(OAKWOOD, Ohio) — Multiple people were injured on Monday after an explosion at a manufacturing plant in Ohio caused fires, law enforcement officials told ABC News.
The explosion happened at I. Schumann & Co., which manufactures brass and bronze alloy, located in Oakwood, Ohio, according to ABC News Cleveland affiliate WEWS-TV.
Firefighters were able to get the fire under control by Monday afternoon.
There were “multiple burn victims” from inside the plant taken to the hospital, Bedford Heights Police Department Sgt. Robert Majer told ABC News.
According to WEWS, 14 people were injured in the explosion, one critically.
Debris from the explosion damaged several vehicles at a parking lot across the street from the plant, Oakwood Village Fire Capt. Brian DiRocco told reporters on Monday. Injuries stemmed from the fire and not the flying debris, according to DiRocco.
According to DiRocco, one person was pulled from the debris and received medical attention at the scene. The person’s condition is unknown.
I. Schumann & Co. did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
(JACKSON, Miss.) — In recent years, Jackson, Mississippi, has grappled with crisis after crisis with its water infrastructure. Historic flooding in late summer and freezing temperatures in December damaged the city’s water distribution system, leaving many residents without running water or under boil-water notices for weeks at a time.
The Justice Department appointed a third-party manager in November to fix the ailing system and manage some of the hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding earmarked to address the crisis. Ted Henifin spoke to “GMA3” hosts DeMarco Morgan and Stephanie Ramos about why the problem has gone on for so long and how the city plans to solve it.
STEPHANIE RAMOS: Ted, thank you so much for being with us. Right off the bat, can you explain what your position is?
TED HENIFIN: Yeah, it’s a tough one to explain. So the Department of Justice and EPA came to town and negotiated a deal with the city and the state Department of Health to create basically a third party to manage the system. And so that was presented to the court at the end of November. And the judge entered that order, effectively appointing me as this interim third-party manager. So I’m an officer of the court working here for the good of the citizens of Jackson.
DeMARCO MORGAN: All right, Ted, according to The Washington Post, there have been more than 100 complaints about the water. The city has had to warn residents their water may be undrinkable. The water supply was reportedly shut off for 45 days last summer. So why has this gone on for so long and what needs to happen in order to end this crisis?
HENIFIN: Well there’s been, I think, decades of under-investment here in Jackson for a variety of reasons, shrinking population, older core cities — lot of folks start moving out of those and they leave a large infrastructure that needs to be maintained and operated. As such, there’s fewer ratepayers to deal with that. There have been many, many challenges on that end. And climate change. We’ve had sort of the freeze of the century the last five years here in Jackson, like a lot of the other Southern cities. Our facilities weren’t built for that. So as those things continue, we’re really thankful to have the federal dollars available to start making those investments that need to be made. And over the next five years and a lot in the next couple of years, we’ll see some significant investments. Already today we’re really able to provide pretty consistent pressure through the system, which is a big improvement over the last several months. That’s been the biggest problem.
You can live on bottled water for a while, to take care of your drinking and teeth brushing. But no water at all, having no water to flush the toilet, wash the dishes, wash your clothes. That’s a real tragedy. Any time you have anybody without water in a water system like this, it’s terrible. So, whether it’s one or 1,000 or 2,000, it doesn’t matter. We’re really striving to eliminate that and put that in Jackson’s history as we move forward.
RAMOS: And Ted, you’re tasked with coming up with a water system financial management plan. Not easy, given all the issues there in that city. How are you tackling that? What’s in the plan and when will residents start to feel safe when it comes to the water there?
HENIFIN: I would hope they would feel safe again. Building that trust is tough, but the water has been heavily tested since the fall, with EPA on site doing additional water testing, that went all the way through January. So I was telling folks here, it’s the most-tested water in America and it was for some time and continues. We’re going to continue to have EPA come in periodically to validate the testing we’re doing. But we’ve found no issues with the water up to this point, since it’s been back in functioning fully the way it has been since the fall.
But the other parts of the plan include really creating a sustainable source of local revenue. We really need to build the rate structure that folks can afford their water and pay their bills, because at the end of the day, this federal dollar, which is wonderful to have, this money coming for infrastructure, that’s one-time money. And if we don’t do something to make sure we’ve got a sustainable plan going forward, it won’t be maintained, and we’ll find ourselves back here in 20 years.
MORGAN: Ted, I used to live in Jackson, actually went to Jackson State there, and it’s no secret that water quality issues have historically hit black and poor communities the hardest. The mayor of Jackson has accused the governor of racism over this. Is this a discrimination problem or just a problem with bad management and planning over the years?
HENIFIN: I would say, from my perspective, it’s probably more bad planning and management. But there’s been lots of challenges between the state and the city. And you have to wonder a little bit about the motivations and a lot of that. But I’ve been really trying to be forward focused, trying to solve the problem. And one of the issues that does exist and it is a continual challenge, is the location of the water treatment plants.
Both water plants are on the eastern edge of the city, one very much in the northeast corner, and the other on the eastern side of downtown. And the areas that suffer the most during our problems are really the furthest away from the plants. And those happen to be the furthest south and the furthest west. If you know Jackson State, DeMarco, then you know that’s in that southwest part of the city. And that water has to go through a lot more piping and a lot further elevation. It’s actually a higher elevation than where the river and the reservoir are. So as a result of that, they feel the pressure problems the worst, and they are some of the most disadvantaged parts of the city. Again, I don’t think that’s a direct correlation, but I do believe that we need to do a lot more to make sure that those pressure issues are resolved. And that’s one of the things we’re working on right now.
RAMOS: And we really hope that happens quickly. Ted, you’ve got a big job ahead of you. Thank you for joining us. And best of luck there in Jackson.
(NEW YORK) — A string of deadly shootings across the nation has marred the Presidents Day weekend as law enforcement officers in major cities and rural areas investigated separate violent episodes, many involving children — including a baby killed in Chicago.
Gunfire erupted over the holiday at a pre-Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, a party in Columbus, Georgia, and on a freeway in Chicago, authorities said. Among those killed were beloved Catholic auxiliary bishop gunned down in a Los Angeles home and a college campus police officer fatally shot execution-style.
In four of the shootings that have occurred since Friday, at least 16 juveniles were shot, four fatally, according to police.
Baby killed in Chicago freeway shooting
A 1-year-old girl was among three people killed when gunfire erupted Sunday night on Chicago freeway, police said.
The baby, identified as Amara Hall, was fatally shot around 10:30 p.m. while riding in an SUV in the northbound lanes of Interstate 57 on the city’s South Side, according to the Illinois State Police. A 14-year-old boy and a woman were also killed in the incident.
Three other people were wounded, including two boys — ages 13 and 14, police said.
No arrests have been announced and a motive for the shooting remains under investigation.
5 shot, 1 fatally, at New Orleans parade
A pre-Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans turned chaotic Sunday night when a barrage of gunfire left a man dead and four other people injured, according to police.
The shooting occurred around 9:30 p.m. along the route of the popular Krewe of Bacchus parade and sent people running for cover, witnesses said.
Two men, a woman and a juvenile girl were wounded in the shooting.
One suspect was arrested but police said it appeared that additional shooters were involved. Two weapons were recovered at the scene.
A motive was under investigation.
Camryn Lafleur, 19, described the gunfire as a “continuous loud noise that kept going off.” He said he saw “faces of pure horror” fleeing the gunfire.
2 related Memphis shootings leave 1 dead, 10 injured
Three people of interest were being sought for questioning Monday in a pair of related shootings in Memphis that left one man dead and 10 people wounded, according to the Memphis Police Department.
Gunfire erupted around 12:43 a.m. Sunday at the Live Lounge in the city’s Whitehaven neighborhood, police said. Officers found two shooting victims suffering from critical injuries and learned that at least five other victims were taken to hospitals in private vehicles, according to police.
As police were investigating the nightclub shooting, gunfire broke out at an intersection about a mile away. When they arrived at that scene, officers located three victims in critical condition. One victim later died at a hospital.
Police said the second shooting stemmed from the incident at the nightclub.
No arrests have been announced and a motive for the shootings is under investigation.
2 teens among 4 killed in New Jersey murder-suicide
A family of four, including two teenagers, was found shot to death in a home in Linden, New Jersey, in what police suspect was a murder-suicide committed by the father, authorities said.
Police were called to the family’s home about 9:30 a.m. Sunday and discovered three people dead and a teenage boy gravely injured, police said. The boy was taken to a hospital but was later pronounced dead.
The boys sister, father and mother were pronounced dead at the scene.
Linden Mayor Derek Armstead said the brother and sister killed in the incident were ages 13 and 14.
Temple University police officer killed
An 18-year-old man was arrested Sunday in the fatal shooting of a Temple University police officer in north Philadelphia, authorities said.
Miles Pfeffer, 18, of Buckingham Township, Pennsylvania, is facing charges including murder, murder of a law enforcement officer, robbery, carjacking and related offenses in the shooting on Saturday night that killed officer Christopher Fitzgerald, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
Fitzgerald, the married father of four children, encountered Pfeffer while investigating a robbery near the Temple University campus, officials said.
A struggle allegedly occurred between Fitzgerald and Pfeffer, in which the officer was shot, officials said. After shooting Fitzgerald once, Pfeffer allegedly stood over the officer and fired several more shots at him, including at least one to the head from point-blank range, killing him, officials said.
Investigators alleged that Pfeffer attempted to rob the officer, rifling through his pockets as he lay dying in the street.
Auxiliary bishop shot dead in Los Angeles
A long-serving Catholic bishop known as a “peacemaker” was fatally shot in a Los Angeles home on Saturday, prompting police to launch a murder investigation, officials said.
Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell, who had been a priest and then a bishop during his 45 years with the church, was found dead in a home in the unincorporated Los Angeles County community of Hacienda Heights.
On Monday, police sources told ABC News that a person of interest has been detained for questioning in O’Connell’s homicide.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s investigators said they received a medical emergency call at 12:57 p.m. Sunday and deputies responded to a home in the unincorporated neighborhood of Hacienda Heights. There, they found the 69-year-old O’Connell unresponsive and bleeding from a gunshot wound to the upper torso. He was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.
9 juveniles wounded in Columbus, Georgia
A confrontation at a house party in Columbus, Georgia, prompted a shooting at a nearby gas station that left nine juveniles wounded, including a 5-year-old boy, police said.
The shooting happened just after 10 p.m. Friday.
A fight broke out at a house party and the violence spilled across the street to a Shell gas station, where gunfire erupted, according to Columbus police.
In addition to the 5-year-old, the other victims ranged in age from 12 to 17, police said.
No arrests were announced and a motive is under investigation.
6 killed in Mississippi shooting rampage
A 32-year-old man was arrested on murder charges after allegedly going on a shooting rampage in rural Mississippi, killing six people in three different locations, according authorities.
The shooting spree erupted Friday in Arkabutla, an unincorporated community of less than 300 people in Tate County.
The suspected gunman, Richard Dale Crum, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, according to the Tae County Sheriff’s Office.
Crum allegedly began the rampage outside a convenience store in Arkabutla, where a victim was shot at random while sitting in a parked car, sheriff’s officials said.
Crum then traveled three miles to ex-wife’s home where he allegedly shot her dead and wounded her husband, officials said.
Two other people were found shot to death inside a house near Crum’s Arkabutla residence and two handymen were found fatally shot on an access road to Crum’s property, according to the sheriff’s office.
Crum was arrested outside his home, where deputies seized two handguns and a shotgun.
A motive for the killing spree is under investigation.
(PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla.) — An 85-year-old woman was killed by an alligator in Florida on Monday, according to state wildlife officials.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the St. Lucie Sheriff’s Office responded to a call about an alligator bite in St. Lucie County, Florida.
Officials recovered the woman’s body and the alligator was captured by a nuisance alligator trapper, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of the victim,” a representative for the agency said in a statement.
According to the FWC, serious injuries that stem from alligators are rare in the state.
The St. Lucie Sheriff’s Office and Florida and Wildlife Conservation Commission did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
On Sunday, a 4-foot-long alligator was removed from a lake at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York, city officials said.
According to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the alligator was “very lethargic and possibly cold shocked since it is native to warm, tropical climates.”
In August, an 88-year-old woman was killed in an apparent alligator attack in South Carolina when she was gardening near a pond in Sun City Hilton Head, an adult-only community, and slipped in, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Natural Resources.
Officials said that the alligator, a 9-foot, 8-inch male, was euthanized.
Another elderly woman in Florida was killed in July after she fell into a pond and was attacked by two alligators, authorities said.
Alligators are active during spring and summer because when temperatures rise, their metabolism increases and they look for food, a spokesperson for FWC told ABC News last year.
ABC News’ Emily Shapiro, Meredith Deliso and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.
Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images
(LOS ANGELES) — Police have identified the suspect in the fatal shooting a long-serving Catholic bishop known as a “peacemaker” in Los Angeles.
Sixty-five-year-old Carlos Medina was arrested in connection with the murder of Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell, officials said at a Monday press conference. Medina is the husband of the bishop’s housekeeper, Los Angeles County Sherriff Robert Luna said.
O’Connell, who had been a priest and then a bishop during his 45 years with the church, was found dead in a home Sunday in the unincorporated neighborhood of Hacienda Heights after sheriff’s deputies responded to an emergency medical call, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office.
Detectives received a tip Sunday night that Medina was acting strangely and accused O’Connell of owing him money, according to Luna.
Medina reportedly had an SUV similar to the one seen pulling up in the bishop’s driveway, officials said Monday.
The killing of the beloved bishop sent shock waves through the Los Angeles Catholic community, prompting some parishioners to go to the scene of the O’Connell’s death to pray.
José H. Gomez, the archbishop of Los Angeles, said O’Connell was known as a “man of deep prayer.”
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s investigators said they received a medical emergency call at 12:57 p.m. Sunday and deputies responded to a home in Hacienda Heights. There, they found the 69-year-old O’Connell unresponsive and bleeding from a gunshot wound to the upper torso.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. It’s unclear how long O’Connell had been dead before sheriff’s deputies arrived at the home.
“He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant, and he had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected,” Gomez said.
“It broke me and I was scared to tell my wife because my wife loved him so much,” parishioner Johnny Flores told ABC Los Angeles station KABC.
Another parishioner, Glendy Perez, described O’Connell as “a humble soul.”
“He was not the type that would have confrontations with nobody,” Perez told KABC. “He was very loving, and he had like a gift of healing. When you would attend his ceremonies, it was like a gift of healing.”
O’Connell, who was born in Ireland, was named an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Pope Francis in 2015.
O’Connell studied for the priesthood at All Hallows College in Dublin and was ordained in 1979 to serve in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. After ordination, he served as associate pastor and pastor at several parishes in Los Angeles.
Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images
(LOS ANGELES) — A person of interest has been detained for questioning in the fatal shooting in Los Angeles of a long-serving Catholic bishop known as a “peacemaker,” officials said Monday.
Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell, who had been a priest and then a bishop during his 45 years with the church, was found dead in a home Sunday in the unincorporated neighborhood of Hacienda Heights after sheriff’s deputies responded to an emergency medical call, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office.
A news conference is expected to be held later Monday on the investigation.
The killing of the beloved bishop has sent shock waves through the Los Angeles Catholic community, prompting some parishioner to go to the scene of the O’Connell’s death to pray.
José H. Gomez, the archbishop of Los Angeles, said O’Connell was known as a “man of deep prayer.”
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s investigators said they received a medical emergency call at 12:57 p.m. Sunday and deputies responded to a home in the unincorporated neighborhood of Hacienda Heights. There, they found the 69-year-old O’Connell unresponsive and bleeding from a gunshot wound to the upper torso. He was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.
It’s unclear how long O’Connell had been dead before sheriff’s deputies arrived at the home.
Detectives were piecing together the circumstances of the homicide on Sunday and working to determine the identity of the O’Connell’s killer.
“He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant, and he had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected,” Gomez said.
Upon hearing of O’Connell’s death, parishioners went to the crime scene and said prayers in front of the home.
“It broke me and I was scared to tell my wife because my wife loved him so much,” parishioner Johnny Flores told ABC Los Angeles station KABC.
Another parishioner, Glendy Perez, described O’Connell as “a humble soul.”
“He was not the type that would have confrontations with nobody,” Perez told KABC. “He was very loving, and he had like a gift of healing. When you would attend his ceremonies, it was like a gift of healing.”
O’Connell, who was born in Ireland, was named an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Pope Francis in 2015.
O’Connell studied for the priesthood at All Hallows College in Dublin and was ordained in 1979 to serve in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. After ordination, he served as associate pastor and pastor at several parishes in Los Angeles.
This file handout photo released April 25, 2022, courtesy of Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office and part of the investigative files, shows actor Alec Baldwin being processed after the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Oct. 21, 2022. — Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office
(SANTA FE, N.M.) — The Santa Fe District Attorney’s Office announced it is dropping the gun enhancement charge — a crime that would have carried a five-year sentence if convicted — against Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” in October 2021.
Baldwin still faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter for the shooting, however, that crime would carry a lesser sentence of 18 months if convicted. The amended complaint was filed late Friday.
The charge was also dropped against armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who faces the same involuntary manslaughter charge as Baldwin.
“In order to avoid further litigious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys, the District Attorney and the special prosecutor have removed the firearm enhancement to the involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the ‘Rust’ film set,” Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said in a statement. “The prosecution’s priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big-city attorneys.”
The decision to drop the charge was a win for Baldwin, who makes his first court appearance on Friday.
Baldwin’s legal team filled a motion Feb. 10 arguing that the five-year gun enhancement didn’t apply at the time of the shooting writing, “The prosecutors committed a basic legal error by charging Mr. Baldwin under a version of the firearm-enhancement statute that did not exist on the date of the accident.” The accident occurred in October of 2021, but the current version of the law did not take effect until May 2022.
A week prior, his legal team filed a motion to disqualify Andrea Reeb, the special prosecutor appointed by Carmack-Altwies, arguing she is also an elected member of the New Mexico House of Representative and therefore has a conflict of interest.
After the motion to dismiss the gun enhancement charge, the district attorney released a statement that also criticized his “fancy attorneys.”
“Another day, another motion from Alec Baldwin and his attorneys in an attempt to distract from the gross negligence and complete disregard for safety on the ‘Rust’ film set that led to Halyna Hutchins’ death,” Heather Brewer, spokesperson for the New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney, said. “In accordance with good legal practice, the District Attorney and the special prosecutor will review all motions — even those given to the media before being served to the DA. However, the DA’s and the special prosecutor’s focus will always remain on ensuring that justice is served and that everyone — even celebrities with fancy attorneys — is held accountable under the law.”
ABC News’ Vera Drymon, Matt Fuhrman and Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — A massive winter storm is on its way to wreak havoc on a large swath of the country while the South prepares for a record February heat wave.
Eighteen states from California to Michigan are on alert for heavy snow, strong winds and blizzard conditions.
As the storm moves across the West over the next two days, some areas could see more than 5 feet of snow.
By mid-week, the storm will move into the Heartland, bringing heavy snow to the north and strong thunderstorms to the South. Damaging winds and even a tornado threat are possible on Wednesday.
By Thursday, part of that storm will reach the East Coast, dropping ice and snow in upstate New York and New England.
Heavy ice could accumulate from Chicago to Detroit to upstate New York.
Meanwhile, a record February heat wave is expected from Texas to Washington, D.C.
On Tuesday, temperatures could reach a sweltering 85 degrees in Dallas and 86 degrees in Orlando, Florida.
In New Orleans, this will be one of the warmest Mardi Gras in recorded history. The temperature on Tuesday is forecast to reach 80 degrees. The warmest Mardi Gras ever clocked in at 83.
On Thursday, temperatures are forecast to jump to 84 degrees in New Orleans, 81 in Atlanta and 86 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
D.C. could reach 80 degrees on Thursday. That’s only happened three times in the winter in recorded history.
In Orlando, it could reach 91 degrees on Thursday, which would be the city’s all-time warmest February temperature.
(NEW YORK) — U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has called out the rail operator at the center of a hazardous train derailment in Ohio.
In a sharply worded, three-page letter sent Sunday to Norfolk Southern Railway president and CEO Alan Shaw, Buttigieg accused the Atlanta-based company of repeatedly prioritizing profit over safety — a problematic ethos within the larger transportation industry that the secretary said has contributed to a number of derailments over the years.
“The derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials near East Palestine, Ohio, has upended the lives of numerous residents, many of whom continue to worry about their immediate health and safety as well as the long-term effects of the dangerous materials released near their homes,” Buttigieg said. “They fear for their future, as do thousands of American communities and neighborhoods that sit along railway lines.”
“The future must not resemble the past when it comes to your company’s and your industry’s follow-through on support for stringent safety policies,” he added. “Major derailments in the past have been followed by calls for reform — and by vigorous resistance by your industry to increased safety measures. This must change.”
Buttigieg listed several previous examples of hazardous train derailments involving Norfolk Southern and other rail operators.
“Similar patterns appear across your entire industry,” he said. “In this context, Norfolk Southern and your industry must demonstrate that you will not seek to supercharge profits by resisting higher standards that could benefit the safety of workers and the safety of American communities, like East Palestine.”
The secretary said he will be laying out new steps for companies to improve safety and plans to urge Congress to raise the cap on fines for those that violate regulations. He also rebuked Norfolk Southern and the industry writ large for their opposition to more stringent safety rules.
“Rather than support these efforts to improve rail safety, Norfolk Southern and other rail companies spent millions of dollars in the courts and lobbying members of Congress to oppose common-sense safety regulations, stopping some entirely and reducing the scope of others,” Buttigieg said, specifically noting the Trump administration’s repeal of a 2015 rule that mandated the use of electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes on train cars.
“While we do not yet know what the NTSB investigation will conclude regarding what caused the derailment in East Palestine,” he added, “we do know that these steps that Norfolk Southern and its peers lobbied against were intended to improve rail safety and to help keep Americans safe.”
Buttigieg’s scathing missive to Norfolk Southern came as he weathers harsh criticism, especially from Republicans, for the federal government’s response to the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine. Former President Donald Trump is expected to visit the northeastern Ohio village later this week.
“The people of East Palestine cannot be forgotten, nor can their pain be simply considered the cost of doing business,” Buttigieg said in the letter. “Norfolk Southern must live up to its commitment to make residents whole – and must also live up to its obligation to do whatever it takes to stop putting communities such as East Palestine at risk.”
“The arithmetic suggests Norfolk Southern can remain extremely profitable while also complying with a higher standard of safety regulation and offering better consideration to its workers,” he added.
A spokesperson for Norfolk Southern confirmed to ABC News that they “have received a copy of the letter from the Secretary and are reviewing,” but did not offer further comment.
Shaw, the president and CEO of Norfolk Southern, visited East Palestine on Saturday for a second time since the derailment occurred, amid the criticism from residents and political leaders about the company’s response. In a statement released after his visit, Shaw said he spoke with affected residents and held a “series of meetings” with East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway as well as “several community leaders,” U.S. Rep Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, and East Palestine Fire Chief Drabick “along with several of his first responders.”
“They are frustrated by the amount of misinformation circulating about their community and are eager to show that the air and water are safe,” Shaw said in the statement.
Shaw added that he is “deeply sorry” for what the community is experiencing and promises to “do the right things” to help them recover. He said his company is “working closely with Ohio environmental and health agencies on the long-term plan to protect the environment and the community.”
Norfolk Southern last week announced a commitment of $1 million to a community support fund as a “down payment” on its contribution in rebuilding East Palestine. The company said it has already helped 1,000 families as well as a number of businesses there since the derailment and has distributed $1.2 million to families to cover costs related to the evacuation. The company also noted its cleanup of the derailment site and work to facilitate testing on the water, air and soil in the area.
On the night of Feb. 3, about 50 cars of a freight train operated by Norfolk Southern derailed in a fiery crash on the outskirts of East Palestine, which is nestled near the state line with Pennsylvania. Eleven of the derailed cars were transporting hazardous materials, five of which contained vinyl chloride, a highly volatile colorless gas produced for commercial uses. There were no injuries reported from the accident, officials said.
Efforts to contain a fire at the derailment site stalled the following night, as firefighters withdrew from the blaze due to concerns about air quality and explosions. About half of East Palestine’s roughly 4,700 residents were warned to leave before officials decided on Feb. 6 to conduct a controlled release and burn of the toxic vinyl chloride from the five tanker cars, which were in danger of exploding. A large ball of fire and a plume of black smoke filled with contaminants could be seen billowing high into the sky from the smoldering derailment site as the controlled burn took place that afternoon, prompting concerns from residents about the potential effects.
A mandatory evacuation order for homes and businesses within a 1-mile radius of the derailment site was lifted on Feb. 8, after air and water samples taken the day before were deemed safe, officials said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency deployed a team to East Palestine on Saturday to help support the ongoing operations there.
The Ohio Department of Health — in partnership with the Columbiana County General Health District and with support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — will open a health assessment clinic on Tuesday afternoon for any residents in the East Palestine area who have medical questions or concerns related to the derailment.
Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board shared an update on its ongoing probe into the Feb. 3 incident, saying “investigators have identified and examined the rail car that initiated the derailment.”
“Surveillance video from a residence showed what appears to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment,” the NTSB said in an investigative update on Feb. 14. “The wheelset from the suspected railcar has been collected as evidence for metallurgical examination. The suspected overheated wheel bearing has been collected and will be examined by engineers from the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington, D.C.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — in partnership with an independent contractor — continues to monitor the air in and around East Palestine. As of last Friday, the EPA has sampled air in 500 homes and throughout the community. So far, no contaminants have been detected outside or inside those homes. The large chemical plume seen over the Ohio River has also completely dissipated, according to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
DeWine announced last week that the latest tests conducted by the state’s EPA show five wells feeding into East Palestine’s municipal water system are free from contaminants and that the agency is confident the water is safe to drink. However, residents with private wells continue to be encouraged to drink from bottled water until their well water has been tested and cleared for consumption.
A part of Sulphur Run, a creek that flows through downtown East Palestine and is near the derailment site, “remains severely contaminated,” DeWine said last Friday. Crews are working to pump in clean water to the section, which was dammed following the crash to contain any contamination, according to DeWine.
Last week, Ohio Department of Natural Resources director Mary Mertz told reporters that some 3,500 fish had died due to contaminants detected in four tributaries over a space of 7.5 miles along the Ohio River. But those waterways are contained and not affecting water supplies, according to Mertz. Tiffani Kavalec, chief of the Ohio EPA’s surface water division, told reporters that no vinyl chloride or pre-product has been detected in the water and that the contamination mostly consists of fire contaminant combustion materials.
(PHILADELPHIA) — An 18-year-old man was arrested Sunday for the fatal shooting of a Temple University police officer in north Philadelphia, authorities said.
Miles Pfeffer, 18, of Buckingham Township, Pennsylvania, is facing charges including murder, murder of a law enforcement officer, robbery, carjacking and related offenses in the shooting on Saturday night that killed Officer Christopher Fitzgerald, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
Fitzgerald encountered Pfeffer during the course of an “incident investigation” near Temple’s campus, the DA’s office said. Pfeffer allegedly shot Fitzgerald in the head, killing him. Pfeffer also allegedly attempted to rob Fitzgerald of his gun and is said to have gone through his pockets while the officer was laying on the ground and fatally wounded.
Pfeffer is alleged to have committed a carjacking a short time after, near the location of the officer’s murder, authorities said.
The suspect was taken into custody Sunday morning in Bucks County by the U.S. Marshals and local law enforcement and transferred to Philadelphia shortly after the arrest.
“We join law enforcement and people across the region in expressing our heartbreak and outrage over this horrific crime,” Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement. “Officer Fitzgerald’s life was ripped from him and his loved ones violently and senselessly. As the DA’s Homicide Unit begins the work of holding Miles Pfeffer accountable for his alleged crimes, our Victims Services team will also be extending loving support to Officer Fitzgerald’s family and loved ones.”
Temple President Jason Wingard said he was “heartbroken,” in a statement.
“There are simply no words that can make sense of this tragedy,” he said.
The death of the officer was the first for a Temple University officer in the line of duty, Jennifer Griffin, the university’s vice president for public safety, said at a news conference Saturday night.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro offered his condolences on the death of the officer.
“Lori and I are devastated for the family of the Temple University police officer who was killed in the line of duty tonight, bravely serving his community. We’re sending prayers to his loved ones, Temple Police, and the entire @TempleUniv community. May his memory be a blessing,” Shapiro tweeted Saturday.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said he was “heartbroken and outraged” by the death and pledged that “The City will continue to work with Temple Police to support them during this difficult time.”
Temple University alerted shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday that a shooting was reported on the 1700 block of Montgomery Avenue.
“Use caution. Avoid the area. Police are responding,” the school tweeted.
