This video — which was given to investigators, who are now reviewing it — shows the plane reach the ground, erupt in flames, bounce on the runway and then overturn.
The aircraft came to a stop upside-down on the snow covered Toronto runway.
The 76 passengers and four crew evacuated the plane, which originated in Minneapolis.
Everyone survived, but at least 21 people were taken to hospitals. As of Tuesday morning, 19 have been released, according to Delta.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is leading the investigation. Investigators from the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are assisting.
The CRJ 900 aircraft was operated by Endeavor Air.
“Our most pressing priority remains taking care of all customers and Endeavor crew members who were involved,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said. “We’ll do everything we can to support them and their families in the days ahead, and I know the hearts, thoughts and prayers of the entire Delta community are with them. We are grateful for all the first responders and medical teams who have been caring for them.”
(WASHINGTON) — While President Donald Trump’s comments about wanting to “clean out” Gaza and forcibly displace its nearly 2 million Palestinians have stirred outrage and accusations of ethnic cleansing among U.S. allies and international law experts, some members of the Arab American community still believe he was a better choice than Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I don’t regret having supported the president. He promised us an end to the war, and he was able to get a ceasefire for us in Gaza, and for that we are grateful. Imagine how many hundreds of Palestinians we’ve been able to save because of the ceasefire,” Bishara Bahbah, the chairman for Arab Americans for Peace told ABC News.
The Biden-Harris administration faced criticism from the Arab American community due to its perceived unconditional support for Israel in its war on Gaza. More than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killed 1,200 people and hundreds more were taken captive.
“President Biden was asleep at the wheel, ignoring our our pleas with him. So we decided to tell President Biden that because you have ignored us, we are going to punish you at the polls, and that’s one of the major reasons why we decided to establish Arab Americans for Trump,” Bahbah said.
Many prominent Arab-American advocacy groups and community leaders threw their support behind Trump or Green Party candidate Jill Stein due to the Biden administration’s stance on Gaza.
“For many people, this was very painful. This was not an easy choice, because they were looking at what was going on in Gaza, it was very hard for them to support President Biden,” and later Vice President Harris, James Zoghby, the cofounder of the Arab American Institute, a political and policy organization that did not support Trump, told ABC News.
Now, with Trump proposing the forcible displacement of Palestinians, and attempting to pressure Egypt and Jordan to take in Palestinians from Gaza — by threatening to cut billions in aid — some groups have maintained their support of Trump and are waiting to see what actions he takes and are maintaining their opposition to Harris and Biden.
“These were grotesque comments. They’re unacceptable comments, they’re absolutely horrific comments. But you know, at the end of the day, when you put them on a scale, they’re comments. It’s rhetoric, and I don’t feel it is appropriate, nor is it honest to sit here and conflate it with the actions of the Biden-Harris administration, or to try and use that rhetoric to use it as a ‘gotcha’ moment to people who voted against the Biden-Harris administration,” Hudhayfah Ahmad, the head of media for the Abandon Harris campaign, told ABC News.
The Abandon Harris campaign, which started as the Abandon Biden campaign, gave both Democratic Party candidates an ultimatum, asking for them to call for an unconditional ceasefire or lose the group’s support. Biden and Harris did not meet the deadline set by the group to call for a ceasefire, according to Ahmad.
The Trump campaign was able to garner support from the Muslim American community largely in the last four weeks before the election by making public calls for a ceasefire and vowing to make it happen, Ahmad said.
“There was never really any support before that,” Ahmad said.
“A considerable chunk of people who had previously committed to voting third party, said that I’m going to vote the Trump-Vance ticket at the top of the ticket, and I’ll vote Green Party down ballot. I heard this from multiple people in multiple swing states,” Ahmad said.
But some community leaders felt that despite the actions of the Biden Administration in Gaza, Trump would be worse.
“I was very much opposed to the hucksters who were trying to sell Jill Stein and to the folks who supported Donald Trump. It was a really not just a bad call, it was a dangerous call. And I felt that despite the insult, despite the hurt, we had a responsibility to think big. [Biden and Harris] were at fault for making our job more difficult,” Zoghby said.
“The pain that we knew would occur if Donald Trump got back into the White House was too great to too many people,” Zoghby said. “Even though [Biden and Harris] didn’t give us what we needed, we still had to recognize that letting Donald Trump back into the White House was was going to be a disaster.”
Arab Americans for Peace — an advocacy group formerly called Arab Americans for Trump — changed its name this month after hearing some of Trump’s rhetoric surrounding the displacement of Palestinians, but a leader told ABC News they have not yet withdrawn their support for Trump.
“Our objective from the very beginning for supporting Trump was peace. We were telling the Biden administration continuously to stop its aid to the Israelis because the Israelis are committing genocide with the arms that are provided by the United States and Western Europe,” Bahbah said.
“The change of the name does not mean that we are withdrawing our support for President Trump. It just means that we are going back to the root cause of our very existence, which is the promotion of peace in the Middle East,” Bahbah said.
Even community leaders who did not support Trump as a candidate argued that he secured a ceasefire.
“Trump did this ceasefire solely for his own self interest and self image and self benefit. Nothing humanitarian about it at all,” Ahmad said.
“It’s hard to say that anyone feels regret [for supporting Trump] when you take into consideration that we are no longer seeing a daily influx of videos and pictures of children, men, women, elderly, being butchered with U.S. weaponry. That has stopped completely,” Ahmad said.
Despite some holding onto support for Trump, his comments on forcibly displacing Palestinians drew sharp criticism from Arab Americans.
“We are totally opposed to the idea of displacing Palestinians out of Gaza. Gaza belongs to the Palestinians, and it is not for anyone in the world to tell the Palestinians to leave that territory,” Bahbah said.
“Like my father, Palestinians are prepared to die on their homeland. And will not immigrate or be forced out of their homeland,” Bahbah said.
“There’s time to wait and see how things will evolve before I can say ‘I am really angry with the president, and I no longer supporting him.’ That is not the case right now, because it’s just the beginning of that process. But I also believe that the coming four years are going to be critical for the Israel-Arab conflict,” Bahbah said.
He said Arab Americans for Peace decided to support Trump because he promised to end the war in Gaza and ensure lasting peace in the Middle East.
He believes Trump’s pressure on Netanyahu stopped the war in Gaza.
But Bahbah said he believes Trump’s recent comments on Gaza are providing Israel cover to “destroy” the West Bank, drawing attention away from what is happening there.
Other leaders in the Arab community strongly disagreed with Trump’s comments on Gaza, and are skeptical of the motivations behind Trump’s comments on wanting to forcibly displace Palestinians.
“I think the purpose is to provide Netanyahu the cover to end this ceasefire after phase one and secure the hostages and go no further. Because I don’t think Trump is interested at all in seeing this through on the terms that were negotiated — which ultimately requires a full Israeli withdrawal and the reconstruction,” Zoghby said.
Netanyahu has faced criticism for not laying out a plan for what happens in Gaza after the war is over. The ceasefire agreement requires a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, but remains unclear if the ceasefire will reach its final stages.
“I could get as indignant as everybody else about [Trump’s comments] and it being illegal, but there’s so much in that involves Israel’s behavior toward Palestinians — and the U.S.’s enablement of Israel doing it — that is illegal, immoral,” Zoghby said.
Now they are awaiting on Trump to deliver lasting peace, Bahbah said.
“We continue to insist and be a voice of reason, telling the president what we want as an Arab American community, and that is lasting peace in the Middle East based on a two state solution, keeping in mind that what brought us to this point is the Biden-Harris administration by allowing Israel to literally destroy the Gaza Strip,” Bahbah said.
But support for Trump is conditional on what actions he takes, some activists say.
“We are not beholden to anybody or to any party. We will support whomever we think will end the wars and provide a permanent resolution to the Arab Israeli conflict and peace in the Middle East,” Bahbah said.
The group Abandon Harris plans to throw its support behind third-party candidates in the future, Ahmad said.
“Our movement is solely structured behind morals, values, principles — not parties, not individuals, not candidates,” Ahmad said.
(NEW YORK) — The death toll in Kentucky has risen to 14 from a devastating storm that battered the state this weekend as residents brace for up to 6 inches of snow from a new storm.
“This isn’t just a number — these are Kentuckians who will be missed by their families and loved ones,” Gov. Andy Beshear said on social media. “Please pray for our commonwealth and our neighbors who have lost people they love.”
Over 1,000 people have been rescued across the state, the governor said. In Louisville, crews have conducted over 30 rescues in the flash flooding, Mayor Craig Greenberg said.
One storm-related death was also reported in Georgia.
The storm dumped over 8 inches of rain in Kentucky and Tennessee, and 5 inches of rain in Virginia.
Next storm At least 25 states from Montana to Texas to Delaware are now under snow and ice alerts as a new storm moves east.
On Tuesday, heavy snow is falling in Kansas and Missouri while an ice and snow mix is falling as far south as Oklahoma and Texas.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, could get up to 2 inches of a sleet and snow mix while Little Rock, Arkansas, could get up to 3 inches of ice and snow.
A freezing drizzle might reach the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area Tuesday evening.
On Tuesday night, the winter storm will spread to Kentucky and Tennessee, where residents are still recovering from this weekend’s devastating flooding.
Louisville could see up to 6 inches of snow while Memphis and Nashville could see 1 to 4 inches of snow.
By Wednesday morning, the storm will move into the Appalachians and the East Coast. Winter storm alerts were issued in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Norfolk, Virginia, where 1 to 6 inches of snow and ice could fall on Wednesday.
The storm will spare the busy Interstate 95 corridor. Light snow is possible in D.C. on Wednesday but no major accumulation is expected.
Record cold Dozens of record low temperatures are forecast this week from the Plains to the South.
Temperatures fell to the negative 30s Tuesday morning in the northern Plains.
The wind chill — what temperature it feels like — could plunge to as low as the minus 50s or 60s in the Heartland.
Later this week, the cold air will move south.
By Thursday morning, Dallas could reach a record low temperature of 15 degrees and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, could fall to 25 degrees.
Five people have been arrested and charged with murder after the body of a missing transgender man was discovered dumped in an upstate New York field.
The remains of the victim, identified as 24-year-old Sam Nordquist of Minnesota, were found last week in a field in Benton, New York, in Yates County, according to Capt. Kelly Swift, a New York State Police investigator.
Swift said investigators suspect Nordquist was tortured and killed in neighboring Ontario County and moved “in an attempt to conceal a crime.”
“Based on evidence and witness statements, we have determined that Sam endured prolonged physical and psychological abuse at the hands of multiple individuals,” Swift said Friday during a news conference.
“In my 20-year law enforcement career, this is one of the most horrific crimes I have ever investigated,” Swift added. “My thoughts are with Sam’s family during this time.”
The suspects arrested in the case were identified by Swift as Precious Arzuaga, 38, of Canandaigua, New York; Jennifer Quijano, 30, of Geneva, New York; Kyle Sage, 33, of Rochester, New York; Patrick Goodwin, 30, also of Canandaigua, and Emily Motyka, 19, of Lima, New York.
Ontario County District Attorney James Ritts said all five suspects have all been charged with second-degree murder under the state’s depraved indifference statute. He said the suspects have been arraigned and are being held at the Ontario County Jail without bail.
When asked whether hate crime charges are being pursued in the case, Swift said, “We haven’t ruled that out.”
It was unclear if the suspects had hired or were appointed attorneys to represent them.
“The facts and the circumstances of this crime are beyond depraved,” Ritts said Friday during the press conference. “This is by far the worst homicide investigation that our office has ever been part of. No human being should have to endure what Sam endured.”
Nordquist’s family filed a missing person report with the Canandaigua Police Department on Feb. 9, after last hearing from Nordquist on Jan. 1, according to a missing person flyer issued by the Missing People in America organization.
According to the flyer, Nordquist’s family said he left Minnesota on Sept. 28, 2024, with a round-trip plane ticket to New York. The family, according to the flyer, alleged that he met a woman online who convinced him to visit her.
The family, according to the flyer, claimed Nordquist was planning to fly back to Minnesota within two weeks, but never boarded his return flight.
“I don’t understand why someone would do that to another person,” Kayla Nordquist, Sam’s sister, told Saint Paul, Minnesota, ABC affiliate KSTP. “Sam was amazing and would give the shirt of his back to anyone.”
When asked Friday about the flyer, Swift declined to comment.
Swift would not disclose details of the abuse, saying the investigation is in its early stages. However, she said, Nordquist was “subjected to repeated acts of violence and torture in a manner that ultimately led to his death.”
A criminal complaint obtained by Rochester, New York, ABC affiliate WHAM alleged that the suspects sexually assaulted Nordquist with a “table leg and broomstick.” The complaint alleges that the suspects subjected Nordquist to “prolonged beatings by punching, kicking and striking [Nordquist] with numerous objects, including but not limited to sticks, dog toys, rope, bottles, belts, canes and wooden boards.”
According to the complaint, the torture allegedly took place in room 22 at Patty’s Lodge in Hopewell, New York, in Ontario County between Jan. 1 and Feb. 2.
Swift said investigators executed a search warrant at the hotel on Thursday, specifically searching room 22 for evidence.
Neither Swift nor Ritts would comment on the relationship between Nordquist and the suspects.
Swift said more arrests were possible and asked anyone with information about the crime to contact state police investigators.
Ritts said he anticipates a grand jury will take action in the case “very quickly.”
The next cross-country storm is already underway with snowy weather scattered across the Cascades, Rockies and into the Plains as of Monday morning, with the system forecast to sweep south and east through into Wednesday.
Heavy snow is expected to fall throughout Kansas, southern Missouri and northern Oklahoma on Tuesday morning. By the evening, heavy snowfall is forecast to have spread to northern Arkansas and southern Missouri.
Travel is expected to be significantly affected in those areas — including on interstates — with 6 to 12 inches of snow forecast.
By Wednesday morning, the storm will bring snowfall to Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina. Nashville, Tennessee, could see between 3 and 6 inches of snow.
Virginia is also expected to see snow on Wednesday, with Norfolk and Richmond experiencing as much as 6 inches of snowfall. Washington, D.C. is set to escape the most extreme weather, but may also see a couple of inches of snowfall.
Coming cold snap
The snow flurries will be followed by plunging temperatures, with more than 65 million Americans now under cold weather alerts across 13 states from Texas to Minnesota.
Wind chills in North Dakota could reach 60 below zero, at which frostbite can occur on exposed skin in minutes.
Minneapolis could feel temperatures as low as 42 below zero Monday and Tuesday, with Kansas City feeling like 30 below zero on Thursday morning.
Tulsa could feel like 17 below zero Wednesday and Thursday, with Dallas feeling like 10 below zero.
Numerous daily record low temperatures are possible in this region this week.
More than 110 million Americans are under alerts Sunday for flooding, mudslides and strong winds as dangerous winter weather left tens of thousands without power throughout the South and caused multiple deaths in Kentucky.
Heavy rain continued to produce serious flooding across parts of the Southern United States on Sunday morning, where rapidly rising floodwaters inundated roadways and spurred some evacuations. Meanwhile, snow and sleet made for messy weather in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.
Throughout Saturday and into Sunday, there were numerous flash flood warnings issued across parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and North Carolina.
The impact from flooding in his state is “massive,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Sunday in a statement on X, and there have been hundreds of water rescues and multiple fatalities.
“Evacuations are continuing as this event will continue through today,” Beshear said. “Please be careful if you have to travel.”
More than 300,000 customers spread across Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi and Virginia were without power Sunday morning, according to Poweroutage.us.
In advance of the heavy rainfall and widespread flooding, Beshear issued a state of emergency, saying Saturday that the entire state would be under significant threat through at least Sunday morning.
Parts of western Kentucky and northwestern Tennessee reported receiving 4 to 7 inches of rain Saturday night into Sunday. The area around Clarksville, Tennessee, northwest of Nashville, reported getting around 7.6 inches of rain.
Beshear also said he wrote to President Donald Trump “requesting an emergency disaster declaration for Kentucky due to the severe weather and impacts across our state,” which would release federal funds to aid the response.
The governor said he had also spoken to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the acting director of FEMA.
Serious flooding around Panbowl Lake in Jackson — about 85 miles southeast of Lexington — led to the evacuation of a nursing home and a hospital as precautions.
The Louisville Metro Police Department said its river patrol and diving teams were working with local fire departments to conduct water rescues “throughout the city,” with almost 30 such rescues completed and more expected. Authorities in Simpson County, Kentucky, also reported water rescues.
Areas along the border between Kentucky and Tennessee reported the highest reported rain totals, with between 4 and 7 inches of rain.
In Tennessee, more than 50 residents of a nursing home in Macon County, about 65 miles northeast of Nashville, were evacuated to higher ground after rising water began to approach, according to the Macon County Emergency Medical Services.
Joe Pitts, the mayor of Clarksville, Tennessee, said in a statement that close to 4 inches of rain caused “alarming scenes of flash flooding” in the area. Up to 2 more inches of rain is expected through the day and into Sunday evening, Pitts said.
The National Weather Service extended a flash flood emergency for several counties in West Virginia and in southwestern Virginia until 8 a.m. Sunday, calling the flash flooding an “extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation.”
In the town of Richlands, in southwestern Virginia’s Tazewell County, residents of many areas were encouraged to evacuate, according to the local police department.
“Multiple areas of the town are currently experiencing flooding, with the river expected to rise even higher,” the police department said in a Facebook post on Saturday afternoon. “Residents in previously flooded areas are strongly advised to evacuate at once. Evacuation should not be postponed.”
Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears said National Air guardsmen and soldiers had been deployed to help the response. “Don’t try to outrun a flood or anything,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “Get the higher ground if you need to.”
In West Virginia, Gov. Patrick Morrisey declared a state of emergency in 10 counties. Evacuations were underway in southern West Virginia, with the Blue Stone River experiencing major flooding near Spanishburg.
In areas affected by heavy rain, landslides and rockslides are possible.
Storms with damaging winds and flash flooding were the main threats, but there was also the possibility of tornadoes.
Residents were urged to pay attention to severe weather warnings overnight, as the tornado risk continued into Sunday morning for parts of Georgia. Warnings could be extended east to the Atlantic coastline as the storms progress.
Snow and ice in the Northeast
Meanwhile, snow moved into portions of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic on Saturday afternoon, and conditions were expected to deteriorate.
The snow is expected to change to sleet and rain as this system moves through the Northeast into Sunday.
The switch from snow to sleet and rain will create slushy conditions and hazardous travel.
Snow totals could be topping a foot across parts of central and northern New England and northern New York state. For cities like Hartford and Boston, a slushy 3 to 6 inches is likely before rain falls and compacts the snow.
86 million under wind alerts
High wind alerts are in effect for more than 86 million people across 22 states for Sunday and Monday.
Gusts of up to 60 mph are possible in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic through Sunday night, while gusts of up to 45 mph are possible in the Southeast.
A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Atlanta at 4:30 a.m. on Sunday. Wind gusts at the city’s Mercedes Benz Stadium were recorded up to 71 mph.
More than 215,000 customers were without power in Georgia as of the early hours of Sunday morning.
ABC News’ Victoria Arancio and Josh Richardson contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has sparked concerns within the intelligence community after it posted information about an agency that oversees U.S. intelligence satellites to its newly launched government website.
The DOGE website, updated earlier this week to include information about the federal workforce across agencies, contained details about the headcount and budget for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), an intelligence agency responsible for designing and maintaining U.S. intelligence satellites, according to a review by ABC News.
Multiple intelligence community sources told ABC News that this likely represents a significant breach.
John Cohen, an ABC News contributor and former acting undersecretary for intelligence and analysis at the Department of Homeland Security, said that anytime any details about U.S. citizens working for one of the intel agencies is released, it puts their safety in jeopardy.
A former CIA official who served on classification review boards called the incident a “significant” breach, “particularly if it involves the budget and personnel of the NRO,” adding that “it could be even more significant if it involves declassifying sensitive information under executive authority.”
Mick Mulroy, an ABC News national security and defense analyst and a former CIA officer, said “I do not know whether classified information has been publicly disclosed but there are several reasons that the size, budget, and of course names of those in the intelligence community should not be publicly disclosed.”
“Our adversaries want to collect as much information as they can to determine what we are doing, how we are doing, the extent of our investment in intelligence collection and of course the identity of those involved so the can be targeted for intelligence purposes,” Mulroy said.
HuffPost was first to report the information on DOGE’s website.
The NRO and a spokesperson for DOGE did not respond to requests for comment. The bottom of the DOGE.GOV page states, “Workforce data excludes Military, Postal Service, White House, intelligence agencies, and others.”
(PASSAIC, N.J.) — Amid President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdowns across the United States, immigrant-rich communities have felt the impact of the administration’s policies.
In Passaic, New Jersey, hundreds of immigrant families and community members marched in protest of recent ICE raids and arrests, calling for statewide protection of immigrant rights last weekend.
About 10 miles away in West New York, New Jersey, Elio Barrera, owner of the Salvadorian restaurant La Pupusa Loca, said he is dealing with the fallout from a viral video that falsely claimed an ICE raid happened at a restaurant with their name. Barerra said that it “never happened.”
Barrera said the video garnered roughly 1.4 million views. While the video was removed from the social media platform, he said, “the damage was already done,” causing nearly an 80% drop in customer traffic to his own restaurant, instilling fear in the local immigrant community.
Barrera shared the deep sentimental value the restaurant holds, having taken his first steps there and witnessing generations of families gathering to share meals. His grandparents, who migrated from El Salvador, started the business in 1989, passing down their love for cooking and traditional recipes.
He expressed heartbreak over the impact of misinformation, emphasizing how the video has instilled unnecessary fear in patrons who once felt at home. The restaurant, usually vibrant and full on weekends, has seen a drastic decline in visitors, leading to cutbacks in staff hours and operations.
Barrera told ABC News, “I hope that people are more aware of social media, of what they see on the internet. I want people to not believe everything they see because in this case, I feel like we were all victims of a video like this. It definitely had an impact on everybody. It brought a lot of fear. It was very threatening to see how this video depicted a situation that never existed.”
Despite the challenges, Barrera remains determined to rebuild trust and encourage customers to return, assuring them a raid never happened at their location. He urges people to be more discerning about what they believe online.
He remains steadfast in his commitment to carrying on his grandparents’ legacy, ensuring the restaurant continues to serve as a welcoming space for the community.
“The U.S. […] is made up of migrants, and we all are hard workers,” said Barrera about the immigrant community. “We make so much of this country, and we’re all human. We all have rights.”
ABC News’ Abigail Bowen contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Males detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be housed in units in several federal prisons around the country, according to the memorandum of understanding between the Bureau of Prisons and ICE, obtained exclusively by ABC News.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities that will house ICE detainees are the Federal Detention Center, Miami; Federal Detention Center, Philadelphia; Federal Correctional Institution, Atlanta; and Federal Correctional Institution, Leavenworth in Kansas; and Federal Correctional Institution, Berlin in New Hampshire, according to the memorandum.
BOP will not house female ICE detainees.
“ICE shall only place detainees at institutions designated by the BOP and may not place detainees at institutions without specific authorization by BOP,” according to the agreement.
The agreement, signed on Feb. 6, said that ICE will have at least two officers at every BOP facility that holds ICE detainees and the BOP will have final say on who gets into the facility.
Detainees who are disruptive at facilities will be kicked out of BOP institutions, according to the agreement.
One source who ABC News spoke with said housing ICE detainees has not been BOP’s mission for some time, and suggested the staffing shortage might hinder the Bureau’s ability to care for ICE detainees.
Since his inauguration last month, President Donald Trump has been working to deliver on his campaign promise to crack down on immigration by targeting areas like birthright citizenship and refugee status.
The administration has even used Guantanamo Bay — the military base in Cuba — to house the influx of arrested migrants.
(MISSOURI) — Andrew Lester, the Kansas City man charged with shooting teenager Ralph Yarl in April 2023 after he knocked on the door of the wrong house, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault charges in a 10-minute Missouri court hearing on Friday.
The 86-year-old man had been facing charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of then-16-year-old Yarl, a Black honors student who mistakenly showed up at Lester’s door to pick up his twin brothers.
Second-degree assault, a Class D felony, carries with it the sentencing possibility of one to seven years in prison, Clay County Prosecutor Zach Thompson said at a press conference after Friday’s hearing. The sentencing hearing will happen on March 7, according to Thompson.
Lester, who is white, shot Yarl in the head and right arm, saying he believed someone was trying to break into his house, according to a probable cause statement obtained by ABC News. He initially pleaded not guilty in 2023 and was released on a $200,000 bond.
“Our office has maintained regular and respectful communication with Mr. Yarl and his family, and they support this resolution,” Thompson said Friday.
Thompson was told by a reporter at the news conference that Yarl’s family said they were not satisfied with the outcome of the plea deal, and the county prosecutor said he understood the frustration of the family.
“Based on our communications, both direct and written with Mr. Yarl and his family, we agreed that this would be a just resolution in the case,” Thompson said.
Yarl survived the attack and has since graduated high school, but suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) after the shooting. Yarl’s mother, Cleo Nagbe, previously told ABC News that her son has struggled academically in ways he didn’t prior to the injury.
His family reacted to Friday’s hearing in a statement obtained by ABC News.
“While this marks a step toward accountability, true justice requires consequences that reflect the severity of his actions — anything less would be a failure to recognize the harm he has caused,” they wrote. “We remain hopeful that his sentencing will not be merely a slap on the wrist but a decision that upholds the seriousness of his crime.”
Lester’s attorney Steve Salmon previously argued that his client’s mental and physical capacity was a factor in the case, postponing the initial trial date from Oct. 7 to Feb. 18. Salmon said the retired air mechanic had heart and memory issues, a broken hip and had lost over 50 pounds. In November, the judge ruled that Lester was fit to stand trial after reviewing the results of a mental exam.
Yarl’s family filed a civil lawsuit against Lester and the Highland Acres homeowners association nearly a year after the shooting occurred, claiming little progress has been made in the case and the association failed to administer aid after shots were fired.
ABC News contributor Joanne Haner contributed to this report.
