20 people injured in lightning strike while swimming at South Carolina beach
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(LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C.) — Twenty people were injured by a reported lightning strike while swimming at a beach in South Carolina, officials said.
The incident occurred at approximately 5 p.m. on Tuesday, when multiple agencies responded to a “reported electrocution” due to lightning at Dominion Beach Park near the Lake Murray Dam in Lexington County, South Carolina, officials said in a press release.
When first responders arrived on the scene, 20 patients — eight adults and 12 juveniles — had been injured by the strike, officials said.
Eighteen of those individuals were treated at the scene, while 12 were sent to three local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, Vanessa Diaz, the public information officer for Lexington County, told ABC News in a statement.
All of the patients are expected to recover, officials said.
When the strike occurred, it was a “bright and sunny day” at the lake, but then a bolt of lightning hit the water and “energized a metal cable with buoys on it that surrounds the swimming area,” the Irmo Fire District said in a statement.
“Lightning can strike far away from a cloud. It doesn’t seem logical but a few hundred of us are believers today,” the fire district said.
Several people had swam out to the buoys and were holding the cable when the lightning hit, with others nearby in the water, the fire district said.
“Everybody got quite a jolt, we’re so fortunate that injuries were not worse than they were,” the fire district said.
Dominion Beach Park is expected to reopen on Wednesday “following safety assessments and clearance from authorities,” Lexington County officials said.
This week is Lightning Safety Awareness Week, which began in 2001 “in order to call attention to lightning being an underrated killer,” according to the National Weather Service. So far this year, there have been four reported deaths from lightning strikes in the U.S., according to the National Lightning Safety Council.
Multiple ambulances and police cars on the scene of a shooting at CrossPointe Community Church on June 22, 2025 in Wayne, Michigan. Police report that a shooting suspect was shot dead by a security guard after opening fire at the church leaving one person injured. (Photo by Emily Elconin/Getty Images)
(WAYNE, Mich.) — An alleged active shooter intent on attacking a Michigan church on Sunday was shot and killed by a security guard who “prevented a large-scale mass shooting,” police said.
The shooting unfolded around 11:15 a.m. local time at the CrossPointe Community Church in the Detroit suburb of Wayne, according to the Wayne Police Department.
“We are grateful for the heroic actions of the church’s staff members who undoubtedly saved many lives and prevented a large-scale mass shooting,” Wayne Police Chief Ryan Strong said during a press conference on Sunday.
The gunman was identified as Brian Anthony Browning, 31, from Romulus, Michigan. His motivations are unknown, according to police, though officials said he appeared to be suffering from a mental health crisis.
Browning had no criminal history. His mother is a member of the church and the suspect attended two or three services over the course of the last year, police said.
Police said the suspect exited his Nissan truck wearing a tactical vest, armed with a long gun and a handgun, when he approached the church building and began firing his weapon. Several staff members from the church approached the gunman, police said, adding that a parishioner struck the gunman with his vehicle as the gunman shot the vehicle repeatedly.
At least two staff members shot the gunman, causing fatal wounds. One staff member, a member of the security team, was shot once in the leg by the suspect. They underwent a successful surgery and are expected to recover, police said.
The church staff members do not wish to be identified, police said.
At this point, the Wayne Police Department is still investigating this incident, with the assistance of multiple local, state and federal partners.
A bomb-sniffing dog was brought to the scene by the Michigan State Police and a police bomb squad was also brought to the scene, according to officials, but there was no immediate confirmation from police that explosives were involved in the incident.
“Our leadership and support teams are on the ground, at the scene, in Wayne, Michigan providing assistance and investigative support,” FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in a statement.
The church shooting came during a heightened threat environment across the country following the U.S. attack overnight in Iran that destroyed or severely degraded three of Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to White House officials.
Police said, “There is no evidence to believe that this act of violence has any connection with the conflict in the Middle East.”
Acknowledging the heightened threat environment, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement that “it is our duty to keep the nation safe and informed, especially during times of conflict.”
“The ongoing Israel-Iran conflict brings the possibility of increased threat to the homeland in the form of possible cyberattacks, acts of violence, and antisemitic hate crime,” Noem said.
The attack in Wayne came in the wake of a public bulletin the Department of Homeland Security issued after the U.S. strikes in Iran, warning that “low-level cyber attacks” against U.S. targets “are likely” and that extremists inside the U.S. would be more likely to turn to violence if Iranian leadership calls for such retaliation.
The bulletin further urges the public to report any suspicious activity.
It was not immediately known if the church attack has any connection to the U.S. attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The attack occurred about a half-hour after Sunday-morning services at CrossPointe Community Church started, according to police.
Officers arriving at the scene quickly evacuated the church after learning that a security guard stopped the attack by shooting and killing the suspect, according to police.
The suspect’s name was not immediately released. The security guard was also not immediately identified by authorities.
ABC News’ Luke Barr, Pierre Thomas, Mariama Jalloh, Victoria Arancio and Jessica Gorman contributed to this report.
(BROOKLYN PARK, MN) — Authorities said they’ve identified 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter as a suspect as they search for the gunman who allegedly shot and killed a state representative and shot and wounded a state senator in a targeted act of violence early Saturday.
Authorities said they’re still investigating if Boelter knew the victims in Saturday’s shooting: State Rep. Melissa Hortman and State Sen. John Hoffman.
“There’s certainly some overlap with some, you know, public meetings, I will say, with Sen. Hoffman and the individual,” authorities said.
Police released this photo of Boelter taken on Saturday.
Dozens of Minnesota Democrats were on a target list written by the gunman, according to law enforcement sources.
The Minnesota Democrats on the list included Gov. Tim Walz, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, U.S. Sen. Tina Smith and state Attorney General Keith Ellison, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the matter.
Police said the list — which was retrieved from the suspect’s vehicle — also named Hortman and Hoffman. Both victims are Democrats and Hortman was formerly the Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives.
The shooter’s list of potential targets also included the names of abortion providers and pro-choice activists, several sources told ABC News. Many of the Democratic lawmakers on the list have been outspoken about pro-choice policy positions, two sources said.
Security resources have been dispatched to protect those people named on the list, authorities said. The Capitol Police said it’s “working with our federal, state and local partners.”
The shootings began around 2 a.m. Saturday when Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were both shot multiple times at their home in Champlin, Minnesota, authorities said.
“We’re cautiously optimistic they will survive this assassination attempt,” Walz said at a news conference.
After Hoffman was shot, officers headed to pro-actively check on Hortman, who lived in the nearby town of Brooklyn Park, police said.
Around 3:35 a.m., the officers found the suspect — who was dressed as a police officer — coming out of Hortman’s house, police said.
The suspect fired at the officers; gunfire was exchanged and the suspect was able to escape and flee on foot, authorities said.
Hortman and her husband, Mark, were both found fatally shot at the house, police said.
The suspect’s vehicle — which looked like a police vehicle, including police lights — was in Hortman’s driveway, authorities said, and the list of potential targets was found inside the car.
A manhunt for the gunman is ongoing. Brooklyn Park is under a shelter in place order, officials said
Walz said in a statement, “We are not a country that settles our differences at gunpoint. We have demonstrated again and again in our state that it is possible to peacefully disagree, that out state is strengthened by civil public debate. We must stand united against all forms of violence.”
“We will spare no resource in bringing those responsible to justice,” he added.
Walz warned, “out of an abundance of caution,” Minnesotans should not attend any political rallies in the state until the suspect is caught.
Fliers reading “No kings,” were found in the suspect’s car, authorities said. Thousands of “No Kings Day” protests are set to be held across the U.S. on Saturday to protest Trump’s administration and to counterprogram the military parade in Washington, D.C.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Luke Barr, Mike Levine and Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.
People take part in a protest to demand the release of Palestinian activist and Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi; Photo credit: Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi, who was arrested by immigration authorities Monday, was taking the last step in the process for him to become a U.S. citizen, his attorney told ABC News.
Mahdawi, a permanent United States resident, was arrested during his naturalization interview and detained in Vermont, Luna Droubi, one of his attorneys, told ABC News.
“It was the last stage, the last hurdle for him,” Droubi said. “What he wanted was to become a US citizen, and attended this naturalization with that hope.”
U.S. District Judge William Sessions subsequently granted Mahdawi’s attorneys a temporary restraining order barring the government from moving Mahdawi out of District of Vermont “pending further order” from the court.
Mahdawi, who founded a university organization called Palestinian Student Union with Mahmoud Khalil, was an activist in student protests on Columbia’s campus until March 2024, according to a habeas petition obtained by ABC News.
“He advocated on behalf of his people,” Droubi said. “He had moments where he spoke out and that is the extent of his participation.”
Droubi said Mahdawi was detained “solely on his first amendment rights.”
“He’s being detained based solely on his first amendment rights — his speech,” Droubi told ABC News. “That’s a violation of the law, that’s a violation of the Constitution, and he should be released immediately as a result of the detention.”
Droubi said “there was a smear campaign against Mahdawi” on social media.
“They were all non-governmental actors,” Droubi said. “So the reality is the government has not provided any evidence to justify his detention by government agents.”
Droubi said she has requested that Mahdawi be released on bail.
A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement referred ABC News to the State Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a court filing in Khalil’s immigration case, DHS submitted a two-page memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserting that the law gives him the power to determine a person is deportable even if their actions are “otherwise lawful.”
Rubio wrote that Khalil should be deported because of his alleged role in “antisemitic protests and disruptive activities, which fosters a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States.”
