(LONDON) — Preparations are underway in South Africa’s coastal town of East London for Wednesday’s mass funeral service of 21 teenagers who died under mysterious circumstances at a bar last week.
The results of the toxicology report are not yet available, but it is widely believed that they died after inhaling toxic gas or fumes while partying in the Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park in the early hours on June 26.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will attend the service Wednesday.
The 12 girls and nine boys mysteriously died during and after a party organized at the Scenery Park venue. The mass service will take place on a sports field in Scenery Park, after which families will be able to bury their loved ones at separate cemeteries.
Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly letter to the public earlier this week that the country needs to have a “frank conversation” about alcohol consumption, saying increased social acceptability of young people drinking alcohol has become a serious problem in a country where the majority of the drinking population is already classified by the World Health Organization as binge drinkers.
The Eastern Cape Liquor Board has opened a criminal case against the tavern owner, Siyakhangela Ndevu, and wife, Vuyokazi, for allegedly selling alcohol to underage children.
Brig. Tembinkosi Kinana, a spokesperson for the South African Police Service, said the circumstances surrounding the incident are still under investigation.
“The investigation into the Scenery Park incident is still ongoing. There are no new developments at this stage. At an appropriate time and once the results are out, a formal statement will be issued. It has not yet been determined as to when the results will be out,” Kinana told ABC News.
No arrests have been made and no suspects have been named in connection with the investigation, according to police.
The Daily Dispatch, a South African newspaper published in East London, reported that the teens were attending a party at the Enyobeni Tavern to celebrate the end of June school exams. Their bodies were reportedly found strewn across tables, chairs and the dance floor with no visible signs of injuries.
A 22-year-old Scenery Park resident, Sibongile Mtsewu, told ABC News he was at the Enyobeni Tavern when the deadly incident unfolded. He said he was ordering drinks at the crowded club when suddenly the doors were closed and some type of chemical agent was released into the air.
“There was no way out,” Mtsewu previously told ABC News in an interview shortly after the incident. “There was no chance to breathe.”
ABC News’ Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.
(HIGHLAND PARK, Ill.) — The 21-year-old suspect in the mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in suburban Chicago that left seven dead and more than 30 wounded is an aspiring rapper with an apparent trail of violent social media posts that investigators are combing through.
Multiple law enforcement officers detained Robert “Bobby” Crimo III at gunpoint following a car chase hours after Monday’s massacre in the North Shore town of Highland Park.
Investigators are poring over social media posts on numerous platforms, including Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and Discord, which they believe are associated with Crimo.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office officials said at a news conference Tuesday that the investigation alleges that Crimo planned the attack for several weeks and opened fire on paradegoers from the roof of a business he accessed by an affixed ladder. Police alleged that Crimo fired more than 70 shots during the episode.
He was dressed in women’s clothing, apparently to blend in with the panicked crowd as he made his getaway, said Lake County Sheriff’s Sgt. Christopher Covelli.
Covelli said Crimo legally purchased the high-powered AR-15-style rifle he allegedly used in the attack in Illinois. Covelli said a second rifle, also purchased legally, was found in the car Crimo was driving.
He said Crimo also legally bought three other weapons, including two pistols, that investigators seized from his father’s home.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has told its law enforcement partners that Crimo is answering investigators’ questions and has made statements taking responsibility for the attack, according to multiple law enforcement sources.
Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart announced Tuesday afternoon that Crimo has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder. Rinehart said more charges are expected.
Steve Greenberg, an attorney for Crimo’s parents, said the family has retained two lawyers, Tom Durkin and Josh Herman, to represent their son. There was no immediate comment from the defense attorneys and Greenberg said it was unclear if the lawyers have yet met with the suspect.
“We are all mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and this is a terrible tragedy for many families, the victims, the paradegoers, the community, and our own. Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers go out to everybody,” Crimo’s parents said in a statement Greenberg released Tuesday afternoon.
The lawyer added, “The parents request that all respect their privacy as they try to sort thru this tragedy.”
At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Covelli detailed two prior contacts Crimo had with law enforcement. He said police checked on Crimo after he attempted suicide in April 2019, but no action was taken.
Covelli said police were called to Crimo’s home in September 2019 by a family member who claimed Crimo allegedly threatened to kill everyone in his house. He said no charges were filed in the incident, but police seized 16 knives, a dagger and a sword from Crimo and reported the incident to the Illinois State Police.
Sgt. Delilah Garcia of the Illinois State Police said no action was taken against Crimo in the September 2019 incident. She said at the time Crimo was not in possession of any firearms and did not have a firearms owner identification card or a pending application for one to revoke.
The suspect lived with his uncle, Paul Crimo, who told ABC News that he has been interviewed by the FBI. Paul Crimo told ABC News that while his nephew lived with him, they rarely had conversations. He said his nephew mostly focused on his music and stayed in his room and on his phone.
He said his nephew never espoused political views or mentioned weapons or firearms. He said his nephew didn’t have a job or many friends.
He said he last spoke to his nephew around 5 p.m. Sunday, but they just said hello while passing each other in the home they shared in the North Shore town of Highwood.
The uncle said his nephew was driving his mother’s car when he was taken into custody. He said his nephew’s car was still parked in front of his home on Tuesday. The car has a number 47 decal on the driver’s side door, matching a tattoo on his face.
A law enforcement source briefed on the case told ABC News Tuesday that investigators have identified posts from several social media platforms alleged to be tied to Crimo that discuss or depict acts of violence — including shooting people.
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which monitors and analyzes extremist content online, said in a briefing statement that it appears Crimo had an extensive online presence and that posts allegedly associated with him included mental health issues, hatred and a gravitation toward far-right and neo-fascist thoughts and ideologies.
One online post allegedly made by Crimo about 10 months ago includes a video that appears to be a portion of the Fourth of July parade route in Highland Park that was accompanied by music with a death theme, according to Strategic Dialogue.
Crimo, according to Strategic Dialogue, appears to have created videos that depicted mass shootings, as well as his own death. One video Crimo is believed to have posted portrays the aftermath of a school shooting and another uses animated figures to depict a mass shooting that mimicked the crime, according to Strategic Dialogue.
The posts believed to be from Crimo also include an online symbol for himself resembling a hate symbol associated with neo-Nazis, according to Strategic Dialogue. Similarly, Crimo’s content features the aesthetics of niche neo-fascist subcultures, the group said.
“He was not just crying out for help, he was screaming out for it,” said John Cohen, an ABC News contributor and the former acting undersecretary for intelligence and counterterrorism coordinator at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Covelli said Crimo was identified through surveillance video and by tracing the gun he allegedly left at the scene. Investigators also have not commented on a possible motive for the mass shooting.
Meanwhile, the wife of the rabbi at Chabad House in Highland Park told ABC News that Crimo came to their Passover service this year. She said Crimo left on his own after his presence raised concerns at the synagogue.
The synagogue now has armed security, given the heightened concerns of violence at religious institutions around the country.
Covelli said at Tuesday’s news conference that investigators have not unearthed any evidence suggesting a racial or religious motivation for the rampage.
Crimo was taken into custody more than eight hours after the Highland Park rampage when an all-points bulletin was issued naming him as a person of interest and describing the 2010 silver Honda Fit he borrowed from his mother. A North Chicago police officer spotted the car on U.S. Route 41 and attempted to stop Crimo, who led police on a brief chase before stopping and surrendering, authorities said.
Crimo was apparently raised in Highland Park, where his father, Robert Crimo Jr., owns a delicatessen.
Crimo’s father ran for mayor of Highland Park in 2019, but was handily defeated by incumbent Mayor Nancy Rotering, according to election results.
A Highland Park business owner who grew up with the elder Crimo told ABC News that he was “trying his hardest to help his community” but “probably didn’t have that much of a chance.”
Following Monday’s shooting, Rotering spoke of the tragedy during a news conference.
“On a day that we came together to celebrate community and freedom, we are instead mourning the tragic loss of life and struggling with the terror that was brought upon us,” Rotering said.
Heavily tattooed, including inked patterns on his face, neck and hands, Crimo was an amateur rapper who went by the stage name Awake the Rapper. One music video posted on YouTube appears to depict the aftermath of a school shooting in which Crimo is filmed alone in a classroom dressed in a helmet and bulletproof vest. A separate video shows Crimo sitting on a bed rapping while a newspaper featuring Lee Harvey Oswald hangs on the wall behind him.
Another video allegedly posted by Crimo shows a cartoon depiction of a person aiming a long gun at other characters with their hands up and on the ground, and a character wearing a shirt with a logo used on Crimo’s alleged social media accounts. The video also shows a cartoon character being shot by police.
Law enforcement sources told ABC News that Crimo’s music often referenced death and dying.
Spotify, where Crimo had a little over 16,000 monthly listeners, and Apple have removed Crimo’s accounts and music.
A YouTube spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News, “Following the horrific incident in Highland Park, our Trust and Safety teams identified and quickly removed violative content, in accordance with our Community Guidelines.”
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky and Stephanie Wash contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — As WNBA star Brittney Griner appeals to Joe Biden for help in getting released from Russian custody, her case is a “top priority” for the president, according to the White House.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during a briefing on Tuesday that Biden read Griner’s handwritten letter, which was sent to the White House on Monday, and her note was “very personal” to him.
“I’m not going to share any personal interaction that I had with the president,” Jean-Pierre told ABC News when asked about Biden’s reaction.
“I just wanted to confirm that he did read the letter. And I will say again, this is very personal to him. Especially when someone writes a letter in such a personal way … we have made this a priority,” she added.
Jean-Pierre wouldn’t say whether Biden was going to respond to Griner’s letter.
Griner personally reached out to Biden, urging him to help get her out of Russia — where she has been held for some five months for allegedly possessing hashish oil — according to her representatives.
In the handwritten letter from Griner, portions of which were made public, she expressed fears she will be held in Russia “forever.”
“As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” Griner wrote to the president.
The athlete was visiting Russia to play basketball in the off-season when she was detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport on Feb. 17 after being accused of having vape cartridges containing hashish oil, which is illegal in the country.
Griner’s detention was extended repeatedly, most recently through Dec. 20, which is the expected length of her trial. If convicted, Griner, 31, faces up to 10 years in prison.
“It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate [the Fourth of July] because freedom means something completely different to me this year,” Griner wrote in her letter to Biden.
Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, previously told “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts in May that she would like to speak with the president.
“I just keep hearing that, you know, he has the power. She’s a political pawn,” Cherelle Griner said. “So if they’re holding her because they want you to do something, then I want you to do it.”
At Tuesday’s briefing, Jean-Pierre wouldn’t say whether the White House was considering a meeting with Brittney Griner’s family, but she said that both Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan have spoken to Cherelle Griner and the administration will keep “open communication and have very honest conversations with them.”
“I just don’t have anything to share on what communication the president’s going to have with Mrs. Griner and her family,” Jean-Pierre told ABC News when asked about a potential meeting. “All I can confirm is that he’s read the letter, and he’s making this a priority.”
Last Friday marked the first day of Griner’s trial in Russia.
The Phoenix Mercury star appeared in person at a courtroom in Khimki, a suburb of Moscow, ABC News reported.
The U.S. government classified Griner’s case on May 3 as “wrongfully detained,” meaning the U.S. will more aggressively work to negotiate her release even as the legal case against her plays out, the State Department has said.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began one week after Griner was detained. Some officials are concerned that Americans jailed in Russia could be used as leverage in the ongoing conflict.
Griner’s family and friends gathered at a vigil outside the Russian consulate in New York City ahead of her trial last week, calling on the U.S. to bring her home. Her next court appearance is on Thursday.
Leaders and players in both the WNBA and the NBA have also called for Griner’s release and raised awareness about her case, as have advocates.
The WNBA, which kicked off its 2022 season on May 6, is honoring Griner with a floor decal bearing her initials and jersey number (42) on the sidelines of all 12 WNBA teams.
The 6-foot-9 center won an NCAA title at Baylor in 2012; a WNBA title with Phoenix, her current team, in 2014; and gold medals with the U.S. women’s team at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.
Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton said he wants Biden and Blinken to arrange a trip for faith leaders to see Griner in prison as part of a prayer visit.
“After speaking with her wife last week, I am deeply concerned for Brittney Griner’s physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing,” Sharpton said in a statement on Tuesday.
“She deserves to see the United States is doing something for her, so she can find the strength as this show trial goes on,” he said.
The public campaign to free Griner escalated following the release of U.S. Marine veteran Trevor Reed in April, who was freed from a Russian prison as part of a prisoner exchange. Former Marine Paul Whelan has also been detained in Russia since 2019.
Jean-Pierre on Tuesday said that the Biden administration was working on both Griner and Whelan’s cases just as hard as it done to secure Reed’s freedom.
“We are going to make this happen,” she said.
An international prisoner swap potentially involving Griner, Whelan and convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout has been discussed, according to Russian media reports, but it’s unclear if there has been any substantial movement on the issue. Russian officials have also indicated that they want Griner to stand trial.
Asked about a potential swap, Jean-Pierre said she “cannot speak to any discussions” regarding the process of securing the release of any American detained abroad.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that secrecy is crucial to ensure that efforts to secure the release of Griner and others detained abroad are not jeopardized.
“While we update families — and certainly in broad strokes — on our efforts, it’s not something that we are in a position to speak to publicly in any detail,” Price told reporters on Tuesday.
“We do not want to do anything, we do not want to say anything, that would potentially jeopardize the chances of seeing an American released or that would delay by a single day, a single hour or a single minute the safe return of an American to her his family and loved ones back here,” Price added.
ABC News’ Shannon Crawford, Ben Gittleson, Molly Nagle and Tanya Stukalova contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — House’s Jan. 6 committee announces next hearing date; expected to focus on who was in Capitol mob
Tal Axelrod and Adam Carlson, ABC News
(WASHINGTON) — The House select committee investigating Jan. 6 on Tuesday announced its next hearing: July 12 beginning at 10 a.m. ET.
The panel has been holding a series of public hearings since last month related to its year-long inquiry into the events before, during and after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol by pro-Trump rioters.
It has not yet been announced who will be testifying on July 12. The past hearings have stretched for several hours.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a member of the panel, indicated over the weekend that the next hearing would focus on the formation of the mob that ultimately descended on the Capitol last year, including the participation of several far-right groups.
“Who was participating, who was financing it, how it was organized, including the participation of these white nationalist groups like the Proud Boys, the Three Percenters, and others,” Schiff said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who served as the lead impeachment manager for the House proceedings against then-President Donald Trump after the insurrection, is anticipated to play a large role.
The last hearing featured lengthy testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to Trump’s last White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
Hutchinson’s appearance sparked days of criticism of Trump — including from other conservatives — after she testified that the former president was aware that attendees of his speech at the Ellipse earlier on Jan. 6 were armed before he asked for security measures to be reduced and ultimately urged them to march to the Capitol. Hutchinson also testified that when the Secret Service would not take Trump to the Capitol after his speech, he lunged for the steering wheel of his SUV and then at the neck of a Secret Service agent.
Trump adamantly denied her account. The Secret Service said it would cooperate fully with the panel, “including by responding on the record,” if investigators had any follow up questions over the alleged incident.
Other hearings the committee has held have focused on the Capitol insurrection itself; on Trump allies’ awareness that his voter fraud claims were false; and on the pressure campaign by Trump and those in his orbit to push states to not certify now-President Joe Biden’s win.
In her testimony last week, Hutchinson said she had heard chatter about the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers — two prominent far-right groups — in the days leading up to Trump’s speech at the Ellipse. She said that Rudy Giuliani, who was then Trump’s personal lawyer, was frequently seen around the White House at the same time.
Leaders of both the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers have been charged with seditious conspiracy over the groups’ roles in last year’s riot.
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department has filed suit against Arizona challenging its recently enacted voting law that requires proof of citizenship in order to vote in presidential elections.
The lawsuit contends that certain restrictions in Arizona’s House Bill 2492 directly violate Section 6 of the National Voter Registration Act and Section 101 of the Civil Rights Act.
The Supreme Court previously rejected an effort by Arizona in 2013 to require its residents to provide proof of citizenship in order to participate in federal elections, though after President Joe Biden’s victory against Donald Trump in 2020 the state quickly sought to implement a similar mandate in passing House Bill 2492.
“Arizona has passed a law that turns the clock back on progress by imposing unlawful and unnecessary requirements that would block eligible voters from the registration rolls for certain federal elections,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement Tuesday announcing the lawsuit.
Gov. Doug Ducey signed the bill into law on March 30.
“Election integrity means counting every lawful vote and prohibiting any attempt to illegally cast a vote,” Ducey wrote in a letter at the time he signed the bill. “H.B. 2492 is a balanced approach that honors Arizona’s history of making voting accessible without sacrificing security in our elections.”
Republicans have a slight majority in both the state Senate and House of Representatives.
The Justice Department’s lawsuit asks for a federal judge to prohibit several provisions of HB 2492 from being enforced.
In a press release, the Justice Department notes the new law with violate the Civil Rights Act “by requiring election officials to reject voter registration forms based on errors or omissions that are not material to establishing a voter’s eligibility to cast a ballot.”
Arizona requires voters to prove they are a U.S. citizen when they register to vote — the only state to do so — by providing a government-issued identification, like a driver’s license, tribal ID or passport. The 2013 Supreme Court ruling allowed the requirement for state elections, but Arizona cannot require proof of citizenship for federal elections, like president.
Arizona is one of the states where Trump has falsely contended he won in 2020. Biden defeated Trump by about 10,000 votes. A GOP-led review of the vote tally in Maricopa County, the state’s largest, reaffirmed Biden’s victory, and even increased his lead by a slight amount.
ABC News’ Mark Osborne contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The House select committee investigating Jan. 6 on Tuesday announced its next hearing: July 12 beginning at 10 a.m. ET.
The panel has been holding a series of public hearings since last month related to its year-long inquiry into the events before, during and after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.
The most recent hearing featured lengthy testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to Trump’s last White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(HIGHLAND PARK, Ill.) — As Abby Brosio stood with her father-in-law watching the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, on Monday morning, a hail of bullets began to fly from top of the building directly across the street.
“I remember looking around to try to figure out where the sound was coming from,” Brosio told “Good Morning America” on Tuesday morning. “And I, in fact, looked up at the neighboring business across the street and saw the shooter on the roof and I just screamed that it was a shooter.”
She said she saw “long hair and a gun.” As she turned to pull her 1-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son into Gearhead Outfitters, a store managed by her husband, Tony, she was grazed by a bullet, she said.
Her father-in-law was shot in the leg, she said.
Six people were killed and more than 24 others were injured in Monday’s mass shooting in Highland Park, a suburb north of Chicago, according to officials. Police said on Monday they took into custody a 22-year-old person of interest, Robert “Bobby” Crimo III, in connection with the incident.
Tony Brosio was inside Gearhead Outfitters as the shooting began. As parade spectators rushed the store, looking to take cover, he helped coordinate. Video from inside the store shows crowds running inside. Some stumble, others glance behind them.
“We were just trying to get as many people as we possibly could inside,” he told “GMA” on Tuesday. “Like I said, it was just instinct.”
Both the Brosios had the feeling that it “could never happen” to them that they’d be in an active shooting situation, he said.
“You alway have that, ‘It could never happen here,'” he said. “It just did.”
“It was like a dream. All I could say to myself was, ‘This isn’t real,'” Abby said.
As Abby and her father-in-law reached the safety of Gearhead Outfitters, she realized that they’d both been hit by bullets, she said. Both were taken to a local hospital and later released, she said.
(WASHINGTON) — Four U.S. Army veterans were awarded with the Medal of Honor Tuesday for their “acts of gallantry and intrepidity” during the Vietnam War half a century ago — after their cases got a fresh review.
President Joe Biden presented Specialist 5 Dwight W. Birdwell, Major John J. Duffy and Specialist 5 Dennis M. Fujii with the nation’s highest military honor at a White House ceremony on Tuesday morning. John Kaneshiro, the son of Staff Sergeant Edward N. Kaneshiro, accepted the award on his late father’s behalf.
The awards come after the Army concluded the decorated veterans’ previous honors should be elevated to the Medal of Honor, the United States military’s most prestigious award for bravery and heroism.
“Today, we’re setting the record straight. We’re upgrading the awards of four soldiers who performed acts of incredible heroism during the Vietnam conflict to respect the conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity of their service,” Biden said. “They went far above and beyond the call of duty. It’s a phrase always used but it just — it takes on life when you see these men.”
“Today’s ceremony presented a poignant reminder of the sacrifices of the service members who served with these men, especially those who never made it home,” the Congressional Medal of Honor Society said in a statement welcoming the recipients. “These newest Medal of Honor recipients wear the Medal on behalf of those who were lost and those whose freedom was secured by their sacrifice.”
Birdwell, who is also a former Cherokee Nation Supreme Court justice, becomes the first Native American honored for action in Vietnam and the first to receive the award for action in any conflict since 1973. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin introduced a directive last year ordering the Secretaries of the Military Departments to review Black and Native American war veterans for upgrades to the Medal of Honor.
“It’s a point of great pride for the Cherokee people and I think all native people to see a Native American get this honor,” Cherokee Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin told ABC News in an interview. “I think about the fact that Dwight Birdwell represents thousands of Native Americans who have served this country in military service since the 1970s and even before at such high numbers, disproportionately high numbers. I think it’s fitting and high time that someone get the Medal of Honor who’s a Native American.”
On Jan. 31, 1968, Birdwell moved directly into the line of fire, getting wounded in the process, to retrieve ammunition for his fellow soldiers.
Birdwell told ABC News his time in the Army gave him “a sense of discipline, enhanced respect for life, more respect for nature, and respect for people beyond the boundaries of this country.”
“Someone asked me if I feel like a hero. I don’t feel like I am, but I served with plenty, especially that day, and [I’m] honored to have served with them,” Birdwell said. “I’m really overwhelmed by the whole process. But again, proud for the Cherokee people, proud for the unit I served with, and personally very satisfied that it came about.”
In a 1972 battle for Fire Support Base Charlie, Duffy directed defense and facilitated the air evacuation of his team while under attack. He was the last to board an aiding helicopter.
“It’s a great honor. Each of those awards are appreciated, and recognizing your endeavors, your duty that you’ve done, and the pride you have in your uniform that you’ve earned in combat,” he said of his nomination. “And the same disciplines that applied in battle applied in life, whether it’s being a broker or any other occupation, journalist, etc., you’re focused, you’re trying to tell a story and you’re trying to do your job. So you learn discipline in the military — not just the Army but all the military — that serves you forever throughout life.”
After retiring from the Army, Duffy went on to work in publishing and finance before focusing on poetry. The Pulitzer Prize nominee’s works are engraved on two monuments.
In February 1971, Fujii served as crew chief of a helicopter ambulance. He is being honored for his role in several evacuations and tireless treatment of wounded Vietnamese military along the allied perimeter, even after a series of failed attempts to rescue him following a helicopter crash. Throughout this time, he directed strikes and defense until his eventual rescue.
“I was overwhelmed…the news it really shocked me,” Fujii told KITV. “I mean, to be congratulated by the president himself, the commander in chief, that’s something.”
On Dec. 1, 1966, Kaneshiro defended his squad in the trenches from enemy fire using six grenades and a rifle, allowing for their successful extrication.
Naomi Viloria and John Kaneshiro were young children when their father was killed in action on March 6, 1967. Viloria was 8 years old and her brother, who went on to enlist in the Army after high school, was only 4 months old.
“I didn’t know him. So you know, I didn’t have that father figure, but just reading the actions that he did in newspaper articles of the period, that told me he was a man of character,” he said. “So, you know, you put that together and say, ‘Wow, you know, I hope I can be like him.'”
Viloria told ABC News their family has worked for decades to have his actions reviewed and nearly gave up.
“But then finally, this year, right after my mother passed away, we were notified that his combat record was being under review and he could possibly be awarded the Medal of Honor, and I finally got the call from President Biden,” she said, adding that the family was “overjoyed” to hear the news.
“I think for us now, our family, it’s an honor that America has suggested we recognize his selflessness, his courageousness in the face of adversity,” John Kaneshiro said. “We’re happy that he was recognized, finally.”
ABC News’ Luis Martinez, Cindy Smith, and Abby Cruz contributed to this report.
(PHILADELPHIA) — Two police officers were shot during a Fourth of July fireworks show and concert on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia on Monday. Both officers were treated and released from the hospital later that night, according to police.
Sergio Diggs, 36, an officer assigned to highway patrol, received a graze wound to the forehead, police said. The round stopped in the officer’s hat. He is a 13-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department.
The other officer, John Foster, who was assigned to the Montgomery County Bomb Squad, sustained a gunshot wound to the right shoulder. The 44-year-old, who has 16 years of service, was present to work security at the event, as was the other injured officer.
The officers were standing on the sidewalk at the base of the Art Museum steps when the shooting began.
They both were transferred to the Jefferson University Hospital for treatment, according to WPVI, and police said they have been released.
The shooting took place in Center City on Monday night. The city Office of Emergency Management advised on Twitter to avoid the area.
This marks at least the second incident of gun violence around an Independence Day celebration in the United States, after at least six were killed in a shooting at a parade in Highland Park, Illinois.
A suspect in the Philadelphia shooting has not yet been named or arrested. Police said they are still investigating the shooting. A $20,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of the armed suspect, according to WPVI.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said at a late-night press conference that it had been “a laid-back, chill day” — “but we live in America.”
“If I had the ability to take care of guns,” he said, “I would.”
(FULTON COUNTY, Ga.) — The Fulton County special grand jury investigating possible criminal interference in Georgia’s 2020 elections has issued subpoenas for Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and several others in former President Donald Trump’s orbit.
Others who were issued subpoenas include John Eastman, Cleta Mitchell, Kenneth Chesbro and Jenna Ellis, all of whom advised Trump on ways to overturn President Joe Biden’s win in Georgia.
The special grand jury also subpoenaed attorney and podcast host Jacki Pick Deason.
The development was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, testified in front of Georgia lawmakers on several occasions in late 2020.
Eastman, who part of a plan to push then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject the official slate of Democratic electors in Georgia and other battleground states, also testified in front of Georgia’s legislators following the election, saying that there was “more than enough” evidence of fraud to warrant a different slate of electors.
At the end of its investigation, the special grand jury conducting the probe will, if appropriate, make recommendations to prosecutors, who would then need to decide whether to pursue any charges.
