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  • Trump says ‘with a high degree of certainty’ that suspect in Charlie Kirk killing has been caught

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    The suspect in the Charlie Kirk assassination has been captured, President Donald Trump said Friday in an announcement representing a significant breakthrough in the investigation into a targeted killing that raised fresh alarms about political violence in the United States.Live video above: Officials address arrest in shooting death of Charlie Kirk“With a high degree of certainty, we have him,” Trump announced in a live interview on Fox News Channel. He said a minister also involved with law enforcement turned the suspect in to authorities.“Somebody that was very close to him said, ‘Hmm, that’s him,’” Trump said.The suspect in custody in connection with Kirk’s killing is a 22-year-old from Utah, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. Authorities have identified the suspect as Tyler Robinson, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity.The FBI and the Justice Department did not immediately comment, but a news conference in Utah, where the killing took place on a college campus this week, was planned for later Friday. News of the arrest came hours after the FBI and state officials had pleaded for public help by releasing additional photographs of the suspect, a move that seemed to indicate that law enforcement was uncertain of the person’s whereabouts.Kirk was killed by a single shot in what police said was a targeted attack and Utah’s governor called a political assassination. Kirk co-founded the nonprofit political organization Turning Point USA, based in Arizona.Authorities recovered a high-powered, bolt-action rifle near the scene of the shooting and had said the shooter jumped off a roof and vanished into the nearby woods afterward.Kirk had been speaking at a debate hosted by Turning Point at Utah Valley University at the time of Wednesday’s shooting. He was taken to a local hospital and was pronounced dead hours later.“He wanted to help young people, and he didn’t deserve this,” Trump said Friday. “He was really a good person.”Federal investigators and state officials on Thursday had released photos and a video of the person they believe is responsible. Kirk was shot as he spoke to a crowd gathered in a courtyard at the university in Orem.More than 7,000 leads and tips had poured in, officials said. Authorities have yet to publicly name the suspect or cite a motive in the killing, the latest act of political violence to convulse the United States.Grisly video shared onlineThe attack, carried out in broad daylight as Kirk spoke about social issues, was captured on grisly videos that spread on social media.The videos show Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, speaking into a handheld microphone when suddenly a shot rings out. Kirk reaches up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators gasp and scream before people start running away.The shooter, who investigators believe blended into the campus crowd because of a college-age appearance, fired one shot from the rooftop, according to authorities. Video released Thursday showed the person then walking through the grass and across the street before disappearing.“I can tell you this was a targeted event,” said Robert Bohls, the top FBI agent in Salt Lake City.Trump, who was joined by Democrats in condemning the violence, said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, visited with Kirk’s family Thursday in Salt Lake City. Vance posted a remembrance on X chronicling their friendship, dating back to initial messages in 2017, through Vance’s Senate run and the 2024 election.“So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene,” Vance wrote. “He didn’t just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.”Kirk’s casket was flown aboard Air Force Two from Utah to Phoenix, where his nonprofit political youth organization, Turning Point USA, is based. Trump told reporters he plans to attend Kirk’s funeral. Details have not been announced.Kirk was taking questions about gun violenceKirk became a powerful political force among young Republicans and was a fixture on college campuses, where he invited sometimes-vehement debate on social issues.One such provocative exchange played out immediately before the shooting as Kirk was taking questions from an audience member about gun violence.The debate hosted by Turning Point at the Sorensen Center on campus was billed as the first stop on Kirk’s “American Comeback Tour.”The event generated a polarizing campus reaction. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures. The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry and constructive dialogue.”Last week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit was sparking controversy. He wrote, “What’s going on in Utah?”Attendees barricaded themselves in classroomsSome attendees who bolted after the gunshot rushed into two classrooms full of students. They used tables to barricade the door and to shield themselves in the corners. Someone grabbed an electric pencil sharpener and wrapped the cord tightly around the door handle, then tied the sharpener to a chair leg.On campus Thursday, the canopy stamped with the slogan Kirk commonly used at his events — “PROVE ME WRONG” — stood, disheveled.Kathleen Murphy, a longtime resident who lives near the campus, said she has been staying inside with her door locked.“With the shooter not being caught yet, it was a worry,” Murphy said.Meanwhile, the shooting continued to draw swift bipartisan condemnation as Democratic officials joined Trump and other Republican allies of Kirk in decrying the attack, which unfolded during a spike of political violence that has touched a range of ideologies and representatives of both major political parties.

    OREM, Utah —

    The suspect in the Charlie Kirk assassination has been captured, President Donald Trump said Friday in an announcement representing a significant breakthrough in the investigation into a targeted killing that raised fresh alarms about political violence in the United States.

    Live video above: Officials address arrest in shooting death of Charlie Kirk

    “With a high degree of certainty, we have him,” Trump announced in a live interview on Fox News Channel. He said a minister also involved with law enforcement turned the suspect in to authorities.

    “Somebody that was very close to him said, ‘Hmm, that’s him,’” Trump said.

    The suspect in custody in connection with Kirk’s killing is a 22-year-old from Utah, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. Authorities have identified the suspect as Tyler Robinson, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

    The FBI and the Justice Department did not immediately comment, but a news conference in Utah, where the killing took place on a college campus this week, was planned for later Friday. News of the arrest came hours after the FBI and state officials had pleaded for public help by releasing additional photographs of the suspect, a move that seemed to indicate that law enforcement was uncertain of the person’s whereabouts.

    Kirk was killed by a single shot in what police said was a targeted attack and Utah’s governor called a political assassination. Kirk co-founded the nonprofit political organization Turning Point USA, based in Arizona.

    Authorities recovered a high-powered, bolt-action rifle near the scene of the shooting and had said the shooter jumped off a roof and vanished into the nearby woods afterward.

    Kirk had been speaking at a debate hosted by Turning Point at Utah Valley University at the time of Wednesday’s shooting. He was taken to a local hospital and was pronounced dead hours later.

    “He wanted to help young people, and he didn’t deserve this,” Trump said Friday. “He was really a good person.”

    Federal investigators and state officials on Thursday had released photos and a video of the person they believe is responsible. Kirk was shot as he spoke to a crowd gathered in a courtyard at the university in Orem.

    More than 7,000 leads and tips had poured in, officials said. Authorities have yet to publicly name the suspect or cite a motive in the killing, the latest act of political violence to convulse the United States.

    Grisly video shared online

    The attack, carried out in broad daylight as Kirk spoke about social issues, was captured on grisly videos that spread on social media.

    The videos show Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, speaking into a handheld microphone when suddenly a shot rings out. Kirk reaches up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators gasp and scream before people start running away.

    The shooter, who investigators believe blended into the campus crowd because of a college-age appearance, fired one shot from the rooftop, according to authorities. Video released Thursday showed the person then walking through the grass and across the street before disappearing.

    “I can tell you this was a targeted event,” said Robert Bohls, the top FBI agent in Salt Lake City.

    Trump, who was joined by Democrats in condemning the violence, said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, visited with Kirk’s family Thursday in Salt Lake City. Vance posted a remembrance on X chronicling their friendship, dating back to initial messages in 2017, through Vance’s Senate run and the 2024 election.

    “So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene,” Vance wrote. “He didn’t just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.”

    Kirk’s casket was flown aboard Air Force Two from Utah to Phoenix, where his nonprofit political youth organization, Turning Point USA, is based. Trump told reporters he plans to attend Kirk’s funeral. Details have not been announced.

    Kirk was taking questions about gun violence

    Kirk became a powerful political force among young Republicans and was a fixture on college campuses, where he invited sometimes-vehement debate on social issues.

    One such provocative exchange played out immediately before the shooting as Kirk was taking questions from an audience member about gun violence.

    The debate hosted by Turning Point at the Sorensen Center on campus was billed as the first stop on Kirk’s “American Comeback Tour.”

    The event generated a polarizing campus reaction. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures. The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry and constructive dialogue.”

    Last week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit was sparking controversy. He wrote, “What’s going on in Utah?”

    Attendees barricaded themselves in classrooms

    Some attendees who bolted after the gunshot rushed into two classrooms full of students. They used tables to barricade the door and to shield themselves in the corners. Someone grabbed an electric pencil sharpener and wrapped the cord tightly around the door handle, then tied the sharpener to a chair leg.

    On campus Thursday, the canopy stamped with the slogan Kirk commonly used at his events — “PROVE ME WRONG” — stood, disheveled.

    Kathleen Murphy, a longtime resident who lives near the campus, said she has been staying inside with her door locked.

    “With the shooter not being caught yet, it was a worry,” Murphy said.

    Meanwhile, the shooting continued to draw swift bipartisan condemnation as Democratic officials joined Trump and other Republican allies of Kirk in decrying the attack, which unfolded during a spike of political violence that has touched a range of ideologies and representatives of both major political parties.

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  • Trump says ‘with a high degree of certainty’ that suspect in Charlie Kirk killing has been caught

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    President Donald Trump said Friday that the suspect in the Charlie Kirk killing has been captured.“With a high degree of certainty, we have him,” Trump announced in a live interview on Fox News Channel on Friday morning.Trump said a minister who is also involved with law enforcement turned in the suspect to authorities.“Somebody that was very close to him said, ‘Hmm, that’s him,’” Trump said.Kirk was killed by a single shot Wednesday in what police said was a targeted attack and Utah’s governor called a political assassination. Kirk co-founded the nonprofit political organization Turning Point USA and was a close ally of Trump.Authorities recovered a high-powered, bolt-action rifle near the scene and had said the shooter jumped off a roof and vanished into the woods after the shooting.Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by Turning Point at Utah Valley University at the time of the shooting. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead hours later.Federal investigators and state officials on Thursday had released photos and a video of the person they believe is responsible. Kirk was shot as he spoke to a crowd gathered in a courtyard at Utah Valley University in Orem.More than 7,000 leads and tips had poured in, officials said. Authorities have yet to publicly name the suspect or cite a motive in the killing, the latest act of political violence to convulse the United States.Grisly video shared onlineThe attack, carried out in broad daylight as Kirk spoke about social issues, was captured on grisly videos that spread on social media.The videos show Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, speaking into a handheld microphone when suddenly a shot rings out. Kirk reaches up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators gasp and scream before people start running away.The shooter, who investigators believe blended into the campus crowd because of a college-age appearance, fired one shot from the rooftop, according to authorities. Video released Thursday showed the person then walking through the grass and across the street before disappearing.“I can tell you this was a targeted event,” said Robert Bohls, the top FBI agent in Salt Lake City.Trump, who was joined by Democrats in condemning the violence, said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, visited with Kirk’s family Thursday in Salt Lake City. Vance posted a remembrance on X chronicling their friendship, dating back to initial messages in 2017, through Vance’s Senate run and the 2024 election.“So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene,” Vance wrote. “He didn’t just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.”Kirk’s casket was flown aboard Air Force Two from Utah to Phoenix, where his nonprofit political youth organization, Turning Point USA, is based. Trump told reporters he plans to attend Kirk’s funeral. Details have not been announced.Kirk was taking questions about gun violenceKirk became a powerful political force among young Republicans and was a fixture on college campuses, where he invited sometimes-vehement debate on social issues.One such provocative exchange played out immediately before the shooting as Kirk was taking questions from an audience member about gun violence.The debate hosted by Turning Point at the Sorensen Center on campus was billed as the first stop on Kirk’s “American Comeback Tour.”The event generated a polarizing campus reaction. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures. The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry and constructive dialogue.”Last week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit was sparking controversy. He wrote, “What’s going on in Utah?”Attendees barricaded themselves in classroomsSome attendees who bolted after the gunshot rushed into two classrooms full of students. They used tables to barricade the door and to shield themselves in the corners. Someone grabbed an electric pencil sharpener and wrapped the cord tightly around the door handle, then tied the sharpener to a chair leg.On campus Thursday, the canopy stamped with the slogan Kirk commonly used at his events — “PROVE ME WRONG” — stood, disheveled.Kathleen Murphy, a longtime resident who lives near the campus, said she has been staying inside with her door locked.“With the shooter not being caught yet, it was a worry,” Murphy said.Meanwhile, the shooting continued to draw swift bipartisan condemnation as Democratic officials joined Trump and other Republican allies of Kirk in decrying the attack, which unfolded during a spike of political violence that has touched a range of ideologies and representatives of both major political parties.

    President Donald Trump said Friday that the suspect in the Charlie Kirk killing has been captured.

    “With a high degree of certainty, we have him,” Trump announced in a live interview on Fox News Channel on Friday morning.

    Trump said a minister who is also involved with law enforcement turned in the suspect to authorities.

    “Somebody that was very close to him said, ‘Hmm, that’s him,’” Trump said.

    Kirk was killed by a single shot Wednesday in what police said was a targeted attack and Utah’s governor called a political assassination. Kirk co-founded the nonprofit political organization Turning Point USA and was a close ally of Trump.

    Authorities recovered a high-powered, bolt-action rifle near the scene and had said the shooter jumped off a roof and vanished into the woods after the shooting.

    Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by Turning Point at Utah Valley University at the time of the shooting. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead hours later.

    Federal investigators and state officials on Thursday had released photos and a video of the person they believe is responsible. Kirk was shot as he spoke to a crowd gathered in a courtyard at Utah Valley University in Orem.

    More than 7,000 leads and tips had poured in, officials said. Authorities have yet to publicly name the suspect or cite a motive in the killing, the latest act of political violence to convulse the United States.

    Grisly video shared online

    The attack, carried out in broad daylight as Kirk spoke about social issues, was captured on grisly videos that spread on social media.

    The videos show Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, speaking into a handheld microphone when suddenly a shot rings out. Kirk reaches up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators gasp and scream before people start running away.

    The shooter, who investigators believe blended into the campus crowd because of a college-age appearance, fired one shot from the rooftop, according to authorities. Video released Thursday showed the person then walking through the grass and across the street before disappearing.

    “I can tell you this was a targeted event,” said Robert Bohls, the top FBI agent in Salt Lake City.

    Trump, who was joined by Democrats in condemning the violence, said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, visited with Kirk’s family Thursday in Salt Lake City. Vance posted a remembrance on X chronicling their friendship, dating back to initial messages in 2017, through Vance’s Senate run and the 2024 election.

    “So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene,” Vance wrote. “He didn’t just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.”

    Kirk’s casket was flown aboard Air Force Two from Utah to Phoenix, where his nonprofit political youth organization, Turning Point USA, is based. Trump told reporters he plans to attend Kirk’s funeral. Details have not been announced.

    Kirk was taking questions about gun violence

    Kirk became a powerful political force among young Republicans and was a fixture on college campuses, where he invited sometimes-vehement debate on social issues.

    One such provocative exchange played out immediately before the shooting as Kirk was taking questions from an audience member about gun violence.

    The debate hosted by Turning Point at the Sorensen Center on campus was billed as the first stop on Kirk’s “American Comeback Tour.”

    The event generated a polarizing campus reaction. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures. The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry and constructive dialogue.”

    Last week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit was sparking controversy. He wrote, “What’s going on in Utah?”

    Attendees barricaded themselves in classrooms

    Some attendees who bolted after the gunshot rushed into two classrooms full of students. They used tables to barricade the door and to shield themselves in the corners. Someone grabbed an electric pencil sharpener and wrapped the cord tightly around the door handle, then tied the sharpener to a chair leg.

    On campus Thursday, the canopy stamped with the slogan Kirk commonly used at his events — “PROVE ME WRONG” — stood, disheveled.

    Kathleen Murphy, a longtime resident who lives near the campus, said she has been staying inside with her door locked.

    “With the shooter not being caught yet, it was a worry,” Murphy said.

    Meanwhile, the shooting continued to draw swift bipartisan condemnation as Democratic officials joined Trump and other Republican allies of Kirk in decrying the attack, which unfolded during a spike of political violence that has touched a range of ideologies and representatives of both major political parties.

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  • Trump suggests authorities have apprehended Charlie Kirk shooting suspect

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    OREM, Utah — President Donald Trump said Friday that he believes “with a high degree of certainty” that authorities have apprehended a suspect in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

    “I think with a high degree of certainty we have him in custody,” Trump said during an appearance on Fox & Friends, noting that someone “very close to him turned him in.”

    Trump praised local and state officials for their work tracking down the suspect who was captured on video on the rooftop of a Utah Vallery University building after Kirk was killed after being struck in the neck with one single shot.

    “Everybody did a great job, you know,” the President said. “You start off with absolutely nothing, and we started off with a cliff that made him look like an ant, that was almost useless. We just saw there was somebody up there. And so much work has been done over the last two and a half days.”

    Trump said he hoped the suspect would be found guilty and get the death penalty.

    “What he did, Charlie Kirk, he was the finest person that, he didn’t deserve this.”

    State and federal officials have scheduled a news conference for 6 a.m. Pacific time.

    Trump’s claims came the morning after Utah authorities pleaded for the public’s help in identifying the gunman and released new video of a suspect in dark clothing lying face-down on the corner of a roof at Utah Valley University. He then ran across the roof and jumped off of it, using his hands to lower himself over the edge.

    Beau Mason, the head of Utah’s Department Public Safety, said in a TV interview Thursday night on MSNBC that “we’re exploring leads for individuals out of state and individuals that live close by.” We literally have persons of interest, tips coming in on the tip line that are spanning far, far and wide.”

    Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, said investigators were chasing several leads after the suspect left palm impressions and smudges on the roof that they hoped would allow them to collect DNA. He also left a shoe imprint officials believe is from a Converse tennis shoe.

    Law enforcement is circulating the video as well as photos of the suspect — who was last seen wearing blue jeans, a baseball cap, gray Converse shoes and a long-sleeved black T-shirt that appeared to show an American flag and an eagle. Anyone with information is encouraged to come forward.

    Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Thursday night they hoped the images and video would get as much attention as possible to help investigators capture “this evil human being.”

    “We are going to catch this person,” Cox said, noting that he had worked with attorneys to get affidavits ready “so that we can pursue the death penalty in this case.”

    With pressure building on authorities, the F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, took the unusual step Thursday of flying to Utah. But he did not speak at the news conference.

    More than 7,000 tips have been submitted to the FBI, according to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. But on Thursday evening Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, told MSNBC that authorities still “have no idea” where Kirk’s killer is.

    The suspected murder weapon, a high-powered bolt-action rifle, was recovered in a wooded area near a parking lot, said Robert Bohls, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Salt Lake City office. Mason said the suspect was seen running to that area after getting down from the roof.

    Kirk was afervant conservative and enormously influential figure in American politics, with a combined 25.6 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

    A provocative figure, Kirk was known for challenging left-wing orthodoxies on college campuses and clung strongly to his Christian faith, arguing that there should be no division between church and state in America.

    Kirk’s assassination sparked fierce backlash from conservative leaders, including President Trump, who blamed the rhetoric of the “radical left” for his death. On Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance traveled from Utah to Phoenix aboard Air Force Two with Kirk’s family to bring the activist’s casket home.

    On Thursday evening, hundreds gathered in a park in Orem, Utah, to remember and honor Kirk.

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    The multi-generational crowd held American flags, pushed children in strollers and donned “Make America Great Again” hats while they prayed and sang together.

    “Come together in light,” Mayor David Young said to the crowd. “Violence has no place here.”

    The mourners sang along to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” and participated in a group prayer.

    “This is the healing that we needed,” said Klea Harris, whose children helped organize the event.

    More than a hundred people lined up with flowers, candles and flags, waiting for their turn to place them before a memorial that centered on a larger-than-life photo of Kirk.

    “It’s important that we don’t turn on each other in this moment,” said Jason Preston, a conservative podcast host. He received rousing applause when he told the crowd: “This is not a battle of right versus left, this is a battle of good versus evil.”

    Earlier in the day, young conservatives gathered on campus, hanging red banners in honor of Kirk’s Republican ideology and carrying posters with phrases such as “We are not afraid” and “Charlie Kirk, American hero.”

    “I think this kind of woke a sleeping giant,” said UVU student Jillian Green, 20. “People are outraged and very upset that he [was killed] when he was advocating for so many of us.”

    Koby Herrera, a fellow student at the university, also felt that the death could mark a shift in political history, noting that it could further raise Kirk’s influence.

    “He had a voice, and I feel like his voice is bigger now that he’s in the grave,” said Herrera, 22.

    Kirk held huge sway over young Republicans, and key members of the Trump administration credited him with helping them secure the GOP’s 2024 electoral victory.

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  • What we know about ongoing manhunt for Charlie Kirk shooting suspect

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    What we know about ongoing manhunt for Charlie Kirk shooting suspect

    Good morning. I’m Bo Mason, commissioner for the Utah Department of Public Safety. I’d be remiss if we didn’t start off today to recognize the significance of, of the day, um. Historically on 9/11, law enforcement has come together as *** group to recognize and honor those that sacrificed. To preserve the ideals of this country, the freedoms of this country. And instead, we find ourselves today hunting *** murderer. We chose to violate our rights, the rights of an individual within this country. Just to recap yesterday’s events. At around 12:20 p.m. Political influencer Charlie Kirk was in Utah Valley University, participating in *** student sponsored event with Turning Point USA. Charlie was shot at that event. He was transported to *** local hospital where he later passed. Last night, his body was moved to the office, the state office of the medical examiner. We will continue to facilitate movements um to get him home today, um, and with his family. Yesterday during the investigative process we located *** couple of persons of interest. We interviewed those individuals. And after releasing them and after clearing them of being suspects. They face scrutiny. They face threats. We asked the public to be patient with the investigative process. These individuals were not suspects. They were people of interest. We ask that you do not impose into those those people and that investigative process. They don’t deserve that harassment for being subject to that. I’d like to thank all the investigators that are involved in this. They have worked around the clock all day yesterday through the night last night. Investigators from the State Bureau of Investigations, from county, from city agencies, the university, our federal partners with the FBI, the ATF, um, and many others. Those are just *** few of the people that we have involved in this. I’d like to thank all of them for their, for their strong work. Through all that work last night, we were able to make *** few, few breakthroughs. Um, we were able to track the movements of the shooter. Starting at 11:52 a.m. the subject arrived on campus shortly away from campus. We have tracked his movements onto the campus, through the stairwells, up to the roof, across the roof to *** shooting location. After the shooting, we were able to track his movements as he moved to the other side of the building, jumped off of the building, and fled off of the campus and into *** neighborhood. Our investigators have worked through those neighborhoods, contacting anybody they can with doorbell cameras, witnesses, and thoroughly worked through those communities trying to identify any leads. We do have good video footage of this individual. We are not going to release that at this time. We’re working through some technologies and some ways to identify this individual. If we are unsuccessful, we will reach out to you as the media, and we will push that publicly to help us identify them, but we’re confident in our abilities right now and we would like to move forward in *** manner that keeps everyone safe and moves this process appropriately. Last night I communicated with Erica. The family is devastated. As Commissioner of Public safety. As *** father, as *** husband, I can only imagine what that family is going through. The heinous event that happened yesterday is not Utah. This is not what we’re known for. Over the past several weeks, we’ve seen the state come together to help families in mourning, come together as *** community to show what Utah is known for. For *** state of, of character. Of service, of camaraderie, of ***, of *** neighboring field. We will not stand for what happened yesterday. We are exhausting every lead. We have every officer invested in this, every investigator, every local agency. The outpouring of support from the law enforcement community has been astounding. We are, we are investing everything we have into this, and we will catch this individual. Having walked through the crime scene, through the hallways of this school, through the classrooms. I can’t imagine what the people on scene felt as well. *** horrific event where some of them barricaded in classrooms, some of them ran in fear. Can’t over over overstate. The tragedy and the horrific event that yesterday was. And how we will work to, to bring to justice the actions of one individual or any other individuals that assisted in that. Our state has gone through *** lot and we will come out successfully. With that, I’ll turn the time over to Special Agens charge. Good morning. My name is Robert Bows, and I’m the special agent in charge of the Salt Lake Field Office. Following yesterday’s tragic shooting of Charlie Kirk, FBI agents have been working around the clock in coordination with our law enforcement partners. We are and will continue to work nonstop until we find the person that has committed this heinous crime and find out why they did it. This morning, I can tell you that we have recovered what we believe is the weapon that was used in yesterday’s shooting. It’s *** high-powered bolt action rifle. That rifle was was recovered in *** wooded area where the shooter had fled. So the FBI laboratory will be analyzing this weapon. Investigators have also collected footwear impression, *** palm print, and forearm imprints for analysis. I understand there are *** lot of questions about motive. I assure you that all leads, tips, and tips are being fully investigated. As of this morning, we received more than 130 tests. We thank the community for that. The FBI has brought every resource to bear. And we will continue to do so throughout the course of this investigation. The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people. It’s to uphold the Constitution of the United States. Any attack on the First Amendment. is an attack on the very foundation of our democracy. That is why we will, we will relentlessly pursue this case and the shooter until we find him. We also continue to grieve with the family and the community. It’s our community. If you have any video or images from the shooting, we ask you to please submit them to our digital media tip website at www.FBI.gov/Utahvalley shooting. You can also call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. We truly rely on the public’s help in these types of cases, and no tip is too small or insignificant. Thank you. Um, Commissioner James Matthews from Sky News, can I ask, uh, about the shooter? There’s clearly information, uh, about him or her. You say you’re confident at this stage in terms of tracking down who they are. Can you talk to us about their movements, their demeanor? Do you think it’s *** man? And also, can I ask what were the security arrangements in place? Was that move. Being monitored, it’s *** question many people will have particular problem. So what I’ll release about the suspect is uh Suspect blended in well with, with the college institution. Um, we’re not releasing any details right now and then we, we will soon, um, but right now we’re not, but that, that individual um appears to be of, of college age, um. We are confident in our abilities to track that individual. If we’re unsuccessful in identifying them immediately, we will reach out to the public’s help and the media’s help in pushing those photos. That was *** new development overnight working through the night studying those cameras, so that’s something that’s new and that we’re working through right now. As far as the security, I cannot speak to that. Neither the Department of Public Safety nor the Federal Bureau of Investigation was involved in in the planning or security of this event, and that’ll have to be *** question later for other agencies. I wanted to ask you, you mentioned that you found the gun in *** wooded area. Do you believe that the suspect could be hiding in the woods, and is that suspect possibly still in this area? So that’s *** good question and it’s, it’s *** question that goes to the safety of the community, right? Um, no, not in those woods. We walked through those woods and secured it. Um, as to the community, I can tell you that this was *** targeted event. Um, we don’t believe the community is, is at risk. However, we’re exhausting every resource to find him, uh, and. We will, we will do so on the BBC from the images you have, can you see clearly the suspect’s face? You say he was college age, do you believe he was from this university, and how far do you think he may have gone in this time span? So I can’t comment specifically on his face or any details such as that, uh, as it’s continuing to be *** part of the investigation and, and again we’ll release that shortly. Uh, however, um, we’re, we’re doing everything we can to find him, and we’re not sure how far he’s gone. And you do? We, we have images of the of the suspects that you’ve been able to recover, do you believe you know who this person is, the person that you’re looking for at this point again, as part of the investigation, we’re not releasing any details fingerprints or DNA. We are, we are exhausting all of our resources to be able to collect those, uh, but that’s again part of the excuse me. You said you found the weapon. Have you been able to trace back the owner of that weapon or purchased it? We are working on that but again part of the of the FBI think that’s impacting. We’ve got complete and total support from everyone from the director on down and it’s been an incredible supportive environment so far. tweets like the one where I can say is that we’re working the investigation the best we have right now.

    What we know about ongoing manhunt for Charlie Kirk shooting suspect

    Updated: 11:02 AM EDT Sep 11, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    A manhunt continues Thursday as law enforcement officials search for the suspect responsible for fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk at the Utah Valley University campus on Wednesday.Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA when he was shot and killed. Kirk was the CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA.What we know about the shooterPolice are still working to identify the shooter.The suspect targeted Kirk, firing a single shot from a distant rooftop, according to Commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety Beau Mason. Authorities said the suspect “appears to be of college age” and “blended in” with students on the college campus.Authorities said the suspect arrived on campus just before noon. After firing the shot, the shooter jumped from the roof, moved through stairwells and ultimately fled from campus into a neighborhood. A high-powered, bolt-action rifle was found in a wooded area where the shooter fled, according to the FBI. The shooter is still on the run, and it is not clear how far the suspect may have gotten, but the nearby woods have been secured, authorities said.Officials are reviewing grainy security videos of a person in dark clothing. “We do have good video of this individual,” Mason said.Federal, state and local authorities were working what they called “multiple active crime scenes.” Are there other suspects?A person of interest was taken into custody Wednesday evening after the shooting, but has since been released, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said. No charges were filed. Officials have no information indicating a second person was involved, according to Cox. Two other people were detained Wednesday, but neither was determined to be connected to the shooting and both were released, public safety officials said. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    A manhunt continues Thursday as law enforcement officials search for the suspect responsible for fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk at the Utah Valley University campus on Wednesday.

    Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA when he was shot and killed. Kirk was the CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA.

    What we know about the shooter

    Police are still working to identify the shooter.

    The suspect targeted Kirk, firing a single shot from a distant rooftop, according to Commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety Beau Mason.

    Authorities said the suspect “appears to be of college age” and “blended in” with students on the college campus.

    Authorities said the suspect arrived on campus just before noon.

    After firing the shot, the shooter jumped from the roof, moved through stairwells and ultimately fled from campus into a neighborhood. A high-powered, bolt-action rifle was found in a wooded area where the shooter fled, according to the FBI.

    The shooter is still on the run, and it is not clear how far the suspect may have gotten, but the nearby woods have been secured, authorities said.

    Officials are reviewing grainy security videos of a person in dark clothing. “We do have good video of this individual,” Mason said.

    Federal, state and local authorities were working what they called “multiple active crime scenes.”

    Are there other suspects?

    A person of interest was taken into custody Wednesday evening after the shooting, but has since been released, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said. No charges were filed.

    Officials have no information indicating a second person was involved, according to Cox.

    Two other people were detained Wednesday, but neither was determined to be connected to the shooting and both were released, public safety officials said.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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  • Authorities say a student is dead after shooting 2 peers and then himself at Colorado high school

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    A student shot two of his peers Wednesday at a suburban Denver high school before shooting himself and later dying, authorities said.The handgun shooting was reported around 12:30 p.m. at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colorado, about 30 miles west of Denver in the Rocky Mountain foothills.Shots were fired both inside and outside the school building, and law enforcement officers who responded found the shooter within five minutes of arriving, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jacki Kelley said.None of the law enforcement officers who responded to the shooting fired any shots, Kelley said.More than 100 police officers from the surrounding area rushed to the school to try to help, Kelley said. A 1999 school shooting at Jefferson County’s Columbine High killed 14 people, including a woman who died earlier this year of complications from her injuries in the shooting.The teens were originally listed in critical condition, St. Anthony Hospital CEO Kevin Cullinan said. Their ages were not released.By early evening, one teen was in stable condition with what Dr. Brian Blackwood, the hospital’s trauma director, described as non-life threatening injuries. He declined to provide more details.The high school with more than 900 students is largely surrounded by forest. It is about a mile from the center of Evergreen, which has a population of 9,300 people.After the shooting, parents gathered outside a nearby elementary school waiting to reunite with their children.Wendy Nueman said her 15-year-old daughter, a sophomore at Evergreen High School, didn’t answer her phone right away after the shooting, The Denver Post reported. When her daughter finally called back, it was from a borrowed phone.“She just said she was OK. She couldn’t hardly speak,” Nueman said, holding back tears. She gathered that her daughter ran from the school.“It’s super scary,” she said. “We feel like we live in a little bubble here. Obviously, no one is immune.”Eighteen students who fled from the shooting took shelter at a home just down the road, after an initial group of them pounded on the door asking for help, resident Don Cygan told Denver’s KUSA-TV. One student said he heard gunshots while in the school’s cafeteria and ran out of the school, Cygan said.Cygan, a retired educator familiar with lockdown trainings to prepare for possible shootings, said he took down the names of all the students and the names of the parents who later arrived there to pick them up. His wife, a retired nurse, was able to calm the teens down and treat them for shock, he said.“I hope they feel like they ran to the right house,” he said._____Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

    DENVER —

    A student shot two of his peers Wednesday at a suburban Denver high school before shooting himself and later dying, authorities said.

    The handgun shooting was reported around 12:30 p.m. at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colorado, about 30 miles west of Denver in the Rocky Mountain foothills.

    Shots were fired both inside and outside the school building, and law enforcement officers who responded found the shooter within five minutes of arriving, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jacki Kelley said.

    None of the law enforcement officers who responded to the shooting fired any shots, Kelley said.

    More than 100 police officers from the surrounding area rushed to the school to try to help, Kelley said. A 1999 school shooting at Jefferson County’s Columbine High killed 14 people, including a woman who died earlier this year of complications from her injuries in the shooting.

    The teens were originally listed in critical condition, St. Anthony Hospital CEO Kevin Cullinan said. Their ages were not released.

    By early evening, one teen was in stable condition with what Dr. Brian Blackwood, the hospital’s trauma director, described as non-life threatening injuries. He declined to provide more details.

    The high school with more than 900 students is largely surrounded by forest. It is about a mile from the center of Evergreen, which has a population of 9,300 people.

    After the shooting, parents gathered outside a nearby elementary school waiting to reunite with their children.

    Wendy Nueman said her 15-year-old daughter, a sophomore at Evergreen High School, didn’t answer her phone right away after the shooting, The Denver Post reported. When her daughter finally called back, it was from a borrowed phone.

    “She just said she was OK. She couldn’t hardly speak,” Nueman said, holding back tears. She gathered that her daughter ran from the school.

    “It’s super scary,” she said. “We feel like we live in a little bubble here. Obviously, no one is immune.”

    Eighteen students who fled from the shooting took shelter at a home just down the road, after an initial group of them pounded on the door asking for help, resident Don Cygan told Denver’s KUSA-TV. One student said he heard gunshots while in the school’s cafeteria and ran out of the school, Cygan said.

    Cygan, a retired educator familiar with lockdown trainings to prepare for possible shootings, said he took down the names of all the students and the names of the parents who later arrived there to pick them up. His wife, a retired nurse, was able to calm the teens down and treat them for shock, he said.

    “I hope they feel like they ran to the right house,” he said.

    _____

    Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

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  • What horrifying videos tell us about the killing of Charlie Kirk

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    Multiple videos from the scene show graphic details about the killing of conservative commentator and political organizer Charlie Kirk at a university in Utah on Wednesday.

    Authorities are now poring over the video as part of the investigation into Kirk’s killing. They are still looking for the gunman after briefly detaining and then freeing two people of interest.

    Charlie Kirk speaks before he is fatally shot during an event Wednesday at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

    (Tess Crowley / Deseret News / AP)

    The shooting

    Kirk drew a large crowd to the event at Utah Valley University. He was gunned down at 12:20 p.m. while talking about mass shootings.

    “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?” an audience member asks.

    “Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk responds.

    Almost immediately, Kirk is shot in the neck. One video shows blood pouring from the wound as he falls over. As the crowd realizes what has taken place, people are heard screaming and running away.

    “This incident occurred with a large crowd around. There was one shot fired, one victim,” Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, said on Wednesday afternoon. “While the suspect is at large, we believe this was a targeted attack toward one individual.”

    People run off on a lawn.

    Members of the crowd screamed and ran after a gunshot was heard and Kirk toppled from his chair.

    (Tess Crowley / Deseret News / AP)

    The shooter is believed to have fired from the roof of a building at Kirk as he participated in the public event in the student courtyard, where around 3,000 people were gathered, according to the Department of Public Safety.

    A source familiar with the investigation told The Times that a bullet struck Kirk’s carotid artery.

    Moments later, many in the crowd begin running.

    Jeffrey Long, chief of the university’s Police Department, said six of the force’s officers, including some plainclothes officers embedded in the crowd, were working with members of Kirk’s personal security team to manage safety at the event.

    The shooter

    Several videos show a person who appears to be dressed in black moving on the roof of university’s Losee Center moments before the gunfire.

    Mason, of the Utah Department of Public Safety, said authorities were analyzing campus security video that showed a suspect in dark clothing who might have shot at Kirk from a roof.

    The gunman is believed to have killed Kirk from at least 200 yards away using some type of sniper rifle, law enforcement sources told The Times.

    A woman covers her mouth with one hand.

    Allison Hemingway-Witty cries after the shooting.

    (Tess Crowley / Deseret News / AP)

    Some experts who have seen videos believe that the assailant probably had experience with firearms, given the precision with which the single shot was fired from a considerable distance.

    Witness Seth Teasdale told the Salt Lake Tribune that the gunshot was so loud it echoed across the pavilion where Kirk was speaking.

    Brynlee Holms told the Tribune the shot was “super loud,” which added to the panic in the crowd.

    “I just heard a clear shot, ‘Boom!’ And that was it,” another witness told KUTV.

    Police detained George Zinn and Zachariah Qureshi as suspects and later released them after determining they had no ties to the shooting, according to the Department of Public Safety. The manhunt for the shooter continues.

    What is not shown

    No videos have surfaced showing the gunman firing the shot or fleeing the scene.

    Mason said authorities were reviewing closed-circuit television video. “We’re analyzing it, but it is security camera footage, so you can kind of guess what the quality of that is,” Mason said. “We do know [the suspect was] dressed in all dark clothing. We don’t have a much better description.”

    Utah Gov. Stephen Cox called the attack “a political assassination” and said Wednesday was “a dark day for our state” and “a tragic day for our nation.”

    Law enforcement was working “multiple active crime scenes” including the area Kirk was shot as well as the locations where the suspect and victim traveled, according to the Public Safety Department. They did not provide any further information on the suspect.

    The FBI created a tip line to gather information that may lead to the shooter’s arrest.

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    Clara Harter, Richard Winton, Ruben Vives

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  • 3 teenagers critically wounded after shooting at Denver-area high school, officials say

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    Three teens were critically wounded in a shooting at a suburban Denver high school, including the suspected shooter, on Wednesday, authorities said.The shooting was reported around 12:30 p.m. at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, about 30 miles west of Denver, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jacki Kelley said.It is not clear what led up to the shooting or how the suspected shooter, believed to be a student at the school, was shot. None of the law enforcement officers who responded to the shooting is believed to have fired any shots, Kelley said.The shooting happened on school grounds but it wasn’t immediately known whether it was inside the school building, she said.All three teens taken to St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, Colorado, were shot, CEO Kevin Cullinan said.Over 100 police officers from around the Denver area rushed to the school to try to help, Kelley said. The sheriff’s office is the same agency that responded to the school shooting at the 1999 Columbine High School shooting that killed 14 people, including a woman who died earlier this year of complications from her injuries in the shooting.”This is the scariest thing that could ever happen, and these parents were really frightened, and so were the kids,” Kelley said. “And I know we say ‘never again,’ and here we are.”FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that the FBI is on scene and “in full support of local authorities.”

    DENVER —

    Three teens were critically wounded in a shooting at a suburban Denver high school, including the suspected shooter, on Wednesday, authorities said.

    The shooting was reported around 12:30 p.m. at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, about 30 miles west of Denver, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jacki Kelley said.

    It is not clear what led up to the shooting or how the suspected shooter, believed to be a student at the school, was shot. None of the law enforcement officers who responded to the shooting is believed to have fired any shots, Kelley said.

    The shooting happened on school grounds but it wasn’t immediately known whether it was inside the school building, she said.

    All three teens taken to St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, Colorado, were shot, CEO Kevin Cullinan said.

    Over 100 police officers from around the Denver area rushed to the school to try to help, Kelley said. The sheriff’s office is the same agency that responded to the school shooting at the 1999 Columbine High School shooting that killed 14 people, including a woman who died earlier this year of complications from her injuries in the shooting.

    “This is the scariest thing that could ever happen, and these parents were really frightened, and so were the kids,” Kelley said. “And I know we say ‘never again,’ and here we are.”

    FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that the FBI is on scene and “in full support of local authorities.”

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  • Georgia judge to toss landmark racketeering charges against ‘Cop City’ protesters

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    A Georgia judge on Tuesday said he will toss the racketeering charges against all 61 defendants accused of a years-long conspiracy to halt the construction of a police and firefighter training facility that critics pejoratively call “Cop City.”Fulton County Judge Kevin Farmer said he does not believe Republican Attorney General Chris Carr had the authority to secure the 2023 indictments under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, or RICO. Experts believe it was the largest criminal racketeering case ever filed against protesters in U.S. history.The defendants faced a wide variety of allegations — everything from throwing Molotov cocktails at police officers, to supplying food to protesters who were camped in the woods and passing out fliers against a state trooper who had fatally shot a protester. Each defendant faced up to 20 years in prison on the RICO charges.Farmer said during a hearing that Carr needed Gov. Brian Kemp’s permission to pursue the case instead of the local district attorney. Prosecutors earlier conceded that they did not obtain any such order.“It would have been real easy to just ask the governor, ‘Let me do this, give me a letter,’” Farmer said. “The steps just weren’t followed.”The case is not over yetFive of the 61 defendants were also indicted on charges of domestic terrorism and first-degree arson connected to a 2023 “night of rage” in which masked activists burned a police car in downtown Atlanta and threw rocks at a skyscraper that houses the Atlanta Police Foundation. Farmer said Carr also didn’t have the authority to pursue the arson charge, though he believes the domestic terrorism charge can stand.Farmer said he plans to file a formal order soon and is not sure whether he would quash the entire indictment or let the domestic terrorism charge proceed.Deputy Attorney General John Fowler told Farmer that he believes the judge’s decision is “wholly incorrect.”Carr plans to “appeal immediately,” spokesperson Kara Murray said.“The Attorney General will continue the fight against domestic terrorists and violent criminals who want to destroy life and property,” she said.Defense attorney Don Samuel said the case was rife with errors. Defense attorneys had expected to spend the whole week going through dozens of dismissal motions that had been filed. During an impassioned speech on Monday, the first day of the hearing, Samuel called the case “an assault on the right of people to protest” and urged Farmer to “put a stop to this.”“We could have spun the wheel and seen which argument was going to win first,” Samuel told The Associated Press after Farmer announced his decision from the bench.The long-brewing controversy over the training center erupted in January 2023 after state troopers who were part of a sweep of the South River Forest killed an activist, known as “Tortuguita,” who authorities said had fired at them while inside a tent near the construction site. A prosecutor found the troopers’ actions “objectively reasonable,” though Tortuguita’s family has filed a lawsuit, saying the 26-year-old’s hands were in the air and that troopers used excessive force when they initially fired pepper balls into the tent.Numerous protests ensued, with masked vandals sometimes attacking police vehicles and construction equipment to stall the project and intimidate contractors into backing out. Opponents also pursued civic paths to halt the facility, including packing City Council meetings and leading a massive referendum effort that got tied up in the courts.Carr, who is running for governor, had pursued the case, with Kemp hailing it as an important step to combat “out-of-state radicals that threaten the safety of our citizens and law enforcement.”But critics had decried the indictment as a politically motivated, heavy-handed attempt to quash the movement against the 85-acre project that ultimately cost more than $115 million.Environmentalists and anti-police activists were unitedEmerging in the wake of the 2020 racial justice protests, the “Stop Cop City” movement gained nationwide recognition as it united anarchists, environmental activists and anti-police protesters against the sprawling training center, which was being built in a wooded area that was ultimately razed in DeKalb County.Activists argued that uprooting acres of trees for the facility would exacerbate environmental damage in a flood-prone, majority-Black area while serving as an expensive staging ground for militarized officers to be trained in quelling social movements.The training center, a priority of Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, opened earlier this year, despite years of protests and millions in cost overruns, some of it due to the damage protesters caused, and police officials’ needs to bolster 24/7 security around the facility.But over the past two years, the case had been bogged down in procedural issues, with none of the defendants going to trial. Farmer and the case’s previous judge, Fulton County Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams, had earlier been critical of prosecutors’ approach to the case, with Adams saying the prosecution had committed “gross negligence” by allowing privileged attorney-client emails to be included among a giant cache of evidence that was shared between investigators and dozens of defense attorneys.As the delays continued, defendants said their lives had been wrecked by the charges, with many unable to secure steady jobs or housing.Three of the defendants, organizers of a bail fund that supported the protesters, had also been charged with 15 counts of money laundering, but prosecutors dropped those charges last year.Prosecutors had previously apologized to the court for various delays and missteps, but lamented the difficulty of handling such a sprawling case, though Farmer pointed out that it was prosecutors who decided to bring this “61-person elephant” to court in the first place.Defense attorney Xavier de Janon said Farmer’s decision is a “victory,” but noted that there are other defendants still facing unindicted domestic terrorism charges in DeKalb County, as well as numerous pending misdemeanors connected to the movement.“The prosecutions haven’t ended against this movement, and I hope that people continue to pay attention to how the state is dealing with protests and activism, because it hasn’t ended,” de Janon said. “This is a win, and hopefully many more will come.”

    ATLANTA —

    A Georgia judge on Tuesday said he will toss the racketeering charges against all 61 defendants accused of a years-long conspiracy to halt the construction of a police and firefighter training facility that critics pejoratively call “Cop City.”

    Fulton County Judge Kevin Farmer said he does not believe Republican Attorney General Chris Carr had the authority to secure the 2023 indictments under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, or RICO. Experts believe it was the largest criminal racketeering case ever filed against protesters in U.S. history.

    The defendants faced a wide variety of allegations — everything from throwing Molotov cocktails at police officers, to supplying food to protesters who were camped in the woods and passing out fliers against a state trooper who had fatally shot a protester. Each defendant faced up to 20 years in prison on the RICO charges.

    Farmer said during a hearing that Carr needed Gov. Brian Kemp’s permission to pursue the case instead of the local district attorney. Prosecutors earlier conceded that they did not obtain any such order.

    “It would have been real easy to just ask the governor, ‘Let me do this, give me a letter,’” Farmer said. “The steps just weren’t followed.”

    The case is not over yet

    Five of the 61 defendants were also indicted on charges of domestic terrorism and first-degree arson connected to a 2023 “night of rage” in which masked activists burned a police car in downtown Atlanta and threw rocks at a skyscraper that houses the Atlanta Police Foundation. Farmer said Carr also didn’t have the authority to pursue the arson charge, though he believes the domestic terrorism charge can stand.

    Farmer said he plans to file a formal order soon and is not sure whether he would quash the entire indictment or let the domestic terrorism charge proceed.

    Deputy Attorney General John Fowler told Farmer that he believes the judge’s decision is “wholly incorrect.”

    Carr plans to “appeal immediately,” spokesperson Kara Murray said.

    “The Attorney General will continue the fight against domestic terrorists and violent criminals who want to destroy life and property,” she said.

    Defense attorney Don Samuel said the case was rife with errors. Defense attorneys had expected to spend the whole week going through dozens of dismissal motions that had been filed. During an impassioned speech on Monday, the first day of the hearing, Samuel called the case “an assault on the right of people to protest” and urged Farmer to “put a stop to this.”

    “We could have spun the wheel and seen which argument was going to win first,” Samuel told The Associated Press after Farmer announced his decision from the bench.

    The long-brewing controversy over the training center erupted in January 2023 after state troopers who were part of a sweep of the South River Forest killed an activist, known as “Tortuguita,” who authorities said had fired at them while inside a tent near the construction site. A prosecutor found the troopers’ actions “objectively reasonable,” though Tortuguita’s family has filed a lawsuit, saying the 26-year-old’s hands were in the air and that troopers used excessive force when they initially fired pepper balls into the tent.

    Numerous protests ensued, with masked vandals sometimes attacking police vehicles and construction equipment to stall the project and intimidate contractors into backing out. Opponents also pursued civic paths to halt the facility, including packing City Council meetings and leading a massive referendum effort that got tied up in the courts.

    Carr, who is running for governor, had pursued the case, with Kemp hailing it as an important step to combat “out-of-state radicals that threaten the safety of our citizens and law enforcement.”

    But critics had decried the indictment as a politically motivated, heavy-handed attempt to quash the movement against the 85-acre project that ultimately cost more than $115 million.

    Environmentalists and anti-police activists were united

    Emerging in the wake of the 2020 racial justice protests, the “Stop Cop City” movement gained nationwide recognition as it united anarchists, environmental activists and anti-police protesters against the sprawling training center, which was being built in a wooded area that was ultimately razed in DeKalb County.

    Activists argued that uprooting acres of trees for the facility would exacerbate environmental damage in a flood-prone, majority-Black area while serving as an expensive staging ground for militarized officers to be trained in quelling social movements.

    The training center, a priority of Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, opened earlier this year, despite years of protests and millions in cost overruns, some of it due to the damage protesters caused, and police officials’ needs to bolster 24/7 security around the facility.

    But over the past two years, the case had been bogged down in procedural issues, with none of the defendants going to trial. Farmer and the case’s previous judge, Fulton County Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams, had earlier been critical of prosecutors’ approach to the case, with Adams saying the prosecution had committed “gross negligence” by allowing privileged attorney-client emails to be included among a giant cache of evidence that was shared between investigators and dozens of defense attorneys.

    As the delays continued, defendants said their lives had been wrecked by the charges, with many unable to secure steady jobs or housing.

    Three of the defendants, organizers of a bail fund that supported the protesters, had also been charged with 15 counts of money laundering, but prosecutors dropped those charges last year.

    Prosecutors had previously apologized to the court for various delays and missteps, but lamented the difficulty of handling such a sprawling case, though Farmer pointed out that it was prosecutors who decided to bring this “61-person elephant” to court in the first place.

    Defense attorney Xavier de Janon said Farmer’s decision is a “victory,” but noted that there are other defendants still facing unindicted domestic terrorism charges in DeKalb County, as well as numerous pending misdemeanors connected to the movement.

    “The prosecutions haven’t ended against this movement, and I hope that people continue to pay attention to how the state is dealing with protests and activism, because it hasn’t ended,” de Janon said. “This is a win, and hopefully many more will come.”

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  • New Zealand father who evaded authorities with his 3 children for years is shot dead by police

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    A man who evaded authorities with his three children in the remote New Zealand countryside for nearly four years was shot and killed by a police officer Monday, law enforcement said.One child was with Tom Phillips at the time of the confrontation and the other two children were found in the forest hours after the shootout, in which an officer was critically injured.The December 2021 disappearance of Phillips and his children — now about 9, 10 and 11 years old — confounded investigators for years as they scoured the densely forested area where they believed the family was hiding. The father and children were not believed to ever have traveled far from the isolated North Island rural settlement of Marokopa where they lived, but credible sightings of them were rare.Phillips has not been formally identified, but authorities believed he was the man killed.Police officer was shot and critically injuredA police officer was shot in the head and critically injured during a confrontation with Phillips after he robbed an agricultural supplies store early Monday morning, New Zealand’s Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Jill Rogers told reporters in the city of Hamilton. The child with Phillips at the time of the robbery was taken into custody.The officer was undergoing surgery at a hospital. His injuries were survivable, Rogers said, but he was shot “multiple times with a high-powered rifle” and further surgeries were expected.Fugitive’s other two children found hours after shootoutThe whereabouts of Phillips’ other two children was unknown immediately after the shooting and authorities held serious concerns for them, Rogers said earlier.About 13 hours after their father was killed, however, Rogers told reporters that the children had been found unaccompanied at a remote campsite in rugged forest. The child taken into custody Monday had cooperated with the authorities, allowing them to narrow the search area, she said.The farm supplies store targeted Monday was in a small town in the same sprawling farming region of Waikato, south of Auckland, as the settlement of about 40 people from where the family vanished. The case has fascinated New Zealanders and the authorities made regular unsuccessful appeals for information.Sightings of Phillips were limited to surveillance footage that showed him allegedly committing crimes in the area. He was wanted for an armed bank robbery while on the run in May 2023, accompanied by one of his children, in which he reportedly shot at a member of the public.Authorities believed Phillips had helpPhillips did not have legal custody rights for his children, Detective Senior Sgt. Andrew Saunders told reporters in 2024. Authorities said they had not had access to formal education or health care since their disappearance.Law enforcement always believed that Phillips had help concealing his family and some residents of the isolated rural area expressed support for him. A reward of 80,000 New Zealand dollars ($47,000), large by New Zealand standards was offered for information about the family’s whereabouts last June, but it was never paid.Family had gone missing beforeDecember 2021 was not the first time Phillips prompted national news headlines after disappearing with his children. The family went missing that September, launching a three-week land and sea search after Phillips’ truck was found abandoned on a wild beach near where he lived.Authorities eventually ended the search, concluding the family might have died, before Phillips and the children emerged from dense forest where he said they had been camping. He was charged with wasting police resources and was due to appear in court in January 2022, but weeks before the scheduled date he and the children vanished again.The police did not immediately launch a search because Phillips, who is experienced in the outdoors, had told family he was taking the children on another trip. He never returned.The search intensified again after several sightings of Phillips in 2023 in the same region where he had vanished. He was last seen on surveillance video in August this year as he robbed a grocery store in the night, accompanied by one of his children.Children’s mother issues a statementThe children’s mother issued a statement to Radio New Zealand on Monday in which she said she was “deeply relieved” that the “ordeal” for her children had ended.“They have been dearly missed every day for nearly four years, and we are looking forward to welcoming them home with love and care,” said the woman, who has been identified in New Zealand news outlets only by her first name, Cat.

    WELLINGTON, New Zealand —

    A man who evaded authorities with his three children in the remote New Zealand countryside for nearly four years was shot and killed by a police officer Monday, law enforcement said.

    One child was with Tom Phillips at the time of the confrontation and the other two children were found in the forest hours after the shootout, in which an officer was critically injured.

    The December 2021 disappearance of Phillips and his children — now about 9, 10 and 11 years old — confounded investigators for years as they scoured the densely forested area where they believed the family was hiding. The father and children were not believed to ever have traveled far from the isolated North Island rural settlement of Marokopa where they lived, but credible sightings of them were rare.

    Phillips has not been formally identified, but authorities believed he was the man killed.

    Police officer was shot and critically injured

    A police officer was shot in the head and critically injured during a confrontation with Phillips after he robbed an agricultural supplies store early Monday morning, New Zealand’s Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Jill Rogers told reporters in the city of Hamilton. The child with Phillips at the time of the robbery was taken into custody.

    The officer was undergoing surgery at a hospital. His injuries were survivable, Rogers said, but he was shot “multiple times with a high-powered rifle” and further surgeries were expected.

    Fugitive’s other two children found hours after shootout

    The whereabouts of Phillips’ other two children was unknown immediately after the shooting and authorities held serious concerns for them, Rogers said earlier.

    About 13 hours after their father was killed, however, Rogers told reporters that the children had been found unaccompanied at a remote campsite in rugged forest. The child taken into custody Monday had cooperated with the authorities, allowing them to narrow the search area, she said.

    The farm supplies store targeted Monday was in a small town in the same sprawling farming region of Waikato, south of Auckland, as the settlement of about 40 people from where the family vanished. The case has fascinated New Zealanders and the authorities made regular unsuccessful appeals for information.

    Sightings of Phillips were limited to surveillance footage that showed him allegedly committing crimes in the area. He was wanted for an armed bank robbery while on the run in May 2023, accompanied by one of his children, in which he reportedly shot at a member of the public.

    Authorities believed Phillips had help

    Phillips did not have legal custody rights for his children, Detective Senior Sgt. Andrew Saunders told reporters in 2024. Authorities said they had not had access to formal education or health care since their disappearance.

    Law enforcement always believed that Phillips had help concealing his family and some residents of the isolated rural area expressed support for him. A reward of 80,000 New Zealand dollars ($47,000), large by New Zealand standards was offered for information about the family’s whereabouts last June, but it was never paid.

    Family had gone missing before

    December 2021 was not the first time Phillips prompted national news headlines after disappearing with his children. The family went missing that September, launching a three-week land and sea search after Phillips’ truck was found abandoned on a wild beach near where he lived.

    Authorities eventually ended the search, concluding the family might have died, before Phillips and the children emerged from dense forest where he said they had been camping. He was charged with wasting police resources and was due to appear in court in January 2022, but weeks before the scheduled date he and the children vanished again.

    The police did not immediately launch a search because Phillips, who is experienced in the outdoors, had told family he was taking the children on another trip. He never returned.

    The search intensified again after several sightings of Phillips in 2023 in the same region where he had vanished. He was last seen on surveillance video in August this year as he robbed a grocery store in the night, accompanied by one of his children.

    Children’s mother issues a statement

    The children’s mother issued a statement to Radio New Zealand on Monday in which she said she was “deeply relieved” that the “ordeal” for her children had ended.

    “They have been dearly missed every day for nearly four years, and we are looking forward to welcoming them home with love and care,” said the woman, who has been identified in New Zealand news outlets only by her first name, Cat.

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  • Pyrite fire erupts in Inland Empire, forcing evacuations near Jurupa Valley

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    A brush fire ignited Friday evening near Jurupa Valley, prompting evacuation orders in the nearby communities of Jurupa Hills and Sunnyslope.

    Dubbed the Pyrite fire, it was reported at 5:19 p.m. as a 15-acre vegetation fire burning in “light flashy fuels” near Pyrite Street and Granite Hills Drive, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Riverside Unit.

    The blaze had grown to 200 acres by 8 p.m., leading authorities to expand evacuation warnings as hand crews and firefighting helicopters worked to combat the flames. A map of affected areas can be viewed here.

    An evacuation center has been set up at Jurupa Valley High School, 10551 Bellegrave Ave. An animal shelter is located at 6851 Van Buren Boulevard.

    Nearly 300 firefighting personnel were assigned to the incident, alongside 40 engines, two helicopters and two water tenders, according to Cal Fire.

    Throughout the evening, the fire burned toward the San Bernardino County border, where residents in the nearby city of Fontana could clearly see the flames burning from the hillside.

    Shawn Millerick, a spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District, urged Fontana residents not to panic as crews were making “really good progress” slowing the forward progression of the fire. So far no evacuation warnings or orders have been issued for the Fontana area.

    The Fontana Police Department said that Sierra Avenue will be closed from Jurupa Avenue to Armstrong Road to allow fire crews to access the burn zone.

    “At this time, Fontana residents are not impacted, but smoke may still be visible throughout the region,” the department said. “Stay alert and follow official updates for any changes.”

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    Clara Harter

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  • Authorities believe sheriff who inspired movie “Walking Tall” killed wife in 1967

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    Authorities in Tennessee announced Friday that they believe a sheriff who inspired the movie “Walking Tall” is responsible for his wife’s death in 1967.During a news conference Friday, officials with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said there were “inconsistencies” in statements from Sheriff Buford Pusser following the 1967 murder of his wife, Pauline. “It’s been said that the dead can’t cry out for justice. It is the duty of the living to do so. In this case, that duty has been carried out 58 years later,” said District Attorney General Mark Davidson for the 25th Judicial District.Blood splatter patterns on the vehicle also contradicted statements from Buford Pusser, officials said.Buford Pusser reported that his wife volunteered to ride along in the dark early-morning hours of Aug. 12, 1967, on a disturbance call. He claimed that a car pulled alongside his and fired several shots, killing Pauline and injuring him in what he claimed was an ambush intended for him and carried out by unknown assailants.Buford Pusser recovered from his injury. No viable suspects were developed, and no charges were filed.After receiving a tip that an autopsy was never performed on Pauline Pusser, the TBI exhumed her body in February 2024. Davidson said the investigation revealed that Pauline Pusser was more than likely shot outside the vehicle and then placed inside the vehicle. Cranial trauma suffered by Pauline Pusser, depicted in crime scene photographs, does not match interior crime scene photographs from the vehicle.TBI officials also said the autopsy determined that Pauline Pusser had a nasal fracture before her death. Investigators now believe the physical evidence points to a staged crime scene and that Buford Pusser’s gunshot wound was likely self-inflicted.“There is probable cause to believe that Pauline’s death was not an accident, not an act of chance, but, based on the totality of the TBI investigative file, an act of intimate, deliberate violence,” Davidson said.Law enforcement officials said the discoveries would be sufficient to seek a grand jury indictment of Buford Pusser if he were alive today.Buford Pusser died in 1974 after a one-vehicle crash. He served as the sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee, from 1964 to 1970 and was known for his crackdown on crime along the Mississippi-Tennessee state line.

    Authorities in Tennessee announced Friday that they believe a sheriff who inspired the movie “Walking Tall” is responsible for his wife’s death in 1967.

    During a news conference Friday, officials with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said there were “inconsistencies” in statements from Sheriff Buford Pusser following the 1967 murder of his wife, Pauline.

    “It’s been said that the dead can’t cry out for justice. It is the duty of the living to do so. In this case, that duty has been carried out 58 years later,” said District Attorney General Mark Davidson for the 25th Judicial District.

    Blood splatter patterns on the vehicle also contradicted statements from Buford Pusser, officials said.

    Buford Pusser reported that his wife volunteered to ride along in the dark early-morning hours of Aug. 12, 1967, on a disturbance call. He claimed that a car pulled alongside his and fired several shots, killing Pauline and injuring him in what he claimed was an ambush intended for him and carried out by unknown assailants.

    Buford Pusser recovered from his injury. No viable suspects were developed, and no charges were filed.

    After receiving a tip that an autopsy was never performed on Pauline Pusser, the TBI exhumed her body in February 2024.

    Davidson said the investigation revealed that Pauline Pusser was more than likely shot outside the vehicle and then placed inside the vehicle. Cranial trauma suffered by Pauline Pusser, depicted in crime scene photographs, does not match interior crime scene photographs from the vehicle.

    TBI officials also said the autopsy determined that Pauline Pusser had a nasal fracture before her death. Investigators now believe the physical evidence points to a staged crime scene and that Buford Pusser’s gunshot wound was likely self-inflicted.

    “There is probable cause to believe that Pauline’s death was not an accident, not an act of chance, but, based on the totality of the TBI investigative file, an act of intimate, deliberate violence,” Davidson said.

    Law enforcement officials said the discoveries would be sufficient to seek a grand jury indictment of Buford Pusser if he were alive today.

    Buford Pusser died in 1974 after a one-vehicle crash. He served as the sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee, from 1964 to 1970 and was known for his crackdown on crime along the Mississippi-Tennessee state line.

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  • House committee launches investigation into California’s high-speed rail project

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    A bipartisan congressional committee is investigating whether California’s High-Speed Rail Authority knowingly misrepresented ridership projections and financial outlooks, as alleged by the Trump administration, to secure federal funding.

    In a letter sent to Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Tuesday, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform chair James Comer (R-KY) requested a staff briefing and all communications and records about federal funding for the high-speed rail project and any analysis over the train’s viability.

    “The Authority’s apparent repeated use of misleading ridership projections, despite longstanding warnings from experts, raises serious questions about whether funds were allocated under false pretenses,” Comer wrote.

    Comer’s letter copied Congressman Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee who has also voiced skepticism about the project. Garcia, whose districts represent communities in Southern California, was not immediately available for comment.

    An authority spokesperson called the House committee’s investigation “another baseless attempt to manufacture controversy around America’s largest and most complex infrastructure project,” and added that the project’s chief executive Ian Choudri previously addressed the claims and called them “cherrypicked and out-of-date, and therefore misleading.”

    Last month, the Trump administration pulled $4 billion in federal funding from the project meant for construction in the Central Valley. After a months-long review, prompted by calls from Republican lawmakers, the administration found “no viable path” forward for the fast train, which is billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule. The administration also questioned whether the authority’s projected ridership counts were intentionally misrepresented.

    California leaders called the move “illegal” and sued the Trump administration for declaratory and injunctive relief. Gov. Gavin Newsom said it was “a political stunt” and a “heartless attack on the Central Valley.”

    The bullet train was proposed decades ago as a way to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco in less than three hours by 2020. While the entire line has cleared environmental reviews, no stretch of the route has been completed. Construction has been limited to the Central Valley, where authority leaders have said a segment between Merced and Bakersfield will open by 2033. The project is also about $100 billion over its original budget of $33 billion.

    Even before the White House pulled federal funding, authority leaders and advisers repeatedly raised concerns over the project’s long-term financial sustainability.

    Roughly $13 billion has been spent so far — the bulk of which was supplied by the state, which has proposed $1 billion per year towards the project. But Choudri, who started at the authority last year, has said the project needs to find new sources of funding and has turned focus toward establishing public-private partnerships to supplement costs.

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    Colleen Shalby

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  • Two police officers killed and a 3rd wounded in Utah shooting; man in custody

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    Two police officers responding to a domestic disturbance call were shot and killed in Utah, and a man was taken into custody after bystanders persuaded him to drop the gun, authorities said Monday.The officers were identified as Sgt. Lee Sorensen, 56, and Officer Eric Estrada, 31, of the Tremonton-Garland Police Department.A sheriff’s deputy and a police dog also were shot and wounded in their car as they arrived to help at a neighborhood in Tremonton on Sunday night. The deputy from Box Elder County was released from the hospital Monday and the dog was hospitalized in fair condition, police said.“These officers are definitely heroes,” Police Chief Chad Reyes in neighboring Brigham City said at a news conference Monday morning.When police respond to domestic disturbance calls, “we really don’t know what we’re walking into,” he said. “And they are one of the most dangerous events that we can be dispatched on.”Police received multiple 911 hang-up calls from a home in the city. A single officer from the Tremonton-Garland Police Department arrived first and was speaking to someone at the home when the man came out with a gun, police said in a news release. Reyes said he believed the man lived at the house.“The male opened fire on the officer, striking and killing the officer,” the news release said. A second officer from the department who responded “was immediately fired upon by the same male suspect” and was killed, it said.After the officers were shot, bystanders persuaded the man to put down his weapon, police said. Up to 50 officers from multiple agencies responded. SWAT teams arrived to clear the home and verify that there was no further threat, police said.The ranch-style home was cordoned off by yellow crime scene tape Monday. A trampoline and a blue children’s pool could be seen on the front lawn.Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called what happened “a terrible and tragic night.” He posted online that he joined the state in mourning the loss “of these courageous law enforcement officers” and ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in their honor.The suspect was arrested on charges of aggravated murder, police said. The names of the wounded deputy and the suspect have not been released.Sorensen had served 17 years as a law enforcement officer and received multiple honors for his service to the community. He had recently been promoted to sergeant and was supposed to be sworn into his new role on Friday, the department said.Estrada had worked in the jail in Box Elder County and as a patrol officer before joining the Tremonton-Garland Police Department. His colleagues described him as a dedicated father and husband who loved being on patrol so he could interact with people in the community.Tremonton, which has about 13,000 people, is about 75 miles north of Salt Lake City at the junction of Interstates 15 and 84. It advertises itself as “a favorite midway stop for vacations” to destinations such as Yellowstone National Park, Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon. It also calls itself “Utah’s City of Murals” with a walking tour featuring 18 works of public art.___Editor’s note: The story has been updated to correct the first name of the police chief to Chad.___Associated Press writer Hannah Schoenbaum contributed reporting from Salt Lake City.

    TREMONTON, Utah —

    Two police officers responding to a domestic disturbance call were shot and killed in Utah, and a man was taken into custody after bystanders persuaded him to drop the gun, authorities said Monday.

    The officers were identified as Sgt. Lee Sorensen, 56, and Officer Eric Estrada, 31, of the Tremonton-Garland Police Department.

    A sheriff’s deputy and a police dog also were shot and wounded in their car as they arrived to help at a neighborhood in Tremonton on Sunday night. The deputy from Box Elder County was released from the hospital Monday and the dog was hospitalized in fair condition, police said.

    “These officers are definitely heroes,” Police Chief Chad Reyes in neighboring Brigham City said at a news conference Monday morning.

    When police respond to domestic disturbance calls, “we really don’t know what we’re walking into,” he said. “And they are one of the most dangerous events that we can be dispatched on.”

    Police received multiple 911 hang-up calls from a home in the city. A single officer from the Tremonton-Garland Police Department arrived first and was speaking to someone at the home when the man came out with a gun, police said in a news release. Reyes said he believed the man lived at the house.

    “The male opened fire on the officer, striking and killing the officer,” the news release said. A second officer from the department who responded “was immediately fired upon by the same male suspect” and was killed, it said.

    After the officers were shot, bystanders persuaded the man to put down his weapon, police said. Up to 50 officers from multiple agencies responded. SWAT teams arrived to clear the home and verify that there was no further threat, police said.

    The ranch-style home was cordoned off by yellow crime scene tape Monday. A trampoline and a blue children’s pool could be seen on the front lawn.

    Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called what happened “a terrible and tragic night.” He posted online that he joined the state in mourning the loss “of these courageous law enforcement officers” and ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in their honor.

    The suspect was arrested on charges of aggravated murder, police said. The names of the wounded deputy and the suspect have not been released.

    Sorensen had served 17 years as a law enforcement officer and received multiple honors for his service to the community. He had recently been promoted to sergeant and was supposed to be sworn into his new role on Friday, the department said.

    Estrada had worked in the jail in Box Elder County and as a patrol officer before joining the Tremonton-Garland Police Department. His colleagues described him as a dedicated father and husband who loved being on patrol so he could interact with people in the community.

    Tremonton, which has about 13,000 people, is about 75 miles north of Salt Lake City at the junction of Interstates 15 and 84. It advertises itself as “a favorite midway stop for vacations” to destinations such as Yellowstone National Park, Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon. It also calls itself “Utah’s City of Murals” with a walking tour featuring 18 works of public art.

    ___

    Editor’s note: The story has been updated to correct the first name of the police chief to Chad.

    ___

    Associated Press writer Hannah Schoenbaum contributed reporting from Salt Lake City.

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  • ‘There will be no invasion.’ Sheinbaum confident Washington won’t strike cartels in Mexico

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    MEXICO CITY — U.S. military forces will not strike Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum vowed Friday in response to reports that President Trump has secretly directed the Pentagon to take action against Latin American drug cartels.

    “There will be no invasion: That is rejected, absolutely rejected,” an emphatic Sheinbaum told reporters at her regular morning news conference. “The United States is not going to come to Mexico with troops.”

    The media accounts, originating in the New York Times, revived nationalist fears in a nation that has endured U.S. invasions and land grabs over the years — though none in more than a century.

    Sheinbaum said Mexico had been informed that Trump was issuing such an order, but “it has nothing to do with Mexican territory.”

    The Mexican leader repeated her oft-stated mantra that Mexico “cooperates and collaborates” with its northern neighbor on drug trafficking and other bilateral issues, but rejects any U.S. military presence or strikes on Mexican soil.

    In May, Sheinbaum said she had rebuffed Trump’s offer — made in one of many telephone calls between the two leaders — of direct U.S. military assistance.

    “We can share information, but we will never accept the presence of the United States Army on our territory,” Sheinbaum said she told Trump in May. “Our territory is inalienable; sovereignty is inalienable.”

    It’s unclear which countries might be a target for a U.S. operation, but in an interview Thursday with on the Eternal Word Television Network, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that, aside from Mexico, there are cartels in Venezuela, Guatemala and Ecuador.

    Rubio said cartels were no longer just a law enforcement issue, but a national security issue. “We cannot continue to just treat these guys as local street gangs,” he said. “They have weaponry that looks like what terrorists, in some cases armies, have.”

    In Mexico, fears that U.S. forces may strike Mexican territory have been growing since the Trump administration formally labeled six Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. Many in Mexico view the designation as a prelude to unilateral Pentagon attacks on purported cartel targets.

    Trump has been complimentary of Sheinbaum but has denounced what he alleges is an “intolerable alliance” between Mexico’s government and organized crime.

    Sheinbaum has rejected U.S. claims that organized crime permeates Mexico’s government and controls vast swaths of Mexican territory.

    Trump has already imposed 25% tariffs on many imports from Mexico — Washington’s leading trading partner — which he says is aimed at forcing authorities here to do more to curb the trafficking of fentanyl, the synthetic opioid blamed for tens of thousands of deaths in the United States.

    The Trump administration has also ramped up U.S. surveillance flights over and near Mexican territory and has massed U.S. troops on the southwestern border in an effort to crack down on drug smuggling and unauthorized immigration.

    But Mexico is not the only nation where the Pentagon might consider striking drug cartels. Venezuela could also find itself in U.S. military crosshairs as Washington amps up its saber-rattling against the South American nation.

    On Thursday the Trump administration said it was doubling its existing reward — to $50 million — for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a longtime adversary who faces drug-trafficking charges in the United States.

    The U.S. State Department calls Maduro a “leader” of the Venezuelan-based Cartel de los Soles, which the Trump administration has labeled a terrorist group.

    Washington also accused Maduro of links to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, which is among the crime syndicates the administration has labeled a foreign terrorist organization.

    On Friday, Sheinbaum told reporters that Mexican authorities had seen no evidence connecting Maduro to the Sinaloa mob.

    Venezuelan authorities dismissed the U.S. charges against Maduro as “political propaganda.”

    Maduro returned to office in January after declaring victory in a 2024 election that critics called rigged and was widely rejected by the international community. Washington does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s president.

    Special correspondent Cecilia Sánchez Vidal contributed to this report.

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    Patrick J. McDonnell

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  • 1 dead after boat overturns off Redondo Beach. Child and captain among the rescued

    1 dead after boat overturns off Redondo Beach. Child and captain among the rescued

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    A boat carrying six people including a child overturned off Redondo Beach on Sunday, killing one man on board, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

    The Redondo Beach Harbor Patrol received a distress call just after 1 p.m. reporting a boat had overturned and the people on board were in the water clinging to it.

    Harbor Patrol deputies and lifeguards rushed to the boat and pulled five people, including one child and the boat’s captain, out of the water, authorities said. All five were taken to the hospital in stable condition.

    But a sixth person, described only as a male adult, was reported missing and later found inside the overturned vessel by a rescue diver. Attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. No information on the victim’s identity was immediately available.

    Authorities are investigating.

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    Joseph Serna

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  • Masked man fires gun inside bank, narrowly missing teller, and flees with $31,000

    Masked man fires gun inside bank, narrowly missing teller, and flees with $31,000

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    Authorities are searching for a masked bandit who shot at a bank teller in Lake Forest before making off with $31,000.

    The man entered a Chase Bank branch around noon Thursday, reached over the counter and fired a round in the direction of the teller’s feet, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The bullet did not strike the teller.

    The suspect fled the bank, near the intersection of Portola and Bake parkways, before deputies arrived. Sheriff’s officials described him as being between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall with a thin build. He wore a camouflage print bucket hat, a black mask that covered his entire face, a yellow hooded sweatshirt, tan pants, gloves and was armed with a silver revolver, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

    Deputies searched the surrounding neighborhood using a patrol helicopter and K-9 units, but could not find the man. Authorities collected several items from a trail near the bank that they say may be connected to the robbery. Officials did not specify what potential evidence was found.

    Foothill Ranch Elementary School, located nearby, was temporarily placed on lockdown as deputies combed the area.

    Anyone with information is asked to contact the Orange County Sheriff’s Department at (714) 647-7000 or leave an anonymous tip at (855) 847-6227.

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    Clara Harter

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  • L.A. mom charged with murder in death of her 3-month-old baby

    L.A. mom charged with murder in death of her 3-month-old baby

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    A mother from Porter Ranch has been charged with murder in the death of her 3-month-old baby, authorities said Friday.

    Jalyn Simone SmithJermott, 21, faces one count of murder and one felony count of assault on a child causing death, according to the L.A. County district attorney’s office. She is scheduled to be arraigned Monday and faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life if convicted, prosecutors said.

    Authorities said the baby was found not breathing in his bassinet on Sept. 10 and was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

    Eric Shannon Johnson, 35, who authorities said is the baby’s father, has also been charged with one felony count of child abuse. He pleaded not guilty Monday and his next court appearance is scheduled for Thursday. If convicted as charged, he faces up to six years in prison.

    “Children, especially babies, depend on their parents and loved ones for care and nurturing. It is a profound betrayal when that trust is shattered,” Dist. Atty. George Gascón said in a statement.

    During Johnson’s arraignment on Monday, prosecutors said that the baby suffered third-degree burns and a 4-inch head fracture in August — causing blood to collect between the skull and the surface of the brain, ABC7 reported. Prosecutors alleged that Johnson failed to seek medical help for the baby due to fear of repercussions from the Department of Children and Family Services, according to the station.

    The case is being prosecuted by the district attorney’s Family Violence Division’s Complex Child Abuse Section and investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department.

    “I want to assure the community that we will prosecute these offenders to the fullest extent of the law,” Gascón said. “We owe it to the victim and to all children who deserve a safe and loving environment.”

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    Clara Harter

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  • Man killed in drive-by shooting as he and his mother were leaving a home in Compton, authorities said

    Man killed in drive-by shooting as he and his mother were leaving a home in Compton, authorities said

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    A man was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting Saturday night as he and his mother were leaving a home in Compton, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

    The shooting occurred around 9:15 p.m. as the victim and his mother were exiting the home in the 800 block of South Chester Avenue, authorities said. One or more occupants of a white sedan traveling southbound opened fire on the victim before speeding away.

    Deputies who responded were directed to a local hospital where the man had been taken by a family member and later died, authorities said.

    The sheriff’s department has not identified the victim or determined a motive for the crime.

    No arrests have been made, and there was no additional information about a suspect or suspects in the case.

    Anyone with information is asked to telephone the sheriff’s department at (323) 890-5500.

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    Daniel Miller

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  • L.A. serial arson suspect arrested, accused of lighting string of downtown fires

    L.A. serial arson suspect arrested, accused of lighting string of downtown fires

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    A man suspected of starting a string of fires in downtown Los Angeles — including a blaze that required 170 firefighters to extinguish and caused $7 million in damage — was arrested Friday, authorities said.

    The Los Angeles Fire Department identified the suspect as Victor Marias, 31. The department presented the case to the L.A. County district attorney’s office on Friday and recommended filing multiple felony arson charges against him, along with a probation violation.

    “We view the crime of arson as one of the most egregious offenses in Los Angeles, and the LAFD Arson/Counter-Terrorism Section uses every resource available to investigate and prosecute those that are responsible,” LAFD Capt. Erik Scott said in a video shared by the department.

    Those recent fires included a massive blaze on Kohler Street on July 19, which spread to several commercial buildings and took more than five hours to extinguish — resulting in more than $7 million in damage and injuring one firefighter, authorities said.

    Investigators used surveillance camera video to identify a suspect and determine that the fire was started intentionally.

    Authorities allege Marias started the fire on Kohler Street as well as two others in the downtown area — on Willow Street on Sept. 22 and Oct. 3.

    Marias is also on active probation for a fire that damaged a structure just one block away from the Kohler Street fire in August 2023, authorities say.

    “Surveillance footage shows a suspect collecting rubbish from a public trash can, also collecting wood for kindling and placing it near the base of a power pole,” said Scott, describing the Oct. 3 fire. “Moments after walking away, flames erupted from the garbage, eventually damaging the pole.”

    There is also surveillance footage from Sept. 22 showing a suspect lighting trash on fire by the door of a business, he added. In both cases, residents provided the security footage.

    “The assistance provided by witnesses within the community was critical to identifying and ultimately arresting the suspect,” Scott said. “Their willingness to step forward and to take an active role in protecting their own neighborhood from harm is appreciated and commended.”

    The LAFD is asking residents with additional information, photos and videos of these fires to email LAFDArson@lacity.org.

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    Clara Harter

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  • Man accused of decapitating parents sang Tina Turner after being shot by deputies

    Man accused of decapitating parents sang Tina Turner after being shot by deputies

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    A 41-year-old man accused of decapitating his parents and killing their dog started to sing Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to Do With It” after he was shot by an Orange County Sheriff’s deputy.

    Joseph Brandon Gerdvil was arrested on suspicion of killing his parents, 77-year-old Ronald Walter Gerdvil and 79-year-old Antoinette Gerdvil in their San Juan Capistrano home on July 9, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

    In body camera video of the incident released Friday, a blood-soaked Gerdvil is shown with a metal object in his hand approaching a sheriff’s deputy moments before he is shot, then swearing and singing after he’s on the ground wounded.

    Authorities say the series of disturbing events began with Gerdvil text messaging photos of his bloodied mother to a cousin.

    That relative called 911 around 7:30 a.m. to report a possible domestic assault on their elderly relatives who live in a mobile home community in the 32000 block of Alipaz Street, authorities said. She told dispatchers her cousin suffers from mental health issues and has been violent in the past.

    Another dispatcher, meanwhile, received a 911 call from a maintenance worker at the same mobile home community who reported they were being chased by a bloodied man with a fork, authorities said.

    The bloodied man, later identified as Gerdvil, drove off in the maintenance worker’s golf cart in an unknown direction.

    Sheriff’s deputies who arrived at the scene found a person on the ground bleeding and a gruesome scene inside Gerdvil’s parents’ home.

    “There’s a head on the counter,” one of the deputies on scene told dispatchers.

    Gerdvil reappeared on a bike path a short time later and then approached a Sheriff’s Department community service officer as she sat in her vehicle, according to authorities. He then threw a shovel at the officer’s vehicle and drove off in the golf cart.

    Body camera footage shows what happened next: A blood-soaked Gerdvil parked the golf cart on the sidewalk and approached a deputy while carrying a metal object.

    He ignored the deputy’s orders and shouted something unintelligible before the deputy fired five times and Gerdvil fell to the ground.

    “F— you,” Gerdvil said as he lay on the ground wounded.

    Gerdvil then rolled onto his stomach and was handcuffed.

    He can be heard telling deputies “I love you” and “I’m sorry you’re gonna have to die” while facing the ground.

    As deputies assessed his wounds, Gerdvil said, “Finish me off.”

    “Put one in my head, please. I beg of you,” he said.

    At one point as he lay on the ground bleeding, and law enforcement and first responders moved frantically around the crime scene, Gerdvil broke out into song.

    “What’s love got to do with it. What’s love, but a secondhand emotion?” he sang softly, quoting the 1984 Tina Turner hit.

    He then shifted to Stevie Wonder and sang, “I just called to say I love you” as the deputies gave him medical attention.

    It’s unclear how many times he was hit but the unnamed deputy who shot Gerdvil later told other deputies on the scene he aimed for his chest and stomach.

    Gerdvil was booked on suspicion of two counts of homicide and remains at the hospital, according to authorities.

    There were no deputies injured and the shooting is under investigation by the Orange County district attorney’s office. The killings are under investigation by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department homicide detail.

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    Nathan Solis

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