happening,” he said. “Building security … they told me gunshots were coming from the 11th floor. They said there was a pool of blood in the elevator shafts when the doors opened.”
-ABC News’ Ivan Pereira
May 03, 2:30 PM EDT
3 critically injured, 1 remains in ER
Of the four people who were shot and injured, three are in critical condition and one is in the emergency department, according to hospital officials.
All four are adults, officials said.
May 03, 2:02 PM EDT
1 dead, 4 injured
One person was killed and four were injured in the shooting at Laureate Medical Center in Atlanta, according to police.
“Officers are actively searching for the suspect and any other victims,” police said.
Northside Hospital tweeted that it’s “cooperating with law enforcement following the shooting at our midtown #Atlanta location earlier this afternoon. We urge people in the area to shelter in place and follow instructions from law enforcement on the scene.”
(ATLANTA) — A gunman killed one and wounded four others in a mass shooting in an Atlanta medical center waiting room on Wednesday, police said.
The suspect, identified as 24-year-old Deion Patterson, was apprehended following an hours-long manhunt, police said Wednesday night.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 04, 8:50 AM EDT
Suspect charged with murder, aggravated assault
The suspected gunman, 24-year-old Deion Patterson, has been charged with one count of murder and four counts of aggravated assault.
He’s due in court at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.
May 03, 11:00 PM EDT
Victim identified as CDC employee
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the 39-year-old victim who was killed in Wednesday’s shooting as Amy St. Pierre.
“CDC is deeply saddened by the unexpected loss of a colleague killed today in the Midtown Atlanta shooting,” it said in a statement. “Our hearts are with her family, friends and colleagues as they remember her and grieve this tragic loss.”
May 03, 9:34 PM EDT
Suspect taken into custody without incident, technology ‘played a huge role’: Police
The suspect was taken into custody without incident, police said Wednesday during a press conference.
The suspect entered the medical facility shortly before noon and allegedly shot the first victim shortly after, Deputy Chief Charles Hampton said. The suspect spent two minutes in the building before exiting and going to a Shell gas station, where he commandeered a pickup truck, according to Hampton.
Officers were able to place the license plate number into the reader system, Hampton said, and received an alert at approximately 12:30 that the suspect was in Cobb County.
Technology “played a huge role,” Cobb County Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer said, “but technology doesn’t work without the dedicated people behind it.”
Police had checked and cleared an unoccupied building they knew the suspect had gone into, VanHoozer said, adding that a “real-time operator” took a 911 call and had an instinct that it was legitimate, and they prioritized that call.
An undercover officer made the first contact with the suspect and had backup from uniformed officers, the chief said.
May 03, 8:00 PM EDT
Suspect has been captured, police say
The suspect, Deion Patterson, has been apprehended following an hourslong manhunt, Atlanta police said.
May 03, 6:49 PM EDT
Suspect seen in Cobb County shortly after shooting, police say
Police in Cobb County said Deion Patterson was seen on video in the county around 12:30 p.m. ET, roughly 20 minutes after the shooting, though it’s unclear if he’s still in the area.
Cobb County Police Sgt. Wayne Delk said during a press briefing that after learning Patterson might be in the area, his team checked flock cameras and “did discover that the vehicle had entered Cobb County,” located northwest of Midtown Atlanta, where the shooting occurred.
“Around 12:30 p.m., we did spot what appeared to be a suspect in this area, which is why we have such a heavy presence,” Delk said.
Police did not discover the video footage until around 2:30 p.m., and Delk acknowledged it’s unclear if Patterson is still in the county.
“He might still be in the area,” he said.
The vehicle Patterson was believed to be driving was recovered by Atlanta police in a parking garage, Delk said.
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie
May 03, 5:24 PM EDT
3 patients remain ‘critically ill’
Of the four women who were shot and injured in the medical facility waiting room, three of them are considered “critically ill” and are in the intensive care unit, according to Dr. Robert Jansen, the chief medical officer at Grady Health.
The most seriously injured patient remains in the operating room, Jansen said, while a second victim has completed an operation.
Another victim underwent an interventional radiology procedure, which is used to repair vascular injuries, and will need more procedures in the future, he said.
The fourth patient is considered stable, he said.
-ABC News’ Darren Reynolds
May 03, 4:51 PM EDT
Sen. Warnock, in grief for his home state, begs Congress to take action
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., gave a passionate speech on the Senate floor in the wake of the latest mass shooting to strike the nation, this one unfolding in his “own backyard.”
“I rise today in shock and sorrow and in grief for my home state,” Warnock said.
Police officers work the scene of a shooting near a medical facility, May 3, 2023, in Atlanta.
Warnock noted that his two children were under lockdown at school on Wednesday amid the ongoing hunt for the Atlanta gunman.
“We behave as if this is normal — it is not normal. It is not right for us to live in a nation where nobody is safe, no matter where they are. We’re not safe in our schools. We’re not safe in our workplaces. We’re not safe at the grocery store. We’re not safe at movie theaters. We’re not safe at spas. We’re not safe in our houses of worship. There is no sanctuary in the sanctuary. We’re not safe at concerts. We’re not safe at banks. We’re not safe at parades. We’re not safe in our own yards and in our own homes,” he said. “And now, today, we can add medical facilities to that list.”
He warned, “It’s only a matter of time that this kind of tragedy comes knocking on your door.”
As a pastor, Warnock said, “I’m praying for those who are affected by this tragedy,” but he stressed, “It is a contradiction to say that you are thinking and praying and do nothing. … We pray by taking action.”
Warnock said he’s “pleading” with his colleagues in Congress to pass stricter gun reforms to “do everything we can to protect all of us and certainly all of our children.”
-ABC News’ Trish Turner
May 03, 3:50 PM EDT
39-year-old woman killed, 4 women injured
The manhunt is ongoing for the mass shooting suspect, 24-year-old Deion Patterson, Atlanta police said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. Police said the gun has not been recovered.
The shooting, which unfolded in a medical center waiting room, killed a 39-year-old woman, police said.
The four injured victims, who are all women, are “fighting for their lives,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said. They are ages 71, 56, 39 and 25, police said.
“As soon as possible I’ll be in touch with the families of the victims,” he said.
Patterson’s family is cooperating with the investigation, police said.
May 03, 3:17 PM EDT
Doctor recounts performing surgery as shooting unfolded 1 floor below
Dr. Timothy Simons was performing surgery one floor above the scene where the shooting unfolded.
He told ABC News he completed the surgery and then sheltered in place.
When police came to clear the building floor by floor, Simons said he was told to put his hands up to verify that he was not the shooter.
“Then they escorted us all down the stairs,” he said.
-ABC News’ Janice McDonald
May 03, 2:58 PM EDT
Carjacking may be connected to shooting
As Atlanta police search for the suspected gunman, 24-year-old Deion Patterson, they say a car was stolen “not long after the shooting” and remains missing.
“We are working to locate the carjacked vehicle and to determine whether it is connected to the shooting,” police said.
May 03, 2:31 PM EDT
Doctor saw officers swarm his building
Dr. Ahmed Ali, a radiation oncologist at the building, told ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB that he was returning from his lunch break when he saw armed officers swam the scene.
“I was worried what was happening,” he said. “Building security … they told me gunshots were coming from the 11th floor. They said there was a pool of blood in the elevator shafts when the doors opened.”
-ABC News’ Ivan Pereira
May 03, 2:30 PM EDT
3 critically injured, 1 remains in ER
Of the four people who were shot and injured, three are in critical condition and one is in the emergency department, according to hospital officials.
All four are adults, officials said.
May 03, 2:02 PM EDT
1 dead, 4 injured
One person was killed and four were injured in the shooting at Laureate Medical Center in Atlanta, according to police.
“Officers are actively searching for the suspect and any other victims,” police said.
Northside Hospital tweeted that it’s “cooperating with law enforcement following the shooting at our midtown #Atlanta location earlier this afternoon. We urge people in the area to shelter in place and follow instructions from law enforcement on the scene.”
(NEW ORLEANS) — Corey Harrison, the fourth detainee who escaped from a Mississippi jail more than a week ago was captured in Crystal Springs, the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Thursday.
A third detainee had been found dead inside a vehicle at a New Orleans truck stop on Sunday, authorities said. Casey Grayson, 34, was one of four men who broke out of the Raymond Detention Center in Hinds County last month, local authorities said.
His cause of death is pending an autopsy, Hinds County Sheriff Tyree Jones said Tuesday.
“There was drug paraphernalia and suspected narcotics recovered in close proximity to where he was discovered in the vehicle,” Jones told reporters during a press briefing Tuesday, noting that there was no foul play suspected.
Authorities believe a family member may have provided the white pickup truck that Grayson was discovered in following his escape, but “that is still under investigation,” Jones said. A security guard found him unresponsive in the truck and alerted authorities, Jones said.
Since the breach, one of the detainees was killed in a shootout with law enforcement and another was taken into custody in Texas, while a fourth remained at large.
The four detainees escaped through the roof of the Hinds County jail on April 21, according to the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office. The men were discovered missing from the jail early the following day after a headcount, according to Jones. The men were pretrial detainees, meaning they were being held in prison while awaiting trial.
Grayson had been detained since mid-February and was charged with the sale of a controlled substance and grand larceny, according to Jones. The sheriff’s office received information last week that Grayson may have been in the New Orleans area, he said.
The discovery comes after one of the escaped detainees, 51-year-old Jerry Raynes, was captured in Spring Valley, Texas, in the Houston area, last week. He is in the process of being extradited to Mississippi, Jones said Tuesday.
Raynes had been in the Raymond Detention Center since January 2022 after being charged with auto theft and business burglary and has a history of escaping pretrial detention facilities, according to Jones. He faces additional charges of escape and auto theft, the sheriff said.
Another one of the escaped detainees — 22-year-old Dylan Arrington — was killed in a shootout with deputies at a residence in Leake County on April 26, according to Jones. Arrington had barricaded himself inside the home, which somehow became engulfed in flames during the standoff, Jones said.
While on the loose, Arrington was believed to be involved in a fatal carjacking in Jackson on April 24. The victim — identified as the Rev. Anthony Watts — was believed to have pulled over to help after someone crashed a motorcycle before he was fatally shot, authorities said.
Arrington had been in the detention center since April 13 after being charged with auto theft and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, according to the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office.
The fourth detainee was identified by the sheriff’s office as Corey Harrison, 22, who was charged with receiving stolen property and had been detained since April 7.
Jones said Tuesday that Harrison is believed to be affiliated with the Hinds County area but “I do not have an exact location on where he may be at this particular time.”
(NEWBURYPORT, Mass.) — Four workers were found, but one remains unaccounted for following a chemical explosion at an industrial park in Newburyport, Massachusetts, early Thursday.
Authorities first received reports of the explosion at 12:45 a.m., according to a press release from the Newburyport Fire Department.
The four workers who were inside the building were taken to the hospital, treated and later released, the fire department said. Authorities are continuing their search for the fifth worker.
An “industrial-sized vat” that was previously inside the building moved approximately 30 feet as a result of the explosion and was found in a parking lot next to the building, the fire department said.
The building sustained major structural damage as a result of the chemical explosion, and there is no danger to the public at this time, according to the fire department.
(FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.) — A North Carolina police officer shot and killed his wife before turning the gun on himself, state authorities said Wednesday amid an investigation into their deaths.
Fayetteville police officers responded to the home of fellow officer Domingo Tavarez-Rodriguez on Friday when he didn’t report to work at 6 p.m., according to Fayetteville Police Chief Kemberle Braden.
“When he failed to report and his supervisors were unable to contact him by phone, that’s what prompted them to go by and check on him at his residence,” Braden told reporters during a press briefing.
Responding officers found Tavarez-Rodriguez, 53, and his wife, Yenitza Arroyo-Torres, 44, both dead with gunshot wounds inside their home in the River Glen subdivision, police said.
Braden said he requested the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to investigate their deaths, as the incident involves a Fayetteville officer.
The preliminary investigation “shows the couple died as the result of a murder-suicide,” the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement Wednesday.
The preliminary autopsy report from the medical examiner’s office shows that the officer died from a single gunshot wound and his wife died as a result of “multiple gunshot wounds,” state authorities said.
“Based on the preliminary investigation and the medical examiner’s preliminary findings, there is no reason to believe anyone else was involved and there is no reason to believe there is a threat to the community or to law enforcement,” the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said.
No further information is being released amid the investigation, the agency said.
Tavarez-Rodriguez had been with the department since June 2021 and was a military veteran, Braden said.
ABC News has reached out to the Fayetteville Police Department for comment.
(ATLANTA) — A gunman killed one and wounded four others in a mass shooting in an Atlanta medical center waiting room on Wednesday, police said.
The suspect, identified as 24-year-old Deion Patterson, was apprehended following an hours-long manhunt, police said Wednesday night.
Here’s how the news developed. All times Eastern:
May 03, 11:00 PM EDT
Victim identified as CDC employee
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the 39-year-old victim who was killed in Wednesday’s shooting as Amy St. Pierre.
“CDC is deeply saddened by the unexpected loss of a colleague killed today in the Midtown Atlanta shooting,” it said in a statement. “Our hearts are with her family, friends and colleagues as they remember her and grieve this tragic loss.”
May 03, 9:34 PM EDT
Suspect taken into custody without incident, technology ‘played a huge role’: Police
The suspect was taken into custody without incident, police said Wednesday during a press conference.
The suspect entered the medical facility shortly before noon and allegedly shot the first victim shortly after, Deputy Chief Charles Hampton said. The suspect spent two minutes in the building before exiting and going to a Shell gas station, where he commandeered a pickup truck, according to Hampton.
Officers were able to place the license plate number into the reader system, Hampton said, and received an alert at approximately 12:30 that the suspect was in Cobb County.
Technology “played a huge role,” Cobb County Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer said, “but technology doesn’t work without the dedicated people behind it.”
Police had checked and cleared an unoccupied building they knew the suspect had gone into, VanHoozer said, adding that a “real-time operator” took a 911 call and had an instinct that it was legitimate, and they prioritized that call.
An undercover officer made the first contact with the suspect and had backup from uniformed officers, the chief said.
May 03, 8:00 PM EDT
Suspect has been captured, police say
The suspect, Deion Patterson, has been apprehended following an hourslong manhunt, Atlanta police said.
May 03, 6:49 PM EDT
Suspect seen in Cobb County shortly after shooting, police say
Police in Cobb County said Deion Patterson was seen on video in the county around 12:30 p.m. ET, roughly 20 minutes after the shooting, though it’s unclear if he’s still in the area.
Cobb County Police Sgt. Wayne Delk said during a press briefing that after learning Patterson might be in the area, his team checked flock cameras and “did discover that the vehicle had entered Cobb County,” located northwest of Midtown Atlanta, where the shooting occurred.
“Around 12:30 p.m., we did spot what appeared to be a suspect in this area, which is why we have such a heavy presence,” Delk said.
Police did not discover the video footage until around 2:30 p.m., and Delk acknowledged it’s unclear if Patterson is still in the county.
“He might still be in the area,” he said.
The vehicle Patterson was believed to be driving was recovered by Atlanta police in a parking garage, Delk said.
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie
May 03, 5:24 PM EDT
3 patients remain ‘critically ill’
Of the four women who were shot and injured in the medical facility waiting room, three of them are considered “critically ill” and are in the intensive care unit, according to Dr. Robert Jansen, the chief medical officer at Grady Health.
The most seriously injured patient remains in the operating room, Jansen said, while a second victim has completed an operation.
Another victim underwent an interventional radiology procedure, which is used to repair vascular injuries, and will need more procedures in the future, he said.
The fourth patient is considered stable, he said.
-ABC News’ Darren Reynolds
May 03, 4:51 PM EDT
Sen. Warnock, in grief for his home state, begs Congress to take action
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., gave a passionate speech on the Senate floor in the wake of the latest mass shooting to strike the nation, this one unfolding in his “own backyard.”
“I rise today in shock and sorrow and in grief for my home state,” Warnock said.
Police officers work the scene of a shooting near a medical facility, May 3, 2023, in Atlanta.
Warnock noted that his two children were under lockdown at school on Wednesday amid the ongoing hunt for the Atlanta gunman.
“We behave as if this is normal — it is not normal. It is not right for us to live in a nation where nobody is safe, no matter where they are. We’re not safe in our schools. We’re not safe in our workplaces. We’re not safe at the grocery store. We’re not safe at movie theaters. We’re not safe at spas. We’re not safe in our houses of worship. There is no sanctuary in the sanctuary. We’re not safe at concerts. We’re not safe at banks. We’re not safe at parades. We’re not safe in our own yards and in our own homes,” he said. “And now, today, we can add medical facilities to that list.”
He warned, “It’s only a matter of time that this kind of tragedy comes knocking on your door.”
As a pastor, Warnock said, “I’m praying for those who are affected by this tragedy,” but he stressed, “It is a contradiction to say that you are thinking and praying and do nothing. … We pray by taking action.”
Warnock said he’s “pleading” with his colleagues in Congress to pass stricter gun reforms to “do everything we can to protect all of us and certainly all of our children.”
-ABC News’ Trish Turner
May 03, 3:50 PM EDT
39-year-old woman killed, 4 women injured
The manhunt is ongoing for the mass shooting suspect, 24-year-old Deion Patterson, Atlanta police said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. Police said the gun has not been recovered.
The shooting, which unfolded in a medical center waiting room, killed a 39-year-old woman, police said.
The four injured victims, who are all women, are “fighting for their lives,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said. They are ages 71, 56, 39 and 25, police said.
“As soon as possible I’ll be in touch with the families of the victims,” he said.
Patterson’s family is cooperating with the investigation, police said.
May 03, 3:17 PM EDT
Doctor recounts performing surgery as shooting unfolded 1 floor below
Dr. Timothy Simons was performing surgery one floor above the scene where the shooting unfolded.
He told ABC News he completed the surgery and then sheltered in place.
When police came to clear the building floor by floor, Simons said he was told to put his hands up to verify that he was not the shooter.
“Then they escorted us all down the stairs,” he said.
-ABC News’ Janice McDonald
May 03, 2:58 PM EDT
Carjacking may be connected to shooting
As Atlanta police search for the suspected gunman, 24-year-old Deion Patterson, they say a car was stolen “not long after the shooting” and remains missing.
“We are working to locate the carjacked vehicle and to determine whether it is connected to the shooting,” police said.
May 03, 2:31 PM EDT
Doctor saw officers swarm his building
Dr. Ahmed Ali, a radiation oncologist at the building, told ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB that he was returning from his lunch break when he saw armed officers swam the scene.
“I was worried what was happening,” he said. “Building security … they told me gunshots were coming from the 11th floor. They said there was a pool of blood in the elevator shafts when the doors opened.”
-ABC News’ Ivan Pereira
May 03, 2:30 PM EDT
3 critically injured, 1 remains in ER
Of the four people who were shot and injured, three are in critical condition and one is in the emergency department, according to hospital officials.
All four are adults, officials said.
May 03, 2:02 PM EDT
1 dead, 4 injured
One person was killed and four were injured in the shooting at Laureate Medical Center in Atlanta, according to police.
“Officers are actively searching for the suspect and any other victims,” police said.
Northside Hospital tweeted that it’s “cooperating with law enforcement following the shooting at our midtown #Atlanta location earlier this afternoon. We urge people in the area to shelter in place and follow instructions from law enforcement on the scene.”
(TRINIDAD, Colo.) — A Colorado man involved in an altercation with two Las Animas County police officers filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday morning stating that he was “violently and without justification assaulted” at a traffic stop last November.
According to the man’s attorney and the civil complaint, Kenneth Espinoza was shocked 35 times with a Taser with stuns to the body and even some to the face, but the sheriff’s department disagrees, saying that he was only shocked once.
“The statement that there was one Taser deployed is just preposterous,” Espinoza’s attorney Kevin Mehr said during Tuesday’s press conference.
According to the sheriff’s department, data obtained from Lt. Henry Trujillo’s and Deputy Mikhail Noel’s Tasers show that Espinoza was only shocked once. But Mehr claimed that there is a mode on Tasers called drive-stun mode that he believes was used during the incident based on the body camera footage.
According to the complaint, Deputy Noel drive stunned Espinoza 15 times while he was seated in his truck and approximately seven additional times while trying to force Espinoza into the police vehicle. The complaint also alleges that during the struggle to get Espinoza in the patrol vehicle, Officer Trujillo struck Espinoza in the face with one barb of his Taser.
Axon Enterprise is a company that develops technology and weapons products for military law enforcement, and has over five million uses of their Taser in the field, according to its website.
The company’s website details that “drive-stun capability is available with or without a Taser cartridge installed.”
“When using the drive-stun, push (drive) the front of the CEW firmly against the body of the subject. Simply “touching” the CEW against the subject is not sufficient,” the Axon website reads. “It is necessary to aggressively drive the front of the CEW into the subject for maximum effect.”
While Mehr believes Axon Taser’s are used by the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Department, the department did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment to confirm.
“That’s what Mikhail Noel is doing repeatedly when he has that Taser in his hand,” Mehr said during the press conference. “He’s jabbing it over and over and over again. And you can hear it. You can hear the pops because when it arcs, it makes kind’ve a popping noise and there’s a light at the end.”
Espinoza, 48, and his son, Nathaniel Espinoza, 23, were on their way to get Kenneth’s car repaired on Nov. 29, 2022, and were traveling through Trinidad, Colorado, according to the son at Tuesday’s press conference. After allegedly driving too close to police cars, Nathaniel was pulled over by Deputy Mikhail Noel. Kenneth, who was driving in front of his son, “circled the block and then pulled off the side of the road and parked approximately 75 feet” behind Noel’s patrol vehicle to wait for his son, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit says Kenneth Espinoza was legally parked on the shoulder of the road.
After being told to leave by police repeatedly, the officer and Kenneth Espinoza exchange words and curse at each other. Kenneth Espinoza is seen trying to drive away quickly, as Deputy Noel is seen pointing the gun in Kenneth Espinoza’s face, telling him to get out of the car after previously telling him to leave, according to the body camera video.
According to body camera footage, Lt. Trujillo can be seen coming back toward the car, demanding Kenneth Espinoza to get out the vehicle with a raised Taser pointing at Kenneth Espinoza.
The body camera appears to show Trujillo pulling Kenneth Espinoza’s arm from inside the vehicle as Noel can be seen climbing inside the vehicle on the passenger side, appearing to jab Kenneth Espinoza on his side with his stun gun multiple times until he gets out of the car.
After Kenneth Espinoza exits the vehicle, he is handcuffed, and the body camera appears to show him being jabbed more times. When being placed in the patrol car, Kenneth Espinoza turns to look at the officers and at that point, he appears to be shocked by Lt. Trujillo with one barb striking Kenneth Espinoza in the lip and the other in the chest.
“To watch my father almost lose his life to these men– time stopped,” Nathaniel Espinoza said during the press conference. “I can still see them pointing the gun at my father and just watching time stop. Just feeling everything just leave my body. That’s when, I’d say, the value of life was shown to me.”
Kenneth Espinoza says he has burns on his body with a wound in his mouth where he was shocked with the one documented Taser deployment on record from the sheriff’s department.
Both officers are currently on administrative leave from the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Department.
Lt. Trujillo and Deputy Noel have not immediately responded to ABC News’ request for comment.
“This matter has been referred to an outside agency for review. At present time there are no updates on the internal investigation pertaining to this matter. No further comment will be provided due to pending litigation,” the Las Animas Sheriff’s Department said in a statement to ABC News.
The sheriff’s department did not specify which agency is conducting the review and did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for further comment.
The department also claims that Kenneth Espinoza was never struck by either of the officers and Lt. Trujillo never unholstered his sidearm and that he only “raised” his Taser.
The November incident was initially brought to the 3rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office for filing of criminal charges, but on April 24, the sheriff’s department was notified that no charges were ever filed, and the case had been dropped months prior.
“The district attorney acknowledges that there was a delay in informing our office of his decision not to file charges in the matter,” the sheriff’s department release stated.
The decision to not file charges against Espinoza took place on Dec. 6, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also states that Espinoza spent one day in jail and paid bond to be released.
Both Trujillo and Noel were defendants in another federal complaint filed just over a month before the November incident that involved a deaf woman who allegedly attempted suicide in June 2020.
Lt. Trujillo and Deputy Noel were tasked with transporting Rosemary Goodman from a hospital in Trinidad to a mental health facility in Pueblo, when the officers handcuffed her and would not allow Goodman’s boyfriend, Nathan George, who spoke ASL to help Goodman decipher the situation, the lawsuit states.
“[Deputy Noel] applied [handcuffs] with such force that Ms. Goodman yelped in pain and lost feeling to her pinky finger for many weeks thereafter,” the lawsuit states.
A settlement conference regarding this case took place last November and all parties agreed to a settlement, according to court documents.
Mehr reiterated this incident during the press conference, adding more incidents regarding Lt. Trujillo, who is third in command at the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Department.
According to court documents, Lt. Trujillo was subject to a domestic abuse case involving plaintiff Shaunna Cusimano. In June 2006, Cusimano filed a case against Trujillo that resulted in a temporary restraining order.
Trujillo also was subject to at least three misdemeanor cases, according to court documents, that range from harassment-obscene language/gesture and disorderly conduct-offensive gesture charges to disorderly conduct-fighting in public and menacing charges. All of these charges were dismissed.
According to court documents, Trujillo was also subject to a criminal case filed in 1997 where he was charged with the Class 5 felony of menacing use of a deadly weapon. Although that charge was dropped, the same 1997 case charged Trujillo with disorderly conduct displaying a weapon, where the defendant entered a guilty plea.
In 1998, Trujillo was also subject to another misdemeanor case for harassment in public, according to court documents, where he was found guilty after a court trial after pleading not guilty. He was sentenced to unsupervised probation.
The lawsuit filed by Espinoza names Undersheriff Ray Santistevan, Sheriff Derek Navaraette and the Las Animas County Board of County Commissioners, in addition to the two officers involved in the incident and the sheriff’s department.
