Month: February 2022

On Tuesday, Second gentleman Doug Emhoff was escorted out of an event by a Secret Service agent because of a reported “security threat.”  Emhoff’s wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, was not with him at the event taking place at Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C. in commemoration of Black History Month.  Emhoff’s office put out a press release saying that he was visiting the school “to meet with students who are participating in a program that helps them relate to history on a personal level.”

Emhoff was ushered out of the event at the school at approximately 2:18 p.m on Tuesday. Dunbar’s principal followed a few minutes later, stating there was a security threat reported by the school to the Secret Service. A school announcement came over the intercom at 2:34 p.m. calling on teachers to evacuate the school and reporters left the building as well. Enrique Gutierrez, the press secretary for DC Public Schools, said, “It was an apparent bomb threat … It was a bomb threat. We’re taking precautions, evacuation — evacuating everybody. Seems like all the students are out and safe.”

Katie Peters, Emhoff’s communications director, said in a statement: “U.S. Secret Service was made aware of a security threat at a school where the Second Gentleman was meeting with students and faculty. Mr. Emhoff is safe and the school has been evacuated. We are grateful to Secret Service and D.C. Police for their work.”

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A 17-year-old was arrested in connection to a homicide investigation that led to the death of Amir Locke, who was shot and killed by a Minneapolis police officer last week during a predawn “no-knock” raid. The teenager was identified as Locke’s cousin in court documents. Prosecutors have charged him with second-degree murder in the Jan. 10 fatal shooting of 38-year-old Otis Rodney Elder.

New details about the investigation emerged that led to the fatal encounter with Locke, 22, who was not named in the search warrant. Interim Police Chief Amelia Huffman said last week that officers from the Minneapolis Police Department were executing the warrant as part of the St. Paul homicide investigation. Police tracked the teenaged suspect and his associates to the Bolero Flats apartment building in Minneapolis, ultimately executing search warrants on three apartments: the one the teen lived in with his mother; another apartment two doors down connected to his associate; and an apartment belonging to the girlfriend of the teen’s brother seven floors down. Minneapolis police say the last apartment where Locke was killed was the only one with a “no-knock warrant.”

The charging documents say that investigators had those three search warrants and probable cause “pick up and holds,” which would allow them to arrest the teen and two associates on suspicion of murder and aiding an offender after the fact. Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing Locke’s parents, confirmed in a statement that the charged teenager is Locke’s cousin and that “all available information confirms that Amir was never a target of that investigation or those search warrants.”

The search warrant for the downtown Minneapolis apartment building will likely be unsealed after the teenager is arraigned and provide more information about his connection to the case. He is currently being held in Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Center. The state asked the court for an order enabling it to prosecute the 17-year-old as an adult because “retaining the proceeding in juvenile court does not serve public safety.”

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Officials confirm that a bicyclist fell to her death when a drawbridge connecting Palm Beach to the Florida mainland began rising before she could reach the other side. The woman was walking her bicycle toward West Palm Beach on Sunday afternoon and was within 10 feet (3 meters) of the barrier arms that halt traffic when the drawbridge started to move, police told news outlets. A bystander tried to pull her to safety but lost his grip. The woman’s name has not been released; the bridge was closed for more than six hours after the accident.

West Palm Beach police spokesperson Mike Jachles said: “The woman tried to hang on. There was a bystander nearby who tried to help her, but tragically she fell five or six stories below where she died landing on concrete.”  The Florida Department of Transportation maintains the bridge, but the bridge tenders are staffed by a private state contractor.  Why the bridge tender began raising the span before it was cleared of pedestrians will be a focus of the investigation, Jachles said.

The bridge is equipped with bells and whistles to alert drivers and pedestrians that the drawbridge is going up. Bicycle safety advocate Juan Orellana said: “Palm Beach is accessible only through three bridges and this is the main bridge, so it’s very used by cyclists. For one thing you will hear the bell before the arms go down, so when you hear the bell you gotta get out of the way before the bridge goes up.” 

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At least one person was killed and another was injured in a shooting at a Fred Meyer grocery store in Washington on Monday afternoon. The suspect, identified by police as Aaron Christopher Kelly, 39, was taken into custody late Monday in connection with the shooting at the Fred Meyer store in Richland, Washington, located 220 miles east of downtown Portland. Kelly was taken into custody on Interstate 90 more than 100 miles from Richland, and was arrested “without incident” according to police.

Richland police said in a statement that Kelly was being transported to Benton County Jail on charges of first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder. Richland Police Commander Chris Lee said at a press conference that officers first responded to the Richland grocery store at 11:04 a.m. local time after receiving reports that shots had been fired. Local schools including Richland High and River’s Edge High were placed on non-critical lockdown during the police response.

Police identified the victim as Justin Krumbah, 38. Another injured victim remains hospitalized, with police saying late on Monday: “The surviving victim is currently in critical condition and receiving continuing treatment at an area hospital.”

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