Boyfriend kills girlfriend, her mother in shooting outside Kentucky courthouse: Police
(ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky.) — Three family members were shot, including two fatally, near a courthouse in Kentucky on Monday before attending a hearing on an emergency protective order, officials said.
The suspect in the incident — who was dating one of the victims — fled the scene and shot himself during a standoff with police, according to the Elizabethtown Police Department.
The shooting unfolded in a parking lot across the street from the Hardin County Justice Center shortly before 9 a.m. ET, officials said.
Three people were shot in an “ambush-type style” attack, Elizabethtown Police Chief Jeremy Thompson said. The suspect — identified as Christopher Elder, 46 — fled the scene in a vehicle.
The suspect’s girlfriend — 37-year-old Erica Riley of Elizabethtown — was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Her mother, 71-year-old Janet Rylee of Hardinsburg, was also shot and died from her injuries at a hospital, police.
A third person, a man related to the victims, was also shot and remains in stable condition, police said. His name has not been released.
Two children belonging to one of the victims were also at the scene but were unharmed, Thompson said. No additional details on the juveniles were released.
Following a vehicle pursuit in western Kentucky, Elder shot himself during a standoff with police, authorities said. He remains hospitalized in critical condition, police said.
Elizabethtown police have confirmed a shooting near the Hardin County Justice Center. Those in the area should follow guidance from law enforcement. Please join Britainy and me in praying for everyone affected by this senseless act of violence. ^AB
The shooting was an isolated, domestic incident, police said. It occurred prior to a hearing on an emergency protective order those involved were attending at the courthouse, according to Elizabethtown Mayor Jeff Gregory.
“It’s just terrible, it’s a tragedy,” said Gregory, who previously served during a career in law enforcement. “Domestic situations are never predictable. They often end in horrible situations like this. Unfortunately, that happened in downtown Elizabethtown today.”
The investigation is ongoing, police said.
“Please join [my wife] Britainy and me in praying for everyone affected by this senseless act of violence,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in a statement.
(NEW YORK) — When Florida parent Rose Taylor discovered that her son’s new teacher would not use his preferred pronouns, it shattered Taylor’s perception of safety in her local North Florida school.
Taylor, who asked to be named using a pseudonym for privacy reasons, says her son declared that he was a boy at the age of 4, and his teachers and fellow students welcomed his name and pronoun changes.
The next year, however, his new teacher wouldn’t call him by the proper pronouns. Taylor’s son told his mother that the teacher could call him a girl, “but no one else could.”
The comment sounded off alarm bells for Taylor: “Adults don’t get special rules for you, especially that go against your personal rules.”
She continued, “This is going to open him up to bullying. This is going to teach him that rules don’t apply to certain adults in authority, which could open him up to any sort of sexual assault, grooming or anything like that.”
Joining a group like Equality Florida’s Parenting with Pride has helped parents like Taylor face such obstacles amid the backdrop of rising anti-LGBTQ legislation and rhetoric.
According to the ACLU, Florida had 14 bills introduced this year that would impact the LGBTQ community — including restrictions on changes to ID cards, the required use of preferred names or pronouns, and more.
In recent years, education has been the target of this kind of legislation, with the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law and the Stop “WOKE” Act restricting what material and content schools can share about gender and sexual orientation.
Supporters say these laws allow parents to decide what their children learn or discuss about certain topics, and should be discussed at home instead of at school. A spokesperson for Gov. Ron DeSantis argued in a post on X that “there is no reason for instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity to be part of K-12 public education. Full stop.”
Many of these bills failed or died in the legislature. One of those bills was from State Sen. Bran Martin, who proposed legislation that would have banned Pride flags from flying at government buildings or public schools and colleges. In an interview with ABC News, Martin called sexual orientation and gender “adult issues” and argued that these laws are intended to “protect children.”
“No one’s attacking kids for their sexual orientation or their gender identity,” Martin said.
Instead, he noted that some constituents and legislators do not believe young kids should be having conversations related to gender or sexual orientation in the classroom.
“There’s so many, so many good books that kids can learn to deal with self-esteem and how to deal with their friends and how to be successful, or how to deal with unique experiences in their life,” Martin said. “We don’t have to have our shelves full of kids’ books dealing with sexual identity when there’s so much other information to learn that can be taught.”
Florida parent Jennifer Solomon told ABC News her youngest son didn’t know anything about politics or the different gender identities when he began showing signs that his gender expression might not align with what is typical for boys his age — such as wanting to wear dresses.
She created local LGBTQ advocacy group PFLAG Miami when she discovered there were few local resources for parents with children like her son, and she needed guidance and support.
“I realized that I had a story to tell, that I had this incredible child that I was given to raise, and he changes hearts and minds everywhere he goes,” she said.
She thought middle school might be a “nightmare” for her child due to her fears about bullying and his safety — “I was wrong,” she said.
“He is student council president. He is on the cheerleading team. He just made the competitive dance team,” Solomon said. “He has shown me and shown others that you can live as who you are, and others will accept you if we get the politicians and the lawmakers to kind of move out of the way and let our kids just be who they are. “
Now, as the Parents and Families Support Manager for Equality Florida, Solomon hopes Parenting for Pride can help parents address efforts to restrict representation in classroom content or restrict how students can express themselves in schools.
Parenting for Pride — which just held its first summit with more than 200 participants — offers workshops, panels and trainings on online safety, health and wellness, Title IX, and more.
Hillsboro County parent Ellen Lyons attended the summit on behalf of her school’s Parent-Teacher Association to learn how to better make all families feel “welcome and included.”
“Students generally have been concerned about the impact of legislation on the books that they can read, on the way they can address one another, of the way that teachers can address them,” said Lyons. “And so one of the things that PTA wants to do is have all of the knowledge about what the current state of affairs is, so that we can give people accurate information and help people advocate for their students.”
Parenting with Pride has created a network of more than 2,000 families — an effort local activists are encouraging amid the growing anti-LGBTQ sentiment.
“We are parents, and we are demanding our parental rights, because it’s not just parental rights for some, but parental rights for all,” said Solomon. “Enough attacking my child. I’m willing now to be in a space of advocacy that I never thought I would be in.”
(OCALA, FL) — A jury began deliberating Friday in the case of Susan Lorincz – the Florida woman who is charged with first-degree felony manslaughter in the fatal shooting of her neighbor, Ajike “AJ” Owens, through a closed door on June 2, 2023, in Ocala, Florida.
The six-person panel was seated on Monday and began deliberating on Friday shortly after 12:00 p.m. ET after prosecutors and the defense presented their closing arguments in a case that gained national attention.
Lorincz shot Owens, a Black mother of four, through a closed door in the presence of her now 10-year-old son after she went to speak with Lorincz about a dispute over Owens’ children playing near her home, according to a June 6, 2023, statement from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO).
Lorincz, who is white, was arrested on June 6, 2023, and charged with first-degree felony manslaughter for fatally shooting Owens on June 2, 2023, in Ocala, Florida. She pleaded not guilty on July 10, 2023, and was held on a $150,000 bond. If convicted, Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
Anthony Thomas, attorney for the family of Owens, told ABC News in a statement after the jury was sworn in on Monday that the family is “disappointed in the all-white jury that was selected to determine the outcome” of this case.
“We would have wanted the jury to be more diverse. But we believe in equal justice, so we are going to see what happens,” added family attorney Ben Crump in a statement to ABC News.
“Historically, jurors in America have not reflected the diversity of America,” Crump continued. “We want to believe in our heart that any juror looking at this situation will administer justice. We must make sure that AJ Owens’ death is not in vain. We keep the faith that the American justice system works for people like AJ Owens, as well.”
How the trial unfolded
A host of neighbors, including two children, sheriff’s deputies, a 911 dispatcher and operator, crime scene investigators and forensic experts were among those who testified during the trial.
Prosecutors argued that Lorincz should be found guilty because she fatally shot an “unarmed” Owens through a “locked” door.
“Ms. Owens was banging on the door telling the defendant to come out,” state attorney Rich Buxman said in his closing argument. “Belief that there was an immediate or imminent danger, such that deadly force was necessary at that time, was simply unreasonable because there was no imminent danger. And that word imminent is very important. It’s included in the law for a reason… If Miss Owens would somehow have managed to bust through this locked, dead bolted metal door, entered her house and started coming at her, the defendant may have had a right to shoot because that danger would have then been imminent.”
The defense argued that Lorincz should be found not guilty because she was acting in self-defense because she feared for her life.
“The law says you should only convict someone if you’re convinced they’re guilty beyond a reasonable doubt…. If you’re back there and you’re deliberating and you’re thinking, ‘Man, she had some medical issues. She did live alone. She had these prior run-ins with Ajike, I could see how she could be scared of her.'” Amanda Sizemore, Lorincz’s attorney, said in her closing argument. “And if you have reasonable doubt, you should find Ms. Lorincz not guilty because that is what the law says. And each and every one of you took an oath to follow the law.”
A focus of the state’s argument was on the first 911 call that Lorincz made to report “trespassing” on June 2, 2023 – minutes before she ended up shooting Owens.
“No matter the outcome, I am committed to honoring my daughter Ajike’s memory by continuing to seek justice, not only for her but for every family who has faced a similar loss,” Pamela Dias, Owens’ mother, told ABC News through a statement sent by her attorneys. “This trial has been an incredibly difficult journey, but I believe in the power of truth and justice.”
Susan Lorincz’s attorney did not respond to ABC News’ request for a statement.
According to witnesses, including the sheriff’s deputies who responded to the shooting, law enforcement was already on their way to Lorincz’s home when the shooting occurred because she had called 911 to report three children – one Latino and two Black – were “trespassing” on her property.
During the trial the locked door became a focus of the state’s argument and the subject of cross examination during the testimony of various witnesses.
The defense claimed that Owens told Lorincz that she was going to “kill” her and was trying to “break” in Lorincz’s front door that they argued was “damaged.”
The state zeroed in on this claim during the testimony on Tuesday of Lorincz’s former landlord Charles Gabbard.
Gabbard testified that, prior to the shooting, he had repaired a jam on Lorincz’s front door. He said that her door was “structurally sound” after he repaired it, despite some cosmetic damage. He said that the door was sturdy and had a chain, a deadbolt and a lock.
During cross-examination, Gabbard said that Lorincz did not tell him how the door was damaged but that “it was clear that someone slammed” the door. He said that after repairing it, he was planning to replace Lorincz’s door at some point. Asked by Lorincz’s attorney if the crack in the door was “substantial,” Gabbard said, “Yes.”
“Susan Lorincz told detectives, ‘I really thought she was going to break my door down,'” Sizemore said. “‘I really thought that I saw the door moving.’ And I really believe that. I honest to God believe that is what she said. She reasonably believed that. We heard Susan tell the detectives, ‘I heard Ms. Owens say, ‘I’m going to [expletive] kill you.’ … I heard the door crack, and when I heard that door crack, I fired.'”
(WICHITA, Kan.) — A firefighter in Kansas has lost his life in the line of duty while battling a house fire in Wichita, according to the Wichita Fire Department.
The incident occurred on Thursday at approximately 3:22 p.m. when the currently unnamed firefighter was battling a house fire in Haysville, Kansas.
“The Wichita Fire Department and the City of Wichita are extremely saddened to announce that at approximately 3:22 PM while operating at a mutual aid fire in Haysville, one of Wichita’s bravest was injured in the line of duty, and later succumbed to their injury,” the statement said. “The Wichita Fire Department is working to ensure family members are all appropriately notified.”
Authorities say that they will not be releasing the name of the firefighter who died until next of kin has been informed and they are asking “the same of anyone that may know the firefighter.”
“This is a loss that deeply weighs heavily on all of us. All of the dedicated individuals who serve our fire department do so knowing the immense risk they are undertaking and do it with noble, selfless regard,” said the Wichita Fire Department. “It does not make their sacrifice any less immense. Nor the sacrifice of their loved ones and family any easier.”
“Please keep this firefighters family and crew in your prayers,” authorities continued. “We will update the community on any additional information as it becomes available.”