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(NEW YORK) — As the investigation involving two Black men allegedly assaulted by one officer and five deputies continues, national activists and Mississippi residents held two press conferences Wednesday urging for criminal charges to be brought against all parties allegedly involved.

The men involved, Eddie Terrell Parker and Michael Jenkins, with support from their attorneys and community, also demanded the termination and prosecution of Rankin County Mississippi Sheriff Bryan Bailey “for operating a criminal police department that tortures Black people and American citizens.”

On Jan. 24, five Rankin County deputies and one Richland Police Department officer entered the residence of Jenkins and Parker without a warrant that resulted in both Black men being beaten, sexually assaulted with a sex toy and shocked with Tasers for roughly 90 minutes while handcuffed, according to the attorneys. According to the lawsuit, officers attempted to sexually assault the men with a sex toy before making them shower together.

Eggs were also hurled at the two men, and Jenkins was shot in the mouth by one of the deputies, the lawsuit states. Deputies say they were there to carry out a late drug raid.

Attorneys for Jenkins and Parker are also pushing for the arrest and indictment of all six officers mentioned in the lawsuit allegedly involved in the shooting of Jenkins, urging criminal charges against these officers.

The press conferences outside the Attorney General’s office and the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department came just days after Richland County Police Chief Nick McLendon announced that former Officer Joshua Hartfield, was “implicated” in the Jan. 24 incident and has since resigned from the department.

The release also details that Hartfield was off-duty at the time of the incident.

“We must express our deepest disappointment that a member of our department is claimed to be involved in a situation that goes against our department’s commitment to serve and protect the public,” McLendon said in the release. “Upon receiving the information regarding the allegations against Hartfield, immediate action was taken in line with our strict standards of responsibility and accountability. Hartfield was placed on administrative leave, subjected to disciplinary action, and subsequently tendered his resignation from the Richland Police Department.”

Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office declined to comment due to the active investigation.

“She has the power to put charges towards those officers for what they did,” said activist John C. Barnett, referring to the attorney general. “She also has the power to investigate and charge Chief Bailey.”

The lawsuit alleges Bailey failed to discipline and reprimand the defendants.

Priscilla Williams-Till, a family member of Emmett Till and founder of the Emmett Till Justice for Families Foundation, was also present during the press conferences.

“As a family member of Emmett Till, 68 years ago we still did not get justice for Emmett Till,” Williams-Till said during the press conference. “Today I stand here as a spokesperson on behalf of these families, to say give them justice.”

Last week, Bailey announced that the four remaining Rankin County Sheriff’s Department deputies allegedly involved in the incident were terminated, with one previously resigning before the announcement.

“We have cooperated with all investigation efforts related to this incident and have provided all information and data requested in a timely manner,” Bailey said in his release. “This will continue until all investigative efforts are complete and justice is served. We cannot, however, confirm or deny any specific facts related to this incident because of active and ongoing investigations.”

Bailey did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request to comment.

Jenkins and Parker filed a lawsuit last month in collaboration with Black Lawyers for Justice against the sheriff’s department and related parties seeking $400 million in damages.

Although Sheriff Bailey did not name the deputies who have resigned or been terminated, the defendants in the plaintiffs’ lawsuit include Rankin County Deputies Hunter Elward, Brett Mc’Alpin and Christian Dedmon, and three unidentified deputies under the name “John Doe.”

None of the named officers immediately responded to ABC News’ request for comment.

The incident is currently under investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) and the Department of Justice.

“The FBI Jackson Field Office, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi have opened a federal civil rights investigation into a color of law incident involving the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office. The FBI will conduct the investigation in a fair, thorough, and impartial manner,” the FBI Jackson statement read.

Due to the ongoing investigation, the National Press Office for the FBI and MBI declined comment.

Bailey and McLendon both announced they are fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation.

Jenkins was charged with aggravated assault and the possession of two grams of a controlled substance in the January event. Parker was charged with obstruction of justice, according to the attorneys.

Both Jenkins and Parker deny the substance found in the residence belonged to them.

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(ATLANTA) — Atlanta officials are searching for suspects who allegedly set off incendiary devices at the current police training facility over the weekend, damaging police vehicles and claiming in a message they have “nothing left to lose.”

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens told reporters Wednesday that officers and firefighters responded to a fire at the current police training center on Southside Industrial Parkway around 2:30 a.m. ET Saturday. Eight motorcycles were destroyed, according to the mayor.

“The attack utilized extremely dangerous, homemade incendiary devices,” Dickens said during a news conference. “Thankfully, no one was injured.”

While the investigation is ongoing, Dickens said a group took credit for the attack by issuing a statement that read, “We are vengeful wingnuts with nothing left to lose.”

The mayor said the attack on the training center was connected to the increased attacks spurred by protests over the recently approved Atlanta Public Safety Training Center that has been dubbed by critics as “Cop City.”

The $90 million training center will take up over 85 acres and have what city and police officials say are “21st-century” training facilities for both police and fire department members. Critics have decried the plans and contended that the city is increasing the militarization of police and taking away green space from the public.

The first phase of the new training center is scheduled to open in late 2023.

Dickens and the police said there were other incidents over the weekend that were related to the issue.

Roughly an hour prior to the arson at the Atlanta Police Training Facility, the Path Force Unit Precinct, which covers the Atlanta BeltLine, was also targeted, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said at the news conference.

Multiple windows were broken on police vehicles and officials said they believe the intent was to set them on fire.

A red fusee was found on the scene, which officials said had been used by the suspected group in the past. A citizen interrupted the suspects during the incident, and the fire was never set, according to Schierbaum.

“This attack … was not only an attack on the men and women of this police department, but it was an attack on every neighborhood that this department protects,” Schierbaum said.

A $10,000 reward has been offered for anyone with information related to the incidents.

Several protests have taken place since the beginning of the year over “Cop City.”

Protester Manuel Esteban Paez Terán was shot and killed by police as they raided the campground occupied by demonstrators in January. Officials say the protester fired the first shot at a state trooper, and the officer responded with the fatal shot.

The investigation into the death is ongoing.

Dickens said he fully supports people’s right to protest the facility peacefully, but he won’t tolerate criminal behavior.

“Criminals are hiding in the midst of peaceful protesters,” he said. “Some are career arsonists and vandals from across the nation.”

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(PHILADELPHIA) — Police have identified all five victims killed in a mass shooting in Philadelphia on Monday.

A suspect wearing a bulletproof vest, carrying a rifle and multiple rounds of ammunition opened fire in Philadelphia late Monday, killing five and injuring two children, according to authorities. Police arrested the suspected gunman following a brief chase on the evening of the shooting.

The shooting occurred near Chester Street in the city’s Kingsessing neighborhood, the Philadelphia Police Department said.

Here’s what we know about the victims so far:

 

 

Joseph Wamah, Jr., 31

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Police confirmed one of the deceased was 31-year-old Joseph Wamah, Jr.

His grief-stricken sisters struggled to make sense of the fatal shooting.

“It’s hard to wake up from this,” Josephine Wamah said at a press briefing on Wednesday. “I don’t understand how someone could just do that to my brother.”

She described her twin brother as a “kind soul” who was artistic and “gorgeous inside and out.” He loved the “Creed” films, his sisters said.

“I’m just really pissed off. Why did you have to do this to my brother?” Josephine Wamah said. “You took an angel away from us.”

Lashyd Merritt, 20

Authorities identified one of the dead as 20-year-old Lashyd Merritt.

His mother, Marie Merritt, told Philadelphia ABC station WPVI Lashyd was headed to a store across the street from their home when he was shot dead. “It’s like I feel him saying, ‘Why me, why me, why me?’,” she told the station.

Daujan Brown, 15

Fifteen-year-old Daujan Brown is the youngest victim who died during Monday’s shooting, police said.

Dymir Stanton, 29
Police confirmed 29-year-old Dymir Stanton was one of the deceased stemming from Monday’s shooting.

Ralph Moralis, 59

Ralph Moralis is one of the victims who died in Monday’s shooting, according to police.

ABC News’ Morgan Winsor, Meredith Deliso and Christopher Donato contributed to this report.

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(CONNECTICUT) — Connecticut state Rep. Maryam Khan has spoken out a week after she was allegedly assaulted by a man while attending a gathering for Eid al-Adha prayers with her family.

The incident was reported at the XL Center in Hartford on the morning of June 28. Police said in a news release that officers responded to the area of 225 Trumbull Street after an assault against a female, who sustained minor injuries.

When they arrived on the scene, the responding officers found the suspect already detained by civilian bystanders and he was arrested.

“During the officer’s investigation, it was determined that the suspect approached a female, later determined to be a public official, and began to make unwanted advances,” police said. “The suspect also attempted to prevent her from leaving and assaulted the female.”

Police did not name Khan in the news release, as they don’t identify crime victims, but the lawmaker was identified the day of the incident by the Connecticut branch of the Council of Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.

Khan has since issued a statement, saying on Wednesday that she “experienced an attempted sexual assault and violent physical assault” the morning of June 28.

“I have sustained multiple physical injuries and it has taken an emotional toll on me and my family and children — who witnessed the attack and were in harm’s way,” Khan said, later adding,” I am on a long journey of physical and emotional healing and I ask for your grace during this time.”

Khan said she was “immensely grateful” for the men who helped apprehend the suspect but remains concerned about “the lack of security at one of the largest Muslim gatherings on the day of Eid in Hartford.”

The lawmaker said she plans to speak more about the incident on Thursday.

Andrey Desmond, 30, of New Britain, Connecticut, was arrested on June 28 in connection with the incident and charged with unlawful restraint in the second degree, assault in the second degree, breach of peace in the second degree and interfering with police.

Desmond was ordered held in lieu of $250,000 bond at his arraignment on June 29, The Associated Press reported.

Desmond’s public defender said her client has “significant mental health issues” at the hearing, and the judge recommended he receive mental health treatment while in jail, according to CT Insider.

Khan was with her sister, a friend and her three children when they were reportedly approached by a man at the XL Center who “made vulgar and obscene remarks,” according to CAIR.

Khan told CAIR that the alleged assailant “grabbed and hit her and threw her to the ground.”

“We urge local, state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate a possible bias motive for this attack and to ensure the safety of the Connecticut Muslim community during the ongoing Eid al-Adha celebrations,” said CAIR-Connecticut Chair Farhan Memon. “All too often we have seen American Muslims, or those perceived to be Muslim, targeted by hate because of their attire, race or ethnicity.”

Connecticut lawmakers on the state and national level also condemned the alleged attack.

“I condemn this abhorrent attack on Rep. Khan & her family outside an Eid al-Adha prayer gathering. I urge vigorous investigation & prompt prosecution as appropriate to show that our state has zero tolerance for such repugnant violence,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., tweeted.

Eid al-Adha is a Muslim holiday that celebrates the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

ABC News’ Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.

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(NEVADA) — Extreme heat is what National Park Service officials assume led to the death of a man inside his car that was in the middle of Death Valley National Park as temperatures soared to over 100 degrees.

A maintenance worker found the unidentified 65-year-old man from San Diego on July 3 around 10 a.m., inside his sedan about 30 yards off road from North Highway, park officials said.

First responders and a medical coroner declared the man dead at the scene.

“The initial investigation suggests that heat-related illness may have caused the driver to run off road,” the NPS said in a statement.

Investigators said it appeared that the car’s tracks ran along the road shoulder and rocky berm before veering further away from the paved road. The vehicle had two flat tires, according to the NPS.

The high temperature the previous day was 126 degrees Fahrenheit and the low was 98 degrees, the agency said.

Although the vehicle appeared to be operational, investigators said its air conditioning wasn’t working.

“The driver’s window was found down, further indication that the air conditioning was not functioning when the man was driving,” the NPS said in a statement.

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(NEW YORK) — Amid celebrations and fireworks over the long Fourth of July holiday weekend, cities across the country were left reeling from the scourge of gun violence in America as shootings occurred at block parties and other festive gatherings.

More than 80 people were shot, at least 13 fatally, in a string of mass shootings across the country, according to law enforcement officials. Between Sunday and early Wednesday, there were at least eight shootings in which four or more people were wounded or killed in major cities, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston and Fort Worth, Texas.

Among those killed was a 15-year-old boy, and many children were among the wounded.

“This is a societal problem that we’re dealing with, a mass shooting where a disagreement turns into 28 people shot. This is insanity,” an emotional Bill Ferguson, president of the Maryland State Senate, said following a mass shooting that erupted at a Baltimore block party on Sunday. “This cannot be the society that we are expected to live in. We have to do better.”

John Cohen, a former U.S. Department of Homeland Security acting undersecretary for intelligence, said the holiday shootings highlighted the challenges law enforcement officials face with more and more people carrying firearms and using them to settle disputes regardless of innocent people getting caught in the crossfire.

“While typically we look at mass shootings from the perspective of whether it was ideologically motivated or motivated by some perceived grievance fueled by underlying behavioral health challenges, what we have also seen in this current threat environment is an increase of mass casualty violence as a reaction to disputes or disagreements with others,” Cohen, an ABC News contributor, said.

Cohen said it appears that both types of shooters were involved in the holiday mayhem.

“It’s hot, people are angry, there is a return to people attending crowded public events and more people believe it is justified to use violence in response to a dispute,” Cohen said. “So, when a dispute or argument escalates into violence — instead of a fist fight — they are seeing mass casualty shootings.”

Philly shooting leaves 5 dead, children injured
One of the deadliest shootings unfolded over the holiday weekend in Philadelphia, when a man armed with an AR-15 style rifle, a pistol, extra magazines and wearing a bulletproof vest and a ski mask, allegedly went on a rampage, seemingly firing at least 50 shots randomly at victims, according to police.

Five people, including a 15-year-old boy, were killed in the massacre that broke out around 8:30 p.m. ET in the Kingsessing neighborhood of Philadelphia, police said. Surveillance video obtained by Philadelphia ABC station WPVI appeared to show the gunman shooting at vehicles at a nearby intersection. A 33-year-old mother and one of her 2-year-old twins were injured by glass, as her other twin was suffering from four gunshot wounds to the legs.

Police said a 13-year-old child was also wounded in the incident.

The suspect, 40-year-old Kimbrady Carriker of Philadelphia, was arrested and appeared in court Wednesday for an arraignment on charges of murder and attempted murder, as well as aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, carrying a firearm without a license and other charges. Carriker is being held without bail, and a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for July 24.

Police identified those killed in the incident as Lashyd Merritt, 20; Dymir Stanton, 29; Ralph Moralis, 59; Daujan Brown, 15; and Joseph Wamah, Jr., 31.

“This country needs to examine its conscience and find out how to get guns out of dangerous people’s hands,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said. “A person walking down the street with an AR-style rifle and shooting randomly at people while wearing a bulletproof vest with multiple magazines is disgraceful, but an all too common situation in America.”

9 shot in nation’s capital
At least nine people were shot and wounded in Washington D.C. early Wednesday, when a dark-colored SUV drove up to a group of residents outdoors celebrating the Fourth of July and occupants of the vehicle, opened fire, according to police.

The shooting unfolded just before 1 a.m. ET on Meade Street in the northeastern part of the city. Assistant Chief Leslie Parsons of the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department told ABC News a dark-colored SUV was driving through the area when someone inside the vehicle began firing in the “direction of some of our residents that were outside, just celebrating the Fourth of July.”

No arrests were immediately announced.

Five wounded in Boston
At least five people were shot and wounded in Boston early Wednesday when at least one gunman opened fire on a group of people who were apparently setting off fireworks, police said.

The shooting unfolded around 2 a.m. ET in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston, police said. All of the victims were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.

Boston police said the crime scene was blocks long.

Two men and a woman were arrested on charges related to the shooting, according to police. The names of the suspects were not immediately released.

Baltimore block party shooting kills 2, injures 28
Multiple shooters are believed to have opened fire at a large block party in Baltimore early Sunday, killing two people and injuring 28 others, police said.

The mass shooting unfolded around 12:30 a.m. ET in the Brooklyn Homes neighborhood in the southern district of the city. Baltimore Acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley said officers rushed to the scene when numerous 911 callers reported shots being fired.

Killed in the shooting were 18-year-old Aaliyah Gonzales and 20-year-old Kylis Fagbemi, according to police.

Among those wounded by gunfire were 15 victims between the ages of 13 and 17, Worley said.

Based on different caliber shell casings collected at the scene, investigators believe multiple people fired weapons, officials said.

No arrests have been announced. A $28,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the assailants.

11 shot,4 fatally, at Louisiana block party
An annual block party in Shreveport, Louisiana, turned deadly late Tuesday when a number of armed people unleashed a barrage of gunfire at an annual Fourth of July block party, police said.

Shreveport Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor said the shooting occurred just before midnight Tuesday at a holiday block party and birthday event. Taylor said the shooter or shooters showed up at the party and opened fire without warning.

The names of those killed were not immediately released.

No arrests have been announced.

4 shot in Lansing, Michigan
At least four people were shot on a street in Lansing, Michigan, early Wednesday, according to police.

The shooting occurred in the South Washington Square neighborhood near downtown Lansing, according to police. The victims all suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Police released few details about the shooting.

No arrests were announced.

Child among those wounded in Fort Worth shooting
At least three people were killed and eight others were injured, including a child, in a shooting that broke out in a parking lot late Monday in Fort Worth, Texas, police said.

The Fort Worth police officers responded around 11:40 p.m. CT Monday to reports of gunfire in the Como section of Fort Worth, where hours earlier the ComoFest, an annual Fourth of July celebration, had wrapped up, police said. Upon arrival, the officers found multiple gunshot victims in a parking lot, according to police.

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker called the shooting “heartbreaking” for the city and, particularly, the neighborhood it occurred in.

“This community has worked so hard not just to put on wonderful festivities to celebrate Independence Day, but this is also about their community,” Parker said.

Police said a child was among those wounded in the shooting.

The shooting broke out when several men showed up and “started firing into the crowd indiscriminately,” police said in a statement.

No arrests were announced.

10 injured in Kansas nightclub shooting
Eight people were shot and two were trampled when a gunfight involving multiple patrons erupted early Sunday inside a Wichita, Kansas, nightclub, sparking a chaotic stampede for the exit door, according to police.

At least four guns were fired during the wild shootout that erupted at 12:58 a.m. CT Sunday inside the City Nightz nightclub in the Old Town section of Wichita, Lt. Aaron Moses, executive officer of the Wichita Police Department, said at a news conference. One of the alleged gunmen was taken into custody and investigators are working to identify others.

On Monday, police identified the suspected gunman as 31-year-old Brandon Young of Florissant, Missouri. Young was arrested on two counts of aggravated battery stemming from the nightclub shooting, police said.

Police expect more arrests to be made.

Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan announced Monday that the nightclub where the shooting occurred has been suspended from doing business for 30 days. During a news conference, Sullivan said the shooting would have likely been avoided had the nightclub screened patrons entering the business.

Officers have responded to 12 incidents associated with City Nightz in the past year, including investigating aggravated battery cases and a May 21 drive-by shooting, according to Detective Chris Merceau of the Wichita Police Department.

“We need to take a strong stance in response to what occurred because, in my estimate, I believe it was totally preventable,” Sullivan said of the nightclub’s suspension.

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