3-year-old girl, 6-year-old boy die in hot car; sheriff says there’s ‘inconsistencies with the story’
Tiona Islar has been arrested on charges of injury to a child. Bexar County Sheriff’s Office
(SAN ANTONIO) — Authorities in San Antonio are investigating the apparent hot car deaths of a 3-year-old girl and her 6-year-old brother after the local sheriff said there were “inconsistencies with the story” told by the children’s mom.
The mother, Tiona Islar, allegedly told authorities she last saw her son and daughter in the home around 10 a.m. Saturday, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said. Islar said she fell asleep, and then around 3 p.m. she found the children in the car and took them inside, Salazar said. Authorities were called around 3:25 p.m., the sheriff said.
A responding deputy “was simultaneously trying to perform CPR on both children, but unfortunately was not successful,” Salazar said. The siblings were pronounced dead at the scene, Salazar said.
Islar, 28, has been arrested on charges of injury to a child, according to the sheriff’s office.
Islar was “mostly cooperative” when taken in for questioning on Saturday, the sheriff told reporters, but he added the circumstances surroundings the deaths were not clear.
“The initial report was for, that the children were left in a car,” the sheriff said on Saturday. “However … there just are some inconsistencies with the story that we’re being given.”
“Something’s not adding up with this case,” Salazar said.
A sheriff’s office spokesperson said on Monday that authorities are still investigating and they’re awaiting the cause and manner of death from the medical examiner.
At least 29 children have died in hot cars in the U.S. this year, according to national nonprofit KidsAndCars.org. At least 1,159 children have died in hot cars since 1990.
Salazar warned, “Every second counts when you’re talking about a child in a hot car.”
“If you come upon a child locked in a car, make every intent to open the doors initially,” he told reporters. “If they’re locked, at that point, it’s safe to say, break a window, do whatever you have to do to get that kid out of there.”
(BOSTON) — Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins was arrested Thursday on federal extortion charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Federal prosecutors allege the 67-year-old Massachusetts sheriff had pressured a cannabis company executive for a secret investment deal worth $50,000.
Tompkins, who had led the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department since 2013 and oversaw about 1,000 employees, was arrested in Florida and charged with two counts of extortion, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
According to federal court documents, Tompkins had used his position as sheriff to force his way into buying pre-IPO (initial public offering) stock in a Boston cannabis company at a discounted price. When the investment later lost value, prosecutors alleged he demanded and received a full refund of his money.
The scheme started in 2019 when the cannabis company, which wasn’t named in court documents, wanted to open a store in Boston, the indictment stated. The company needed Sheriff Tompkins’ help, according to the indictment, as his department would refer former inmates to work at the store, which was required by the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission for their state license.
Federal investigators said Tompkins allegedly took advantage of this partnership. According to the indictment, he pressured a company executive, reminding them that he had helped with their license application. The executive feared Tompkins would end their partnership if they didn’t give in to his demands for stock, prosecutors said.
After getting the shares in November 2020, court documents showed Tompkins initially saw his $50,000 investment grow to about $138,000 when the company went public.
However, when the stock price later fell, prosecutors alleged Tompkins demanded his money back. The executive paid him through five separate checks, with some labeled as “loan repayment” to hide what the payments were really for, according to the indictment.
The executive agreed to the demands for repayment, fearing Tompkins would use his position to harm their business operations, according to the indictment.
“What the Sheriff saw as an easy way to make a quick buck on the sly is clear cut corruption under federal law,” FBI Boston Division Special Agent in Charge Ted E. Docks said in a statement.
If found guilty, Tompkins could face up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley said in a statement that the case showed her office’s commitment to fighting public corruption.
“Elected officials, particularly those in law enforcement, are expected to be ethical, honest and law abiding – not self-serving,” Foley said in the press release.
According to federal officials, Tompkins will first appear in court in Florida before facing the charges in Boston at a later date.
ABC News reached out to Tompkins’ attorney who did not immediately respond for comment.
The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department declined to comment when contacted.
(GRAND BLANC, Mich.) — Body camera footage released Friday shows the chaotic moment when local police confronted the man accused of driving his truck into a Michigan chapel before firing on hundreds of worshipers and burning the church to the ground.
The video, released at a Friday press conference, shows two officers running toward the suspect in the parking lot of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, telling him to drop his weapon, yelling “shoot him” and “get back” before firing at least eight shots.
The suspect’s body can be seen on the ground at the end of the short video.
The press conference comes almost a week after Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, allegedly killed four people and injured eight others during his rampage before being shot dead by the two local officials who responded to the scene.
While officials did not take questions at the press conference, they did reveal a new timeline for the police response.
The first call to Genesee County 911 came from someone who got shot in the stomach at 10:25 a.m., with that patched to officers 16 seconds later, police said during the press conference. A Michigan Conservation officer arrived just short of 2 minutes later and then the Grambling Township officer arrived one minute later, which is when the body camera footage picked up.
The names of the officers, who have been placed on desk duty, are not being released and the investigation is being conducted by the Michigan State Police.
“We will never forget this incident, but I promise you we will not let this define Grand Blanc. We will strive, and we will be better together,” Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye said. “Our condolences go out to everyone in this nation who has been affected by this particular incident.”
“We’re not going to allow this incident to define our community, but our response it is what we we’re going to be defined by,” Grand Blanc Township Supervisor Scott Bennett, said at the press conference Friday.
Investigators said that Sanford is from Burton, Michigan, which is about 8 miles north of Grand Blanc, and he is Marine veteran who served in the Iraq War.
People who knew Sanford told ABC News that he held contempt for the religion from his experiences dating a Mormon woman in Utah a few years prior to the shooting and said he had even considered converting to the religion himself.
In this handout satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Hurricane Melissa churns through the Caribbean Sea, captured at 15:20Z on October 28, 2025. NOAA via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — From the ground, chaos reigned across Jamaica in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa as residents emerged from the storm to find their communities shattered, their homes lying in ruins along with streets left awash in mud, debris and dangling power lines.
From the air, the picture of the widespread devastation came into a sobering focus as Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness released videos on social media of his tour on Wednesday of the hardest hit areas of the western part of his country.
“The most terrifying experience of my life, and I would not want to see it again,” a staff member of the Black River Hospital told Holness as he was filmed assessing the damage to the medical facility in the coastal community.
Holness praised the hospital workers for continuing to care for patients through the horrific Category 5 storm, even when the power went out and they were forced to use flashlights and lanterns to see.
One hospital staffer described having to dodge pieces of flying glass and other debris as the storm blew out windows and shook the facility.
During a news conference Thursday morning, Daryl Vaz, the country’s minister of science, energy, telecommunications and transport, said nearly 500,000 Jamaican Public Service customers remained without power, or about 72% of the utility company’s customers.
The number of deaths from the storm was still being assessed on Thursday. The Ministry of Health and Wellness confirmed on Wednesday that at least three people died in Jamaica in storm-related incidents. Other hurricane-related deaths occurred in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, officials said.
Sen. Dana Morris Dixon, Jamaica’s information minister, said Thursday that the Jamaica Defense Force has dedicated a helicopter to the recovery of bodies.
Desmond McKenzie, minister of local government and community development, declined to provide a death toll, but said, “There has been casualties and we do anticipate based on our information that they’ll be more.”
McKenzie added, “I’ve been hearing some stories that I don’t want to repeat and I’m not going to repeat those stories because the police have not confirmed those reports.”
McKenzie said that about 13,000 people remained in shelters across Jamaica on Thursday.
Video footage taken during Prime Minister Holness’ helicopter tour of the hard-hit areas showed communities left in ruins. From the air, Holness witnessed entire neighborhoods devastated, with numerous homes missing roofs and walls. The videos showed twisted metal, splinted wood, and chunks of broken concrete strewn across the green landscape for miles.
Black River — where Hurricane Melissa, packing 185 mph winds, made landfall on Tuesday — appeared to be one of the most devastated towns that Holness encountered.
In all directions, businesses, churches and homes appeared to be damaged or destroyed.
In one of the videos, Holness told residents that 90% of the structures in Black River and nearby St. Elizabeth sustained damage.
Some coastal areas of Jamaica, including Black River, were also hit with a storm surge of up to 13 feet, officials said.
The Emergency Operation Center in Black River was also damaged, hampering search-and-rescue efforts in the area, Superintendent Coleridge Minto of the Jamaica Constabulary Force said in a video statement posted on social media Wednesday afternoon.
“We are immobile. When I say immobile, police units are down,” Minto said on Wednesday. “At this point in time, we are unable to do any rescuing; we are unable to respond. So, we are trying to let everybody know that the situation here is devastating.
Mento said all buildings in Black River sustained damage, including court offices, supermarkets and bakeries.
A container storing relief supplies was turned upside down by the storm, damaging everything inside, Minto said.
“There is urgent need for support,” Minto said.
On Wednesday, Holness posted a statement on social media, saying his nation was “ravaged” by the hurricane and its torrential rain. Holness declared the entire island nation a disaster area.
“I know many, especially those in the worst-affected parishes, are feeling disheartened,” Holness said in a social media post. “Your homes may have been damaged or destroyed, and your communities and towns no longer look the same.”
During his tour of St. Elizabeth, Holness said crews were working to clear roads covered in mud, toppled trees and power poles so that emergency crews can reach devastated areas.
On Thursday, Dixon said emergency crews on foot reached the town of Westmorland in the westernmost province of Jamaica by “cutting their way on foot through blocked roads.”
Authorities said some rural areas of the island, including the hilly and mountainous regions, received up to 49 inches of rain, triggering landslides.
Much of St. Elizabeth Parish, one of Jamaica’s largest parishes with a population of more than 150,000, was left underwater by the storm, authorities told ABC News.
The only public hospital in St. Elizabeth Parish lost power and its roof and had to be evacuated, officials said.
Search-and-rescue operations are underway across Jamaica.
All airports in Jamaica, including the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, have been closed since Monday, but some were beginning to reopen on Thursday.
Esther Pinnock, spokesperson for the Jamaica Red Cross, told ABC News on Wednesday that communication has been lost with some hard-hit communities.
“So, we’re not able to get what’s happening in such locations,” Pinnock said.
Pinnock said infrastructure across the island has been damaged and that some communities were cut off from fresh running water.
“Interventions are being made to address those concerns,” Pinnock said.
Pinnock said some areas of the island that suffered widespread damage from Melissa were still recovering from damage caused by Hurricane Beryl, a Category 5 hurricane storm that pummeled the island in July 2024.
“Emotionally and from a mental perspective, yes, we are just rebuilding our livelihood, and now we have to start all over again,” Pinnock said.
After passing across Jamaica, Hurricane Melissa took aim at Cuba, where it made landfall early Wednesday as as Category 3 storm near the the city of Chivirico in the southeastern province of Santiago de Cuba.
Images emerging from Cuba in the aftermath of the hurricane, showed collapsed structures and people digging through destroyed homes in search of survivors and personal belongings.
On Thursday morning, Melissa was still a Category 2 hurricane moving north-northeast across the Atlantic Ocean at 21 mph. It is expected to pass west of Bermuda late Thursday night and into Friday morning.
A hurricane warning has been issued for Bermuda as winds are expected to top 70 mph.
