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(GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.) — A Grand Rapids police officer charged with second-degree murder of Patrick Lyoya will know Monday if his case goes to trial.

A judge will review evidence presented in this week’s preliminary hearing and decide if there’s probable cause that Christopher Schurr, a seven-year veteran of the Grand Rapids Police Department, intentionally or recklessly caused the death of Lyoya. If probable cause is determined, the case may go to a jury trial.

Schurr has pleaded not guilty.

Lyoya, a 26-year-old native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was shot in the head on April 4 after Schurr pulled him over for a faulty license plate. His death prompted protests throughout Grand Rapids.

Body camera video showed Schurr shouting at Lyoya to “get in the car.” The footage was released nine days after the shooting.

Schurr can be heard asking Lyoya if he spoke English and then demanding that Lyoya show his driver’s license. Lyoya turned to a passenger in the car, closed the door and started to walk away from Schurr, according to the video.

Lyoya started to run. Schurr grabbed Lyoya and struggled with him before eventually forcing him to the ground, shouting “Stop resisting,” “Let go” and “Drop the Taser,” according to the video. The body camera was deactivated during the struggle, according to police.

Police said Lyoya grabbed at Schurr’s stun gun during the altercation. Schurr then shot Lyoya while he was on the ground, according to cellphone footage of the incident.

Cellphone footage from Lyoya’s friend Aime Tuiishme showed the moment Schurr shot Lyoya in the back of the head. The fatal shot was confirmed by both an independent autopsy report as well as the Kent County medical examiner.

Neighborhood resident Wayne Butler spoke to the court on Thursday, describing the altercation as “wrestling” and noted that Lyoya was not “on the offensive.”

Schurr was fired from the Grand Rapids Police Department in June after waiving his right to a discharge hearing.

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(WASHINGTON) — Investigations involving a domestic violent extremism nexus doubled from 2020 to 2021, according to a new report released Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security and FBI.

The law enforcement agencies say that in 2020, the FBI was conducting 1,400 domestic terrorism investigations, and by the end of 2021 they were conducting 2,700.

The agencies say a large part of the increase was due to the events and investigations surrounding the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

“One of the most significant terrorism threats to the Homeland we face today is posed by lone offenders and small groups of individuals who commit acts of violence motivated by a range of ideological beliefs and/or personal grievances,” the report says. “Of these actors, domestic violent extremists represent one of the most persistent threats to the United States today. These individuals are often radicalized online and look to conduct attacks with easily accessible weapons.”

The congressional mandated report was released nearly two years late by the FBI and DHS but no reason was provided.

Although there is no federal domestic terrorism charge, the report explains that there are a myriad of charges that can be brought and the case still have a domestic terrorism nexus.

“Individuals whose conduct involves DT or a threat thereof may be prosecuted by any USAO under a wide range of criminal statutes, some of which on their face relate to DT, and others of which do not,” the report says.

The number of domestic terrorism referrals also increased by almost a third.

In FY 2020, the FBI received approximately 5,669 referrals of possible DT incidents; and in FY 2021, the FBI received approximately 8,375 referrals of possible DT incidents.

Racially motivated violent extremists made up 40% of the investigations in 2020, and in 2021 38% of investigations centered around anti-government extremism.

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(NEW YORK) — Parts of Southwest Florida that were left unrecognizable in the wake of Hurricane Ian are still cleaning up the remnants of the widespread destruction one month after the monster storm made landfall.

Hurricane Ian reduced entire neighborhoods to rubble in places like Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island after it ripped through Southwest Florida with Category 4 winds and menacing storm surge on Sept. 28.

So far, cleanup and recovery has been a slow and painstaking process, Holly Smith, mayor of Sanibel Island, told ABC News.

Recent images out of the regions hardest hit by the monster storm show the magnitude of work that remains to pave the way for rebuilding.

A photo out of Fort Myers Beach shows piles of rubble that remain among foundations torn apart by winds topping 150 mph. The area, flanked by restaurants and businesses, was previously frequented by tourists and locals.

The amount of work done so far, especially the speed of the temporary repairs for the Sanibel Island causeway, are “nothing short of miraculous,” Smith said. The open causeway is now allowing for residents, business owners and cleanup crews with permits to access the island to survey the damage, Smith said.

The destruction of Sanibel Island, a barrier island off the coasts of Fort Myers Beach and Pine Island, is “extensive,” Smith said. The electrical grid has been “decimated,” and while there is running water, sewage systems are not operating optimally, she added.

The mayor has remained in her Sanibel Island home, sticking mainly to the couple of rooms powered by a small generator, she said. When she surveys the island, still in recovery and debris removal, she sees condominium complexes that have completely been washed away, mountains of debris and homes that were completely destroyed.

It will take years, not months, to rebuild, Smith said. But the signs of life returning to the island are already evidence.

One grocery store, Jerry’s Foods on Periwinkle Way, is up and running, Smith said. One school, grades Kindergarten through 8th grade, has been relocated to another part of Lee County, she added.

“We’re resolved to get back together and build this Sanibel again,” she said.

Homes and trailer parks lining the coast were also decimated by the waters rushing in from the Gulf of Mexico during the storm.

Cleanup crews were seen using forklifts to transfer large pieces of drywall, building foundations and furniture into dumpsters.

The pier at Fort Myers Beach, one of the most recognizable landmarks in the area, is also in the process of being rebuilt after seawaters toppled over the structure as the storm system pushed onto land.

At least 127 people have died as a result of Hurricane Ian, according to local officials. After Ian passed, it prompted the largest urban search and rescue response in Florida history to find survivors.

The total economic damage from Hurricane Ian could reach up to $75 billion, according to a projection released earlier this month by Enki Research, a data firm that studies the financial impact of storms.

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(NEW YORK) — The largest fire department in the country has officially welcomed its first female commissioner.

Laura Kavanagh was sworn in Thursday morning as the head of the New York City Fire Department. She had been serving as acting commissioner of the department since February.

Kavanagh, 40, was surrounded by other top female officials in the mayor’s administration for what Mayor Eric Adams called a “historic appointment.”

“To say it is an honor of a lifetime is an understatement,” said Kavanagh, who will oversee the agency’s 17,000 employees, including firefighters, EMTs and paramedics, and a $2 billion budget.

She acknowledged her place as the first female leader of the FDNY in its 157-year history.

“This is the type of FDNY commissioner I will be — one that knows that I will succeed only if every person in my department and in our city sees my place at the table as also their own,” she said. “This moment, me being first, only matters if I am not the last.”

Adams said his administration conducted a national search for the next FDNY commissioner, but that they kept coming back to Kavanagh.

“Her style of leadership and commitment is just a reflection of what this city has to offer,” he said.

Kavanagh has worked for the agency for nearly a decade, including as first deputy commissioner. She became acting-fire commissioner after longtime Commissioner Daniel Nigro retired without naming a successor.

Adams touted her work in the FDNY’s response to the Ebola outbreak of 2015 and the COVID-19 pandemic. She also oversaw a firefighter recruitment campaign that saw the department’s most diverse applicant pool in its history, including graduating the largest class of women in three decades, he said.

In March, 13 women were among the graduating class of probationary firefighters. In August, eight women were among the graduates, bringing the total number of female firefighters in the city to 141, the most in FDNY history, the city said. Amid efforts to diversify the department, a recent New York City Council report found that women are underrepresented, with under 2% of firefighters being female.

Kavanagh’s appointment was met with support from several firefighting and EMT advocacy organizations and unions, including the Uniformed Firefighters Association; the Uniformed EMS, Paramedics, & Fire Inspectors Local 2507; the Uniformed EMS Officers Association, Local 3621; the FDNY Vulcan Society; the National Association of Hispanic Firefighters; and the United Women Firefighters Association.

“Women have bravely served in the FDNY since 1982. This appointment of Laura Kavanagh highlights the ability, dedication and service which women demonstrate every day to the people of New York,” Jackie-Michelle Martinez, president of the United Women Firefighters, said in a statement. “As the number of female firefighters increases, there will be continued interest in ensuring and creating a fair and amicable work environment.”

Kavanagh’s appointment follows in the footsteps of another historic first for the city. Earlier this year, Keechant Sewell became the first woman to serve as commissioner of the New York City Police Department, the largest police department in the country.

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