News

(RALEIGH, N.C.) — With the end of its spring semester last week, North Carolina State University concluded a tragic school year that saw the deaths of 14 students.

Seven students died by suicide, two fatally overdosed, four passed away from natural causes, and one student was killed in a car accident, according to Mick Kulikowski, NC State’s director of strategic communications and media relations. Over a dozen students and mental health experts described the loss of life at NC State to ABC News as staggering and tragic, as well as a concerning example of national trends in student mental health.

“I really started feeling it once it got to the fourth student death, because it really started to feel like it was an epidemic on campus at that point,” said Mariana Fabian, a fourth-year student and opinion editor for NC State’s student newspaper, The Technician.

The deaths have cast an outsized shadow on the Raleigh campus, where classes continued through the year as the number of deaths gradually increased. NC State convened a task force devoted to mental health in November, releasing an 89-page report in late February that recommended a flurry of proposals to improve student life. The report’s sobering conclusion: while NC State is “dedicated” to improving student mental health, “there is not only room for, but also a need for, additional efforts.”

Apart from occasional wellness days and outreach following student deaths, the humdrum of college life continued at NC State, leaving little time for grieving according to some students.

“We’re having to say goodbye to the students, but also focus on turning in an assignment,” junior Angelina Cordone told ABC News.

Some communities on campus have faced a larger toll of the tragedies — as at least seven students, including three who died by suicide, have been part of NC State’s School of Engineering, according to Kulikowski. With over 36,000 students, NC State has averaged eight student deaths, including three by suicide, annually since 2018, according to the task force’s report.

“I think a lot of people really want to honor the lives that were lost, but there was also a big feeling of enough is enough,” said Eleanor Lott, a sophomore and a member of NC State’s mental health task force.

In late March, Vice Chancellor and Dean Doneka Scott described the year to ABC News as a tragic “outlier,” pointing to the nationwide challenge of educating students amid a rise in depression and suicide among young people.

“Institutions across the country are grappling with this,” Scott said. “This is not an NC State-only issue. It’s an issue in higher education writ large.”

The rate of suicide has roughly increased in the United States over the last two decades. Despite a two-year decline in 2019 and 2020, the rate rose again in 2021, with one of the most significant year-over-year jumps for those aged 15-24, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For that age group, suicide remains the third-leading cause of death.

Across ten student interviews with ABC News, some students at NC State pointed to the stresses of being a student there – including its demanding STEM classes – and stress stemming from grades and social pressures in an isolated campus community following years of coronavirus-related restrictions. Others described broader concerns about the weight of being young in a seemingly broken world, including the intensity of politics, debt, fleeting job opportunities, and the general fear of facing fewer opportunities and success than prior generations.

“We feel like we have the weight of the world on our shoulders,” junior Ezekiel Snyder said.

Tragedy Struck Early

Early in the school year, students expressed concern with the vagueness of communications from the school following two student deaths, leaving students open to interpret the cause of death based on information from friends and social media.

On Oct. 24, NC State’s student newspaper The Technician ran an editorial titled “NC State’s lack of transparency surrounding campus tragedies harms us all.” Tragically, another student passed away the day after it was published.

“Oh, my gosh, it’s not stopping,” said Technician’s news editor Abigail Ali told ABC News, describing what she and other editors saw as the tipping point in the crisis. “As soon as we think it’s over, there’s another one.”

Vice Chancellor Scott explained the communication delay as an intentional effort to reduce harm, codified in the school’s complex postvention plan for crisis situations.

Deaths of any kind could expose a community to the risk of a suicide cluster, where vulnerable community members begin to think more about or act on suicidal thoughts, according to UNC professor and American Psychological Association chief science officer Mitch Prinstein.

By the start of the school’s spring term, five students had passed away. Students reported that communications from NC State improved about the deaths and causes. However, the sheer number of deaths began to take a toll, according to students.

“To be completely honest with you, I’ve lost track with many students have died on campus,” said Technician’s managing editor Sam Overton, who spoke to ABC News following the 11th student death.

NC State’s spring semester also concluded with two additional student suicides in late April, when two students died within 24 hours.

“This is heartbreaking, and I know there’s little I can say to console the deep hurt or heal the immense grief felt by the family and friends of these young people and others we’ve lost this year,” Chancellor Randy Woodson wrote in a statement on April 27.

NC State celebrated its spring commencement for the Class of 2023 on Saturday, seemingly concluding the tragic chapter of the school’s recent history. However, the deaths amid reforms provide further evidence of the severity of the mental health crisis confronting institutions of higher education.

A National Crisis

Struggles with mental health often begin in high school or earlier for many students.

The proportion of high school students with persistent feelings of hopelessness or suicide increased by 40% between 2009 and 2019, according to a 2020 CDC survey. A 2021 survey from the CDC later found that nearly 60% of teen girls have said they feel “persistency sad or hopeless,” and 30% have seriously considered suicide. More than 6,600 people between the age of 10 and 24 died by suicide in 2020, based on estimates from the National Center of Health Statistics.

“Those are the students who are coming to campus,” Scott said.

The loss of traditional support systems further these concerns as students transition into college, according to Brandon Johnson, the acting branch chief of suicide prevention at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Students added that factors like social media and isolation stemming from the pandemic have made adjusting to college harder than what previous generations have faced.

“I will say it’s devastating,” said junior Ony Otiocha, describing the stress of finding a friend group at NC State. “I’m not going to sit here and say that I’ve never sat in my room and cried about that.”

Students additionally described stress stemming from competitive classes, particularly in science and engineering, and difficulties finding internships and employment. One student, who spoke with ABC News anonymously, described the challenge of reaching out to professors for help and struggling to complete coursework while dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“When I have to reach out to my professors and ask for these things because I just want to get any amount of sleep or like I just physically can’t make myself do work because I’m so burnt out,” she said. “It’s a bit humiliating, honestly, and it’s scary because they can just say no.”

As students seek help to improve their mental health, many schools struggle to adequately staff their counseling departments to accommodate the demand for services, according to Prinstein, of the American Psychological Association.

“What we have is a remarkable crisis with kids desperately needing mental health services. They’re not able to get what they need from the college staff or personnel,” he said.

NC State has more than doubled its counselors over the last decade to 47 clinical professionals, according to Scott. However, even if they had “100 or 1,000 counselors,” she said they could not fully address the crisis. Students also added that locating these resources can be inherently challenging during a crisis.

“When we feel lost or confused and hopeless, and asking for help, or just finding the resource can be difficult,” first-year student Ashley Clemmer added.

In spite of the tragedies, mental health experts pointed to some positives that have grown out of the mental health crisis, including that young people are more in tune with their mental health, are more likely to seek help, and can become leaders who help others approach struggles with empathy.

“There is a hyper-awareness and an empathy that young people have that I think previous generations were lacking,” said Tia Dole, clinical psychologist and officer for suicide-prevention hotline 988. “That is something that will be really helpful when we become adults and start running [things].”

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A potential fourth set of remains that may belong to Rasheem Carter, a 25-year-old Black man who went missing in Mississippi in October, has been found and investigators say they’re working to analyze them.

The development comes as Carter’s family continues its call for justice in the case, which has dragged on for months. Though local officials have said that they believe there was no foul play in the disappearance and the cause of death remains undetermined, family members believe that doesn’t hold water.

“I am overwhelmed with the oppression that this state have caused in our lives. I want something done, and I want it done immediately. I’m tired of waiting,” Tiffany Carter, Rasheem’s mother, said at a press conference with the family’s attorney Ben Crump. “I know I can’t change what has happened, but we can make the change that this doesn’t happen to another family.”

On the day of his disappearance, Rasheem Carter allegedly sent a text to his mother saying that he was afraid for his safety and that men in trucks yelling racial epithets were after him, his family has said.

Simpsons County Sheriff Paul Mullins confirmed that remains were found in the woods on April 30. He said they appeared to be animal bones, but they were sent to the county coroner for examination. He added that the Mississippi medical examiner would analyze the remains on Monday.

On Nov. 2, 2022, the first set of remains were found in neighboring Smith County. Carter’s skull and spinal cord were located in separate locations classifying them as two sets of remains, according to Crump’s office.

Another set of remains that matched Carter’s DNA were found on Feb. 23, also in Smith County, according to Crump’s office.

Crump said Mississippi officials haven’t notified the family of the fourth set of remains. He said a bystander filmed police retrieving the remains and sent the video to the Carter family.

“There is no excuse for bystanders coming showing video to the family, and officials not having the dignity and respect to notify the family immediately, and say ‘we found more human remains in the vicinity where your son head and spinal cord and other bodily remains were found,'” Crump said.

Mississippi state officials involved in the investigation told ABC News in a statement that they received the first three sets of remains from local authorities. They wouldn’t confirm if they received a fourth set of remains.

The state medical examiner’s office did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

In light of the recent discovery, attorneys representing Carter’s family are calling for a federal probe into his death, arguing that the Smith County Sheriff’s Department’s original conclusion that there was no foul play seemed dubious.

Smith County Sheriff Joel Houston told ABC News that the sheriff’s department stands behind its earlier determination that no foul play was involved in Carter’s death. Earlier evidence “didn’t suggest anything,” he said.

According to an autopsy report on the first two sets of remains, a copy of which was obtained by ABC News, most of what was found was bone and the cause of death was undetermined.

“Nothing is being swept under the rug,” Houston said. “There’s nothing to hide.” Houston added that the department is awaiting results of search warrants before ruling out foul play.

“Mississippi, all America’s watching to see if you’re going to do right by Rasheem Carter,” Crump said. “His brokenhearted mother has nightmares at night about what her son must have been doing as a result of this lynching in 2022.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Nearly two decades after authorities began connecting the dots to uncover the grisly truth behind four missing people linked to Scott Kimball, a Colorado FBI informant and serial killer, his sons are breaking their silence.

Kimball’s sons, Justin and Cody Kimball, who were just children at the time of the killing spree, are discussing for the first time details around what they claim is their father’s attempt to kill Justin when he was just 10 years old.

“I just remember thinking, ‘This guy is going to kill me, and he’s obviously making it look like an accident. No one’s going to know because I’m going to be dead,’” Justin, now age 29, said in an exclusive interview with “20/20’s” John Quiñones.

One evening in July 2004, Scott Kimball and his two boys were out in the backyard digging holes and chasing mice. Justin said that when Cody went inside the house, his father told Justin to dig a hole in a specific spot while keeping his eyes on the horizon.

“[It] felt like I saw a bunch of stars, flashes in front of my face, and then came the big wham,” Justin said. “I heard it hitting me.”

A large metal cattle grate had fallen onto his head. While in route to the hospital, Justin claims his father tried to kill him again by pushing him out of a moving car.

“What I do remember, him pushing me out was by my face, because I remember how big his hand was and how warm it felt on my cold face,” Justin told “20/20.”

According to a police report, Scott Kimball told officers he was inside when Justin was playing near the grate, looked out and saw it had fallen on top of his son. Kimball also told police that he was trying to pull Justin back into the car, not push him out on the way to the hospital.

“At this time we have no reason to believe there was any criminal activity involved,” the police report stated.

The boys’ mom, Larissa, then divorced from Scott Kimball, rushed to the hospital when she got the news about her son.

“The surgeon came in, and he said, ‘I just want to tell you right now, it doesn’t look good,’” Larissa, who is using only her first name for privacy reasons, told “20/20.”

Justin suffered critical brain damage and was put into a medically induced coma, but miraculously survived. And his first words upon regaining consciousness would shock the family members gathered around his bed.

“I remember saying, ‘My dad did it.’ Because I remember thinking that my last thought before I lost consciousness was, ‘No one’s ever going to know that he tried to do this to me,’” Justin said.

According to authorities, there was a life insurance policy on Justin worth $50,000. Just days before the incident, Scott made himself the sole beneficiary.

When asked about how she felt when she learned about Scott’s change to the policy, Larissa said, “To be honest, I think I threw up, because then it all started making sense. This was no accident.”

At the time, the neurosurgeon treating Justin said the injuries likely affected his memory of the incident. Scott Kimball was never charged with any crime surrounding the incident with Justin, and he denies causing his son any harm.

Two years later, in 2006, local detectives in Lafayette, Colorado, began investigating Scott Kimball for check fraud. He was apprehended after a dramatic police chase in California and charged as a habitual offender, with previous non-violent crimes including forgery, theft and fraud.

However, the detectives suspected Scott Kimball was involved in much more than financial crimes, after it came to light that he was the last person to be seen with two missing women — Kaysi McLeod and Jennifer Marcum, who both disappeared in 2003.

In 2003, Kimball convinced the FBI to use him as a paid informant to stop a murder again. The FBI had used Kimball in the past as an informant in Alaska and Seattle, where they believed he was instrumental in helping to stop the murder of a federal judge and a prosecutor.

But in 2003, he not only falsely led the FBI to believe he could help them prevent murder as an informant in Colorado, he killed several people during this time period, including Jennifer Marcum. The FBI investigated her disappearance, but her body was never found and the case went cold. The FBI would later admit to being duped by Kimball.

Not only did Kimball deceive the FBI, but he also deceived Lori McLeod, the mother of one of the missing girls, Kaysi McLeod. Kimball explained that he worked for the FBI and was using his contacts to look for Kaysi.

Kimball’s web of lies and manipulation finally unraveled in 2006, when the two fathers of those missing women went to the FBI. Rob McLeod had reached out to Bob Marcum after seeing a news article about Jennifer Marcum’s disappearance that mentioned Scott Kimball as being the last person to see her alive.

“Rob McLeod and Bob Marcum…come into the FBI office in November 2006,” former Special Agent Johnny Grusing told ABC News. “Both Rob and Bob tell my boss that Scott Kimball took their daughters.”

Scott Kimball also was connected to two more missing people, his own uncle, Terry Kimball, and LeAnn Emry, the ex-girlfriend of another one of Kimball’s former cellmates.

“Nobody saw a big picture of who Scott Kimball was. It wasn’t until we started looking at his criminal history and piecing things together that we could see that each individual agency had no idea what they were really dealing with,” said Gary Thatcher, chief investigator with the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office, who was investigating Kimball for check fraud.

Investigators got a break in the case while questioning Kimball about the disappearances, and he mentioned the possibility that one of the missing women might be found on National Park Service land.

“Scott was trying to get time in federal prison because it’s easier life for him than in state prison,” Grusing said.

Investigators already knew that Scott Kimball said he had been hunting on the day Kaysi McLeod disappeared. While executing a search warrant of Kimball’s belongings, Grusing had found a receipt for a grocery store in Walden, Colorado, which is surrounded by National Forest land.

Grusing called the Forest Service and learned that a hunter had recently found a skull on the ground in the area.

“Based upon what Scott had said, based upon the receipt, based upon the godforsaken place this hiker was recovered, I had a really good notion it was Kaysi,” Grusing said.

Grusing was right, and the confirmation was a turning point in the investigation.

Now that investigators had recovered Kaysi McLeod’s remains, they negotiated a deal with Scott Kimball. He agreed to lead them to Jennifer Marcum, Terry Kimball and LeAnn Emry in exchange for reduced charges. Kimball’s information led investigators to the bodies of LeAnn Emry in Utah’s Book Cliffs, and Uncle Terry near Vail, Colorado. However, Jennifer Marcum was never found. As a result, his plea deal was renegotiated.

In October 2009, Scott Kimball was sentenced to 70 years in prison after pleading guilty to the murders of Kaysi, Jennifer, LeAnn and Terry. At the sentencing, the courtroom was filled with victims’ relatives.

“My daughter was a young woman with feelings and dreams and to treat her like trash is despicable,” said LeAnn Emry’s father, Howard.

Justin Kimball is affected by the grave injuries he says were inflicted by his own father and remains haunted by the killing spree.

“He’s unforgivable, and he’s exactly where he belongs,” Justin said.

“20/20: Rocky Mountain Horror” airs Friday, May 12 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

ABC News’ Tami Sheheri, Lindsey Schwartz, Tim Gorin and Kyla Milberger contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(BOISE, Idaho) — A jury has found Lori Vallow Daybell guilty of killing two of her children in what prosecutors argued was a doomsday plot.

She was also found guilty of conspiring to kill her children and her husband’s first wife.

She faces up to life in prison without parole.

Lori Vallow Daybell and her husband, Chad Daybell, were both charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the 2019 deaths of her children, Joshua “J.J.” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16, whose remains were found on an Idaho property belonging to Chad Daybell following a monthslong search.

The jury deliberated for approximately four hours on Thursday and two hours on Friday before reaching its verdict, which was read before a packed Boise courtroom and also livestreamed by the court.

Judge Steven Boyce asked those in attendance to refrain from making any “loud outbursts” while the verdict was read.

Prosecutors said they were “very pleased” with the jury’s verdict but declined to comment further given the pending case against Chad Daybell.

“We want to assure each of you that we remain committed to pursuing justice for Tylee Ryan, J.J. Vallow and Tammy Daybell,” Madison County Prosecuting Attorney Rob Wood and Fremont County Prosecuting Attorney Lindsey Blake said in a joint statement. “We also want to express sincere appreciation to the many members of law enforcement and the community who tirelessly worked together to hold Lori Vallow Daybell accountable.”

The defense declined to comment on the verdict.

The verdict followed a six-week trial during which prosecutors argued that the couple thought the children were zombies and murdered them.

Wood, the lead prosecutor, told the jury during closing statements on Thursday that Lori Vallow Daybell set a plan for the children’s murder in motion in October 2018 “using money, power and sex,” and she and her husband “used religion to manipulate others.”

“It does not matter what they believed, it matters what they did,” Wood said. “They can believe whatever they want, but when it’s murder, that’s different.”

Defense attorney Jim Archibald characterized Lori Vallow Daybell as a devoted mother who loved her children and Jesus, but that all changed near the end of 2018, when she met Chad Baybell.

“Is Lori a leader or a follower of Chad? She so desperately wants to be a leader, but she is following Chad,” Archibald said during closing statements.

During the trial, the jury heard text messages that prosecutors said were sent between Lori Vallow Daybell and her husband in the weeks prior to her children’s disappearance.

The messages discussed demons inhabiting the children’s bodies and that they were “weary” taking care of demons. Lori Vallow Daybell reportedly texted her husband to “please ask the Lord to take them” and, days later, if he thinks there is a “perfectly orchestrated plan to take the children,” to which he reportedly responded, “There is a plan being orchestrated for the children.”

Archibald dismissed the text message evidence presented by prosecutors during closing statements.

“Of the 15,000 texts in evidence, show me one that says, ‘When are you killing Tylee?’ It’s not there,” Archibald told the jury on Thursday. “Of the 15,000 text messages, show me one where Lori says, ‘When are you killing J.J., by the way?’ There is no such text.”

The children were last seen alive in September 2019 and were reported missing by extended family members to police in November 2019. Lori Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell were indicted on murder charges nearly a year after authorities discovered the remains of her children on Chad Daybell’s property in June 2020.

In closing statements, Wood pushed back against the defense’s characterization of the defendant as a good mother, saying, “You can’t have a good mom if she doesn’t report her children missing or dead.”

“We have the evidence in spades. You must convict her,” he told the jury.

Among the revelations during the trial, a DNA expert testified for the state that a strand of hair attached to duct tape found among the remains matched Lori Vallow Daybell’s DNA profile.

Jurors also heard emotional jail phone calls from Lori Vallow Daybell’s sister and surviving son confronting her about the children’s murders. Her sister, Summer Shiflet, testified that she initially trusted Lori Vallow Daybell until she learned the bodies of the children had been found on Chad Daybell’s property.

Lori Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell were both charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Chad Daybell’s former wife, Tamara Daybell, who died Oct. 19, 2019, less than a month before Lori and Chad married in Hawaii. Chad Daybell was also charged with his former wife’s murder.

In opening statements, prosecutors revealed that Tamara Daybell, 49, died of asphyxiation. Her death was initially believed to be natural.

Prosecutors rested their case on Tuesday after calling roughly 60 witnesses. The defense did not call any witnesses.

Chad Daybell, the author of many religious fiction books, is Lori Vallow Daybell’s fifth husband. The couple both reportedly adhered to a doomsday ideology, with Lori Vallow Daybell at one point claiming she was “a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ’s second coming in July 2020” and didn’t want anything to do with her family “because she had a more important mission to carry out,” according to court documents obtained by ABC News.

Lori Vallow Daybell was deemed fit to stand trial last year following a 10-month stint at an Idaho mental health facility. Her attorneys had said they did not plan to raise a mental health defense at the guilt-phase portion of the trial.

The judge had granted the defense’s motion to dismiss the death penalty in Lori Vallow Daybell’s case.

Lori Vallow Daybell was additionally indicted on the charge of grand theft related to Social Security survivor benefits allocated for the care of her children that prosecutors said were appropriated after the children were missing and ultimately found dead. The jury found her guilty on that count as well.

Chad Daybell was also charged with two counts of insurance fraud related to life insurance policies he had on Tamara Daybell for which he was the beneficiary, prosecutors said.

Both had pleaded not guilty to their respective charges. The judge allowed their cases to be tried separately, with Chad Daybell’s expected to start at a later date.

ABC News’ John Capell contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — Loved ones of those killed in the 2022 Buffalo grocery store mass shooting filed a wrongful death lawsuit Friday against a number of social media companies alleging they facilitated the teenage killer’s white supremacist radicalization by allowing racist propaganda to fester on their platforms.

The lawsuit filed in State Supreme Court in Buffalo also names as defendants a gun dealer and body armor company, as well as the parents of the confessed killer, Payton Gendron.

“Gendron was motivated to commit his heinous crime by racist, anti-Semitic, and white supremacist propaganda fed to him by the social media companies whose products he used,” the lawsuit argues, adding that Gendron was not raised by a racist family, did not live in a radically polarized community and had no personal history of negative interactions with Black people.

The legal action comes just two days before Buffalo residents commemorate the one-year mark since the May 14, 2022, shooting rampage at a Tops store on the city’s predominantly Black east side.

The lawsuit was filed by Buffalo attorney John Elmore on behalf of the loved ones of Heyward Patterson, Katherine “Kat” Massey and Andre Mackniel, three of the 10 Black people killed in the mass shooting. The suit is supported by the Social Media Victims Law Center, an organization that works to hold social media companies legally accountable for the alleged harm it is claimed they inflict on vulnerable users.

“I’m hoping that something will come out of it. Everyday or every few days, all you hear about is a mass shooting,” Massey’s sister, Barbara Massey Mapps, told ABC News of the lawsuit. “You’ve got to start somewhere, in order for them to get the message. These big companies only know one thing, money. So, you’ve got to hurt them. How many people do you want to see dead?”

Biggest names in tech sued

Among the defendants named in the lawsuit are Meta, the parent company of Facebook; the instant messaging app Snapchat; Discord, Reddit; Google, which owns YouTube; and Amazon, which owns Twitch, the site Gendron used to livestream the killing rampage.

The dark website 4chan is also named as a defendant, as well as the Vintage Firearms company and the RMA Armament company.

The lawsuit alleges the social media platforms aided in rapidly spreading Gendron’s hate via copies of his livestream of the shooting across multiple platforms where it became known as the “murder video” and viewed by more than 3 million people.

Gendron used Amazon’s Twitch to livestream the first two minutes of the rampage before it was taken down by the operators of the popular gaming platform, the lawsuit states.

Despite it being taken down, the video was downloaded to 4chan, according to the suit.

“Within 30 minutes of when the link was first posted to 4chan, another 4chan user had downloaded it, uploaded it to a video sharing platform, and posted a link to that other video sharing platform on 4chan,” the lawsuit alleges.

Copies of the horrific video “appeared on Facebook next to advertisements,” the lawsuit contends.

“While Facebook eventually turned off banner advertising for searches related to the Buffalo shooting, the murder video continued to circulate on Facebook and, on information and belief, Facebook’s algorithms continued to recommend it,” the suit alleges.

Discord was named as a defendant because it was where Gendron “chronicled the progress of his plan” for months and where a half-hour before the attack he announced it to several Discord users he invited into a chat room, according to lawsuit.

The suit alleges Gendron became “addicted” in his early teens to Meta’s Instagram, Google’s YouTube and Snapchat, which is owned by a company called Snap Inc.

“Because of the dangerously defective and unreasonably dangerous algorithms powering Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat, Gendron quickly became a problematic user of the Social Media Defendants’ products. He accessed his social media accounts multiple times per hour and at all hours of the night,” according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs accuse YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram of directing “Gendron to progressively more extreme and psychologically discordant content.”

“Taking full advantage of the incomplete development of Gendron’s frontal lobe, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat maintained his product engagement by directing him to increasingly extreme and violent content which, upon information and belief, promoted racism, anti-Semitism, and gun violence,” the lawsuit contends.

The lawsuit goes on to allege, “Because the Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat algorithms were designed with the singular goal of maximizing Gendron’s product engagement over his psychological, emotional, and ethical well-being, by directing him to sites promoting hate and violence these products were functioning as designed and intended.”

“We have a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech and discrimination of any kind,” Snapchat said in a statement to ABC News. We deliberately designed Snapchat differently than traditional social media platforms and don’t allow unvetted content to go viral or be algorithmically promoted. Instead, we vet all content before it can reach a large audience, which helps protect against the discovery of potentially harmful or dangerous content.”

Firearms and body armor dealers

Vintage Firearms, a gun dealer in Endicott, New York, was named as a defendant because it sold Gendron the Bushmaster XM15-E2S he used in the attack.

“As part of his ‘investigation’ of the Bushmaster XM15-E2S at Vintage Firearms, Gendron writes that he ‘learned’ how to modify the weapon so that it would take high-capacity ammunition magazines, the lawsuit alleges.

“After purchasing his murder weapon at Vintage Firearms, Gendron continued to loyally patronize the store, and find camaraderie there,” the suit alleges.

The lawsuit alleges RMA Armament, where the killer purchased his body armor, “knew or should have known permitting Payton Gendron to obtain their product would result in unreasonable danger due to the use of their product.”

Gendron, now 19, pleaded guilty to committing the murders and was sentenced in February to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He also became the first person in New York state to face a charge of domestic terrorism motivated by hate, for which he also pleaded guilty.

During his sentencing hearing in February, Gendron, from predominantly white Conklin, New York, a three-hour drive from Buffalo, claimed he was brainwashed by online racist propaganda, saying, “I believed what I read online and acted out of hate.” During the sentencing hearing, one of Gendron’s attorneys, Brian Parker, also said, “The racist hate that motivated this crime was spread through online platforms, and the violence that was made possible was, in part, due to the easy access of assault weapons.”

‘Neither a coincidence nor an accident’

“Gendron’s radicalization on social media was neither a coincidence nor an accident; it was the foreseeable consequences of social media companies’ conscious decision to design platforms that maximize user engagement (and corresponding advertising revenue) at the expense of public safety,” the lawsuit alleges.

It adds, “The social media platforms that Gendron encountered are equipped with sophisticated algorithms designed to addict teenage users by taking advantage of their incomplete brain development and maintain their engagement through increasingly extreme and psychologically discordant content.”

The lawsuit mirrors a scathing report released in October by New York Attorney General Letitia James office, alleging several online platforms, including some of those named in the lawsuit, played roles in the Buffalo mass shooting by radicalizing Gendron as he consumed voluminous amounts of racist and violent content, and then by allowing him to broadcast the deadly attack.

The report contended that anonymous, largely unmoderated websites and platforms, like 4chan, allegedly influenced Gendron. It also said livestreaming platforms like Twitch were “weaponized” to publicize and encourage copycat attacks.

The attorney general’s findings came with a call for new legislation to address what she called “a lack of oversight, transparency, and accountability” which she said allows hateful and extremist views to proliferate online.

Section 230

A major hurdle in the lawsuit is expected to be Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which protects social media platforms and other sites from legal liability that could result from content posted by users.

In February, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case Gonzalez v. Google LLC, which concerns a lawsuit brought by the family of Nohemi Gonzalez, an American woman who was killed in an ISIS terrorist attack in Paris in 2015. The lawsuit against Google alleges that its YouTube recommended ISIS recruitment videos to users.

The case centers on whether Section 230 protects online platforms from legal liability when it comes to their recommended content.

If the U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of Google, it would formally extend legal immunity to the algorithms at the heart of many social media products and search engines; but if the high court rules in favor of the plaintiff, the decision could expose the platforms to a raft of new legal vulnerabilities and produce major changes, legal experts told ABC News.

Twitch issued a statement in the immediate aftermath of the Buffalo attack, saying it stopped the Buffalo gunman’s live feed of the shooting in two minutes.

“We take our responsibility to protect our community extremely seriously, and trust and safety is a major area of investment,” Twitch said in its statement, adding it was continuously examining the Buffalo shooting and “sharing those learnings with our peers in the industry to support a safer internet overall.”

“We have the deepest sympathies for the victims and families of the horrific attack at Tops grocery store in Buffalo last year. Through the years, YouTube has invested in technology, teams, and policies to identify and remove extremist content,” Google said in a statement to ABC News. “We regularly work with law enforcement, other platforms, and civil society to share intelligence and best practices.”

Meta said that as of Aug. 15, 2022, it identified more than 1,151 “militarized social movements” mostly associated with the far-right conspiracy group QAnon and removed about 4,200 pages, 20,800 groups, 200 events, 59,800 Facebook profiles and 8,900 Instagram accounts.

“We continue to strengthen our enforcement by identifying additional militarized social movements and new terms associated with QAnon,” Meta said. “We’ll continue consulting experts to inform our strategy and will identify and remove content accordingly.”

Discord also released a statement in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, saying, “We extend our deepest sympathies to the victims and their families, and we will do everything we can to assist law enforcement in the investigation.”

Parents accused of ‘negligent entrustment’

The lawsuit accuses Gendron’s parents of “negligent entrustment,” alleging “Paul Gendron entrusted his son with a rifle, a dangerous instrument that was among the weapons Gendron took to the Tops shooting on May 14, 2022.”

“Paul and Paula Gendron had constructive possession of all the firearms that Gendron kept at their house, whether they purchased the weapons or not,” the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit notes the police investigation found that in 2021, Gendron posted in an online forum for a high school that he planned to commit “murder/suicide.” He underwent a psychiatric evaluation and New York State Police visited his home after this threat, according to the lawsuit.

“As of June 2021, Paul and Pamela Gendron had actual knowledge that their son was contemplating murder and that he owned multiple guns. Nevertheless, though Gendron lived in his parents’ home and was under their care, custody and control, on information and belief, they did nothing to deny his access to firearms or otherwise remove such dangerous instrumentalities from his possession,” the lawsuit alleges.

Gendron’s parents have not responded to ABC News’ attempts to reach them for comment. After their son pleaded guilty to the state charges in November, Paul and Pamela Gendron released a statement, saying, “Our hearts are broken over the devastation he caused to the innocent victims he killed and wounded, their families, and the African-American community in Buffalo and beyond.”

ABC News has reached out to the defendants for comment.

ABC News’ Max Zahn and Anthony McMahon contributed to this report.

 

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Former U.S. Marine Daniel Penny turned himself in to New York City police on Friday in connection with the chokehold death of Jordan Neely aboard a subway train.

Penny, 24, was placed under arrest for second-degree manslaughter and handcuffed. He appeared in court under police guard and did not enter a plea.

Assistant district attorney Joshua Steinglass said prosecutors conducted a “thorough investigation” that included interviews with eyewitnesses, 911 callers and responding officers before moving forward with the criminal charge.

Video showed Penny putting Neely in a chokehold on May 1 following outbursts from Neely on an F train. Several witnesses observed Neely making threats, Steinglass told the judge. Penny held Neely for several minutes, and at some point Neely stopped moving, but Penny continued to hold him for a period of time, Steinglass said.

Penny remained on the scene to talk with police, Steinglass noted.

Defense attorney Thomas Kenniff said Penny “has been fully cooperative throughout this process.”

Kenniff told reporters that Penny “turned himself in here voluntarily and with the sort of dignity and integrity that is characteristic of his dignity of service to this grateful nation.”

Penny’s surrender came one day after the Manhattan district attorney’s office confirmed that he would be arrested for second-degree manslaughter, for which the maximum penalty is 15 years in prison.

Neely family attorney Lennon Edwards is advocating for second-degree murder charges, saying Penny should have known Neely could die after seeing him struggle during the chokehold.

Penny “acted with indifference,” Neely family attorney Donte Mills added at a news conference hours after Penny turned himself in. “And we can’t let that stand.”

“For everybody saying, ‘I’ve been on the train and I’ve been afraid before, and I can’t tell you what I would’ve done in that situation.’ I’m gonna tell you — ask how you can help,” Mills said. “Please, don’t attack. Don’t choke, don’t kill, don’t take someone’s life.”

“We don’t want anybody afraid on the subway,” Mills said. “But we want people to look at those that may be there in that situation and say, ‘Why?’ And, ‘How can I help them or make a difference?'”

Attorneys for Penny said in a statement Thursday night that Penny “risked his own life and safety, for the good of his fellow passengers,” and “the unfortunate result was the unintended and unforeseen death of Mr. Neely.”

Neely, who was homeless at the time of his death, had a documented mental health history, according to police sources. Neely had been previously arrested for several incidents on the subway, though it’s unclear how many, if any, led to convictions.

Some witnesses reportedly told police that Neely was yelling and harassing passengers on the train, authorities said. Police sources told ABC News that Penny was not specifically being threatened by Neely when he intervened and that Neely had not become violent and had not been threatening anyone in particular.

In an earlier statement, Penny’s attorneys offered “condolences to those close to Mr. Neely” and claimed, “Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel,” and that the Marine veteran and others “acted to protect themselves.”

“Mr. Neely had a documented history of violent and erratic behavior, the apparent result of ongoing and untreated mental illness,” said the statement from the law firm of Raiser and Kenniff. “When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived. Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death.”

Neely’s death following the chokehold was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner’s office.

The Rev. Al Sharpton in a statement Friday called the charges against Penny “just step one in justice.”

“Let’s not forget that there were three people restraining him, and it is vital that the two others are also held accountable for their actions,” Sharpton said. “The justice system needs to send a clear, loud message that vigilantism has never been acceptable.”

The judge on Friday approved releasing Penny on bond. Penny’s attorney said the former Marine lives in New York City and is in college, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in architecture.

Kenniff noted, “There is nothing less indicative of flight risk than someone voluntarily surrendering.”

The district attorney’s office decided to move forward with charges without first going to a grand jury. The case will still be presented to a grand jury in the coming days as prosecutors work to secure an indictment, prosecutors said Friday.

Penny is set to return to court on July 17.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Former U.S. Marine Daniel Penny turned himself in to New York City police on Friday in connection with the chokehold death of Jordan Neely aboard a subway train.

Penny, 24, was placed under arrest for second-degree manslaughter and handcuffed. He appeared in court under police guard and did not enter a plea.

Assistant district attorney Joshua Steinglass said prosecutors conducted a “thorough investigation” that included interviews with eyewitnesses, 911 callers and responding officers before moving forward with the criminal charge.

Video showed Penny putting Neely in a chokehold on May 1 following outbursts from Neely on an F train. Several witnesses observed Neely making threats, Steinglass told the judge. Penny held Neely for several minutes, and at some point Neely stopped moving, but Penny continued to hold him for a period of time, Steinglass said.

Penny remained on the scene to talk with police, Steinglass noted.

Defense attorney Thomas Kenniff said Penny “has been fully cooperative throughout this process.”

Kenniff told reporters that Penny “turned himself in here voluntarily and with the sort of dignity and integrity that is characteristic of his dignity of service to this grateful nation.”

Attorneys for Penny said in a statement Friday, “We fully expect that Danny will be exonerated of all charges.”

Penny’s surrender came one day after the Manhattan district attorney’s office confirmed that he would be arrested for second-degree manslaughter, for which the maximum penalty is 15 years in prison.

Neely family attorney Lennon Edwards is advocating for second-degree murder charges, saying Penny should have known Neely could die after seeing him struggle during the chokehold.

Penny “acted with indifference,” Neely family attorney Donte Mills added at a news conference hours after Penny turned himself in. “And we can’t let that stand.”

“For everybody saying, ‘I’ve been on the train and I’ve been afraid before, and I can’t tell you what I would’ve done in that situation.’ I’m gonna tell you — ask how you can help,” Mills said. “Please, don’t attack. Don’t choke, don’t kill, don’t take someone’s life.”

“We don’t want anybody afraid on the subway,” Mills said. “But we want people to look at those that may be there in that situation and say, ‘Why?’ And, ‘How can I help them or make a difference?'”

Neely, who was homeless at the time of his death, had a documented mental health history, according to police sources. Neely had been previously arrested for several incidents on the subway, though it’s unclear how many, if any, led to convictions.

Some witnesses reportedly told police that Neely was yelling and harassing passengers on the train, authorities said. Police sources told ABC News that Penny was not specifically being threatened by Neely when he intervened and that Neely had not become violent and had not been threatening anyone in particular.

In an earlier statement, Penny’s attorneys offered “condolences to those close to Mr. Neely” and claimed, “Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel,” and that the Marine veteran and others “acted to protect themselves.”

“Mr. Neely had a documented history of violent and erratic behavior, the apparent result of ongoing and untreated mental illness,” said the statement from the law firm of Raiser and Kenniff. “When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived. Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death.”

Neely’s death following the chokehold was ruled a homicide.

“The investigation thus far has included numerous witness interviews, careful review of photo and video footage, and discussions with the Medical Examiner’s Office,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement Friday. “Jordan Neely should still be alive today, and my thoughts continue to be with his family and loved ones as they mourn his loss during this extremely painful time.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton in a statement Friday called the charges against Penny “just step one in justice.”

“Let’s not forget that there were three people restraining him, and it is vital that the two others are also held accountable for their actions,” Sharpton said. “The justice system needs to send a clear, loud message that vigilantism has never been acceptable.”

The judge on Friday approved releasing Penny on bond. Penny’s attorney said the former Marine lives in New York City and is in college, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in architecture.

Kenniff noted, “There is nothing less indicative of flight risk than someone voluntarily surrendering.”

The district attorney’s office decided to move forward with charges without first going to a grand jury. The case will still be presented to a grand jury in the coming days as prosecutors work to secure an indictment, prosecutors said Friday.

Penny is set to return to court on July 17.

ABC News’ Morgan Winsor and Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.