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Jeanine Pirro vows to tackle violence as top prosecutor in DC

John Lamparski/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — Former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro vowed to improve safety and address violence in the nation’s capital when she was sworn in Wednesday as the interim U.S. attorney for D.C.

Referencing her experience as a judge and prosecutor, Pirro said as the top federal prosecutor in D.C. she will take on violence in the city that President Donald Trump has called unsafe and dangerous.

“Violence will be addressed directly with the appropriate punishment, and this city will again become a shining city on the hill in an America that President Trump has promised to make great again and will make safe again,” Pirro, a Trump ally, said in the Oval Office.

Trump said he has confidence in Pirro to improve safety in D.C.

“Jeanine Pirro, I have no doubt will be an exceptional U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, one of the truly most important positions in our country of any position, where she will restore public safety in our nation’s capital, break up vicious street gangs and criminal networks, and ensure equal justice under the law. You’ll see very, very big improvements in the D.C. area, that I can promise you,” the president said.

Trump signed the “Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful” executive order in March, which establishes a task force to help improve safety in the nation’s capital. The order has been criticized as micromanaging D.C., with Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton saying it’s “insulting to the 700,000 D.C. residents.”

Earlier this month, Trump tapped Pirro — who most recently hosted Fox News’ “The Five” — for the job after controversy around his previous pick, Ed Martin.

Martin, who had served as D.C.’s interim top prosecutor, lost GOP support for the job. Martin’s past, specifically his defense of Jan. 6 rioters and inflammatory rhetoric around the Capitol attack, plagued his nomination.

Pirro faced her first test as the top federal prosecutor in D.C. last week when she spoke about the response to the deadly shooting of two Israeli Embassy staffers. She addressed the shooting on Wednesday, saying hatred would not be tolerated under her watch.

“Just last week, here in our nation’s capital, two people on the brink of beginning their life had hopes and dreams that were never realized because a cold-blooded murderer made a decision to shoot them down on the streets on a cold, rainy night in our nation’s capital. This will not go without just accounting,” Pirro said. “My voice should be heard loud and clear. No more. No more tolerance of hatred, no more mercy for criminals.”

Pirro marks the latest Fox News personality to join the ranks of the Trump administration. Some of the most notable Fox News alumni appointed in Trump’s second administration include Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who hosted “Fox & Friends Weekend,” and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, who hosted “Unfiltered With Dan Bongino” before he left the network in 2023.

Pirro has been a longtime ally of Trump, dating back to her time as a prominent prosecutor in New York. She was an early supporter of his 2016 campaign and publicly defended him during the “Access Hollywood” tape scandal.

One of Trump’s final acts before leaving office in 2021 was issuing a last-minute pardon to Pirro’s ex-husband, a longtime GOP donor.

With less than an hour before his term ended, Trump granted one final pardon to Albert Pirro, who was convicted more than two decades ago on 34 counts of conspiracy and tax evasion after he was found to have improperly deducted over $1 million in lavish personal expenses in tax write-offs for his businesses.

ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and Will Steakin contributed to this report.

May 28, 2025

World news

Russia says Trump ‘does not fully understand’ after criticism of Putin

Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images

(LONDON) — A top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that President Donald Trump “is not getting enough information” about Moscow’s war on Ukraine, after Trump criticized Putin for his apparent reluctance to pursue a peace deal and warned that the Kremlin was “playing with fire.”

“There is a lot that Trump says, we read it all, track it, but in many ways we come to the conclusion that Trump is not getting enough information about what is really happening in the context of the Ukrainian-Russian confrontation,” Yuri Ushakov said in an interview with Russian propagandist Pavel Zarubin published on Wednesday.

“In particular, he is not being informed enough about what massive terrorist attacks are being carried out by Ukraine against peaceful Russian cities,” Ushakov said. “Trump only knows what countermeasures we are taking, and he does not fully understand that we are attacking military institutions or military industrial complexes.”

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that he was “disappointed” by Russia’s barrage of strikes in recent days.

Asked if he believed the Russians are being disrespectful and if Putin actually wants to end the war, Trump responded, “I can’t tell you that. But I’ll let you know in about two weeks.”

“Within two weeks. We’re going to find out very soon,” he continued. “We’re going to find out whether or not he’s tapping us along or not. And if he is, we’ll respond a little bit differently. But it will take about a week and a half, two weeks.”

He said he hasn’t imposed new sanctions on Russia because “I think I’m close to getting a deal.”

“I don’t want to screw it up by doing that,” he said. “This isn’t my war. This is Biden’s war, Zelenskyy’s war and Putin’s war. This isn’t Trump’s war. I’m only here for one thing to see if I can end it.”

The comments came after hundreds of Ukrainian drones crossed into Russia overnight into Wednesday morning, dozens of which targeted Moscow and again caused disruption to flights in and out of the capital, according to officials there.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 296 Ukrainian drones over 12 regions — including the capital Moscow — during the latest round of long-range strikes.

Moscow Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said on Telegram that at least 42 drones were downed over the region. Vorobyov reported damage to three homes in the town of Chekhov around 40 miles south of the capital.

Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport — one of four international airports in the capital — also warned travelers of delays due to flight restrictions imposed during the latest drone attack. Recent weeks have seen regular disruptions to Moscow’s airports during such strikes.

Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the Counter-Disinformation Center operating as part of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said on Telegram there were “some pretty good hits” during Tuesday night’s attack.

Among the targets were the Dubna Machine-Building Plant — involved in the production of aviation, missile and drone technology, Kovalenko said — in the city of Dubna, around 70 miles north of Moscow.

Kovalenko said the Technopark ELMA-Zelenograd facility — which hosts the development of microelectronics, IT, robotics and medical equipment — was also targeted. The facility “is one of the centers where import substitution of critical components previously imported from the West takes place,” Kovalenko said.

ABC News could not immediately verify Kovalenko’s claim of successful strikes on the facilities.

Russia continued its own long-range attacks on Ukraine overnight. Ukraine’s air force said Moscow launched six missiles and 88 strike drones into the country, of which 71 drones were shot down or otherwise neutralized. The air force said it recorded impacts in eight locations.

The intensity of strikes by both sides has only increased since Trump’s return to office in January, the president having promised to end Russia’s war on its neighbor in 24 hours. Trump has not delivered on that promise, and his frustration appears to have been building in recent weeks with the continued failure of U.S.-led ceasefire efforts.

Trump called Putin “absolutely crazy” in a Sunday social media post, then on Tuesday said Putin doesn’t realize “that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire!”

The U.S. and Ukraine are now waiting for Russia to deliver its peace memorandum — a document promised by Putin to Trump during a phone call between the two leaders earlier this month.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that Russia is ready to present its memorandum to Ukraine and proposed holding a second round of talks with Kyiv in Istanbul on June 2.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier Wednesday floated the idea of a trilateral meeting with Putin and Trump.

“If Putin is uncomfortable with a bilateral meeting, or if everyone wants it to be a trilateral meeting — I don’t care. I’m ready for any format,” he said.

Trump, meanwhile, said Wednesday he would sit down with Putin and Zelenskyy “if it’s necessary.”

“At this point, we’re working on President Putin, and we’ll see where we are,” he told reporters.

Zelenskyy has cast doubt on the Russian proposal. “They’ve already spent over a week on this,” he wrote on social media on Tuesday. “They talk a lot about diplomacy. But when, in the midst of all that, there are constant Russian strikes, constant killings, relentless assaults, and even preparations for new offensives.”

On Wednesday, Andriy Yermak — the head of Zelenskyy’s presidential office — wrote on Telegram, “Russians are masters of empty words.”

May 28, 2025

Health

Another COVID-19 variant is rising abroad. Doctors say there’s no need to panic

STOCK IMAGE/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Cases of the new COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1, a descendent of the Omicron variant, are on the rise in some parts of the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Currently, there are not enough cases in the United States to register in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID variant tracker.

Symptoms appear to be similar to other variants of COVID-19 and the public health risk remains low, WHO information shows.

The earliest sample of the NB.1.8.1 variant was collected on Jan. 22 and it was designated a variant under monitoring — which may require prioritized attention and monitoring — on May 23 by the WHO.

Since the omicron variant was detected in 2021, new cases of COVID have been dominated by hundreds of its descendent subvariants, though none have led to the rise in cases once seen during the peak of the pandemic.

As of May 18, there were 518 NB.1.8.1 cases detected from 22 countries, according to WHO. While still only comprising 10.7% of the global cases at the end of April, this is a significant rise from 2.5% four weeks prior.

“Remember, we’ve seen summer surges. One thing that COVID has done is it’s been able to surge in the summer, and it’s been able to surge in the winter, and that’s very different than respiratory viruses we’ve dealt with in the past. But we still don’t know if this is going to be the virus that leads to a summer surge, it’s just too early to know,” Dr. Todd Ellerin, chief of infectious diseases at South Shore Health, told ABC News.

While there are increases in reported cases and hospitalizations in some of the countries with the highest proportion of NB.1.8.1 circulating, there are no reports to suggest that disease severity is higher in this latest variant than other circulating variants of the virus.

“With each new variant, what we’ve seen is severity doesn’t really change so far, we’re not seeing it have more severe complications,” said John Brownstein, chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and ABC News contributor. “What we know is that when a virus is more transmissible, it will ultimately infect more people and when you infect more people … you’ll have more cases of severe illness, hospitalization, and unfortunately death. “

Data from China and elsewhere doesn’t seem to show anything unique about the variant other than increased transmissibility, Brownstein added.

Some of the variant’s mutations found on the surface proteins of the virus could increase its transmissibility and potentially make it somewhat harder to treat compared to current variants in wide circulation, according to the WHO.

Approved COVID-19 vaccines are expected to remain effective against this variant, according to the WHO.

“This is the natural path we’ve seen with every variant, and so the guidance doesn’t really change at the end of the day,” Brownstein said. “It’s making sure people are up to date with their vaccines and boosters … and then of course, those that are immunocompromised or in high-risk groups may want to layer in other types of interventions like masking or being careful about large group settings where there could be increased risk of transmission.”

Niki Iranpour, MD, is an internal medicine resident at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.

May 28, 2025

Politics

FEMA denies North Carolina request for 100% cost-sharing of Hurricane Helene relief

Allison Joyce/Getty Images, FILE

(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency denied North Carolina’s request for the agency to match 100% of the state funds for Helene cleanup, according to a letter sent from the acting FEMA administrator to the governor of North Carolina.

“After a careful and thorough review of all the information available, including that contained in your initial request for a cost share adjustment and appeal, we have concluded that an extension of the 100 percent federal cost share for debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance for an additional 180 days under major disaster declaration FEMA-4827-DR is not warranted,” acting Administrator David Richardson wrote in the letter.

The cost-sharing request comes from a Biden administration directive to match 100% of the funds that the state puts in to share costs of the disaster cleanup after Hurricane Helene devastated the state as a Category 4 storm in September 2024.

Over 230 people were killed by the storm, with at least 72 in Buncombe County, North Carolina, alone, amid record flooding throughout western North Carolina

Traditionally, there is a cost-sharing model with a 75% federal absorption of costs to 25% for states, but that was changed under the Biden administration to match the costs 100%.

It is unclear how FEMA would split costs between states and the federal government for future disaster relief.

In a statement, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein said the denial will cost state residents “hundreds of millions of dollars.”

“The money we have to pay toward debris removal will mean less money towards supporting our small businesses, rebuilding downtown infrastructure, repairing our water and sewer systems and other critical needs,” he said.

The funding debate is occurring as the Department of Homeland Security weighs how to eliminate the agency while still giving states funding for disasters.

At the center of the plan is Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who has personally weighed how to cut the agency.

“The president has indicated he wants to eliminate FEMA as it exists today and to have states have more control over their emergency management response,” Noem said on May 8, adding that the agency has “failed” in its mission and should be eliminated or downsized. “He wants to empower local governments and support them and how they respond to their people,”

FEMA has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment.

Still, an internal review of FEMA this month indicated the agency is “not ready” for the 2025 hurricane season.

“As FEMA transforms to a smaller footprint, the intent for this hurricane season is not well understood, thus FEMA is not ready,” the review said, citing staffing limitations, hiring and a lack of coordination with states as the Trump administration attempts to reorganize and diminish FEMA.

The decision comes as the United States anticipates above-average hurricane activity on the Atlantic coast this year, with between 13 and 19 named storms expected.

May 28, 2025

Entertainment

Busy woman? Sabrina Carpenter eyed for role in third ‘Mamma Mia!’ movie

Jim Dyson/Redferns

Mamma Mia, here we go again: The third film in the beloved series based around ABBA songs is currently in development, and producer Judy Craymer tells Deadline that Sabrina Carpenter is being considered for a role.

Asked which role Sabrina would play, Craymer says, “She’d be a goddess or some relation who would look very much like Meryl Streep.” Craymer adds, “It’ll happen when it happens.”

Considering that Sabrina has covered ABBA’s songs “Mamma Mia” and “Dancing Queen” in concert, perhaps it’s not a stretch to imagine her in the movie. Obviously Sabrina’s a fan, but Craymer also believes that “Dua Lipa‘s and even Pink‘s generation” have also been influenced by ABBA’s music.

While she’s been focusing on her music career lately, Sabrina is also an actress. Her most recent movies, Tall Girl 2 and Emergency, both came out in 2022.

Craymer also says that Streep’s character, Donna, will indeed make an appearance in the new film, but she won’t divulge details of the script.

Meanwhile, Mamma Mia!, the musical that inspired the films, is returning to Broadway for a limited engagement starting Aug. 2. According to Deadline, a TV show based on the movies is also being discussed.

May 28, 2025

National

Alleged jet ski driver booked on manslaughter in hit-and-run that killed Air Force Academy cadet candidate

Grapevine Police Department

(GRAPEVINE, Texas) — The alleged driver of a jet ski that fatally collided with a U.S. Air Force Academy cadet candidate while she was kayaking has been booked for manslaughter in the “tragic, unnecessary death,” authorities said Wednesday.

Ava Moore, 18, was killed in a jet ski hit-and-run while kayaking on Grapevine Lake in north Texas on Sunday evening, authorities said. The jet ski was traveling at a high rate of speed at the time, according to Texas Game Warden Capt. Joseph Quintero.

The suspected operator of the jet ski — 21-year-old Daikerlyn Alejandra Gonzalez Gonzalez — fled the scene in a vehicle with Maikel Coello Perozo, also 21, authorities said. As they left, the vehicle collided with two other vehicles, Quintero said.

Following a search for the suspects, both Gonzalez and Perozo were arrested on Tuesday, Quintero said, crediting “good hard detective work” and tips from the public with leading investigators to a home in Dallas where the two were located.

Gonzalez has been booked on felony manslaughter charges in Moore’s death, which is being investigated by the Texas Game Wardens, Quintero said. Perozo was charged with collision involving damage to a vehicle and hindering apprehension, both misdemeanors, Quintero said. The automotive hit-and-run is being investigated by the Grapevine Police Department.

More charges could be filed amid the ongoing investigation, Quintero said.

“The tragic, unnecessary death of anybody on the public waters of the state of Texas is something that we’re always fighting to try to deter and stop from happening, and this is a great example of that,” Quintero said during a press briefing on Wednesday.

“It is a tragic, tragic situation, and I hope that people will take this and use this opportunity to not only remember Miss Moore, but also to remember to be safe on the public waters,” he added.

Quintero said investigators are looking into whether there was proper permitting to operate the jet ski and if alcohol was a factor. They are also reviewing footage from the scene.

A female passenger on the jet ski who remained on shore after the collision has not been charged at this time, Quintero said.

The nature of the relationship between Gonzalez and Perozo is unclear at this time, Quintero said. Both are undocumented Venezuelan nationals, according to Joshua Johnson, the acting field office director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Dallas.

“It’s my understanding both individuals crossed the southern border in 2023 or 2024,” Johnson said at the press briefing. “They were arrested at the time of entry, processed for a notice to appear, and then released on their own recognizance.”

ICE has lodged immigration detainers for both and once the state case is complete, they will take custody of them and proceed with the immigration process, Johnson said.

Moore had just graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School on May 19 and had accepted an appointment to join the academy as a member of the class of 2029, according to the school.

Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind remembered her as an “exemplary teammate.”

“We lost an exemplary teammate this weekend — Cadet Candidate Ava Moore, whose passion for leadership and service left an impact on everyone she met,” Bauernfeind said in a statement. “Ava’s constant happiness and attitude helped her squadron get through the challenges of the Prep School, and her drive to excel was on display as she sought out leadership positions to improve herself and her team.”

Moore’s family expressed thanks for the messages of love, support and prayers they’ve received in a statement read on their behalf during Wednesday’s briefing.

“This is a difficult time for all involved, but also an opportunity for our beautiful girl to continue to impact our community,” her family said. “Out of this tragedy, God will make good, and that only can be accomplished through forgiveness.”

May 28, 2025

Politics

Trump swears in Jeanine Pirro as top prosecutor in DC

John Lamparski/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is swearing in Jeanine Pirro as the interim U.S. attorney for D.C. during a ceremony in the Oval Office Wednesday afternoon — making her the latest Fox News host appointed by Trump.

Earlier this month, Trump tapped Pirro — a former judge and prosecutor who most recently hosted Fox News’ “The Five” — for the job after controversy around his previous pick, Ed Martin.

Pirro, a Trump ally, faced her first test as the top federal prosecutor in Washington last week when she spoke about the response to the deadly shooting of two Israeli Embassy staffers.

During a news conference, Pirro said her office is investigating the case as a hate crime and act of terrorism.

“A young couple at the beginning of their life’s journey, about to be engaged in another country, had their bodies removed in the cold of the night in a foreign city in a body bag. We are not going to tolerate that anymore,” Pirro said during a press briefing last Thursday. “Antisemitism will not be tolerated, especially in the nation’s capital.”

One of Trump’s final acts before leaving office in 2021 was issuing a last-minute pardon to Pirro’s ex-husband, a longtime GOP donor.

ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and Will Steakin contributed to this report.

May 28, 2025

National

‘Evil man’: Search continues for ex-police chief who escaped Arkansas prison

Stone County Arkansas Sheriff’s Office

(STONE COUNTY, Ark.) — The manhunt continues for Grant Hardin, the escaped former Arkansas police chief serving a 30-year sentence for murder and rape, as officials enter their fourth day of search efforts.

Grant Hardin, 56, who has been in prison since 2017 for first-degree murder and rape, escaped the Calico Rock North Central Unit on Sunday at approximately 2:50 p.m., the Stone County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Hardin escaped custody through a sally port by impersonating a corrections officer “in dress and manner,” which caused another corrections officer “operating a secure gate to open the gate and allow Hardin to walk away from the North Central Unit,” according to an affidavit obtained by ABC News.

Surveillance footage shows Hardin pulling a cart, which was found abandoned outside the gates of the prison.

Hardin remains at large on Wednesday.

Officials said citizens in Izard County and surrounding counties should “stay vigilant, lock your house and vehicle doors and report any suspicious activity by calling 911 immediately,” according to the Izard County Sheriff’s Office.

The U.S. Marshals and Eastern Arkansas Fugitive Task Force are also assisting in the search efforts, a spokesperson for the U.S. Marshals said on Tuesday.

“I am very scared that this guy is going to hurt or kill somebody before this is over with,” Stone County Sheriff Brandon Long told ABC News.

Hardin, who was the former police chief of Gateway, Arkansas, worked in the prison kitchen, according to a spokesperson from the department of corrections, but it is unclear whether this job involved any access to the sally port he used to escape. He has had no significant disciplinary issues during his time at the prison, and there is no reason to believe anyone aided him in this escape, officials said.

Nathan Smith, the former Benton County prosecutor who helped put Hardin behind bars, told Arkansas ABC affiliate KHBS the escaped inmate is “a sociopath.”

“He has no moral core or center that would prevent him from doing anything,” Smith told KHBS.

Hardin is “considered to be extremely dangerous and should not be approached,” officials said.

Authorities are using helicopters, drones, K9 officers and ATVs in their search for Hardin. Rugged terrain, densely wooded areas, hills and days of rain have been “hindering the ongoing search,” a spokesperson with the department of corrections said. Deputies are continuing to monitor the roadways near the prison and are conducting security checkpoints in the area, officials said.

Hardin pleaded guilty in October 2017 to first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of 59-year-old James Appleton, according to The Associated Press.

He was also convicted of the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher in Rogers, Arkansas, a crime highlighted in the 2023 television documentary “Devil in the Ozarks.”

Cheryl Tillman, the mayor of Gateway, Arkansas, and Appleton’s sister, told KHBS that Hardin is “an evil man” and said his escape is “almost like déjà vu all over again.”

Hardin is described as 6 feet tall and weighing 259 pounds.

Authorities said anyone with information regarding his whereabouts should contact local law enforcement immediately.

May 28, 2025

Entertainment

Barbara Walters shares flirtatious moment with Clint Eastwood in ‘Tell Me Everything’ trailer

ABC/Hulu

Viewers will get to see a candid look at the legendary broadcast career of Barbara Walters in an upcoming docuseries.

Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything will begin streaming June 23 on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.

The trailer for the docuseries debuted Wednesday on Good Morning America. It takes viewers back to some of the longtime ABC News anchor and correspondent’s biggest interviews, from now-President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the Kardashian sisters, Taylor Swift and the Menendez brothers.

“She asked the question that nobody else had asked. And asked it in a way that always hit a nerve,” Oprah Winfrey says of Walters in the trailer.

One resurfaced clip making headlines is Walters’ interview with actor and director Clint Eastwood.

In the interview clip shown in the trailer, Eastwood and Walters share a flirtatious moment that causes Walters to jokingly call for a break in the interview.

After Eastwood tells Walters he is not one to share emotions easily, Walters responded to the Hollywood superstar by saying, “You would drive me nuts and I would drive you crazy because I would be saying, ‘But, you know.'”

Eastwood, sitting close to Walters at a picnic table in a field of wild flowers, then tells her, “Well we could try it and see if it worked out.”

After a quick laugh and a second of silence, Walters looks off-camera and says, “I think we’ll stop and reload.”

Discussing the interview clip on GMA Wednesday, co-anchor George Stephanopoulos noted, “That’s the only time I’ve ever seen Barbara Walters blush.”

Walters joined ABC News in 1976, becoming the first female anchor on an evening news program. Three years later, she became a co-host of 20/20, and in 1997, she launched The View.

She died in 2022 at the age of 93.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News and Hulu.

May 28, 2025

National

Arrest made in Connecticut mall shooting that injured 5: Police

(WATERBURY, Conn.) — A 19-year-old man has been arrested and identified as the alleged gunman who shot five people at a Connecticut shopping center on Tuesday, police said.

During a news conference Wednesday morning outside the Brass Mill Center mall in Waterbury, where the shooting erupted, Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo announced the arrest of Tajuan Washington.

Spagnolo said Washington of Waterbury was captured on security video running out of an exit at the shopping center following the shooting. He has been charged with five counts of first-degree assault and a number of weapons violations, Spagnolo said.

Washington, 19, is being held on $2 million bond and is expected to make his first court appearance sometime Wednesday, Spagnolo said.

“We’re confident that we have the person responsible for this,” Spagnolo said.

Officers responded to the Brass Mill Center around 4:40 p.m. following reports of a “disturbance” and found what Spagnolo described as “a chaotic scene.”

“First responding officers found five people that were wounded by gunfire. They weren’t quite sure if there was an active shooter still on scene,” Spagnolo said.

He said that after reviewing security video from the mall, police were able to identify the suspect fleeing out an exit of a JCPenney store.

Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski said at Wednesday’s news conference that three of the five shooting victims were treated and released from hospitals. He said two victims remain hospitalized in stable condition.

“The most seriously injured was a young lady who was hit in the spine, but she does not have some feeling in her extremities and will be doing some rehab,” Pernerewski said. “Hopefully, she will not find herself paralyzed.”

Spagnolo said Washington was initially identified as a person of interest in the shooting by detectives and taken into police custody Tuesday evening.

The shooting was not a random act of violence, Spagnolo said during a press briefing Tuesday night, adding, “We believe this started as a conflict and it escalated.”

Police believe the suspect and victims knew each other. A semi-automatic pistol was used in the shooting, the chief said.

On Wednesday morning, Spagnolo said detectives are still searching for the weapon.

State police and federal agencies assisted in the investigation, including clearing the mall and collecting digital evidence, the chief said.

May 28, 2025