2 killed, 4 hurt in shooting at manufacturing facility in Ohio; police investigating motive
WSYX
(NEW ALBANY, Ohio) — Police are looking for a motive after a man allegedly killed two people and injured four others in a workplace shooting at an Ohio manufacturing facility, officials said.
Officers responded to an active shooter report at a New Albany facility run by KDC/One, a beauty products manufacturer, around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, New Albany police said.
One victim was found shot dead inside the building and five others were hospitalized, police said. Police announced early Thursday that one of the five people in the hospital died from their injuries. The four surviving victims remain hospitalized in unknown conditions, police said.
About 150 employees were safely evacuated, police said.
The suspect, identified as employee Bruce Reginald Foster III, fled the scene just before police arrived, New Albany Police Chief Greg Jones said.
Foster, 28, was taken into custody Wednesday morning at a home in Columbus, Jones said.
A motive remains under investigation, Jones said at a news conference Wednesday.
Authorities interviewed the evacuated employees and “nobody had reported that there was any conflict or that [Foster] was in trouble at work,” Jones said.
The chief described the victims as Foster’s co-workers and said they likely knew each other.
New Albany is a safe community, but “any community in America can fall victim to random workplace violence,” New Albany Mayor Sloan Spalding said at the news conference.
Foster legally bought the gun used in the shooting in September 2024, authorities noted.
(WASHINGTON) — Among the first executive orders signed by President Donald Trump was an order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the newly named “Gulf of America.”
“President Trump is bringing common sense to government and renewing the pillars of American civilization,” the newly inaugurated president’s executive order said.
Trump also called for Alaska’s 20,000-foot mountain, Denali, to be reverted back to Mount McKinley, which was its name before former President Barack Obama had it changed in 2015.
Trump’s executive order calls for the U.S. secretary of the interior to change the names on federal maps.
He has appointed former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum for the position.
During his January press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump declared he would change the name, saying the gulf is currently run by cartels and that “it’s ours.”
“We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring that covers a lot of territory, the Gulf of America,” Trump said at the time. “What a beautiful name. And it’s appropriate. It’s appropriate. And Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country.”
Presidents do have the authority to rename geographic regions and features, but it needs to be done via executive order.
The U.S. Board of Geographic Names typically has the jurisdiction for geographic names.
The Gulf of Mexico is one of the largest and most important bodies of water in North America. It’s the ninth-largest body of water in the world and covers some 600,000 square miles.
Half of the U.S. petroleum refining and natural gas processing capacity is located along the Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and it supplies about 40% of the nation’s seafood, according to the Environmental Defense Fund.
Following Trump’s inauguration on Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order on winter weather in the state that already refers to the gulf as the “Gulf of America.”
While referring to a weather system that could impact the state beginning Tuesday, DeSantis’ executive order said, “An area of low pressure moving across the Gulf of America, interacting with Arctic air, will bring widespread impactful winter weather to North Florida.”
“For us and the whole world, it is still the Gulf of Mexico,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday in a response to Trump’s various decrees.
(NEW YORK) — John Henry Ramirez was executed in Texas in 2022 after being convicted of murder in the 2004 death of 46-year-old Pablo Castro.
In her documentary “I am Ready, Warden,” director Smriti Mundhra tells the story of Ramirez’s attempt to reach out to the victim’s son, Aaron Castro.
ABC News’ Linsey Davis sat down with Mundhra, also known for the Oscar-nominated “St. Louis Superman,” and Castro to discuss the documentary.
ABC NEWS: Is redemption or retribution possible for a murderer? Director Smriti Mundhra examines this question and more in a new Oscar-shortlisted documentary from MTV called “I’m Ready, Warden.” Let’s take a look.
Smriti Mundhra and Aaron Castro join us now. Thank you so much for coming on the show. Now this film highlights John Henry Ramirez; he had been on death row for 14 years, in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day.
Smriti, I understand you heard about his story by reading an article by The Marshall Project. What about that article made you decide you wanted to do a film about his death row experience?
SMRITI MUNDHRA: I wanted to specifically examine a story of a person on death row who had admitted to committing the crime. There was no question of innocence or guilt. And, you know, who had had the time, you know, in prison to really reflect and, you know, atone for what they’d done. And also look at the perspective of the victim side, you know, of the impact on the family of, you know, on the other side of things.
So that’s sort of how this project really came to be. And I read an article by a journalist who had — Keri Blakinger — who had done a lot of work, you know, writing about men in the prison system and on death row, and we collaborated.
ABC NEWS: And Aaron, Ramirez killed your father. What made you decide that you wanted to participate in this film?
CASTRO: I think not hiding from the problem and being able to talk about it is always those first steps, right? They always say talk about it, don’t hold things in.
And this allowed me to kind of give more of my father’s side of things as not just a Mexican immigrant who was murdered, but call him by his name, Pablo Castro. And, you know, share a little bit more about him and how it affected us.
ABC NEWS: I understand that Ramirez reached out to you when he was on death row, when he was saying his goodbyes to his own family. And your response? Have you changed your opinion at all about him or the idea of giving people a second chance?
CASTRO: I think something that the film really shows is that change. That change of mindset. You know, because the film is showing something so raw and authentic within the moment you’re able to capture through even moments of silence in the documentary, moments where I am thinking and understanding and following my heart, how do I feel? How has this really affected me?
And, you know, I’m a human being. I’m empathetic, and I have emotions as well. So I had to really dig deep.
ABC NEWS: What did you learn about death row while you were doing this film?
MUNDHRA: I think probably the most profound thing I learned about death row and the death penalty overall is that it doesn’t always offer the closure and justice that it promises, you know, and that there’s victims on all sides. There’s a ripple effect, right, when a person is incarcerated, you know, to families on both sides.
ABC NEWS: Does it offer closure?
CASTRO: I think that’s something that I have thought about for a long time, that’s the difference between, for me, deciding to choose hate and anger or forgiveness and compassion. And I think each individual human being has to search that for themselves.
ABC NEWS: Smriti, this is your second Oscar film or film that’s been shortlisted for the Oscars about violence in America. What is it that you hope that the viewers will take away with regard to this theme?
MUNDHRA: I feel it’s my responsibility to really understand, you know, these subjects, these institutions that are really designed to protect me, but that victimize others, to really understand what they’re about, you know, and really take stock of my own values and really pose that question to the viewers. You know, as, you know, what is our value system as a culture, as a society?
ABC NEWS: Smriti, Aaron, we thank you both so much for coming on the show. And you can watch “I am Ready, Warden,” available on streaming.
An ABC News graphic shows the fire forecast in Southern California on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. Via ABC News.
(LOS ANGELES) — Another round of Santa Ana winds is forecast to sweep into Los Angeles on Thursday night into Friday morning, putting most of the region under a critical fire risk, as emergency responders battle to contain five quickly spreading wildfires.
The wind in the region relaxed overnight as the low pressure, which was helping enhance the wind, is moving away into Texas.
But high pressure is building from the north and that will help to tighten the pressure gradient over Southern California, producing more gusty winds.
Those winds may help spread the five sprawling wildfires that are spread around the Los Angeles area and that emergency responders are attempting to contain.
Thousands of structures have been damaged or destroyed and more than 100,000 people evacuated as uncontrolled infernos spread.
Red flag and high wind warnings have been issued through Friday afternoon for wind gusts 40 to 60 mph, with 70 mph possible in the mountains surrounding the California city.
Relative humidity could drop to as low as 5% for Southern California.
Because of the dry and windy conditions anticipated, a critical fire risk has been issued for much of the area for the next 24 hours.
An air quality alert has also been issued for Southern California, including Los Angeles, due to thick wildfire smoke and dust being blown around.
Smoke is forecast to engulf most of the Los Angeles basin.
ABC News’ David Brennan contributed to this report.
