The wait is over for Bridgerton fans. The latest installment of the franchise, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, hits Netflix Thursday and Shonda Rhimes is shedding some light on what fans can expect.
Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Rhimes shared that Queen Charlotte, which delves deeper into the background of how Charlotte became queen, is “very different show in terms of tone.”
“It’s fun and it’s funny and it’s sexy and witty, but it also has serious issues that they’re dealing with and you’re watching women come in to their power, which is really the essence of the show,” she adds.
The accomplished creator and showrunner also dished that the show will not shy away from the topic of race and, in regards to King George‘s story in the series, mental health.
“It was incredibly important to infuse the narrative with these themes mainly because the character that we’re talking about, Queen Charlotte, [we] already created a very simple backstory for her on Bridgerton,” Rhimes explained. “Their love united the countries is the explanation for the society and I really wanted to explore that part because what does that actually mean?”
“We never really get to see the true united society, but we do get to see the effects of them starting out and trying things,” she continued. “I think it’s an important issue to discuss. It’s clearly something people are still talking about today. It’s an issue we are all living with, so I thought it was great to touch on it.”
(FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.) — A North Carolina police officer shot and killed his wife before turning the gun on himself, state authorities said Wednesday amid an investigation into their deaths.
Fayetteville police officers responded to the home of fellow officer Domingo Tavarez-Rodriguez on Friday when he didn’t report to work at 6 p.m., according to Fayetteville Police Chief Kemberle Braden.
“When he failed to report and his supervisors were unable to contact him by phone, that’s what prompted them to go by and check on him at his residence,” Braden told reporters during a press briefing.
Responding officers found Tavarez-Rodriguez, 53, and his wife, Yenitza Arroyo-Torres, 44, both dead with gunshot wounds inside their home in the River Glen subdivision, police said.
Braden said he requested the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to investigate their deaths, as the incident involves a Fayetteville officer.
The preliminary investigation “shows the couple died as the result of a murder-suicide,” the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement Wednesday.
The preliminary autopsy report from the medical examiner’s office shows that the officer died from a single gunshot wound and his wife died as a result of “multiple gunshot wounds,” state authorities said.
“Based on the preliminary investigation and the medical examiner’s preliminary findings, there is no reason to believe anyone else was involved and there is no reason to believe there is a threat to the community or to law enforcement,” the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said.
No further information is being released amid the investigation, the agency said.
Tavarez-Rodriguez had been with the department since June 2021 and was a military veteran, Braden said.
ABC News has reached out to the Fayetteville Police Department for comment.
(WASHINGTON) — Donald Trump will likely not attend one or both of the first two 2024 Republican primary debates, which begin in August, multiple sources who have spoken to the former president told ABC News.
One person wondered, “What’s the point?” — pointing to Trump’s lead in multiple polls and suggesting that duking it out with other candidates would only legitimize them. Trump also has a history of skipping debates, sometimes at the last minute.
A final decision is still in the offing. But some of Trump’s 2024 primary opponents or possible rivals — and their aides — say they see a chance to raise their profiles in a debate setting in which Trump, because of his absence, wouldn’t dominate the spotlight.
They’re also seizing on another attack line.
“I think that if he doesn’t debate, the question is, is he afraid of actually being challenged? And I think the answer is, he might be. I’d like to think he’s not,” GOP primary candidate and political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy told ABC News in an interview.
“Maybe it’ll be politically good for me if Trump doesn’t show up on the debate stage because we have an ability to each have more remaining time to make our own case … Frankly, I think he might be scared of being on a debate stage,” said Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and author.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Trump confidante-turned-critic and ABC News contributor who is mulling his own White House bid, echoed that in a radio interview Wednesday.
“[I]f he really cares about the country, then he’s going to get up there and he shouldn’t be afraid,” Christie said. “I’m sorry to see that Donald Trump feels like if he gets on the stage, he’s at risk of losing his lead.”
“If, in fact, his ideas are so great, if his leadership is so outstanding, then his lead will only increase if he gets on the stage, not decrease,” Christie said. “But obviously, he’s afraid.”
Trump regularly criticizes the news coverage he receives on Fox News, the host of the August debate, and the second debate is being hosted by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute, whose board is chaired by Fred Ryan, the publisher of The Washington Post — another of Trump’s favorite media targets.
Rather than debate, Trump allies say that he could offer counterprogramming, holding a rally or some other event at the same time, possibly making a debate feel smaller without the person seen as the primary front-runner.
His campaign also boasts that his presence adds millions of eyeballs to debates, inadvertently benefiting current and would-be foes like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and others.
“President Trump is the clear front-runner — as evidenced by his dominating poll numbers showing him crushing the competition in the primary and general elections — and it is no surprise every other candidate and potential candidate wants to ride his coattails to relevancy,” campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement.
Still, advisers to other conservatives who might run in 2024 argue that even a diminished audience benefits their candidates, who would have more ability to shine in a Trump-less debate.
“It gives a lot of people a lot more air time to talk about what they want to talk about. And some of it’ll be about Trump, but a lot of it’ll be about themselves and issues that they believe in and differences between themselves,” said one aide to a potential 2024 Republican candidate, who said he doesn’t want Trump to attend and who asked not to be quoted by name.
“I think the first debate will not have the fireworks that Trump would have brought to it,” said an aide to a different Republican eyeing a 2024 campaign. “But it will be an opportunity for other candidates — DeSantis, Tim Scott, Nikki Haley and whoever else may join — to introduce themselves to voters. This will be a very clean introduction. So, in some ways, it’s actually quite helpful for the field.”
However, even if Trump’s foes do have a breakout moment, other GOP operatives argued that any edge is likely to be temporary.
What’s more, political consultants have previously told ABC News that debates aren’t always swaying voters, who make up their minds based on many different sources.
The former president is not anticipated, right now, to skip every primary debate.
“I think it’s ultimately forgotten,” veteran GOP strategist Bob Heckman said when asked if any impact from Trump’s absence would be blunted once he returns to the stage.
“That’s the way presidential campaigns go, they’re all momentum driven,” Heckman said.
And those who have faced off against Trump and his team warn that his debating style — infamously characterized by personal insults — can be difficult to counteract.
“Trump is tough because he’s so unorthodox. He doesn’t follow any of the traditional rules of debating and is liable as to say literally anything,” said Alex Conant, a top staffer on Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign.
“He’ll attack everyone on the stage, he’ll take the audience, he’ll attack the moderator,” Conant said. “And that’s just his first answer.”
(ATLANTA) — A gunman killed one and wounded four others in a mass shooting in an Atlanta medical center waiting room on Wednesday, police said.
The suspect, identified as 24-year-old Deion Patterson, was apprehended following an hours-long manhunt, police said Wednesday night.
Here’s how the news developed. All times Eastern:
May 03, 11:00 PM EDT
Victim identified as CDC employee
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the 39-year-old victim who was killed in Wednesday’s shooting as Amy St. Pierre.
“CDC is deeply saddened by the unexpected loss of a colleague killed today in the Midtown Atlanta shooting,” it said in a statement. “Our hearts are with her family, friends and colleagues as they remember her and grieve this tragic loss.”
May 03, 9:34 PM EDT
Suspect taken into custody without incident, technology ‘played a huge role’: Police
The suspect was taken into custody without incident, police said Wednesday during a press conference.
The suspect entered the medical facility shortly before noon and allegedly shot the first victim shortly after, Deputy Chief Charles Hampton said. The suspect spent two minutes in the building before exiting and going to a Shell gas station, where he commandeered a pickup truck, according to Hampton.
Officers were able to place the license plate number into the reader system, Hampton said, and received an alert at approximately 12:30 that the suspect was in Cobb County.
Technology “played a huge role,” Cobb County Police Chief Stuart VanHoozer said, “but technology doesn’t work without the dedicated people behind it.”
Police had checked and cleared an unoccupied building they knew the suspect had gone into, VanHoozer said, adding that a “real-time operator” took a 911 call and had an instinct that it was legitimate, and they prioritized that call.
An undercover officer made the first contact with the suspect and had backup from uniformed officers, the chief said.
May 03, 8:00 PM EDT
Suspect has been captured, police say
The suspect, Deion Patterson, has been apprehended following an hourslong manhunt, Atlanta police said.
May 03, 6:49 PM EDT
Suspect seen in Cobb County shortly after shooting, police say
Police in Cobb County said Deion Patterson was seen on video in the county around 12:30 p.m. ET, roughly 20 minutes after the shooting, though it’s unclear if he’s still in the area.
Cobb County Police Sgt. Wayne Delk said during a press briefing that after learning Patterson might be in the area, his team checked flock cameras and “did discover that the vehicle had entered Cobb County,” located northwest of Midtown Atlanta, where the shooting occurred.
“Around 12:30 p.m., we did spot what appeared to be a suspect in this area, which is why we have such a heavy presence,” Delk said.
Police did not discover the video footage until around 2:30 p.m., and Delk acknowledged it’s unclear if Patterson is still in the county.
“He might still be in the area,” he said.
The vehicle Patterson was believed to be driving was recovered by Atlanta police in a parking garage, Delk said.
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie
May 03, 5:24 PM EDT
3 patients remain ‘critically ill’
Of the four women who were shot and injured in the medical facility waiting room, three of them are considered “critically ill” and are in the intensive care unit, according to Dr. Robert Jansen, the chief medical officer at Grady Health.
The most seriously injured patient remains in the operating room, Jansen said, while a second victim has completed an operation.
Another victim underwent an interventional radiology procedure, which is used to repair vascular injuries, and will need more procedures in the future, he said.
The fourth patient is considered stable, he said.
-ABC News’ Darren Reynolds
May 03, 4:51 PM EDT
Sen. Warnock, in grief for his home state, begs Congress to take action
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., gave a passionate speech on the Senate floor in the wake of the latest mass shooting to strike the nation, this one unfolding in his “own backyard.”
“I rise today in shock and sorrow and in grief for my home state,” Warnock said.
Police officers work the scene of a shooting near a medical facility, May 3, 2023, in Atlanta.
Warnock noted that his two children were under lockdown at school on Wednesday amid the ongoing hunt for the Atlanta gunman.
“We behave as if this is normal — it is not normal. It is not right for us to live in a nation where nobody is safe, no matter where they are. We’re not safe in our schools. We’re not safe in our workplaces. We’re not safe at the grocery store. We’re not safe at movie theaters. We’re not safe at spas. We’re not safe in our houses of worship. There is no sanctuary in the sanctuary. We’re not safe at concerts. We’re not safe at banks. We’re not safe at parades. We’re not safe in our own yards and in our own homes,” he said. “And now, today, we can add medical facilities to that list.”
He warned, “It’s only a matter of time that this kind of tragedy comes knocking on your door.”
As a pastor, Warnock said, “I’m praying for those who are affected by this tragedy,” but he stressed, “It is a contradiction to say that you are thinking and praying and do nothing. … We pray by taking action.”
Warnock said he’s “pleading” with his colleagues in Congress to pass stricter gun reforms to “do everything we can to protect all of us and certainly all of our children.”
-ABC News’ Trish Turner
May 03, 3:50 PM EDT
39-year-old woman killed, 4 women injured
The manhunt is ongoing for the mass shooting suspect, 24-year-old Deion Patterson, Atlanta police said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. Police said the gun has not been recovered.
The shooting, which unfolded in a medical center waiting room, killed a 39-year-old woman, police said.
The four injured victims, who are all women, are “fighting for their lives,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said. They are ages 71, 56, 39 and 25, police said.
“As soon as possible I’ll be in touch with the families of the victims,” he said.
Patterson’s family is cooperating with the investigation, police said.
May 03, 3:17 PM EDT
Doctor recounts performing surgery as shooting unfolded 1 floor below
Dr. Timothy Simons was performing surgery one floor above the scene where the shooting unfolded.
He told ABC News he completed the surgery and then sheltered in place.
When police came to clear the building floor by floor, Simons said he was told to put his hands up to verify that he was not the shooter.
“Then they escorted us all down the stairs,” he said.
-ABC News’ Janice McDonald
May 03, 2:58 PM EDT
Carjacking may be connected to shooting
As Atlanta police search for the suspected gunman, 24-year-old Deion Patterson, they say a car was stolen “not long after the shooting” and remains missing.
“We are working to locate the carjacked vehicle and to determine whether it is connected to the shooting,” police said.
May 03, 2:31 PM EDT
Doctor saw officers swarm his building
Dr. Ahmed Ali, a radiation oncologist at the building, told ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB that he was returning from his lunch break when he saw armed officers swam the scene.
“I was worried what was happening,” he said. “Building security … they told me gunshots were coming from the 11th floor. They said there was a pool of blood in the elevator shafts when the doors opened.”
-ABC News’ Ivan Pereira
May 03, 2:30 PM EDT
3 critically injured, 1 remains in ER
Of the four people who were shot and injured, three are in critical condition and one is in the emergency department, according to hospital officials.
All four are adults, officials said.
May 03, 2:02 PM EDT
1 dead, 4 injured
One person was killed and four were injured in the shooting at Laureate Medical Center in Atlanta, according to police.
“Officers are actively searching for the suspect and any other victims,” police said.
Northside Hospital tweeted that it’s “cooperating with law enforcement following the shooting at our midtown #Atlanta location earlier this afternoon. We urge people in the area to shelter in place and follow instructions from law enforcement on the scene.”
(NEW YORK) — TV personality Maria Menounos is opening up about a recent health scare, revealing details of a private battle with pancreatic cancer.
Menounos, 44, told People magazine she began experiencing symptoms including “excruciating abdominal pain” late last year.
When the pain continued after test results came back inconclusive, Menounos said she underwent a whole-body MRI that found a mass on her pancreas.
“I’m like ‘How in the freaking world can I have a brain tumor and pancreatic cancer?'” Menounos told People. “All I could think was that I have a baby coming.”
Menounos announced in February that she and her husband Keven Undergaro are expecting their first child via surrogate. Previously, the couple’s decade-long plans to have a child were put on hold in 2017 when Menounos underwent surgery to remove a benign brain tumor.
Menounos said that after doctors found the mass on her pancreas, a biopsy determined it to be a Stage 2 pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, a type of pancreatic cancer where the tumor forms in the islet cells of the pancreas, according to the National Cancer Institute.
In February, Menounos said she underwent surgery to remove the mass on her pancreas, as well as her spleen, a fibroid and 17 lymph nodes.
“It was super painful,” she said of her recovery from the surgery. “I couldn’t move or lift myself up.”
Because the cancer was caught early, Menounos did not require any chemotherapy and will not need additional treatment, according to People. Her doctor, Dr. Ryan Aronin, and surgeon, Dr. Timothy Donahue, told the outlet Menounos will need annual scans for the next five years.
“I’m so grateful and so lucky,” Menounos said, adding of her daughter, who is due this summer, “God granted me a miracle. I’m going to appreciate having her in my life so much more than I would have before this journey.”
What to know about pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer represents around 3% of new cases of cancer in the United States, but around 8% of cancer deaths, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Most recently, the disease has been in the headlines with the deaths of Alex Trebek, Patrick Swayze and Sex and the City star Willie Garson. All three died of pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer is a type of cancer that develops from two types of cells in the pancreas, a six-inch-long gland that lays between the stomach and spine, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, the type of cancer Menounos said she faced, are less common but have a better prognosis. Cancer in the exocrine cells is usually found at a later stage and therefore typically has a worse prognosis, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Overall, the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is just over 12%, according to National Cancer Institute data.
While some pancreatic tumors may not produce any symptoms, others may cause symptoms like diarrhea, pain in the abdomen or back, a lump in the abdomen or yellowing of the skin and eyes, according to the National Cancer Institute.
In many cases, symptoms of pancreatic cancer may not appear until the cancer has spread.
“Part of the reason it tends to be so deadly has to do with anatomy,” ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton said in 2020, following Trebek’s death due to pancreatic cancer. “If you look at where the pancreas is located, it sits high up in the abdominal cavity. You can’t palpate it or feel it on a physical exam.”
She continued, “By the time it’s producing symptoms, like yellowness of the skin and eyes or weight loss, it’s generally metastasized or spread to an advanced stage.”
Making pancreatic cancer even more difficult to diagnose is that there is no screening test for it, according to Ashton.
Treatment for pancreatic cancer can include everything from surgery to chemotherapy and radiation therapy, as well as new targeted therapies.
Currently, the cause of pancreatic cancer is not known. Risk factors include family history, tobacco use, being overweight, diabetes and more, according to the American Cancer Society.
(NEW YORK) — Children are often exposed to diet culture from a young age and its negative impacts can be long-lasting, according to author Virginia Sole-Smith.
Sole-Smith is the author of a new book titled Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture, which takes a closer look at how kids are exposed to body shaming, diet culture, fatphobia and more.
Young people are listening and the pressure to look a certain way starts early, Sole-Smith told ABC News’ Good Morning America.
“Kids start to learn that fat is the wrong way to have a body between the ages of 3 and 5. This is pressure that starts really early,” Sole-Smith said. “One of the top predictors of future eating disorder risk is kids being shamed for their weight and childhood dieting experiences.”
The pressure continues into adolescence as well. According to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2013 to 2019, between 2013 and 2016, nearly 37.6% of adolescents aged 16 to 19 reported trying to lose weight within the previous year.
Early exposure to diet culture may be linked to increased social media use. Child psychologist Andrea Vazzana told ABC News in March that she has noticed an increase in younger children with eating disorders, including tweens as young as 9 and 10.
“This may be correlational data, but we’re seeing people joining social media platforms at an earlier age as well,” Vazzana said at the time.
Recovery advocate Sam Dylan Finch told ABC News that although social media can play a positive role in eating disorder recovery, it can also have a negative impact.
“It can be a vehicle for fad diets, health misinformation, harsh criticism, especially for those of us that don’t conform to society’s ideals of beauty and achievement,” Dylan Finch said in March, “and perpetuates standards of perfection that are impossible to achieve.”
Tips to minimize negative diet culture impact
Reclaim the “fat” label
In Fat Talk, Sole-Smith argues that one way parents can fight back against anti-fat bias and diet culture is to reclaim the word “fat.”
“If we can understand fat as just a neutral body descriptor, just like saying tall or short or brown hair, blonde hair … if your child comes to you and they are in a bigger body, and they say, ‘Am I fat?’ you should be honest with them and say, ‘You’re fat.’ And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. We love your body just the way it is,” Sole-Smith said.
Define what “fat” means for your family
At the same time, reclaiming the term might not be the right move for every family, according to parenting expert and author Rachel Simmons.
“I think the word ‘fat’ is something everyone needs to make their own choices about,” Simmons said. “I think that the language that we use has to be something that we agree on as a family.”
Change the conversation at home
Another suggestion from Sole-Smith is for parents to shift the conversations with and in front of children at home.
“We can say I’m not going to shame my body in front of my kids and I’m going to celebrate bodies in all shapes and sizes,” the author recommended.
Simmons added separately, “As parents, we need to spend time reminding our children what matters about them on the inside, talk about the strength that your body has no matter what size it is.”
“So if you have a child who is in a bigger body, who’s strong, talk about their strength,” Simmons continued. “Helping our children celebrate how our bodies function, how they allow us to accomplish our goals … these are things we can remind our kids about every single day.”
Oftentimes, diet talk and conversations about size can be unavoidable for children, but Simmons said parents can act as a shield between children and some of the most toxic messages behind diet culture.
As children grow older, Simmons encourages parents to be honest with kids about their own struggles and not pretend they know everything and kids know nothing about diet culture.
If you or someone you know is battling an eating disorder, contact the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) at 1-800-931-2237 or NationalEatingDisorders.org.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Detroit 6, NY Mets 5
Detroit 8, NY Mets 1
San Francisco 4, Houston 2
Arizona 12, Texas 7
Tampa Bay 8, Pittsburgh 1
LA Angels 6, St. Louis 4
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Seattle 7, Oakland 2 (10)
Kansas City 6, Baltimore 0
NY Yankees 4, Cleveland 3
Chi White Sox 6, Minnesota 4
Boston 8, Toronto 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
San Diego 7, Cincinnati 1
LA Dodgers 10, Philadelphia 6
Atlanta 14, Miami 6
Washington 2, Chi Cubs 1
Colorado 7, Milwaukee 1
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Boston 121, Philadelphia 87 (Series tied 1-1)
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Carolina 5, New Jersey 1 (Carolina leads series 1-0)
Vegas 6, Edmonton 4 (Vegas leads 1-0)
(TRINIDAD, Colo.) — A Colorado man involved in an altercation with two Las Animas County police officers filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday morning stating that he was “violently and without justification assaulted” at a traffic stop last November.
According to the man’s attorney and the civil complaint, Kenneth Espinoza was shocked 35 times with a Taser with stuns to the body and even some to the face, but the sheriff’s department disagrees, saying that he was only shocked once.
“The statement that there was one Taser deployed is just preposterous,” Espinoza’s attorney Kevin Mehr said during Tuesday’s press conference.
According to the sheriff’s department, data obtained from Lt. Henry Trujillo’s and Deputy Mikhail Noel’s Tasers show that Espinoza was only shocked once. But Mehr claimed that there is a mode on Tasers called drive-stun mode that he believes was used during the incident based on the body camera footage.
According to the complaint, Deputy Noel drive stunned Espinoza 15 times while he was seated in his truck and approximately seven additional times while trying to force Espinoza into the police vehicle. The complaint also alleges that during the struggle to get Espinoza in the patrol vehicle, Officer Trujillo struck Espinoza in the face with one barb of his Taser.
Axon Enterprise is a company that develops technology and weapons products for military law enforcement, and has over five million uses of their Taser in the field, according to its website.
The company’s website details that “drive-stun capability is available with or without a Taser cartridge installed.”
“When using the drive-stun, push (drive) the front of the CEW firmly against the body of the subject. Simply “touching” the CEW against the subject is not sufficient,” the Axon website reads. “It is necessary to aggressively drive the front of the CEW into the subject for maximum effect.”
While Mehr believes Axon Taser’s are used by the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Department, the department did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment to confirm.
“That’s what Mikhail Noel is doing repeatedly when he has that Taser in his hand,” Mehr said during the press conference. “He’s jabbing it over and over and over again. And you can hear it. You can hear the pops because when it arcs, it makes kind’ve a popping noise and there’s a light at the end.”
Espinoza, 48, and his son, Nathaniel Espinoza, 23, were on their way to get Kenneth’s car repaired on Nov. 29, 2022, and were traveling through Trinidad, Colorado, according to the son at Tuesday’s press conference. After allegedly driving too close to police cars, Nathaniel was pulled over by Deputy Mikhail Noel. Kenneth, who was driving in front of his son, “circled the block and then pulled off the side of the road and parked approximately 75 feet” behind Noel’s patrol vehicle to wait for his son, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit says Kenneth Espinoza was legally parked on the shoulder of the road.
After being told to leave by police repeatedly, the officer and Kenneth Espinoza exchange words and curse at each other. Kenneth Espinoza is seen trying to drive away quickly, as Deputy Noel is seen pointing the gun in Kenneth Espinoza’s face, telling him to get out of the car after previously telling him to leave, according to the body camera video.
According to body camera footage, Lt. Trujillo can be seen coming back toward the car, demanding Kenneth Espinoza to get out the vehicle with a raised Taser pointing at Kenneth Espinoza.
The body camera appears to show Trujillo pulling Kenneth Espinoza’s arm from inside the vehicle as Noel can be seen climbing inside the vehicle on the passenger side, appearing to jab Kenneth Espinoza on his side with his stun gun multiple times until he gets out of the car.
After Kenneth Espinoza exits the vehicle, he is handcuffed, and the body camera appears to show him being jabbed more times. When being placed in the patrol car, Kenneth Espinoza turns to look at the officers and at that point, he appears to be shocked by Lt. Trujillo with one barb striking Kenneth Espinoza in the lip and the other in the chest.
“To watch my father almost lose his life to these men– time stopped,” Nathaniel Espinoza said during the press conference. “I can still see them pointing the gun at my father and just watching time stop. Just feeling everything just leave my body. That’s when, I’d say, the value of life was shown to me.”
Kenneth Espinoza says he has burns on his body with a wound in his mouth where he was shocked with the one documented Taser deployment on record from the sheriff’s department.
Both officers are currently on administrative leave from the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Department.
Lt. Trujillo and Deputy Noel have not immediately responded to ABC News’ request for comment.
“This matter has been referred to an outside agency for review. At present time there are no updates on the internal investigation pertaining to this matter. No further comment will be provided due to pending litigation,” the Las Animas Sheriff’s Department said in a statement to ABC News.
The sheriff’s department did not specify which agency is conducting the review and did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for further comment.
The department also claims that Kenneth Espinoza was never struck by either of the officers and Lt. Trujillo never unholstered his sidearm and that he only “raised” his Taser.
The November incident was initially brought to the 3rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office for filing of criminal charges, but on April 24, the sheriff’s department was notified that no charges were ever filed, and the case had been dropped months prior.
“The district attorney acknowledges that there was a delay in informing our office of his decision not to file charges in the matter,” the sheriff’s department release stated.
The decision to not file charges against Espinoza took place on Dec. 6, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also states that Espinoza spent one day in jail and paid bond to be released.
Both Trujillo and Noel were defendants in another federal complaint filed just over a month before the November incident that involved a deaf woman who allegedly attempted suicide in June 2020.
Lt. Trujillo and Deputy Noel were tasked with transporting Rosemary Goodman from a hospital in Trinidad to a mental health facility in Pueblo, when the officers handcuffed her and would not allow Goodman’s boyfriend, Nathan George, who spoke ASL to help Goodman decipher the situation, the lawsuit states.
“[Deputy Noel] applied [handcuffs] with such force that Ms. Goodman yelped in pain and lost feeling to her pinky finger for many weeks thereafter,” the lawsuit states.
A settlement conference regarding this case took place last November and all parties agreed to a settlement, according to court documents.
Mehr reiterated this incident during the press conference, adding more incidents regarding Lt. Trujillo, who is third in command at the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Department.
According to court documents, Lt. Trujillo was subject to a domestic abuse case involving plaintiff Shaunna Cusimano. In June 2006, Cusimano filed a case against Trujillo that resulted in a temporary restraining order.
Trujillo also was subject to at least three misdemeanor cases, according to court documents, that range from harassment-obscene language/gesture and disorderly conduct-offensive gesture charges to disorderly conduct-fighting in public and menacing charges. All of these charges were dismissed.
According to court documents, Trujillo was also subject to a criminal case filed in 1997 where he was charged with the Class 5 felony of menacing use of a deadly weapon. Although that charge was dropped, the same 1997 case charged Trujillo with disorderly conduct displaying a weapon, where the defendant entered a guilty plea.
In 1998, Trujillo was also subject to another misdemeanor case for harassment in public, according to court documents, where he was found guilty after a court trial after pleading not guilty. He was sentenced to unsupervised probation.
The lawsuit filed by Espinoza names Undersheriff Ray Santistevan, Sheriff Derek Navaraette and the Las Animas County Board of County Commissioners, in addition to the two officers involved in the incident and the sheriff’s department.
(ATLANTA) — One person is dead and four are injured from a mass shooting at an Atlanta medical center on Wednesday, police said.
Police have released these images of the suspect, identified as 24-year-old Deion Patterson, who they say is at large.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
May 03, 8:00 PM EDT
Suspect has been captured, police say
The suspect, Deion Patterson, has been apprehended following an hourslong manhunt, Atlanta police said.
May 03, 6:49 PM EDT
Suspect seen in Cobb County shortly after shooting, police say
Police in Cobb County said Deion Patterson was seen on video in the county around 12:30 p.m. ET, roughly 20 minutes after the shooting, though it’s unclear if he’s still in the area.
Cobb County Police Sgt. Wayne Delk said during a press briefing that after learning Patterson might be in the area, his team checked flock cameras and “did discover that the vehicle had entered Cobb County,” located northwest of Midtown Atlanta, where the shooting occurred.
“Around 12:30 p.m., we did spot what appeared to be a suspect in this area, which is why we have such a heavy presence,” Delk said.
Police did not discover the video footage until around 2:30 p.m., and Delk acknowledged it’s unclear if Patterson is still in the county.
“He might still be in the area,” he said.
The vehicle Patterson was believed to be driving was recovered by Atlanta police in a parking garage, Delk said.
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie
May 03, 5:24 PM EDT
3 patients remain ‘critically ill’
Of the four women who were shot and injured in the medical facility waiting room, three of them are considered “critically ill” and are in the intensive care unit, according to Dr. Robert Jansen, the chief medical officer at Grady Health.
The most seriously injured patient remains in the operating room, Jansen said, while a second victim has completed an operation.
Another victim underwent an interventional radiology procedure, which is used to repair vascular injuries, and will need more procedures in the future, he said.
The fourth patient is considered stable, he said.
-ABC News’ Darren Reynolds
May 03, 4:51 PM EDT
Sen. Warnock, in grief for his home state, begs Congress to take action
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., gave a passionate speech on the Senate floor in the wake of the latest mass shooting to strike the nation, this one unfolding in his “own backyard.”
“I rise today in shock and sorrow and in grief for my home state,” Warnock said.
Police officers work the scene of a shooting near a medical facility, May 3, 2023, in Atlanta.
Warnock noted that his two children were under lockdown at school on Wednesday amid the ongoing hunt for the Atlanta gunman.
“We behave as if this is normal — it is not normal. It is not right for us to live in a nation where nobody is safe, no matter where they are. We’re not safe in our schools. We’re not safe in our workplaces. We’re not safe at the grocery store. We’re not safe at movie theaters. We’re not safe at spas. We’re not safe in our houses of worship. There is no sanctuary in the sanctuary. We’re not safe at concerts. We’re not safe at banks. We’re not safe at parades. We’re not safe in our own yards and in our own homes,” he said. “And now, today, we can add medical facilities to that list.”
He warned, “It’s only a matter of time that this kind of tragedy comes knocking on your door.”
As a pastor, Warnock said, “I’m praying for those who are affected by this tragedy,” but he stressed, “It is a contradiction to say that you are thinking and praying and do nothing. … We pray by taking action.”
Warnock said he’s “pleading” with his colleagues in Congress to pass stricter gun reforms to “do everything we can to protect all of us and certainly all of our children.”
-ABC News’ Trish Turner
May 03, 3:50 PM EDT
39-year-old woman killed, 4 women injured
The manhunt is ongoing for the mass shooting suspect, 24-year-old Deion Patterson, Atlanta police said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. Police said the gun has not been recovered.
The shooting, which unfolded in a medical center waiting room, killed a 39-year-old woman, police said.
The four injured victims, who are all women, are “fighting for their lives,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said. They are ages 71, 56, 39 and 25, police said.
“As soon as possible I’ll be in touch with the families of the victims,” he said.
Patterson’s family is cooperating with the investigation, police said.
May 03, 3:17 PM EDT
Doctor recounts performing surgery as shooting unfolded 1 floor below
Dr. Timothy Simons was performing surgery one floor above the scene where the shooting unfolded.
He told ABC News he completed the surgery and then sheltered in place.
When police came to clear the building floor by floor, Simons said he was told to put his hands up to verify that he was not the shooter.
“Then they escorted us all down the stairs,” he said.
-ABC News’ Janice McDonald
May 03, 2:58 PM EDT
Carjacking may be connected to shooting
As Atlanta police search for the suspected gunman, 24-year-old Deion Patterson, they say a car was stolen “not long after the shooting” and remains missing.
“We are working to locate the carjacked vehicle and to determine whether it is connected to the shooting,” police said.
May 03, 2:31 PM EDT
Doctor saw officers swarm his building
Dr. Ahmed Ali, a radiation oncologist at the building, told ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB that he was returning from his lunch break when he saw armed officers swam the scene.
“I was worried what was happening,” he said. “Building security … they told me gunshots were coming from the 11th floor. They said there was a pool of blood in the elevator shafts when the doors opened.”
-ABC News’ Ivan Pereira
May 03, 2:30 PM EDT
3 critically injured, 1 remains in ER
Of the four people who were shot and injured, three are in critical condition and one is in the emergency department, according to hospital officials.
All four are adults, officials said.
May 03, 2:02 PM EDT
1 dead, 4 injured
One person was killed and four were injured in the shooting at Laureate Medical Center in Atlanta, according to police.
“Officers are actively searching for the suspect and any other victims,” police said.
Northside Hospital tweeted that it’s “cooperating with law enforcement following the shooting at our midtown #Atlanta location earlier this afternoon. We urge people in the area to shelter in place and follow instructions from law enforcement on the scene.”
(WASHINGTON) — The White House on Wednesday denounced as “anonymous innuendo” a subpoena issued by the powerful House Oversight Committee demanding the FBI produce a record related to an alleged “criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national.”
The subpoena, was which was obtained by ABC News, was sent by Oversight Chairman James Comer and his committee to FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Comer is seeking an unclassified FD-1023 document, which is generally defined as a report from an informant.
The subpoena sets a May 10 deadline for all FD-1023 forms that were “created or modified in June 2020” containing the word “Biden,” along with related attachments and other documents.
A Department of Justice spokesperson told ABC News they have received the letter and subpoena but declined to comment further.
The subpoena represents a considerable escalation of the Oversight Committee’s ongoing investigation of Biden and his family. Comer has made it clear since taking over the panel that probing the president would be a main priority.
“The American people need to know if President Biden sold out the United States of America to make money for himself,” Comer said in a statement, adding that he and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, “will seek the truth to ensure accountability for the American people.”
Wednesday’s subpoena comes alongside a letter sent that same day to Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland from Comer and Grassley, who wrote that based on “highly credible unclassified whistleblower disclosures” they believe the Department of Justice and FBI “possess an unclassified FD-1023 form that describes an alleged criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions.”
Both the letter and subpoena, however, provide little information on the nature of this explosive allegation, including further information on the background of the purported whistleblower.
The committee is also not revealing the identity of the foreign national.
Comer and Grassley wrote in their letter that they believe the document they seek includes some of these details. The subpoena cites a need for information to inform possible legislation around ethics and financial disclosure for presidents, vice presidents and their families.
An FD-1023 form could be generated in a variety of situations involving someone presenting themselves as a “source” with claims of wrongdoing.
The June 2020 timeframe detailed in the subpoena was at the height of the last presidential campaign, between Biden and Donald Trump
A White House spokesperson dismissed the subpoena as a partisan smokescreen.
“For going on five years now, Republicans in Congress have been lobbing unfounded, unproven, politically-motivated attacks against the President and his family without offering evidence for their claims or evidence of decisions influenced by anything other than U.S. interests,” Ian Sams said. “That’s because they prefer floating anonymous innuendo, amplified by the megaphone of their allies in rightwing media, to get attention and try to distract and deflect from their own unpopular ideas and lack of solutions to the issues the American people actually care about.”
“When it comes to President Biden’s personal finances, anybody can take a look: he has offered an unprecedented level of transparency, releasing a total of 25 years of tax returns to the American public,” Sams said.
In his own statement, Grassley said, “We believe the FBI possesses an unclassified internal document that includes very serious and detailed allegations implicating the current President of the United States. What we don’t know is what, if anything, the FBI has done to verify these claims or investigate further.”
