Alec Baldwin, the actor who fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal for the Western movie “Rust” in 2021, and the film’s armorer will be charged with involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors said Thursday.
Baldwin has maintained he was not aware the gun he fired on set contained a live round.
Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed will each be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors said.
The shooting has resulted in a whirlwind of finger-pointing and allegations of negligence from those involved.
Hutchins was struck and killed by a live round of ammunition fired from a prop gun being held by Baldwin, who maintains he did not pull the gun’s trigger. Director Joel Souza was also injured.
In the summary of the postmortem investigation into Hutchins’ death – which was formally signed by the New Mexico chief medical investigator – the cause of death is listed as “gunshot wound of chest,” and the manner of death is listed as an “accident.”
“Review of available law enforcement reports showed no compelling demonstration that the firearm was intentionally loaded with live ammunition on set. Based on all available information, including the absence of obvious intent to cause harm or death, the manner of death is best classified as accident,” the report concluded.
An FBI forensics report said the weapon could not be fired during FBI testing of its normal functioning without pulling the trigger while the gun was cocked. The report also noted the gun eventually malfunctioned during testing after internal parts fractured, which caused the gun to go off in the cocked position without pulling the trigger.
In an interview with CNN in August, Baldwin placed responsibility for the tragedy on Gutierrez-Reed, who served as the armorer and props assistant on the film, and assistant director Dave Halls, who handed him the gun.
Halls signed a plea agreement “for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon,” the district attorney’s office announced in its statement Thursday. Prosecutors said the terms of that deal include six months of probation.
Charges will not be filed against film director Joel Souza, the statement says.
CNN has reached out to Baldwin and Gutierrez Reed for comment and will reach out to Halls and Souza.
On Thursday, Halls’ attorney Lisa Tarraco released a statement in defense of her client, who does not face charges in connection with the tragedy.
“Absent no charges at all, this is the best outcome for Mr. Halls and the case,” Tarraco said. “He can now put this matter behind him and allow the focus of this tragedy to be on the shooting victims and changing the industry so this type of accident will never happen again. “
In November, Baldwin filed suit against Gutierrez Reed and Halls and other individuals associated with the film, according to a cross-complaint obtained by CNN.
Through their respective attorneys, both Gutierrez Reed and Halls maintained they were not at fault and accused Baldwin of deflecting blame onto others. Gutierrez Reed also sued the movie’s gun and ammunition supplier and its founder – who deny wrongdoing – and alleged a cache of dummy ammunition was sold with live rounds mixed in.
In October, Hutchins’ family reached an undisclosed settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Baldwin and others involved in producing the film.
Matthew Hutchins, widower of Halyna Hutchins, described her death as a “terrible accident” in a statement at the time of the settlement. Production on “Rust” was to resume this month with Matthew Hutchins joining as an executive producer on the film as part of the agreement.
A Republican former candidate for New Mexico’s legislature arrested on suspicion of orchestrating four recent shootings at Democratic leaders’ homes had visited at least three of those officials’ homes to discuss election results, Albuquerque Police said.
Solomon Peña, who lost a 2022 run for state House District 14, is accused of paying and conspiring with four men to shoot at the homes of two state legislators and two county commissioners.
According to police:
• Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa’s home was shot at multiple times on December 4.
• Incoming state House Speaker Javier Martinez’s home was shot at on December 8.
• Former Bernalillo County Commissioner Debbie O’Malley’s home was shot at on December 11.
• State Sen. Linda Lopez’s home was shot at on January 3.
• Peña went to another commissioner’s home to discuss the election, but that commissioner “never reported any shots fired,” Albuquerque police said.
No one was injured in any of the shootings. Peña is also accused of trying to participate in at least one of the shootings himself, Albuquerque police said. He was arrested by a police SWAT team Monday.
The investigation found “these shootings were indeed politically motivated,” Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said. He called Peña “an election denier.”
After losing the election, Peña approached a state senator and two county commissioners at their homes with paperwork claiming there was fraud involved in the elections, Albuquerque police said.
Peña was arrested on preliminary charges of felon in possession of a firearm; attempted aggravated battery with a deadly weapon; criminal solicitation; and four counts each of shooting at an occupied dwelling, shooting at or from a motor vehicle, and conspiracy, according to a warrant.
CNN has reached out to Peña’s campaign website for comment and has been unable to identify his attorney.
Barboa, the county commissioner whose home was shot at multiple times on December 4, told CNN about an “erratic” encounter with Peña before the shooting.
“He came to my house after the election and he’s an election denier. He weaponized those dangerous thoughts to threaten me and others, causing serious trauma,” Barboa told “CNN This Morning” on Tuesday.
“He was saying that the elections were fake … I didn’t feel threatened at the time, but I did feel like he was erratic.”
Similarly, O’Malley – the former Bernalillo county commissioner – told police Peña was at her home just days before the December 11 shooting there, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained from Albuquerque police.
“Debbie recalled that he was upset that he had not won the election for public office, even though Debbie O’Malley was not a contender,” the affidavit says.
Ring doorbell camera footage recorded at O’Malley’s previous residence and obtained by CNN shows Peña approaching the door and knocking, holding documents in his hands.
The current resident speaks to him through the camera’s speaker feature, telling him O’Malley no longer lives at that residence and directing him to her new home.
While no one was injured in any of the shootings, Peña “intended to (cause) serious injury or cause death to occupants inside their homes,” an arrest warrant affidavit reads.
“There is probable cause to believe that soon after his unsuccessful (political) campaign, he conspired … to commit these four shootings” at the officials’ homes, the affidavit states.
Firearm evidence, surveillance footage, witness accounts plus cell phone and electronic records helped officials connect five people to the alleged conspiracy, Albuquerque police Deputy Cmdr. Kyle Hartsock said Monday.
Peña was first connected to the January 3 shooting at Lopez’s home.
That day, Lopez “heard loud bangs but dismissed them as fireworks at the time,” she told police.
But her 10-year-old daughter woke up thinking a spider was crawling on her face and that there was sand in her bed. It turned out to be sheetrock dust that was blown onto the child’s face from a bullet passing through her bedroom, the affidavit says.
Police later found “12 impacts” at the state senator’s home and shell casings nearby, according to the affidavit.
About 40 minutes after the shooting, a deputy spotted a silver Nissan Maxima with “an improperly displayed license plate sticker” about four miles from Lopez’s home and made a traffic stop, the affidavit states.
The Nissan was registered to Peña – but it was driven by another man at the time who had a felony warrant out for his arrest, the affidavit states.
In the trunk, the deputy found a Glock handgun with a drum magazine and an AR pistol, police said. The handgun matched the shell casings from the lawmaker’s home, police said in a news release.
Investigators then connected Peña to the shootings at the other officials’ homes. On Monday, detectives served search warrants at Peña’s apartment and the home of two men allegedly paid by Peña, police said.
“After the election in November, Solomon Peña reached out and contracted someone for an amount of cash money to commit at least two of these shootings. The addresses of the shootings were communicated over phone,” Hartsock said Monday, citing the investigation.
“Within hours, in one case, the shooting took place at the lawmaker’s home.”
One of the conspirators initially told shooters “to aim above the windows to avoid striking anyone inside,” the affidavit reads, citing a confidential witness with knowledge of the alleged conspiracy.
But Peña eventually wanted the shooters to be “more aggressive” and “aim lower and shoot around 8 p.m. because occupants would more likely not be laying down,” the affidavit says, citing the confidential witness.
In the latest shooting, police found evidence “Peña himself went … and actually pulled the trigger on at least one of the firearms that was used,” Hartsock said. But an AR handgun he tried to use malfunctioned, and more than a dozen rounds were fired by another shooter, a police news release said.
Authorities are still investigating whether those suspected of carrying out the shootings were “even aware of who these targets were or if they were just conducting shootings,” Hartsock said.
Peña, who lost the election to Democratic state Rep. Miguel Garcia 26% to 74% – had publicly alleged that the race was rigged, his Twitter account shows.
“Trump just announced for 2024. I stand with him. I never conceded my HD 14 race. Now researching my options,” Peña tweeted November 15 after losing his race.
On January 2, in response to someone who asked him if his election was rigged, Peña tweeted: “Si, mine was also rigged. And I will fight it until the day I die.”
The most recent time Peña tweeted that he did not lose the election was on January 9, when he posted “When we finally defeat the rigged NM elections, oh, the hero I will be! MAGA nation 4ever!”
Keller, the Democratic mayor of Albuquerque, called Peña a “right-wing radical” and a “dangerous criminal.”
“This type of radicalism is a threat to our nation and has made its way to our doorstep right here in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but we will continue will push back against hate,” Keller said in a statement.
“Differences of opinion are fundamental to democracy, but disagreements should never lead to violence.”
In addition to making unsupported claims about election results, Peña replied to several Twitter users who mentioned his criminal history and time spent in prison.
During the fall campaign, Peña’s opponent, Garcia, sued to have Peña removed from the ballot, arguing Peña’s status as an ex-felon should prevent him from being able to run for public office in the state, CNN affiliate KOAT reported.
Peña served almost years in prison after a 2008 conviction for stealing a large volume of goods in a “smash and grab scheme,” the KOAT report said.
A district court judge ruled Peña was allowed to run in the election, KOAT reported.
A man was arrested in Beech Grove, Indiana, after video was shown on live TV of a toddler, reportedly the man’s son, waving and pulling the trigger of a handgun.
The video was aired by Reelz series “On Patrol: Live,” during the TV show’s live broadcast on Saturday, January 14, according to a news release.
A police incident report obtained by CNN affiliate WTHR said Shane Osborne, faces a neglect charge. The report also lists “ring camera footage” that was obtained and uploaded to a police server. A 9mm gun found at the scene had 15 rounds in the magazine, but no rounds in the gun’s chamber, the report said.
Osborne is expected to appear in court Tuesday afternoon, according to WTHR. The show identified Osborne as the boy’s father.
Beech Grove Mayor Dennis Buckley released a statement to WTHR saying he was “mortified” about the incident.
“As with all of you, I’m mortified and what took place and I’m so thankful that no one was hurt, especially the young child. I appreciate the quick action taken by the Beech Grove Police Department to secure the small child and the gun in question.”
Video from a neighbor’s security camera that aired on “On Patrol: Live,” shows a little boy in the entryway of an apartment complex waving a handgun back and forth and pulling the trigger.
According to a release from the show, Beech Grove police officers responded after a neighbor called 911, “stating she and her son had witnessed the child alone in the hallway outside their unit, and that he had been holding a gun and pointing it at them.”
When officers arrived, the purported father of the child said he did not have a gun. “I don’t have a gun,” the man said, as police entered his apartment, “I have never brought a gun into this house, if there is, it’s my cousin’s.”
Police proceeded to search the apartment looking for a gun and eventually found a firearm under a television in the living room.
It’s unclear if it’s the same gun seen in the neighbor’s security footage, but one of the officers on the scene says it’s a “Smith & Wesson SD9mm.”
Police are later seen taking the man, handcuffed, out of the apartment complex.
An officer said after speaking with on-call prosecutors, there was enough for an arrest “for child neglect, that’s a felony,” since there was a loaded firearm in the apartment.
CNN has reached out to the Beech Grove police department, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office and the mayor’s office for comment and more information.
It is unclear if Osborne has an attorney at this time. CNN has reached out to the public defender’s office for more information.
Attorney General Merrick Garland and Steve Dettelbach, the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), announced new regulations Friday that would subject pistol-stabilizing braces to additional regulations, including higher taxes, longer waiting periods and registration.
Gun control proponents argue that stabilizing braces – which can be attached to pistols – effectively transform a pistol into a short-barreled rifle, which are heavily regulated under the National Firearms Act (NFA).
The rule will go into effect as soon as it is published in the Federal Register.
“Almost a century ago, Congress determined that short-barreled rifles must be subject to stricter legal requirements,” Garland said Friday during a call with reporters to outline the new rule. “Policy makers understood then what we know is still true today. Short-barreled rifles present a deadly combination: They are easier to conceal than rifles, but they are more powerful and lethal than pistols.”
“The final rule submitted today makes clear that firearm manufacturers, dealers and individuals cannot evade the important public safety protections passed by Congress simply by adding accessories to pistols that transform them into short-barreled rifles,” he said.
According to the Justice Department, manufacturers, dealers and individual gun owners have 120 days to register tax-free any existing short-barreled rifles covered by the rule. They can also remove the stabilizing brace or surrender covered short-barreled rifles to the ATF, the department said.
“This rule enhances public safety … and helps ensure compliance with the firearms laws that Congress passed almost a century ago,” Dettelbach said on the same call. The rule makes clear, Dettelbach said, that “when pistols are accessorized with certain stabilizing braces, those pistols are converted into rifles” and should be treated as short-barreled rifles under the law.
Restrictions on stabilizing braces have been hotly debated after they were proposed by the ATF in 2020, when the bureau suggested a new rule that would regulate pistol braces under the NFA. The 2020 proposal sparked a major backlash from the groups such as the National Rifle Association.
Republican lawmakers also spoke out against the proposal and sent a letter to then-Attorney General William Barr saying that the proposed regulation was “alarming and jeopardizes law abiding gun owners across the country.” The ATF withdrew the proposed regulation after the letter was released.
The proposal was given new life in 2021 after shooters in Boulder, Colorado, and in Dayton, Ohio, used pistols with stabilizing braces. At the time, Garland unveiled several proposals aimed at curbing gun violence, including reupping the restriction on pistol braces.
“These requirements are important public safety measures because they regulate the transfer of these dangerous weapons and help ensure they do not end up in wrong hands,” the Justice Department said at the time. “The proposed rule would clarify when these attached accessories convert pistols into weapons covered by these heightened regulations.”
Illinois’ Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday signed legislation that enacts an extensive ban on firearms as well as high-capacity magazines in the state.
The new law caps the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines, bans “switches” that allow handguns to fire rounds automatically and “extends the ability of courts to prevent dangerous individuals from possessing a gun through firearm restraining orders,” the governor’s office said in a news release.
The ban goes into effect immediately and will not require those who currently own such weapons to relinquish them, though people who already possess semi-automatic rifles will be required to register their ownership.
“No Illinoisan, no matter their zip code, should have to go through life fearing their loved one could be the next in an ever-growing list of victims of mass shootings. However, for too long, people have lived in fear of being gunned down in schools, while worshipping, at celebrations or in their own front yards,” Pritzker said in a statement. “This legislation will stop the spread of assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and switches and make our state a safer place for all.”
The bill passed in a 34-20 vote in the state’s Senate on Monday and 68-41 in the House Tuesday, largely along party lines, before heading to Pritzker’s desk. Both chambers are controlled by Democrats.
“This assault weapons ban is a step in the right direction, to improve safety for Illinois’ families and law enforcement but there’s no magic fix, no single law that will end gun violence once and for all. So, we must keep fighting, voting and protesting to ensure future generations will only have to read about massacres like Highland Park, Sandy Hook or Uvalde in their history books,” Pritzker said on Tuesday.
In the Highland Park shooting, which took place at a Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb last year, the suspect allegedly fired more than 70 rounds into a crowd, killing seven people and injuring dozens more. The high-powered rifle that was used in the shooting was described by authorities as “similar to an AR-15” and was legally purchased.
Several Republicans objected to the new law. State Rep. Dave Severin issued a statement in which he specifically criticized the registration requirement and supported legal challenges, while another representative, Charlie Meier, said the legislation “won’t prevent gang violence from occurring in our cities, however, it will unfortunately diminish law-abiding gun owners the right to protect themselves and their family at home.”
Pritzker, who marked the start of his second gubernatorial term with Tuesday’s ban, has also signed legislation in the past to combat gun violence.
In May 2022, the governor signed HB 4383, which prohibits individuals from selling or possessing so-called “ghost guns,” self-assembled firearms often put together with parts sold online, and ensures all firearms are serialized, allowing law enforcement to better trace them.
Pritzker later signed HB4729 in June of last year, which requires the Department of Public Health to develop and implement a two-year public awareness campaign focused on safe gun storage.
Four gun traffickers have been charged with illegally selling over 50 firearms in Brooklyn, marking the first prosecution in New York state under a bipartisan gun safety law enacted last June, law enforcement officials announced at a news conference Wednesday.
Known as the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the federal law includes a gun trafficking provision that creates a standalone firearm trafficking conspiracy offense, which New York prosecutors used to charge the gun traffickers. The act also provides increased sentences of up to 15 years in prison for such crimes.
“Prosecutions of gun trafficking prior to the enactment of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act relied on statutes concerning unlicensed sale, transport, and delivery of firearms, and false statements made to firearms dealers. By using the new law in the charges today, we’re able to streamline those prosecutions by charging firearms trafficking conspiracy as a standalone federal crime,” US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said.
“As the first prosecution to utilize this legislation in New York and one of the first in the country, we are demonstrating that we are prepared to use all the tools at our disposal, new and old, to combat gun violence,” Peace said.
A seven-count indictment was unsealed in court, charging David Mccann, Tajhai Jones, Raymond Minaya, and Calvin Tabron with conspiring to traffic over 50 illegal firearms, Peace said.
Prosecutors allege there were multiple illegal firearm purchases between January 2022 and August 2022, with the guns being sold during the day from vehicles in and around housing projects in Brooklyn.
Two members of the gun trafficking operation allegedly got the firearms in Virginia and transported them to New York to be sold in Brooklyn, prosecutors said in a news release. Some of the firearms allegedly had defaced serial numbers and others were made from ghost gun kits, the release states.
The group allegedly sold the guns to an undercover New York Police Department officer who recorded many of the transactions. The undercover officer allegedly told the group he was a drug dealer and needed the guns, with the intent to resell some of the weapons, prosecutors said.
The guns recovered were traced back to several shootings in Brooklyn, prosecutors said, including one incident where eight people were struck by gunfire at a family celebration in Brooklyn in April 2022.
Mccann, Jones, Minaya and Tabron were all arrested Wednesday morning, Peace said.
Mccann and Minaya are also charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine base. Mccann is also charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, prosecutors said.
Mccann and Minaya are scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon.
Jones and Tabron are scheduled to be arraigned in Virginia. They will have their detention hearings on Friday.
Minaya’s attorney declined to comment. Mccann’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Tabron is represented by Federal Public Defenders, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jones will have an attorney appointed to him by Criminal Justice Act, according to an EDNY spokesperson.
This latest arrest marks one of the first instances where the law was used.
Last September, a 25-year-old US citizen living in Mexico was charged in connection with trafficking firearms from Texas into Mexico. He was believed to have been the first person charged with part of the Safer Communities Act known as the Stop Illegal Trafficking In Firearms Act, according to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office from the Southern District of Texas.
The 25-year-old alleged trafficker was caught driving south on Interstate 35 heading to the port in Laredo, Texas, when he was caught with 17 guns in his car, according to Justice Department officials. In all, he bought 231 firearms, investigators said.
The bipartisan act, signed by President Biden in June 2022, was the first major federal gun safety legislation in decades and a significant bipartisan breakthrough on one of the most contentious policy issues in Washington.
The legislation came together in the aftermath of mass shootings at an Uvalde, Texas, elementary school and a Buffalo, New York, supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood.
On Wednesday, Peace said the new law makes it easier to prosecute interstate gun trafficking cases.
“Now we can charge the firearm trafficking itself without the obligation to show that someone was in the business of selling firearms and that’s a significant difference in what proof and evidence we would have to put forward,” Peace said, noting that the penalty has also increased. “Under the other statutes, the maximum penalties would likely be five or ten years. Under this Act, they’ll be facing up to 15 years.”
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell also spoke about the flood of illegal weapons from nearby states with more relaxed firearm regulations, commonly known as the “Iron Pipeline,” highlighting how police officers were killed in the line of duty with illegal guns from other cities.
In December 2014, NYPD officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were shot and killed as they sat in their patrol car in Brooklyn, Sewell said. The gun was bought in a Georgia pawn shop before making its way to New York City, according to Sewell.
A year later, Officer Brian Moore was shot and killed in Queens with a firearm that was stolen from a pawn shop in Georgia, Sewell said.
Officers Wilber Mora and Jason Rivera were shot and killed last year while responding to a domestic incident with a gun that was stolen from Baltimore in 2017.
“Every day, NYPD officers, with our partners, will continue to interdict, interrupt, investigate and hold criminals accountable,” Sewell said. “New Yorkers in every neighborhood should be free from fear and tragedy related to gun violence.”
The US intercepted a shipment of more than 2,000 Iranian assault rifles destined for Yemen, according to a statement from the US military.
The interception took place in international waters in the Gulf of Oman on Monday, US Central Command said. A team from the USS Chinook, a patrol coastal vessel, boarded the other ship along a route historically used to smuggle weapons from Iran to the Houthis in Yemen.
A photo from the USS The Sullivans shows the 2,116 assault rifles covering the deck of the guided missile destroyer.
“The illegal flow of weapons from Iran through international waterways has a destabilizing effect on the region,” said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, the commander of US Central Command.
Yemen has been engulfed in a devastating civil war since 2015, which has plunged the Gulf country into what has long been identified by aid groups as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Iran has supported the Houthis, a rebel group who overthrew the government at the start of the war, against a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and aided by US military support. The war between the two factions has brutalized the country, leading to widespread poverty and famine, and tens of thousands of civilian casualties.
Tensions between the US and Iran have increased in recent months due to the crackdowns on civil unrest throughout the country. Additional US sanctions on Iranian officials were announced just last week over their involvement in the production of drones being used by Russia in their war against Ukraine.
The US has intercepted other shipments of weapons and explosives before along similar routes.
In November, the Navy seized what it described as a “large quantity” of explosives from a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Oman. The shipment included 70 tons of ammonium perchlorate and 100 tons of urea fertilizer, which are used to make explosives and rocket fuel. US forces sunk the vessel after determining it was a hazard to navigation for commercial shipping.
The Justice Department on Monday formally appealed a 2021 federal court ruling that found the US government was mostly responsible for the 2017 mass shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, arguing that the court erred when it said the government was more at fault for the massacre than the shooter himself.
During the shooting, the gunman, former US Air Force member Devin Patrick Kelley, killed 26 people and wounded 22 others at the First Baptist Church in the small community of Sutherland Springs. He died later that day from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“The attack on innocent victims at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs was an inexpressible tragedy and the United States unequivocally does not seek to excuse the Air Force’s failure to submit Kelley’s fingerprints and record of conviction for inclusion in NICS databases,” attorneys for the department wrote in court papers filed Monday evening. “Nonetheless, under settled Texas and federal law, the United States is not liable for Kelley’s actions, and is certainly not more responsible for those acts than the murderer himself.”
DOJ spokeswoman Dena Iverson said in a recent statement that the government and plaintiffs have been engaged in a months-long effort to resolve the case through an out-of-court resolution.
“Although the formal mediation has now ended, we remain open to resolving the plaintiffs’ claims through settlement and will continue our efforts to do so,” Iverson said.
In a July 2021 ruling from US District Judge Xavier Rodriguez for the Western District of Texas, the court found the government 60% responsible for the harm that happened in the shooting and “jointly and severally liable for the damages that may be awarded.”
Rodriguez concluded the Air Force failed to exercise reasonable care when it didn’t submit the shooter’s criminal history to the FBI’s background check system, which increased the risk of physical harm to the general public.
“Even if the United States could be liable, the court erred in apportioning 60% of the responsibility to the United States (20% for line employees and 40% for supervisors), leaving only 40% for Kelley,” the DOJ attorneys argued in their filing on Monday.
“The court committed legal error in apportioning a share of responsibility to the United States under a negligent supervision theory after already imposing liability for the acts of the supervised line employees – under Texas law, these theories are mutually exclusive. Moreover, the court erred by holding the United States more responsible for Kelley’s outrages than Kelley himself,” they wrote.
In its filing, the DOJ asked the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to hold oral arguments to hear the appeal, writing: “The record in this case is voluminous and the legal issues are important and complex. Oral argument will be of substantial benefit to this Court in understanding the important issues in the case.”
Victims of the shooting and families who suffered a loss in the incident have previously voiced opposition to the DOJ’s plan to appeal the decision, with an attorney for some of them saying on Monday that the move “dealt a blow to America’s safety.”
“The DOJ’s appeal asks the court to hold that flagrantly and repeatedly violating the law – for over thirty years – by allowing child abusing felons and domestic violence offenders’ guns does not risk the safety of the public. The twenty-six dead and twenty-two injured at the Sutherland Springs mass shooting disagree,” Jamal Alsaffar, the lead attorney for the Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church families, said in a statement.
Kelley was charged in military court in 2012 on suspicion of assaulting his spouse and their child. Kelley received a bad conduct discharge, confinement for 12 months, and was demoted to E-1, or airman basic.
But despite his history of domestic abuse and questionable behavior involving firearms, Kelley was able to purchase the Ruger AR-556 rifle he allegedly used in the shooting from a store in San Antonio in April 2016, a law enforcement official previously told CNN.
The failure to relay that information prevented the entry of his conviction into the federal database that must be checked before someone is able to purchase a firearm. Had his information been in the database at the National Criminal Information Center, it should have prevented gun sales to Kelley. Federal law prohibits people convicted of a misdemeanor crime involving domestic violence from owning firearms.
Rodriguez’s order stated that no other individual – not even the shooter’s parents or partners – knew as much as the government did about his violent history and the violence he was capable of committing.
Doing well in Warzone is often about making the most out of what you can find on the field. But with the ability to recover or purchase your loadout, one of the best ways to gain an advantage over the competition is to grab your curated selection of guns and perks.
Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 has a ton of guns. Like, a lot. There’s nothing wrong with picking one that looks, sounds, and feels great for your personal playing style, but with the game having been out for a little while, a specific meta is starting to emerge. Let’s jump into some of the best choices out there, broken down by category (I’ll also briefly cover how to get access to your loadout as well).
Best assault rifle loadout for Warzone 2.0
It doesn’t get any more steak and potatoes than an assault rifle in Warzone. While the trusty M4 is always a reliable and performant weapon, the TAQ-56 stuck out early on as one of the best assault rifles in Modern Warfare II.
You may prefer different attachments for different uses, but most assault rifles in Modern WarfareII benefit from prioritizing boosts to medium-range effectiveness. Sniper rifles, battle rifles, and marksman rifles will usually outpace an assault rifle at long distance, while SMGs are typically great for up-close engagements. Your mileage may vary, but here are some attachments to consider for the TAQ-56 assault rifle:
Maybe you shouldn’t use the grenade launcher, but c’mon where’s the fun in that?Screenshot: Activision / Kotaku
Muzzles: Harbinger D20 or Echoline GS-X Barrels: 17.5 Tundra Pro Barrel Underbarrel: FTAC Ripper 56 or Hellscream 40mm (for the lulz) Ammo Type: High Velocity or Armor Piercing (pierces walls and is effective against vehicles. Does fuck-all against armor tho) Magazine Size: 60 rounds
If you want to swap one of these out to gain an Optic, the Aim-OP V4 is a good choice. I personally prefer the Lonewolf, but that’s more of an aesthetic choice than a functional one.
And if the Taq V ain’t to your liking, you might also want to consider the M4, Kastov 762 or 74U. Folks out there also really like the Chimera, which you need to extract from Building 21 in the DMZ to obtain (good luck). I also like the STB 556 a fair bit.
Best SMG loadout for Warzone 2.0
SMGs put out a lot of bullets, and fast. Your running speed will usually be higher with one equipped as well, so having one of these will benefit you in more ways than just damage output.
While the FSS Hurricane and Vel 46 aren’t bad choices, when it comes to SMGs, the Fennec 45 is easily one of the best in Warzone 2. It’s not uncommon to find these on enemies, kitted out to an extreme degree for good reason: It fires bullets real-fuckin’-fast™ and feels damn stable while doing so.
The Hacksaw is a pretty fun Fennec blueprint.Screenshot: Activision / Kotaku
Here are some attachments to consider for the Fennec 45:
Optic: Cronen Mini Pro or SZ Holotherm Muzzles: XTEN RR-40 or Singuard MKV Barrels: Covert Force or ZLR 16.5 Ignition Barrel Underbarrels: FSS Skarkfin 90 or Agent Grip Magazine Size: 45 rounds
And if the Fennec isn’t your cup of high-bullet-output tea, you may wish to consider the Vaznev-9K.
Best Sniper Rifle loadout for Warzone 2.0
I expect opinions on this to diverge more than any other category on this list. Sniper rifles are a little rare out there in Al Mazrah, particularly for Warzone 2.0 proper which tends to see fights break out at close enough distances that a sniper would be somewhat of a disadvantage. In the DMZ, however, they’re often indispensably valuable.
Warzone 2.0 has a nice selection of sniper rifles which some might say don’t differ a whole lot between each other. For the most part, you can rely on powerful, bolt-action rifles doing substantial damage and frequently downing enemies with a single hit. But that Signal-50’s semi-auto rate of fire is hard to argue with. The Victus XMR has lately emerged as the go-to sniper rifle. If you struggle to land solid shots, one at a time, however, you might want to fall back on the Signal-50 for its higher rate of fire.
Screenshot: Activision / Kotaku
Here’re some great attachments choices for the Victus XMR:
Muzzles: Bruen Counter-Ops Muzzle or Bruen Agent 90 Silencer (reduced damage, but no negative to ADS speed) Barrel: Mack 8 33.5 Super Barrel Stock: XRK Rise 50 or FTAC Homeland Ammo Type: 50 Caliber High Velocity Guard: Corvus Responder
The RPK (why are we even considering other LMGs?)
The RPK sometimes feels like a damn Swiss Army knife. With high damage, fast rate of fire, and a decent-sized magazine that reloads nearly as quickly as an assault rifle, the slow-ass reload rates of other LMGs like the Rapp H or Sakin MG38 are left in the dust by this one clear standout. The RPK isn’t just one of the best LMGs, it’s one of the best guns in the game.
And though we’re talking about the battle royale, here’s a quick tip for DMZ: If you’re low on weapons, securing an RPK is your first objective. Most enemies tend to have them, and having a stash of these to fall back on when your insured weapon is on cooldown can help you build some momentum in the next deployment. Have I told you about my personal lord and savior, DMZ, yet? By the way, extraction shooters are amazing, in case you didn’t know.
Back to Warzone. Here are some great attachment choices for the RPK:
Screenshot: Activision / Kotaku
Optics: Aim-OP V4 or SZ Vortex-90 Muzzles: Polarfire-S or Zulu-60 Stock: Heavy Support Underbarrels: FTAC Ripper or VX Pineapple Rear Grips: Demo-X2 or Ivanov ST-70 Grip
What about battle rifles, marksman rifles, and other weapon loadout choices in Warzone 2.0?
Right now the Warzone meta centers around assault rifles, SMGs, and that darn RPK. Unless you’re going for some counter-cultural personal expression or are trying a new experimental build, everything listed above is likely your best choice when curating a loadout. But let’s consider a few alternatives if what I’ve mentioned so far isn’t to your liking.
Battle Rifles: Taq-V, FTAC Recon. (Some people like the SO-14. I fell off this in favor of the other two listed here). Marksman Rifles: EBR-14, TAQ-M Shotguns: LOL None.Season 01 Reloaded nerfed Shotguns pretty badly. The Bryson 800 is probably the best of these right now, but you’re better off just ignoring this category for now.
Recon: Double Time, Tracker, Focus, Birdseye Great for: Moving fast, keeping your aim on point under pressure, and gathering intel on your enemies
Things can get quite hot in Warzone. The Recon perk package will help you move faster with Double Time, spot enemy footprints with Tracker, avoid flinching when aiming at enemies with Focus, and Birdseye will reveal enemy locations and the direction they’re facing on the mini-map whenever you call up a UAV.
Specter: Double Time, Tracker, Spotter, Ghost Great for: Moving fast, spying on enemies, and laying low
Specter is similar to Recon in that it has Double Time and Tracker, but it adds Spotter for locating enemy equipment, and Ghost, making you invisible to UAVs, Portable Radars, and even that darn Heartbeat Sensor. That last perk kinda makes Specter a must-have.
Screenshot: Activision / Kotaku
Vanguard: Double Time, Bomb Squad, Resupply, High Alert Great for: Moving fast, reducing explosion damage, extra lethal equipment, and supernatural senses
Vanguard also comes with Double Time, so you’ll have your speed to rely on. You’ll also be able to move with less concern for explosions, as Bomb Squad will reduce damage from any non-Killstreak explosive. Resupply will help you stay stocked on lethal equipment, but High Alert is the real appeal of Vanguard as it will let you know when you’ve been spotted by an enemy you can’t see. If you value your privacy, grab this one for sure.
Screenshot: Activision / Kotaku
Weapon Specialist: Overkill, Strong Arm, Spotter, Survivor Great for: Carrying two primary weapons, throwing grenades more accurately, and staying alive
If you want your loadout to come with two assault rifles, an assault rifle and an SMG, an RPK and a sniper, or just about any combo of two primary weapons, look no further than the Weapon Specialist perk package. Overkill lets you slot two primaries into your loadout, and that’s by and large the main appeal here. But having the ability to accurately throw grenades, spot enemy equipment, and ping foes who down you (very handy for duos, trios, and quads) isn’t bad either.
What about tactical and lethal equipment?
Choosing the best tactical equipment in Warzone is often a matter of playing to the strengths of your playstyle. Also, in Warzone (as well as DMZ), tactical equipment might be something you frequently change up as you find new stuff on the map.
If you like to play it safe and keep some distance between you and other players, consider the Spotter Scope or Heartbeat Sensor.
Both Warzone and DMZ take place on a biiiig map. The Spotter Scope (essential in DMZ, imho) will help you spot potential danger ahead or behind you, while the Heartbeat Sensor is pretty handy when clearing a building. Watch the battery life on the Heartbeat Sensor, however, that thing evaporates quicker than a Steam Deck running Cyberpunk 2077.
Stims can save your life when you’re out of armor.
You’ll go into Warzone with two-plate armor vests (in DMZ you default to just one, which is even deadlier). Stims can often mean the difference between life and death as they’ll quickly juice your health back up. If you ask me, I save Stims for recovery on the battlefield, but you might decide to toss it in your loadout if you find you like to advance on an enemy even after your plates are broken.
Flash, Stun, Tear Gas and Smoke grenades are versatile and effective.
Want to piss off an advancing enemy who looks armed to the teeth? Blind ‘em with a flash grenade. Stun grenades can achieve similar results. Tear gas is also an effective way to screw with an enemy, exposing precious seconds of vulnerability. But if you want to vanish quickly, a big ploom of smoke can be very advantageous.
And if you’re a DMZ fan, I recommend saving more than a few Smoke grenades to spam the chopper when you’re exfiltrating. It’s a great way to obscure your location at a distance and confuse foes rushing the chopper. Be warned, however, thermal scopes (which include the Spotter Scope and Recon Drone) can see through that smoke.
What about Field upgrades?
Field upgrades don’t just give you an advantage, they can help your whole team. But they’re not a part of your loadout in Warzone (though they are in DMZ). You’ll have to find them on the field or grab ‘em at a Buy Station. Packing or finding a Munitions Box or Armor Box is one of the best options. Revive Pistols will also save you or a friendly if they’ve been downed, keeping you in the fight and out of the Gulag.
Beyond that, Battle Rage ain’t a bad choice if you like to get in people’s faces, and it pairs well with a high-output SMG like the Fennec 45.
I am personally a huge fan of the Recon Drone. In DMZ, at least, I’m never without it. In Warzone things might border too close to constant chaos for a Recon Drone to be of use, but it is a quick and effective way to get a bird’s eye perspective on what’s around you, following you, or just up ahead.
Inflatable Decoys can be hilarious when used well, but they take up a slot that might be better filled by other Field Upgrades mentioned here.
And how do I find my loadout?
Jeez this game has a lot of stuff you can find and use. You’ll spawn in on Warzone with a scrawny little pistol, so you’ll need to get that loadout from a few different places.
If you clear out an AI Stronghold, you’ll find a chest where you can acquire your loadout. Alternatively, you can wait until the announcer calls out random supply drops—but be warned, everyone will be gunning for those. You can now, thankfully, also buy your loadout via a Loadout Drop Grenade. This was added (back) into the game recently, and according to Raven Software might be subject to some changes and alterations.
Here’s the price breakdown for loadout drop grenades according to squad player counts:
Solos: $8,000
Duos: $16,000
Trios: $24,000
Quads: $32,000
Once you have one of these, you can just toss it out and wait for your Loadout to drop from the sky, ready to equip and slaughter the opposition with.
Like many battle royales, smart, in-the-moment decision making is just as essential as any weapon in the game. The weapon choices here will help you find the right loadout for your playstyle. I can’t help you with the exploding helicopters though.
One of the first things you can hear is the sound of someone moaning.
The camera is shaky, but in the video, you can see blood on the ground and on the seats. The smoke begins to clear and then, the confusion sets in.
“I don’t know – someone’s bleeding,” a man can be heard saying. Later he asks aloud, “was it gunshots?”
A few moments after, amid the screeching of the subway car, glimpses of a tangle of injured people are seen close to the floor, with more blood pooling around some of them. A man continues to moan, and another advises him to “stay low.”
The graphic video, taken by one of the 29 people injured after Frank James opened fire on a crowded New York City subway train during morning rush hour on April 12, shows the chaos, confusion and gore of the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
The witness’ video was one of several pieces of evidence unsealed Thursday in James’ case. CNN has reached out to attorneys representing James for comment.
James, who initially pleaded not guilty last May, admitted on Tuesday to 10 counts of committing a terrorist attack and other violence against a mass transportation system and vehicle carrying passengers and employees. He also pleaded guilty to one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
James, 63, is accused of setting off smoke grenades and firing a handgun at least 33 times on a crowded train traveling toward the 36th Street station in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood.
He is due to be sentenced at a later date, but his sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
By the time the 13-minute video begins, the shooting has stopped, but the train has yet to reach the next station, so everyone on the train car remains trapped inside, prosecutors said in a new court filing Thursday.
James fled the scene and was not apprehended by authorities until the next day, but it’s unclear at what point he left the train car.
A passenger can be heard on the video asking someone to help him. The man who shot the video says he will help, and can be heard asking the passenger, “are you OK?”
“No, f**k, my leg hurts a lot,” the passenger responds.
As soon as the train pulls into the next station, people on the video can be seen rushing out one of the subway car’s doors. While some rush into another train on the opposite side of the platform, others collapse to the ground, with more blood pooling around them.
“Oh f**k, that’s a lot of blood! Sh*t,” the injured passenger can be heard saying. Other shouting can be heard around them, before another man, whom prosecutors describe as “subway worker,” yells out, “Did anybody see what happened?”
The man who took the video, whom prosecutors describe as “Victim-1” responds “yes.” He then proceeds to say there was an “explosion bomb,” “black smoke” and a “popping sound” that came from the end of the train next to a construction worker “with orange clothes on.”
About one minute later, as MTA workers are trying to gather more information about what happened, the video captures Victim-1 yell out again: “Orange! Orange! He was wearing orange!” the court filing from prosecutors states.
Later on, the video moves to show the inside of the now-empty subway car, with a large amount of blood on the car’s floor. An MTA worker can be heard making an announcement asking others to leave the station, while another passenger still cries out in pain on the station’s floor.
The video ends with glimpses of first responders arriving on the platform. The person who took the video was eventually treated for smoke inhalation at an area hospital and released, according to an NYPD document also unsealed Thursday.
A 30-hour manhunt for the perpetrator ensued after the subway shooting, only to conclude when James turned himself into authorities.
After he was arrested, James was interviewed at least twice on April 13. Videos of those interviews were also unsealed Thursday, with faces of the investigators blurred.
In the first video, when investigators ask him if there are any more weapons out there or if he had any other plans to hurt anyone, Frank appears to deny any involvement in the shooting and says he was just another passenger on the train.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about at all. See, I was on the train. I was on the train,” James said. “I was on the train and when whatever happened, happened — anybody else … all I had was my equipment that was in my bag and in my shopping cart. And the only thing in my coat was just more clothes to cover my face because of the smoke was blinding me and making me nauseous and all of that. That’s all I’m saying.”
James later admitted to having guns, but said they were “disposed of.”
“That has nothing to do with me. You know, so I don’t, you know, I really don’t want to answer these questions without having an attorney involved in this situation,” James said. “Every firearm that – every firearm that I have owned has been disposed of. And that’s all I can tell you.”
The interview lasted less than four minutes. A few minutes later, other investigators are seen on video entering the room where James is being held. During this interview, James begins talking about his YouTube page and how he uses it to “express himself.”
At one point, he also says, “violence is all right any time, violence is all right all the time.”
CNN has previously reported James was linked to a series of videos posted to a YouTube channel that have since been removed.
CNN was able to analyze the videos before they were taken down. They include rambling speeches filled with racist and misogynistic language, as well as references to violence.
Investigators also searched James’ storage unit and the apartment in which he was staying before the attack. Law enforcement records from those searches, also unsealed Thursday, state items such as a stun gun, ammunition, a train schedule, empty gun magazines, handwritten notes and “smoke bombs” were found.
New York Attorney General Letitia James asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to allow a new state law that places restrictions on carrying a concealed firearm to stay in effect while legal challenges play out.
The dispute is the first time the court has been asked on an emergency basis to consider a significant Second Amendment case since last summer’s ruling that expanded gun rights nationwide.
In that case, New York State Rifle v. Bruen, the court struck down New York’s prior concealed carry gun law. A 6-3 majority said the law prevented law-abiding citizens with “ordinary self-defense needs” from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms for self-defense.
Just days after the opinion, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, convened a special legislative session to pass a new law called the “Concealed Carry Improvement Act” on July 1. But the new law came under immediate attack as gun owners said that it was in direct “defiance” of the Supreme Court decision and continued to make it too difficult for ordinary citizens to obtain concealed carry permits.
Last fall, a district court blocked key provisions of the new law, related to requirements that an applicant demonstrate “good moral character,” provide a list of all former and current social media accounts from the past three years and “sensitive place” restrictions that include health care settings, churches and parks.
In December, however, a federal appeals court put that decision on hold and ordered expedited consideration of the matter with opening briefs due on January 9. Now, gun owners want the Supreme Court to step in.
In an emergency application filed on December 21, a lawyer for the gun owners asked the justices to step in and he defended the district court opinion. He said it was “carefully designed to limit New York’s enforcement of a sweeping gun control statute, enacted in retaliation against New York gun owners” for having prevailed in the Bruen case.
The lawyer, Stephen D. Stamboulieh, said that the 184 page opinion was “meticulously tailored” to “uphold the right of New Yorkers to keep and bear arms.”
The justices are not considering the merits of the case, only whether to lift the appeal court order pending appeal.
“Although it comes in an emergency -application posture, the request represents the first chance for the justices to weigh in on how lower courts are applying the Bruen decision and its new doctrinal framework for Second Amendment cases,” said Andrew Willinger of the Duke University School of Law.
In Tuesday’s filing, James said the district court’s opinion was “riddled with errors” and urged the justices to stay out of the dispute and let the appeals court ruling stand. She stressed that the appeals court had expedited consideration of the new law and that “further percolation of the relevant issues in the lower court is needed to inform” the Supreme Court’s review.
The man who opened fire on a crowded New York City subway train last April and wounded10 people pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to terrorism charges, admitting his intention “was to cause serious bodily injury to the people on the train.”
After initially pleading not guilty last May, Frank James, 63, on Tuesday admitted to 10 counts – one for each gunshot victim – of committing a terrorist attack and other violence against a mass transportation system and vehicle carrying passengers and employees. He also pleaded guilty to one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
James’ plea comes nearly nine months after prosecutors said he put on a gas mask, set off a smoke device and fired a handgun at least 33 times on a crowded N train traveling toward the 36th Street station in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood on April 12. Along with the 10 people wounded by gunfire, others were injured by the smoke. In all, 29 people were hospitalized.
“While it was not my intention to cause death, I was aware that a death or deaths could occur as a result of my discharging a firearm in such an enclosed space as a subway car,” James said.
In a statement after the hearing, James’ attorneys said he has accepted responsibility for the shooting “since he turned himself in to law enforcement.”
“A just sentence in this case will carefully balance the harm he caused with his age, his health, and the Bureau of Prisons’ notoriously inadequate medical care,” attorneys Mia Eisner-Grynberg and Amanda David said in their statement.
James is expected to be sentenced at a later date. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, but prosecutors, who have argued James aimed to kill when he fired, are willing to recommend a sentence in the range of 31 to 37 years in prison if James shows enough remorse, per a letter from Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, to District Court Judge William Kuntz.
If James “does not clearly demonstrate acceptance of responsibility,” prosecutors will recommend a sentence of 40 years to life, the letter said.
In a statement on Tuesday, Peace said the guilty plea was an “important step toward holding James fully accountable and helping the victims of the defendant’s violence and our great city heal.”
The shooting rattled the city, which was already on edge as commuters started to return to the subway following the Covid-19 pandemic.
One of the wounded, Hourari Benkada, 27, said he was on the N train and sat next to a man with a duffel bag and reflective vest who let off a “smoke bomb.”
“And all you see (is) smoke – black smoke … going off, and then people bum-rushing to the back,” Benkada said. “This pregnant woman was in front of me. I was trying to help her. I didn’t know there were shots at first. I just thought it was a black smoke bomb.
“She said, ‘I’m pregnant with a baby.’ I hugged her. And then the bum-rush continued. I got pushed, and that’s when I got shot in the back of my knee.”
James was arrested a day later in Manhattan’s Lower East Side after calling in a tip on himself. Items left behind at the scene, including a credit card, a set of keys, a construction jacket and a gun – were tied back to James by investigators.
The accused has a lengthy criminal history and had posted rambling videos on a YouTube channel in which he talked about violence and mass shootings, and said he’s thought about killing people who have presumably hurt him.
In one posted just a day before the shootings, James talked about someone who engaged in violence and ended up in jail. He said he could identify but talked about the consequences.
“I’ve been through a lot of s**t, where I can say I wanted to kill people. I wanted to watch people die right in front of my f**king face immediately. But I thought about the fact that, hey man, I don’t want to go to no f**king prison.”
In another video posted in February criticizing New York Mayor Eric Adams’ plan to address safety and homelessness in the subway, James spoke about his negative experience with city health workers during a “crisis of mental health back in the ’90s ‘80s and ‘70s.”
Correction:A previous version of this story incorrectly stated James’ age. He is 63.
A Brazilian Supreme Court judge on Wednesday issued a four-day ban on carrying firearms in the capital as a precautionary measure ahead of the January 1 inauguration of President-elect Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva.
In his ruling that temporarily suspends the licenses of registered gun owners, Judge Alexandre de Moraes wrote that “terrorist groups financed by shameless magnates” have been committing crimes against the rule of law in recent weeks, which is why public safety had to be made secure via a temporary firearms ban.
If a registered gun owner is caught in Brasilia with a firearm in those four days, they can be prosecuted for illegally carrying a weapon, according to the ruling.
Lula da Silva’s team had requested a ban on firearms at the inauguration days after police arrested a man on suspicion of planting and possessing explosive devices at Brasilia International Airport.
The suspect, identified as 54-year-old gas station manager George Washington de Oliveira Sousa, is a supporter of incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro and told the police in a statement, seen by CNN, that he intended to “create chaos” so as to prevent Lula da Silva from taking office again in January.
The firearms ban was to start on Wednesday at 6 p.m. local time (4 p.m. ET) and will run through the end of Sunday. It will not apply to active members of the armed forces, policemen and private security guards, Moraes wrote.
Even though Bolsonaro’s administration has said it is cooperating with the transition of power, the far-right leader has stopped short of explicitly conceding his election loss on October 30. In protest, thousands of his supporters have gathered at military barracks across the country, asking the army to step in as they claim, with no evidence, that the election was stolen.
According to the police statement, Sousa arrived in Brasilia from his home state of Para on October 12 to join other Bolsonaro supporters, who were camped in front of the Armed Forces headquarters in the city.
Sousa said he was inspired by President Bolsonaro to spend over $30,000 to purchase the guns and ammunition, according to his statement. CNN has reached out to Bolsonaro for comment.
Violence has flared in the country ahead of Lula da Silva’s inauguration.
In mid-December, protesters clashed with police in the capital Brasilia as they attempted to break into a federal police building following the arrest of an outspoken Bolsonaro supporter.
A former Texas police officer was sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison Tuesday following his manslaughter conviction for shooting Atatiana Jefferson in her own home in 2019.
Aaron Dean, the 38-year-old White former Fort Worth police officer, had faced up to 20 years in prison for killing Jefferson, a 28-year-old Black woman.
Dean, in a gray suit, stood in court and showed no emotion as the sentence was read. Jefferson’s relatives read impact statements after the term of 11 years, 10 months and 12 days in prison was announced.
“My sister did not do anything wrong,” said Ashley Carr, Jefferson’s sister. “She was in her home, which should have been the safest place for her to be and yet turned out to be the most dangerous. She was murdered and, as her big sister, I live every day with the pain that I could not do my job and protect her.”
Carr said she pitied Dean.
“Not because of the punishment you have received for your crime,” she told Dean in court. “You and I both know that is insufficient. I pity your ignorance… You do not know enough to be ashamed. You’re not self aware enough to understand your responsibility for this evil act.”
The jury began deliberating on the sentence on Monday after convicting Dean last Thursday.
Prosecutors asked jurors to sentence Dean to the maximum 20 years in prison, saying anything less was a “travesty of justice.” Dean’s defense asked for a suspended sentence and community supervision, noting that he was acting in his role as a police officer and was not in need of rehabilitation.
The sentence comes more than three years after the deadly encounter in which Dean and his partner responded to Jefferson’s house around 2:25 a.m. on October 12, 2019. They arrived at her house after a neighbor called a non-emergency police line to report that her doors were open. They did not announce themselves as police at the home, and Dean then fatally shot through a bedroom window at Jefferson, who had been playing video games with her nephew, who was 8.
Dean resigned from the force days afterward and was arrested and charged with murder. He has been out on bond for the last three years.
Trial testimony, which touched on race, police violence, gun rights and body-camera footage, began on December 5.
Dean was charged with murder, but jurors were allowed to convict him on a lesser charge of manslaughter. They had deliberated for more than 13 hours, according to CNN affiliate WFAA, before announcing a guilty verdict Thursday. The manslaughter conviction of a police officer who was on duty is a first in Tarrant County, the station reported.
At trial, defense attorneys said Dean fired in self-defense, and Dean testified that he fired at Jefferson because she pointed a gun at him. He testified that he believed the home was being burglarized because the doors were open and the place appeared ransacked.
“The state cannot prove to you beyond a reasonable doubt that this was not self-defense,” defense attorney Bob Gill said. “It’s tragic, but is not an offense under the state of Texas.”
However, prosecutors argued there was no evidence he saw a gun in the woman’s hand before he fired at her. Further, Jefferson’s 11-year-old nephew, who was with her at the time, testified he did not see her raise a gun to the window. Dean’s police partner, Carol Darch, testified Dean did not mention he had seen a gun in the minutes after the shooting as they ran into the home.
“If you can’t feel safe in your own home, where can you feel safe?” Tarrant County prosecutor Ashlea Deener told jurors in closing arguments. “When you think about your house, you think about safety. It’s where you go to retreat, to get away from the world.”
Jefferson graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana in 2014 with a degree in biology and worked in pharmaceutical equipment sales, according to her family’s attorney.
She had moved to Fort Worth a few months earlier to take care of her ailing mother and her nephews, family attorney S. Lee Merritt said at the time.
The prosecution’s first witness was Zion Carr, who was 8 years old and in the bedroom with his “Aunt Tay” when she was shot.
Now 11, the boy testified they had accidentally burned hamburgers earlier in the night, so they opened the doors to air the smoke out of the house.
He and his aunt were up late playing video games when Jefferson heard a noise outside, and she then went to her purse to get her gun, he testified. He did not see her raise her firearm toward the window, he testified.
Zion said he did not hear or see anything outside the window, but he saw his aunt fall to the ground and start crying.
“I was thinking, ‘Is it a dream?’” he testified. “She was crying and just shaking.”
Prosecutors also called to the stand Dean’s police partner, Darch, who testified she was with Dean when they went to investigate the home.
She said she believed the home was being burglarized because two doors were open, lights were on inside, cabinets were wide open and things were strewn about the living room and kitchen area.
She had her back to the window when Dean began to yell out commands for Jefferson to put her hands up, she testified. Darch said she started to turn around, heard a gunshot, then looked over Dean’s shoulder and could see a face in the window with eyes “as big as saucers.”
She testified she did not see Jefferson holding a gun and didn’t recall Dean ever saying that Jefferson had a gun.
Dean testified last Monday that he fired at Jefferson because she pointed a gun at him.
“As I started to get that second phrase out, ‘Show me your hands,’ I saw a silhouette,” the former officer said. “I was looking right down the barrel of a gun, and when I saw the barrel of that gun pointed at me, I fired a single shot from my duty weapon.”
In cross-examination, however, Dean admitted many of his actions that night were “bad police work,” including firing without seeing her hands or what was behind her, failing to tell his partner he saw a gun and rushing into the home without fully ensuring it was safe.
“You’ve got another fellow officer from the Fort Worth Police Department entering a home which you have determined to be a burglary in progress with a possible armed assailant, and you didn’t think to tell your partner, ‘Hey there’s a gun inside?’” prosecutor R. Dale Smith asked.
“No,” Dean said.
“You didn’t think to tell her, ‘Hey I saw somebody with a gun?’” Smith asked.
A jury began deliberations Monday on a sentence for the former Texas police officer who was convicted of manslaughter last week for shooting Atatiana Jefferson in her own home in 2019.
Aaron Dean, the 38-year-old White former Fort Worth police officer, faces up to 20 years in prison for killing Jefferson, a 28-year-old Black woman.
Prosecutors asked the jury to sentence Dean to the maximum 20 years in prison, saying anything less was a “travesty of justice.” Dean’s defense asked jurors to sentence him to a suspended sentence and community supervision that would keep him out of prison, noting that he was acting in his role as a police officer and was not in need of rehabilitation.
The sentencing comes shortly after a brief trial fraught with issues of race, police violence and gun rights. Much of the trial testimony also focused on police body-camera footage of the shooting and a close examination of Dean’s actions before, during and after the single shot was fired.
The case dates back to about 2:25 a.m. on October 12, 2019 when Dean and his police partner responded to Jefferson’s house after a neighbor called a non-emergency police line to report that her doors were open. Dean and his police partner, Carol Darch, did not announce themselves as police at the home, and Dean then fatally shot through a bedroom window at Jefferson, who had been up late playing video games with her young nephew.
Dean resigned from the force days afterward and was arrested and charged with murder in her killing. He has been out on bond for the last three years.
At trial, defense attorneys said Dean fired in self-defense, and Dean testified that he fired at Jefferson because she pointed a gun at him. He testified that he believed the home was being burglarized because the doors were open and the place appeared ransacked.
“The state cannot prove to you beyond a reasonable doubt that this was not self-defense,” defense attorney Bob Gill said. “It’s tragic, but is not an offense under the state of Texas.”
However, prosecutors argued there was no evidence he saw a gun in the woman’s hand before he fired at her. Further, Jefferson’s 11-year-old nephew, who was with her at the time, testified he did not see her raise a gun to the window. His police partner, Carol Darch, testified Dean did not mention he had seen a gun in the minutes after the shooting as they ran into the home.
“If you can’t feel safe in your own home, where can you feel safe?” Tarrant County prosecutor Ashlea Deener told jurors in closing arguments. “When you think about your house, you think about safety. It’s where you go to retreat, to get away from the world.”
Though Dean was charged with murder, jurors were also allowed to convict him on a lesser charge of manslaughter. The jury deliberated for more than 13 hours, according to CNN affiliate WFAA, before announcing a guilty verdict on Thursday. The manslaughter conviction of a police officer who was on duty is a first in Tarrant County, the station reported.
Woman shot and killed by police officer in her own home
On Friday, in the sentencing phase of the trial, jurors heard from various witnesses, including a psychologist who evaluated Dean before he was hired by the Fort Worth Police Department and members of Jefferson’s and Dean’s families.
The clinical and forensic psychologist, Dr. Kyle Clayton, described Dean as narcissistic and testified that he was “not psychologically suitable to serve as a police officer.” He said Dean exhibited signs of grandiosity.
Defense witness Tim Foster, who attended the same church as Dean, described him as “dependable, upright, noble.”
Dean’s mother, Donna, told jurors that he is the second born of her six children. She said he told the family he decided to become a police officer because “he wanted to make a difference in people’s lives and to help people.”
Dean’s younger brother, Adam, called him “a man of integrity” who “cares about honor and wanting to do the right thing.” A younger sister who is a police officer, Alyssa, testified that he is “hardworking, humble, caring.”
Jefferson’s older brother, Adarius Carr, told jurors his sister was diagnosed with diabetes at a young age and had aspired to become a doctor. Carr said Jefferson was his best friend and testified that he could not believe it when he heard she had been killed.
Jefferson graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana in 2014 with a degree in biology and worked in pharmaceutical equipment sales, according to her family’s attorney.
She had moved to Fort Worth a few months earlier to take care of her ailing mother and her nephews, family attorney S. Lee Merritt said at the time.
The prosecution’s first witness was Zion Carr, who was 8 years old and in the bedroom with his “Aunt Tay” when she was shot.
Now 11, the boy testified they had accidentally burned hamburgers earlier in the night, so they opened the doors to air the smoke out of the house.
He and his aunt were up late playing video games when Jefferson heard a noise outside, and she then went to her purse to get her gun, he testified. He did not see her raise her firearm toward the window, he testified.
Zion said he did not hear or see anything outside the window, but he saw his aunt fall to the ground and start crying.
“I was thinking, ‘Is it a dream?’” he testified. “She was crying and just shaking.”
Prosecutors also called to the stand Dean’s police partner, Darch, who testified she was with Dean when they went to investigate the home.
She said she believed the home was being burglarized because two doors were open, lights were on inside, cabinets were wide open and things were strewn about the living room and kitchen area.
She had her back to the window when Dean began to yell out commands for Jefferson to put her hands up, she testified. Darch said she started to turn around, heard a gunshot, then looked over Dean’s shoulder and could see a face in the window with eyes “as big as saucers.”
She testified she did not see Jefferson holding a gun and didn’t recall Dean ever saying that Jefferson had a gun.
Dean testified last Monday that he fired at Jefferson because she pointed a gun at him.
“As I started to get that second phrase out, ‘Show me your hands,’ I saw a silhouette,” the former officer said. “I was looking right down the barrel of a gun, and when I saw the barrel of that gun pointed at me, I fired a single shot from my duty weapon.”
In cross-examination, however, Dean admitted many of his actions that night were “bad police work,” including firing without seeing her hands or what was behind her, failing to tell his partner he saw a gun and rushing into the home without fully ensuring it was safe.
“You’ve got another fellow officer from the Fort Worth Police Department entering a home which you have determined to be a burglary in progress with a possible armed assailant, and you didn’t think to tell your partner, ‘Hey there’s a gun inside?’” prosecutor R. Dale Smith asked.
“No,” Dean said.
“You didn’t think to tell her, ‘Hey I saw somebody with a gun?’” Smith asked.
A Texas jury began deliberations Wednesday in the trial of a former Fort Worth police officer accused of murder in the 2019 shooting of 28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson in her home.
The deliberations got underway after closing arguments in which the state portrayed Aaron Dean as a power-hungry former cop whose preconceived notions about the neighborhood where Jefferson lived tainted his conduct the night of the shooting.
The defense countered that Dean fired his weapon in self-defense while fearing for his life in what attorneys said was a tragic accident but not a criminal act.
The case went to the jury more than three years after Dean and his partner responded to Jefferson’s house around 2:25 a.m. on October 12, 2019, in response to a neighbor calling a nonemergency police line to report that her doors were open.
Dean, who is White, resigned days afterward and was arrested and charged in the killing of Jefferson, who is Black. He has pleaded not guilty to murder, a charge which carries a possible sentence of five to 99 years.
Jurors also can consider the lesser included offense of manslaughter, which carries a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors maintained there is no evidence Dean saw a gun in Jefferson’s hand before firing.
“If you can’t feel safe in your own home, where can you feel safe?” Tarrant County Prosecutor Ashlea Deener told jurors in closing. “When you think about your house, you think about safety. It’s where you go to retreat, to get away from the world.”
Dean, the prosecutor said, had a “tremendous amount of power” when he put on his uniform.
“When you put on that badge and you put on that uniform you say you’re going to serve and protect us all. That means her too,” Deener said of Jefferson.
“And the Fort Worth Police Department – those officers that do serve and protect us, that don’t have those preconceived notions, that did a thorough investigation in this case – are ashamed that they ever called somebody like him a brother in blue,” she added, referring to the former officer.
Defense attorney Bob Gill told jurors Dean feared for his life as he peered through the bedroom window that night.
“The state cannot prove to you beyond a reasonable doubt that this was not self-defense,” Gill said. “It’s tragic, but is not an offense under the state of Texas.”
Holding his hands in the air to show the size of the gun Dean claimed he saw through the bedroom window, Gill told the jury: “What is immediately more necessary than having a handgun stuck in your face? And you have heard from several people, starting with Aaron, that that handgun was this big when he saw it.”
Gill added, “If you believe that Aaron was legitimately defending a third person, and reasonably defending a third person, or if you had a reasonable doubt about whether he was doing such, then you are to acquit Aaron. And you don’t have to agree that it was self-defense or defense of a third person. You just have to decide in your mind that he reasonably believed he was doing one of those two things.”
Dean testified Monday that he fired at Jefferson because she pointed a gun at him.
“As I started to get that second phrase out, ‘Show me your hands,’ I saw a silhouette,” the former officer said. “I was looking right down the barrel of a gun, and when I saw the barrel of that gun pointed at me, I fired a single shot from my duty weapon.”
Dean said he had his weapon out because he believed the home was in the midst of being robbed. He fired at her through the window “because we’re taught to meet deadly force with deadly force. We’re not taught that we have to wait,” he said.
In cross-examination, however, Dean admitted many of his actions that night were “bad police work,” including firing without seeing her hands or what was behind her, failing to tell his partner he saw a gun and rushing into the home without fully ensuring it was safe.
“You’ve got another fellow officer from the Fort Worth Police Department entering a home which you have determined to be a burglary in progress with a possible armed assailant, and you didn’t think to tell your partner, ‘Hey there’s a gun inside?’” prosecutor R. Dale Smith asked.
“No,” Dean said.
Woman shot and killed by police officer in her own home
“You didn’t think to tell her, ‘Hey I saw somebody with a gun?’” Smith asked.
“No,” he said.
Dean’s testimony is pivotal in the trial, which also featured body-camera footage of the shooting and testimony from the primary witnesses, Dean’s police partner Carol Darch and Jefferson’s 11-year-old nephew.
On the stand, Dean described the silhouette he saw as being “bent over” facing the window with upper arm movement.
He grew emotional as he spoke about the moments after he shot Jefferson.
“I observed the person that we now know is Ms. Jefferson. I heard her scream and saw her fall like this,” Dean said, gesturing in a downward motion. “And I knew that I’d shot that person.”
He said after firing the shot he tried opening the window to render aid but couldn’t get it open, so they ran around to the front door and entered the home. He and Darch went into the bedroom and saw a child there.
“I’m thinking, who brings a kid to a burglary? What is going on?” Dean said.
The prosecution’s first witness was Zion Carr, who was 8 years old and in the bedroom with his “Aunt Tay” when she was shot.
Now 11, the boy testified they had accidentally burned hamburgers earlier in the night, so they opened the doors to air the smoke out of the house.
He and his aunt were up late playing video games when Jefferson heard a noise outside, and she then went to her purse to get her gun, he testified. He did not see her raise her firearm toward the window, he testified.
Zion said he did not hear or see anything outside the window, but he saw his aunt fall to the ground and start crying.
“I was thinking, ‘Is it a dream?’” he testified. “She was crying and just shaking.”
Prosecutors also called to the stand Dean’s police partner, Darch, who testified she was with Dean when they went to investigate the home.
She said she believed the home was being burglarized because two doors were open, lights were on inside, cabinets were wide open and things were strewn about the living room and kitchen area.
She had her back to the window when Dean began to yell out commands for Jefferson to put her hands up, she testified. Darch said she started to turn around, heard a gunshot, then looked over Dean’s shoulder and could see a face in the window with eyes “as big as saucers.”
She testified she did not see Jefferson holding a gun and didn’t recall Dean ever saying Jefferson had a gun.
An attorney for Jefferson’s family said she was trying to protect her nephew from what they both thought was a prowler. She had moved into her ailing mother’s Fort Worth home a few months earlier to take care of her, family attorney S. Lee Merritt said at the time. She also took care of her nephews.
Jefferson graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana in 2014 with a degree in biology and worked in pharmaceutical equipment sales, according to her family’s attorney.
The former Fort Worth police officer charged with murder for the 2019 shooting of 28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson in her own home testified Monday he fired at her because she pointed a gun at him.
“As I started to get that second phrase out, ‘Show me your hands,’ I saw a silhouette,” the former officer, 38-year-old Aaron Dean, said. “I was looking right down the barrel of a gun, and when I saw the barrel of that gun pointed at me, I fired a single shot from my duty weapon.”
Dean said he had his weapon out because he believed the home was in the midst of being robbed. He fired at her through the window “because we’re taught to meet deadly force with deadly force. We’re not taught that we have to wait,” he said.
Yet in cross-examination, he admitted many of his actions that night were “bad police work,” including firing without seeing her hands or what was behind her, failing to tell his partner he saw a gun and rushing into the home without fully ensuring it was safe.
“You’ve got another fellow officer from the Fort Worth Police Department entering a home which you have determined to be a burglary in progress with a possible armed assailant, and you didn’t think to tell your partner, ‘Hey there’s a gun inside?’” prosecutor R. Dale Smith asked.
“No,” Dean said.
“You didn’t think to tell her, ‘Hey I saw somebody with a gun?’” Smith asked.
“No,” he said.
His testimony is likely to be pivotal in the trial, which began last week and has already featured body-camera footage of the shooting and testimony from the primary witnesses, Jefferson’s 11-year-old nephew and Dean’s police partner Carol Darch. The prosecution rested its case after three days of testimony.
Woman shot and killed by police officer in her own home
The testimony comes more than three years after Dean and his partner responded to Jefferson’s house around 2:25 a.m. on an October night in response to a neighbor calling a nonemergency police line to note her doors were open.
The officers did not at any point identify themselves as police when scoping out the home, and Dean then shot into a back window at Jefferson, who was up late playing video games with her young nephew.
Heavily edited body camera footage released to the public showed an officer peering through two open doors, but he didn’t knock or announce his presence. Instead, he walked around the house for about a minute. Eventually, the officer approached a window and shined a flashlight into what appeared to be a dark room.
“Put your hands up! Show me your hands!” the officer yelled before firing a single shot, according to the body camera footage.
Dean, who is White, resigned days afterward and was arrested and charged with murder for killing Jefferson, who is Black. He has pleaded not guilty to murder, a charge which carries a possible sentence of five to 99 years.
His defense has said he fired in self-defense, but prosecutors argued there is no evidence he saw a gun in her hand before firing.
On Monday, Dean testified he and his partner arrived to the scene and approached the home quietly because they believed it was in the midst of a burglary. They parked at a nearby home and did not announce themselves as police when approaching.
When they were in the home’s backyard, Dean said he saw the silhouette of a person in the window. He thought the person was a burglar and shouted out commands for the person to show their hands. Dean said he could not identify the gender or race of the person in the window.
Dean described the silhouette as being “bent over” facing the window with upper arm movement.
He grew emotional on the stand as he spoke about the moments after he shot Jefferson.
“I observed the person that we now know is Ms. Jefferson. I heard her scream and saw her fall like this,” Dean said, gesturing in a downward motion. “And I knew that I’d shot that person.”
He said after firing the shot, he tried opening the window to render aid but couldn’t get it open, so they ran around to the front door and entered the home. He and Darch went into the bedroom and saw a child there.
“I’m thinking, who brings a kid to a burglary? What is going on?” Dean said.
He testified he found a firearm between Jefferson’s feet and noticed it had a green laser attached to it. Body-camera footage shows he audibly exhaled at that moment. “I was thinking that’s how close we came to dying,” he testified.
In a confrontational cross-examination, Smith, the prosecutor, walked through each of Dean’s actions that night and repeatedly asked him, “Is that good police work?”
Dean acknowledged many of his actions were not. In particular, he acknowledged he could not tell whether the gun was raised in a position ready to fire, only that he saw the barrel of the gun and decided to shoot.
“Once you saw the barrel of the gun, you decided to pull the trigger and take who was on the other side of that window’s life?” the prosecutor said.
“Yes,” Dean said.
Smith went step-by-step through Dean’s body camera footage, showing multiple missteps Dean and his partner took while surrounding Jefferson’s home. Dean admitted he did not secure exits for a potential burglar, did not call for backup and did not administer CPR to Jefferson.
Still, he gave himself an overall grade of “B” on an A-to-F scale for his actions before he pulled the trigger.
“I’m sure there are things we could have done better,” he said.
In opening statements, prosecutors acknowledged Jefferson had a firearm but said there was no evidence Dean saw the weapon in her hand before firing at her.
“This is not a circumstance where they’re staring at the barrel of a gun and he had to defend himself against that person or to protect his partner,” Tarrant County prosecutor Ashlea Deener said. “The evidence will support he did not see the gun in her hand. This is not a justification. This is not a self-defense case. This is murder.”
Yet Dean’s defense attorney said the former officer had seen an armed silhouette with a green laser pointed at him before firing.
“In that window he sees a silhouette,” attorney Miles Brissette said. “He doesn’t know if it’s a male or female, he doesn’t know the racial makeup of the silhouette. He sees it, he sees the green laser and the gun come up on him. He takes a half-step back, gives a command and fires his weapon.”
The prosecution’s first witness was Zion Carr, who was 8 years old and in the bedroom with his “Aunt Tay” when she was shot. Now 11, he testified they had accidentally burned hamburgers earlier in the night, so they opened the doors to air the smoke out of the house.
He and his aunt were up late playing video games when Jefferson heard a noise outside, and she then went to her purse to get her gun, he testified. He did not see her raise her firearm toward the window, he testified.
Zion said he did not hear or see anything outside the window, but he saw his aunt fall to the ground and start crying.
“I was thinking, ‘Is it a dream?’” he testified. “She was crying and just shaking.”
Prosecutors also called to the stand Dean’s police partner Carol Darch, who testified she was with Dean when they went to investigate the home.
She said she believed the home was being burglarized because two doors were open, lights were on inside, cabinets were wide open and things were strewn about the living room and kitchen area.
She had her back to the window when Dean began to yell out commands for Jefferson to put her hands up, she testified. Darch said she started to turn around, heard a gunshot, then looked over Dean’s shoulder and could see a face in the window with eyes “as big as saucers.”
She testified she did not see Jefferson holding a gun and doesn’t recall Dean ever saying Jefferson had a gun.
An attorney for Jefferson’s family said she was trying to protect her nephew from what they both thought was a prowler. She had moved into her ailing mother’s Fort Worth home a few months earlier to take care of her, family attorney S. Lee Merritt said at the time. She also took care of her nephews.
Jefferson graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana in 2014 with a degree in biology and worked in pharmaceutical equipment sales, according to her family’s attorney.
Security became especially tighter during World War II. After a truck-bomb attack on the US Marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983, low concrete walls were put up around the White House. Bollards – sturdy, vertical posts that can stop vehicles – were added a few years later.
“Security incidents occur frequently,” according to a 2015 House of Representatives report. Data from the Secret Service included in the report show that there were 104 security breaches or attempted breaches between April 2005 and April 15, 2015.
April 13, 1912 – On his second attempt to enter the White House to see President William Howard Taft, Michael Winter makes it several feet inside the front door before being noticed.
September 26, 1963 – Doyle Allen Hicks rams his pickup truck through the gates and drives up to within 25 feet of the North Portico main entrance. When stopped, he tells guards that he must see the president, because communists are taking over his state, North Carolina.
February 17, 1974 – Robert K. Preston, an Army private, steals a helicopter from Fort Meade, Maryland. He hovers over the Washington Monument and White House grounds before leading two state police helicopters on an aerial chase around Maryland and Washington, DC. After more than an hour, Preston heads back to the White House, according to a state police officer. Officers shoot at the helicopter, forcing Preston to land. He reportedly was upset about flunking out of flight school.
February 22, 1974 – Samuel Joseph Byck tries to hijack a Delta passenger jet at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, with the plan to crash it into the White House. He forces his way on to the plane, killing an airport policeman and the copilot. Byck is killed by police before takeoff.
December 25, 1974 – Marshall Fields crashes his automobile through the Northwest Gate and drives it close to the North Portico. He threatens to blow himself up with explosives he has strapped to his body, which later turn out to be flares. After four hours of negotiation, Fields surrenders to officials.
November 26, 1975 – Gerald Gainous Jr. makes his way over the fence, hides for two hours on the grounds undetected and is able to get within five feet of Susan Ford, President Gerald Ford’s daughter.Gainous jumps the fence three more times within the next year.
July 25, 1976 – Chester Plummer Jr. climbs over the White House fence carrying a metal pipe and starts running toward the White House. A guard chases him, yelling at him to stop. When he doesn’t, the guard shoots and kills him. Plummer’s motive is not discovered.
October 1978 – A barefoot man wearing a karate uniform and carrying a Bible with a knife hidden inside, scales the White House fence. He slashes two officers before White House guards are able to subdue him. The suspect, Anthony Henry, reportedly wanted to convince President Jimmy Carter to remove the phrase “In God We Trust” from US currency.
January 20, 1985 – Robert Latta, a meter-reader from Denver, follows the Marine Band into the White House before President Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration ceremony. Latta wanders around the mansion for about 15 minutes before being arrested in the dining room.
February 7, 2001 – Robert Pickett, an accountant who was fired from the IRS in the 1980s, fires shots outside the White House. Secret Service agents shoot him in the leg after a standoff lasting more than 10 minutes at the White House fence. President George W. Bush was not endangered, White House officials say later.
January 18, 2005 – Lowell Timmers, of Cedar Springs, Michigan, threatens to blow up his van in front on the White House, two days before Bush’s second inauguration, saying he has an explosive substance in the vehicle. The FBI, Secret Service and other authorities evacuate nearby buildings and shut down several blocks. Four hours pass before Timmers, who had demanded that his son-in-law be released from jail, surrenders.
November 11, 2011 – A gunman fires an assault rifle at the White House, hitting the residential wing of the building at least seven times. Secret Service supervisors fail to recognize the danger, dismissing the gunfire as a gang-related shootout rather than an attack on the White House, according to the Washington Post. Four days later, a housekeeper and a White House usher spot bullet holes in the residence. Five days after the shooting, the gunman, Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez is arrested at a Pennsylvania hotel. In 2014, Ortega-Hernandez is sentenced to 25 years in federal prison.
October 3, 2013 – An unarmed woman is shot and killed by a Secret Service agent and a Capitol police officer after she drives toward a security checkpoint near the White House, hits a barricade and speeds away. The woman is a 34-year-old mother battling postpartum depression, according to her sister. Her one-year-old daughter, seated in the back of the car during the chase, is unharmed.
September 11, 2014 – A man wearing Pokemon gear and carrying a plush doll of the character Pikachu makes it over the White House fence and onto the north lawn, where he is apprehended. He is later identified as Jeffrey Grossman.
October 22, 2014 – Dominic Adesanya, 23, of Bel Air, Maryland, jumps the White House fence and barely makes it onto the lawn before he is subdued as he fights off two police dogs, according to the Secret Service. Adesanya, who suffers from mental health problems, had been arrested in a previous White House breach, his father later says.
January 26, 2015 – The Secret Service locks down the White House shortly after 3 a.m. after an officer spots a drone flying above the White House grounds before crashing on the southeast side of the complex. An employee of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a government entity with mapping and national security duties, later calls the Secret Service and admits that he was operating the drone for fun.
March 10, 2017 – A man carrying a backpack with mace and a letter for President Donald Trump makes it onto the grounds and roams for more than 15 minutes before he is discovered and arrested by a Secret Service officer near the south entrance. The suspect, identified in court records as Jonathan T. Tran, 26, of California, tells the agency’s officers that he was there to see the president.
March 21, 2017 – Marci Anderson Wahl of Everett, Washington, jumps a fence on the south side but gets stuck. Officers find her hanging by her shoelaces, which were “caught on top of the fence,” according to a police report. Wahl is arrested two more times within the next week, near the Treasury Building and in Lafayette Park.
The gunman who killed 10 people and wounded three in a racist attack at a grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, would be willing to plead guilty to federal charges – including hate crimes – if prosecutors agree to take the death penalty off the table, his attorneys said Friday.
Gendron, a 19-year-old White man, had faced multiple federal hate crime charges, which carry the potential for the death penalty, in addition to several firearms charges. He had pleaded not guilty to the federal charges.
He pleaded guilty in a state court last month to one count of a domestic act of terrorism motivated by hate, 10 counts of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder and a weapons possession charge in the mass shooting at Tops Friendly Markets on May 14. Those charges come with a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the chance of parole.
“Just as Payton Gendron entered a plea of guilty to the indictment in county court, he is prepared to enter a plea of guilty in federal court in exchange of the same sentence, which is the sentence of life in prison, without parole,” said his defense attorney Sonya Zoghlin.
Magistrate Judge Kenneth Schroeder in court on Friday balked at giving attorneys more time to review the voluminous evidence connected with the case since Gendron has already pleaded guilty to state charges.
Gendron’s defense team said in court they plan to take the first steps to meet with the US Attorney in Buffalo and the Assistant Attorney General from Washington so that they can make a formal presentation to as to why Gendron should not get the death penalty.
The first meetings are scheduled after the new year, attorneys said in court on Friday.
“There’s a lot to go through and I think that mitigation presentation, obviously, is highly important for them, in addition to the facts of the case, so that’s why we consented this time,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Tripi.
Judge Schroeder scheduled the next hearing for March 10, during which attorneys will give an update on how much of the evidence they’ve been able to review and if they can work out a deal with prosecutors.
Meanwhile, Gendron will be sentenced on his state conviction on similar charges in February.
The victims, including customers, employees and an armed security guard, ranged in age from 20 to 86. Eleven of the 13 people shot were Black and two were White, officials said.
Social media posts and a lengthy document written by the gunman reveal he had been planning his attack for months and had visited the Tops supermarket several times previously. He posted that he chose Tops because it was in a particular ZIP code in Buffalo that had the highest percentage of Black people close enough to where he lived in Conklin, New York.
The document outlined his goals for the attack, according to Flynn: “To kill as many African Americans as possible, avoid dying and spread ideals.”
Gendron shot four people outside the grocery store and nine more inside before surrendering to Buffalo Police officers who responded to the scene, according to an indictment.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said following the attack that the AR-15 style rifle used in the shooting was legally purchased in New York State, but was modified with a high-capacity magazine, which is not legal in the state.
The earlier guilty plea ensured there will be no state trial and Gendron will not appeal, defense attorney Brian Parker said.
A growing number of reported threats to power infrastructure are under investigation following attacks on substations in the South and on the West Coast as electricity becomes a more critical need in winter.
Even before the gun assaults Saturday in Moore County, North Carolina, wiped out power for days to thousands, at least five electricity substations in Oregon and Washington had been attacked in November, according to energy companies.
And now, the FBI is involved after reports of shots fired Wednesday near a power station in Ridgeway, South Carolina, a Duke Energy spokesperson told CNN. No outages or known property damage was reported at the Wateree Hydro Station, spokesperson Jeff Brooks said.
While no motive or suspect behind the North Carolina attacks has been identified, investigators are zeroing in on two possible threads centered on extremist behavior: writings by extremists on online forums encouraging attacks on critical infrastructure and a series of recent disruptions of LGBTQ+ events across the nation by domestic extremists, law enforcement sources told CNN.
Though investigators have no evidence connecting the Moore County outage to a drag event that began there around when the lights went out, the timing and context of armed confrontations around similar LBGTQ+ events across the country are being considered, the sources told CNN. The outage ended the Moore County drag show after audience members lit the stage with phone flashlights, Sandhills PRIDE has said.
The FBI had warned of reports of threats to electricity infrastructure by people espousing racially or ethnically motivated extremist ideology “to create civil disorder and inspire further violence,” the agency said in a November 22 bulletin sent to private industry.
Beyond this month’s incidents in South Carolina and North Carolina, where lights flickered back on Wednesday:
• In Oregon, a substation in Clackamas was damaged in a “deliberate physical attack” over the Thanksgiving holiday, a Bonneville Power Administration spokesperson told CNN. “BPA operators discovered a cut perimeter fence and damaged equipment inside,” the spokesperson said, adding the company is working with the FBI on the incident.
• In Washington state, “two incidents occur(ed) in late November at two different substations,” Puget Sound Energy spokesperson told CNN. “Both incidents are currently under investigation by the FBI,” it said, adding, “We are aware of recent threats on power systems across the country and take these very seriously.”
And two Cowlitz County Public Utility District substations were vandalized in mid-November in the Woodland area, agency spokesperson Alice Dietz told The Seattle Times. “At this time, we do not have any further comment … Our facilities have since been repaired,” Dietz told the Times. CNN has reached out to the FBI’s office in Seattle for comment.
Anti-government groups in the past two years began using online forums to urge followers to attack critical infrastructure, including the power grid. They have posted documents and even instructions outlining vulnerabilities and suggesting the use of high-powered rifles.
One 14-page guide obtained by CNN cited as an example the 2013 sniper attack on a high voltage substation at the edge of Silicon Valley that destroyed 17 transformers and cost Pacific Gas and Electric $15 million in repairs.
The caliber of the bullets in that California incident is different from those used in North Carolina, a law enforcement source told CNN.
But whoever attacked the North Carolina substations “knew exactly what they were doing,” Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields has said.
Investigators recovered around the damaged substations nearly two dozen shell casings from a high-powered rifle, law enforcement sources told CNN. While no rifle has been recovered, the ballistics may still offer critical evidence. And bullets pulled from a transformer station and brass shell casings found a short distance away are being examined, the sources said.
The casings can be entered into a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives database and matched to any other shell casings fired by the same gun at another crime scene, or to the gun itself if it’s found. The locations of the casings may also offer clues.
The sheriff on Wednesday asked the public to provide any surveillance footage from the areas that were hit and announced $75,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible.
Someone who lives near the West End substation heard around 20 gunshots in quick succession the night of the attack on the station, he told CNN affiliate WRAL. The power did not go out for about 30 minutes after that, he said.
“Me and my wife were just sitting on the couch just watching a movie and all of the sudden, about 8:45, about 20 shots fired off right across the street,” Spencer Matthews told WRAL.
The outages crippled the local economy and paralyzed daily life for more than 45,000 homes and businesses. And just because the electricity is back on doesn’t mean the pain is over.
Businesses “have lost a tremendous amount over the last few days,” Moore County Manager Wayne Vest said. The outages affected more than 600 food establishments, Moore County Health Director Matt Garner said
“We know our residents are going to end the day and go through the night in power and light and in safety. But there’s another element of our population is still suffering … and that’s our local merchants,” Pinehurst Mayor John Strickland said.
“If you’re dining out, if you’re only going to go out once, go out twice,” Vest said. “If you were going to shop and buy one package, buy two packages.”
