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(PHILADELPHIA) — A medical transport plane, carrying a child, her mother and four other people, crashed in Philadelphia Friday night near a busy mall, killing all aboard and resulting in an untold number of injuries on the ground.

The Learjet 55 crashed near the Roosevelt Mall in northeast Philadelphia around 6:30 p.m. after departing from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, according to authorities.

The exact number of the injured is not yet available, officials said.

“Many people on the ground – in parking lots, on streets, in cars and homes in the area – were injured; the number of injured is yet to be released but the information shared at this time reports that a number of people were transported to Temple University Hospital, Jeans Campus in the Northeast,” the office of Mayor Cherelle Parker said Saturday.

“Right now, we’re just asking for prayers,” Parker told reporters Friday night. She urged residents to stay away from the scene.

In a statement, Shriner’s Hospital said the child had received care from the Philadelphia hospital and was being taken back to her home country of Mexico along with her mother on a contracted air ambulance when the crash happened.

The company that operated the flight, Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, said in a statement there were four crew members on board.

“At this time, we cannot confirm any survivors,” the company said in the statement. “No names are being released at this time until family members have been notified. Our immediate concern is for the patient’s family, our personnel, their families and other victims that may have been hurt on the ground.”

The air ambulance was en route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri, according to Flight Radar24 data.

“I regret the death of six Mexicans in the plane crash in Philadelphia, United States,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a statement Saturday. “The consular authorities are in permanent contact with the families; I have asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support them in whatever way is required. My solidarity with their loved ones and friends.”

A large fire burned in the wake of the crash, prompting a significant response.

“We heard a loud explosion and then saw the aftermath of flames and smoke,” eyewitness Jimmy Weiss told local ABC station WPVI near the scene.

He added, “It felt like the ground shook .. it was a loud boom. It was startling.”

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.

An NTSB investigator arrived at the scene Friday night with additional team members expected to arrive Saturday.

Temple University Hospital told ABC News it had received six patients hurt in the crash, although it was not clear if they were in the plane or people who were on the ground.

Three of those patients were treated and released and three remain hospitalized in fair condition, the hospital said.

Speaking at a follow-up press briefing Friday night, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said dozens of state troopers and other state personnel were on on hand to offer help and praised local responders and community members.

“We saw neighbor helping neighbor. We saw Pennsylvanians looking out for one another,” he said.

In a statement posted to social media platform Truth Social, President Donald Trump said: “So sad to see the plane go down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More innocent souls lost. Our people are totally engaged. First Responders are already being given credit for doing a great job. More to follow. God Bless you all.”

Immediately after the crash, the FAA issued a ground stop at Northeast Philadelphia Airport due to “an aircraft incident.”

The FAA had initially reported there were two people on board the aircraft but later corrected that report.

ABC News’ Ayesha Ali and Sam Sweeney contributed to this report.

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(PHILADELPHIA) — A medical transport plane, carrying a child, her mother and four other people, crashed in Philadelphia Friday night near a busy mall, killing all aboard and resulting in an untold number of injuries on the ground.

The Learjet 55 crashed near the Roosevelt Mall in northeast Philadelphia around 6:30 p.m. after departing from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, according to authorities.

The exact number of the injured is not yet available, officials said.

“Many people on the ground – in parking lots, on streets, in cars and homes in the area – were injured; the number of injured is yet to be released but the information shared at this time reports that a number of people were transported to Temple University Hospital, Jeans Campus in the Northeast,” the office of Mayor Cherelle Parker said Saturday.

“Right now, we’re just asking for prayers,” Parker told reporters Friday night. She urged residents to stay away from the scene.

In a statement, Shriner’s Hospital said the child had received care from the Philadelphia hospital and was being taken back to her home country of Mexico along with her mother on a contracted air ambulance when the crash happened.

The company that operated the flight, Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, said in a statement there were four crew members on board.

“At this time, we cannot confirm any survivors,” the company said in the statement. “No names are being released at this time until family members have been notified. Our immediate concern is for the patient’s family, our personnel, their families and other victims that may have been hurt on the ground.”

The air ambulance was en route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri, according to Flight Radar24 data.

“I regret the death of six Mexicans in the plane crash in Philadelphia, United States,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a statement Saturday. “The consular authorities are in permanent contact with the families; I have asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support them in whatever way is required. My solidarity with their loved ones and friends.”

A large fire burned in the wake of the crash, prompting a significant response.

“We heard a loud explosion and then saw the aftermath of flames and smoke,” eyewitness Jimmy Weiss told local ABC station WPVI near the scene.

He added, “It felt like the ground shook .. it was a loud boom. It was startling.”

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.

An NTSB investigator arrived at the scene Friday night with additional team members expected to arrive Saturday.

Temple University Hospital told ABC News it had received six patients hurt in the crash, although it was not clear if they were in the plane or people who were on the ground.

Three of those patients were treated and released and three remain hospitalized in fair condition, the hospital said.

Speaking at a follow-up press briefing Friday night, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said dozens of state troopers and other state personnel were on on hand to offer help and praised local responders and community members.

“We saw neighbor helping neighbor. We saw Pennsylvanians looking out for one another,” he said.

In a statement posted to social media platform Truth Social, President Donald Trump said: “So sad to see the plane go down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More innocent souls lost. Our people are totally engaged. First Responders are already being given credit for doing a great job. More to follow. God Bless you all.”

Immediately after the crash, the FAA issued a ground stop at Northeast Philadelphia Airport due to “an aircraft incident.”

The FAA had initially reported there were two people on board the aircraft but later corrected that report.

ABC News’ Ayesha Ali and Sam Sweeney contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(PHILADELPHIA) — A small plane crashed in Philadephia on Friday, officials said, with a fiery explosion observed upon impact.

The incident occurred near the Roosevelt Mall in northeast Philadelphia.

The Learjet 55 crashed around 6:30 p.m. after departing from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

A large fire burned in the wake of the crash, prompting a large response. Vehicles could also be seen on fire.

There were two people on board, according to the FAA. The agency did not have any update on their condition.

The plane was en route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

The Philadelphia Fire Department advised residents to avoid the area of Calvert and St. Vincent streets.

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said he is monitoring the crash in Philadelphia and heading to the FAA to get information.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(WASHINGTON) — A group of immigrant advocacy centers and nonprofits has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security for shutting down legal orientation programs for immigrants, including people detained at ICE detention facilities.

The lawsuit was filed a week after the Department of Justice told legal service providers who receive federal funding to stop providing legal orientation and other work intended to support immigrants at immigration court and detention facilities.

“With increased detentions, rapid deportation processes, and new detention centers, legal access to these detention centers to ensure these activities are being carried out following applicable laws has never been more important,” the lawsuit says. “The Programs at issue here are thus essential: they provide basic due process to noncitizens and they ensure lawyers are regularly inside detention centers to observe or be told about potential legal violations.”

The groups argue that legal orientation programs were stopped without advanced notice and that many of the nonprofits lost access to detention facilities across the country.

“By denying Program providers access, Defendants ensure that no legal service providers’ eyes are watching what the government does inside,” the complaint says.

Officials with the Department of Homeland Security declined to comment when contacted by ABC News. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the 51-page complaint, the groups argue that because immigration courts don’t guarantee individuals the right to counsel, the programs are necessary because they give noncitizens facing deportation critical access to basic legal information.

The programs that were shut down include the Legal Orientation Program; the Immigration Court Helpdesk; the Family Group Legal Orientation Program; and the Counsel for Children Initiative, which provides legal representation to children in immigration court proceedings.

“The information the Programs provide is the most basic level of the due process to which noncitizens in removal proceedings are entitled,” the complaint says.

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(WASHINGTON) — When the Office of Management and Budget issued a sweeping order this week freezing trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans, senior White House officials had not reviewed it beforehand, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The order was rescinded following legal challenges and intense backlash amid widespread confusion and disruptions to critical services like Medicaid.

And now, amid the fallout, finger pointing has begun inside the administration, sources said, with the attention turning to Mark Paoletta, OMB’s general counsel, who played a key role in drafting the order.

Top White House policy adviser Stephen Miller and staff secretary Will Scharf were among those who had been left out of the review process, sources said.

The fallout has already led to discussions about reassigning Paoletta away from his position as OMB’s general counsel, though no final decision has been made, according to multiple sources.

Sources said senior advisers were caught off guard and frustrated that they had not reviewed the memo before its release, seeing its rollout as a stain on what had otherwise been smooth messaging around President Donald Trump’s rapid rollout of executive orders.

Meanwhile, some rank-and-file officials at OMB were themselves left confused both when the memo was issued and after it was rescinded, sources said.

OMB officials did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

On Wednesday, a federal judge signaled he would issue a temporary restraining order barring the Trump administration from freezing federal loans and grants. That’s now raised concerns that the White House will try to enact the same policy described in the now-rescinded memo.

District Judge John McConnell Jr. had harsh words for the Trump administration following a social media post by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in which Leavitt said it was the memo that was being rescinded, not the freeze itself.

“This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze,” Leavitt posted on X, defending the policy after the memo was rescinded. “It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo. Why? To end any confusion created by the court’s injunction. The President’s EO’s on federal funding remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented.”

Despite the Office of Management rescinding their directive, Judge McConnell said he believed there was “sufficient evidence” that the government still plans to carry out the policy based on Leavitt’s social media post.

“That’s my read of the tweet. I can’t believe I’m saying that, but that’s my read of the tweet,” Judge McConnell said.

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(LOS ANGELES, Calif.) — Police in Los Angeles said they are looking for a man who stabbed a woman while she was walking down a street and then fled.

The Los Angeles Police Department this week released surveillance footage that captured the disturbing attack as they attempt to identify the suspect.

The incident occurred midday on Jan. 18 in the area of Santa Monica Boulevard and Edgemont Street in East Hollywood, according to the LAPD.

The victim was walking with two other individuals when the suspect approached her from behind and stabbed her twice, police said. He then fled east on Santa Monica Boulevard to the Vermont/Santa Monica MTA Station, police said.

Paramedics responded and transported the unidentified victim to a local hospital, where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Police released an 11-second video of the attack and an image of the suspect while asking for the public’s help in identifying him. The woman could be seen grabbing her head and doubling over following the assault.

An LAPD spokesperson told ABC News on Friday that there are no updates in the case at this time.

Police described the suspect as a Hispanic man in his 30s with black hair and brown eyes, standing 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the LAPD’s Rampart Detective Division at 213-484-3631 during regular business hours or 877-527-3247 during non-business hours and weekends. Those wishing to remain anonymous can go to lacrimestoppers.org.

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