(WESTMINSTER, S.C.) — An 8-year-old boy along with a 9-year-old boy have been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a 62-year-old man in South Carolina.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, June 30, when Oconee County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to an area just northwest of Westminster, South Carolina, after receiving a call from the man’s wife saying that she went to the property to look for her husband after not being able to make contact with him and still could not locate him, according to a press release from the Oconee County Sheriff’s Department on Thursday, July 1.
When deputies responded to the scene they were eventually able to locate 62-year-old Danny Andrew Smith who was unresponsive as he was slumped over the steering wheel of his tractor which was still running but had gone down an embankment before striking a tree.
Following an investigation into the incident, the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office announced that a petition had been filed in Family Court charging an 8-year-old boy and a 9-year-old boy with involuntary manslaughter regarding the shooting death of Smith, according to the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office.
“After a consultation with the Solicitor’s Office, and based on the evidence obtained in our ongoing investigation, we believe that both juvenile males discharged a firearm in a reckless manner in the direction of Mr. Smith who was bush hogging on some family property,” said Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw. “At this time, it is still undetermined which shot ultimately struck and killed Mr. Smith. However, based upon South Carolina law, the hand of one is the hand of all and that is why Family Court has been petitioned in regards to charging both juveniles with Involuntary Manslaughter.”
Based upon evidence obtained during the investigation as well as from the autopsy, authorities determined that Smith had sustained a single gunshot wound to the back which ultimately killed him.
In South Carolina, juveniles under the age of 10 cannot be detained so both of the juvenile suspects have been remanded to the custody of their parents as the judicial proceedings continue, according to Sheriff Crenshaw.
“The Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation and due to that fact, no information will be released that will identify the juveniles in this case,” said Oconee County Sheriff’s Office. “At this time, no information about motive or where the firearm was obtained will be released due to the ongoing investigation and any additional details will be released as conditions and developments warrant.”
The weapon that was allegedly used in the shooting, a .22 caliber rifle, has been recovered and examined by the SLED forensics lab in Columbia, South Carolina.
It is not currently clear which boy pulled the trigger that killed Smith but the investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
(HAVANA, Cuba) — Tropical Storm Elsa is now 85 miles east of Kingston, Jamaica, and 185 miles southeast of Cabo Cruz, Cuba, as it moves west-northwest at 14 mph with current sustained winds at 65 mph.
A tropical storm warning is in effect for parts of Haiti, Jamaica and parts of Cuba and a tropical storm watch is in effect for parts of Cuba and the Florida Keys.
On the forecast track, Elsa will move away from the southern portion of Haiti during the next couple of hours and move toward Jamaica and portions of eastern Cuba later this morning.
By Monday, Elsa is expected to move across central and western Cuba and head toward the Florida Straits. Elsa is then forecast to move near or over portions of the west coast of Florida on Tuesday and into Wednesday.
Heavy rainfall from Elsa will fall across Florida from Monday through Wednesday and 2 to 4 inches of rain, with localized maximum amounts up to 6 inches, will be possible in the region. Keep in mind that this is on top of already saturated ground which means it will present a threat for flash flooding as Elsa moves through.
Things will be dry for much of the East and West coasts on Sunday as the Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas will see more rounds of rain and storms.
There is a chance for strong storms along the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles on Sunday to the Upper Great Lakes. Flash flooding is a concern along the Gulf Coast into parts of Arizona, New Mexico, northern Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
Heat advisories are also scattered across portions of the West on Sunday. Temperatures will be in the 90s and 100s from California to Nebraska and red flag warnings are in effect as gusty winds are possible with scattered thunderstorms and possible lightning strikes could produce new fire starts.
(WAKEFIELD, Mass.) — A bizarre incident unfolded Saturday morning in Wakefield, Massachusetts as nearly a dozen armed men were arrested after a standoff with police in the middle of a major highway.
According to local police: “During a motor vehicle stop, several heavily armed men claiming to be from a group that does not recognize our laws exited their vehicles and fled into the woodline” near Interstate 95.
The incident took place around 1:30 a.m. when a state trooper came across a group of people refueling on the side of the I-95 highway in Wakefield, a suburb of Boston. The group was dressed in military-style uniforms, carried tactical gear like body cameras and helmets and had long guns slung over their shoulders.
They told officials they were on their way to Maine from Rhode Island for “training,” Col. Christopher Mason said.
Officials said they made two initial arrests and the rest of the group, which calls itself “Moorish American Arms,” fled into a wooded area. As a result, a stretch of I-95 was closed and shelter-in-place orders were set for people who live nearby.
State police announced the first two arrests around 6:40 a.m. ET, saying they were arrested by members of The Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council in Wakefield. Police took them into custody and transported them to one of their barracks.
Police negotiators talked to those hiding in the woods throughout the early morning.
“We’re trying to successfully and peacefully resolve this,” Mason said early Saturday.
At 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Massachusetts State Police said in an update that “7 additional suspects were being transported for booking.”
Officials had conducted searches of the two vehicles the suspects were in and the surrounding woods.
In the afternoon, MSP said: “Two additional suspects were located in their vehicles, bringing the total number of those arrested to 11 (two initially on North Avenue and nine outside and inside the vehicles).”
Col. Christopher Nelson said the remaining nine suspects surrendered “without incident” Saturday morning, following the preliminary two arrests.
Two additional suspects were located in their vehicles, bringing the total number of those arrested to 11 (two initially on North Avenue and nine outside and inside the vehicles) https://t.co/YAXzKlW6Yl
— Mass State Police (@MassStatePolice) July 3, 2021
All 11 suspects are expected to appear in district court Tuesday morning, all on firearm and other charges, Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said at a press briefing Saturday.
Authorities said they had recovered two AR-15 semi-automatic rifles, two pistols, a bolt-action rifle, a shotgun and a short-barrel rifle. None of the men have a license to carry firearms, state police and the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office said.
All but two individuals, both of whom were “refusing to identify self,” according to police, were identified late Saturday.
The suspects were identified as Jamhal Tavon Sanders Latimer, 29, of Providence, Rhode Island; Robert Rodriguez, 21, of the Bronx, New York; Wilfredo Hernandez, 21, of the Bronx; Alban El Curraugh, 27, of the Bronx; Aaron Lamont Johnson, 29, of Detroit; Quinn Cumberlander, 40, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island; Lamar Dow, 34, of the Bronx; and Conrad Pierre, 29, of Baldwin, New York. Another 17-year-old is not being named by police due to being a juvenile.
Asked what the suspects did wrong, Nelson said: “11 armed individuals standing with long guns slung on an interstate highway at two in the morning certainly raises concerns and isn’t consistent with the firearm laws that we have here in Massachusetts.”
All of the men have been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, use of body armor in commission of a crime, possession of a high capacity magazine, improper storage of firearms in a vehicle and conspiracy to commit a crime, police said.
Hernandez, Johnson, Dow and the unnamed teen are also being charged with providing a false name to police, authorities said.
The teenager was released to parental custody while the 10 adults are being held at the Billerica House of Correction on $100,000 cash bail, authorities said.
A spokesperson for FBI’s Boston office has confirmed to ABC News that the bureau is involved in the investigation.
“Since the onset of this incident, the FBI Boston Division has been fully engaged with our state and local partners,” public affairs adviser Kristen Setera said.
Mason, of the Massachusetts State Police, said Saturday that the FBI was assisting in the incident.
“I reached out to the FBI earlier, we had FBI assets at the scene, we’ve been engaged in information and intelligence sharing throughout this, and I anticipate that will continue as the investigation moves forward,” Mason said.
The Wakefield Police Department said in an early morning statement: “Approximately 8 males fled into the woods carrying rifles and handguns and appear to be contained in the wooded area adjacent to the highway. No threats were made, but these men should be considered armed and dangerous.”
Massachusetts State Police, who are also on the scene, tweeted early Saturday: “We have several armed persons accounted for at this scene on Rt 95. They are refusing to comply with orders to provide their information and put down their weapons. We are asking residents of Wakefield and Reading to shelter in place at this time.”
“The situation is ongoing w/remaining members of the group. We continue to work to resolve the situation peacefully,” they tweeted at the time.
Police said a “heavy police presence” will remain in the area, and they are asking residents to lock their doors and stay home.
No injuries or shots fired have been reported.
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky, Mark Osborne, Darren Reynolds and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.
KENNESAW, Ga. — A shooting at an Atlanta-area country club has left one man dead as authorities search for his killer.
The slaying occurred Saturday afternoon at Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw, Cobb County Police Officer Shenise Barner said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Authorities did not immediately identify the victim or release additional details about the shooting. But footage from WAGA-TV showed a white pickup truck stuck on a hill in the middle of the club’s golf course.
Officials described the suspect as a 6-foot-1-inch Hispanic male with long hair, dark-colored work pants and a white or tan shirt.
Neighbor John Lavender told WAGA-TV that he heard “five, six booms go off” and wasn’t sure whether it was gunshots or fireworks. “You just don’t think it’s gunshots in this area,” he said.
The country club is near the campus of Kennesaw State University. After the shooting, the school tweeted that there were no credible threats to campus, which is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of downtown Atlanta.
LOS ANGELES — A 27-year-old man was charged Saturday with illegally transporting tons of explosives he purchased in Nevada — including several that left a trail of destruction and injuries after they blew up in a Los Angeles neighborhood.
Arturo Ceja III faces the federal charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles.
Seventeen people were hurt Wednesday — including nine Los Angeles police officers and a federal agent — in the blast, which also flipped and damaged cars and smashed windows in homes and a laundromat. The explosion was heard blocks away.
Ceja made several trips “made several trips to Nevada in late June to purchase various types of explosives –- including aerial displays and large homemade fireworks containing explosive materials –- that he transported to his residence in rental vans,” the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a statement.
He bought most of his explosives from a fireworks dealer in Parhump, Nevada, according to the criminal complaint against him.
Fireworks in California can be sold for as much as four times what purchasers pay for the fireworks in Nevada, according to the complaint.
“Ceja told investigators that he bought homemade explosives —constructed of cardboard paper, hobby fuse and packed with explosive flash powder – from an individual selling the devices out of the trunk of a Honda” in the parking lot of the fireworks dealer in Nevada, according to the complaint.
Ceja did not have a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives or any other kind of permit “that would allow him to transport either aerial display fireworks or homemade fireworks made with explosive materials, including but not limited to flash powder,” according to the complaint affidavit written by a special agent with the ATF.
Ceja is being held until his initial court appearance scheduled for Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
On Wednesday, about 10 pounds of homemade explosives blew up while they were inside a spherical containment vessel on a tractor-trailer, tearing the rig apart in what was supposed to be a safe operation by the Los Angeles Police Department to handle explosives that were too unstable to remove from a South Los Angeles neighborhood where tons of illegal fireworks were discovered.
The one-ton lid of the vessel flew into a backyard two blocks away, breaking a lemon tree and damaging the house.
Experts say the explosion was highly unusual, especially for a law enforcement agency with the size and resources of the LAPD. The blast could have been the result of human error — such as not correctly sealing the vessel or over-loading it with material — or a defect in the equipment like a micro-fissure that has grown with time and use. Or both.
The explosion came after police had spent the day disposing of about 3,000 to 5,000 pounds (1,360 to 2,268 kilograms) of commercial-grade fireworks that were found in Cejas’ home following an early-morning tip. Police found some of them on a patio in cartons stacked 8 to 10 feet (2.44 to 3 meters) high.
Fireworks are illegal to sell or possess in Los Angeles and in unincorporated areas of the county.
(SURFSIDE, Fla.) — The death toll at the 12-story residential building that partially collapsed in South Florida’s Miami-Dade County last week has risen to 24, leaving 121 unaccounted for, as search and rescue efforts paused amid preparations to demolish the remaining structure, officials said Saturday.
The partial collapse occurred around 1:15 a.m. on June 24 at the Champlain Towers South condominium in the small, beachside town of Surfside, about 6 miles north of Miami Beach. Approximately 55 of the oceanfront complex’s 136 units were destroyed, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Raide Jadallah. Since then, hundreds of first responders have been carefully combing through the debris in hopes of finding survivors.
Two more bodies were pulled from the rubble overnight, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in a press briefing Saturday morning, as the rescue effort entered its 10th day.
No further victims were found Saturday, and search and rescue efforts were halted at 4 p.m. due to preparations for the demolition, Levine Cava said during a press briefing Saturday evening.
Preparation work for demolishing the remaining structure, such as drilling into columns, presents a threat to the standing building, she said. The search crews have temporarily left the area as a precaution.
Search and rescue will resume once the demolition team has cleared the site, according to the mayor. She did not have a definite timeline for the demolition, though said she was “hopeful” it could happen before Tropical Storm Elsa approaches.
“We are proceeding as quickly as we possibly can,” she said.
Levine Cava said that the contract has been signed for the demolition of the building and Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state will pay for the costs of the demolition and it will “minimally” affect rescue efforts. It comes after the mayor signed an emergency order authorizing the demolition of the rest of the condominium “in the interest of public health and safety” on Friday.
“The building is too unsafe to let people in,” DeSantis said. “This will protect our search and rescue teams because we don’t know when it will fall over.”
Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said that the remainder of the building could be coming down “as early as tomorrow.” Experts continue on the scene to evaluate how the building will be brought down.
Burkett noted that the push to take down the building faster than originally stated was because of Tropical Storm Elsa’s winds.
The demolition will occur via a “charge,” likely using explosives, not a wrecking ball or another method, Miami-Dade County Fire Chief Alan Cominsky said Saturday.
The fire rescue chief said that a tarp will cover the area that has been searched, noting that some areas of the wreckage has not yet been searched.
Officials also said six rescue workers from one task force have tested positive for COVID-19 and have since left the scene.
Preparations are now being made for Elsa, which weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm in the morning and is expected to come near Southern Florida Monday into Tuesday.
On Saturday, DeSantis declared a state of emergency for several counties in anticipation of Tropical Storm Elsa. Heat, humidity, heavy rain, strong winds and lightning storms have also made the conditions difficult for rescuers, periodically forcing them to pause their round-the-clock efforts in recent days.
On Friday, two more bodies were found in the wreckage as crews search the area of the collapse, officials said.
It follows another two bodies found Thursday evening, including that of a 7-year-old girl who was the daughter of a Miami firefighter, according to Levine Cava. The firefighter was not part of the crew that discovered the girl’s body but he was notified, according to Cominsky.
“It goes without saying that every night since this last Wednesday has been immensely difficult,” Levine Cava said during a press briefing in Surfside on Friday morning. “But last night was uniquely different. It was truly different and more difficult for our first responders.”
(FLORIDA) — Elsa, which was the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, has weakened to a tropical storm, though it is bringing damaging winds and rain as it moves through the Caribbean.
After lashing parts of the eastern Caribbean with strong winds and heavy rain Friday, the storm weakened as it approached the southern coast of Hispaniola, with maximum sustained winds dropping to 70 mph. Portions of Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Hispaniola were also hit with heavy rain, gusty winds and rough surf Saturday.
The storm’s center was about 130 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as of Saturday evening, as it speeds west-northwest at 28 mph.
Tropical storm watches and warnings are in effect across much of the region, and a hurricane warning remains in effect along the southern coast of Haiti due to the strong tropical storm, which is close to minimal hurricane strength at this time.
Life-threatening surf and rip current conditions are expected this weekend through the Caribbean Sea.
At least three people have died during the storm in the Caribbean, including one person in St. Lucia and a 15-year-old boy and 75-year-old woman in the Dominican Republic, according to The Associated Press.
The Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, the Florida Peninsula and the Florida Keys are all advised to monitor the progress of Elsa.
Elsa is forecast to remain a tropical storm as it passes over Cuba and approaches the Florida Peninsula. A tropical storm warning is now in effect across eastern Cuba, with a tropical storm watch for much of the western half. Jamaica also has a tropical storm warning in effect.
The storm is forecast to impact eastern Cuba and Jamaica later Saturday evening and into the night with torrential rain, flash flooding, strong winds and rough surf.
There could still be some fluctuations in the strength over the next few days, though the storm is expected to slow down as it moves over Cuba and turns toward Florida. It is on track to impact southern Florida late Monday into Tuesday. A tropical storm watch is in effect for portions of the Florida Keys.
Elsa is forecast to track up Florida’s Gulf Coast Tuesday into Wednesday. Scattered showers and thunderstorms could start to develop later Monday afternoon in the Florida Keys and South Florida.
Ahead of the storm, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency for Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota counties.
Elsa could potentially impact the ongoing rescue efforts in Miami-Dade County following last week’s deadly condo collapse in the beach town of Surfside. So far, at least 24 people have been confirmed dead and 124 others remain unaccounted for since the 12-story residential building partially collapsed on June 24.
(HONOLULU) — Three Honolulu police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Lindani Myeni, an unarmed South African rugby player, will not face criminal charges, according to the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney.
Honolulu prosecuting attorney Steven S. Alm announced Wednesday that the officers were justified in using deadly force because Myeni, who is Black, refused to comply and attacked the officers. Alm did not name the officers involved in the shooting.
Myeni, who had recently moved to Hawaii with his wife and two young children, was fatally shot on April 14 by Honolulu police who were responding to 911 calls after he apparently accidentally entered a neighbor’s home. According to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by his widow, Lindsay Myeni, her husband may have confused the home he entered for a next-door public temple.
Doorbell camera video obtained and made public by the Bickerton Law Group, which is representing the family of Lindani Myeni, shows Myeni arriving at a house, removing his shoes, entering the home and then quickly leaving after his presence confused the occupants. He repeatedly apologized in the video.
Once officers arrived, Myeni repeatedly punched one of the officers who pointed a gun at him and told him to get on the ground, according to documents provided to ABC News by Alm’s office. Alm said the other two officers attempted to stop Myeni by using a stun gun on him and tackling him to the ground before the first officer shot him once in the chest.
Even after being shot in the chest, Alm said Myeni continued punching the officer before another police officer shot him three times, striking him in the torso and right thigh. It was only after the shooting that police can be heard identifying themselves on body camera video. Myeni was pronounced dead of multiple gunshot wounds.
Alm said there was no evidence race played a role in the shooting.
In a statement provided to ABC News, the Bickerton Law Group said the civil case is not affected by this decision and they will continue to move ahead.
“In the civil case, we will address the central questions that Mr. Alm appears to have avoided completely,” the statement said. “When you avoid addressing the very first wrongful act committed, your analysis of what comes afterwards should not be accepted by the public.”
Lawyers representing the family denounced Alm’s decision, saying in a statement that he “did not address whether it was lawful for Mr. Myeni to defend himself from the unknown assailant with a gun. Without that analysis, the rest of his analysis can have no weight.”
“The big question was whether Mr. Myeni knew they were officers, and not a private security detail of the hysterical 911 caller standing behind them who had, just minutes before, falsely pretended to report a ‘break in’ to someone,” the statement continued. “We know that Lindani said ‘Who are you?’ at least twice.”
The Bickerton Law Group said the civil suit will “definitely” address Mr. Alm’s analysis and his “unsupported conclusion that, because of the ‘lighting,’ Mr. Myeni knew they were officers.”
“Mr. Alm did not explain why the officers all had to use flashlights if the lighting was so good, or why Officer #1 says repeatedly after the shooting ‘I couldn’t see him,’ or why Mr. Myeni says, ‘Who are you?'” said James Bickerton, one of the lawyers representing Myeni’s widow. “Nor did Mr. Alm report doing any forensic tests to see what a person in Mr. Myeni’s position would see if a 600 lumens tactical light is shone in their direction on a moonless night.”
The city has not publicly identified the two officers who fired the fatal shots that resulted in Myeni’s death, but Bickerton Law Group said they have identified the officers through an investigation. On Thursday, lawyers representing Myeni’s widow filed papers to name the two officers who fired the fatal shots as additional defendants in the suit.
“I just never thought, I would think of Honolulu as a bad place, as a dark place … it’s just full of love and aloha,” Lindsay Myeni told ABC News in an interview last month. “To have this place be so dark, and to actually have this other side where our police are just like the rest of the mainland, it’s like there’s no safety, there’s actually fear now.”
(SURFSIDE, Fla.) — At least 22 people, including three children, have been confirmed dead and 126 others remain unaccounted for since a 12-story residential building partially collapsed in South Florida’s Miami-Dade County last week.
The partial collapse occurred around 1:15 a.m. on June 24 at the Champlain Towers South condominium in the small, beachside town of Surfside, about 6 miles north of Miami Beach. Approximately 55 of the oceanfront complex’s 136 units were destroyed, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Raide Jadallah. Since then, hundreds of first responders have been carefully combing through the debris in hopes of finding survivors.
Two more bodies were pulled from the rubble Friday, as crews search the area of the collapse, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a press briefing Friday evening.
Two bodies also were pulled from the rubble on Thursday night, including that of a 7-year-old girl who was the daughter of a Miami firefighter, according to Levine Cava. The firefighter was not part of the crew that discovered the girl’s body but he was notified, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Alan Cominsky.
“It goes without saying that every night since this last Wednesday has been immensely difficult,” Levine Cava said during a press briefing in Surfside on Friday morning. “But last night was uniquely different. It was truly different and more difficult for our first responders.”
Meanwhile, 188 people who were living or staying in the condominium at the time of the disaster have been accounted for and are safe, according to Levine Cava, who has stressed that the figures are “very fluid” and “continue to change.” The number of those accounted for has gone up as detectives continue to audit the list of people reported missing, a development that Levine Cava called “very good news.”
However, no survivors have been discovered in the rubble of the building since the morning it partially collapsed, and the hope that more people would be found alive appeared to be fading Friday.
Cominsky said rescue workers are “emotional” after the discovery of a first responder’s own daughter, which “takes a toll.” But he said that won’t stop them from continuing to search for those who are still missing.
“I just was hoping that we would have some survivors,” Cominsky said at the press briefing on Friday morning.
City of Miami Department of Fire Rescue Chief Joseph Zahralban later confirmed in a statement that a member of the team lost his 7-year-old daughter in the disaster.
The massive search and rescue operation, now in its ninth day, was temporarily halted for much of Thursday due to safety concerns regarding the structural integrity of the still-standing section of the building. Movement in the pile of rubble as well as in the remaining structure prompted the hours-long pause, according to Scott Nacheman, a structure specialist with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Urban Search and Rescue support team.
On Friday, Levine Cava signed an emergency order authorizing the demolition of the rest of the condominium “in the interest of public health and safety,” she said.
“Our top priority remains search and rescue, I want to be very clear about that, and we will take no action that will jeopardize our ability to continue the search and rescue mission,” she said. “I want to acknowledge that this was not a decision we made lightly, and I know especially how difficult this is for the families who escaped the building and who have lost their homes and their belongings. The building poses a threat to public health and safety, and bringing it down as is critical to protect our community.”
Nacheman, who is helping develop the plans, told reporters it would be “weeks” before a “definitive timeline” is available. Signing the emergency order will “help us move quickly,” Levine Cava said.
The structure was cleared by crews last week, and all search and rescue resources have since been shifted to focusing on the pile of rubble. But the two sites are side-by-side and the remaining building has posed challenges for the rescuers trying to locate any survivors or human remains in the wreckage.
“Given our ongoing safety concerns about the integrity of the building, we’re continuing to restrict access to the collapse zone,” Levine Cava said during a press briefing in Surfside on Thursday evening.
Shortly after search and rescue efforts resumed Thursday evening, the Miami-Dade County mayor noted that the crews “looked really, really excited to get back out there.”
Levine Cava told reporters on Friday morning that structural engineers are working to expand the search area as quickly as possible when it is safe to do so.
“Here we are, day nine,” she said. “Our first responders have been hard at work, as they have been this entire time, continuing to search through the pile that is accessible to them.”
Heat, humidity, heavy rain, strong winds and lightning storms have also made the conditions difficult for rescuers, periodically forcing them to pause their round-the-clock efforts in recent days. Officials are monitoring weather systems in the region as the Atlantic hurricane season ramps up.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said his office is beginning to prepare a potential state of emergency declaration due to Hurricane Elsa, the first of the Atlantic season, which could possibly hit Surfside. The storm’s track is not yet clear, but DeSantis said tropical force winds could arrive in South Florida as early as Sunday night. So officials are making the necessary preparations to ensure that both the search area and the remaining structure in Surfside is protected.
“This is just what we do but we are adding the special emphasis on this site because we understand the sensitivities involved,” DeSantis said during the press briefing on Friday morning.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden traveled to Surfside on Thursday to meet with officials, first responders, search and rescue teams, as well as families of the victims. Recalling the 1972 car accident that killed his first wife and 1-year-old daughter as well as badly injuring his two sons, the president told reporters: “It’s bad enough to lose somebody but the hard part, the really hard part, is to not know whether they’ll survive or not.”
The cause of the partial collapse to a building that has withstood decades of hurricanes remains unknown and is under investigation.
Built in the 1980s, the Champlain Towers South was up for its 40-year recertification and had been undergoing roof work — with more renovations planned — when it partially collapsed, according to officials.
A structural field survey report from October 2018, which was among hundreds of pages of public documents released by the town of Surfside late Sunday, said the waterproofing below the condominium’s pool deck and entrance drive was failing and causing “major structural damage to the concrete structural slab below these areas.”
A slew of lawsuits against the Champlain Towers South Condo Association have already been filed on behalf of survivors and victims, alleging the partial collapse could have been avoided and that the association knew or should have known about the structural damage. A spokesperson for the association told ABC News they cannot comment on pending litigation but that their “focus remains on caring for our friends and neighbors during this difficult time.”
The association’s board released a statement Friday saying its surviving members “have concluded that, in the best interest of all concerned parties, an independent Receiver should be appointed to oversee the legal and claims process.”
“We know that answers will take time as part of a comprehensive investigation,” the statement continued, “and we will continue to work with city, state, local, and federal officials in their rescue efforts, and to understand the causes of this tragedy.”
In the wake of the Surfside building collapse, the city of North Miami Beach ordered that another condominium close immediately amid safety concerns connected to the 40-year recertification process, officials said.
The Crestview Towers Condominium is “structurally and electrically unsafe,” based on the review of a recertification report submitted Friday, city officials said in a statement.
“The city of North Miami Beach has taken the steps that we recommended to review to make sure that the recertification process was being done in a timely basis. And as I understand it, as a result of that audit, they found a building that had not been recertified, and when the information came in, they took some steps,” Levine Cava said Friday evening.
Some 300 residents have to evacuate, according to ABC Miami affiliate WPLG, while a full structural assessment is conducted.
The 156-unit condo was built in 1972.
ABC News’ Will Gretsky contributed to this report.
(LOS ANGELES) — Wildfire scientists and fire officials are pleading with people to forego fireworks this Fourth of July, as unprecedented heat waves and drought conditions have elevated fire risk in the western United States.
In an open letter published this week in The Conversation, an online publication for academics and researchers, more than 150 scientists said they are “gravely concerned about the potential for humans to accidentally start fires” in the West, as extreme heat, record-setting drought and dry vegetation are “setting the stage for widespread fire activity.”
“We urge people to skip the fireworks this July 4th and to avoid other activities that could start an unintentional wildfire,” the letter stated. “This will be critical for a safe Independence Day holiday, good practice for the rest of the fire season, and one way we can adapt to more safely live in increasingly flammable landscapes.”
The number of wildfires caused by humans spikes on the Fourth of July, particularly in the West, according to a 2020 study published in the journal MDPI.
Nationwide, nearly 30% of all fires started by fireworks from 2014 to 2018 were reported on the Fourth of July, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Half of reported fires on the holiday during that time were started by fireworks.
But fireworks aren’t the only cause for concern this fire season.
“With this year’s tinder-dry grasslands and parched forests, sparks from anything — a cigarette, a campfire, a power line, even a mower blade hitting a rock — could ignite a wildfire, with deadly consequences,” the scientists wrote in The Conversation.
Over 90% of the West is currently considered to be in a drought, with record-breaking heat in the Northwest leading to “worsening drought conditions across the region,” according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
A day after declaring a statewide drought emergency, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte asked residents to “please use caution outdoors” ahead of the holiday weekend.
“Montana’s facing critical fire weather conditions, and it’s going to take all hands on deck to reduce the risk of wildfires,” the governor said in a video statement Friday.
Several communities in Colorado have canceled Fourth of July fireworks displays amid elevated fire risk, according to ABC Denver affiliate KMGH-TV. Many Arizona cities are doing the same, ABC Phoenix affiliate KNXV-TV reported.
In Utah, several cities have already banned fireworks due to the drought, ABC Salt Lake City affiliate KTVX-TV reported. Officials in Ada County, Idaho, have also restricted fireworks, according to ABC Boise affiliate KIVI-TV.
“Those aerial fireworks can land anywhere, and they can travel great distances,” Idaho Department of Lands Fire Management Bureau Chief Josh Harvey said during a press briefing Thursday in which state officials urged people not to set off fireworks amid the extreme conditions. “Please do not use aerial fireworks anywhere in the state.”
