(NEW YORK) — A bus carrying 18 children in Kentucky crashed Monday morning, causing multiple injuries, according to police officials.
Kentucky State Police said the school bus exited the roadway on state Route 40 when it went over the embankment injuring the students and the bus driver.
According to Magoffin County Schools Superintendent Chris Meadows, the students and the driver suffered minor to severe injuries and were sent to local area hospitals by ambulance and helicopter.
Some students were taken to the hospital by their parents, Kentucky police said. No fatalities were reported following the crash.
“Kentucky State Police is on the scene and we are responding swiftly,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in a statement on Facebook. “Please join me in praying for all those involved. We will continue to share updates as available.”
According to police officials, the students’ ages ranged from elementary to high school-aged kids. Before the crash, the bus was en route dropping off students at various schools. The school bus did not have any seatbelts, Kentucky police said.
Officials are investigating the crash.
ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
(UVALDE, Texas) — The Uvalde school district foundation tasked with building a school to replace Robb Elementary announced its proposal Monday to build a new $50 million school two miles from the site of the massacre that took 21 lives this past May.
“This was a really emotional experience for me, and I think many of the other committee members,” Natalia Arias, co-chair of the community advisory committee for the project, said Monday night during a presentation of the proposal. “We had to really think hard about what types of people needed to feel the safest and the most proud of the space.”
The proposal for the new school includes 39 classrooms across three grade levels, three science and technology rooms, two art rooms and 14 special education classrooms. The proposed site is next to Flores Elementary, an existing pre-K through first-grade school.
The proposal will be presented to the school board for approval Wednesday, when community members can share their opinions. Approximately 50 people attended the presentation Monday, including some school board members and the interim superintendent, Gary Patterson.
The group has not proposed a name for the new school, instead saying that process will take more time. The current Robb Elementary School building will be demolished, but plans to redevelop the site have yet to be released.
“The committee recognizes that not keeping the school at its current location could create a void in the local neighborhood,” Eulalio “Lalo” Diaz, a committee representative, said. “The redevelopment of the Robb site has to be thoughtful and include the wide range of stakeholders necessary to get that right.”
Robb Elementary School has a history before the May shooting. In 1970, it was involved in one of the largest demonstrations in the Chicano rights movement: a walkout protesting the firing of a beloved teacher. That history wasn’t mentioned during the proposal presentation Monday, but a spokesperson for the Charles Butt Foundation acknowledged that the activism history at Robb Elementary is something the committee has been considering.
Arias said they are working on creating “a campus that reflects the richness of the community’s culture.”
Huckabee Architects, the architecture firm that has donated a value of $8 million of their labor to the project plans, to break ground on the school in June 2023. The school will be finished in October 2024, according to the project principal, Jeff Rodriguez.
The school will be funded by donations. According to the foundation’s executive director, Tim Miller, they have secured $18 million in donations so far. This includes $10 million from the Charles Butt Foundation, the philanthropic organization of the CEO of the popular Texas supermarket chain HEB.
The prevalence of bailouts — high-speed car chases between law enforcement and immigrants crossing the border — was considered in the school’s location and design, according to the presentation. The frequency of bailouts fed a diminished sense of urgency when responding to the scene during the shooting, according to the Texas investigative report in the wake of the mass shooting.
The new school will be informed by this past but provide hope for the future, too, said committee member Bryan Perez.
“I was very cautious on, are we going to be able to embrace all the different aspects of reflecting why we’re here but also being able to move forward?” Perez said. “Knowing that we’re going to be working on creating a facility for our community that’s gonna last for nearly a century.”
Uvalde:365 is a continuing ABC News series reported from Uvalde and focused on the Texas community and how it forges on in the shadow of tragedy.
(NEW YORK) — Federal prosecutors in New York said Monday they have declined to file criminal charges against former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, more than a year after his apartment and office were searched by the FBI.
The grand jury investigation has concluded “and that based on information currently available to the Government, criminal charges are not forthcoming,” prosecutors said in a letter to the court.
Prosecutors asked the court to end the appointment of Barbara S. Jones, the retired federal judge who had been appointed special master in the case.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan had been deciding whether Giuliani, one of Trump’s lawyers and a close adviser, violated lobbying laws when he campaigned for the ouster of then-U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch from Ukraine.
The FBI seized more than a dozen devices from Giuliani’s home and office during a search in April 2021. Jones had been reviewing the contents.
Giuliani “was very pleased” when he learned Monday he would face no foreign lobbying charges, his attorney told ABC News.
The attorney, Bob Costello, said he informed Giuliani shortly after the U.S. attorney’s office issued its letter.
“We are very pleased that they did this,” Costello said. “I’m not surprised that they did this because I saw the evidence, or lack thereof, and knew Rudy Giuliani didn’t do anything wrong.”
“They deviated from office policy by issuing a statement like this, which is very nice, because there’s a memorialization now that Rudy Giuliani didn’t do anything wrong in Ukraine.” Costello added he wished prosecutors had done it sooner.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment beyond the letter that was filed on the public docket.
Costello had denied any wrongdoing by his client speaking to ABC News at the time Giuliani’s home and office were raided last year.
“They’re trying to make Rudy Giuliani look like a criminal. He has done nothing wrong,” Costello said in April 2021.
On April 28, 2021, Giuliani was awoken by federal agents at 6 a.m. at his home on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Costello told ABC News. Agents took electronic devices, including Giuliani’s cellphone, while at his office they seized devices, including a computer belonging to longtime Giuliani assistant Jo Ann Zafonte, Costello said.
Giuliani, though he is now off the hook in the Southern District of New York, he remains a target of criminal investigators in Georgia over his role in seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
ABC News’ Lucien Bruggeman, Olivia Rubin, Mark Crudele and John Santucci contributed to this report.
(CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.) — A suspect is in custody after three football players were killed and two other students were injured in a mass shooting at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville on Sunday night, authorities said.
The shooting took place on a bus full of students returning home from a class field trip to see a play in Washington, D.C., university officials said.
All three victims killed were on the football team, University of Virginia President Jim Ryan said at a news conference. The victims were identified as wide receivers Lavel Davis Jr. and Devin Chandler and linebacker D’Sean Perry.
The suspect, identified as student Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., was taken into custody Monday morning following an overnight manhunt, authorities announced.
Jones was a running back for the university’s football team in 2018, though he never played in a game.
A motive is not clear, Ryan said.
One injured student is in critical condition and the other is in good condition, Ryan said Monday.
The shooting was reported on the University of Virginia’s campus at about 10:30 p.m. local time, according to police.
University of Virginia sophomore Em Gunter said she was in her dormitory doing schoolwork when she heard gunshots.
“I looked over to my friend and like, ‘Did you hear that?’ I was like, ‘I think that was like gunfire,'” Gunter recalled in a telephone interview with ABC News early Monday, while sheltering in place.
“I’m terrified,” she said.
Gunter invited her friend Nicholas Lansing to shelter in her third-floor dorm room, since his is on the ground floor.
“I have one locked door, but I also have a glass window that leads directly outside. So I’ve been up here on the third floor in Em’s room for the past three and a half hours,” Lansing, a University of Virginia junior, told ABC News via telephone.
The university’s president canceled classes for Monday.
Longo learned of the suspect’s capture in the middle of Monday morning’s news conference, when a captain with the Virginia State Police interrupted Longo and whispered in his ear.
UVA UPDATE: Police have the suspect in custody. This is the final alert message.
“We’ve just received information that the suspect is in custody,” Longo announced, before a lengthy pause absorbing the news.
“Just need a moment to thank God, breathe a sigh of relief,” he said.
The 22-year-old was taken into custody just before 11 a.m. in Henrico County, Virginia, according to Henrico police.
Longo said Jones is facing charges of three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony. Charges could change, he said.
Longo also revealed prior history involving Jones. In September, university officials investigated a report of Jones making a comment about possessing a gun, but Longo said Jones did not make a threat.
Jones was involved in a hazing investigation, which was later closed due to uncooperative witnesses, Longo said.
The university’s threat assessment team also learned of a prior criminal incident involving “a concealed weapon violation” from February 2021 in another city, Longo said. Jones is required as a student “to report that — and he never did — so the university has taken appropriate administrative charges,” Longo said. That matter is pending, Longo said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Monday: “The President and First Lady are mourning with the University of Virginia community after yet another deadly shooting in America has taken the lives of three young people. Our deepest condolences are with the countless families, friends, and neighbors grieving for those killed as well as those injured in this senseless shooting.”
The press secretary called on the Senate to pass an assault weapons ban. The House narrowly passed a ban in a symbolic vote in July.
“We need to enact an assault weapons ban to get weapons of war off America’s streets,” the statement said. “House Democrats acted, and the Senate should follow.”
ABC News’ Peter Charalambous, Jack Date, Melissa Gaffney and Lauren Minore contributed to this report.
(LOS ANGELES) — Police have arrested a driver who allegedly crashed his car through a street carnival in South Los Angeles on Saturday night, injuring seven people.
The Los Angeles Police Department arrested 23-year-old Steven Weems for felony hit and run, officials told ABC News. Weems is being held on $50,000 bail, the LAPD confirmed.
The incident occurred near the 3000 block of South Trinity Street, Los Angeles Fire Department officials said.
Police told ABC News Los Angeles station KABC that the victims were between 30 and 50 years old. The police also told ABC News the victims in the incident suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
(DALLAS) — Six people are dead following a collision that occurred at a World War II air show in Dallas, authorities said Sunday.
Two vintage aircraft collided in mid-air and crashed during the event Wings Over Dallas on Saturday, organizers said. The event featured flying demonstrations of WWII fighter planes at the Dallas Executive Airport.
“Authorities will continue working today on the investigation & identification of the deceased. Please pray for their families and all involved,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said Sunday.
A Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra collided and crashed around 1:20 p.m. local time, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Five of the victims were on the B-17, while one victim was on the P-63 when they crashed, National Transportation Safety Board member Michael Graham told reporters during a news conference on Sunday.
Investigators are using radar to pinpoint the point of collision, Graham said. They are also interviewing other pilots and looking into the training records of the pilots involved, including how they practiced the maneuvers they planned and cleared with officials, as well as the maintenance records of the aircraft, according to the NTSB.
They were no black boxes on the planes, NTSB officials said, adding that the planes are not required to have them.
The air show, timed to coincide with Veterans Day, is organized by the Commemorative Air Force, an education association focused on American military aviation.
Leah Block, a spokesperson for Commemorative Air Force, told ABC News she believes there were five crew members on the B-17 and one aboard the P-63, which is a single-seat plane. The Houston-based aircraft were not giving rides to paying customers at the time, she said.
There were no injuries to spectators or others on the ground, according to Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson.
The airport said there was an “incident” during the show and that Dallas Fire and Rescue were responding.
Bystanders captured a cloud of black smoke following the crash. Debris from the planes could also be seen littering a nearby highway.
The debris field includes the airport grounds, Highway 67 and a nearby strip mall, the mayor said.
Commemorative Air Force CEO and President Hank Coates said there will counseling available for first responders and attendees who witnessed the crash.
“It’s very difficult for me to talk about it because I know all these people, these are family and they’re good friends,” he told reporters.
This was the company’s seventh air show in Dallas and had anywhere from 4,000 to 6,000 attendees and volunteers present at the time of the crash, organizers said.
“This is the first issue like this that we’ve ever had to deal with,” Coates said.
The FAA and the NTSB are investigating the collision. The NSTB will release a preliminary report, Coates said.
“The NTSB is launching a go-team to investigate Saturday’s mid-air collision between a Boeing B-17G and a Bell P-63F near Dallas, Texas. Member Michael Graham will serve as spokesperson on scene. Team expected to arrive tomorrow,” the NTSB said Saturday in a statement.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called the incident a “tragedy” and said on Twitter state agencies were assisting local officials in the response.
ABC News’ Jeffrey Cook, Amanda Maile and Nicholas Kerr contributed to this report.
(WARSAW, Ind.) — At least 16 were injured Saturday night, after a tractor-trailer ran a red light and slammed into a bus carrying high school hockey players in Warsaw, Indiana, according to law enforcement officials.
In a press release Sunday, the Warsaw Police Department said it received reports of a semi-truck speeding excessively and swerving into other lanes.
According to the students’ high school, Saint Ignatius College Prep, there were 23 students on the bus, with 16 being injured. Three students were critically injured and required surgery, the school said.
The students ranged between the ages of 14 and 17 years old, with most of them being 15 years old, police said. The students were traveling from Chicago for a weekend hockey tournament. Warsaw is about 120 miles south of Chicago.
“The Saint Ignatius Wolfpack Hockey Club says, ‘we will get through this together.’ Our thoughts, prayers, and heartfelt concern are with them,” the school’s president John Chandler and director of communications Kristyn Hartman said in a statement on the school’s website.
Police arrested the suspected semi-truck driver, identified as 58-year-old Victor Santos from Brooklyn, New York, on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
Authorities said they smelled alcohol on the suspect when they arrived and noticed he was slurring his words. Santos reportedly failed a field sobriety test, according to Warsaw police.
Police are currently investigating the crash and continuing to hold the suspect in custody due to pending drunk driving charges.
(CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.) — A suspect is in custody after three football players were killed and two other students were injured in a mass shooting at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville on Sunday night, authorities said.
The shooting took place on a bus full of students returning home from a class field trip to see a play in Washington, D.C., university officials said.
All three victims killed were on the football team, University of Virginia President Jim Ryan said at a news conference.
The suspect, identified as student Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., was taken into custody Monday morning following an overnight manhunt, authorities announced.
UVA UPDATE: Police have the suspect in custody. This is the final alert message.
Jones was a running back for the university’s football team in 2018, though he never played in a game.
A motive is not clear, Ryan said.
One injured student is in critical condition and the other is in good condition, Ryan said Monday.
The shooting was reported on the University of Virginia’s campus at about 10:30 p.m. local time, according to police.
University of Virginia sophomore Em Gunter said she was in her dormitory doing schoolwork when she heard gunshots.
“I looked over to my friend and like, ‘Did you hear that?’ I was like, ‘I think that was like gunfire,'” Gunter recalled in a telephone interview with ABC News early Monday, while sheltering in place.
“I’m terrified,” she said.
Gunter invited her friend Nicholas Lansing to shelter in her third-floor dorm room, since his is on the ground floor.
“I have one locked door, but I also have a glass window that leads directly outside. So I’ve been up here on the third floor in Em’s room for the past three and a half hours,” Lansing, a University of Virginia junior, told ABC News via telephone.
The university’s president cancelled classes for Monday.
“This is a message any leader hopes never to have to send, and I am devastated that this violence has visited the University of Virginia,” Ryan said. “I am holding the victims, their families, and all members of the University of Virginia community in my heart today.”
ABC News’ Peter Charalambous, Melissa Gaffney and Lauren Minore contributed to this report
(CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.) — A suspect is on the run after at least three people were killed and two others were injured in a shooting at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville on Sunday night, authorities said.
In a statement sent to the university’s community early Monday and subsequently shared with ABC News by school officials, University of Virginia President Jim Ryan identified the suspect as student Christopher Darnell Jones, Jr. The University of Virginia Police Department also named Jones as the suspect at large via Twitter.
Both Ryan and police confirmed that “multiple” law enforcement agencies are actively searching for Jones, who they said is “armed and dangerous.” Police ordered the university community to “shelter in place” in the meantime.
“As of this writing, I am heartbroken to report that the shooting has resulted in three fatalities; two additional victims were injured and are receiving medical care,” Ryan said in the statement. “We are working closely with the families of the victims, and we will share additional detail as soon as we are able.”
Jones is described as a Black man wearing a burgundy jacket, blue jeans and red shoes. He may be driving a black SUV with Virginia license plates, police said.
The UVA Police Department is looking for Christopher Darnell Jones regarding the shooting incident that occurred on the grounds of the University of Virginia. Call 911 if seen, do not approach. pic.twitter.com/mKcxF6ksxw
The shooting was reported on the University of Virginia’s campus in the area of Culbreth Road on Sunday at about 10:30 p.m. local time, according to Ryan and police.
University of Virginia sophomore Em Gunter said she was in her dormitory doing schoolwork when she heard gunshots late Sunday.
“I looked over to my friend and like, ‘Did you hear that?’ I was like, ‘I think that was like gunfire,'” Gunter recalled in a telephone interview with ABC News early Monday, while sheltering in place.
Gunter said she and her peers have been sheltering in place in their dorm rooms for nearly six hours.
“I’m terrified,” she added. “I have no words.”
The university’s president cancelled classes for Monday due to the deadly shooting, which he called a “traumatic incident for everyone in our community.”
“This is a message any leader hopes never to have to send, and I am devastated that this violence has visited the University of Virginia,” Ryan added. “I am holding the victims, their families, and all members of the University of Virginia community in my heart today, and we will make plans to come together as a community to grieve as soon as the suspect is apprehended.”
Gunter invited her friend Nicholas Lansing to shelter in her third-floor dorm room, since his is on the ground floor.
“I have one locked door, but I also have a glass window that leads directly outside. So I’ve been up here on the third floor in Em’s room for the past three and a half hours,” Lansing, a University of Virginia junior, told ABC News via telephone. “I don’t want to go downstairs with an active shooting and suspects still not found.”
ABC News’ Peter Charalambous, Melissa Gaffney and Lauren Minore contributed to this report.
(MOSCOW, Idaho) — Four University of Idaho students who were found dead on Sunday were believed to be the victims of homicide, school officials said.
The students, who have not been identified, lived in Moscow, Idaho, near the university campus, officials said.
“The Moscow Police Department is investigating and the families of these students have been notified,” university officials said in a message posted to Twitter.
Police said they responded to King Road for a report of an unconscious person. When officers arrived, they “discovered four individuals who were deceased,” according to a press statement.
The university said it canceled all Monday classes.
ABC News’ Marilyn Heck contributed to this report.
