At least 4 injured in shooting at Florida State University: Sources
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(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — At least four people are injured in a shooting at Florida State University in Tallahassee, multiple sources told ABC News.
This number is subject to change, sources said, as law enforcement is actively searching to determine how many might be injured.
Police are responding to the scene, which is near the Student Union, according to an FSU Alert, which had advised students to continue to shelter in place due to reports of an active shooter.
Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said it’s received patients from FSU, but didn’t specify how many or their injuries.
“It’s too early to understand the extent of the violence, but early reports are very disturbing,” Rep. Neal Dunn, R-Fla., said in a statement. “Shelter in place. Stay Safe. Thank you to our brave first responders for responding to the situation.”
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said it’s “actively engaged in the incident.” The FBI is also assisting authorities at the university, an agency spokesperson told ABC News.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — In the moments before a tornado destroyed her family’s Arkansas home, Misty Drope noticed the silence.
“There’s a silence that happens before a strong storm hits you,” Drope told “Good Morning America” in an interview on Monday. “And I said, out loud, ‘Oh no, this is not good.'”
She and her family — Bruce and Keely — were standing outside what was left of their home in Paragould. The tornado that tore through the town over the weekend was the second to touch their neighborhood in less than a year.
“You’re so thankful you’re alive,” Bruce said.
At least 40 other people were killed amid more than 970 severe storm reports across more than two dozen states over the weekend. A 3-day tornado outbreak tore through at least nine states. Twelve people were killed in tornados in Missouri.
An EF-2 tornado that tore through Tylertown, Mississippi, with wind speeds up to 111 miles per hour killed at least three people, officials said.
Many of the cabins at that town’s Paradise Ranch RV Resort were reduced to rubble as the tornado tore through the camp, leaving behind a mangled mess of tree branches and building materials.
But the manager told “GMA” that there were no deaths reported there, in part because most of the cabins were empty.
Next week, about 250 campers were expected to show up, the manager said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Columbia University appears to have ceded to the Trump administration’s demands after a threat to withhold $400 million in federal funds.
The school posted a four-page memo entitled “Advancing Our Work to Combat Discrimination, Harassment, and Antisemitism at Columbia.” Columbia’s response is being closely watched by other schools that became flashpoints for pro-Palestinian protests last year.
The Trump administration canceled $400 million worth of grants and contracts to Columbia University, accusing the university of “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.” The administration sent a letter last week, listing out nine demands Columbia must comply with by Thursday “as a precondition for formal negotiations” regarding federal funding.
Columbia agreed to ban masks, one of the Trump administration’s key demands, saying in the memo, “Public safety has determined that face masks or face coverings are not allowed for the purpose of concealing one’s identity in the commission of violations of University policies or state, municipal, or federal laws.”
The university also agreed to stricter controls over its Middle East Studies department, which will now be overseen by a new senior vice provost who “will conduct a thorough review of the portfolio of programs in regional areas across the University, starting immediately with the Middle East.”
Columbia’s Board of Trustees issued a statement supporting the move on Saturday.
“We have and continue to support Interim President Armstrong’s approach, including today’s presentation of the University’s progress and deeply thoughtful actions. We are grateful for her principled and courageous leadership during this unprecedented time, and for the steps she has and is taking to strengthen our institution,” the Board of Trustees said.
“There are many, inside and outside of our community, who are wondering about and characterizing our decision to hold discussions with the federal government. We engaged with the agencies that serve as our regulators on issues that matter both to them and to us. Our goal has been to demonstrate the significant advances we’ve made, discuss the plans for the months ahead, and present Columbia-driven decisions made in accordance with our values and our mission,” the board said.
The memo promised the new senior vice provost would make sure the curriculum is “comprehensive and balanced” and the faculty represent an “intellectually diverse academic environment” as the Trump administration tries to crackdown on left-wing ideology on campus.
The university will also establish a Provostial Advisory Committee on Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression tasked with advising university leadership on how to protect academic freedom at Columbia.
“The committee members will serve as trusted advisors, both to consult on university policies and procedures and to ensure that our decisions are consistent with our values,” Columbia said in the memo.
Columbia will also establish a commission tasked with examining events on campus since Oct. 7, 2024 — the anniversary of the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war — and “present an analysis with the underlying causes.” The committee will create a report with recommendations to ensure members of the Columbia community “are held accountable for actions that hinder the academic pursuit of any individual within the community.”
The committee will also offer recommendations for a disciplinary process.
(CHICAGO) — A Chicago man was charged in connection to a series of sex crimes targeting women at least five times over the past three years, according to the Chicago Police Department.
Chakib Mansour Khodja, a 36-year-old Jefferson Park resident, was charged with 16 felonies and two misdemeanors on Monday, including aggravated criminal sexual assault with a weapon, aggravated kidnapping while armed, home invasion with a dangerous weapon and public indecency with lewd exposure, police said in a press release.
The earliest incident allegedly occurred on May 7, 2022, and the latest on Feb. 2, police said.
“This man was a violent, serial predator who literally went out hunting for his victims,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said during a press conference on Monday.
In February, Khodja allegedly “approached the female victims from behind (twice on the sidewalk and once in an apartment building hallway)” and sexually assaulted them, police said. In one of these instances, he was armed with a sharp object, police said.
“These women survived something that was horrible and terrible and it’s something that they will continue to live with throughout the rest of their days,” CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling said.
Investigators used video surveillance and DNA evidence to connect Khodja to the crimes, police said.
The suspect was arrested on April 4 at O’Hare Airport, when he was coming back from out of town, police said.
Khodja made his first court appearance on Monday, officials said. He was held pending trial.
He was appointed a public defender, but the lawyer was not named in court records.
“Today, the city is safer. Today, every single woman in the city, every single man who has a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister should all be breathing a sigh of relief,” O’Neill said.
Snelling said officials are still determining if there are any additional victims of Khodja’s attacks.
