(CHESAPEAKE, Va.) — Six people were gunned down in a mass shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Survivors said the gunman walked into a break room and opened fire on Tuesday night.
The suspect was identified by city officials as 31-year-old Andre Bing of Chesapeake. Walmart said he worked at the store as an overnight team lead and had been an employee since 2010. He died at the scene from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Governor orders flags to fly at half-staff through Sunday
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff over the state Capitol and all local, state and federal buildings and grounds across the commonwealth “in respect and memory of the victims of the Chesapeake shooting, their families, and the entire Chesapeake community.”
“I hereby order that the flags shall be lowered immediately on Wednesday, November 23, 2022 and remain at half-staff until Sunday, November 27, 2022 at sunset,” Youngkin said in a statement.
On Wednesday, the City of Chesapeake released the names of the victims on Twitter.
Here’s what we know about the victims:
Lorenzo Gamble
Brian Pendleton, 38
Pendleton’s mother, Michelle Johnson, told ABC News that her son “had a real big heart” and loved working at Walmart.
Pendleton had a condition called congenital hydrocephalus, but it never stopped him from leading a full life, she said.
“He liked to joke, and he liked to make people laugh, but he was a very good worker,” Johnson said.
“I’m going to miss my son,” she said.
Kellie Pyle
Randall Blevins
Tyneka Johnson
Chesapeake hasn’t released the name and photo of the sixth victim, a 16-year-old boy, because he’s a minor.
(UVALDE, TX) — Thanksgiving Day marks six months since 19 students and two of their teachers were killed in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Some families of the victims spent the last few days before the holiday volunteering to prepare Thanksgiving meals for neighbors in need during an annual event called “Love Ya, Uvalde.” The Garcia family, whose daughter, Ellie Garcia, was one of the victims, were among the volunteers.
“It is very important for everybody to really cherish these moments of togetherness, the family, loved ones, friends,” said Steven Garcia, Ellie’s father, who volunteered at the event for the first time.
Volunteers spent hours on Tuesday prepping the meals, deboning turkeys, and decorating the space where the meals would be served. On Wednesday morning and into the afternoon, the food was served to over 200 people at the Uvalde County Fairplex. The group also delivered around 100 meals to people who couldn’t make it out. It is a community tradition that started in 1983.
The event took on special meaning as the tragedy’s 6-month mark approached, serving as a brief respite from the grief that has overwhelmed much of the community since the May 24 shooting rampage.
“It means the world for you to see the community come out and support. It’s very important,” said Garcia.
The Cazares family has volunteered at the event many times over the last 20 years, said Javier Cazares. His daughter Jackie, who was killed at Robb, would help serve the food and escort people to their seats each year. She was the “boss lady,” said Cazares.
“It’s hard not seeing her here. Very hard,” Cazares added, looking out over the hundreds gathered to celebrate Thanksgiving.
In the six months that have followed the shooting, the typically quiet town of 15,000 people has been rocked by anger, trauma and demands for accountability that have led to some results. In July, a Texas House investigative report said the law enforcement response to the shooting was riddled with “systemic failures and egregiously poor decision making.”
In the weeks that followed, the school district’s police chief, Pete Arredondo, was fired. The entire Uvalde school police force was disbanded in mid-October. On the same day, the district’s superintendent, Hal Harrell, unexpectedly announced his retirement. Last week, Mariano Pargas, who was the acting Uvalde city police chief during the shooting, quit before the city council could fire him.
But the upheaval that has defined the town since May was nowhere to be seen on this six-month mark. Families said they were remembering their loved ones as they gave back.
“This is something she wanted us to do,” Cazares said about his daughter. “So here we are, one more year.”
(CHESAPEAKE, Va.) — Six people were gunned down in a mass shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Survivors said the gunman walked into a break room and opened fire on Tuesday night.
The suspect was identified by city officials as 31-year-old Andre Bing of Chesapeake. Walmart said he worked at the store as an overnight team lead and had been an employee since 2010. He died at the scene from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
On Wednesday, the City of Chesapeake released the names of the victims on Twitter.
Here’s what we know about the victims:
Lorenzo Gamble
Brian Pendleton, 38
Pendleton’s mother, Michelle Johnson, told ABC News that her son “had a real big heart” and loved working at Walmart.
Pendleton had a condition called congenital hydrocephalus, but it never stopped him from leading a full life, she said.
“He liked to joke, and he liked to make people laugh, but he was a very good worker,” Johnson said.
“I’m going to miss my son,” she said.
Kellie Pyle
Randall Blevins
Tyneka Johnson
Chesapeake hasn’t released the name and photo of the sixth victim, a 16-year-old boy, because he’s a minor.
(NEW YORK) — Millions of people who hit the roads and the skies for the Thanksgiving holiday are not expected to face any significant weather issues, but a few storms in the South and the Northeast may cause a few hiccups for travelers.
While most parts of the country are expected to experience nice and quiet weather on Wednesday, a few snow showers in the northern Rockies are expected.
By Thanksgiving Day, the snow showers will drop into the central and southern Rockies, with heavy rain and a few thunderstorms developing in the Deep South, which can cause airport and traffic delays.
The American Automobile Association predicts 54.6 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home on Thanksgiving, a 1.5% increase over last year.
This year is forecast to be the third-busiest for Thanksgiving travel since AAA started tracking in 2000.
According to the National Weather Service, powerful storms are possible in southeastern Texas and southern Louisiana.
In Houston, thunderstorms are expected ahead of a cold front, sending temperatures to the low 60s in the evening, down from the 70s early in the day.
A few light and scattered showers will move into the Northeast Friday. Atlanta could see a wet start as rain also moves into the Southeast U.S. by Friday morning.
A second storm system will bring more rain across the South from New Orleans to Memphis to Atlanta throughout the day.
Rain is expected to move into the Northeast from Washington, D.C., to NYC and Boston on Sunday, one of the year’s busiest travel days.
The Transportation Security Administration estimates that over 2.5 million people will be screened at airport security checkpoints on Sunday.
(DETROIT) — Detroit police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a 20-year-old man suffering a mental health crisis in October acted in self-defense and will not face any charges, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office said.
A report from the prosecutor’s office said the officers acted in self-defense because they spoke to Porter Burks using his first name, posed open-ended questions, asking what he wanted and then offered to take him wherever he wanted to go if he put the knife down.
The officers repeatedly told Burks to drop his weapon, which can also be seen on bodycam video released by the police department. Burks repeatedly refused to drop the knife and the officers did not make “any threats and used no hostile remarks or tones,” a statement from the prosecutor said.
Prosecutor Kym Worthy called the shooting a “truly tragic case.”
“Mr. Burks had a long history of mental illness and violent behavior and a propensity for carrying knives that had been communicated by his family to the responding officers,” Worthy said in a statement. “He previously allegedly cut two individuals and a seven-year-old girl in 2020. The police spent a significant amount of time trying to get him to drop his weapon. He suddenly ran at them with the knife and covered the distance between them in approximately three seconds. Eyewitnesses to the shooting were interviewed and indicated that the police did all that they could to de-escalate the situation before Mr. Burks charged at the police.”
She added, “Unfortunately, Mr. Burks was fatally shot by the officers in self-defense and defense of others.”
Burks had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to his family. His brother, Damondo Anderson, was the one who called authorities for help on Oct. 1 claiming he was “concerned for people” because his brother was walking around the neighborhood with a knife and was having a “real bad episode,” according to police. Anderson also told officers his brother was frantic and slashed his tires, which can be seen in bodycam footage.
Detroit police said they fired 38 shots in three seconds at Burks. According to the prosecutor’s investigation, Burks ran approximately 40 feet in under three seconds towards officers. Before he collapsed, he was approximately six to eight feet from the officer who tried to talk him into dropping his knife. The prosecutor’s investigation also indicated a taser was deployed but there is no evidence of whether the taser had an effect on Burks.
This report comes on the heels of Porter’s family announcing earlier this month that they plan to sue four unnamed officers for $50 million for wrongful death, according to the family’s attorney, Geoffrey Fieger.
Fieger claims Detroit Police Chief James White has “failed to provide the names of the officers who were involved in the execution-style killing of Porter Burks.”
The Detroit Police Department did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment on Fieger’s comments.
“The chief, despite my request to him directly to provide everything, the videos and everything involved in this case…to date for the last two weeks, I’ve received nothing,” Fieger said at a press conference on Nov. 1, announcing the lawsuit. “They have not been forthcoming with any information.”
White in a statement Nov. 23 called the shooting a “tragic event” and called for additional resources for individuals suffering from mental illness. He thanked Worthy’s office for its “objective review.”
“Their independent review confirms that the actions of our officers were justified under those circumstances,” the statement said.
According to Fieger, Burks’ autopsy report reveals that no shots were fired by police in close proximity and that Burks was hit at least 19 times with shots to the head, face, chest, arms and legs.
Fieger did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the prosecutor’s findings.
New Hampshire Fish and Game Law Enforcement Division and Operation Game Thief
A Massachusetts hiker, who had gone missing after departing on a solo hike over the weekend, was found dead in New Hampshire on Wednesday, according to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Law Enforcement Division and Operation Game Thief.
Emily Sotelo, 20, was found on northwest side of Mount Lafayette, in Franconia after departing on a hike of Franconia Ridge on Saturday.
A family member had reported Sotelo missing when she did not return at a planned time.
Sotelo was dropped off at Lafayette Place Campground in Franconia, New Hampshire on Sunday morning. She planned to hike Mount Lafayette, Haystack and Flume in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, according to law enforcement.
Three search teams were sent out to look for her on Sunday night, but temperatures along the ridge where she was hiking were about zero degrees with 30 to 40 mph winds, according to Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue Team, which helped with the search efforts.
“Due to the harsh weather conditions a search commenced Sunday evening and [through] the night. Searchers were hampered by high winds, cold temperatures and blowing snow,” New Hampshire Fish and Game Law Enforcement Division and Operation Game Thief said in a statement Wednesday.
Searchers spent two days looking for Sotelo before finding tracks and some of her belongings at the headwaters of Lafayette Brook on Tuesday. Her body was found Wednesday morning.
A New Hampshire Army National Guard helicopter was able to help with the extradition of Sotelo to the Cannon Mountain Ski Area, according to law enforcement. Officials did not release any information regarding Sotelo’s cause of death.
(WASHINGTON) — It’s been nearly half a year since Secretary Deb Haaland released the first report in the Interior Department’s investigation into the legacy and lasting trauma from Indian boarding schools.
For more than a century, from 1819 to the late 1960s, the federal government and some religious organizations took Indigenous children from their families, their land and forcibly assimilated them into White European culture.
“I called the boarding school era, one of America’s best kept secrets,” said scholar Denise Lajimodiere. “Boarding school and the legacy of boarding schools has impacted every…Native family.”
Lajimodiere chronicled the experience of boarding school survivors in her book Stringing Rosaries.
“Their hair was immediately cut…some had kerosene put in their hair. And they said it burned…they were given uniforms,” Lajimodiere said. “They had to work half a day… in the kitchen, in the laundry room…work in the fields that they didn’t get paid for.”
For more than a decade, Lajimodiere has researched the number of schools that existed in the United States, something the government didn’t begin to do until last year.
The report released by the Interior Department found that more than 500 American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian children died over the course of 150 years in the boarding schools. Scholars estimate the numbers could be much higher. Countless others were physically, mentally and emotionally abused as their language and cultural identities were forbidden by school staff, according to the investigation.
Haaland, the first Indigenous cabinet member, has been traveling around the country as part of the “Road to Healing Tour,” to meet with Indigenous communities.
“I want apologies. I want my language back. I want our land back. I want everything back,” an emotional Ruby Left Hand Bull Sanchez told Haaland during her stop at the Rosebud Sioux reservation last month.
Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo, recounted her own family’s history with boarding schools.
“We all carry the trauma from that era in our hearts. My ancestors endured the horrors of the Indian boarding school assimilation policies carried out by the same department that I now lead. This is the first time in history that a United States Cabinet secretary comes to the table with this shared trauma. That’s not lost on me. I’m determined to use my position for the good of our people,” Haaland said at the Oct. 15 meeting.
For those who lived through the abuse, the pain is still raw.
Dorothy McLane was six years old when she became a student at a Rosebud boarding school, where Haaland’s meeting took place. The school has long been closed but the memories still fresh for McLane.
She told “Nightline” she vividly remembers being forced to run laps around a building and being beaten by a school matron as punishment.
“I see myself as a little girl here, 6-years-old and trying to just…be a kid, trying to be a child and trying to be loved and it wasn’t in here,” McLane said. “I mean, there’s I don’t ever remember anybody telling me they loved me. What I remember most is the punishment.”
Shylee Brave, a granddaughter of a boarding school survivor and an alum of the Sicangu Youth Council, has been pushing for the federal government and others to acknowledge the abuses and help tribes rebuild their lost culture.
“We didn’t go to boarding school, but we still deal with the same traumas that our grandparents and great-grandparents went through,” Brave said.
Brave told “Nightline,” that Haaland’s visit sent a powerful message.
“I kind of just I’m hoping that people see how resilient we are as Native American people because they pretty much tried to kill us off and they couldn’t,” she said.
Brave said she was optimistic that the federal government would make amends.
“I think that Secretary Haaland and her team are doing what they can and what they know they should do, because if they didn’t think that the government did anything wrong, they wouldn’t be doing what they’re trying to,” Brave said.
The work of the youth council Brave belonged to has helped to heal some open wounds.
Last year, the remains of Indigenous children who died at the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania over a century ago were finally returned to Rosebud Sioux reservation.
The Sicangu Youth Council helped lead 6 years of negotiations between the tribe and the U.S. Army which oversees the grounds where the school once stood.
The Rosebud Sioux community has also launched a new education program to help preserve their dying language.
Brave is among the people working at an immersion school that teaches children of Indigenous families as young as 4 the Lakota language. Tribal leaders predict the language could be wiped out in a decade.
“In order to do our ceremonies, we have to be able to sing and speak in the language to the spirits. And so if we can’t do that, then we can’t continue to do our sacred ceremonies,” Carmelita Shouldis, who teaches at the school, told “Nightline.”
The school is looking to expand beyond its kindergarten to second grade classes.
Brave said she is proud of the work she’s done to regain her community’s heritage and culture and hopes that it will pay off for generations to come.
“I just really hope to be able to one day sit down with my kids, if I ever have any, and speak the language and just be able to converse in the Lakota language,” she said.
Former Vice President Mike Pence has been contacted by the Justice Department, which is seeking to question Pence in connection with DOJ’s ongoing probe into former President Donald Trump, the Jan. 6 riot and the efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election, sources familiar with the matter confirm to ABC News.
The former vice president is said to be considering the request, per sources.
The Department of Justice declined to comment when contacted by ABC News. A spokesperson for Pence did not respond to a request for comment.
Pence, who recently broke his silence on Trump and the events of Jan. 6 in an exclusive interview with ABC News’ David Muir, would be a critical witness for prosecutors.
As Pence told Muir, he was called on by Trump and his allies multiple times in the days leading up to Jan. 6 to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s victory.
“I mean, the president’s words were reckless. It was clear he decided to be part of the problem,” Pence told Muir regarding Trump’s speech to supporters on the morning of Jan. 6 prior to the attack on the Capitol.
The DOJ news was first reported by The New York Times.
(MARBLE FALLS, CA) — Marble Falls High School announced its plans this week to investigate reports of alleged racist behavior by student spectators at a girls basketball tournament on Friday.
The incident at the Texas school, which was captured on camera, depicts several students shouting monkey noises as East Central High School senior Asia Prudhomme, who is Black, was shooting free throws. Marble Falls High School’s student body is almost 50 percent white and only 1.5% Black.
“I’ve always been taught not to pay attention to the stands, so I wasn’t really paying attention to them,” Prudhomme, who successfully sank her free throw, told ABC News. “I was just focused on making my free throws and getting my team back into the game.”
After watching the video of the incident, however, Prudhomme said she was shocked.
“I’ve never had this happen to me,” she said. “I was heartbroken. In my head, I was just thinking why would anybody do this. It’s 2022.”
Marble Falls High School Principal Damon Adams said in a statement that administrators are reviewing video footage and will interview students and spectators who attended the game to ensure a thorough investigation.
He said the school takes the allegations of racism seriously and will “hold students accountable for any behaviors that violate our expectations.”
“As campus principal, I regret that any player or guest in attendance at our tournament experienced anything from our student body that made them feel uncomfortable or devalued,” he said. “I am saddened that the behaviors of a very small number of students could tarnish the impression that others have of the incredible group of kids who make up our student body.”
Marble Falls Independent School District also said in a statement that it will continue to work with administration at East Central High School to fully investigate the incident.
“Marble Falls ISD does not condone any form of discrimination, and we would like players at East Central to know they have our full support,” the statement reads.
Prudhomme said she is asking for a “sincere public apology” from the students who made the noises. Her mother Pamela Prudhomme added that she would also like to see the students suspended.
In September, Katy Independent School District, also in Texas, launched an investigation into reports of spectators making monkey sounds at Patricia E. Paetow High School’s junior varsity volleyball team, made up of predominantly Black and Hispanic girls, during their game against Jordan High School.
Prudhomme, who hopes to play basketball in college and eventually make it to the WNBA, said she is grateful for the support she has received from her coaches, teammates and fans.
“I have a lot of love at my school,” she said. “It’s really building me up to become a stronger person.”
(NEW YORK) — Ky Schevers is fighting back against the anti-trans movement she once took part in.
Schevers was assigned the sex of female at birth and later chose to start gender-affirming care by taking testosterone to transition from female to male in her mid-20s. She stopped taking testosterone, though, in the years that followed while she continued to explore and question her gender, later falling into an online anti-trans group of “detransitioners” – people who once did but no longer identify as transgender.
Now, Schevers says she has “retransitioned,” identifying as transmasculine and gender queer, which means she identifies with both genders. Schevers uses she and her pronouns, but heavily identifies with masculinity, as defined by the LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center states.
She says she considers herself to be a part of the transgender community.
When Schevers initially stopped taking testosterone, she sought out advice and companionship in online forums about detransitioning. In this virtual community is where she began to adopt anti-trans beliefs that misogyny and a patriarchal society caused her to initially transition from female to male. In blog posts, YouTube videos, interviews and workshops, she spread and promoted these beliefs. These posts became a popular tool for anti-trans activists looking to discredit the trans community in the name of feminism.
A 50-year study in the Archives of Sexual Behavior performed in Sweden estimated that less than 3% of people who medically transitioned experienced “transition regret.” Other studies have estimated similar results, some citing even lower figures.
Despite this low percentage, these individuals have become a focal point of anti-transgender legislation and activism.
More than 300 proposed bills across the country have targeted LGBTQ Americans in the last year, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Health care for trans youth in particular has become the target of such efforts.
Before the ages of 16-18, youth are treated with reversible treatments based on guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Irreversible medical interventions, such as surgeries, are typically only done with consenting adults, or older teens who have worked through the decision with their families and physicians over a long period of time, physicians across the country have told ABC News.
Despite these common practices, officials in many states have launched efforts to crack down on gender-affirming care for minors. Some legislators have cited disputed research on this topic, stating that the majority of gender dysphoric youth will grow out of their dysphoria. The methodology in these studies has been highly critiqued.
Major medical associations support gender-affirming care for youth and adults. Transgender youth tend to have high rates of suicide, but those who transition often experience significantly reduced psychological distress.
A recent large study from Harvard found that gender-affirming surgery was associated with improved mental health outcomes in those who are transgender.
Another recent large study from Harvard found that even among those who do go on to detransition, it is often due to external pressures such as stigma and non-acceptance in their environments, rather than a sudden resolution of gender dysphoria.
But that’s where “detransitioners” come in. Detransitioned activists have often testified in public hearings on policies concerning the transgender community.
“I was 30 and at the end of my rope when I transitioned … If I made this mistake as an adult, a young girl could too,” said one detransitioned speaker at the Oct. 28 Florida medical board hearing concerning a ban on gender affirming health care for youth. “Not only did my surgery exacerbate my mental health issues, I now struggle with physical complications as well.”
Another speaker at the hearing, who said she started gender-affirming treatments at the age of 16 and regrets it, spoke about struggling with her mental health while transitioning. She urged the board to ban hormones for people under 18 and surgeries for people under 21. “In 2019, I had a life-changing encounter with Jesus and began to find deep healing within myself. After nearly 4 years of being on testosterone, I decided to detransition and accept my womanhood,” she said.
The Florida Medical Board later passed a ban on gender-affirming care for youth. The decision would prohibit providers from administering gender affirming care, including puberty blockers, hormones, cross-hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery for people under the age of 18.
“I never liked people who call transitioning mutilation or call trans bodies mutilated…A lot of them called trans people delusional,” Schevers said. “Living as a trans person was something that people did to survive and actually, I didn’t think of it as crazy or irrational because I had lived that life.”
She continued, “I get why someone would do this. Like, it did help me. I did get satisfaction from transitioning and I had to rationalize that experience and make it fit with this anti-trans ideology.”
Schevers said cracks began to show in her beliefs as more of the detransitioners and other activists she worked with began to partner with far-right groups like the Proud Boys on an anti-trans platform.
“That was kind of a huge wake-up call,” said Schevers. “It didn’t make sense to ally with the people who were creating the oppressive conditions.”
Her use of the hormone testosterone helped her embrace her gender queer identity, she now says.
When Schevers sees or hears anti-transgender detransitioners speak about their experiences, she thinks of her past self. She says she feels guilty, like she set the stage for them.
Schevers says she wants people to turn their attention to the dangers of anti-trans outreach to youth as well as the ongoing legislative attacks on trans Americans.
In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton also launched an effort to investigate gender-affirming youth care treatments as “child abuse” through the state department of child protective services. A state judge later issued a temporary injunction blocking the effort.
An Alabama law made it illegal to give any type of gender affirming care to anyone under the age of 18. This would criminalize parents and physicians.
Joseph Ladapo, Florida’s surgeon general, released a memo in June saying treatments like sex-reassignment surgery, and hormone and puberty blockers are not effective treatments for gender dysphoria.
These organizations say that research does show that the aforementioned gender-affirming treatments are safe and effective. Some, like the American Medical Association, even deem it “medically necessary.”
Gender exploration is an ongoing journey for Schevers, and she hopes the trans and gender queer youth in the U.S. continue to be able to access a journey of their own.
“I do feel more firmly rooted in who I am. It’s easier for me to accept myself as someone who has, like, multiple genders,” Schevers said.
