Several people shot outside Ohio high school reunion, investigators say
(CLEVELAND) — Multiple people were shot outside the Shaw High School in East Cleveland, Ohio, early on Monday, investigators said.
The number of people who were injured and their conditions were not yet known, East Cleveland Police told ABC News’ Cleveland affiliate WEWS. The injured were transported to University Hospital, police said.
The shooting occurred at around 2 a.m. on Monday during a reunion event at the high school, investigators said.
The shooting prompted a response from multiple jurisdictions, including local police and emergency services.
East Cleveland City Council President Twon Billings told WEWS that the Shaw High School reunion is a weekend-long event that brings together graduations and community members of all ages.
Billings told WEWS he was devastated by the shooting, and suggested that a local police shortage affected the events that transpired Monday morning.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — A couple in their 50’s were kidnapped and assaulted this weekend while house hunting in Connecticut, police have said.
The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon in the city of Danbury, when a group of six men intentionally rear-ended the couple’s Lamborghini sports car before forcing them into the back of a van.
The men — all of whom live in Florida — beat the couple with a baseball bat, duct taped their hands and feet and covered the male victim’s eyes. Some members of the group then drove off with the Lamborghini while the others sought to escape with the victims in the van.
“It seems like they were struck with a bat,” Sgt. Steven Castrovinci said of the kidnapped couple, as quoted by ABC News’ New York City station WABC-TV. “The male victim was pretty bruised, pretty swollen and they indicated they were struck with a bat several times.”
A witness alerted law enforcement and followed the van until it lost control and crashed. Police were then able to apprehend the four men in the van and free the kidnapped couple. The other two men were arrested later.
Police told WABC that the two victims were taken to the hospital and are recovering from their injuries, which are not life-threatening.
All six suspects now face charges including first-degree assault, first-degree kidnapping and reckless endangerment. The motive remains unclear, and there is no clear connection between the suspect and the victims.
WABC named the arrested men as Angel Borrero, 23; Reynaldo Diaz, 22; Anthony Pena, 23; Josue Romero, 26; Ricardo Estrada, 21; and Michael Rivas, 18.
(WASHINGTON) — Americans lost $5.6 billion in cryptocurrency scams in 2023, according to a new report released by the FBI on Monday.
Scammers use elaborate tactics to assure potential victims that their investment in cryptocurrency will pay off, according to James Barnacle, the deputy assistant director of the criminal investigative division at the FBI.
“Over time, the victim is being cultivated, and the fraudsters are building confidence in the victim,” Barnacle told ABC News. “They’re friends. They met on the internet, or they met on social media. They’ve met on text message. They develop a friendship, then the fraudster will offer an investment opportunity, and the pitch is something along the lines of like, ‘Hey, I’m in a group that does investments or I know someone that does investments in cryptocurrency.'”
From there, Barnacle said, the victim is given a web app to place their money in.
“Everyone reads about all these crypto millionaires, so people are looking for the next big investment opportunities and fraudsters take advantage of that,” he said.
The impacts of these schemes, however, are devastating, according to Barnacle .
“Some people take mortgages, or third mortgages or equity lines of credit. People withdraw or liquidate from their 401(k) or their IRA, and they’ll put money into these investment schemes, keep putting in more and more and more,” he said. “We’re seeing people lose $4 million, $5 million, $6 million. We’re seeing people that are complaining and reaching out to us for $2,000 … it’s a huge impact to the victim.”
The report found that people over 60 years old were the most scammed: they lost nearly $1.6 billion in 2023.
“Elderly have generally a lot more free time,” Barnacle explained. “They’re at home, they’re in an assisted living facility, and so they’re pretty easy to target, in that sense, just their availability is higher than someone who’s not at home all day. And the fraudsters are really good at building that rapport.”
Fraudsters also give “detailed” directions on how to go to a cryptocurrency kiosk and deposit cash and transfer it to a scammer’s crypto wallet, he noted.
“You wouldn’t think your 89-year-old grandmother would go to a kiosk, but we’re seeing it all day long,” Barnacle said.
The chances that someone recovers the money are “slim,” Barnacle said.
FBI officials, in an effort to prevent fraudsters from taking money from victims, are training state and local law enforcement to better see the warning signs of crypto scams, and they are asking banks to also look out for the warnings from customers.
“They’re coming into your bank and saying they need cash for that home renovation project [but] does it make sense that they keep coming in and taking out significant amounts of money, even when some of them, the elderly folks, may live in a nursing home,” Barnicle said.
Since January, the FBI has notified 3,000 people that they were victims of fraud; however, the number of scams is being undercounted because many people don’t realize they are being scammed.
“The 3,000 people we’ve notified this year, 75% had no idea they were victims of fraud,” Barnacle said.
(NEW YORK) — Ernesto has become a Category 1 hurricane Wednesday after hitting Puerto Rico overnight and leaving power outages and flooding in its wake.
The center of then-Tropical Storm Ernesto passed within 40 miles of San Juan, Puerto Rico, early Wednesday, producing strong winds and heavy rain.
More than 728,000 customers are without power in Puerto Rico, just shy of half the island, according to LUMA, a service provider. The island’s eastern and central regions are the most impacted.
LUMA said only power lines are down, not the infrastructure that delivers power. It will need 24 to 48 hours to assess damage before providing any time frame for repairing the lines.
The primary cause of the outages were high winds, which have been recorded at speeds of 50 mph or more, according to Juan Saca, the president and CEO of LUMA Energy.
“In Puerto Rico, vegetation under the power lines is a major issue. The movement of trees between the lines can easily cause outages,” Saca said.
Despite the challenges, Saca said LUMA is better prepared than ever to restore power.
Additionally, 235,000 customers are without water and over 400 people are in shelters, according to Puerto Rican officials.
Hurricane Ernesto will continue to strengthen as it approaches Bermuda in the next few days. ABC News
Officials are asking people to leave their homes only if absolutely necessary. Many villages are completely isolated because of the river levels and multiple routes are closed.
Officials asked people to donate blood due to low resources. Twenty-three hospitals are using electric generators and 80 flights have been canceled.
The highest rainfall total recorded Wednesday midday was 9.6 inches in Naguabo, Puerto Rico.
All tropical storm warnings have been canceled for Puerto Rico and the Caribbean islands, but flash flooding still remains a concern in Puerto Rico due to heavy rain. Rain was ending late Wednesday afternoon.
A hurricane watch has now been issued for Bermuda.
On Culebra island, east of Puerto Rico, sustained winds of 68 mph were reported with a gust up to 86 mph. A METAR Observation Station at the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico reported sustained winds of 48 mph and a gust of 74 mph.
On the forecast track, Ernesto will continue to strengthen Thursday into Friday. It may become a Category 3 hurricane by Friday morning with winds up to 115 mph.
Friday night into early Saturday, Ernesto will be making its approach to Bermuda as either a low-end Category 3 hurricane or high-end Category 2 hurricane. Wind and rain is expected there.
The East Coast will see high surf and rip currents through this weekend as Ernesto moves parallel, but well away from, the coast.
President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico on Tuesday night.
Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi had warned residents to stay home starting on Tuesday evening, when the tropical storm-force winds are forecast to reach the island. Total rainfall could reach up to 10 inches in some spots.
ABC News’ Jessica Gorman and Josh Hoyos contributed to this report.