NC State student arrested for string of random highway shootings in Raleigh: Police
Police investigate a shooting spree near I-40 in Raleigh, North Carolina, Nov. 7, 2024. Via WTVD
(RALEIGH, N.C.) — A North Carolina State student has been arrested for a string of apparently random shootings at cars on multiple highways in Raleigh.
Since Monday, police have received 12 reports of shots being fired at vehicles and buildings in the vicinity of Interstates 40 and 440, according to Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson. Among the incidents, eight vehicles were fired into, resulting in one person being injured, she said.
Andrew Thomas Graney, 23, has been charged with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and 11 counts of firing a weapon into an occupied vehicle or dwelling, police said. Graney is a senior at NC State, majoring in anthropology and has been enrolled since fall 2019, the school confirmed to Raleigh ABC station WTVD.
A second person was taken into custody alongside Graney, but was released without charges, police said.
“At this time, we do believe that the 12 incidents are related,” Patterson said at a press briefing Thursday. “I can also confirm that we have identified a person of interest, and this person has been detained. However, we will continue to pursue all leads.”
The investigation led authorities to a residence in Raleigh on Thursday, where they detained the person of interest, police said. A second person who was also in the residence at the time was additionally detained, police said.
Police have urged drivers in the Raleigh area to remain vigilant following reports of vehicles being fired into during the early morning hours on I-40.
In one incident, on Monday, a woman was shot in the leg, suffering a non-life-threatening injury, police said.
Patterson said it is unclear at this time if shots were being fired from a vehicle or on foot.
Police previously said they believe a handgun was used in the shootings.
The shootings remain under investigation. Patterson urged anyone with surveillance or dashcam footage to come forward.
A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible, she said.
(GEORGIA) — Former President Donald Trump sat down with Fox News’ Harris Faulkner on Tuesday night in front of an all-female audience in Cummings, Georgia, where he addressed several issues aimed at appealing to women voters including the child tax credit, the economy and reproductive rights — calling himself the “father of IVF.”
Speaking in front of a friendly audience of more than 100 women of all ages, Trump attempted to court suburban women in Georgia’s Forsyth County — a reliably-red county where Democrats have made gains in recent years.
Recently, Trump has worked to connect with women voters — the largest voting bloc in the 2024 election — by suggesting they’ll be “safer” under a Trump administration, that he will be a “protector” of women and they “will no longer be thinking about abortion” if he wins the White House.
During the event, which aired Wednesday morning, Trump was asked about his positions on abortion access and in vitro fertilization — key voter issues after the Supreme Court overruled Roe vs. Wade in 2022. Trump himself often brags about his role in the Supreme Court’s decision to overrule the case that secured the constitutional right to abortion.
“Oh, I want to talk about IVF. I’m the father of IVF,” Trump blurted.
Sen. Katie Britt, who introduced the IVF Protection Act, explained IVF to the former president, according to Trump.
“Within about two minutes, I understood we’re totally in favor of IVF. I came out with a statement within an hour, a really powerful statement with some experts, really powerful,” he said, adding that “we really are the party for IVF. We want fertilization.”
Trump reiterated his position on abortion where he suggested he has turned the power back to the states.
“It’s back in the states, where they can have the vote of the people. It’s exactly where they want to be. Remember this, this issue has torn this country apart for 52 years. So we got it back in the states, we have a vote of the people, and it’s working its way through the system, and ultimately it’s going to do the right thing,” Trump said.
At one point, Trump suggested that some states have to redo their abortion laws, referencing rape, incest and exceptions.
“Actually called himself the ‘father of IVF’ and if what he meant is taking responsibility, then yeah, he should take responsibility for the fact that one in three women in America lives in a Trump abortion ban state. What he should take responsibility for is that couples who are praying and hoping and working towards growing a family have been so disappointed and harmed by the fact that IVF treatments have now been put at risk,” Harris told reporters.
Trump’s comment was also quickly picked up by women championing the abortion-rights movement such as EMILY’s List and Planned Parenthood Action Fund where they called it “deeply out of touch with the vast majority of the American people.”
“Let’s call this charade what it is: a last-ditch attempt to deceive voters,” said Jessica Mackler, president of EMILYs List, calling it an “insult to women everywhere that he thinks they’ll fall for his bogus attempt to rebrand on abortion.”
Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said Trump “cannot be trusted — not with our bodies, our lives, or our futures.”
Trump also doubled down on his rhetoric where he suggested to Maria Bartiromo on Fox News that “the bigger problem is the enemy from within” when answering a question on whether he thought the November election would be peaceful.
Trump’s comments in the previous week suggest that the military would handle his political adversaries if he became president. Faulkner played the video clip during the town hall, to which Trump replied, “if we have to.”
He continued, doubling down on his rhetoric, “I thought it was a nice presentation” and saying he wasn’t “unhinged” as Harris claimed during an Erie, Pennsylvania, rally earlier this week.
“It is the enemy from within, and they’re very dangerous,” Trump said to Faulkner.
At one point in the town hall, Faulkner described the Democrats’ prebuttal of the event, mentioning the family of Amber Thurman, a Georgia woman who died of complications following her abortion in the state — with a ProPublica report saying her death was a direct result of the state’s six-week abortion ban.
Thurman’s family was on a press call with Sen. Raphael Warnock, and when Faulkner asked about that call, Trump — instead of acknowledging the Thurman family and Amber Thurman’s death — quipped that the Fox News town hall he was currently participating in would “get better ratings.”
Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP via Getty Images
Hurricane Milton is already causing travel disruptions as the storm takes aim at Florida’s west coast.
The hurricane is expected to make landfall as a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday night or early Thursday morning. Possible record storm surge is anticipated in the Tampa area. Flooding is also a risk throughout much of the state.
Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for at least parts of 14 counties along Florida’s west coast, including in Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Volusia.
Several airports have announced temporary closures ahead of landfall.
Airport closures
Tampa International Airport suspended operations beginning at 9 a.m. on Tuesday and will remain closed to the public “until it can assess any damage after the storm,” airport officials said.
The St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, just outside of Tampa, closed at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, and will remain closed on Wednesday and Thursday.
“The airport is in a mandatory evacuation zone and is not a public shelter,” airport officials tweeted. “Prepare and stay safe.”
The Sarasota Bradenton International Airport in Sarasota closed at 4 p.m. Tuesday and will reopen “once safe to do so,” airport officials tweeted.
Commercial operations stopped at the Orlando Executive Airport at 10 p.m. Tuesday and at the Orlando International Airport at 8 a.m. Wednesday, airport officials said. Both will reopen as soon as it’s safe.
“While these airports will cease commercial operations, they are not closed to emergency/aid and relief flights and will remain open as necessary,” airport officials said. “Commercial operations will resume as soon as possible based on damage assessment.”
Orlando Sanford International Airport in Sanford also suspended operations at 8 a.m. Wednesday, airport officials said, while advising passengers to “stay tuned for updates.”
Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport will remain open and operational, with airport officials saying they are closely monitoring the storm.
Flight cancellations More than 1,700 flights have been canceled throughout the U.S. as of Wednesday morning, according to FlightAware. Orlando International Airport has the most, followed by Tampa.
Airlines were operating larger aircraft and adding more flights to their schedules ahead of the hurricane and airport closures.
The Department of Transportation is monitoring flights in and out of areas affected by Milton to “make sure airlines are not charging excessively increasing fares,” Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on X.
Rail service changes
Amtrak announced it will operate a modified schedule due to Milton.
Among the changes, trains on its Silver Service route will terminate at Jacksonville through Thursday, not continuing on south to stops including Orlando, Tampa and Miami. Select trains on its Silver Service route will also originate at Jacksonville through Friday.
The company’s Auto Train Service, which runs between the Washington, D.C., and Orlando areas, is canceled through Thursday.
Brightline, Florida’s high-speed rail, is also adjusting some of its scheduled trips due to Milton, including ceasing operations on Wednesday and Thursday between West Palm Beach and Orlando.
“We will resume full operations after an assessment of track conditions once the storm has passed,” the rail service said in an update on X while advising passengers with reservations to refer to their email for updates.
Other travel updates
Florida’s Department of Transportation began locking down drawbridges Tuesday afternoon in coordination with the United States Coast Guard.
The department has suspended lane closures and active construction work on interstates within the storm’s path. Tolls have also been suspended across central and west Florida, it said.
The Florida Division of Emergency Services announced Monday it has partnered with Uber to provide free rides to and from shelters. Free shuttles to shelters were also operating Tuesday in counties with an evacuation order in place, it said.
ABC News’ Clara McMichael and Ayesha Ali contributed to this report.
(ORLANDO, Fla.) — At least two people are dead and six others have been injured in a Halloween night shooting in downtown Orlando, police said.
Police in Orlando, Florida, first received reports of a shooting at around 1 a.m. and immediately responded to the scene, the Orland Police said in an early morning press conference on Friday morning.
Authorities confirmed that at least two people were killed and six others have been injured in the shooting and that a 17-year-old suspect was taken into custody.
The victims were taken to hospital and range in age from 19 to 39, according to the Orlando Police Department.
Authorities also said there were approximately 100 officers working the downtown area at the time of the shooting.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
