(WASHINGTON) — Border Patrol apprehensions in the Southwest increased last month, as warming spring temperatures allowed migrants to more easily make their way to the U.S., according to Customs and Border Protection.
Migrant encounters by Border Patrol agents increased 25% from February to March, according to CBP, marking the lowest February to March rate of increase since President Joe Biden took office.
Historic Border Patrol data shows that increases in migration from February to March have been common across administrations — an indication of the seasonal trends.
“The January border enforcement measures continue to hold strong even against the typical migration patterns seen as we enter the warmer months,” a senior administration official told ABC News. “This month’s encounters are down 23% from last year, and the month-over-month change is the lowest seasonal increase seen in two years.”
The data released Monday shows that nationwide, authorities apprehended or detained migrants more than 250,000 times. Significant increases were reported by CBP in southern Florida, where some migrants land boats illegally, as well as along the northern border.
The Biden administration is under intense pressure to keep migrant apprehensions as low as possible. Some Republicans have seized on the record high levels of unauthorized migration seen last year, claiming it proves the border is not secure under Biden’s watch.
The number of apprehensions can also serve as an indicator of success for the administration’s recent dual-track approach of restricting asylum for some while opening alternative legal pathways for those applying for entry from outside the U.S.
The number of times Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans were apprehended decreased by 72% since early January, according to CBP data, when the administration announced it would send many unauthorized migrants from those countries back to Mexico.
Under a court ruling, the Biden administration continues to implement a controversial public health order issued by the Trump administration’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The order requires border authorities to expel large numbers of migrants rapidly from the border, usually in a matter of hours.
In January, the Mexican government agreed to accept the rapid return of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. Administration officials at the time said they intend to carry out these plans even if Title 42 ends. Immigration experts have said removing non-Mexicans to Mexico under standard immigration processes and outside of the emergency pandemic order would require full cooperation from Mexican authorities.
There may be fewer people from those four countries reaching the Southwest — but they’re still migrating, according to one country’s data. Panama recorded more Venezuelans crossing the notorious Darien Gap this March than compared to last year. Although not as high as the fall, those numbers have climbed back up — an indication that many are being forced to stay in Mexico now or go elsewhere along the way.
State Department Photo by Ron Przysucha/ Public Domain
(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken has confirmed an attack on a U.S. diplomatic convoy in Sudan amid ongoing violence in the region.
“Yesterday, we had an American diplomatic convoy that was fired on,” said Blinken, who is currently in Japan. “All people are safe.”
He called the attack “reckless, irresponsible and unsafe,” and said it’s being investigated.
Since heavy fighting erupted in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on Saturday, at least 97 civilians have been killed in the crossfire while 365 others have been wounded, according to a statement released Monday morning from the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate, a pro-democracy group monitoring casualties. The group noted there was “a number of injuries and deaths that are not included” because some “hospitals could not be accessed due to the difficulty of mobility and security situation in the country.”
“Severe damages have been confirmed” at several hospitals in Khartoum and other Sudanese cities, with some facilities now “completely out of service” after being bombed, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate, which called the issue “a clear violation of international humanitarian law.”
While the violence has spread from Khartoum to other parts of Sudan, “the heaviest concentration of fighting” is centered in the densely populated capital, according to the World Health Organization, the global health arm of the United Nations.
The clashes are the culmination of weeks of tensions between Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces, and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the Rapid Support Forces, a Sudanese paramilitary group. So far, neither has shown any indication of backing down. The two men were once allies who had jointly orchestrated a military coup in 2021 that dissolved Sudan’s power-sharing government and derailed its short-lived transition to democracy, following the ousting of a long-time dictator in 2019.
Blinken tweeted late Monday, “I spoke to both Sudanese Armed Forces Commander [Gen. Abdel Fattah al] Burhan & Rapid Support Forces Commander [Mohamed Hamdan] Dagalo and underscored the urgent need for a cease-fire. Too many civilian lives have already been lost. Stressed the importance of ensuring the safety of diplomatic personnel and aid workers.”
The White House on Monday called for de-escalation and an “immediate cease-fire without conditions” in Sudan.
“This dangerous escalation jeopardizes the progress made to date in the negotiations to restore Sudan’s democratic transition, and it undermines the aspirations of the Sudanese people,” White House spokesperson John Kirby said.
Kirby said the military leadership is responsible for protecting civilians, non-combatants and those from third countries, including U.S. diplomatic personnel.
“We’ve been in direct contact with both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, the SAF and the RSF, respectively, to urge them to end hostilities immediately, without preconditions. And we are consulting very closely with regional and other partners on the situation there in Sudan,” Kirby added.
He urged American citizens in Sudan to “treat this situation with the utmost seriousness.”
(LONDON) — Evan Gershkovich, a “Wall Street Journal” reporter who has been charged with spying in Russia, arrived in court for a scheduled appeal hearing on Tuesday.
The reporter, a correspondent with the paper’s Moscow bureau, stands accused of “acting on the instructions of the American side” and collecting state secrets about the military.
Moscow City Court is expected to hear an appeal of the espionage charge from Gershkovich’s legal team, Tatyana Nozhkina and Maria Korchagina of the ZKS law firm, according to the Wall Street Journal. The hearing is scheduled for 12:15 p.m. local time, according to the court.
Gershkovich arrived after noon local time, wearing a checkered shirt and jeans. He stood inside a glass detention area within the courtroom, a standard practice for criminal defendants in the Russian court system.
Lynne Tracy, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, was present in the courtroom.
Russia’s FSB intelligence agency said on March 30 that it had detained the WSJ journalist for spying.
“It is established that Evan Gershkovich, acting on the instruction of the American side, was collecting information consisting of state secrets, about the activity of one of the enterprises of the Russian military industrial complex. He was arrested in Ekaterinburg during an attempt to receive secret information,” according to Interfax, a Russian state-affiliated news agency, which quoted FSB officials.
The Wall Street Journal said the same day that it “vehemently denies” the spying allegations brought by Russia’s intelligence service against its reporter.
The paper “seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter,” a WSJ spokesperson said in a statement, adding, “We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family.”
“He is a distinguished journalist and his arrest is an attack on a free press and it should spur outrage in all free people and governments around the world,” Emma Tucker, WSJ editor-in-chief, and Almar Latour, WSJ publisher and Dow Jones CEO, said in a joint statement.
U.S. officials on April 10 said they determined Gershkovich had being “wrongfully detained” by Russia, a designation that would allow the U.S. government to more aggressively advocate for his freedom.
Tracy visited the detained reporter on Monday, according to the State Department.
“I can report based on what Ambassador Tracy has said, he’s in good health and good spirits considering the circumstances,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters. “We continue to call for his immediate release from this unjust detention.”
(NEW YORK) — More than a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, the countries are fighting for control of areas in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian troops have liberated nearly 30,000 square miles of their territory from Russian forces since the invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022, but Putin appeared to be preparing for a long and bloody war.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Apr 18, 4:52 AM EDT
Putin visits military in occupied Kherson Region
Russian President Vladimir Putin made a trip to Kherson and Luhansk, visiting a military headquarters in occupied territory in Ukraine.
Putin arrived via helicopter at the headquarters of an army group in occupied Kherson, according to video released on Tuesday by the Kremlin.
In brief remarks after he arrived, Putin said he didn’t want to distract troops from their mission, saying his tour of the installation would be in a “businesslike manner, briefly, but concretely,” according to Interfax, a Russian state-affiliated news wire.
“It is important for me to hear your opinion on how the situation is developing, to listen to you, to exchange information,” he said, according to Interfax.
Apr 17, 6:19 AM EDT
Putin critic sentenced to 25 years
A Moscow court has sentenced one of Russia’s best-known opposition leaders, whose family live in the U.S., to 25 years in prison in what is widely seen a show trial.
Vladimir Kara-Murza is the most high-profile opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin to be jailed since Alexey Navalny.
Kara-Murza’s extraordinarily harsh sentence is one of the lengthiest any opposition figure has received under Putin and illustrates how repressive Russia has become during the war in Ukraine, reverting to something much closer to the USSR where no opposition is tolerated.
Kara-Murza was convicted of treason, as well as “discrediting Russia’s armed forces,” a new law that effectively criminalizes criticizing the war in Ukraine. He was also convicted of belonging to a banned organization. The charges are widely seen as politically motivated.
Kara-Murza is one of Russia’s best-known pro-democracy figures and a veteran critic of Putin.
Kara-Murza, who holds both British and Russian citizenship, spent many years living in the United States and his wife and children still live in Virginia. He was close to the late U.S. Sen. John McCain, who championed human rights in the former Soviet Union.
Dozens of journalists and Western diplomats attended the court hearing on Monday, including the U.S. ambassador who read out a statement condemning the sentence.
“We support Mr. Kara-Murza and every Russian citizen to have a voice in the direction of their country. Mr. Kara-Murza and countless other Russians believe in and hope for a Russia where fundamental freedoms will be upheld. And we will continue to share those hopes and work for that outcome,” Amb. Lynne Tracy said.
Kara-Murza previously has survived being poisoned not once but twice. In 2015 and then again in 2017, he suffered organ failure after being exposed to an unknown toxin. Independent researchers later linked the poisoning to the same team of FSB poisoners who targeted Navalny.
He chose to return to Russia after the war began, believing it was important to continue to campaign for freedom in his country and has been an outspoken critic of the invasion.
His trial was held entirely behind closed doors, but a letter containing his closing statement to the court has been released to reporters.
“I only blame myself for one thing,” Kara-Murza said in the statement. “I failed to convince enough of my compatriots and politicians in democratic countries of the danger that the current Kremlin regime poses for Russia and for the world.”
“Criminals are supposed to repent of what they have done. I, on the other hand, am in prison for my political views. I also know that the day will come when the darkness over our country will dissipate.
The parents of Wall Street Journalist journalist Evan Gershkovich spoke in an interview with with the paper Friday, the first time since their son was detained in Russia in March.
Mikhail and Ella Gershkovich, who were born in the Soviet Union and married after emigrating to the U.S. separately in 1979, talked about how much he wanted to work for the Journal and cover Russia.
“He said I’m just one of the few left there,” Ella Gershkovich, his mother, said of his time working in Russia during the Ukraine war.
The couple said their family is keeping hope that their son will be returned.
The couple said their family is keeping hope that their son will be released.
“It’s one of the American qualities we absorbed. Be optimistic, believe in happy ending. That’s where we stand right now, but I am not stupid. I understand what’s involved, but that’s what I choose to believe,” Ella Gershkovich said.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Apr 14, 2:52 PM EDT
6 dead, including 1 child, after Russia attacks Slovyansk
Russian forces shelled Slovyansk, a city in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, Friday, Andrii Yermak, the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, said on Telegram.
At least seven explosions were heard in the city in the area near a school, and three buildings were struck, Yermak said. Russia hit three five-story buildings in the attack, he added.
Six civilians, including one child, were killed and 17 people have been wounded, as of Friday afternoon, officials said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared a video of the attack on his Telegram page and condemned Russian forces.
He said there are still people trapped in the rubble.
“The evil state once again demonstrates its essence, just killing people in broad daylight, [and] ruining, destroying all life,” he said.
-ABC News’ Oleksiy Pshemyskiy and Ellie Kaufman
Apr 12, 7:12 PM EDT
Singer Brad Paisley visits Ukraine for 1st time with Senate delegation, meets with Zelenskyy
Country singer Brad Paisley visited Ukraine for the first time on Wednesday and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to see firsthand what’s happening in the war-torn country, according to Ukrainian fundraising platform UNITED24.
Paisley, who serves as a global ambassador for UNITED24 and its campaign to help rebuild Ukraine, performed his song “Same Here” while in St. Michael’s Square in Kyiv.
Paisley, who went with a bipartisan U.S. Senate delegation, also played for American troops in Poland, UNITED24 said.
“It’s an emotional experience seeing all of this firsthand,” Paisley said during a press conference. “For me, looking around this city and being here for the first time, I’m absolutely struck by the resilience of life and the beautiful nature of the way this city is trying to thrive in the middle of conflict.”
Apr 12, 5:59 PM EDT
2 US citizens died while fighting in Ukraine, State Dept. says
Two Americans have died while volunteering to fight in Ukraine, he U.S. Department of State said Wednesday.
Edward Wilton and Grady Kurpasi died in combat during the conflict, bringing the total number of Americans killed to at least eight.
Wilton, 22, died on April 7 fighting in Bakhmut, his half brother Parker Cummings told ABC News. He was from Marianna, Florida.
Wilton served in the U.S. Army, Cummings said, and informed his half brother about his plans to fight in Ukraine through a message sent from a plane en route to Poland on April 10, 2022.
“My brother was very selfless. My brother was very honorable and traditional,” Cummings told ABC News. “He cared more about freedom for all than for his own safety. Edward was a true hero and he will be missed until we see him again.”
Joshua Cropper, who told ABC News he fought with Wilton in Ukraine’s International Legion between April and early July 2022, said of Wilton: “He was so young, but immensely brave. Fearless. We’d need three guys to do any task, he’s always going to have his hand up. He was as mature as anybody I’ve ever known.”
Kurpasi was reportedly last seen in April 2022 and was widely reported to be missing last June.
As recently as last fall, his family said they believed he was in critical condition in a Russian-controlled hospital in Donetsk, but it’s not clear exactly when he was confirmed dead or if he was ever hospitalized.
A GoFund Me page organized on behalf of Kurpasi’s wife provides few details on his time in Ukraine, but states that he “ended up leading a squad into battle and was killed in action.”
“We can confirm the death of a U.S. citizen in Ukraine. We are in touch with the family and providing all possible consular assistance,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement when asked about his case. “When a U.S. citizen dies overseas, including in Ukraine, the Department of State supports the legal representative and family of the deceased in numerous ways, including by providing information on the disposition of remains and estates and issuing a consular report of death.”
The spokesperson added: “The U.S. government takes its role in such a situation very seriously, providing all appropriate assistance through the legal representative, next of kin or their designee.”
Regarding Wilton, a State Department official confirmed that a U.S. citizen died near Bakhmut and said they’re in touch with the family and providing all appropriate consular services.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford and Chris Looft
Apr 12, 2:50 PM EDT
Efforts to pressure Russia to release WSJ reporter ‘senseless and futile,’ Russia says
Days after the U.S. designated Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich as wrongfully detained in Russia, Russian officials referred to pressure from the U.S. to release him as futile.
“Any attempts to put pressure on the Russian authorities and the court, insisting on a ‘special treatment’ for U.S. citizens who have violated Russian law, are senseless and futile,” the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
After some missed calls, President Joe Biden finally connected with the parents of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed Tuesday.
“He felt it was really important to connect with Evan’s family,” she told reporters on Air Force One as the president travels to Ireland.
Meanwhile, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Gershkovich’s detention is “pretty fresh” and officials are still trying to get consular access to Gershkovich, which they have not been able to do.
He would not get into any specific conversations the U.S. is having with Russians about releasing Gershkovich or if a prisoner swap is a possibility.
“I just want to make a couple of things clear that is, the determination of wrongful detention, it doesn’t start the clock necessarily on communicating with the Russians about getting him released,” Kirby said. “We’re very early in this process here and I certainly, I think you can understand why I wouldn’t talk about any discussions we might be having with the Russians about his release or Paul [Whelan]’s release. We certainly wouldn’t do that.”
Kirby said the administration is “certainly having discussions about what we can do to get him released.”
“I don’t want to go into details about these internal deliberations, having things out in the public sphere viscerally might actually make it harder to get Evan and Paul home, and that’s what we’re focused on,” Kirby said.
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Apr 10, 4:28 PM EDT
Gershkovich designated as wrongfully detained by Russia
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has determined that Wall Street Journalist reporter Evan Gershkovich is being wrongfully detained by Russia, according to a statement released Monday afternoon.
Two Americans are now considered to be wrongfully detained by Russia — Gershkovich and Paul Whelan.
Gershkovich’s case will now be transferred to the Office of the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, the U.S. government’s top hostage negotiator.
Gershkovich, a 31-year-old New Jersey native who has lived and worked in Moscow as an accredited journalist for the last six years, was in a restaurant in Yekaterinburg on March 29 when Russia’s Federal Security Service arrested him on espionage charges that the Wall Street Journal, his colleagues and the U.S. government have said are absurd.
(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) — The Clay County Prosecutor’s Office announced that it filed two criminal charges against a suspect in the April 13 shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl in Kansas City, Missouri.
Andrew Lester, an 85-year-old white man, was charged with one count of felony assault in the first degree and one count of armed criminal action, also a felony, Clay County prosecuting attorney Zachary Thompson said during a press conference Monday evening.
The 16-year-old Black teenager was shot Thursday night by a homeowner in Kansas City after he accidentally went to the wrong address to pick up his siblings, police said on Sunday.
“He knowingly caused physical injury to [Yarl] by shooting him,” Thompson said, adding that the first count is a class A felony with a sentence of up to life in prison, while the second count is an unclassified felony and carries a range of punishment of 3-15 years in prison.
A warrant was issued for Lester’s arrest and a bond was set at $200,000, Thompson added. It’s unclear if Lester has retained an attorney.
In his statement to police, Lester said he “had just laid down in bed when he heard the doorbell ring,” according to the probable cause statement.
Lester told police he picked up his gun, a .32 Smith & Wesson 1888 revolver, and went to the front door, which consists of an interior main door and exterior glass storm door, both of which were locked, the statement reads.
“Lester stated he opened the interior door, and saw a black male approximately 6 feet tall pulling on the exterior storm door handle. He stated he believed someone was attempting to break into the house, and shot twice within a few seconds of opening the door,” the statement reads.
Lester told police he had never seen the man before and that “no words were exchanged during the incident and the male had not said anything prior to pulling on the door handle,” according to the probable cause statement.
The suspect told police “it was the last thing he wanted to do, but he was ‘scared to death’ due to the male’s size,” his own age, and his “inability to defend himself,” the statement reads.
Police conducted an informal cursory interview with Yarl at Children’s Mercy Hospital on Friday, according to the probable cause statement. Yarl told police he parked in the driveway, went to the front door, “pressed the doorbell and waited outside the front door,” the statement reads. Yarl told police the man inside “took a long time but finally opened the door holding a firearm,” and then “he was immediately shot in the head and fell to the ground,” according to the statement.
Yarl told police he got up and “ran away to keep from being shot,” and that the man allegedly said “don’t come around here,” according to the probable cause statement.
Yarl told police he went to multiple residences to ask for help and tell people to call the police, the statement reads.
Attorney Lee Merritt, who represents the Yarl family along with attorney Ben Crump, told ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis in an interview Monday that the family is “relieved” that charges have been filed.
“Because of the national outpouring, because of the community of Missouri that stood up, because of all the national organizers and people who have lent their voice — it seems that the prosecutors and law enforcement agencies on the ground are taking the case more seriously,” Merritt said.
The case garnered national attention over the weekend, and the White House confirmed to ABC News that President Joe Biden spoke with the Yarl family on Monday.
“This evening, the president spoke by phone to Ralph Yarl and shared his hope for a swift recovery,” the White House said Monday night.
“Ralph just got off the phone with the president of the United States today, who assured him that, you know, that he was and the rest of the nation was invested in justice for him,” Merritt told ABC News.
Ralph’s aunt Faith Spoonmore told ABC News Live Prime in an interview Monday before charges were announced that Ralph was shot in the head through a glass door and then in the arm and suffered a traumatic brain injury and an injury in his arm.
“He is healing. We are taking it one day at a time,” she said, adding that the shooting has also taken an emotional toll on the family.
The charges came after protests erupted in Kansas City over the weekend after Lester, who was unidentified at the time, was taken into custody and then released pending an investigation by the Kansas City Police Department.
“We understand how frustrating this has been,” Thompson said. “But I can assure you that the criminal justice system is working and will continue to work. As with any serious case, we approached this one in an objective and impartial manner.”
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said during a press conference Sunday evening that after the shooting, the suspect was taken into police custody and placed on a 24-hour investigative hold but had since been released while police investigate and present evidence to the prosecutor’s office.
“After consulting with the Clay County Prosecutor’s Office, the homeowner was released pending further investigation due to the need to obtain a formal statement from the victim, forensic evidence and compile additional information for a case file to be presented,” Graves said on Sunday.
Police announced on Monday afternoon that they submitted the case to the Clay County Prosecutor’s Office; prosecutors announced the charges two hours later.
Crump and Merritt said in a statement released Monday evening that the family is “extremely relieved that criminal charges are finally moving forward.”
“‘Justice delayed is justice denied.’ We are relieved that charges are finally moving forward but are disappointed in the delay that necessitated national outcry for an obvious crime,” Merritt said in a statement. “We are cautiously optimistic about accountability and justice.”
Merritt said that Ralph was released from the hospital on Saturday and is in the care of his doctors at home. He said that the family now wants to “see this man held accountable to the full extent of the law.”
“Despite of everything, we are grateful that he is alive because considering what he went through, I don’t think the person who did this intended that he will be alive,” Spoonmore told ABC News. “… We are upset, we are angry, but we also understand that it could have been much worse.”
(CHICAGO) — The city of Chicago faced a wave of gun violence this weekend that saw 35 people injured and eight people dead, according to the Chicago Police Department.
Police said that on Friday, a few minutes after 8 p.m., local time, a male suspect wearing all black entered a local business and fired into the crowd, wounding a man who was shot twice in the stomach, who later died at Loyola University Medical Center, and also injuring a 65-year-old man who was shot in the leg and transported to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he is listed in good condition.
In another incident on Friday, a 32-year-old man was shot in both feet while standing in an alley. He was transported to a local hospital and is in good condition, police said. No arrests were made.
Another man was outside his car Friday when he was allegedly shot in his left foot. He ended up driving himself to Mt. Sinai Hospital and is in good condition. Police did not make an arrest in the incident.
Two teenagers were also shot on the sidewalk in the 3700 block of South Wabash Avenue, police said. One victim, 15, was shot in the foot and was sent to Comer Children’s Hospital and listed in good condition.
The other victim, described as being in his late teens, was shot in the abdomen and was sent to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he later died, according to Chicago police.
In the early hours of Saturday, a 21-year-old man was found unresponsive on the street with a gunshot wound to the stomach, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
An off-duty Chicago police officer died by suicide on Sunday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to law enforcement officials. He was found unresponsive inside his vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A 30-year-old man was shot in the face on Sunday afternoon after he was approached by four people while he was walking, according to police. The suspects fled into a nearby building, prompting a SWAT response.
The victim was pronounced dead at a local hospital and SWAT is investigating the incident, police said.
Chicago police responded to calls early Monday morning after midnight of a 20-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman shot inside their crashed vehicle in the city’s Bronzeville neighborhood.
An initial investigation indicates that the two individuals were approached by two, armed male suspects who attempted to steal their car. The victims attempted to drive away when the suspects allegedly shot into their car, which crashed into a parked vehicle, police said.
The male victim was shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center. The woman was shot in the foot and was sent to the same hospital, where she is listed in good condition.
Law enforcement officials are investigating all of the shooting incidents.
(DADEVILLE, Ala.) — Four people were killed and 32 others injured when a mass shooting broke out at a crowded sweet 16 birthday party in rural Dadeville, Alabama, on Saturday night, authorities said.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency has updated the number of people injured during the shooting Saturday night to 32.
Police are still investigating the incident and are trying to “solidify a motive and potential suspects,” the ALEA said.
-ABC News’ Matt Foster
Apr 17, 2:19 PM EDT
VP Harris: ‘Enough is enough’
Vice President Kamala Harris tweeted Monday that “enough is enough” in the wake of “another senseless mass shooting,” and called on state and federal legislators to “step up and act.”
“Parents shouldn’t have to pray their babies come home same from school or a birthday party,” Harris tweeted. “The majority of Americans, including gun owners, support commonsense gun safety laws. We need leaders in state houses and Congress with the courage to step up and act.”
Apr 17, 11:23 AM EDT
Slain victims were ages 17 to 23
Tallapoosa County Coroner Mike Knox has identified the four people declared dead from Saturday night’s shooting: 23-year-old Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, 19-year-old Marsiah Emmanuel Collins, 18-year-old Philstavious Dowdell and 17-year-old Shaunkivia Nicole Smith.
Dowdell and Smith were both seniors at Dadeville High School.
Apr 17, 9:32 AM EDT
Police have ‘solid leads’ but need help from public
The Dadeville Police Department has “solid leads” as they search for the suspected shooter, but authorities still need help from the public, Dadeville Police Chief Jonathan Floyd told ABC News on Monday.
Floyd asked anyone with photos or videos from Saturday night’s sweet 16 party to come forward.
Due to the department’s manpower and resources, Floyd said the Alabama State Bureau of Investigations is taking the lead with the investigation.
-ABC News’ Elwyn Lopez
Apr 16, 7:00 PM EDT
Star high school athlete killed in shooting
One of the four people killed in the mass shooting in Dadeville, Alabama, was a star high school football player and track team member, his coach told ABC News.
Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, a senior at Dadeville High School, had committed to attending Jacksonville State University on a football scholarship, said coach Roger McDowell.
McDowell said Dowdell was at a sweet 16 birthday party at a venue in Dadeville Saturday night when a shooting erupted.
In addition to those killed, at least 28 people were injured. McDowell said Dowdell’s mother, who was a chaperone at the party, was among those hurt, shot twice in the legs.
Rich Rodriguez, Jacksonville State’s head football coach, said in a post on Twitter Sunday, that the death of Dowdell and the other victims is a “senseless tragedy.”
“He was a great young man with a bright future,” Rodriguez tweeted. “My staff and I are heartbroken and hope that everyone will support his family through this difficult time.”
McDowell said he also knew a teenage girl who was killed in the shooting. He said she was a senior and the manager of the track and football teams.
In addition to being a standout wide receiver, Dowdell was also a member of the high school track team, McDowell said.
“Phil was humble with a major smile,” McDowell told ABC News. “He had one goal to get to the NFL and take care of his mom.”
The number of people injured during the course of the incident is 28, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said Sunday.
Some of those injuries are critical, and there’s a wide variety of injures, according to the ALEA.
Authorities didn’t mention a suspect or suspects, or an arrest, as of Sunday evening. Police said earlier in the day there was “no public safety risk at this time.”
Central Alabama Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for any information.
-ABC News’ Matt Foster
Apr 16, 4:20 PM EDT
Biden calls on congress to enact gun reform
President Joe Biden released a statement Sunday calling on Congress to enact “common sense” gun control legislation in response to shootings over the weekend in Alabama and Kentucky that left a total of six people dead.
“This morning, our nation is once again grieving for at least four Americans tragically killed at a teen’s birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama as well as two others killed last night in a crowded public park in Louisville,” Biden said. “Jill and I are praying for their families, and for the many others injured and fighting for their lives in the wake of this weekend’s gun violence.”
As he has done in previous mass shootings, Biden urged Congress to enact gun reform legislation.
“What has our nation come to when children cannot attend a birthday party without fear? When parents have to worry every time their kids walk out the door to school, to the movie theater, or to the park?” Biden said. “Guns are the leading killer of children in America, and the numbers are rising — not declining.”
Biden said the level of gun violence in America is “outrageous and unacceptable,” and noted that Americans “agree and want lawmakers to act on common sense gun safety reforms.”
“Instead, this past week Americans saw national Republican elected leaders stand alongside the NRA in a race to the bottom on dangerous laws that further erode gun safety. Our communities need and deserve better,” said Biden.
Apr 16, 1:05 PM EDT
Biden briefed on Dadeville shooting
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the deadly shooting at a birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, according to the White House.
Biden and his staff are closely monitoring the investigation and has been in touch with local officials and law enforcement to offer support, according to the White House.
Apr 16, 12:40 PM EDT
Police chief pleads for prayer
An emotional Dadeville police chief pleaded for prayer for his city on Sunday and law enforcement investigators pleaded for tips from the public in finding those responsible for a shooting at a birthday party that left four dead and multiple people injured.
“The city of Dadeville is a tight-knit community, full of wonderful people. I ask you to please keep our community in your prayers. I ask you to please keep my police department in your prayers,” Police Chief Jonathan Floyd said at a news conference.
Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency confirmed the shooting broke out at a birthday party and asked for any witnesses to call the state police tip line at .
Burkett also confirmed that four people were killed and “a multitude” of people were injured, but did not disclose the conditions of those wounded.
Burkett did not take questions during the news conference. He released no information on whether any arrests have been made in the incident.
Tallapoosa County Schools Superintendent Raymond Porter said grief counselors will be at Dadeville schools on Monday, but did not say whether any students were among the dead or injured.
The district will make “every effort to comfort” children impacted, said Porter.
“Don’t lose sight of the fact that those are the ones most impacted by this situation,” said Porter, who also called on local clergy to reach out to families of those killed or injured to offer assistance.
“I’m also asking that you please do not let this moment define what you think of the city of Dadeville,” Floyd said. “What we’re dealing with is something no community should have to endure.”
Apr 16, 10:48 AM EDT
Loved ones of those killed, injured say shooting preceded by argument: Pastor
Ben Haynes, the senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Dadeville, told ABC News Sunday morning that he’d been at a hospital overnight with the families of those killed and injured.
Haynes said family members told him gunfire erupted inside a small venue where a birthday party was taking place when tempers flared during an argument. Haynes said there were more than 50 people at the party when the shooting occurred.
Apr 16, 10:14 AM EDT
‘I grieve with Dadeville’: Alabama governor
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey released a statement Sunday expressing grief over a shooting at a birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, that left four people dead and multiple others injured.
“This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians. Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge,” Ivey tweeted.
(OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.) — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has called for the resignation of several local officials following the release of a recording that allegedly captured comments he called “hateful rhetoric” that were made at a McCurtain County commissioners’ meeting.
“I am both appalled and disheartened to hear of the horrid comments made by officials in McCurtain County,” Stitt said in a statement. “There is simply no place for such hateful rhetoric in the state of Oklahoma, especially by those that serve to represent the community through their respective office. I will not stand idly by while this takes place.”
According to the recording captured by McCurtain Gazette reporter Chris Willingham, county officials discussed plans to beat, kill and hide the bodies of local newspaper reporters, including Willingham.
Willingham is currently involved in a lawsuit against county investigator Alicia Manning, the McCurtain County Sheriff’s Department and the Board of County Commissioners in which he claims Manning defamed him and violated his civil rights, according to the McCurtain Gazette.
In Oklahoma, all meetings of public bodies must be open to its residents. However, according to the Gazette, after the public dispersed following a March 6 public meeting, officials continued to discuss county business not listed on the agenda.
According to Oklahoma law, consent to record is not required to record conversations in public where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. The newspaper said the recording is “legally obtained.”
“I know where two big deep holes are here if you ever need them,” said one official,, according to the Gazette. Another official responds: “I’ve got an excavator.”
“I’ve known two or three hit men, they’re very quiet guys,” said the official believed to be Jennings, according to local reports. “… And would cut no f—ing mercy.”
“If a hair on his wife’s head, Bruce Willingham’s head, or any of those people that really were behind all that, if any hair on their head got touched by anybody, who would be the bad guy?” said an official believed to be county investigator Alicia Manning.
Jennings can allegedly be heard also making racist comments in the recording, saying that “if it was back in the day” when officers “would take a damn Black guy and whoop their a– and throw him in the cell? I’d run for f—ing sheriff.”
He added, “Take them down to Mud Creek and hang them up with a damn rope. But you can’t do that anymore. They got more rights than we got.”
The governor said he will be calling on the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations to look into “whether any illegal conduct has occurred.” The OSBI, however, told ABC News it has not yet received a request.
The state Office of the Attorney General is investigating, a spokesperson told ABC News.
Stitt called for the resignation of Manning, District 2 Commissioner Mark Jennings, McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy, who are allegedly heard in the recorded conversations, as well as Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix, who is said to have been present.
Residents have begun protesting outside of local government buildings to push for accountability regarding the comments.
Willingham, at the center of the alleged threats, told News9, he was “was completely appalled and frightened, quite frankly” upon hearing the recording.
ABC News has reached out to the Board of County Commissioners for comment.
(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) — The Clay County Prosecutor’s Office announced that it filed two criminal charges against a suspect in the April 13 shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl in Kansas City, Missouri.
Andrew Lester was charged with one count of felony assault in the first degree and one count of armed criminal action, also a felony, police said Monday.
The 16-year-old Black teenager was shot Thursday night by a homeowner in Kansas City after he accidentally went to the wrong address to pick up his siblings, police said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(AUSTIN, Texas) — A bill described as “anti-vaccine” is moving through the Texas legislature and could give lawmakers the power to make decisions about vaccines in schools rather than doctors or administrators.
SB 1024, which was recently passed by a Senate committee — and will soon be voted on by the Texas Senate and the House — could limit schools and local health departments from being able to require or recommend immunizations.
While the proposed legislation mainly focuses on ending COVID-19 restrictions and barring COVID-19 vaccine requirements, public health experts say it could have implications for any kind of vaccine.
The bill states “every child shall be immunized against diphtheria, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, measles, meningococcal disease, mumps, pertussis, polio, rubella, tetanus, and varicella” but not any other disease.
This language could apply to vaccines that are currently in development or for shots that don’t yet exist.
What’s more, legislators would be able to decide whether to add or remove vaccines that are required for students in kindergarten through 12th grade in Texas.
“This is a very concerning trend because it’s not just about COVID,” Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, told ABC News. “It’s not even just about future pandemics, although that’s worrisome as well.”
“It’s a now thing and it will have immediate potential implications by cherry-picking who gets vaccinated and who gets mandated and how much of the population is protected against diseases.”
Chin-Hong said diseases considered to be eliminated from the United States due to vaccines have cropped up in recent years, including several outbreaks of measles and a recent case of polio identified in New York last year.
Health experts say that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective and that the bill is the most recent example of a trend of anti-vaccine legislation that has swept the country.
“There is no doubt…that the COVID vaccines are an extraordinary triumph,” Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told ABC News. “They’ve been very effective, particularly in preventing severe disease, a kind that requires hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and could lead to death.”
Schaffner continued, “They’ve been used in millions of people around the world. They’re no longer new. They’re no longer experimental. They’re really very solidly established vaccines.”
He said bills like this cast doubt on public health experts and further erode public trust.
The bill authored by Republican State Senator Lois Kolkhorst, who is the chairwoman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, which just passed the bill.
If the bill is passed and signed into law, it would go into effect Sept. 1, 2023.
Kolkhorst’s office did not immediately return ABC News’ request for comment, but this is not the first bill she’s introduced regarding vaccine restrictions.
One bill, SB 1025, prohibits the use of vaccine passports to certify vaccination status and would implement a tracking system for adverse events following the administration of vaccines and booster doses.
Another bill, SB 1026, prevents governments, courts, schools and employers from requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination and from discrimination based on COVID-19 vaccination status.
