Yuma Police Chief Thomas Garrity gives speaks at a news conference Monday on a shooting at a weekend house party that left two people dead and five injured. — Credit Yuma Police Department
(YUMA, Ariz.) — More than 30 shots were fired at a weekend house party in Yuma, Arizona, that left two young men dead and five teenagers wounded, authorities said.
The two people killed during the party Saturday night at a home in the southeast Yuma neighborhood were identified as 20-year-old Ande Blackthunder and 19-year-old Danny Garcia, Yuma Police Chief Thomas Garrity said at a news conference Monday afternoon.
“The biggest thing I want the general public to understand is that this was not a random event,” Garrity said. “Everyone knew each other. There was a party that got out of hand.”
Garrity said several weapons were recovered from the scene and investigators continue to work to identify those responsible for the deadly gunfire. He asked anyone with information about the episode to contact the police.
“We want to talk to everyone because we want to make sure that we get the people who are responsible for this and hold them responsible for this heinous event,” Garrity said.
A $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible, police said.
The gunfire erupted about 10:54 p.m. Saturday when an altercation broke out at the party that had grown from just a few people in attendance to more than 100 after word of the party was posted on social media, Garrity said.
“We can confirm that this was a house party that was going on and that all individuals involved in this are known to each other,” Garrity said.
He said four off-duty law enforcement officers were in the area at the time of the shooting, heard the gunfire, responded to the scene and began providing first aid to those injured and assisting arriving on-duty officers.
He said one of the gravely wounded victims, Garcia, was taken to a hospital by private car prior to police arriving. The teenager was pronounced dead at Yuma Regional Medical Center a short time after being taken there, police said.
Officers found Blackthunder at the scene suffering from a gunshot wound and he was taken by the Yuma Fire Department to Yuma Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Five other teenagers, ranging in age from 15 to 19, were wounded, Garrity said. Two remained hospitalized in stable condition Monday afternoon and three were treated and released on Sunday morning, Garrity said.
The chief said the owner of the home where the shooting occurred was out of town and that a relative hosted the party that prompted an earlier noise complaint that officers did not respond to.
“That night, there were a lot of parties going on throughout the Yuma community with all the graduations and stuff,” said Garrity, adding that the noise complaint was made about 55 minutes before the shooting while officers were tied up on other calls. “There was no indication that there was any type of violence going on, which would have made it a priority one call.”
Former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank Gregory Becker takes his seats as he arrives for a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, May 16, 2023, in Washington, D.C. — Drew Angerer/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Senators from both parties slammed former Silicon Valley Bank CEO Greg Becker at a hearing on Tuesday, accusing him of mismanagement that they say was fueled by short-term profits and the millions he stood to gain in compensation.
In a particularly heated exchange, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., excoriated Becker over the bank’s failure to protect itself against the vulnerability of large holdings in Treasury and mortgage bonds.
As the Fed aggressively raised interest rates over the past year, the spike dropped the value of those bonds and punched a hole in the bank’s balance sheet.
“Mr. Becker, you made a really stupid bet that went bad,” Kennedy said. “You had all of your eggs in one basket.”
In response, Becker cited an “unprecedented” bank run driven by depositor panic on social media that spurred the withdrawal of about $42 billion in a matter of 10 hours.
“This wasn’t unprecedented,” Kennedy said. “Unless you were living on the International Space Station, you could see interest rates were rising and you weren’t hedged.”
In an effort to buffer against the possible decline in the value of a single asset type, banks often acquire other assets called hedges that they expect to perform well in such an environment and offset losses.
Kennedy accused Becker of foregoing the acquisition of hedges because such a move would have cost the bank money, cutting into its profits and reducing Becker’s performance-related compensation.
“If you’d made less money, that would’ve affected your bonus, wouldn’t it?” Kennedy asked Becker.
Becker responded: “Our compensation was predominantly long-term in nature.”
The collapse in March of Silicon Valley Bank, the nation’s 16th largest bank, set off a financial panic that led to the failure two days later of another major lender, Signature Bank.
The financial stress continues to weigh on the banking system. Late last month, regional lender First Republic Bank was seized and sold to JPMorgan Chase after a sudden downfall.
The Federal Reserve released a report last month that sharply criticized leadership at Silicon Valley Bank for “a textbook case of mismanagement,” but the report also faulted the Fed’s lax oversight and an inability to anticipate the systemic threat posed by the bank’s failure.
Michael Barr, the central bank’s vice chair for supervision, is set to testify before the Senate committee on Thursday.
“SVB’s board of directors and management failed to manage the bank’s risk,” Barr plans to tell senators, according to opening testimony filed with the committee. He also plans to fault Fed regulators for failing to adequately assess and respond to the risks posed by the bank.
While defending his management of Silicon Valley Bank, Becker apologized for the harm caused by the failure of the bank.
“I believe SVB had a positive impact on the roughly 100,000 companies we supported over multiple decades,” Becker said.
“The takeover of SVB has been personally and professionally devastating, and I am truly sorry for how this has impacted SVB’s employees, clients, and shareholders,” he added.
(NEW YORK) — New York City is prepared to house asylum-seekers in as many as 20 schools with free-standing gyms, Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday.
“This is one of the last places we want to look at. None of us are comfortable with having to take these drastic steps,” the mayor told NY1 on Tuesday. “Each gym, the 20 gyms that we are looking at, we have not made a final determination on all the gyms, but that we are looking at are separate from the actual school buildings. They are independent from the school buildings.
The mayor did not reveal all of the locations but the first six appear to be in Brooklyn.
At least 65,000 asylum-seekers have come through the city so far, including 4,200 last week alone, officials said. Adams said the city expects as many as 15 buses this weekend.
“I’m really calling on all of us to take notice that this is going to impact every city service that we deliver to the people of this city. And it’s just wrong. New York City should not be carrying a burden of a national problem.” Adams told Fox 5 in an interview on Tuesday. “Our goal is to manage a crisis that we’re facing in partnership with the entire state.”
The reception in the city’s northern suburbs has been mixed. In Westchester, three buses of about 40 adults with young children arrived at the Ramada in Yonkers last night. In Orange County, a hotel in Newburgh continues to accept asylum-seekers.
However, officials representing some New York suburbs have rebuked Adams’ plan to send migrants to their towns for shelter.
Rockland County’s top official declared a state of emergency on Saturday in response to Adams’ plan to send 340 adult male migrants to live at an Armoni Inn and Suites in Orangeburg, New York, for four months.
Following the lifting of Title 42 — a pandemic-era rule that allowed the easier expulsion of migrants — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has continued to bus migrants to major cities like New York. Local, state and city officials have voiced concerns about a lack of planning to accommodate the migrants as New York operates a shelter system above capacity and vows to send migrants to counties that have already declared a state of emergency.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul sent a letter to President Joe Biden Friday requesting assistance from federal agencies to house migrants on federal land in New York, including military facilities.
As of Friday last week, New York City is beyond capacity for its shelter system with over 36,700 migrants housed across 120 locations, according to Hochul. She added that with no more shelter space, 40% of “mid-level hotel stock” in New York City is used for short-term respite centers.
ABC News’ Quinn Owen, Peter Charalambous, Teddy Grant, Jaclyn Lee, and Christopher Donato contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — With time running short, President Joe Biden and congressional leaders will meet Tuesday afternoon to discuss the debt ceiling as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stressed a default could trigger a recession.
Biden, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will meet at the White House at 3 p.m.
“We don’t have that much time left. We want to make sure we avoid a default but they’ve got to get serious and they haven’t been serious about any of these negotiations,” McCarthy told ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott on Tuesday.
Hours ahead of the summit, Yellen said the economic shock that would result from an unprecedented default “could lead to a recession.”
“It’s essential Congress act as soon as possible,” she said as she delivered remarks in downtown Washington, stating they’re already seeing “the impacts of brinkmanship” and “default would generate an economic catastrophe.”
Yellen has repeatedly warned the U.S. could default in early June, possibly as soon as June 1, though the exact date remains uncertain.
Yellen wrote Monday in a letter to McCarthy the Treasury was already seeing adverse impacts on the economy as negotiations continue — including increased borrowing costs — and more harm could come if lawmakers wait until the final hour to strike a deal.
Schumer also laid out possible consequences of a default.
“If you want to own a home, default would take that dream and run it through the shredder. If you want to protect your 401(k), default would rob you of your livelihood,” Schumer said.
Adding pressure to Tuesday’s debt ceiling sitdown is Biden’s upcoming trip abroad to meet with allies in Japan, Papua New Guinea and Australia. The president is set to depart Wednesday and is expected to be away for approximately a week.
McCarthy on Tuesday appeared to criticize Biden’s schedule, telling ABC he believes “the American public wants to have an American president focused on American problems and solutions.”
Biden said last week skipping the G-7 summit is “possible but not likely” based on debt ceiling negotiations.
“I’m still committed,” he said of the trip. “But obviously this is the single most important thing that is on the agenda.”
White House spokesperson John Kirby said Monday Biden was “still planning to leave as scheduled” for his Indo-Pacific trip.
Biden’s schedule isn’t the only issue as the House is set to be out of town starting May 26 and will return on June 5, while the Senate will be away from May 22 to May 29, according to tentative schedules.
The so-called “Big Five” last met a week ago to talk debt ceiling, a meeting that ended with no movement toward a deal. Staff-level conversations have continued since then between the administration and congressional leaders.
Biden and Democrats have insisted Republicans take default off the table, and separate the debt ceiling from the 2024 budget. Republicans, on the other hand, have said they’ve done their job by passing the Limit, Save, Grow Act last month to raise the debt ceiling and enact deep spending cuts.
Possible areas of agreement on budget talks include clawing back billions of dollars in unspent COVID-19 relief and reforming the permitting process for energy projects, sources familiar with the talks told ABC News.
Schumer said Tuesday the fiscal talks “are separate but simultaneous to our responsibility to avoid default.”
“Democrats will not use the threat of default to get what we want,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “Nobody should use default as a hostage.”
McConnell, meanwhile, said it’s up to Biden to “pretend the last election didn’t happen or sit down with the speaker and deal responsibly with out nation’s test.”
“Time is of the essence, of the essence. So for the second time, i’ll be glad to sit in at the white house to support speaker McCarthy and to urge President Biden to start operating in reality,” McConnell continued.
Biden said over the weekend he remained “optimistic” both sides be able to come to a solution.
“I really believe there is a desire on their part as well as ours to reach an agreement” he said during a bike ride in Delaware. “I think we’ll be able to do it.”
But McCarthy on Monday downplayed any signs of progress, telling ABC News both sides were “nowhere near coming to a conclusion.”
“I don’t think we’re in a good place,” McCarthy later said during a pro-police press conference. “I know we’re not.”
ABC News’ John Parkinson contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Shortly before the 2022 midterms, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign released an ad touting him as a fighter chosen by God. The clip invoked God’s name 10 times in 96 seconds and cast DeSantis as the chosen “fighter” five times.
The Florida Republican’s efforts to cast himself as a fighter — against everything from “woke elites” to Disney (ABC News’ parent company) — appeared to work, defeating his Democratic opponent by almost 20 points in November.
Now, DeSantis’ brand faces a new challenge as he gears up for a presidential run against one of the most aggressive bare-knuckle brawlers in all of politics: former President Donald Trump.
DeSantis continues to lambast his Democratic foes and steamrolled the state legislature into churning out laws he can tout on the campaign trail. But when it comes to Trump, he’s declined to respond with little more than a glancing blow to an avalanche of attacks over everything from his policy on entitlements to his eating habits, leaning on outside groups to throw haymakers in response.
DeSantis threw his most direct punch to date Tuesday, saying at a press conference that Trump in a recent interview did not answer whether he’d sign a six-week abortion ban that Florida recently enacted.
Overall, though, the above-the-fray playbook has sparked plaudits that he won’t get down in the mud with Trump — but also fueled worries from allies that Trump is defining him in voters’ minds.
“He can’t get into this and ignore Trump. That’s just not going to work,” said Dan Eberhart, a prominent GOP donor backing DeSantis.
“Trump is throwing unanswered punches. And so, people are saying, ‘Hey, look, is DeSantis weak? Why isn’t he responding? When is he gonna respond?’ DeSantis can’t be in this to win and not punch back,” Eberhart told ABC News.
Trump, who formally launched his campaign in November, has sought to make DeSantis Public Enemy No. 1 for his hardcore base.
Trump has dubbed him “Ron DeSanctimonious” and “Ron DeSanctus” and was reportedly weighing calling him “Meatball Ron.”
Trump has also upbraided DeSantis for support for legislation when he was in Congress to alter Social Security and Medicare, a third-rail political issue on which Trump has transformed Republicans’ position (once for entitlement reforms, Republicans are now largely opposed to changes).
When DeSantis described the war in Ukraine as a “territorial dispute,” Trump seized on those comments voicing skepticism on aid to the country, accusing him of merely copying his policies.
And Trump has accused DeSantis of losing a growing fight with Disney that Disney alleges began over its criticism of a law prohibiting classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida schools.
The barbs, which have been a feature of Trump’s speeches and ad campaign, have dovetailed with aggressive outreach by the former president that have won him endorsements from several members of Florida’s congressional delegation.
All the while, DeSantis is largely staying mum over the attacks, saying he has thick enough skin to withstand attacks and pointing to his overwhelming 19-point reelection margin in 2022.
“Call me whatever you want, just as long as you also call me a winner because that’s what we’ve been able to do in Florida,” he told Piers Morgan when asked about Trump’s attacks in a March interview.
It’s a familiar dilemma for DeSantis. Recordings obtained by ABC News of DeSantis’ debate prep during his first gubernatorial run in 2018 reveal strategy discussions then over how to explain positions he took while in Congress against the Trump administration “in a way that’s not going to piss off all his voters.”
The closest DeSantis recently got to knocking Trump is after the former president was indicted in a case centered around hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels, when he accused the prosecutor of harboring political bias while also telling reporters “I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair, I can’t speak to that.”
DeSantis threw another indirect jab at Trump during a visit to a barbecue joint in Des Moines, Iowa, last weekend — the city where Trump postponed a rally there due to weather concerns, followed up Monday by lamenting a recent GOP “culture of losing,” an apparent reference to Republicans’ electoral struggles since Trump won the White House in 2016.
But while DeSantis has frequently declined to go toe-to-toe with the former president, Trump’s polling lead has swelled since earlier this year, leading even allies wondering if the protracted waiting game over the Florida governor’s future ambitions are hurting his chances before he even formally gets off the ground.
“[A]t a certain point, your opponents and the media and the whole process start to get away from you. And the narrative begins to take shape and you need to be the one shaping it and making your dent in the universe of the campaign, not the other way around,” said John Thomas, the chief political strategist at the pro-DeSantis Ron To The Rescue super PAC.
Taking on Trump could be a high-wire act considering that DeSantis would need to win over at least a slice of his diehard base. A prominent Florida GOP strategist who previously advised DeSantis said they were not sure how hard the governor will ever go after Trump but that some people in Tallahassee are privately advocating for him to go more on the attack.
But, the person added, “there’s a part of him that needs to be positive for a while and avoid it,” saying DeSantis’ team has been wrestling with the question of “do you hurt your brand if you get down and wrestle with [Trump]?”
Allies have defended DeSantis, arguing it was appropriate to wait until the end of Florida’s legislative session for him to announce a 2024 campaign and that many of Trump’s coarser attacks don’t merit responses.
“It shows great discipline on the part of the governor,” said Ken Cuccinelli, the founder of Never Back Down, the main pro-DeSantis super PAC. “He doesn’t get into and hasn’t gotten into the pettiness that the president just seems incapable of restraining himself from.”
Cuccinelli added he expects DeSantis to throw elbows “a little bit more” should he formally enter the primary field, “but part of that is a function of being a candidate.”
In the meantime, Never Back Down has stepped into the void, pumping millions into ads casting DeSantis as a winner and Trump as unelectable.
“We have not avoided, to the degree the governor has, exchanging blows in the form of Trump’s own policies. So, we’re doing contrast, primarily, and we do it aggressively,” Cuccinelli said.
Still, other allies are feeling a sense of urgency, warning the governor’s team to take Trump’s threat more seriously.
“DeSantis has never faced a fighter like Trump before,” Eberhart said. “And I think that MAGA world is laying in the weeds waiting for the ambush. I’m a DeSantis guy. I’m worried his team is overconfident.”
DeSantis’ team rebuffed such criticism.
“Folks in the legacy media know full well that Ron DeSantis always does what is right and never backs down from a fight,” said Dave Abrams, a spokesman for DeSantis’ political team.
Trump’s allies, meanwhile, boast that DeSantis’ non-response strategy proves he doesn’t have as strong of a brand as a fighter as he’s sought to cultivate and that he’s stuck in a lose-lose conundrum as he gets ready to run against the former president.
“The reality is, while DeSantis has high name ID and high favorables, our voters do not have deeply held views about him like they do Trump. That’s why Trump can take a sledgehammer to him daily without any blowback from our voters,” one longtime Trump aide said.
“Meanwhile, DeSantis is in an awful position of either not responding and looking weak or attacking Trump and facing the blowback from voters, who have been trained for 6 years to think that any Republican attacking Trump must be an establishment RINO.”
Regardless, DeSantis may not have a choice if Trump keeps wailing on him, said one Florida lawmaker who’s in touch with DeSantis and his team.
“This is Trump. The gloves are gonna have to come way off,” the person said. “You can’t dip your toe in the water.”
(NEW YORK) — Billionaire Elon Musk blasted Jeffrey Epstein, who he referred to as a “dumb crook,” after he was subpoenaed as part of a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Virgin Islands against JPMorgan Chase & Co., which officials said “financially profited” from deposits made by Epstein.
In its filing, Virgin Islands officials say they attempted to serve Musk — one of the richest men in the world — with a subpoena. The subpoena appears to seek information about whether Epstein referred or attempted to refer Musk to JPMorgan, according to the Virgin Islands.
“This is idiotic on so many levels,” Musk tweeted Monday night. “1. That cretin never advised me on anything whatsoever. 2. The notion that I would need or listen to financial advice from a dumb crook is absurd. 3. JPM let Tesla down ten years ago, despite having Tesla’s global commercial banking business, which we then withdrew. I have never forgiven them.”
Musk was initially subpoenaed on April 28, but he couldn’t be reached, according to the filing.
The Virgin Islands has asserted the bank should have known about Epstein’s human trafficking and that the investigation it conducted into the matter yielded significant information about the bank’s dealings with Epstein.
“The Government’s investigation has revealed that JPMorgan knowingly, recklessly, and unlawfully provided and pulled the levers through which Epstein’s recruiters and victims were paid and was indispensable to the operation and concealment of the Epstein trafficking enterprise,” the Monday filing said. “Financial institutions can connect—or choke—human trafficking networks, and enforcement actions filed and injunctive relief obtained by attorneys general are essential to ensure that enterprises like Epstein’s cannot flourish in the future.”
The Virgin Islands also asserts that “JPMorgan financially profited from the deposits made by Epstein and Epstein- controlled entities located in the Virgin Islands and from the business opportunities referred to JPMorgan by Epstein and his co-conspirators in exchange for its known facilitation of and implicit participation in Epstein’s sex trafficking venture,” the government added.
Epstein died by suicide at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan in August of 2019, the New York City’s medical examiner ruled.
JPMorgan has denied any wrongdoing and in March filed a civil complaint against its former executive Jes Staley, alleging he helped hide Epstein’s sex abuse so he would continue as a client. Staley, who left the bank in 2013, said in an April court filing that JPMorgan is attempting to used him as a “public relations shield” and the bank’s claims have no factual basis.
(NEW YORK) — A family of six spent the last year traveling the world together to take in as many sights as possible before retinitis pigmentosa, a rare genetic disorder, causes total vision loss for three of the four children.
The Lemay-Pelletier family — 12-year-old Mia, 10-year-old Leo, 7-year-old Colin and 5-year-old Laurent, along with mom Edith Lemay and dad Sebastien Pelletier — sat down with GMA3 to talk about what led up to the incredible journey.
After learning the news four years ago that three of her four kids were diagnosed with the disorder, it took some time to come to terms with what it would mean for their family, Lemay said.
“At first it’s denial, you think, you know, ‘It’s impossible. Nobody in my family has that. And then you get angry. You know, ‘Why me? Why does this happen to me? It’s not fair.’ And then comes sadness, you feel sorry for yourself, for your family. Really it’s only when you get to acceptance, when you accept that your children’s path is going to be different. That’s when you start thinking about the future and make real plans,” Lemay said.
When the kids were diagnosed four years ago, specialists recommended the parents start exposing their children to visual memories by showing them photos and books of the world surrounding them. But the parents decided to take it even further — allowing their kids to make those visual memories based on real-life experiences around the world.
“For us, it was just an obvious thing. Let’s take them around the world and go all in,” Pelletier said.
The eldest, 12-year-old Mia, said her favorite memory so far was riding in a hot air balloon in Turkey.
“It was just magical and amazing,” she told GMA3.
Leo, 10, is the only one of the siblings without the diagnosis.
“I feel lucky that I don’t have [it], but sad that my brothers and sister will lose their vision,” Leo said.
GMA3 surprised the family with tickets to see a Broadway show together while they are in New York, which Leo was particularly excited about.
There is currently no known cure or treatment to slow down the disease. So far, the parents said they haven’t seen any changes to their kids’ vision, besides not having the ability to see in the dark since they were born, Pelletier said. Total loss of vision is expected to occur in midlife.
Meanwhile, the parents have made it their mission to teach their children resilience, being grateful and how to adapt to new situations, Lemay said. She wants them to “focus on the positive in their life.”
Lemay and Pelletier said they felt less alone when a Quebec-based organization connected them to other families dealing with the condition.
Retinitis pigmentosa affects about 1 in 3,000 to 1 in 4,000 people worldwide, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders. The Foundation Fighting Blindness said it has funded the launch of more than 40 clinical trials to look for potential treatments for the disorder. The organization supports research efforts by connecting patients to relevant clinical trials, along with offering free genetic testing.
“Our way to cope was to get into action. Like the hardest part for us is to not do anything. And that was the hardest part with RP, is that there’s nothing you can do,” Pelletier said.
ABC News’ Jessica Horning and Stefanie Javorsky Parasram contributed to this report.
(SAN FRANCISCO) — The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office has decided not to file criminal charges against a Walgreens security guard accused of fatally shooting an alleged shoplifter last month.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins cited insufficient evidence when announcing her decision on Monday. She released surveillance video of the incident along with other footage and documents that she said support her decision, asking that the public review all the evidence.
“There will be a temptation, as human beings, to only view the video footage of this incident and nothing else,” Jenkins said at a press conference. “We are accustomed to seeing videos online, and that often is what captures our attention rather than going the extra step to look deeper.”
The incident took place at a Walgreens in downtown San Francisco on April 27 just after 6:30 p.m. PT, according to the police report. The surveillance video, which does not have sound, purportedly shows 24-year-old Banko Brown attempting to leave the store without paying for a bag full of items. An on-duty and lawfully armed security guard, 33-year-old Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony, stops Brown then punches him repeatedly. The two struggle for less than a minute until Anthony pins Brown to the ground, as shoppers continue to enter and exit the store.
The video then purportedly shows Anthony letting go of Brown, who picks up the bag and heads for the exit. Brown turns around and walks backward out the door then appears to step toward Anthony. Anthony lifts his gun and fires a single shot, striking Brown in the chest. Brown falls to the ground just outside the store.
Law enforcement officers and paramedics arrived on the scene and, after providing first aid, transported Brown to San Francisco General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:50 p.m. PT, according to the police report.
In an interview with police, Anthony said he told Brown to “put the items back” but that Brown “refused” and was “aggressive.” Anthony said he went to take the items but that Brown fought to keep them and repeatedly threatened to stab him as a struggle ensued. Police said a knife was not found on Brown.
Anthony told police he didn’t have any handcuffs and his partner was on break at the time, so he tried to hold Brown’s arms back and put him in “a chokehold-type move.” Anthony said he told Brown he would let him go if he calmed down. Anthony said he released Brown but drew his gun and kept it pointed at the ground in case Brown tried to stab him. Anthony said he fired the gun when Brown turned back around and advanced toward him, not realizing that Brown would just “try to spit” at him.
When asked for comment on Tuesday, a Walgreens spokesperson told ABC News: “We are offering condolences to the victim’s family during this difficult time. The safety of our patients, customers and team members is our top priority, and violence of any kind will not be tolerated in our stores.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Kingdom Group Protective Services, which provides security for Walgreens and employs Anthony, told ABC News: “We are fully cooperating with law enforcement in the investigation of this extremely unfortunate incident and are deeply saddened by the loss of Banko Brown’s life. At this time, we are not permitted to comment further.”
Brown, who struggled with homelessness, worked as a community organizer for the Young Women’s Freedom Center, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that provides support for young women and transgender youth across California. The center’s co-executive director, Julia Arroyo, described Brown as “a smart and funny young man who, though shy, made friends easily.”
“We do not need to see the video to know that Banko Brown’s killing was unjustified. Armed force is not a justified response to poverty,” the Young Women’s Freedom Center said in a statement on Monday. “We must live with the sobering reality that Banko was killed for no other cause but $14.”
Aaron Peskin, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the legislative body within the city government, said he was troubled by the surveillance video and will ask California’s attorney general as well as the U.S. Department of Justice to review the evidence in the case.
“This is not who we are, stealing a bag of candy does not warrant death,” Peskin told San Fransisco ABC station KGO.
San Francisco Supervisor Shamann Walton said Brown was “executed.”
“Jenkins’ decision to not charge gives every armed security guard in San Francisco a license to have an open season to shoot and kill Black and transgender people for alleged shoplifting,” Walton said in a statement on Monday.
(NEW YORK) — Parents on TikTok are spreading the word about Target’s lenient return policy that applies to over 45 of their private label brands, including their children’s clothing line Cat & Jack.
TikTokker Sandra Puente shared a recent shopping trip to Target where she said she returned Cat & Jack items and ended up with about $150 to shop for her child again.
“Why didnt anyone tell me about this policy before,” Puente captioned a May 1 TikTok post.
Target extended their return policy back in 2015 and now lets customers who are not satisfied with any Target-owned brand items to make an exchange or get a refund within one year of purchase and with a receipt.
“This guarantee is in place because of the confidence we have in the quality of what we are offering when guests shop our owned brands,” a Target spokesperson told ABC News.
Hitha Herzog, the chief research analyst at H Squared Research, explained to ABC News’ Good Morning America that retailers like Target may adjust their item pricing in light of more generous return policies.
“What you are originally paying for, the product, that price takes into account the lenient return policy. So whether or not the returns come back gently worn or completely worn in and not wearable, the retailer will take into consideration with that through their pricing,” Herzog said.
Target isn’t the only store with relaxed return policies. Nordstrom famously has “no time limits for returns or exchanges” and the company handles returns “with the ultimate goal of making our customers happy.”
Grocery retailer Trader Joe’s also has a customer-friendly return policy that says, “We tried it. We like it. If you don’t, bring it back for a refund or exchange.”
“When you have a generous return policy, that means the customer will return. The more times a retailer can get that customer to come in, that has a significant impact on revenues going forward,” Herzog said.
Although Target’s return policy is lenient, some on social media are also questioning whether frequent returns are a misuse of Target’s return policy, especially if items have been used and the reason behind a return is solely because a child has outgrown a clothing item.
(FARMINGTON, N.M.) — Three people were killed and six others injured, including two officers, after a suspect opened fire in Farmington, New Mexico, before officers shot and killed the alleged gunman, police said Monday.
The suspect, who police said was 18, fired at least three different weapons, including an AR-style rifle, Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said in a video message Monday night. The motive is under investigation, but the shooting appears to be random, according to the police chief. The suspect wasn’t targeting a school, church or individuals, Hebbe said.
The Farmington Police Department said that at 10:57 a.m., the unidentified 18-year-old suspect opened fire near Dustin Avenue and Ute Street.
When officers arrived, they found a “chaotic scene,” with the suspect firing into the neighborhood, the Farmington Police Department deputy chief, Baric Crum, told reporters earlier Monday.
The suspect “roamed” through the neighborhood up to a quarter of a mile, randomly firing “at whatever entered his head to shoot at,” Hebbe said, shooting at least six houses and three cars.
Four officers engaged the suspect in a firefight, and the suspect was killed, according to Crum.
The two officers who were wounded, one from the Farmington Police Department and one from New Mexico State Police, were taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center and listed in stable condition, police said.
The Farmington officer was treated and released; the state police officer remains in the hospital and is doing well, Hebbe said.
The investigation is ongoing, Crum said.
“We are actively looking at several blocks of this crime scene to determine what exactly happened,” the deputy chief said.
The Farmington Police Department, New Mexico State Police and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to the scene and are still investigating.
The Farmington Municipal School District issued an alert on its Facebook page stating that Apache and McKinley elementary schools, Central Kitchen and the CATE Center were under lockdown until further notice. Officials said all of the children and staff were safe.
At 1:05 p.m. local time, the lockdown was lifted and the students were planned to be released, according to the school district.
Farmington is located in northern New Mexico, about 15 miles south of the Colorado border.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham tweeted that she was monitoring the situation and expressed condolences for the victims.
“My administration will not stop fighting the epidemic of gun violence from every angle possible,” she wrote.
