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(SEATTLE) — Three people were killed and four others were injured after shots rang out at the Bite of Seattle food festival at the Seattle Center on Sunday, according to officials.

The Seattle Fire Department said first responders were dispatched to the scene at about 6 p.m.

When officers arrived, two people were shooting at each other, according to the Seattle Police Department.

“Our officers were there within seconds. They performed emergency aid to the wounded until the Seattle Fire Department was on scene,” Acting Chief Tyrone Davis, of the Seattle police, said in a statement. “Simultaneously, officers launched a search for the people responsible for this senseless violence.”

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said a suspect has been taken into custody. Further details on the suspect have not been released. The other person alleged to be firing shots was still unaccounted for, the police said.

First responders attempted lifesaving efforts at the scene for two of the seven people who were shot, but those efforts were unsuccessful, according to fire officials. Both were declared deceased at the scene, officials said.

Another person later died after being transferred to a local hospital, officials said during a press conference. Officials at the University of Washington Medicine’s Harborview Medical Center earlier said that one woman was in surgery and was in critical condition.

The Seattle Police Department said in an update early on Monday that two men, aged 19 and 44, along with woman, 56, were killed.

The other patients — a boy, a 23-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman — are in stable condition, according to the hospital. A 40-year-old woman with minor injuries from the scene declined transport to the hospital, according to fire officials.

The shooting occurred during Bite of Seattle, an annual festival with food vendors and live music held at the Seattle Center.

“What happened at the Seattle Center today was an act of horrific violence,” Wilson, the mayor, said in a statement. “Impacted families are living through the worst moment of their lives, and an entire community is trying to understand how a gathering built around culture, connection, and joy ended in gunfire.”

“No one should have to weigh the risk of being shot before attending an event, gathering with friends, or experiencing their city,” Wilson said.  

Two guns were recovered at the scene, officials said. There were no surveillance cameras in the immediate area of the shooting, law enforcement said. Police are asking the public to come forward with information.

Detectives from the police’s Homicide and Gun Violence Reduction units were investigating the shooting, the department said.

Multiple agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Seattle field office responded to the incident, an agency spokesperson told ABC News.

The FBI is aware of the shooting, an agency spokesperson said.

ABC News’ Amanda Morris contributed to this report.

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(WINDER, Ga.) — A teenage boy accused of carrying out a mass shooting at his Georgia high school pleaded guilty Friday to all 55 counts against him, including murder and aggravated assault.

Colt Gray, 16, agreed to a non-negotiated guilty plea, the judge said, meaning there is no plea deal; the state will present its argument for an appropriate sentence, and the defense will do the same.

The judge said the minimum sentence is life with parole and the maximum is a life sentence without parole.

Gray was 14 years old in September 2024 when he opened fire at Apalachee High School, killing two students and two teachers and injuring several others.

Breanna Schermerhorn, whose son, 14-year-old Mason Schermerhorn, was killed, said in a victim impact statement Friday, “Mason was so much more than a victim.”
“Mason was kind, compassionate, funny and fiercely protective of others,” she said. “As a child with exceptional needs, he understood what it felt like to struggle and be overlooked by others. Instead of becoming bitter, he became an advocate.”

“He made people that were typically unseen feel seen, accepted and safe,” she said.

“I had no doubt in my mind if Colt had actually attended school as he should have, that Mason would have befriended him,” Breanna Schermerhorn said.

She said Gray “knew that pulling that trigger was wrong, he knew that every choice he made that day would forever alter countless lives.”

One of Mason Schermerhorn’s sisters, Alanna Schermerhorn Wallace, said through tears that she lost the life she knew and her sense of safety on the day her brother was killed. She said she’s always scanning for exits and monitoring the people around her and is triggered by loud noises and unexpected sounds.

Another sister, Lilianah Ahmed, said through tears, “From a very young age, Mason wanted to be a family man. He wanted to have a wife, kids. He wanted to go to school and pursue a career. … All these different parts of himself he didn’t get to explore because of Colt.”

“My brother died alone and scared. [Gray] was the last person to see Mason alive, and he took him from us,” Ahmed said.

She also called her brother “the success story that Colt could have been.”

Shayna Aspinwall, whose husband, Richard Aspinwall, was killed, described him as a beloved dad, teacher and coach.

“Every holiday, birthday, anniversary and ordinary day is a reminder of what has been stolen from us,” she said. “… Now our daughters, who were 5 and 2 at the time, must grow up without their father. They will miss his guidance, his encouragement, his hugs, and all the milestones he should have been here to witness.”

Shayna Aspinwall asked the judge to not sentence Gray to life with the chance for parole, saying the parole hearings would be “continued torture” for her family.

Ismael Angulo, whose brother, 14-year-old Christian Angulo, was killed, also asked the judge to sentence Gray to life without the possibility of parole, as he described “every day as a nightmare.”

“The defendant’s family will still get to see their son, talk to him and know he is breathing. My mother, my father don’t get that privilege,” he said. “… There is no fairness in that reality. Christian was a beautiful, innocent soul who was robbed of his dreams.”

Gray was accused of carrying out the shooting with a rifle his father, Colin Gray, gifted him as a Christmas present, officials said. This March, Colin Gray was convicted of charges including second-degree murder and manslaughter, becoming the first parent in the U.S. convicted of murder due to the alleged acts of their child.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(NEW YORK) — The House Oversight Committee is set on Thursday to interview Jeffrey Epstein’s former private JPMorgan Chase investment banker, Jes Staley, whose career as a finance executive came crashing down after the convicted sex offender’s death in 2019.

Staley, 69, spent more than thirty years at JPMorgan Chase, including in senior roles in the private banking and investment divisions, where he managed relationships with ultra-wealthy clients, including Epstein.

After Staley left JPMorgan Chase, he became the CEO of the British multinational bank Barclays in 2015.

Staley agreed to a voluntary transcribed interview with the committee after its chairman, Kentucky Republican James Comer, requested his appearance as part of the panel’s wide-ranging inquiry into the federal government’s handling of the criminal investigations of Epstein.

Staley’s interview, like others that have occurred in recent months, will not be recorded.

Following Epstein’s arrest and death in 2019, Staley came under scrutiny in a lawsuit brought by Epstein’s victims, who contended in court filings that JPMorgan Chase and Staley had allegedly ignored red flags that helped enable Epstein to traffic women and girls. JPMorgan Chase settled the case in 2023 for $290 million, without any admission of wrongdoing.

Barclay executives told U.K. financial regulators after Epstein’s death that Staley and Epstein did not have a close relationship and that Staley had cut off contact long before he joined the bank as its CEO. But the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) subsequently determined — based partly on hundreds of emails and records that emerged from the victims’ lawsuit — that Staley had provided misleading information about the extent of the relationship and its timing.

Staley stepped down from Barclays in 2021 and was subsequently banned by the FCA from working in Britain’s financial sector.  

Staley lost his appeal of the regulatory body’s findings. During the appeal proceedings last year, Staley acknowledged that he had what he described as a consensual sexual encounter with one of Epstein’s adult assistants at an apartment building in New York City, owned by Epstein’s brother, where Epstein housed some of his employees.

“We had one encounter,” Staley testified, according to an account in The Guardian. “Much to my embarrassment today.”

Staley has also acknowledged visiting Epstein’s private estate in the U.S. Virgin Islands, though not while Epstein was there. He also claimed to have no specific recollection of a series of emails in which Staley and Epstein refer to women using names of Disney characters.

“That was fun. Say hi to Snow White,” Staley emailed to Epstein in 2010, according to documents made public in the victims’ litigation.

“Which character would you like next,” Epstein asked.

“Beauty and the Beast,” Staley answered.

“Well, one side is available,” Epstein responded, according to the documents.

A lawyer believed to be representing Staley for his interview on Capitol Hill did not respond to a request for comment in advance of Staley’s appearance.

Staley, who has not been charged, has denied all wrongdoing and has said he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.

An attorney representing Staley in the victims’ civil lawsuit said claims that Staley aided and abetted Epstein were “baseless.”

“The allegations against him are slanderous, and the potential damages are astronomical,” attorney Brendan Sullivan wrote in a 2023 court filing.

Records released by the Justice Department earlier this year in response to the Epstein Files Transparency Act include unproven allegations of wrongdoing by Staley. The allegations, raised by an alleged Epstein victim, were detailed in an 86-page internal prosecution memo from December 2019.

It’s unclear if federal prosecutors pursued those allegations. The Department of Justice has said repeatedly since the disclosure of the Epstein files that there are no credible allegations or evidence that would lead to new federal criminal investigations.

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(NEW YORK) — About 6,600 people in New Jersey who said they were not U.S. citizens had been incorrectly registered to vote due to a technical error during the previous gubernatorial administration, Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who took office this year, said Tuesday. She added that fewer than 400 were found to have actually voted and that the state is taking action to remove them from its voter rolls.

The admission came less than a week after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin sent letters to New Jersey and three other states alleging that those states might have tens of thousands of noncitizens registered to vote, although Mullin did not explain how precisely DHS got those numbers.

Mullin and DHS had alleged that New Jersey could have “as many as … 35,152 non-citizens registered to vote in New Jersey.”

Sherrill said in a statement on Tuesday, “Last week I learned that a serious software error in New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle System led to the registration of roughly 6,600 people who indicated that they were not U.S. citizens between June 2023 and June 2024, almost three years prior to my taking office. These individuals answered ‘no’ when asked on a keypad whether they were a U.S. citizen when applying for drivers’ licenses and identification cards, but through no fault of their own, the system registered them anyway.”

The governor’s statement said that the state’s “preliminary analysis” found that less than 400 people who were erroneously registered to vote had voted in elections and were not tied to just one party; they were registered as Democrats, Republicans, or unaffiliated voters.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Sherrill said those voters could have potentially voted in any election since being registered, but the state has “no evidence at this time that any elections were swayed” because of those voters

Sherrill said that she has ordered an independent investigation about what happened, the removal of any New Jersey residents from the state’s voter rolls who should not have been registered to vote, and that the new administrator of New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Commission is starting to replace the vendor tasked with running the faulty system.

The governor also said she will present the state’s findings after it investigates, and that the state is taking care to protect the identities of noncitizens who were registered inadvertently so that their immigration status does not get imperiled.

In a statement, IDEMIA, the company that runs the system faulted by the governor, said: “IDEMIA works with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, and has for more than 40 years, to support the process through which eligible individuals may indicate their interest in registering to vote when applying for or renewing a driver’s license or state-issued identification card. IDEMIA’s role is to transmit information through the motor vehicle system. The voter registration information is transmitted to the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Elections, which is ultimately responsible for verifying eligibility to vote. Information submitted by IDEMIA must still be validated and adjudicated by the Division of Elections.”

At her press conference, Sherill pushed back against any insinuation that the finding validates claims the Trump administration has made about New Jersey’s voter rolls.

“Let me be clear: Donald Trump has zero credibility on the issue of election integrity. For the past 10 years, he’s cried wolf and peddled bizarre conspiracy theories about fraud with no evidence,” she told reporters during the press conference.

Sherrill also briefly referenced the DHS letter, saying that the number of alleged noncitizen voters appears to be unrelated to the number of noncitizen voters New Jersey uncovered. She confirmed New Jersey received the DHS letter, but said the state asked the administration for any evidence of there being that many noncitizen voters and has not gotten anything back yet.

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice said Tuesday that is investigating the matter.

In a letter to Sherrill shared on social media, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, wrote: “Ensuring that U.S. citizens’ votes are not illegally diluted by noncitizens votes is of paramount importance. We therefore write to formally request additional information to assess New Jersey’s compliance with various federal statutes.” Dhillon asked for the state to provide within five business days personal information on the registered noncitizens the state identified and details on the around 400 who voted.

The White House said Tuesday’s announcement from Sherrill bolsters the need for Congress to pass the president’s signature SAVE America Act, which would significantly retool the administration of American elections.

“Democrats and their media allies have repeatedly said it is impossible for noncitizens to register to vote, let alone cast a ballot,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement.

“As President Trump has said, there is nothing more important than the integrity of our elections. And this latest incident underscores the absolute necessity of the SAVE America Act,” she added. “American voters deserve to have confidence that our elections are safe and secure — President Trump will never stop fighting to make that happen and all patriotic Americans should join in his effort.”

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(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) — A woman is recovering after she was attacked by a brown bear while hiking through an Alaskan trail over the weekend, Alaskan authorities said.

The unidentified victim was hiking on a trail above Bear Valley, a neighborhood in south Anchorage, with another person and three dogs Saturday around 5:30 p.m. when the bear came out of the trees and encountered the pair and their dogs, the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game said.

“High winds and inclement weather conditions at the time of the encounter may have increased the chance that the bear was surprised by the hikers and their dogs, even if they were making noise,” the agency said in a statement.

The bear ran off, and first responders found the woman with non-life-threatening injuries, the Anchorage Police Department said. She was carried out of the trail and transported to a local hospital, according to the police.

Police used a drone to track the bear and ensure it was not coming back as they got the hikers and dogs to safety.

Saturday’s attack took place more than a week after another woman was attacked by a bear on the front porch of her Alaskan home just as she was leaving with her dogs.

The unidentified woman took out a shotgun to try to scare away the adult bear and its two cubs from her dog but was attacked and hospitalized on July 9, according to the authorities.

The bears ran away after being scared off by another person.

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(NEW YORK) — A fourth person has died in New York City amid an ongoing cluster of Legionnaires’ disease on the Upper East Side, according to health officials.

At least 76 cases have been identified and seven people remain hospitalized, the New York City Health Department announced.

Since the cluster began, 53 people have been discharged from the hospital, according to the department.

Health officials advised that anyone who has spent time in the affected ZIP codes 10028, 10075, 10128, including Carnegie Hill and Yorkville, should seek medical attention if they develop flu-like symptoms. Legionnaires’ disease symptoms can appear up to 14 days after exposure, according to the health department.

The department previously said it believes the source of the Legionella bacteria has likely been eliminated and that it will continue inspecting every cooling tower that tested positive for the bacteria.

Health officials added there is not an issue with any building’s plumbing system and that residents in the affected ZIP codes can continue to drink tap water, bathe, shower, cook and use an air conditioner at home.

Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by inhaling the Legionella bacteria in small droplets of water mixed in the air or contaminated water accidentally going into the lungs.

The bacteria are found naturally in freshwater, but amounts generally don’t lead to disease. The bacteria typically grow best in warm water and in warm to hot temperatures, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The disease does not generally spread from person to person, but infections can occur if the bacteria get into a building’s water supply, including in shower heads, sink faucets, hot water tanks, heaters, cooling towers and other plumbing systems.

Legionnaires’ disease has increased in prevalence over the last decade, reaching a peak of 2.71 cases per 100,000 in 2018, the CDC said. Cases dropped during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and then rebounded in 2021.

Although most people recover from Legionnaires’ disease with antibiotics, certain patients — including those who are immunocompromised or who suffer from chronic lung diseases — can develop complications that can be fatal.

ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Bertha was churning early on Tuesday about 110 miles south-southwest of Panama City, Florida, moving northwest at about 5 mph, with maximum sustained winds at about 50 mph.

Tropical storm watches and warnings were in effect for parts of the Florida Panhandle to the coast of southeastern Louisiana, including Florida’s Panama City and Pensacola, along with Mobile, Alabama, and Gulfport, Mississippi.

A tropical storm watch was in effect for New Orleans on Tuesday morning.

A tropical depression that formed over the weekend strengthened on Monday night into Tropical Storm Bertha, the National Hurricane Center, prompting a tropical storm watch on Monday for parts of the Gulf Coast.

A tropical storm is defined as a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 39 mph to 73 mph.

On the forecast track, the storm was expected to slowly move along the Gulf Coast through Tuesday before approaching southern Louisiana on Wednesday, still as a rather weak tropical storm.

New Orleans was likely see some showers and gusty winds, some of which could potentially be tropical storm force, starting Tuesday night and lasting through Wednesday into Thursday, but major impacts are not anticipated.

Beyond Wednesday, Bertha was expected to continue moving westward toward Texas while weakening. It was expected to dissipate or turn post-tropical on Thursday night or Friday.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms were expected to possible on Tuesday along the Gulf Coast and Florida panhandle. Storm surge could reach 1 to 4 feet. Life-threatening rip currents were also expected to be also possible.

The rain and thunderstorm activity was forecast to shift toward southern Alabama and Mississippi on Tuesday and Wednesday. Gusty winds would also be possible, along with a widespread 2 to 4 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts up to 8 inches through Friday along the Gulf Coast.

Major rain or flooding from Bertha were not expected.

As of 8 p.m. ET Monday, Bertha had a maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. It continued to move very slowly, at just 3 mph, and the center was located about 110 miles south of Panama City, Florida.

The system was forecast to weaken back to a tropical depression sometime on Thursday and possibly dissipate or become post-tropical by the end of the week, as it was expected to approach the Texas coast.

The National Hurricane Center said the system would likely have a very asymmetric structure, with the bulk of the rainfall and much of the wind expected to occur to the south of the center, meaning it would not be over land.

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(LOS ANGELES) — A highly anticipated dayslong preliminary hearing in the murder case against the singer D4vd is set to get underway in Los Angeles on Tuesday, with evidence and testimony to be presented in court for the first time.

D4vd — whose legal name is David Burke — was arrested and charged in April with the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez following a monthslong investigation. He has pleaded not guilty to charges that include first-degree murder, sexual abuse of a child and unlawful mutilation of human remains.

The preliminary hearing is expected to last three to seven days, with prosecutors seeking to establish probable cause to move forward with a trial.

Prosecutors allege that D4vd and Rivas Hernandez began a sexual relationship in 2023, when he was 18 and she was 13, and that she was threatening to expose their illegal relationship and ruin his career if he would not be exclusive to her.

Just as tickets for his world tour were set to go on sale, it is alleged that the “Romantic Homicide” singer ordered an Uber that brought Rivas Hernandez to his Hollywood Hills home on April 23, 2025, prosecutors said in a nine-page brief filed days after D4vd’s arrest. That was the last time she was seen alive, according to prosecutors.  

Prosecutors allege that D4vd stabbed the teen multiple times, watching her bleed out, and then undertook a series of events to dismember her body, including ordering two chainsaws on Amazon.

“In order to distance himself from the victim, he amputated her left ring and pinky fingers because her ring finger contained a tattoo of his name,” prosecutors wrote in their brief, noting that her fingers have not been found.

Her badly decomposed remains were found in two body bags in the front trunk of D4vd’s Tesla four months later, in September 2025, according to prosecutors.

The brief was filed to “assist the court in understanding the scope and relevance of evidence the prosecution intends to present at the preliminary hearing,” prosecutors wrote.

During his arraignment in April, D4vd’s attorney, Blair Berk, asked for a preliminary hearing as soon as possible, saying she believes the evidence will show that he did not murder Rivas Hernandez and that they would “like to be able to have the evidence come into the light of day at the earliest opportunity.”

D4vd has been held on no bail since his arrest.

His attorneys said they plan to “vigorously defend David’s innocence.”

“The actual evidence in this case will show that David Burke did not murder Celeste Rivas Hernandez and he was not the cause of her death,” his attorneys — Berk, as well as Marilyn Bednarski and Regina Peter — said in a statement following his arrest.

An attorney for Rivas Hernandez’s family said in April that the family has decided not to make any future statements “in light of the gruesome details emerging almost daily.”

“There are no words to express the indescribable pain the family is experiencing right now,” the attorney, Patrick Steinfeld, said in a statement. “They still have bills to pay and jobs they go to every day. All they want is time to grieve and heal.”

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(NEW YORK) — The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic are bracing for a new round of severe storms and possible flash flooding on Tuesday after getting hammered by heavy rain on Saturday.

The greatest threat — a level 3 out of 5 risk — will span from northeastern Kentucky to New Jersey, including Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia.

Numerous severe thunderstorms with potentially destructive winds and tornadoes are possible in this region.

Flash flooding will be a concern for a large swath of the Interstate 95 corridor, from D.C. to Philadelphia to New York City.

Flood watches have been issued for Tuesday, from Delaware to southern New York, where rainfall rates could exceed 1 inch per hour, potentially triggering flash flooding, especially in urban areas. This includes Philadelphia and New York City.

There is growing concern for slow-moving thunderstorms bringing torrential rain in some areas on Tuesday, possibly unfolding by the late morning or early afternoon.

The storms are expected to last throughout the day.

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(NEW YORK) — A man described as an “anti-government extremist” set off an “incendiary device” to set a fire outside a Manhattan federal building that houses an immigration court, the FBI said, leaving three with minor injuries.

Andrew Arrabaca, 43, allegedly poured gasoline onto the ground outside 26 Federal Plaza and ignited it with a lighter and a large firework in a canister on Monday morning, FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Barnacle said.

He also allegedly “pulled out an airsoft rifle and fired five to seven pellets” in the direction of 26 Federal Plaza, Barnacle said.

Arrabaca “is an anti-American, anti-government extremist,” Barnacle said.

After Arrabaca’s arrest “he did say he was targeting the building and he was OK if he hurt or killed people going in and out of the building, whether they were federal employees or civilians,” Barnacle said.

Two government employees and one civilian suffered minor injuries, Barnacle said, noting that the civilian victim was an immigrant there for an immigration hearing.

Arrabaca — described by the Department of Homeland Security as an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement “rioter” — was apprehended by officers, Barnacle said.

Arrabaca is a former soldier who served from 2001 to 2005 and worked as a mechanic on Patriot missile systems, Barnacle said, with police noting he wore a military-style helmet. He’s been taken into custody and has been interviewed, Barnacle said.

Arrabaca “came armed with bad intentions,” Barnacle said.

“He had two axes, a hammer, a machete and three knives,” as well as several incendiary devices, Barnacle said.

Barnacle said “26 Federal Plaza has long been a target of extremists,” and he said “Arrabaca was looking to injure people and harm people.”

Barnacle said Arrabaca had a cart with him with “anti-ICE literature,” he said when Arrabaca was being arrested, he “yelled derogatory terms toward ICE.”

On the suspect’s cart was a sign reading “ICE Off Our Streets,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

Charges are yet to be filed, Tisch said, noting that the incident took place on federal property.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called it”deeply disturbing.”

“I’m relieved no one was seriously injured and that a suspect is in custody,” he wrote on social media. “… Our administration will continue to ensure that every New Yorker is safe in their city — and hold accountable any who threaten that.”

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