Road Rage Driver Shoots Truck Full Of Fireworks, Burns Family Inside
A family of four, including two young children, has been seriously injured after a man shot at their vehicle during a road rage incident, causing the fireworks they had recently purchased to ignite.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office has launched an investigation following an incident that broke out around 10 p.m. yesterday in Houston.
Police said that two men got into an argument near a Fiesta store on West Mount Houston Road. The pair then drove to a nearby gas station in their separate vehicles before getting out and continuing the dispute.
One of the men then pulled a gun out, prompting the other to get back inside his vehicle with his wife and two small children, aged 1 and 2.
The suspect then fired his gun at the family’s car. Police believe the gunshot ignited the fireworks the family was carrying inside the vehicle.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez described the incident as a “horrific scene.”
The father drove off briefly, but their car engulfed in flames forcing him to stop,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “Some good Samaritans came to the rescue and transported the family to a community ER clinic.”
The two children sustained major burns and are currently in hospital in a critical condition. The parents were also hurt, although the extent of their injuries is unknown at this time.
“The two children were [taken via Life Flight] to UTMB Galveston with severe burns,” said Harris County Sheriff’s Office Violent Crimes Detective Tom Turner, reported Click 2 Houston. “The mother was also transported [and] the father has since been transported.”
The suspect, described as either mixed race or Hispanic in his 20s, was driving a light-colored Ford Expedition with a woman and two children inside.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office added in a statement: “If anyone has any information about this horrific incident that occurred tonight, please contact CrimeStoppers Houston. Your tip could help solve this crime and could be worth up to $5000. Two innocent children were hurt in this incident. Please provide any info you might have.”
Anyone with info is urged to call 713-221-6000 or CrimeStoppers 713-222-8477.
Elsewhere, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office also dealt with an incident in which a suspected robber was shot with his own gun after attempting to rob a fireworks stand on July 4.
Deputies said that fireworks stand employee was able to “take possession of the would-be robber’s pistol and shot him with it,” leaving the teenage suspect in a critical condition.
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Woman who licked tub of ice cream in viral video could face 20 years in prison
Police aren’t resting until they catch the person who opened a carton of ice cream at a Texas Walmart, licked the creamy goodness and put it back in the freezer.
Lufkin Police say they are searching for a womanwho gleefully contaminated a half-gallon of Blue Bell Tin Roof ice cream — which the company describes as “a vanilla ice cream with a rich chocolate fudge swirl and roasted peanuts dipped in dark chocolate” — last week in a Twitter video that has garnered more than 11 million views.
Police say the woman faces a charge of second-degree felony tampering with a consumer product, which carries two to 20 years behind bars and a possible fine of up to $10,000.
Blue Bell called the unsettling footage a “malicious act” in a statement on its website.
The ice cream maker said it inspected the freezer case that contained the licked ice cream, found the problematic tub and removed all Tin Roof half gallons from the Lufkin Walmart.
“The safety of our ice cream is our highest priority, and we work hard to maintain the highest level of confidence of our customers. Food tampering is not a joke, and we will not tolerate tampering with our products,” Blue Bell said.
A Walmart in Corpus Christi isn’t taking any chances with its own ice cream stock.
To protect its frozen goods, the store said, it stationed an “armed” guard in front of its precious Blue Bell freezer and posted a photo Wednesday of an employee holding a squirt gun; the photo was removed about 18 hours later.
“We’re guarding our Blue Bell Ice cream for your Weekend party, what a great way to cool down in the Hot Texas heat !” the post said.
By Michelle Lou, CNN
Photo Credit: pix11.com
Twin baby boys found alone near train tracks overnight
Police are investigating after twin baby boys were found left alone near train tracks in Worcester, Massachusetts.
The boys, believed to be about 9 months old, were discovered by railroad employees, Worcester police said in a news release. Authorities responded just after midnight Wednesday, and the babies “appeared to be unharmed.”
The babies have been identified and are in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, which is aiding in the investigation, police said. CNN has reached out to the Worcester police and DCF for an update on the case.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact police.
Last month, a newborn baby girl was found wrapped in a plastic bag and abandoned in a wooded area north of Atlanta. She was believed to be just hours old. She was named India by employees of a hospital in Forsyth County.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/07/04/twin-baby-boys-found-alone-near-train-tracks-overnight/
Photo Credit: Getty Images
12-year-old boy arrested for shooting his mother in the head
New Orleans, LA (WGNO ) — A 32-year-old woman is in critical condition after she was shot in the head by her 12-year-old son Wednesday.
The shooting occurred in the 1400 block of South Roman Street around 7:30 a.m. on July 3, according to the NOPD.
Responding officers found the victim suffering from a gunshot wound at the residence.
She was rushed to a hospital, where she was listed in critical condition.
Officers recovered a semi-automatic handgun and a spent shell casing in the boy’s bedroom, according to the NOPD.
The 12-year-old boy was arrested at the scene and charged with attempted second degree murder. Authorities haven’t released his name or details on where he is being held.
They also haven’t released details including how police got word of the shooting.
The victim’s 2-year-old daughter was also in the home during the shooting.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/07/04/12-year-old-boy-arrested-for-shooting-his-mother-in-the-head-police/
Photo Credit: Getty Images
He’s 100, she’s about to turn 103, and they just got married
Newlyweds John and Phyllis Cook are celebrating their new lives together at their Ohio senior living facility.
John is a World War II veteran who just turned 100, and Phyllis will turn 103 on August 8.
Longevity runs in Phyllis Cook’s family; her mother lived to be 106.
The couple went to the courthouse to get their marriage license last week and found out they could get married on the spot.
“It wasn’t the plan, but we got here and they said, ‘we could marry you here.’ I said ‘good, let’s get it over with,’ ” John Cook told CNN affiliate WNWO.
It wasn’t a rash decision: They had been dating for about a year before they tied the knot.
“To tell you the truth, we fell in love with each other. I know you think that may be a little bit farfetched for somebody our age, but we fell in love with each other,” Phyllis Cook told WNWO.
Both Cooks had lost two spouses in the past and feel lucky to have found love a third time.
“We were just compatible in a whole lot of ways, found ourselves enjoying each other’s company,” John Cook said.
They spend their days together enjoying meals, sitting in the sun and zipping down the halls of the Kingston Residence of Sylvania in their mobility scooters, but they also give each other space.
“What we do, we keep both of our apartments. He’s upstairs, and I’m down,” Phyllis Cook said.
The couple plans to keep busy and enjoy their time together.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/07/04/hes-100-shes-about-to-turn-103-and-they-just-got-married/
Photo Credit: pix11.com
Woman told police child was in backseat of her stolen car so officers would respond quickly was arrested
EAST FLATBUSH, Brooklyn — A woman who had her car stolen in Brooklyn Thursday lied to police, saying there was a child in the backseat of the vehicle so they’d respond faster, according to authorities.
The woman called police at 12:14 p.m. Thursday and claimed a man got into the car that was still running at Farrafut Avenue and Albany Avenue in East Flatbush with a six-year-old girl in the back seat.
The vehicle was found nearby, and the woman who made the call was taken into custody.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Man arrested after exchanging sexually explicit messages with minor
ROLLA, Mo. – The Phelps County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged a 22-year-old man Wednesday for allegedly having a sexually explicit conversation with an underage girl via social media messaging.
According to Captain Jason Smith, a spokesman for the Rolla Police Department, a woman notified detectives that an adult had been having an inappropriate conversation with her 15-year-old daughter via Facebook.
The woman provided detectives with information showing the conversation had been ongoing for the past week.
Police tracked down the adult, identified as Nicholas Wyatt, at a local homeless shelter the following day and took him into custody.
Wyatt was charged with one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. He was taken to the Phelps County Jail where he remains on a $25,000 bond
via: https://fox2now.com/2019/07/03/man-arrested-after-engaging-in-sexually-explicit-messages-with-minor/
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Navy SEAL Sentenced to Lower Rank, Partial Pay for 4 Months After Being Found Guilty of Posing With Body
The Latest on a Navy SEAL acquitted of murder in the death of a wounded war prisoner in Iraq (all times local):
12:12 p.m.
A military jury sentenced a decorated Navy SEAL to four months of confinement for posing with the body of an Islamic State captive in Iraq, but a judge credited him with enough days to ensure he won’t be locked up.
The jury Wednesday also reduced the rank of Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher by one grade to petty officer 1st class and ordered his monthly pay to be cut by $2,697 for four months.
The judge went on to give Gallagher 60 days’ credit for being held in overly harsh conditions before being tried as well as for being deprived of treatment for a traumatic brain injury. Gallagher was also credited with 201 days of pretrial confinement.
The judge additionally said the pay cut will be capped at two months.
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10:25 a.m.
A Navy prosecutor has asked a military jury to reduce the rank of a decorated Navy SEAL for posing in photos with the body of a dead Islamic State captive in Iraq in 2017.
The move came after jurors returned to court Wednesday in San Diego to determine the punishment that Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher will face for the single conviction.
The jury on Tuesday acquitted Gallagher of murder, attempted murder and other counts.
Posing with a human casualty carries a maximum penalty of four months in confinement.
The defense asked jurors to consider that Gallagher spent 201 days in pretrial confinement and recommended no punishment.
The prosecution did not ask for jail time but said a message needs to be sent that the violation is not tolerated.
Gallagher told the jury he has learned from his mistakes.
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9:05 a.m.
President Donald Trump appeared to suggest that he had intervened in the case of a decorated Navy SEAL accused of war crimes who was found not guilty of murder.
Edward Gallagher was acquitted Tuesday of murder in the killing of a wounded Islamic State captive under his care in Iraq in 2017.
Trump tweeted his congratulations to Gallagher, “his wonderful wife Andrea, and his entire family” family Wednesday. “You have been through much together,” he wrote. “Glad I could help!”
The White House did not immediately explain what the president was referencing. But Trump had Gallagher moved to more favorable confinement at a Navy hospital this spring and was reportedly considering a pardon for him.
Trump lawyer Marc Mukasey, who is a close associate of Trump confidante Rudy Giuliani, served as Gallagher’s attorney.
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6:27 a.m.
The decorated Navy SEAL who was acquitted of murder in the killing of a wounded Islamic State captive in Iraq thanked Fox News, President Donald Trump and two congressmen for their support during his trial.
Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher also told Fox & Friends on Wednesday he feels “blessed to have the support that I had this whole time from the country and from the troops.”
Asked what his message might be to future Navy SEALS, Gallagher said “loyalty is a trait that seems to be lost.”
The same military jurors who acquitted Gallagher Tuesday will now deliberate his punishment for the single charge on which he was convicted: posing with the militant’s corpse.
Photo Credit: ktla.com
White Supremacist Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Role in 2016 Melee in Sacramento That Injured 14 People
The only white supremacist charged in a 2016 melee at the California state Capitol that injured at least 14 people was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison.
William Scott Planer, 36, pleaded no contest in April to assault likely to produce great bodily injury. Sacramento County prosecutors say he knocked a defenseless person unconscious with a pole during a fight between members of the white-nationalist Traditionalist Worker Party and anti-fascist counter-protesters.
A social media video shows the counter-protester trying to rise to her feet from the Capitol lawn after losing a fistfight with another member of Traditionalist Worker Party. Planer runs up behind her and hits her in the head with a pole, using a full baseball bat-like swing. She fell unconscious before three other counter-protesters dragged her away.
He was previously convicted of a Placer County robbery in 2001 and was arrested in 2017 on suspicion of pasting stickers reading “Fight Terror, Nuke Israel” on the front door of a Colorado Springs, Colorado, Jewish center.
Three counter-protesters are preparing for trial this fall on charges from the same confrontation.
At least 14 participants were stabbed or had cuts and bruises, with two surviving critical stabbings. Police also recovered a loaded gun after about 20 white nationalists were confronted by at least 200 counter-protesters.
Independent observers and participants alike criticized police for not moving more quickly to separate the groups.
The Traditionalist Worker Party had a permit to rally at the Capitol, and a California Highway Patrol investigator previously testified that police knew for weeks that a group called By Any Means Necessary and other counter-protesters calling themselves anarchists, anti-fascists, socialists or communists planned to disrupt the gathering, likely using violence.
More than 100 law enforcement officers were caught off guard when the two groups began battling earlier than they had anticipated.
Prominent San Francisco Bay Area anti-fascist leader Yvonne Felarca is among the three counter-protesters facing charges including assault and inciting and participating in a riot. She goes by Yvette Felarca while leading and speaking for the group known as BAMN. Her attorney previously said she was among those stabbed during the confrontation.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Missing Toddler’s Remains Believed to Have Been Found at Trash Incinerator in Virginia
Remains believed to be those of a missing 2-year-old Virginia boy were found Wednesday morning in a steam plant that converts trash to energy, ending days of searching in a case where the boy’s mother is charged in his disappearance, police said.
The remains, suspected to be Noah Tomlin’s, were found at the city-owned steam plant in Hampton just before 9 a.m., nine days after his mother reported him missing from their Hampton mobile home, Hampton Police Chief Terry Sult said.
The plant is where city waste goes to burn. The combustion interacts with a water supply, creating steam that is piped to the nearby NASA Langley Research Center, which uses the steam for power.
City police officers — suspecting the boy’s body may have been taken to the plant or a landfill — spent days sifting through about 2 million pounds of garbage by hand, Sult said. The remains were not incinerated, said Sult, who declined to otherwise describe the remains’ condition or say how they arrived at the plant. A medical examiner will examine the remains for formal identification, he said.
“Make no mistake: This has taken a toll on our community and our first responders,” Sult told reporters Wednesday afternoon. “It will take time for all involved to recover and to heal.”
The mother was arrested four days after she reported the boy missing
The investigation began June 24 when the boy’s mother, Julia Leanna Tomlin, reported him missing. She initially said her son was last seen when he was put to bed around 1 a.m.; she reported him missing that day at 11:36 a.m., Sult said.
Initially, police said no explanation was being ruled out, including the chance he walked away.
But on Friday, Julia Tomlin, 34, was arrested on three counts of felony child neglect in connection with the boy’s disappearance, police said without elaborating.
Investigators still are trying to determine how Noah died, Sult said.
Prosecutors will determine whether more charges will be filed in the case, the chief said. Asked whether anyone else would be arrested, Sult said Wednesday: “We’re not excluding anything.”
Officers picked through trash in awful conditions
Sult didn’t say why investigators started searching the landfill and the steam plant, except that “information gained through the investigation helped focus the search efforts.”
City police officers waded through trash in terrible conditions for days, the chief said.
“You’re dealing with conditions that are high humidity, high temperature. In this case, at the steam plant, they’re in a confined space,” Sult said.
Firefighters monitored carbon dioxide and methane levels while officers searched, and called the officers back when the levels rose too high.
“When you get into that and you smell the odors and you’re in the midst of everything, then you realize what you’re there for, and you’re going through literally millions of pounds of garbage,” Sult said. “It takes tolls.”
Photo Credit: ktla.com