(NEW YORK) — Hazy and dangerous fumes from ongoing Canadian wildfires have engulfed the skies over most of the northeast coast, prompting serious air quality alerts for millions of Americans.

As of Tuesday evening, 17 states have issued those alerts as the thick fumes have blocked the sky and sent people indoors to avoid breathing in the polluted air.

Canadian officials said firefighters are scrambling to put out the blazes in Quebec, where more than 160 forest fires are currently active. The fires are fueled by high temperatures and dry conditions, according to officials.

Here are the latest updates on the situation.

Latest headlines:

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.

Jun 06, 8:18 PM EDT
Who is at most risk from unhealthy air

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has specific guidance for vulnerable groups if the air quality in their area is deemed “unhealthy.”

While the agency warns that all people will experience adverse side effects from exposure to the unhealthy air it said that those anyone with heart or lung disease, pregnant people, children and the elderly are most sensitive.

Those groups should consider moving all of their activities indoors until the air quality alert is lifted, the EPA said.

Jun 06, 8:03 PM EDT
Northeast covered in haze as forecasters warn of more smoke to come

Millions of people in New York City and other northeast locations scrambled to keep themselves free of the smoky air throughout the day and evening.

The city’s skyline was barely visible for most parts of the day and the smell of the smoke was strong as commuters hit the evening rush.

Large cities with the lowest air quality include New York City, Albany and Cincinnati, a map by Airnow, a website that publishes air quality data, shows.

Another large and dense plume of smoke will be moving down across parts of the Northeast on Wednesday, according to forecasters.

That batch of very dense smoke will push down across the Northeast throughout the day on Wednesday, giving some relief to New England and the Midwest.

-ABC News’ Julia Jacobo, Max Golembo and Daniel Peck

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(OCALA, Fla.) — The family of Ajike Owens, 35, and their attorney Anthony D. Thomas held a news conference on Monday demanding an arrest be made for the shooting death of Owens, a Florida mother of four. The Owens family is also being represented by civil rights attorney Ben Crump.

Owens was shot and killed last Friday in Ocala, Florida on the doorstep of the suspect’s home, after she went to the suspect’s residence to question the unidentified woman about an alleged dispute with Owens’ children, according to police reports.

“She knocked on [name redacted because not confirmed]’s door, a closed, locked door,” Pamela Dias, Owens’ mother, said at the news conference. “Door never opened. My daughter, grandchildren’s mother was shot and killed with her nine-year-old son standing next to her.”

Marion County sheriff Billy Woods held a press conference earlier the same day. Woods said no arrests have been made yet because his department has to follow due process under Florida Stand Your Ground laws.

“I wish our shooter would have called us instead of taking actions into her own hands,” Woods said. “I wish Ms. Owens would have called us in the hopes we could have never gotten to the point at which we are here today.”

Woods said there was an ongoing feud between Owens and the suspect, and there was a heated confrontation between the two before the shooting. The Marion County sheriff’s office is conducting an investigation with the help of the state attorney to determine if an arrest will be made.

The day of the shooting, the children were playing in a field on the property in which the suspect’s home is located. The suspect allegedly yelled at the children to get off the field, according to Dias.

One of the children left a tablet on the property and went back to the suspect’s home to retrieve it because the suspect allegedly took it into her possession, according to a police report.

The unidentified woman allegedly threw a pair of skates at the child and the minor notified Owens, resulting in Owens going to the suspect’s home, according to Woods. Woods said more than one of Owens’ children may have witnessed the shooting. The children have not been interviewed yet out of respect for the trauma of losing their mother, according to Woods.

“According to the one side, there was a lot of aggressiveness from both of them,” Woods said. “Whether it be banging on the doors, banging on the walls and threats being made. And then at that moment is then when Ms. Owens was shot through the door.”

According to police records, when officers arrived on the scene, they found Owens under a nearby tree with a gunshot wound in an undisclosed location on her body. She had a faint pulse as the officers applied medical aid. Owens was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced deceased at 9:33 P.M on June 2.

The police transported the suspect to their central operations bureau for an interview, according to police reports. Details of the interview were not disclosed. The suspect did not immediately return ABC News’ request for an interview or statement.

Woods said Florida Stand Your Ground laws make it harder to execute an immediate arrest.

“We have to rule out whether deadly force was justified or not before we can make an arrest,” Woods said. “And sometimes it makes it difficult and sometimes it becomes an obstacle, but only a temporary obstacle because it will be moved and the final answer will come forward.”

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(HOUSTON) — Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with a spate of robberies along a popular Houston bike trail, as police look for more suspects in the attacks, authorities said Tuesday.

Since May 16, five people have been robbed and assaulted and “held up at gunpoint” while riding along the Columbia Tap Bike Trail, according to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. In the most recent incident, which occurred on Memorial Day, a victim was shot in the leg, police said.

Police believe the incidents could have been committed by the same suspects, Turner said.

Two male juveniles, both 17, have since been charged with robbery and evading arrest, police announced Tuesday. A third suspect has been identified but not yet arrested, police said. It is unclear how many additional suspects are involved, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said.

“We’re laser-focused on getting everybody that’s involved in these crimes, and any other crime in our city — especially when it involves violence, especially when groups of individuals are terrorizing people,” Finner said during a press briefing on Tuesday. “We will not tolerate it.”

The Columbia Tap Bike Trail runs through Houston’s Third Ward neighborhood. Police presence along the trail has been increased amid the attacks, which primarily have been committed in the late evening, authorities said.

Finner urged people to “be vigilant” and to ride in groups as detectives continue to investigate the cases. He said people can expect to find teams of both uniformed and plainclothes officers on the trail.

“We want to make sure that cyclists, those who are walking on these trails, those who are riding on these trails, that they feel safe in doing so,” Turner told reporters Tuesday.

The city plans to continue to increase resources on the trail into the summer and is looking at adding more cameras to all trails, including the Columbia Tap Bike Trail, Turner said.

“By and large our trails are safe,” Turner said. “I don’t want two or three or four or five individuals who are just making bad decisions to stop the thousands of others from utilizing trails.”

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(RICHMOND, Va.) — Seven people were shot following a high school graduation at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond on Tuesday, police said.

Two people are in custody, and there is no ongoing threat to the community following the incident at the university’s Monroe Park campus, Richmond police said.

Among the shooting victims, three suffered life-threatening injuries and four non-life-threatening, police said.

Six others were injured in the aftermath of the shooting, including two who fell, one who was hit by a car, and three who were treated for anxiety, police said.

Multiple police agencies responded to the scene near the Altria Theater, which was scheduled to host several graduation ceremonies for Richmond Public Schools Tuesday.

A Richmond Public Schools official told ABC News the shooting took place in Monroe Park after the Huguenot High School graduation in the Altria Theater had ended.

Students in graduation gowns could be seen running from the scene amid the police response.

Thomas Jefferson High School’s graduation ceremony scheduled for Tuesday night has been canceled, and all Richmond Public Schools will be closed on Wednesday “out of an abundance of caution,” the school district said.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said state law enforcement are supporting Richmond police in the investigation.

“My administration continues monitoring the terrible shooting in the heart of Richmond tonight,” Youngkin tweeted.

ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson contributed to this report.

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

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(RICHMOND, Va.) — A shooting occurred at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond on Tuesday, the school said.

There is no ongoing threat following a “shooting incident” at the university’s Monroe Park campus, VCU said in an alert.

Multiple police agencies responded to the scene near the Altria Theater, which was scheduled to host several graduation ceremonies for Richmond Public Schools Tuesday.

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

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