2 wanted, one wearing pink shower cap, in stolen New York City subway crash
(NEW YORK) — A search is underway in New York City for two suspects, including one dressed all in pink, who allegedly crashed an empty subway train after brazenly walking into a station and stealing it, authorities said.
The theft of the train in the nation’s largest subway system unfolded amid the deployment of additional police officers to the subway system to combat a surge in crime. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul even deployed National Guard troops as part of a five-point plan to protect subway riders.
According to a New York Police Department incident report, the thieves, a man and a woman, stole the empty train just after midnight on Thursday at the Briarwood subway station in the borough of Queens, according to police.
“These two individuals entered an unoccupied train and operated it, causing a collision and damage to the train,” according to the NYPD incident report.
No injuries were reported and the suspects fled the area on foot, according to police.
No arrests have been announced as of Wednesday morning, police said.
The duo was caught on surveillance cameras walking through the empty train at Briarwood station before taking it on a short joy ride, police said.
One of the alleged thieves was described as a woman with a medium build and medium complexion, according to police.
“She was last seen wearing a pink shower cap, a pink sleeveless shirt, pink shorts, and carrying a pink handbag,” according to the incident report.
Her accomplice was described by police as a man with a slim build and light complexion, He was dressed in a blue tank top, red shorts and carrying a black backpack.
It was at least the second theft of a New York City subway train in less than eight months.
On Dec. 30, 2023, a group stole empty trains parked in a restricted area near the Forest Hills-71st Avenue subway station in Queens. Authorities said the group entered the operators’ compartments of two lead train cars before driving them northbound.
Amidst a 45% year-over-year spike in New York City transit crime in January, mostly due to grand larcenies, Hochul deployed 1,000 state workers, including 250 state police troopers and Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police members, to assist the NYPD in enhanced baggage checks at heavily trafficked areas of the subway system.
Hochul also directed the New York National Guard to make 750 members, who are currently part of the Joint Task Force Empire Shield, available to help check subway riders’ bags for weapons.
According to the most recent NYPD crime statistics, transit crime as of Sunday is now down 5.4% from this time in 2023.
(CLEVELAND) — Multiple people were shot outside the Shaw High School in East Cleveland, Ohio, early on Monday, investigators said.
The number of people who were injured and their conditions were not yet known, East Cleveland Police told ABC News’ Cleveland affiliate WEWS. The injured were transported to University Hospital, police said.
The shooting occurred at around 2 a.m. on Monday during a reunion event at the high school, investigators said.
The shooting prompted a response from multiple jurisdictions, including local police and emergency services.
East Cleveland City Council President Twon Billings told WEWS that the Shaw High School reunion is a weekend-long event that brings together graduations and community members of all ages.
Billings told WEWS he was devastated by the shooting, and suggested that a local police shortage affected the events that transpired Monday morning.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(HOUSTON) — A suspect has been identified after an abandoned newborn was found crying by a dumpster in Houston, police said Wednesday.
A person called 911 early Sunday afternoon reporting that they had heard a baby crying near a dumpster at an apartment complex, according to Houston Police Department spokesperson Jodi Silva.
First responders found the infant in the dumpster area, Silva said. Video captured by a bystander showed first responders rescuing the baby from the dumpster and appearing to swaddle him in a blanket.
The newborn was transported to a local hospital and is believed to be in good health, Silva said.
Child Protective Services has since taken custody of him, she said. It is unclear how long the infant was by the dumpster.
Police have been investigating the incident, including checking surveillance footage, to identify who placed the newborn there and any potential witnesses, Silva said.
Police have since identified a suspect and “are continuing to work through the investigation,” Silva said.
No additional details on the suspect have been released at this time, including their alleged connection to the incident. The name of the suspect will not be released until charges have been filed, Silva said.
(NEW YORK) — Longtime Defense Department researcher Luis “Lue” Elizondo has become well-known for reporting the existence of UFOs (unidentified flying objects), now known as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs).
In his new book, “Imminent: Inside the Pentagon’s Hunt for UFOs,” which is available now, former Pentagon insider Elizondo invites the reader into this hidden world.
He joined ABC News’ Stephanie Ramos to discuss why he decided to write the book, government secrecy around UAPs, official comments on these phenomena and some of his own unusual experiences.
ABC NEWS: Unidentified flying objects have fueled decades of speculation and conspiracy theories. In his new book, “Imminent: Inside the Pentagon’s Hunt for UFOs,” longtime Defense Department researcher Lue Elizondo, the former head of the Pentagon program responsible for the investigation of UFOs, now known as unidentified anomalous phenomena, reveals long hidden truths with profound implications for not only national security, but our understanding of the universe.
Joining us now is Lue Elizondo. Thank you so much for joining us. Really appreciate it. So “Imminent” tells the story of your courageous fight to make public what the government knows and doesn’t know about UAPs. What made you want to write about this?
ELIZONDO: Yeah, well, I wanted to be able to tell the American public my experiences and what the government has been doing for a very long time, not just when I was in the program, but for decades about the government’s interest in UFOs or now what we call UAP. You’re absolutely right, unidentified anomalous phenomenon. The fact is, they’re real and they are a national security issue for this country.
ABC NEWS: And it’s so interesting because many, many years ago I worked at the Pentagon for ABC, and I remember getting a tour of some of the hallways and, and somebody said “Oh, that’s where they study UFOs, UAPs. But it’s top secret.” Like that’s all they would say. So there’s this secrecy approach to all of this, right?
You write in your book, “While there are valid reasons for secrecy around some aspects of UAPs. I do not think humanity should be kept in the dark about the fundamental fact that we are not the only intelligent life in the universe.” So why do you think the United States government and other major governments have taken a secrecy approach to UAPs?
ELIZONDO: Sure. I think if we look at this, temporally speaking, the U.S. government, when we started really looking at this, was at the height of the Cold War. And you had this contentious relationship at best with then-Soviet Union.
And what we didn’t want to do was necessarily tip our hand to any information, perhaps, that we’ve gleaned from UAP or UFOs and, certainly, perhaps any information gaps or maybe information that we don’t know about the UFOs. So that’s one reason. And then I think the other reason is that governments inherently are responsible for ensuring the protection of their people, their citizens.
ABC NEWS: So Lue, for those who may be skeptical and are thinking “Nope, there’s no such thing as UFOs, it’s non-existent.” And you’re here to tell us that there is fact and research that they do exist.
ELIZONDO: Let’s not forget, Stephanie, that we’ve had already a former director of national intelligence, a former director of the CIA, and even a former president of the United States all come out on the record and say “Yeah, looks like these things are real.”
Our very best, most sophisticated technology is picking these things up. We also have eyewitness testimony from our trained observers, our combat pilots. And then you’ve also got the radar data all basically substantiating the same event at the same time, at the same place, under the same circumstances.
ABC NEWS: And so much technology that’s been analyzed and researched. Now, let’s talk about your own personal experience. You mentioned in this book that UAPs have appeared both in and around your home. How did these personal experiences influence your views on UAP and what exactly did you see?
ELIZONDO: Yeah, sure. So first of all, let me preface. We’re not sure if they are actually UAP-related. What we do know is that a lot of people that were in the program that I was in also had very similar encounters while they were in the program.
So not before or not after, but during the time that we were researching these UAP and from our experience, when I say ours, I mean my families and even our neighbors, witnessed some of these – are these luminous green balls of light. Very diffuse in nature. No hard edges. That would just seem to kind of peruse the house and go down the hall and go through a wall.
I know it sounds rather bizarre. And look, there are absolutely possible natural explanations, right? You could say ball lightning or Saint Elmo’s fire or some sort of plasma static charge in the air. But the bottom line is, it was very bizarre. It was witnessed by not only my family, but again, neighbors and other individuals who were part of our effort, and the government, also experienced, very, very similar encounters at their residences.
ABC NEWS: Absolutely fascinating. Thank you so much Lue, for sharing your experience and for documenting what you know and what you think we should all know in your book, “Imminent: Inside the Pentagon’s Hunt for UFOs,” which is available now to purchase. Thanks Lue.