6 hurt in explosion from intentionally set IED at Santa Maria Courthouse in California
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(SANTA MARIA, Calif.) — Six people suffered non-life-threatening injuries from an explosion at the Santa Maria Courthouse in California, officials said.
One person of interest — an adult male — was detained and is being interviewed, Santa Barbara County Sheriff public information officer Raquel Zick wrote on social media.
Authorities believe the explosion was the result of an “intentionally set improvised explosive device,” Zick said.
The suspect allegedly lunged through the courthouse doors and tossed a small bag past the weapons screening station, and the bag exploded as it hit the floor outside of the local arraignment room, the court executive officer told ABC News.
The suspect ran toward his car and was apprehended by a deputy, the officer said. The man also reportedly had weapons and ammunition in his car, the officer added.
The bomb team is processing the scene, Zick said.
Police don’t believe there are any outstanding suspects, she added.
A spokesperson for Marian Regional Medical Center told ABC News the hospital received six patients in the incident. Three are in fair condition and two are in good condition, the spokesperson said. The condition of the sixth person is unknown but is not believed to be serious.
The courthouse is closed for the day and city buildings within one block of the courthouse are temporarily closed, said Mark Van de Camp, spokesperson for the city of Santa Maria.
Law enforcement personnel continue to investigate the area around Trump International Golf Club after an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on Sept. 16, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — As the investigation into Sunday’s apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump continues, the FBI is turning its attention to the obliterated serial number of the recovered assault-style weapon, using highly specialized techniques to uncover what’s been altered on the surface of the rifle.
Investigators are working to understand how suspected gunman Ryan Wesley Routh, who, according to court records, has a felony criminal history, allegedly obtained the semi-automatic SKS rifle.
In the tree-lined, chain link fenced area surrounding the Trump International Golf Club where the suspect was spotted by Secret Service personnel Sunday, agents found a digital camera, two bags, including a backpack and a loaded SKS-style 7.62×39 caliber rifle with a scope, according to a criminal complaint released Monday.
The serial number on the rifle “was obliterated and unreadable to the naked eye,” the complaint states.
Analysis into firearms includes conducting an urgent firearms trace. But to begin a gun trace, investigators need a serial number, and in this case, that key information was allegedly obliterated.
However, agents have several forensic techniques they can employ to restore obliterated serial numbers from a firearm.
Sources told ABC News Monday the FBI is forensically examining the firearm at its lab.
How investigators could recover an ‘obliterated’ serial number
Firearms manufactured in or imported to the U.S. are required by law to have a conspicuously engraved, cast or stamped serial number.
SKS-type firearms are not manufactured in the U.S.; they are typically manufactured in Russia or China and imported to the U.S. with stamped serial numbers, according to firearms expert and retired ATF executive Scott Sweetow.
“When the metal is stamped, and the deeper the stamp was originally, the more likely that the metal is to be deformed a significant amount below the surface,” Sweetow said in an interview with ABC News.
“And even if you take a grinder or scratch it out, or try to sand it out, those markings, the impression and the metal were deformed from the original serial number stamping process … those markings are going to typically survive,” Sweetow added.
Using a combination of specialized chemicals and instruments, investigators can reveal the serial numbers that, to the human eye, appear to be permanently removed, according to Sweetow.
As part of the process, chemical treatments are applied to “eat away” some of the defacement, grinding or scratching that was done to obscure the serial number, which is followed by using special instrumentation to view the previously invisible numbers “for what I would almost describe as a shadow that’s left in the metal where it was pressed down,” Sweetow said.
FBI and ATF also possess more advanced capabilities, including x-ray and magnetic resonance imaging, to peer deeper into the metal beyond what can be seen at the surface.
Though obliterated serial numbers can pose a challenge, investigators frequently overcome criminal efforts to hide the numbers.
“It certainly makes it a little tougher for investigators, but so many people obliterate serial numbers now or deface face them that the forensic techniques have gotten actually pretty good, to restore them much better than they were, say, 20 years ago,” Sweetow said.
Routh’s alleged possession of a firearm by a convicted felon carries a potential sentence of 15 years in prison, and the possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number can carry an additional five years if convicted, according to federal statute.
Routh appeared in West Palm Beach federal court on Monday morning. Prosecutors said he is charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Routh did not enter a plea to the charges and was ordered to return to court on Sept. 23 for a pre-detention hearing. His arraignment has been scheduled for Sept. 30.
(NEW YORK) — Tropical Storm Francine is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane on Tuesday as it takes aim at the Gulf Coast.
By Tuesday night, Francine is expected to become a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 100 mph.
Landfall is expected on Wednesday in Louisiana, between Cameron and Morgan City, as a Category 2 hurricane.
Heavy rain and strong winds are already lashing South Padre Island, Texas, on Tuesday morning.
Up to 1 foot of rain is forecast for parts of Louisiana from Tuesday night into Wednesday.
Flash flooding will be a significant threat on Wednesday for New Orleans, Lake Charles and Alexandria, Louisiana as well as Jackson, Mississippi.
Storm surge could reach 10 feet along the Louisiana coast.
By Thursday, flooding rain will spread into the Mississippi River Valley, bringing up to 6 inches of rain to Memphis, Tennessee; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Paducah, Kentucky.
(PORTLAND, Ore.) — An aerial hoop artist is recovering after she fell during a Cirque du Soleil show in Oregon, according to the production.
The dramatic incident, which was captured on video, occurred at a performance of the show “KOOZA” on Saturday at the Portland Exposition Center in Portland.
The performer was seen hanging on a hoop suspended from the ceiling as it spun in circles before she fell mid-act. The audience could be heard gasping after she fell onto the ground.
The artist is “recovering and being cared for by our medical and coaching team,” “KOOZA” said in a statement on Facebook on Monday, adding that they “appreciate your concern and well wishes for our aerial hoop artist.”
“Safety is of our utmost concern, and they will be cared for until they can return to the show,” the statement continued. “We do hope you enjoyed the rest of KOOZA.”
The name of the performer was not released by the show.
Brian Goldstein, who was sitting close to the front of the audience with his two children during Saturday’s production, told ABC News the fall occurred within a half hour of the show starting.
“To see something like this is very surprising and very shocking,” he said. “It was very scary for my daughter.”
His son, Benjamin, captured the fall on video. Benjamin told ABC News he thought it was part of the show, “but then when the actors were looking surprised, I was like, oh no, this isn’t part of the show at all.”
Brian Goldstein said they were impressed with how the team responded to the incident and how the performer “maintained her composure.”
“She gave a thumbs up as she was being carried off stage, which was a great sign,” he said.
Brian Goldstein said that after a roughly 20-minute pause in the performance, a person involved with the show addressed the audience and said the artists were willing to continue, and they went on to finish the show.
“I have to give those performers kudos — to continue on and complete the show after something like that, it’s got to be difficult,” he said. “They did a phenomenal job.”
To the aerial hoop artist, he said: “We hope she knows that all of her fans are looking forward to her speedy recovery.”
According to the description on Cirque du Soleil’s website, “KOOZA” combines “acrobatic performance and the art of clowning, while exploring fear, identity, recognition and power.”
The show is scheduled to run at the Portland Expo Center through Oct. 6.
