1 boy killed, 2 hurt in stabbing outside their high school; 2 classmates arrested
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(SANTA ANA, Calif.) — One student was killed and two others were wounded in a stabbing outside their Southern California high school, and two of their classmates have been arrested, authorities said.
The students were attacked during a fight in front of Santa Ana High School at about 3:25 p.m. Wednesday, shortly after dismissal, according to school officials and police in Santa Ana, which is about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
A 14-year-old boy was hospitalized in critical condition and later died from his injuries, police said. He was identified later in the week by the Orange County coroner as Armando Morales.
A 15-year-old boy and 16-year-old boy were hospitalized in stable condition, police said. The Santa Ana Police Department later identified the boys as brothers.
The attack appeared to be gang-related, Santa Ana police spokesperson Natalie Garcia told reporters.
Garcia said Wednesday that police were searching for the two unidentified suspects. On Thursday, police said the suspects — a 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy — were identified and turned themselves in.
“Based on interviews with the parents, witness statements, and other video surveillance, both suspects were arrested and booked into juvenile hall for murder and attempted murder,” Garcia told reporters.
The unidentified boys were taken to Juvenile Hall and booked for murder and attempted murder, police said.
“Our thoughts are with the family of the student who passed, and with all those impacted by this senseless act of violence,” the Santa Ana Unified School District said in a statement.
“Out of an abundance of caution, there will be an increased presence of Santa Ana School Police on and around Santa Ana HS on Thursday,” the district added.
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(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — At least one person was killed and six others were injured in a shooting at Florida State University in Tallahassee on Thursday, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News.
One person is in critical condition and five are in serious condition, according to Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare.
The number of injured is subject to change, sources told ABC News, as law enforcement is actively searching to determine how many might be injured.
A suspect is in custody, multiple sources told ABC News, adding that the search for possible additional shooters is ongoing.
The shooting took place near the Student Union, according to an FSU Alert, which had advised students to continue to shelter in place due to reports of an active shooter.
Student Daniella Streety told ABC News she was in the building across the street from the Student Union when alert sirens started blaring, and people who were standing outside ran into her building.
Students then fled from the Student Union as law enforcement flooded the scene, she said.
Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter, Jaime, was killed in the Parkland high school shooting in South Florida in 2018, said some of Jaime’s classmates now attend FSU.
“Incredibly, some of them were just a part of their 2nd school shooting and some were in the student union today,” Guttenberg, who has become a gun reform supporter, wrote on social media. “As a father, all I ever wanted after the Parkland shooting was to help our children be safe. Sadly, because of the many people who refuse to do the right things about reducing gun violence, I am not surprised by what happened today.”
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said it’s “actively engaged in the incident.” The FBI is also assisting authorities at the university, an agency spokesperson told ABC News.
President Donald Trump has been briefed on the shooting, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
FSU said classes are canceled through Friday.
Leon County public schools have been placed “on lockout as a precaution,” according to the school district.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said, “My heart breaks for the students, their families, and faculty at Florida State University. There is no place in American society for violence. Our entire nation is praying for the victims and their families.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Sony Salzman and Luke Barr contributed to this report.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent /Pete Marovich/Getty Images)
(GENEVA) — The U.S. and China issued a joint statement on Monday announcing an agreement to cut reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, with both sides “recognizing the importance of a sustainable, long-term, and mutually beneficial economic and trade relationship.”
U.S. and Chinese representatives convened for talks in Geneva, Switzerland, this weekend in a bid to establish the basis for negotiations in a broader potential trade deal. President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff measures announced in April touched off a spiralling trade war between the two economic giants, roiling markets and prompting fears of a recession in the U.S.
“We have reached an agreement on a 90-day pause and substantially move down the tariff levels,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at a Monday press conference in Geneva. “Both sides, on the reciprocal tariffs, will move their tariffs down 115%,” Bessent said.
U.S Trade Representative Jamieson Greer added that the U.S and China will maintain 10% reciprocal tariffs as part of the agreement.
“Today, with this agreement, we come to agreement that though that our reciprocal tariff rate will go down to 10% on the United States side,” Greer said. “The Chinese on their side also go down 115% to 10% and they remove the countermeasures that they have in place.”
Greer confirmed that during the pause, the effective tariff on Chinese goods entering the U.S. will be 30%. He also said that China’s effective tariffs will be at 10% for the duration of the pause. The changes will come into force by Wednesday, the joint U.S.-China statement said.
“What matters for the agreement today is that we each agreed to come down on the reciprocal tariff and related retaliation to 10%,” Greer said.
In a statement carried by China’s official state news agency Xinhua, Beijing said that the two sides “will establish a mechanism to continue discussions about economic and trade relations” once the measures set out in Monday’s agreement were in place.
“These discussions may be conducted alternately in China and the United States, or a third country upon agreement of the parties,” the statement continued. “As required, the two sides may conduct working-level consultations on relevant economic and trade issues.”
Monday’s announcement followed two days of talks that both sides described as successful.
In a media briefing on Sunday, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said trade talks with the U.S. “achieved substantial progress and reached important consensus.”
Earlier Sunday, the White House said that it reached an agreement without providing any details.
While Greer called it a “deal,” Bessent said only that “substantial progress” had been made.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Lauren Minore, Hannah Demissie, Alex Ederson and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
Salman Rushdie attends the 75th National Book Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on November 20, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A New Jersey man convicted of attempted murder in the 2022 stabbing attack on author Salman Rushdie, while on stage at a speaking event, is set to be sentenced on Friday.
Hadi Matar likely faces a maximum of 25 years in prison, prosecutors said. He rejected a plea deal ahead of the trial.
His sentencing hearing is set to be held Friday morning in Chautauqua County Court, during which a defense motion to set aside the verdict will also be heard, the court said.
In February, a jury found Matar guilty of second-degree attempted murder in connection with the attack at the Chautauqua Institution in southwestern New York.
Rushdie was on stage speaking before an audience at the education center on Aug. 12, 2022, when he was stabbed multiple times in the face and neck in the attack, which blinded him in one eye.
Henry Reese, who was moderating the event, was also wounded in the attack. Matar was also found guilty of assault for injuring Reese.
Matar was tackled by bystanders and pinned to the stage following the attack.
The jury reached a verdict within two hours of deliberating.
During the trial, Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt played slow-motion video showing Matar emerging from the audience, sprinting toward Rushdie, and launching a violent attack. Schmidt described the stabbing as a deliberate, targeted act, arguing that striking someone 10 to 15 times in the face and neck made death a foreseeable outcome. A trauma surgeon testified that Rushdie would have died without immediate medical intervention.
“No question,” Rushdie told Good Morning America in April 2024 when asked if he thought he was going to die. “I mean, lying there in this lake of blood, which was mine and was expanding, I remember thinking in a completely calm way, Oh yeah, I think I’m dying. And then, fortunately, I was wrong.”
The defense countered that prosecutors failed to prove Matar intended to kill Rushdie and characterized the incident as a chaotic, noisy outburst rather than a calculated murder attempt. Public defender Nathaniel Barone argued Matar was overcharged due to Rushdie’s celebrity, noting he used knives rather than a gun or bomb and that Rushdie’s vital organs were not harmed.
Following the verdict, Schmidt described the prosecution’s case as “lock solid” and described the video evidence as “compelling.”
“I hope that two-and-a-half years later, Mr. Rushdie can get some satisfaction from this, poor Mr. Reese can get some satisfaction from this and everybody else that was there at the institution that risked their lives to jump on stage,” Schmidt told reporters.
Barone, meanwhile, told reporters they were “disappointed” by the verdict.
“What you hope for in any case, regardless, especially in a case like Mr. Matar’s, is that the system works for you,” Barone said.
Both Rushdie and Reese testified during the two-week trial. Matar did not testify and the defense called no witnesses.
The second-degree attempted murder charge carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, while the assault charge is seven years. Schmidt said following the verdict that he believed the sentences for the two charges would run concurrently, not consecutively, as they were “entwined in a single occurrence.”
“My analysis tells me that — and I always want to be fair here — that really the facts speak to a concurrent disposition,” he said at the time. “I believe even though the cumulative total is 32 years plus five years parole supervision, I think we’re really looking at 25 plus five. That’s what I’ll advocate for. I think that’s appropriate here.”
Matar still faces federal terrorism charges in connection with the attack. He was indicted by a grand jury on three counts, including attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and providing material support to terrorists. The indictment alleges he “knowingly did attempt to provide material support and resources” to Hezbollah, a designated foreign terrorist organization, and “had engaged, and was engaging, in terrorism.”
Matar was also charged with an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries for the attack against Rushdie. The indictment alleges that he “did knowingly attempt to kill, and did knowingly maim, commit an assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and assault with a dangerous weapon.”
