4 minors dead after vehicle rams into after-school camp in Illinois
(CHATHAM, IL) — Four minors are dead after a vehicle crashed into a building hosting an after-school camp in Chatham, Illinois, officials announced at a press conference on Monday afternoon. They ranged in age from 4 to 18 years old, according to a statement from the Illinois State Police.
Multiple others were injured in the incident, which took place shortly after 3 p.m. on Monday. The extent of their injuries is unknown, though several were hospitalized and one was airlifted from the scene of the accident.
The car struck three individuals outside of the YNOT (Youth Needing Other Things) Outdoors Summer Camp, and a fourth person was killed inside, according to Chatham Police Department.
Authorities described the situation as chaotic and urged families to use the reunification site to speed up the victim identification process.
“The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle was uninjured and transported to an area hospital for evaluation,” the ISP statement said.
Police said the driver is considered a suspect, though no charges or arrests have been announced. Their identity has not yet been released.
“Our community lost a group of bright and innocent young people with their whole lives ahead of them,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement posted on X on Monday night.
“Parents said goodbye to their children this morning not knowing it would be the last time,” the statement continued. “My heart is heavy for these families and the unimaginable grief they’re experiencing — something that no parent should ever have to endure.”
Pritzker added that his office was monitoring the situation and he thanked first responders for assisting.
The ISP is working with the CPD to investigate, they said in a statement on Monday.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(CANTANIA, ITALY) — A routine port stop turned chaotic for thousands of passengers aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Epic last Friday when severe winds caused the ship to break free from its moorings in Catania, on the Italian island of Sicily.
The incident began around 1 p.m. local time when powerful 60-mph wind gusts struck the vessel’s port side. Witnesses reported hearing loud cracking sounds as the mooring lines began snapping one by one, causing the ship’s stern to drift away from the dock.
“We heard a very loud boom, and then there was another loud noise and screams,” passenger Brian Koning, who was returning to the ship with his wife at the time, said in a Facebook post. “All those large orange diameter ropes started snapping about every 15 seconds.”
During the incident, a female passenger fell from the gangway. Koning said the woman hit her head on something before landing in the water, prompting her husband to leap in to save her. Norwegian Cruise Line noted that the crew rushed to help the pair.
“On-duty crew members were able to immediately assist the guest from the water and see that they were evaluated by the medical team,” a company spokesperson told ABC News in a statement. “It was determined that they sustained minor injuries and were transported to a local hospital for further examination and treatment.”
The incident left more than 3,600 passengers stranded ashore for over seven hours, according to Koning. Port authorities closed the checkpoint as the ship was forced to move out to sea until conditions improved.
“The disembarkation and embarkation process was paused until weather conditions improved and the ship was able to safely dock again,” Norwegian Cruise Line told ABC News.
Passengers were frustrated with how the company handled of the situation, according to Koning.
“There was no communication from anyone from Norwegian Cruise Line,” Koning said. “People started getting irritated. They took the water away, there was no drinks, no food, and only one bathroom with a couple of toilets.”
The ship eventually returned to port after replacing the broken mooring lines, allowing passengers to reboard that evening.
(WASHINGTON) — Six people were injured after a man who was in an “altered mental state” from an unknown substance began stabbing people in a Washington, D.C., neighborhood, police said.
The suspect, who also stabbed himself in the incident, is in custody, police said.
The incident was reported around 3:22 p.m. on Thursday in the area of Montello Avenue and Meigs Place NE, in the Trinidad neighborhood, police said.
“Officers arrived on scene in less than a minute and located numerous people suffering from stab wounds,” D.C. Chief Pamela Smith said during a press briefing.
Based on preliminary information, the suspect began stabbing himself while walking down the street before stabbing a female acquaintance who was with him, Smith said.
He then stabbed others who were outside on the block as well as two good Samaritans who tried to intervene, the chief said.
Four women and two men were transported to area hospitals “as a result of a senseless assault,” Smith said. They include a grandmother and her two granddaughters, she said.
The victims are in stable condition and their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, Smith said. Their ages were not immediately available.
Police located the suspect on the ground in the area, Smith said. A knife that police believe was used in the assault was recovered a few feet from him, she said.
The suspect, whose name was not released, was also transported to the hospital and is in surgery, she said.
“This incident highlights the need for assistance of substance abuse issues in our communities,” Smith said.
Smith commended the two good Samaritans who tried to help, though she warned against trying to intervene in such incidents.
“Even though we’re grateful for their intervention, we would ask that individuals who see incidents such as this to not intervene because these two individuals, although good Samaritans, were also stabbed as part of this assault,” Smith said.
(MADISON, WI) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court has suspended Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan after she was arrested by the FBI and charged last week for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest, an order from the court shows.
“The court has learned that Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah C. Dugan has been charged with two federal criminal offenses, one of which is a felony and one of which is a misdemeanor,” a two-page order from the court filed Tuesday stated.
“This court is charged in the Wisconsin Constitution with exercising superintending and administrative authority over the courts of this state. In the exercise of that constitutional authority and in order to uphold the public’s confidence in the courts of this state during the pendency of the criminal proceeding against Judge Dugan, we conclude, on our own motion, that it is in the public interest that she be temporarily relieved of her official duties.”
Dugan was charged with two criminal counts of “obstructing and impeding a proceeding before a department or agency of the United States” and “concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest,” according to a criminal complaint unsealed Friday.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court said Dugan is “temporarily prohibited from exercising the powers of a circuit court judge in the State of Wisconsin,” effective Tuesday until further order from the court.
Prior to the order, a Milwaukee County official said this week that starting Monday, a reserve judge will cover Dugan’s cases.
The judge was arrested on Friday over allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant “evade arrest” the week prior, according to FBI Director Kash Patel, who claimed on social media that Dugan “intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse.”
U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement that two FBI agents arrested Dugan “for allegedly helping an illegal alien avoid arrest” by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Duegan appeared in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on Friday on the two charges but did not enter a plea. She was released on her own recognizance.
Her attorney, former United States Attorney Steven Biskupic, said the judge will “defend herself vigorously and looks forward to being exonerated.”
“Judge Hannah C. Dugan has committed herself to the rule of law and the principles of due process for her entire career as a lawyer and a judge,” Biskupic said in a statement on Friday.
If convicted on the charges, Dugan could face up to six years in prison.
Her case stems from the arrest of an undocumented immigrant — Eduardo Flores-Ruiz — on April 18, county court records show. Flores-Ruiz was set to appear in court that day before Dugan for a pretrial conference in an ongoing case where he has been charged with three misdemeanor counts of battery/domestic abuse.
Upon learning ICE officers were present in court to arrest Flores-Ruiz, Dugan allegedly became “visibly angry” and confronted one of the officers, according to the federal complaint.
Multiple witnesses cited in the complaint later allegedly said Dugan returned to her courtroom after directing members of the arrest team to the office of the court’s chief judge, according to the complaint.
A DEA agent saw Flores-Ruiz and his attorney in the public hallway of the courthouse and he appeared to be making efforts to evade arrest, the complaint stated. After he was encountered by FBI and DEA agents outside the building, Flores-Ruiz “turned around and sprinted down the street” before he was ultimately apprehended, according to the complaint.
