13-year-old in custody for allegedly shooting middle school teacher in ‘tragic and violent act’
(Getty Images stock photo)
(NEW YORK) — A 13-year-old boy is in custody after allegedly shooting and seriously wounding a teacher at his New Mexico middle school, authorities said.
The teacher, Kelly Matthews, remains in the hospital where he’s considered “stable” but in “critical condition,” Hobbs Police Chief James Jones said at a news conference on Sunday.
The shooting unfolded shortly before noon on Friday outside Highland Middle School, near the building’s back doors, Jones said.
The 13-year-old went outside the building in between classes, Jones said, and when Matthews walked outside and around a corner, he encountered the suspect, who allegedly immediately began firing at him.
Police have not disclosed a potential motive and said there’s no information indicating Matthews was targeted ahead of time.
The 13-year-old fled the school toward a residential area, the chief said. Officers spotted him a few blocks from the school and, after a brief foot pursuit, apprehended him, Jones said.
School nurses jumped in to care for the teacher as officers responded to the scene, police said.
Officers have recovered a semi-automatic handgun they believe the teen allegedly used in the “tragic and violent act,” Jones said.
Hobbs Schools Board President Terry O’Brien praised the responding officers’ quick actions, saying they prevented the violence from escalating.
The 13-year-old is being held on charges, including aggravated assault on school personnel, shooting threats and unlawfully carrying a deadly weapon, Jones said.
School will be back in session on Monday, police said. The Hobbs Police Department is increasing its officer presence at local schools, with “particular attention to Highland Middle School,” the chief said.
The entrance to Grand Canyon National Park on Feb. 23, 2025, in Grand Canyon, Arizona. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
(LOS ANGELES) — Two people are dead and at least one person remains missing following a major flash-flooding event at the Grand Canyon over the weekend, as cadaver dogs are expected to be used in the ongoing search of the devastated areas, authorities said.
The current missing-person count is based on overnight camping permits issued by the park, officials said, while acknowledging that additional day hikers who did not have permits could also be missing.
“There are day hikers that come in the canyon that we don’t know about,” Dave Black, the Grand Canyon National Park Service’s incident commander, said at a news conference Monday evening.
Black said that the weather is expected to be clear Tuesday for the first time since Saturday afternoon’s flash flood, allowing ground crews to be sent to the hard-hit areas. Four teams with cadaver dogs are planning to search the Bright Angel Creek and Phantom Ranch areas Tuesday, he added.
Authorities said hundreds of tips have been received but so far, there is no reason to believe anyone else is missing other than the one person already being sought.
A Border Patrol technical search team will search for the remaining confirmed missing person, Black said. Authorities said they will also use Bluetooth technology and a drone to search the area.
“We are absolutely holding out hope that that person is still alive,” Black said.
The National Park Service confirmed that two people have been killed in the deadly flash flooding.
On Sunday evening, officials said the body of a 46-year-old man, whose name has not been released, was recovered near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River. The family of the other recovered victim identified him as Dr. John Giusti, a Texas chiropractor and married father of three daughters.
Flash flooding unfolded about 2:30 p.m. local time Saturday in the Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch area, both popular destinations for hikers. Authorities said 82 people were rescued from the canyon, most by helicopter. A couple of people were able to hike out, they said.
Meanwhile, new details have emerged about the response to the flash flood emergency.
Deputy Superintendent Brian Drapeaux of the Grand Canyon National Park Service said at Monday’s news conference that water-level gauges installed in Bright Angel Creek following last year’s Dragon Bravo Fire on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon stopped working during the flood.
“That system started to alert us of rising waters, and then shortly after, that system went offline as water progressed down the creek and picked up speed and destructive force,” Drapeaux said.
It’s unclear why the water-level gauge system stopped working, Drapeaux said, adding that debris that filled the creek could have knocked it offline.
Flood survivors told ABC News that they ran for their lives when a flood swept through the floor of the Grand Canyon on Saturday afternoon, wiping out campgrounds, structures, hiking trails and vital infrastructure, according to officials.
“The National Park Service is asking anyone who knows of hikers or backpackers who were in the inner canyon along the Bright Angel Creek corridor on August 29, as well as anyone who had a campground reservation in the affected corridor, to provide information to the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch (ISB),” the National Park Service said in a statement.
On Sunday, NPS officials said more than 20 people had initially been reported missing and that 62 individuals were air evacuated from Grand Canyon’s Phantom Ranch and the lower North Kaibab Trail, “which was affected by a significant flash-flood event Saturday afternoon.”
“The flash flood resulted in significant impacts to infrastructure throughout Bright Angel Canyon. Nearly all footbridges spanning Bright Angel Creek were destroyed, eliminating hiker access across the creek,” the Grand Canyon NPS said.
Saturday’s flash-flood event occurred after four rounds of rain swept across parts of the Grand Canyon over a span of about six hours, according to the National Weather Service. The initial three rounds were not very heavy but saturated the soil and left the area much more prone to dangerous flash flooding once the fourth round of torrential rain moved through.
The steepness of the canyon and the burn scar from last year’s Dragon Bravo Fire on the North Rim were likely major contributors, the NWS said.
Videos of the flooding obtained by ABC News show a roaring Colorado River as mudflows and debris from metal structures are seen floating down the river.
Plymouth Superior Court during Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial on Aug. 26, 2026,in Plymouth, Massachusetts. (Mel Musto/Getty Image
(NEW YORK) — The man identified as the lone holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy trial is speaking out, saying he “didn’t have any doubts” during the jury’s seven days of deliberations.
“I didn’t have any doubts. As I tried to explain different possible theories during deliberation, I kept getting cut off as if I had doubts based on the evidence presented,” Michael Péguy Desronvil said in a statement shared to ABC News by his attorney on Friday. “Based on all the physical evidence, key witnesses, and what the prosecution presented, I thought it was enough proof that she (Clancy) knew exactly what she was doing and planned.”
Clancy pleaded not guilty to three murder charges for the deaths of her 5-year-old daughter Cora, 3-year-old son Dawson and infant son Callan, who were strangled at the family’s home in Duxbury, a Boston suburb, on Jan. 24, 2023.
Her five-week trial ended in a mistrial on Sept. 4, after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln conducts a replenishment-at-sea, Aug. 16, 2026. (US Navy)
(WASHINGTON) — The father of a sailor deployed aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier was released by immigration authorities Tuesday — days after his son posted about the ordeal on Facebook, an account not disputed by the Department of Homeland Security.
Joshua Aviles, the sailor, posted on Facebook on behalf of the family that his dad, Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, had been released.
“Luis has been released back to our family,” the Aviles family posted on the sailor’s Facebook page. “We are grateful for all of the support for both Luis and Josh throughout this situation. At this moment, our family is taking time to be together. While we await the return of our proud Navy sailor, we kindly ask for your understanding and respect.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the release.
Over the weekend, Joshua Aviles detailed his father’s ordeal while he was deployed in a war zone.
“I just got a call that my dad was taken by ICE. If you know my dad, you know he is a hardworking, humble man who is always willing to help anyone if he can. My dad has his driver’s license, Social Security card, and work permit,” according to a post from Joshua Aviles on Saturday. “We have done everything through immigration to get his green card approved, and we are just waiting.”
He said it is “heartbreaking.”
“I don’t know how I can mentally continue working 12+ hour days knowing that my dad is somewhere, possibly being treated like a criminal. My dad’s only ‘crime’ was coming to this country to give my siblings and me a better life.”
Aviles is one of a number of active-duty military whose family members have been detained by immigration agents under President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
In a statement after the sailor’s initial Facebook post, DHS did not dispute the account from Aviles.
“On August 22, Border Patrol arrested Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, an illegal alien from Nicaragua, after conducting a vehicle stop in Key West, Florida. He entered the country illegally on an unknown date and location. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings,” according to a DHS spokesperson.
“Having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation’s laws. Military service by an immediate relative does not automatically grant parole, lawful status, or immunity from immigration enforcement,” the spokesperson said. “We are simply enforcing the laws passed by Congress. This Administration does not pick and choose which laws to enforce.”
