5 hurt, driver dead after fleeing suspect drives truck into Texas mall: Authorities
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(KILLEEN, Texas) — Five people were hurt after a man fleeing troopers drove a truck “several hundred yards” through the entrance of a mall on Saturday in Killeen, Texas, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.
Four people were injured as the driver was “actively running people over” and a fifth later went to the hospital on their own, Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Bryan Washko said during a news conference Saturday evening.
The man driving the truck was fatally shot after multiple law enforcement officers fired their weapons, including three who were off-duty, Washko said.
The victims’ ages ranged from 6 to 75, Washko said.
The suspect has not yet been identified.
The incident began unfolding about 5 p.m. local time when state troopers attempted to stop the suspect, who was driving a black pickup truck, on suspicion of possible DUI, Washko. The driver kept going, eventually entering the parking lot of the Killeen Mall, and then drove through glass doors of a JCPenney, striking multiple people, according to Washko.
Authorities are investigating whether it was an intentional act or whether the man drove into the mall entrance “out of desperation because he was being pursued,” Washko said.
“Thankfully he was stopped when he was, because it could have been so much worse,” Washko said. “This mall is pretty busy at this time of year.”
Initial calls for the incident reported an active shooter, but that did not turn out to be the case, he said.
Killeen, a city of nearly 160,000 residents, is located about 70 miles north of Austin.
(VICTORIA, Texas) — A small plane crashed into three vehicles Wednesday afternoon on a roadway in Victoria, Texas.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the twin-engine Piper PA-31 crashed around 3:00 p.m. local time.
Only the pilot was on board the plane at the time of the crash.
In a video posted on Facebook, which showed the wreckage, the Victoria Police Department said there had been three vehicles and one airplane involved in the crash.
The condition of the vehicles’ occupants is unknown at this time, according to the police department.
“Preliminary information indicates the plane landed on a roadway and struck multiple vehicles,” the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement.
The FAA and the NTSB will investigate the incident.
(ATHENS, Ga.) — The last moments before Laken Riley was killed while out on a run on the University of Georgia’s campus were shown in court Tuesday on the third day of the trial involving the murder of the 22-year-old nursing student.
The Augusta University student was found dead in a wooded area on the Athens campus on Feb. 22.
Jose Ibarra, 26, is accused of murdering Riley after prosecutors said she “refused to be his rape victim.” Ibarra, an undocumented migrant, was charged with malice murder and felony murder in connection with her death, which became a rallying cry for immigration reform from many conservatives, including President-elect Donald Trump.
On the morning of the murder, at 8:55 a.m., Riley texted her mother, “Good morning, about to go for a run if you’re free to talk,” according to University of Georgia Police Sgt. Sophie Raboud, one of the lead investigators in the case, who testified on Tuesday about Riley’s cellphone activity.
Riley called her mother at 9:03 a.m., then started listening to music, Raboud said. She was captured on a trail camera at 9:05 a.m. running with her iPhone in her left hand toward the intramural fields, Raboud said. She runs out of view of the camera at 9:06 a.m.
At 9:11 a.m., she called 911, Raboud said. Witnesses previously testified that Riley initiated the call through the SOS application on her phone. The dispatcher was not able to speak with anyone before the call was hung up and called back twice with no answer, the witnesses said.
At 9:24 a.m., Riley received a call from her mother that went unanswered, Raboud said.
At 9:38 a.m., her mother texted, “Call me when you can,” Raboud said.
Raboud said Riley’s mother continued to try to reach Riley but the calls went unanswered, before texting at 9:58 a.m., “You’re making me nervous, not answering when you’re out running. Are you OK?”
Riley received subsequent calls from her mother and sister that went unanswered, Raboud said.
At 11:47 a.m., her mother texted, “Please call me, I’m worried sick about you,” Raboud said.
Subsequent calls, including from her stepfather, also went unanswered, Raboud said.
Trail camera footage from later that morning shown in court captured Laken’s roommates, Lilly Steiner and Sofia Magana, on the trail searching for her.
Riley’s roommates reported her missing, and a University of Georgia police officer found her body at 12:38 p.m., witnesses previously testified. Data from the Garmin watch she was wearing on her run showed her heart stopped at 9:28 a.m., witnesses previously testified.
Riley had sustained significant blunt force trauma to her head, including eight injuries to the left side of her skull and an injury just above her right temple, Dr. Michelle DiMarco, who conducted her autopsy, testified on Tuesday. One of the injuries was significant enough that it caused brain bleeding and could have been fatal, she said.
There was also evidence of asphyxiation, though DiMarco said she was unable to categorize how that occurred. Her cause of death was determined to be the “combined effects of blunt force head trauma and asphyxia,” DiMarco said.
Ibarra was interviewed on Feb. 23 in connection with her death and had multiple scratches observable on his arms, police testified. His DNA was found under Riley’s fingernails, prosecutors said. A man was captured on a trail camera the morning of the murder heading toward the intramural fields shortly before 8 a.m., Raboud said.
Prosecutors said the person was wearing clothes similar to what Ibarra had on in a Snapchat selfie posted earlier that morning, including a black Adidas cap.
Ibarra was also seen discarding a bloodied jacket and disposable gloves near his apartment on Feb. 22 at 9:44 a.m., prosecutors said.
Hairs removed from the jacket were determined to have originated from Riley or “someone with hair possessing the same distinct characteristics,” Anne Kisler-Rao, with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s crime lab, testified on Tuesday.
The gloves recovered from a bush near Ibarra’s apartment were determined to have matched ones recovered from a drawer in his apartment, GBI specialist Alexander Covin testified on Tuesday. Under cross by the defense, Covin admitted that the gloves may have matched but could also have come from different sources.
Ibarra has pleaded not guilty. He waived his right to a jury trial and the case is being presented in the Athens-Clarke County courtroom to Judge H. Patrick Haggard, who will render a verdict.
Police have said they believe Ibarra — a migrant from Venezuela who officials said illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 — did not know Riley and that this was a “crime of opportunity.”
ABC News’ Janice McDonald contributed to this report.
(OCALA, Fla.) — Susan Lorincz, the Florida woman who was found guilty of first-degree felony manslaughter with a firearm in August, is set to be sentenced on Monday for fatally shooting her neighbor, Ajike “AJ” Owens, through a locked door in an incident that occurred on June 2, 2023, in Ocala.
She is facing up to 30 years in prison.
Lorincz, who is white, shot Owens, a Black mother of four, in the presence of her now 10-year-old son after Owens went to speak with Lorincz following a dispute over Owens’ children playing near Lorincz’s home, according to a June 6, 2023, statement from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO).
After a jury found Lorincz guilty on Aug. 16, Judge Robert Hodges said that Lorincz would be held in the Marion County jail without bond until her sentencing.
Ahead of Lorincz’s sentencing hearing, Owens’ family shared a statement on Wednesday with ABC News that they released through their attorney, calling for the judge to sentence the Florida woman to “the maximum penalty under the law.”
Owens’ family said that while the guilty verdict was an “ important step,” they are still seeking “justice.”
“While no sentence can ever restore the life taken from us, the court’s decision will send a strong message about the value of Ajike’s life and the importance of justice for victims of senseless violence,” the family said. “We are hopeful that the presiding judge will honor the jury’s decision and deliver a sentence that reflects the severity of this crime.”
Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, who previously told ABC News that the guilty verdict brings a “sense of peace” to the family, said in a statement on Wednesday that Lorincz’s sentencing is an opportunity for the family to “find some closure.”
“While the pain of losing Ajike will never go away, we are hopeful that justice will prevail and that the court will give Susan Lorincz the maximum penalty for her actions,” Dias said. “Ajike’s legacy will live on in her children, and we will continue to fight for justice, love, and peace in her name.”
A spokesperson for the family told ABC News that they plan to be in court on Monday to attend Lorincz’s sentencing hearing.
Lorincz’s attorney Amanda Sizemore declined to comment in response to a request from ABC News.
Lorincz pleaded not guilty and during the trial her defense team argued that she should be found not guilty because she was acting in self-defense because she feared for her life. Meanwhile, prosecutors argued that Lorincz should be found guilty because she fatally shot an “unarmed” Owens through a “locked” door.
