1 employee dead in shooting at USPS center, suspect at large: Police
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(TUKWILA, WA) — A postal employee was shot and killed at the United States Postal Service Processing and Distribution Center in Tukwila, Washington, on Tuesday, according to reports from the Tukwila Police Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service of Seattle.
Officers responded to the scene shortly after 4 p.m. local time and found an adult male with a gunshot wound and “immediately began rendering aid until fire and medic personnel arrived and took over life saving efforts,” according to Tukwila police.
However, the victim succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. His identity has not been released.
The shooter fled the scene and has not been located as of 7 p.m. local time, according to police.
Tukwila police said they have reason to believe the victim and suspect were acquainted, but the motive for the shooting remains unknown.
The Tukwila Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit is actively investigating the incident.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(GREENSBORO, N.C.) — A North Carolina police officer was fatally shot while responding to a report of a person with a gun inside a supermarket, authorities said.
The shooting occurred Monday morning at a Food Lion in Greensboro, police said.
Greensboro officer Michael Horan was fatally injured after responding to the call about a “man with a firearm” inside the store, police said.
“The circumstances of what led to the shooting are currently being investigated,” Greensboro Assistant Police Chief MJ Harris said during a press briefing on Monday.
The shooting suspect fled the scene and was taken into custody following a high-speed chase, the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office said. There is no threat to the public, Harris said.
No further details on the suspect have been released.
Horan had been a sworn officer with the Greensboro Police Department since early 2018.
“He was an excellent officer,” Harris said. “He had an outstanding reputation inside the department and the community.”
Horan previously served for 18 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, during which he received an award for rescuing a father and son from rip currents, according to the police department.
“Simply put, we are heartbroken,” Greensboro City Manager Trey Davis said at the briefing.
The Greensboro Police Department requested the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to take the lead on the investigation into the shooting.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said that “significant state law enforcement personnel” were sent to help with the response.
A Food Lion spokesperson said they are cooperating with authorities and the store will remain closed amid the investigation.
“Food Lion is deeply saddened by the tragedy that occurred at our store,” the spokesperson said. “We express our deepest condolences to the officer’s family and friends.”
“We are providing resources to support our associates during this difficult time,” the spokesperson added.
ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
(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.
Regina Mullen, mother of, Kyle, a Navy SEAL that died in February 2022/ABC News
(NEW YORK) –The mother of a Navy SEAL recruit who died after completing “hell week” training has told ABC News that the cases against the men she blames for her son’s death were dismissed by the Navy and she says she hasn’t been told why.
In February 2022, 24-year-old Kyle Mullen died after successfully endured the 120-hour week of brutal training that’s designed to push Navy SEAL candidates to their physical and mental limits.
His mother, Regina Mullen, is now demanding accountability for his death.
Mullen recounted parts of her son’s story on “Good Morning America” in an interview with ABC News’ Will Reeve airing on Tuesday morning.
“I got a text. It said, ‘Hell Week Secured!’” Mullen told “GMA.” “So I immediately called him and he answered and he was out of breath and he said, ‘Hey mom, I did it. Hell Week secured.’ And I said, First I’m like, ‘my God, you’re all happy.’ And then I’m like, ‘wait a minute, you all right? Are you in a hospital? You don’t sound good.’”
“All he said to me is, ‘Mom, I love you. Don’t worry about me. And he hung up,” Mullen continued.
Kyle died hours later from bacterial pneumonia, with the final medical check showing swollen legs that required him to be sent back to his barracks in a wheelchair with abnormalities in his lungs and severe trouble breathing.
A Navy investigation cited failures “across multiple systems” that led to a number of candidates being at a “higher risk of serious injury” with “inconsistent medical monitoring.”
Additionally, a “lack of training” among commanding officers and an “at all costs” mindset among the candidates was also cited in the investigation.
“We have a failed leadership and under a command that killed a man unnecessarily and injured many,” said Regina Mullen. “I think it’s pretty reasonable to ask for accountability.”
Mullen insists that Capt. Brad Geary, who was in charge of her son’s trainee class, and Cmdr. Doctor Erik Ramey are responsible.
But now, with the case being dismissed, Regina Mullen said questions still remain about the quality of her son’s medical care and that she has not yet been provided with any answers.
“The Navy’s not giving me what I’m asking for,” Mullen said. “The medical treatment of Kyle’s care — why won’t they provide it? I want the Board of Inquiry to be reinstated. This is what I really want so we can go public.”
A lawyer for Geary released a statement to ABC News saying “this case was badly mishandled from the beginning. When we were noticed for the board of inquiry it became very clear that a comprehensive investigation had never been done and the deciding officer hadn’t had access to all the evidence. Through the discovery process, the Navy was forced to gather all the relevant evidence which made continuing the case unsustainable.”
Ramey’s attorney told ABC News that “we invested a substantial amount of time investigating the case with the assistance of top medical experts. The overwhelming evidence confirmed that Dr. Ramey met the medical standard of care.”
The investigation also looked into allegations of the use of performance enhancing drugs among SEAL candidates. Authorities say they found a bottled labeled as human growth hormone in Mullen’s car. Investigators, however, “determined that [Mullen] died in the line of duty, and not due to own misconduct.”
Mullen says the medical examiner told her they did not test her son for steroid use. “She said that they didn’t test for it because it was irrelevant to the cause of death. Right. For the medical exam, for the Navy medical examiner.”
The Navy has refused to comment, “citing privacy considerations for the officers.”
“Cases sometimes take a long time and that can be frustrating,” Regina Mullen’s attorney, Kevin Uniglicht, told ABC News. “The problem in this case is that when we have a dismissal, we don’t have a basis for it. Secondly, when we’re doing our investigation and we can’t find documents, we have to question, where are the documents? Was there ever treatment? If there is treatment, why didn’t it follow the military’s protocol on medical standards?”
“We’re trying to figure out what they’re hiding. It’s simple as that,” Uniglicht continued.
Since her son’s death, Regina Mullen says she has seen some improvement, with candidate’s vitals being checked more consistently and preventative antibiotics administered prior to “hell week” so sailors don’t catch pneumonia. But, she says, more work still needs to be done.
Mullen said she still lives with the pain of her son’s death every day.
“I’m deflated, I’m upset,” Mullen said. “The pain is unreal for me. I don’t get the call anymore. I don’t get the jokes anymore. I don’t get the little cards. I don’t get that anymore.”
“Before he left the Navy, I said, ‘how am I going to live my life if something happens to you?’” Mullen continued. “He said, ‘Mom, you’re the strongest person I know. You got this.’”
“He was just trying to be a hero and protect people,” Mullen said. “And it happened by his own … own country, by his own military.”
