(MIAMI) — A Miami, Florida, preschool is under fire after photos appeared to show children in one class in blackface during Black History Month.
The children can be seen dressed up in costumes based on different professions – including police officers and construction workers. Their faces appeared to be painted black, a photo of the incident shows.
The owner of the Studio Kids’ Little River preschool where it allegedly occurred, Patricia Vitale, declined to comment to ABC News.
However, in messages to parents, shared with ABC News, the owner said “we have not intended to offend anyone, and we are very sorry about any inconvenience.”
The owner added that teachers and staff attended a meeting about “ethical and multicultural education points” in response to the incident.
Courtney Politis, whose child attended the preschool, told ABC News she found out about the alleged blackface incident through a friend whose child was in the class that day on Feb. 3. Then, Politis said, photos of the incident began to circulate in a school-based messaging app.
“I was like, ‘This can’t be real in 2023,'” Politis told ABC News in an interview. “[Blackface] was just made to make fun and dehumanize Black people. It was made to say that we were lazy and incompetent and it’s just, it’s just not right. It’s disrespectful.”
Politis said she has pulled her two children from Studio Kids preschools, which has several locations in the area. Her children were not in the class where the alleged blackface occurred.
Politis claims several other parents have pulled their children from the school as well.
“As an educator, know better and do better for our children and for the future,” Politis said.
The Miami-Dade branch of the civil rights organization NAACP slammed the preschool.
“The use of blackface at anytime is insensitive and offensive. We stand ready to provide resources on authentic #BlackHistoryMonth lessons,” the organization said in a tweet.
(NEW YORK) — For years, Daniel Levin and Felicia Rosario suffered cruel physical, sexual and psychological abuse at the hands of Lawrence Ray – much of the terror disturbingly recorded by Ray or at his behest.
Ray was sentenced to 60 years in prison in January for manipulating Levin, Rosario and a group of their friends in a New York home they shared, and exploiting them for extortion, sex trafficking and forced labor. Levin and Rosario said they can now rebuild their lives with the knowledge that justice has been served.
“I was just reeling, taking it in that I live in a world where my abuser is no longer a threat,” Levin, who left Ray in 2013, told ABC News’ Linsey Davis.
Levin and Rosario spoke candidly with “Impact x Nightline” for an episode now streaming on Hulu and shared details about their abuse and how they mustered the courage to speak out against him. Their stories also documented in the new Hulu series “Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence.”
Levin was starting his sophomore year at Sarah Lawrence College in 2010 when his roommate Talia Ray introduced him to her father. Talia had mentioned Ray to Levin and their group of friends before, saying he was leaving prison soon after being wrongfully imprisoned and needed a place to stay. Levin would later learn that Ray had been sentenced for security fraud.
When Ray first moved into his daughter’s dorm house, the friends thought he was odd but harmless. But slowly, he grew close to some of them, often spending all night speaking with them and offering advice. Levin eventually sought Ray out at the end of his sophomore year to talk about his fracturing relationship with a girlfriend.
“He seemed to understand the things I struggled with, that I was insecure about my body, that I was unsure about my sexuality,” Levin said.
Not only did Levin appreciate the conversation at the time, he says Ray also offered him a free place to stay in the city during the summer. Soon he was living in a one-bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side with Ray and four friends. The group celebrating birthdays and the holidays together.
More friends would move in with the housemates including Felicia Rosario, the older sister of one of Levin’s college housemates, who was living in Los Angeles completing a psychiatry residency after graduating Harvard and Columbia Med School.
Rosario was visiting her brother Santos at that Upper East Side apartment, and told “Impact” that she was immediately taken in by Ray’s charm. The two started a long-distance relationship that initially seemed to be full of love. But soon Ray was manipulating Rosario, convincing her that people were coming after her and that she would only be safe living with him in New York.
That kind of coercion was only the tip of the iceberg. For years, the friends were violently abused mentally, physically and sexually, and constantly threatened by Ray.
“He wouldn’t let me sleep. He controlled what I was eating. He would yell at me. He would beat me,” Rosario said. “He took away everything that made me and this was the most painful part of all is really the hold he had on my siblings and my family. I knew that if I left him, he would just come after all of us harder.”
Ray went as far as to force one of the roommates into prostitution and raked in nearly $2.5 million for her escort services, according to investigators. He also coerced Rosario’s brother to pay him hundreds of thousands of dollars for supposed damage to property, much of the payments coming from Rosario’s parents.
Levin stayed with Larry for two years before making the decision to leave.
“It reached a point where I did feel as if I stay any longer, I think I might die. It starts to feel like this might be a mortal threat. Whether that’s because he will kill me or I will kill myself,” he said.
“Just something in me felt like if I want to live, I need to leave. And I did…I just stopped answering calls– and just hoped that they wouldn’t pursue me.”
But even after he left, Levin said he was still living in Ray’s shadow.
“I was in a constant state of disassociation. I felt like the world was gray,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ray brought the roommates to North Carolina and then New Jersey where he continued his abuse. And rumors started swirling among other Sarah Lawrence students about what was happening, prompting two New York Magazine reporters to reach out to Levin about his experience.
“I was thinking about my friends who were still being abused and what effect it would have,” Levin said. “What it became for me was, they needed to get it right, because if they got it wrong, it would cause the most possible harm.”
In 2019, the magazine published an expose using interviews with Levin and others. Rosario and one other friend were still living with Ray at the time and also met the reporters after Ray wanted his side told.
Rosario said Ray was furious over the piece, even though she knew it was telling the truth.
The article triggered an official investigation into Ray, and in 2020 the FBI arrested Ray.
Rosario at first defended Ray, but began to reconsider after she lived in their home without his presence and eventually moved out.
“It took them coming to get him for me to be able to even consider having– a life again,” Rosario said.
“I had to sit alone and I didn’t have him yelling at me every day. It kind of just clicked that this is horrible and I need to do something.”
Ray went on trial in 2022 for 15 counts including sex trafficking, extortion and forced labor. Last month, the 63-year-old was sentenced to 60 years in prison. Levin and Rosario both gave victim impact statements to the judge, never looking at Larry in the courthouse
“I try not to waste too much energy on imagining the interior of Lawrence Ray’s mind. But I suspect that he is not capable of feeling bad about anything he’s done,” Levin said.
At the time Ray was arrested in 2020, Sarah Lawrence College issued a statement.
“It appears that for some part of the fall semester in 2010, this parent stayed in his daughter’s on-campus apartment, in a clear violation of the College’s written policy” Cristle Collins Judd, the school’s president, said and added that school officials at the time didn’t know the situation was taking place.
“The crimes for which this man has been indicted did not occur at Sarah Lawrence, even though he appears to have met certain of his victims while they were students here,” she wrote.
The school put out another statement following Ray’s sentencing, stating the judge’s ruling was “the final stage of holding him accountable for his crimes.”
“We hope this reckoning brings some sense of closure to his victims,” the school said.
Levin and Rosario said they are feeling more confident that they can live enriched full lives that won’t be defined by their trauma. In 2021, Levin published a memoir “Slonim Woods 9” named after the dorm where he met Ray. And he now lives in Los Angeles where he teaches writing.
Rosario, who is only a few years into her healing journey, also hopes to accomplish her delayed dreams and become a forensic psychiatrist.
“Watching Daniel’s recovery and success really gives me hope for my life and my future and my dreams, the dreams that were stolen from me. And I think I’m going to do them,” Rosario said.
If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available. Visit https://findahelpline.com to find support
(RIVERSIDE, Calif.) — Newly released footage shows the dramatic freeway chase and shootout late last year between law enforcement and a suspect accused of killing a California sheriff’s deputy hours earlier.
The suspect was wanted for the murder of Riverside County sheriff’s deputy Isaiah Cordero, 32, who was fatally shot during a traffic stop in Jurupa Valley on Dec. 29. Authorities said the suspect should have been incarcerated under the state’s “three strikes” sentencing law but instead was out on bond at the time of the shooting.
The suspect, identified as 44-year-old William Shae McKay, allegedly fled the scene of the shooting in his black pickup truck and a manhunt ensued.
During a pursuit on several freeways in the area, law enforcement deployed a tire deflation device and armored vehicle, which made multiple attempts to execute a PIT maneuver, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said in a video released on Wednesday showing the helicopter and body-worn camera footage from the pursuit.
Due to a “mechanical malfunction,” McKay’s truck eventually veered across multiple lanes of traffic before coming to a stop on the shoulder of Interstate 15 in Norco, Bianco said.
The suspect was cornered by a BearCat vehicle and fired several rounds at deputies before he was killed by deputies’ responding gunfire, authorities said.
Body-worn camera footage from the scene showed the shootout under an overpass on the highway.
When members of the sheriff’s department’s SWAT team approached, they found McKay dead in his vehicle with a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol that had no serial number, according to the sheriff.
The incident remains under investigation by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, Bianco said. The sheriff’s department is also reviewing the actions taken by deputies in the shooting, he said.
“We take each use of force seriously, and make every effort to de-escalate these situations whenever possible,” Bianco said.
Following the incident, Bianco criticized the actions of a San Bernardino County Superior Court judge that led to McKay being out on bond, despite being convicted on multiple felony charges in November 2021, marking his “third strike.”
Based on the state’s sentencing law regarding repeat felony convictions, he should have automatically been sentenced to 25 years to life, the sheriff said. However, San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Cara Hutson reduced his bail from $950,000 to $500,000, which he posted in March 2022 and was released while his sentencing was continued, according to the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the case and requested no bail at the time.
Court records show that on Nov. 8, 2021, McKay was found guilty of false imprisonment, evading a peace officer, criminal threats likely to result in death or great bodily injury and receiving stolen property. He was acquitted of more serious charges of kidnapping and kidnapping to commit robbery or rape in that case. He failed to appear for a court appearance in October 2022 and a warrant was issued for his arrest, court records show.
ABC News was unable to reach McKay’s attorneys in the case for comment.
Cordero’s mother, Rebecca Cordero, called for the judge’s resignation during her son’s funeral last month. The Chino City Council, in San Bernardino County, has also criticized the judge’s actions.
Hutson has not commented publicly on the case. ABC News has reached out to San Bernardino County Superior Court for comment.
(EAST LANSING, Mich.) — Three students were killed and five others were injured when a gunman opened fire at two locations on Michigan State University’s main campus in East Lansing on Monday night, police said.
After an hourslong manhunt, police found the suspect — identified as 43-year-old Anthony McRae — dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound off campus.
All five injured students were in critical condition as of Tuesday, officials said.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Feb 16, 2:46 PM EST
Suspect’s handguns were legally purchased but not registered
The suspect in Monday’s mass shooting at Michigan State had two 9 mm handguns and additional magazines and ammunition on him when he was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Michigan State University Interim Deputy Chief Chris Rozman said at a news conference Thursday.
The guns were purchased legally but were not registered, Rozman said.
The suspect, 43-year-old Anthony McRae, was found dead about 3.8 miles from the MSU campus on Monday night, Rozman said.
McRae had a two-page note that listed threats against Michigan State, two New Jersey schools, and 13 local businesses, including a Meijer grocery store chain warehouse where he had previously worked, Michigan State Police said.
Body camera video showed McRae did not say anything to officers before he died by suicide, authorities said.
Police said they interviewed McRae’s father who indicated that his son rarely left his room and had no friends.
Marlon Lynch, MSU’s vice president for public safety and chief of police, commended the students who helped render aid to their classmates when gunfire erupted in Berkey Hall.
Four of the injured students were in critical condition and one was in stable condition on Thursday, officials said.
Their names have still not been released.
-ABC News’ Alex Perez and Whitney Lloyd
Feb 15, 7:17 PM EST
Thousands gather on campus for memorial vigil
Thousands of mourners gathered at Michigan State University’s campus Wednesday night to pay their respects to the students who were shot Monday.
School president Teresa K. Woodruff spoke at the event, which included poems, songs and reflections from students and elected officials including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
“We remember and honor the three Spartan students so cruelly taken from their families, friends and us.” she said. “Each came to join the very special, this extraordinary campus.”
Whitmer, a Michigan State alum, spoke about the courageous efforts that students and teachers did to help the wounded. She said she spoke to one of the hospitalized victims who told her that a fellow student took off their shirt and used it to put pressure on his wound and save his life.
“Countless Spartans were heroes,” the governor said.
Michigan State head basketball coach Tom Izzo said he also visited the hospital where some of the wounded were recuperating and called on the community to keep those victims in their thoughts.
He also urged the campus community to take comfort in their friends and family as they process the violence.
“We all process trauma in a very different way, I’m just glad we’re all here tonight.”
Feb 15, 1:26 PM EST
MSU students protest at Michigan capitol
Michigan State students channeled their grief into protest as they gathered at the capitol in Lansing to urge gun reform.
Hundreds braved cold and windy weather as they sat on the building’s majestic steps and listened to sympathetic and angry speeches calling for legislative action to curb the violence they and students across the nation have been exposed to.
-ABC News’ Andy Fies
Feb 15, 7:13 AM EST
Communities mourn victims at vigils across Michigan
Hundreds of people gathered at memorials, prayer services and candlelight vigils across Michigan on Tuesday night to honor the three students who were killed and five others who were injured in Monday’s mass shooting at Michigan State University.
More vigils are planned for the rest of the week, including one scheduled for Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET at The Rock, a 149-year-old landmark on MSU’s main campus in East Lansing.
Feb 15, 6:06 AM EST
MSU students recount deadly mass shooting on campus
Michigan State University student Dominik Molotky was in class on Monday evening when he heard a gunshot in the hallway, just outside the door.
“I was sitting next to the nearest door and thank god that my fight-or-flight response kicked in because, right when that first gunshot went off, I booked it to the far corner of the class,” Molotky, a senior, told ABC News in an interview Tuesday on Good Morning America.
A couple seconds later, the gunman entered the classroom and fired “three to four more rounds,” Molotky said.
“I was ducking and covering,” he recalled. “I think one of the students in my class got hit.”
When the gunfire stopped for “30 seconds to a minute,” Molotky said he and his classmates started breaking open a window so they could escape.
“There was glass everywhere,” he added. “We broke open the window and climbed out of there, and I booked it back to my apartment.”
Molotky and other students recounted their horrifying experiences as the mass shooting unfolded at multiple locations on MSU’s main campus in East Lansing, Michigan.
Feb 15, 5:42 AM EST
MSU student survives bloodshed 14 months after another mass shooting
ABC News spoke to Matt Riddle, who said his daughter survived the bloodshed at Michigan State University on Monday night, 14 months after surviving another deadly mass shooting at a high school in Oxford, Michigan.
The shooting at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021, left four people dead and seven others wounded.
“Having been through it in Oxford … it helped her understand what she needs to do in these situations,” Riddle told ABC News during an interview on Tuesday night. “I don’t like that she has those tools. I wish she didn’t, but she does.”
Feb 14, 7:58 PM EST
Classes to resume on Monday
Classes at Michigan State, which have been canceled in the wake of the tragic shooting, will resume on Monday, school officials said.
A vigil is also planned on campus Wednesday night in honor of the victims, all of whom were students at the school, officials said.
“We are devastated by this tragedy and wrap our collective arms around the victims’ families and friends who face unimaginable injury and loss,” Kim Tobin, vice president of university advancement, said in a statement Wednesday announcing the details.
Feb 14, 6:27 PM EST
Victim Arielle Anderson remembered for passion to help others
Arielle Anderson, a junior from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, was one of the three Michigan State students killed in the shooting. Her family remembered her as a “precious daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, cousin, and friend” in a statement shared Tuesday evening through her mother’s employer, Comerica Bank.
“As much as we loved her, she loved us and others even more,” the family said. “She was passionate about helping her friends and family, assisting children and serving people.”
Anderson, who was described as “sweet and loving with an infectious smile,” wanted to be a surgeon, her family said.
“Driven by her aspiration to tend to the health and welfare of others as a surgeon, she was working diligently to graduate from Michigan State University early to achieve her goals as quickly as possible,” the family said.
“We are absolutely devastated by this heinous act of violence upon her and many other innocent victims,” the statement added.
Feb 14, 3:26 PM EST
University releases names of victims
The three Michigan State students killed in the shooting have been identified by university police.
Brian Fraser, a sophomore, and Arielle Anderson, a junior, were both from Grosse Pointe, Michigan.
Alexandria Verner, a junior, was from Clawson, Michigan.
Five other students remain in the hospital in critical condition following the attack.
Feb 14, 2:19 PM EST
Suspect walked from his home to campus, viewed himself as ‘loner’
The FBI offered new details on the suspected gunman in a confidential briefing to law enforcement on Tuesday.
Investigators have determined 43-year-old Anthony McRae walked from his home to Michigan State and had no connection to the university or the victims.
Authorities said that when McRae was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, he had a “3-page document expressing his reasons for the attack and a number of additional locations in Lansing and Holt, Mich.; Ewing Township and Franklin Park, NJ; and Colorado Springs, Colo., which had ‘hurted’ (sic) him and, therefore, were deserving of attack.” Agents believe he had “personal grievances” with people at those locations.
McRae lived with his father, who is cooperating with the investigation, the FBI reported.
Investigators said the suspect’s writings confirmed he “was often alone.” The briefing said the gunman viewed himself as “a loner” and an “outcast” who was “never noticed or accepted by others.”
-ABC News’ Josh Margolin
Feb 14, 1:12 PM EST
Biden urges Congress to ‘enact commonsense gun law reforms’
President Joe Biden said in a statement Tuesday, “Our hearts are with these young victims and their families, the broader East Lansing and Lansing communities, and all Americans across the country grieving as the result of gun violence.”
Biden noted that the Michigan State mass shooting came one night before the U.S. marked five years since the Parkland, Florida, high school massacre. In the Feb. 14, 2018 school shooting in Parkland, 17 students and staff were gunned down.
“I have taken action to combat this epidemic in America, including a historic number of executive actions and the first significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years, but we must do more,” Biden said.
He stressed, “Congress must do something and enact commonsense gun law reforms, including requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, closing loopholes in our background check system, requiring safe storage of guns, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets. Action is what we owe to those grieving today in Michigan and across America.”
Feb 14, 1:04 PM EST
Timeline of the shooting
The first active shooter call came in at 8:18 p.m. from Berkey Hall, an academic building, and the university immediately told students to shelter in place, the Michigan State University Police Department said.
Shots were fired soon after at the student union.
At about 11 p.m., the suspected gunman was seen on campus security cameras, police said.
Images of the suspect were shared with the public at 11:18 p.m., police said.
At about 11:35 p.m., a caller’s tip led police to the suspect, authorities said.
Feb 14, 12:36 PM EST
Suspect had 2 guns, numerous magazines
The suspected shooter, 43-year-old Anthony Dwayne McRae, lived in Lansing, officials said.
The shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound as law enforcement was approaching, a law enforcement source briefed on the situation said.
The source added that a firearm was recovered at the scene, and a second firearm was found in a backpack along with numerous magazines.
McRae served 18 months in prison between 2019 and 2021 on a weapons charge for having a loaded weapon in his vehicle, according to Michigan’s Department of Corrections.
-ABC News’ Lucien Bruggeman, Luke Barr and Josh Margolin
Feb 14, 12:25 PM EST
Michigan State police releases names of 2 victims
Two of the three Michigan State students killed in the shooting have been identified by university police.
Brian Fraser, a sophomore, was from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, while Alexandria Verner, a junior, was from Clawson. Authorities said they will not be naming the third victim at the request of the family.
Five other students remain in the hospital following the attack.
Feb 14, 11:56 AM EST
Shock, fear, confusion at Michigan State
At Michigan State, students and staff are overcome with shock, fear and confusion, Lansing Mayor Andy Schor told ABC News’ GMA3.
“It’s a terrible time. No mayor, no governor, no elected official ever wants to be up all night or wake up to a situation like this,” he said.
Schor said mental health resources are available.
Schor said the five injured students “are critical but stable.”
“It’s touch and go,” he said. “and the doctors are doing their best to work as aggressively as possible.”
Feb 14, 11:02 AM EST
Suspect had note indicating threat to NJ schools
When the suspect, 43-year-old Anthony McRae, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said there was a note in his pocket indicating a threat to two public schools in Ewing, New Jersey, according to Ewing police.
McRae had local ties to Ewing but hasn’t lived in the area in several years, police said.
Ewing Public Schools are closed on Tuesday out of an abundance of caution, police said. However, no threat has been found and schools are expected to reopen on Wednesday, police said.
McRae “had a history of mental health issues,” police added.
Feb 14, 8:47 AM EST
No motive known
No motive is known, police said. The 43-year-old suspect, Anthony McRae, had no known connection to the university, according to authorities.
After police released the suspect’s photo, a tip from a caller led authorities to finding him, officials said.
A search warrant has been executed at a home, police said.
Feb 14, 8:14 AM EST
Michigan leaders call out US gun violence
At a news conference Tuesday, Michigan leaders called out the prevalence of U.S. gun violence.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said, “I cannot believe I am here again doing this 15 months later,” speaking at the scene of another Michigan school shooting, referring to the November 2021 mass shooting at Oxford High School where four students were killed and several others were injured.
“I am filled with rage that we have to have another press conference about our children being killed in schools,” she said.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer added, “We’re all broken by an all-too-familiar feeling.”
“We cannot keep living like this,” she said. “Our children are scared to go to school. People feel unsafe in their houses of worship or local stores.”
Feb 14, 6:00 AM EST
City manager thanks ‘brave’ first responders after ‘horrific act of violence’
Interim East Lansing City Manager Randy Talifarro described Monday night’s mass shooting at Michigan State University as a “horrific act of violence.”
“The City of East Lansing is mourning the devastating shooting that occurred on the campus of Michigan State University tonight,” Talifarro said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to all of the victims of this horrific act of violence as well as their family and friends. East Lansing and MSU have always shared in each other’s victories and each other’s losses. Tonight, we hold space while we grapple with this devastating loss of life together.”
Talifarro also thanked the “brave first responders who quickly responded to MSU’s campus.”
“Against every natural instinct they ran towards the sound of danger, seeking not their own wellbeing, but instead to protect and serve those in need,” he said. “And we stand shoulder to shoulder with everyone impacted by tonight’s events. Please know that you’re not alone in your grief. We stand with you and will be here as we seek to heal as a community.”
City buildings and offices, including city hall, the public library and the district court, will be closed to the general public on Tuesday. Essential city employees will be reporting to work.
Drop-in counseling services will be available for members of the community at the East Lansing Hannah Community Center beginning at 9 a.m. ET.
(DELAND, Fla.) — The 3-year-old boy shot himself with a handgun that was left in a nightstand, according to police.
A 3-year-old boy fatally shot himself when he found a 9 mm handgun in a nightstand in his Florida home, according to authorities.
The tragedy unfolded Wednesday evening at a home in DeLand, about 40 miles north of Orlando.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office called it “one of the worst calls imaginable” to respond to.
The shooting occurred as the 3-year-old and a 7-year-old were being watched by their 16-year-old sister while the parents were grocery shopping, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said at a news conference Thursday.
The gun was discharged once, the sheriff said.
He shot himself in the face, according to the sheriff’s office incident report.
Chitwood called the 16-year-old’s 911 call “heartbreaking.”
In her frantic call, the girl told the dispatcher, “My little brother shot himself!”
“There is blood everywhere!” she said, screaming and crying.
It’s not clear exactly how the boy got into his father’s nightstand and discharged the gun, Chitwood said.
Chitwood said the gun was usually kept in a safe, which was not working.
The family had a second gun on top of the fridge, he said.
The boy’s father is a state corrections officer, Chitwood said, adding that the guns were not department-issued.
“This should never have happened,” he said.
No charges have been filed. The sheriff’s office noted that, per Florida law, when a child is accidentally shot, “no arrest shall be made prior to 7 days after the date of the shooting.”
The sheriff pleaded with gun owners to keep them in safes.
“If you have little ones, even if you have teenagers, you gotta lock them up,” he said.
Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(HIGHLAND PARK, Ill.) — The father of the suspected Highland Park, Illinois, mass shooter pleaded not guilty Thursday after he was indicted by a grand jury on seven counts of reckless conduct, according to the county prosecutor.
Robert Crimo Jr. is accused of signing the Firearm Owner’s Identification card for his son, Robert Crimo III, to apply for gun ownership. The younger Crimo was 19 at the time and and too young to get a FOID card on his own. Illinois at the time required people ages 18, 19 or 20 to have parent or guardian authorization.
“Parents who help their kids get weapons of war are morally and legally responsible when those kids hurt others with those weapons,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said in a statement Wednesday.
Robert Crimo III is accused of killing seven people and injuring dozens of others in the mass shooting at a 2022 Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park.
Crimo Jr. told ABC News after the shooting, “I filled out the consent form to allow my son to go through the process that the Illinois State Police have in place for an individual to obtain a FOID card.”
“They do background checks. Whatever that entails, I’m not exactly sure. And either you’re approved or denied, and he was approved,” he said.
“Signing a consent form to go through the process … that’s all it was,” Crimo Jr. said of his involvement. “Had I purchased guns throughout the years and given them to him in my name, that’s a different story. But he went through that whole process himself.”
Robert Crimo III has pleaded not guilty to charges including murder and attempted murder.
(DELAND, Fla.) — A 3-year-old boy fatally shot himself when he found a 9 mm handgun in a nightstand in his Florida home, according to authorities.
The tragedy unfolded Wednesday evening at a home in DeLand, about 40 miles north of Orlando.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office called it “one of the worst calls imaginable” to respond to.
The shooting occurred as the 3-year-old and an 8-year-old were being watched by their 16-year-old sister while the parents were grocery shopping, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said at a news conference Thursday.
The gun was discharged once, the sheriff said. It’s not clear exactly how the boy got into the nightstand and discharged the gun, Chitwood said.
Chitwood said the gun was usually kept in a safe, which was not working.
The family had a second gun on top of the fridge, he said.
The boy’s father is a state corrections officer, Chitwood said, adding that the guns were not department-issued.
Chitwood called the 16-year-old’s 911 call “heartbreaking.” The sheriff said the girl told dispatchers, “My brother shot himself and he’s not breathing.”
“This should never have happened,” he said.
No charges have been filed.
The sheriff pleaded with gun owners to keep them in safes.
“If you have little ones, even if you have teenagers, you gotta lock them up,” he said.
(NEW YORK) — At least 58 million Americans across 20 states are on alert for severe weather as a major winter storm is expected to bring heavy snow, high winds and a threat for tornadoes from Colorado to Alabama through Thursday.
A tornado watch was issued Thursday morning for parts of Kentucky, Alabama and Tennessee, including Memphis, Tennessee; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Paducah, Kentucky.
Winter storm warnings stretch from New Mexico to Illinois for a swath of heavy snow. High wind warnings remain in effect across the Southwest and wind advisories are in effect across the Great Lakes.
The storm will continue to move east on Thursday, with more severe weather expected from the Gulf Coast all the way to Ohio.
There could be damaging winds and tornadoes from Texas to Alabama and up to Ohio. The highest tornado threats on Thursday will be in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.
Whiteout conditions are likely across the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, Kansas and southern Nebraska. Snowfall rates could reach 1 to 2 inches per hour accompanied with high winds.
Overnight Wednesday into Thursday, hail larger than golf balls hit Arkansas and Tennessee.
Damaging winds near 70 mph were reported in Oklahoma.
A swath of heavy snow is expected from Colorado to Michigan through Thursday. Some areas, especially across Kansas and Nebraska, could see 6 to 12 inches of snow.
Chicago could see up to 5 inches of snow; this could be their biggest snowstorm of the season if the system shifts any further south.
In Denver, almost 40% of Wednesday’s flights were delayed or canceled due to the heavy snow.
Tornadoes were possible Wednesday into Thursday morning from Arkansas to Tennessee and northern Mississippi. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said there was a possible tornado in Gibson County, Tennessee, early Thursday.
On Thursday afternoon, severe storms forecast to blossom in Mississippi and Alabama where a few strong tornadoes are possible.
Ahead of the storms, there were record warm temperatures in the Midwest and the East Coast. Numerous record warm temperatures were expected to be broken Wednesday and Thursday before more seasonable weather returns on Friday.
Some 200 records could be tied and broken through Friday.
(EAST PALESTINE, Ohio) — The mayor of an Ohio village where a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed earlier this month told ABC News that he “wasn’t built for this” and needs “help.”
East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway briefly spoke to reporters on Wednesday evening, before a town hall meeting with residents in the local high school’s gymnasium. ABC News asked Conaway about the pressure of being in the national spotlight and whether he has a message for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan, who is slated to visit on Thursday.
“I need help,” the mayor responded. “I’m not ready for this. I wasn’t built for this. I always thought of myself as a leader. I will do whatever it takes.”
Earlier Wednesday, Regan announced via Twitter that he will travel to East Palestine, Ohio, the next day to hear from impacted residents, visit the derailment site and meet with the state’s emergency responders.
“I want the residents of East Palestine to know that we understand their fears and concerns,” Regan tweeted. “We are going to get through this together and we are holding Norfolk Southern accountable.”
About 50 cars of a freight train operated by Norfolk Southern Railway derailed in a fiery crash on the outskirts of East Palestine, Ohio, near the state line with Pennsylvania, on the night of Feb. 3. Ten 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 office of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Wednesday 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. But residents with private wells are encouraged to drink from bottled water instead, until their well water has been tested and cleared for consumption, according to the governor’s office.
“With these tests results, Ohio EPA is confident that the municipal water is safe to drink,” DeWine’s office said in a statement. “Because private water wells may be closer to the surface than the municipal water wells, the Ohio EPA recommends that those who receive drinking water from private water wells schedule an appointment for well water testing by an independent consultant.”
Ohio Department of Natural Resources director Mary Mertz said during a press conference Tuesday that four tributaries over a space of 7.5 miles along the Ohio River are contaminated, but officials are confident that those waterways are contained and not affecting water supplies. Nevertheless, the contaminated waterways have led to the deaths of some 3,500 fish. None of the 12 different species of dead fish that were detected are considered threatened or endangered, and there was no evidence that nonaquatic life has been impacted, according to Mertz.
Tiffani Kavalec, chief of the Ohio EPA’s surface water division, told reporters Tuesday that no vinyl chloride or pre-product has been detected in the water. The contamination mostly consists of fire contaminant combustion materials, according to Kavalec.
The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting a safety investigation to determine the probable cause of the derailment. Two videos show preliminary indications of mechanical issues on one of the car’s axles. The train’s emergency brake was activated after crews said an alarm went off, according to the NTSB.
Norfolk Southern Railway announced in a statement Tuesday that it has helped 1,000 families as well as a number of businesses in East Palestine, Ohio, since the Feb. 3 derailment. The Atlanta-based rail operator said it has also distributed $1.2 million to families to cover costs related to the evacuation.
Representatives from Norfolk Southern Railway did not attend Wednesday night’s town hall meeting due to concerns “about the growing physical threat to our employees and members of the community around this event stemming from the increasing likelihood of the participation of outside parties,” according to a company press release.
“We know that many are rightfully angry and frustrated right now,” Norfolk Southern Railway said in the press release. “We want to continue our dialogue with the community and address their concerns, and our people will remain in East Palestine, respond to this situation, and meet with residents. We are not going anywhere.”
(HUNTSVILLE, Ala.) — Two fatalities were reported after a Black Hawk helicopter crashed onto an Alabama highway Wednesday afternoon, a U.S. official confirmed to ABC News.
The crash occurred on Highway 53 near the intersection of Burrell Road in Madison County, near the Alabama-Tennessee border, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
The helicopter belonged to the Tennessee National Guard, according to a U.S. official.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of two Tennessee National Guardsmen, and our prayers are with their families during this heartbreaking tragedy,” Brig. Gen. Warner Ross, Tennessee’s Adjutant General, said in a press release. “We ask Tennesseans to join us in supporting their families during this time of unthinkable grief.”
The Madison County Sheriff’s office received a distress call on its 911 system around 3 p.m., spokesperson Brent Patterson told ABC News.
First responders who arrived first at the scene found the helicopter “engulfed in flames,” Patterson said. The aircraft was a “total loss,” and given the extent of visible damage, they determined there were no survivors, he said.
The two fatalities were aboard the helicopter, a U.S. official said.
According to the Tennessee National Guard, no other service members or civilians were injured. Federal and state authorities are investigating the crash and the Tennessee National Guard will work with officials investigating the crash site.
The National Guard said Wednesday night it cannot confirm the unit the helicopter was assigned to or provide information on casualties.
“It is premature to discuss possible causes of the crash,” National Guard spokesperson Robert Carver said in a statement. “Like all military aircraft mishaps, the incident will be investigated. The National Guard will support law enforcement and other first responders handling the crash site.”
Troopers with the agency and deputies from the Madison County Sheriff’s Office were securing the scene.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office advised of road closures in the area following the crash.
“We anticipate evening traffic to experience heavy delays in this area throughout the evening,” the sheriff’s office said.
Tammy Adams told Huntsville, Alabama, ABC affiliate WAAY-TV that she heard what sounded like a car without a muffler before seeing the helicopter fly overhead.
“Then bam, we heard a hit,” she told the station. “We saw it hit the ground and it exploded.”
She said she said a prayer for those onboard.
“We knew there could not be anybody surviving that,” she told WAAY.
Chermonica Johnson also told WAAY she said a prayer after witnessing the devastating crash.
“There’s nothing there, at all,” she told the station. “You can’t even tell it was an aircraft.”
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said on Twitter that he and his wife, Maria, were “deeply saddened by the tragic loss of two Tennessee National Guard members. Please join us in lifting their families up in prayer & support during this time of unspeakable grief.”
Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama responded, thanking Lee and saying, “Alabamians will continue to uplift in prayer the families affected by this heartbreaking tragedy.”
“The Guardsmen who lost their lives today will be remembered as heroes,” Ivey said. “The people of Alabama stand with our neighbors in Tennessee.”
