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Buffalo supermarket shooter pleads guilty to terrorism and murder charges

November 28, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — Payton Gendron pleaded guilty Monday to state charges stemming from the May shooting at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York.

Gendron pleaded guilty to 15 charges in all, including domestic terrorism motivated by hate, murder and attempted murder. He still faces more than two dozen federal charges, some of which carry the possibility of the death penalty. His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 15, 2023. Domestic terrorism motivated by hate carries a mandatory life sentence.

“Thank God the families and the victims who survived this and this community don’t have to endure a long, protracted trial,” Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said following the plea. “Nothing will ever bring back the 10 beautiful people who lost their lives on that day. This past Thursday on Thanksgiving, there were 10 empty chairs at the Thanksgiving dinner … I can never provide full closure. There’s never going to be full closure for the families.”

Gendron fatally shot 10 Black people “because of the perceived race and/or color” of the victims, according to the indictment by the Erie County district attorney.

He was charged with carrying out a “domestic act of terrorism motivated by hate” along with 10 counts of murder in the first degree, 10 counts of murder in the second degree as a hate crime, three counts of attempted murder as a hate crime and one count of criminal possession of a weapon.

Flynn said Gendron illegally modified his gun, practiced shooting at state parks in Broome County and wrote 180 pages of racist screed that also contained the names of past mass shooters he admired.

White supremacist rhetoric online, including the promotion of racist conspiracy theories, has been linked to Gendron and his motive behind the Buffalo attack, ABC News has previously reported. Gendron traveled from his home near Binghamton, New York, to carry out the shooting, according to officials.

A document of Gendron’s uncovered by investigators outlined “the goals behind the attack which were to kill as many African Americans as possible, avoid dying and spread ideals,” Flynn said. “The document also detailed the defendant’s hateful beliefs, specifically his hatred for African Americans, Jewish people, immigrants, and other minorities.”

Gendron is the first to be charged with domestic terrorism motivated by hate in New York under a 2020 statute, which was implemented following an El Paso, Texas, shooting targeting Latinos in 2019.

He has been charged by federal prosecutors with a total of 26 counts of committing a hate crime resulting in death and a hate crime involving bodily injury. He’s also charged with using a firearm to commit murder during a crime of violence. In July, Gendron’s public defender entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

“His decision to plead guilty will deliver the families some justice, but it will not end the racism that drove him to kill in the first place,” said Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of civil rights group National Action Network. “That horrific day was the byproduct of a white supremacy so blatant that its followers don’t hide under a hood — they livestream their hate for everyone to see,” referring to the livestream of the shooting captured by a camera on Gendron’s helmet during the attack.

The families of Buffalo victims are expected to speak following the hearing.

Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano in the world, begins erupting

November 28, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Ash and lava have begun spewing out of the Mauna Loa volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island — the largest active volcano in the world.

The activity, which began Sunday and continued into Monday morning, is the first eruption from Mauna Loa in nearly 40 years.

The lava was contained to the summit, and there are currently no threats to populated areas, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. However, lava flows are significant enough to be visible from Kona, dozens of miles away.

Mauna Loa is so large it takes up more than half of the Big Island. The last time it erupted was in March and April 1984.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has closed the Mauna Loa Summit Area to visitors as a precaution.

Video posted to Twitter by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory shows thermal footage of the lava flowing out of the volcano’s summit.

In conjunction with the lava flow, were more than a dozen earthquakes in the region of more than 2.5 magnitude early Monday morning, according to the USGS.

Lava was still erupting from the summit and was overflowing from the caldera as of 5 a.m. local time, according to USGS Volcanoes. The National Weather Service issued an ashfall advisory for depositing ash and debris, as well as light accumulation of ash on vessels, until 6 a.m. along the Alenuihaha Channel, Big Island windward waters, Big Island leeward waters and Big Island southeast waters.

The NWS advised that vessels should remain at port or avoid advisory areas, and those with respiratory sensitivities should take extra precautions to minimize exposure.

Falling volcanic ash and debris can also render engines or electronics inoperative, according to the NWS.

Hawaii is home to several active volcanos, including the Kīlauea volcano on the Big Island, one of the most active in the world.

Volcano activity has been recorded all around the globe over the past year.

Major eruptions could be underway from two volcanoes on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula after clouds of ash and lava began spewing on Nov. 20.

In July, an eruption at the Sakurajima volcano in Japan prompted evacuation orders for residents nearby in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima.

And last week, marine geologists announced that the underwater volcano eruption that occurred on Jan. 15 in the Tongan archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean is the largest ever recorded.

Houston under water boil notice after power failure

November 28, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(HOUSTON) — Over two million Houston residents are under a water boil notice after a power outage Sunday affected a water treatment plant, officials said.

The water pressure dropped below the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s required minimum of 20 PSI during a power outage at the East Water Purification Plant around 10:30 a.m. local time, according to the agency. Houston schools were closed Monday because of the order.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the water was safe and that the boil order was done to comply with regulations. He tweeted that the city submitted its plan to TCEQ to lift the notice Sunday night.

“Water samples will subsequently follow and hopefully we will get the all clear from TCEQ. The City has to wait 24 hours from that point before the boil water notice is suspended. The earliest would be tomorrow night or very early Tuesday morning,” Turner tweeted Sunday night.

He is scheduled to update the situation at a news conference at 10:30 a.m. local time Monday.

Yvonne Williams Forrest, Houston’s water director, told ABC affiliate KTRK-TV Sunday night that the order the city’s pressure system was never at zero, just below the regulatory limit. That pressure is important because it prevents anything from infiltrating the water system, she said.

“There are a number of steps in the regulatory process before you issue a boil water notice and we didn’t want to unnecessarily alert the city if we did not have to issue a boil water notice,” she told KTRK.

Buffalo supermarket shooting suspect pleads guilty in racist attack

November 28, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — Alleged Buffalo supermarket shooter Payton Gendron pleaded guilty to state charges stemming from the Tops supermarket shooting in a predominantly Black neighborhood of East Buffalo.

Gendron fatally shot 10 Black people at a Tops supermarket “because of the perceived race and/or color” of the victims, according to the indictment by the Erie County district attorney.

Gendron is charged with carrying out a “domestic act of terrorism motivated by hate” along with 10 counts of murder in the first degree, 10 counts of murder in the second degree as a hate crime, three counts of attempted murder as a hate crime and one count of criminal possession of a weapon.

He is the first to be charged with domestic terrorism motivated by hate in New York under a 2020 statute, which was implemented following an El Paso, Texas, shooting targeting Latinos in 2019.

“That charge only has one sentence if the defendant is found guilty of that charge: life in prison without parole,” Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said at the time the indictment was unsealed.

White supremacist rhetoric online, including the promotion of racist conspiracy theories, has been linked to Gendron and his alleged motive behind the Buffalo attack, ABC News has previously reported. Gendron traveled from his home near Binghamton, New York, to carry out the shooting, according to officials.

The families of Buffalo victims are expected to speak following the hearing.

Idaho murders: Police seeing influx of 911 calls from fearful community

November 28, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(MOSCOW, Idaho) — Authorities are receiving an influx of 911 calls from the fearful University of Idaho community weeks after four students were stabbed to death in an off-campus house.

The students — Ethan Chapin, 20; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21 — were killed in the early hours of Nov. 13. No arrests have been made.

Kernodle, Mogen and Goncalves were roommates. Chapin was sleeping over with Kernodle, his girlfriend.

Moscow police said Sunday that, since the killings, they’ve received 78 “unusual circumstances” calls and 36 welfare check requests — up from 70 calls and 18 requests, respectively, for all of October.

Police, who have been asking the community for help, also noted that residents have uploaded over 488 digital media submissions to the case’s FBI page.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little has directed up to $1 million in emergency funds for the ongoing investigation, according to police.

Idaho State Police spokesman Aaron Snell told ABC News on Sunday that concerns from the victims’ families over the case going cold are “legitimate,” but he added, “our concern is a successful prosecution.”

“Justice is the end result — we have to do what we are doing [out of public view],” Snell said.

Two other roommates were in the house at the time of the murders and survived, appearing to have slept through the crimes, according to police. The surviving roommates are not considered suspects, police said.

As students return to campus following the Thanksgiving break, the university is gearing up for a candlelight vigil for the four victims, set for Wednesday.

Anyone with information can upload digital media to fbi.gov/moscowidaho or contact the tip line at tipline@ci.moscow.id.us or 208-883-7180.

Buffalo supermarket shooting suspect expected to plead guilty in court

November 28, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — Alleged Buffalo supermarket shooter Payton Gendron is expected to plead guilty to state charges Monday morning.

Gendron fatally shot 10 Black people at a Tops supermarket in a predominantly Black community “because of the perceived race and/or color” of the victims, according to the indictment by the Erie County district attorney.

He is the first to be charged with domestic terrorism motivated by hate in New York under a 2020 statute, which was implemented following an El Paso, Texas, shooting targeting Latinos in 2019.

The families of Buffalo victims are expected to speak following the hearing.

Two rescued from small plane after striking high-tension power lines

November 28, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md.) — Two people have been rescued from a small private plane after it struck and got lodged in a high-tension power line tower in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service Chief Scott Goldstein confirmed both the pilot and passenger were transported to local area trauma centers with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

“There’s some hypothermia issues,” Goldstein said. “They’ve been out there very anxious, but very happy to be down. They were communicating with us the entire time.”

The plane struck the tower at about 5:30 Sunday evening, Goldstein said.

However, rescue work was being delayed until the plane could be secured to the tower and the tower was confirmed to be grounded, according to Goldstein.

The plane, which was stuck about 100 feet off the ground, is “not going to be stable until it’s chained and strapped in place,” said Goldstein, adding that heavy fog in the area could make the task difficult.

About 85,000 Montgomery County customers were without power as a result of the crash, officials with the local power company said on Twitter.

Goldstein said that most of the power in the county has been restored by Pepco.

FAA officials said the plane had departed from Westchester County Airport in White Plains, New York. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board said they will investigate the incident.

Montgomery County Public Schools announced earlier that MCPS schools and offices will be closed Monday, Nov. 28 “due to a widespread power outage and its impact on safety and school operations.” There has been no update since most of the power has been restored.

16-year-old confesses over Instagram to fatal shooting, Pennsylvania police say

November 27, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BENSALEM, Penn.) — A Pennsylvania teen has been charged with murder after he allegedly confessed over Instagram to fatally shooting another child, according to police.

The Bensalem Police Department received a 911 call Friday afternoon about a possible homicide, with the caller detailing an Instagram video chat she received from a friend, according to a police press release.

In the chat, the teen stated that he “had just killed someone” before flipping the camera around and showing the legs and feet of someone covered in blood, police said. He then asked for assistance with disposing the body, according to police.

The caller told police that the teen who sent the message lived at the Top of the Ridge trailer park in Bensalem, the release states. When officers arrived, the teen ran out of the back of a trailer, and he was later arrested about a mile away on Newport Mews Drive and Groton Drive, police said.

Officers who entered the trailer observed a girl on the floor of the bathroom dead from an apparent gunshot wound, according to authorities. There were also “substantial steps” taken to clean up the crime scene, investigators said.

The victim’s identity and age have not been released, other than that she is a juvenile.

The suspect, 16-year-old Joshua Cooper, is being charged as an adult for criminal homicide, possessing instruments of crime and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, police said.

He attended a preliminary arraignment Friday night where he was denied bail, online court records show. It is unclear whether he entered a plea.

Cooper is being held at the Edison Juvenile Detention Center, police said. His arraignment has been scheduled for Dec. 7, according to online records.

An attorney for the teen was not listed on online court records. Instagram did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Investigators are asking anyone with more information on the case to call the Bensalem Police Department.

Hero who helped thwart Colorado Springs gunman: ‘I would shield everyone I could’

November 27, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) — One of the two men credited as heroes for stopping the Colorado Springs gunman as he searched for more victims, has spoken from his hospital bed.

U.S. Navy Petty Officer, Second Class, Thomas James helped U.S. Army veteran Richard Fierro subdue the alleged gunman, 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, after Aldrich stormed LGBTQ nightclub Club Q in Colorado Springs on Nov. 19. The mass shooting claimed the lives of five people and injured more than a dozen, according to law enforcement.

After Fierro confronted Aldrich, yanking him from behind and causing him to fall, James aided in fighting with Aldrich to make sure he could not reach the firearms he had dropped, Fierro told ABC News last week.

“At that moment, me, Thomas, … we’re all trying to keep everybody alive,” Fierro said. “… everybody was a hero that day.”

As of Sunday, James was still recovering from his injures at the Centura Penrose Hospital in stable condition.

In a statement released from the hospital, James said during the chaos of the shooting he “simply wanted to save the family I found.”

“If I had my way, I would shield everyone I could from the nonsensical acts of hate in the world, but I am only one person,” he said.

James continued, saying that he and his community have come “a long way from Stonewall,” the New York City bar that was the site of the 1969 riots that launched the Gay Rights Movement.

“Bullies aren’t invincible,” James said.

James said his thoughts are with those who were killed and injured at Club Q, adding that “pain and loss have been all too common these past few years.”

“To the youth I say be brave,” he said. “Your family is out there. You are loved and valued. So when you come out of the closet, come out swinging.”

One of the club’s regulars who was injured in the shooting, Ed Sanders, told ABC News from his hospital bed last week that he looks forward to returning to the club after he recovers, describing it as a place he called home for a long time.

Another club regular who was near the DJ booth when he heard the gunshots and subsequent screams, told ABC News that Club Q is a “safe space” for the LGBTQ community.

“Coming here, this is one of the first places that I felt accepted to be who I am,” he said. “…It’s supposed to be a safe space and the community shouldn’t have to go through something like this.”

ABC News’ Vera Drymon contributed to this report.

1 dead, 5 injured at Atlantic Station shooting: Police

November 27, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(ATLANTA) — One person is dead and five others are injured after a shooting that took place near Atlantic Station on Saturday evening in Atlanta, the Atlanta Police Department said.

One male was pronounced deceased on the scene and five other victims were shot and later transported to nearby hospitals, Atlanta Police Lt. Germain Dearlove said in a press conference Saturday night. The extent of their conditions was not specified.

A group of people were escorted off of Atlantic Station property by off-duty Atlanta police officers and station personnel at about 8 p.m., police said. They were juveniles, said Dearlove, and were removed for “unruly behavior” along with curfew violations. Police believe that the victims were between the ages of 15 and 21.

Once the group was escorted off the property, a dispute occurred near Atlantic Station, which led to the shooting, said Dearlove. The reason for the dispute is currently under investigation.

Atlantic Station is a major retail and recreation area in midtown Atlanta and includes a sprawling mixed-use development. The neighborhood has seen periodic incidents of gun violence.

Police are looking to identify the parties involved, as preliminary information suggests this dispute was between two groups, with two possible shooters, said Dearlove.

Authorities are not sure how many shots were fired at this time.

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