Authorities in Maryland are investigating the armed carjacking of a truck carrying more than 100 packages and the temporary abduction of two delivery workers Thursday morning.
GREENSBURG, Pa. — A woman who fled police at speeds exceeding 130 mph on Route 119 faces multiple charges and will appear before a judge next month.
According to our partners at TribLive.com, 44-year-old Roxanna Varriano of Jeannette was charged with illegally operating a vehicle without an ignition interlock device, illegal possession of marijuana, failing to use a seat belt and other charges after the incident in East Huntingdon.
State police said a trooper was patrolling the area around 12:30 p.m. Dec. 7 when Varriano flew past his patrol vehicle. The trooper said in court documents that Varriano’s 2020 Camaro was going more than 130 mph before she pulled off the road. The posted speed limit in the area is 65 mph.
Three people were killed and three injured in a Saturday night shooting at a bowling alley in Rockford, Illinois, local media reported, citing police.
A person of interest was reported to be in custody, said NBC Chicago.
Rockford police tweeted bit.ly/3rFLyiS, “Active shooter investigation near Don Carter Lanes on E.State Street. Avoid the area.”
Rockford police Chief Dan O’Shea told reporters that the shooting occurred inside and outside of the building. The area was no longer considered an active shooter situation, WREX reported.
O’Shea added that teenagers were among the victims but declined to give further details, WTVO reported.
The conditions of the three people injured have not been confirmed, WREX reported. Police did not say if the victims were patrons or workers of the business, the television station reported.
ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – UPDATE: One person was taken to the hospital with a non-critical gunshot wound. No arrests were made, and people are being asked to avoid the area.Roanoke PD say they responded to a report of shots fired on the upper level of the mall following a call at 6:37 p.m.
As of 8:30 p.m., Saturday, bystanders were still in the mall, awaiting evacuation. Teams of emergency crews were going through the mall to make sure there was no existing threat, systematically checking each area before escorting people to safety, added Roanoke Police Chief Sam Roman.
Early investigation points to the shooting stemming from a verbal argument involving multiple people, leading to shots being fired by one suspect.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Federal agents converged Saturday on the home of a possible person of interest in the explosion that rocked downtown Nashville as investigators scoured hundreds of tips and leads in the blast that pulverized city blocks on Christmas morning and damaged dozens of buildings.
More than 24 hours after the explosion, a motive remained elusive as investigators worked round-the-clock to resolve unanswered questions about a recreational vehicle that blew up on a mostly deserted street on a sleepy holiday morning and was prefaced by a recorded warning advising those nearby to evacuate. The attack, which damaged an AT&T building, continued to wreak havoc Saturday on cellphone service and police and hospital communications in several Southern states.
Investigators from multiple federal and local law enforcement agencies were at a home in Antioch, in suburban Nashville, after receiving information relevant to the investigation, said FBI Special Agent Jason Pack. Another law enforcement official, who was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said investigators regard a person associated with the property as a person of interest.
The huge explosion – which injured three people and caused massive damage to the city’s downtown area – emanated from a white RV parked on Second Avenue at 6.40 am Friday.
Police have ‘person of interest’ in Nashville bombing: Hunt for suspect narrows as FBI investigates whether spooky recorded warning was used to lure COPS to RV and videos show people running for cover inside stores
Explosion occurred on 2nd Avenue in Nashville’s downtown at 6.40am on Christmas morning
The blast injured three people and caused massive damage
Cops had been called to the area a short time before the explosion amid reports of a shooting
However, when they arrived at the scene they discovered a parked RV playing a recording which claimed the vehicle would explode
The FBI is now investigating whether the bomb may have been designed to deliberately target police officers as they were lured into the area
Meanwhile, possible human remains have been discovered near the site of the explosion
Dramatic new videos have also been shared; one shows buildings shaking during the impact of the blast while another shows a man run for cover
The explosion that rattled a historic Nashville street in the predawn hours of Christmas Day came after an RV repeatedly warned of an imminent explosion.
A boxy white RV arrived at 2nd Avenue North in downtown Nashville at 1:22 a.m. CT on Friday, police said.
Several hours later, Betsy Williams said she was woken up by what sounded like rapid gunfire.
“It sounded like an automatic weapon,” she said, saying it was “disconcerting.”
About 5-10 minutes later, she heard the sound again, so she called 911. Minutes later, she heard the gunfire a third time, so she called 911 again.
Buck McCoy said he, too, was woken up by what he thought were gunshots. He got up and looked out the window, he said, but went back to bed when he didn’t see anything.
Police said they were called to the location after a report of shots fired around 5:30 a.m.
Police responding to the scene found a white RV parked in front of an AT&T transmission building at 166 2nd Avenue North, a historic street in downtown Nashville.
The RV was repeatedly broadcasting a message warning of an explosion set to occur in 15 minutes, police said.
“Evacuate now,” the computerized, female voice coming from the vehicle said, according to Williams.
“This vehicle will explode in 15 minutes,” the voice said, according to Williams. After repeating that message for a minute, the voice then said the vehicle will explode in 14 minutes. The countdown was on.
“When the time started, that’s when we went, ‘oh sh*t,'” she said. “We need to get out of here.”
Williams, still in her pajamas, and her family grabbed their cat and made their way to their car to leave the immediate area. She said she saw police cordon off 2nd Avenue to prevent anyone from going down it.
David Malloy was out walking his dog, a black German shepherd named DJ, when he noticed police cars on every corner.
Then he heard a voice that he thought was coming from a police car telling people to “evacuate” and “please stand back.”
As the countdown grew closer to its end, the message emanating from the RV changed, according to surveillance video taken from a building across the street.
“If you can hear this message, evacuate now,” the voice said at about 6:30 a.m. “If you can hear this message, evacuate now.”
Then a bang and a blinding flash.
Malloy, with his dog, said he asked an officer whether they were supposed to evacuate when he saw the explosion.
“It was just this huge fireball explosion,” he said. “I didn’t know what to make of it.”
Williams and her family saw the explosive fireball as they were driving down 2nd Avenue, she said.
“Everything just, I mean, everything shook. It was quite the blast,” she said.
When Buck McCoy looked outside, he saw trees down everywhere and broken glass littering the street.
“Everything on the street was fire,” he said. “There were three cars that were fully engulfed.”
(CNN)A Christmas morning explosion that rocked downtown Nashville, injuring at least three people and damaging dozens of buildings, is believed to be an intentional act, authorities said.
According to police, officers with the Metro Nashville Police Department were responding to a call of shots fired around 5:30 a.m. CT Friday when they came upon an RV parked in front of an AT&T transmission building at 166 2nd Avenue North.
The RV was playing a recorded message that indicated a bomb would explode in 15 minutes, Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said during a news conference Friday.
Officers saw no immediate evidence of shots fired but they requested the department’s hazardous devices unit and started to evacuate neighborhood residents, police said.
The bomb squad was responding when the RV exploded at 6:30 a.m. CT, police spokesman Don Aaron said.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A man acquitted in the slayings of five people and an unborn baby at a western Pennsylvania cookout more than 4 1/2 years ago has pleaded guilty to a firearms charge in an unrelated case.
Cheron Shelton, 33, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. He was accused of having possessed a rifle and ammunition although a felony drug conviction barred him from owning a firearm.
The firearm charge came less than two weeks after Shelton was acquitted of first- and third-degree murder in the March 2016 shootings in Wilkinsburg. Charges in that case had been dismissed earlier against 31-year-old Robert Thomas. Authorities had alleged that he opened fire and Shelton then gunned down victims running onto a porch. Authorities alleged they were targeting someone Shelton believed was involved in the 2013 murder of a friend.
ROCHESTER (KDKA) — Police in Rochester Borough are investigating a robbery that took place at a Subway restaurant.Police say that they were dispatched to Adams Street around 5 p.m. on Monday for a robbery that had just occurred.
Video footage from the restaurant showed a suspect who appeared to be a white male wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.An employee from the restaurant appeared to fight back with the suspect.
The Rochester Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect.
Anyone with information is pleased asked to contact the Rochester Borough Police Department at 724-775-1100.
There were two more homicides in Memphis on Sunday, bringing the total to another record of 323 in 2020.
Police say the high numbers come from gangs, drugs, domestic violence, and guns, according to WREG. The latest numbers, which include 284 murders, represent 100 more than 2019.
The Grind City reached another record earlier this month when it had its 300th homicide. The Memphis Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
Memphis was just one many cities in which violent crime spiked this year.Data released earlier this month showed that 21 cities — including Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia — had an increase of 610 homicides, or 34% more, in the fall. That was slightly lower than the 42% jump seen in the summer.
A shooting at the Great Mall near San Jose, California, left thousands of people emotionally distressed, sheltering-in-place and calling home to tell families they loved them, authorities said Sunday, according to CBS San Francisco.
Officers responded around 5:16 p.m. local time on Saturday to numerous reports of shots fired inside the Great Mall located in the city of Milpitas. When they arrived, they found a 22-year-old San Francisco man suffering from a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and was later hospitalized.
Several law enforcement agencies responded to the Great Mall to assist. The stores were asked to shelter in place while the interior of the mall was evacuated and searched by SWAT teams for suspects and any additional victims.
A Pittsburgh man wanted on homicide charges for allegedly killing a woman in November was apprehended Thursday in Seattle.
Terrence Washington, 36, was arrested without incident by a U.S. Marshals Task Force, Seattle police and the King County Sheriff’s Department, reported Phil Cornelious, chief deputy U.S. marshal of the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Washington was wanted on charges of criminal homicide and firearms violations in connection with the Nov. 10 killing of Makeida Thompson in East Liberty.
The attack was so widespread and potentially catastrophic, the DHS’s cyber wing issued an emergency directive that stated the only way to mitigate damage was to airgap devices and uninstall affected Orion software. Meanwhile, SolarWinds filed an update with the SEC detailing the extent of the damage. It was limited, but only if you consider 18-33,000 potential infections “limited.” It’s only a small percentage because Solarwinds’s customer base is so large. The company boasts 300,000 customers, among them several government agencies and all five branches of the military. (It’s not boasting much these days. It has memory-holed its “Customer” page during this trying time.)
Unfortunately, the directive from CISA was delivered a bit too late. CISA itself was compromised by the hack, something acknowledged by the DHS less than 24 hours after its dire directive was issued.
The fallout from this hacking — which may have begun as early as March of this year — will continue for a long, long time. But this latest news — delivered by Zack Whittaker — adds another layer of irony to the ongoing debacle. Orion is Solarwinds’ one-stop shop for IT software. It promises to secure customers’ IT infrastructure by bundling in the company’s network security products.
No doubt the company claims to take security seriously. But while users are being subjected to password requirements that demand them to utilize most of the alphabet and multiple shift key presses, internal security isn’t nearly as restrictive. Here’s the “OMFG are you goddamn kidding me” news via Reuters, which first broke the news of the malicious hacking.
Security researcher Vinoth Kumar told Reuters that, last year, he alerted the company that anyone could access SolarWinds’ update server by using the password “solarwinds123”.
All five branches of the military. The NSA. The IRS. The USPS. DHS. The Treasury Department. Nearly every Fortune 500 company. All ten of the top ten telcos. The list goes on and on. And with this access, attackers could move laterally, using compromised credentials to eavesdrop on mutuals of targeted entities. And all of this “secured” by a password so simple an idiot could have created it.
(CNN)An alarming new alert issued by the Department of Homeland Security’s cyber arm Thursday revealed that Russian hackers suspected of a massive, ongoing intrusion campaign into government agencies, private companies and critical infrastructure entities used a variety of unidentified tactics and not just a single compromised software program.
Specifically, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said it has determined that the SolarWinds Orion software vulnerability disclosed earlier this week is not the only way hackers compromised a variety of online networks — warning that in some cases, victims appeared to have been breached despite never using the problematic software.
The news will likely only compound already escalating concerns about the scale and scope of the data breach, which CISA said Thursday “poses a grave risk” to networks across both the public and private sector.
Detectives with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police announced Tuesday that they still need the public’s help in finding Terrance Washington, 36, who also goes by the name of Terrence Zeppenfeldt.
Washington is the suspect in the Nov. 10 shooting death of Makeida Thompson, 32, who was an Allegheny County juvenile probation supervisor.
Thompson’s family says Washington was the father of Thompson’s youngest child and the two met at the home of one of Washington’s relatives on Rippey Avenue in East Liberty for a family meeting when he declared that Thompson would not take their child.
Thompson’s mother, Robin Payne, says Washington caused her family enormous grief, “gives the baby to his mother. The mother goes out the room one way, he goes out the other way, and comes up cowardly behind her, without her knowing, and shoots her several times in the back of the head, cowardly,” she says of the shooting incident.
Thompson’s brother, Jeffrey Thompson Jr., says Washington has been in touch with a coworker at a barbershop where he worked and that coworker tried to convince him to turn himself in, “he’s been reaching out constantly trying to get money, trying to convince this person, that if he gets 25-thousand dollars, he has enough to pay for a lawyer.
“Police ask that anyone with information on Washington’s whereabouts should call detectives in the crime unit at 412-861-1845.
PENN HILLS (KDKA) — Police are investigating a deadly shooting of a 15-year-old boy outside an apartment complex in Penn Hills.
The person or persons responsible for shooting and killing the boy is still out there as of Tuesday afternoon. As of right now, there are no suspects and no motive.
The medical examiner identified the teenager as Jafar Brooks.
“At about 12:41 a.m., the Penn Hills Police were called to the 1900 block of Garden Drive,” said Allegheny County Police Department Inspector Michael Peairs.
(Photo Credit: KDKA Photojournalist Brian Smithmyer)
That’s where they found a male victim lying next to a black Escalade in the parking lot of the Leechburg Garden Apartments. He died on the scene after being shot multiple times. The Allegheny County Police Homicide Unit stepped in.
“We believe it to be an approximately 15-year-old male. We believe that male drove to the scene in that vehicle from a neighboring community,” said Peairs.
KDKA spoke with neighbors who say they heard at least six gunshots.
(Photo Credit: KDKA Photojournalist Brian Smithmyer)
Peairs says multiple people were involved.
“We have evidence to believe that there were several individuals that had an interaction with him at that time, so we’re working on that,” he said.
Police are also focused on the Escalade. It was towed to the police department this morning. Its passenger and back windows were shattered by bullets.
Early in the pandemic, Joo Park noticed a worrisome shift at the market he manages near downtown Washington: At least once a day, he’d spot someone slipping a package of meat, a bag of rice or other food into a shirt or under a jacket. Diapers, shampoo and laundry detergent began disappearing in bigger numbers, too.
Since then, he said, thefts have more than doubled at Capitol Supermarket — even though he now stations more employees at the entrance, asks shoppers to leave backpacks up front and displays high-theft items like hand sanitizer and baking yeast in more conspicuous areas. Park doesn’t usually call the police, choosing instead to bar offenders from coming back.
“It’s become much harder during the pandemic,” he said. “People will say, ‘I was just hungry.’ And then what do you do?”
The coronavirus recession has been a relentless churn of high unemployment and economic uncertainty. The government stimulus that kept millions of Americans from falling into poverty earlier in the pandemic is long gone, and new aid is still a dot on the horizon after months of congressional inaction. Hunger is chronic, at levels not seen in decades.
New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo was accused by a former aide on Sunday morning of sexual harassment. Lindsey Boylan, who ran against Rep. Jerry Nadler in this year’s primary in New York’s 10th congressional district, was deputy secretary for economic development and a special advisor to the governor from 2015-2018.
Boylan offered few specifics in her allegation, but she appears to be alleging serious misconduct. Boylan is currently running for Manhattan Borough president.
The claim comes as Cuomo is mired in controversy over his decision to close indoor dining in New York City even though his own data show restaurants account for only 1.4 percent of the spread of the virus. According to the Associated Press, he was also added this week to Joe Biden’s short list for the position of attorney general of the United States.
(CNN)The US Commerce Department confirmed Sunday it has been the victim of a data breach.
“We can confirm there has been a breach in one of our bureaus,” the Commerce Department said in a statement to CNN. “We have asked CISA and the FBI to investigate, and we cannot comment further at this time.”
The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency also confirmed the data security incident, telling CNN in a statement, “We have been working closely with our agency partners regarding recently discovered activity on government networks.”
“CISA is providing technical assistance to affected entities as they work to identify and mitigate any potential compromises,” the statement continued.
The Washington Post reported Sunday that Russian government hackers targeted Commerce as well as the Treasury Department and other government agencies, according to people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
A manhunt for two Tennessee inmates who escaped from prison, kidnapped a Kentucky highway department employee and stole at least two vehicles continued Sunday morning.
Robert Brown and Christopher Osteen escaped Friday morning from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Lake County, Tennessee, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Friday.
Brown, 36, is serving an 18-year sentence for aggravated rape and Osteen, 34, is serving an eight-year sentence for burglary, authorities said. The escaped inmates should both be considered armed and dangerous, the state police agency said.
After their escape from the minimum security prison on Friday, an employee of the highway department in Fulton County, Kentucky, was kidnapped from a boat ramp on the Mississippi River at approximately 9:15 a.m. local time (10:15 a.m. ET), the sheriff’s office in Henry County, Tennessee reported on its Facebook page.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – FBI Pittsburgh took two people in custody in connection with an investigation into the Pagans Motorcycle Club.FBI Pittsburgh asked for help looking for Dominic Quarture and Richard Lee White III on Thursday. Later in the afternoon, both had been apprehended.
It comes after dozens of Pagans Motorcycle Club members and associates were charged with trafficking drugs through western Pennsylvania.U.S. Attorney Scott Brady says the Pagans have used violence to control cocaine, heroin and meth trafficking in Allegheny, Westmoreland, Erie, Fayette and Washington counties. Thirty people were charged in three separate indictments unsealed Tuesday.
Brady says search warrants led to the seizure of 12 firearms, “significant quantities” of drugs and $28,000 in cash and jewelry.
PITTSBURGH —Pittsburgh police are investigating after a man was found shot and lying in the street in Pittsburgh’s Beltzhoover neighborhood.
The incident happened around 2:45 a.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Gearing Avenue and Chalfont Street.
Police initially got a call about a possible hit-and-run, but paramedics who took the man to the hospital discovered he had a gunshot wound to the leg.
Police said the victim also had injuries to his face.
Washington (CNN)The Army announced Tuesday that 14 senior officers will be punished following a probe that was initiated after the murder of a soldier and several other deaths at the Army’s Fort Hood base in Texas this year.
The issues at Fort Hood are “directly related to leadership failures,” Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said.
“I directed the relief and or suspension of commanders and other leaders from the corps to the squad level,” he said, saying 14 senior officers “have been relieved of suspended from their positions.”
The independent review was ordered after the death of Vanessa Guillen, a 20-year-old soldier, whose remains were discovered in a shallow grave in late June, months after her disappearance in April. It was later determined she had been bludgeoned to death with a hammer in the armory where she worked and her body was moved by her killer who then killed himself before he could be apprehended.
WHITE OAK, Pa. (KDKA) — The White Oak Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying two masked individuals.
Police say the two individuals are suspects in an incident that happened around 4:30 a.m. Saturday at the White Oak Mini Mart in the 1500 block of Lincoln Way. Details surrounding the incident were not provided in the department’s Facebook post.
The two suspects fled the Mini Mart in the direction of Auld Street following the incident.
The White Oak Police Department is asking if you any information about the individuals in question that you contact the department or private message them on Facebook.
Allegheny County Police are currently conducting a homicide investigation in Stowe Township.
STOWE TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) — A woman is dead after an early morning shooting in Stowe Township.
Allegheny County police are looking for whoever killed 22-year-old Madison Paige Gilroy.
According to police, around 4:30 a.m. Saturday is when the call for shots fired came in.
“I heard about six or seven shots along the fence right where my bedroom window is,” a neighbor who didn’t want to be identified told KDKA.
Police responded near the intersection of Island Avenue and Tunnel Way. When Stowe Township and McKees Rock police arrived, officials found the victim.
“It’s every weekend. If it’s not a shooting, it’s a fight, a couple of fights,” the neighbor said.
The concerned neighbor doesn’t go outside anymore. She lives near True Diamonds club.
Police said the victim was a patron inside the club before the shooting started in the parking lot and continued up Tunnel Way. Police believe two people were shooting at each other and the victim was not the target.
A 15-year-old boy died Friday after a shooting at a drive-thru in Stockton, according to police.
Police said a mother and her 15-year-old son were in the drive-thru when the suspect walked up to their car and shot into the passenger side window several times.
The 15-year-old was taken to a nearby hospital where he later died from his injuries, police said. It is unclear if the 15-year-old’s mother was injured in the shooting.
Police currently have no motive or suspect information.
Anyone with information on the shooting is urged to call the Stockton Police Department.
The 15-year-old’s death marked the 50th homicide in Stockton this year. At this time last year, officers investigated 32 homicides, police said.
Of the 50 homicides this year, 15 were domestic violence, six involved homeless people, nine were gang-related, seven were robbery or narcotics-related and 13 were of unknown causes, police said.