Crimes, Homicides & Suicides

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10 held in Texas immigration detention center shooting that was 'planned ambush,' US attorney says

Ten people have been arrested on attempted murder charges after attackers in black military-style clothing opened fire outside a Texas immigration detention center in a “planned ambush” that left one police officer wounded, a prosecutor said. Read More.

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Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman, shot 9 times by a man posing as an officer, leaves the hospital

Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman, who was shot nine times by a gunman posing as a police officer who authorities say went on to kill another lawmaker, is out of the hospital and is now recovering in a transitional care unit, his family said. Read More.

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Just 1 of 10 inmates who escaped from a New Orleans jail is still on the run

Nearly two months after 10 inmates escaped from a New Orleans jail by crawling through a hole behind a toilet, authorities have recaptured all but the man with the most violent rap sheet: Derrick Groves. Read More.

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Former West Virginia officers sentenced to decades in prison for their role in deadly inmate assault

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Two former West Virginia correctional officers were sentenced to decades in prison on Wednesday for their roles in an assault that resulted in the death of an inmate.

https://apnews.com/article/west-virginia-jail-assault-civil-rights-3fef44ad3660c3391bd9bbbe1470d2ac?

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Arkansas prison escape

Two employees at an Arkansas prison where an inmate escaped in May have been fired for policy violations, officials said. According to the head of the Arkansas Board of Corrections, one of the fired workers allowed the escapee, Grant Hardin, onto an outside kitchen dock unsupervised. The other employee worked in a tower and opened the gate for Hardin without confirming his identity. Hardin was wearing a makeshift law enforcement uniform when he fled from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock on May 25. He was captured on June 6, about a mile and a half away from the facility. A former small-town police chief, Hardin was serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape when he escaped. He was the subject of the TV documentary “Devil in the Ozarks.”   Retired police sergeant gets 6 months in prison for Taser attack on man in mental health crisis WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — A retired police sergeant in a New York suburb has been sentenced to six months in prison and six months of home confinement for repeatedly firing a Taser gun at a man suffering a health crisis. https://apnews.com/article/mount-vernon-police-taser-29d813d0c2b9c38995723e380518a41b?

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Pennsylvania man who posted video of father’s severed head online is found guilty of murder

A Pennsylvania man who posted a video of his father’s severed head on YouTube was convicted of murder Friday and sentenced to life without parole. Prosecutors said Justin Mohn killed his father — who had been an engineer with the geoenvironmental section of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Philadelphia District — to intimidate federal workers, calling it a “cold, calculated, organized plan.” Read More.

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Suspect kills 2 women in Kentucky church after shooting state trooper, police say

Two women died Sunday at a church in Lexington, Kentucky, in a shooting rampage that began when a state trooper was wounded after making a traffic stop, police said. The suspect in both shootings was also killed.

https://apnews.com/article/kentucky-church-shooting-suspect-dead-c31e1c1c050ba96416fbd2082e4866d4?

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Flames tear through assisted-living facility in Massachusetts, killing 9 and trapping residents

Flames roared through an assisted-living facility in Massachusetts, killing nine people and trapping residents inside, including some who leaned out of windows and screamed for help, authorities said Monday. At least 30 people were hurt. Read More.   Retired Army officer pleads guilty to sharing classified info on Russia-Ukraine war on dating site A retired Army officer who worked as a civilian for the Air Force has pleaded guilty to conspiring to transmit classified information about Russia’s war with Ukraine on a foreign online dating platform. Read More.   Elmo's hacked X account posted racist messages. Sesame Workshop is trying to regain control Sesame Workshop was trying to regain full control over its Elmo account on the X platform Monday after a hacker gained access and posted a string of racist and antisemitic messages. Read More.

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Ex-NYPD commissioner sues NYC mayor, alleging he ran police department as a 'criminal enterprise'

New York City’s former interim police commissioner is suing Mayor Eric Adams and his top deputies, accusing them of operating the NYPD as a “criminal enterprise.” It is the latest in a series of recent lawsuits by former NYPD leaders describing a department ruled by graft and cronyism, with swift repercussions for those who questioned the mayor’s allies. Read More.

What to know about the killings of an 'American Idol' music supervisor and her husband in LA

Los Angeles police officers conducting a welfare check at a gated home on Monday discovered two bodies inside with gunshot wounds. The victims were identified as Robin Kaye, a longtime music supervisor for “American Idol,” and her husband, Thomas Deluca. Read More.

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Police violence

The former police officer who was found guilty of violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor — when she was shot and killed in her Louisville, Kentucky home during a botched “no-knock” raid in 2020 — will face sentencing on Monday. Although Brett Hankison wasn’t the officer who killed Taylor, he did fire blindly through her window. In a court filing Wednesday, the DOJ asked that Hankison be sentenced to just 1 day in jail. And in Philadelphia, a former police officer who shot and killed a motorist during a traffic stop was sentenced on Thursday and then immediately granted parole. A judge sentenced Mark Dial to 9 1/2 months in jail for voluntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Eddie Irizarry — but then granted him parole because he had already been jailed for 10 months following his arrest in 2023. The city’s district attorney and the victim’s family condemned the sentence.    An explosion at a Los Angeles law enforcement training facility kills 3 A deadly explosion that shook a law enforcement training facility in Los Angeles early Friday was being investigated as a possible training accident, officials said. Read More. 17-year-old charged with murder in paddleboarder's killing at a pond in rural Maine Authorities in Maine have charged a 17-year-old with murder in the death of a paddleboarder on a rural pond. Sunshine Stewart was found dead this month on Crawford Pond in Union, a popular summer spot. Read More.

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Car strikes crowd outside Los Angeles venue, injuring 30. Bystanders attack driver, who was shot

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A vehicle rammed into a crowd of people waiting to enter a performance venue along a busy boulevard in Los Angeles early Saturday, injuring 30 people and leading bystanders to attack the driver, authorities said.

https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-car-into-crowd-east-hollywood-74109553b3f12ded236dc4e2d72c919b?

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Judge gives ex-officer nearly 3 years in Breonna Taylor raid, rebuffs DOJ call for no prison time

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday sentenced a former Kentucky police officer to nearly three years in prison for using excessive force during the deadly 2020 Breonna Taylor raid, rebuffing a U.S. Department of Justice recommendation of no prison time for the defendant.

https://apnews.com/article/breonna-taylor-raid-hankison-sentence-4da93877da13f506be42cc1c738cab2b?

ps:Good for them!

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> Bryan Kohberger due to be sentenced today over fatal stabbing of four University of Idaho students in 2022 after pleading guilty to first-degree murder, burglary charges earlier this month (More)

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Driver accused of ramming into crowd outside LA nightclub charged with 37 counts of attempted murder

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The driver accused of ramming his car into a crowd outside a Los Angeles nightclub over the weekend was charged with 37 felony counts of attempted murder, prosecutors said Tuesday.

https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-car-crash-hollywood-nightclub-dd0b2008afe5258cf3125e405ec77418?

Stand-your-ground laws linked to higher homicide rates, new report finds

Stand-your-ground laws, which are in effect in more than half of U.S. states, are associated with higher homicide rates, increased racial disparities in legal outcomes, and broader public costs, according to a report from Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control research and advocacy group.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/07/22/stand-your-ground-laws-linked-to-higher-homicide-rates-new-report-finds/?

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Live updates: Friends and family of Idaho murder victims deliver impact statements at Bryan Kohberger sentencing

The hearing gives the families of Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Kaylee Goncalves the opportunity to describe the anguish they’ve felt since their loved ones were killed in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022. Read More.   Doctor pleads guilty to selling Matthew Perry ketamine in the weeks before the actor’s death LOS ANGELES (AP) — A doctor who was a primary target in the sweeping investigation of actor Matthew Perry’s overdose death pleaded guilty Wednesday to supplying the “Friends” star with ketamine despite knowing he was a struggling addict. https://apnews.com/article/matthew-perry-doctor-guilty-plea-salvador-plasencia-ea9957df817535ab17fac24660c9c431?

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Ohio ‘ambush’

Two Ohio police officers were allegedly ambushed by an armed man in an undeveloped industrial park on Wednesday. According to officials, the gunman waited on a dead-end street and then opened fire on two Lorain officers when they parked their vehicles there to eat lunch. Another officer, who responded to the victims’ call for help, was also shot. At this time, the first two officers are listed in critical condition after suffering multiple gunshot wounds. The third officer was shot in the hand and treated at a local medical facility. The shooter has been identified as a 28-year-old man from Lorain. It’s not clear if he was killed by the officers or took his own life, only that he “was shot on scene and was pronounced deceased,” officials said.

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A man accused of stabbing 11 people at a Walmart is in Michigan authorities’ custody

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Eleven people were stabbed at a Walmart in Traverse City on Saturday — with six in critical condition — in what a Michigan sheriff said appeared to be a random act. A suspect was in custody, authorities said.

https://apnews.com/article/walmart-stabbing-michigan-traverse-city-7d31d22005921a90e54c813a563c2457?

Lori Vallow Daybell receives additional life sentences in Arizona, ending legal saga

PHOENIX (AP) — Lori Vallow Daybell was sentenced to life in prison Friday on two murder conspiracy convictions in Arizona, marking an end to a winding legal saga for the mother with doomsday religious beliefs who claimed people in her life had been possessed by evil spirits.

https://apnews.com/article/lori-vallow-daybell-idaho-arizona-sentencing-doomsday-b81602158ad47c27a907d28086e213f4?

Authorities seek to file terrorism and assault charges against suspect in Walmart knife attack

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A man accused of entering a Walmart in Michigan and randomly stabbing 11 shoppers before being detained by bystanders in the store parking lot is expected to face terrorism and multiple assault charges, authorities said Sunday.

https://apnews.com/article/walmart-stabbing-michigan-341fb14f1bc715243b3780a3d7eabda0?

Walmart attack

Police in Grand Traverse, Michigan, are praising bystanders who cornered the suspect in a violent stabbing attack. Bradford James Gille, 42, entered a Walmart on Saturday afternoon, waited inside for 35 minutes, then allegedly began stabbing random strangers with a foldable knife, authorities said. As the suspect fled into the parking lot, several bystanders gave chase, including an unarmed former Marine named Matt Kolakowski and his brother-in-law, Chris O’Brien. After another bystander, also a former Marine, pulled out his gun, the suspect dropped the knife. That's when Kolakowski subdued the attacker and held him until police arrived. “I just turned into somebody that I haven’t been in a long time and just stayed on top of him until the deputy ran up and jumped on top of him with a rifle in his face, and I helped the deputy arrest him,” Kolakowski said. All 11 victims – who are between the ages of 29 and 84 – are expected to survive.    Missing mom and child A California mother and her 8-month-old daughter are missing and haven’t been seen for nearly two weeks. Family, friends and authorities are asking for the public’s help in finding Whisper Owen, 36, and her infant daughter Sandra McCarty. Owen, who is also the mother of three other children, is described as 5'6", 145 lbs., with blue eyes and brown hair. Sandra is 1'10", 17 lbs., with green eyes and brown hair. On July 15, the pair left Fresno to return to their home near Sacramento. A traffic camera last captured their vehicle — a silver 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer, license plate number 9LKH008, with damage to its driver's side headlight — shortly after 8 p.m. that night in Atwater. “I’m desperate to find my daughter and her baby,” Owen’s mother, Vickie Torres, told CNN. “It’s like she vanished into thin air.”

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Police-involved shooting with multiple injuries reported at Reno casino with a suspect in custody

Authorities say there was a police-involved shooting at a casino and resort in Reno, Nevada, on Monday and multiple injuries were reported. The shooting was reported around 7:30 a.m. outside the Grand Sierra Resort in the valet area. Read More.

Police search for suspect who fatally stabbed couple in Arkansas' Devil’s Den State Park

Police in Arkansas were searching Monday for a suspect in the deaths of a couple who investigators said were attacked while on a wooded walking trail with their two young daughters, who were not hurt. Read More.

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Epstein and Maxwell grand juries did not hear directly from victims, prosecutors tell judges

The federal grand juries that indicted Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell on sex trafficking charges did not hear directly from any of the alleged victims in the case, Justice Department officials said in support of their request to unseal transcripts of the usually secret proceedings. Read More.

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A 4th man accused in a fatal dogpile outside a Milwaukee hotel pleads guilty to felony murder

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The last of four Milwaukee hotel workers accused of killing a man by pinning him to the ground has pleaded guilty to being a party to felony murder.

https://apnews.com/article/milwaukee-hotel-pinned-death-dvontaye-mitchell-plea-770b122048819dc0f6cce04820d5eb47?

Ghislaine Maxwell moved to federal prison camp in Texas

Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, who had been serving a 20-year prison sentence in Florida, has been moved to a lower-security federal prison camp in Texas.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/01/politics/ghislaine-maxwell-federal-prison-texas?

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Teacher charged in fatal stabbings in Arkansas bounced between schools in 3 states

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A 28-year-old teacher who authorities say admitted to fatally stabbing two hikers he didn’t know in an Arkansas state park bounced between four school districts in three states in recent years.

https://apnews.com/article/arkansas-trail-killing-suspect-court-appearance-376a70c6340aef654ddd34fda11b42cb?

Officers scour mountainous area of Montana for ex-soldier suspected of killing 4 in bar

Deputies spent Saturday traversing a rugged mountainous area of Montana with helicopters overhead as a manhunt for a military veteran suspected of fatally shooting four people at a bar stretched into a second day with no capture.

https://apnews.com/article/montana-shooting-suspect-search-439c3b8d78cf385a4ceb11c7bf1c9820?

Jury orders Tesla to pay more than $240 million in Autopilot crash case

MIAMI (AP) — A Miami jury decided that Elon Musk’s car company Tesla was partly responsible for a deadly crash in Florida involving its Autopilot driver assist technology and must pay the victims more than $240 million in damages.

https://apnews.com/article/tesla-miami-musk-benavides-selfdriving-autopilot-autonomous-vehicles-c342f2716b1ec4e9ede09b8e958751b7?

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Brutal arrest of Black student in Florida shows benefits of recording police from new vantage point

A video that captured the brutal arrest of a Black college student pulled from his car and beaten by officers in Florida has led to an investigation and calls for motorists to consider protecting themselves by placing a camera inside their vehicles.

https://apnews.com/article/william-mcneil-police-beating-video-jacksonville-driver-4243a4a87a89ae2ef99259144067c2e5?

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Police arrest suspect in killings of 4 Tennessee family members

The man wanted in the killings of the parents, grandmother and uncle of an infant found abandoned in a front yard in western Tennessee last week has been arrested, police said.

https://apnews.com/article/abandoned-infant-four-dead-tiptonville-tennessee-9e6cca471147bcac2ccd4a54203a3928?

Suspect arrested in killings of abandoned Tennessee baby’s relatives

The suspect in the killings of four relatives of a baby found abandoned last week has been arrested after a weeklong manhunt across rural Tennessee, according to police in Jackson.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/05/us/tennessee-killings-arrest-baby-abandoned-dyer-county?

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> FBI data finds crime in the US went down in every category last year, including murder, violent crime, and theft; violent crime decreased 4.5%, with murder and manslaughter down 15% (More)

? Major homicide drop

Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios

Homicides declined in major U.S. cities — by more than 50% in some places — during the first six months of the year, Axios' Russell Contreras writes from new data compiled by an organization of law enforcement executives. Why it matters: The stats are the latest signs that violent crime in America is falling from the COVID crime wave, and that drop appears to be accelerating during President Trump's first months in office. ? By the numbers: Reports from 68 law enforcement agencies showed a 19% drop in homicides in the first six months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to stats compiled by the Major Cities Chiefs Association. Denver, Honolulu, Orlando, Portland and Tampa all had a 50% or more decrease in homicides during that period. Keep reading ... Explore the data.

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Crime report

Violent crime decreased in the US in 2024, according to data released by the FBI this week. The agency’s Reported Crimes in the Nation report, which relies on local law enforcement submitting data to the federal system, showed violent crime down an estimated 4.5% compared to the previous year. Murders decreased by an estimated 14.9% and hate crimes dropped by 1.5%. Robberies went down by almost 9%, which is near its lowest rate in the last 20 years. The statistics were at odds with comments President Trump made throughout his campaign last year when he claimed that crime was “way up” and that “we’ve never seen crime like this before.” However, one category — assaults on police officers — showed a marked increase, from over 83,000 in 2023 to 85,730 in 2024. The FBI is studying why attacks on police are on the rise.