Harris County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Bureau Major Earl Dean speaks to reporters after a man and his girlfriend were found dead in a murder-suicide after an hours-long standoff with police. (Harris County Sheriff’s Office)
(HOUSTON) — A man and woman were found dead in a Houston apartment after an hours-long standoff with the sheriff’s department, according to officials.
A 20-year-old woman and the 23-year-old suspect were found dead in the apartment, Harris County Sheriff’s Department Patrol Bureau Maj. Earl Dean said at a press conference on Monday.
Deputies received a report of man “frantic” on his phone just before 2 p.m. Monday, saying he “accidentally shot his girlfriend,” Dean said.
At the scene, deputies made contact with the man, who refused to obey their commands and threatened to kill himself. The man then barricaded himself inside the apartment, Dean said.
Deputies contacted additional resources and a SWAT team took over the scene, according to Dean.
After several hours of the crisis negotiation team talking to the man, trying to get him to surrender, the man refused all commands, Dean said.
“At one point we did deploy gas into the apartment complex. The male retreated onto the balcony where he suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Dean said.
“This is very unfortunate,” Dean said.
No deputies discharged their weapons during the incident, according to Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
The circumstances surrounding both deaths remain under investigation. There is no ongoing threat to the public, Gonzalez said.
A protester speaks to the police using a megaphone near the Delaney Hall detention center on May 31, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark has ordered a mandatory curfew surrounding Delaney Hall from 9 PM Saturday until 6 AM Sunday. (Photo by Andres Kudacki/Getty Images)
(NEWARK, N.J.) — New Jersey officials are pursuing legal avenues to get to the bottom of allegations of poor conditions at Delaney Hall in Newark, including threatening to sue to shut down the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility if state health inspectors are not allowed to examine it.
The city of Newark already filed a lawsuit in April 2025 against the GEO Group, the private company contracted by ICE to run the facility, alleging that the company made modifications to Delaney Hall to prepare it for use as a detention facility without required state oversight. However, Mayor Ras Baraka and city leaders said Tuesday that they will expand that litigation to call for the facility’s closure if state health inspectors aren’t given full access.
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and Gov. Mikie Sherrill also announced Tuesday that the state has filed suit against the GEO Group, asking the state superior court to order the company to allow state health inspectors access.
Protests and an alleged hunger strike have been ongoing since May 22 after reports alleged the 300 inmates inside the ICE detention center have been poorly fed, are not receiving proper medical care and are being held in poor conditions.
“If the GEO Group – with a $1 billion government contract – has nothing to hide and the conditions inside Delaney Hall are as safe and as sanitary as this private corporation and the Trump Administration claim, then there is no legitimate reason why my health inspectors are being kept from full access throughout the building,” Sherrill said in a statement Tuesday announcing the state’s suit.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded to the attorney general’s suit with a statement on X Tuesday, calling it “frivolous.”
“ICE is committed to transparency, and Delaney Hall complies with all required state and local laws,” DHS said, in part. “ICE is regularly audited and inspected by external agencies. All detainees are provided with proper meals, quality water, blankets, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers.”
The GEO Group did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment about Baraka’s announcement and the state’s lawsuit.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin has previously said that the reports of the poor conditions are untrue.
Baraka said Tuesday during a news conference outside of Delaney Hall that the alleged conditions inside the detention center were “inhumane” and that action needed to be taken. There was a report that alleged one of the inmates suffered a miscarriage and was not given proper care, according to the mayor.
“It’s troubling, which forces us to expand our lawsuit against Delaney Hall,” Baraka said.
Eric Pennington, Newark’s business administrator, told reporters Tuesday that the city asked the GEO Group to allow health inspectors to check the facility.
Sherrill said last week that inspectors from the state Department of Health visited Delaney Hall on May 28 but were “denied full access” and “allowed to inspect only a limited part of the facility.”
The New Jersey Attorney General’s office further said in Tuesday’s lawsuit announcement that the health inspectors were “barred from inspecting crucial areas of the facility, including the medical unit, sleeping areas, and bathing and toileting areas.”
Pennington said Tuesday that the city will use their legal options to get the inspectors inside.
“If they don’t allow us in, we, along with partners who are out here to protect the individuals inside, they will join our lawsuit, along with the state Health Department, to join to have this facility shut down until it can be inspected and ensured it is safe for the individuals who are in there,” he said.
“We are awaiting GEO Group’s response now and we expect to go to the court in the next day or two to continue the existing lawsuit,” Pennington added.
Davenport’s suit seeks an expedited injunction that directs the GEO Group to allow inspectors inside, according to court documents.
“The reports of unsanitary and unsafe conditions inside Delaney Hall are extremely concerning, and GEO Group – like any other business and facility in New Jersey – must follow the law,” Davenport said in Tuesday’s announcement.
Several elected officials have visited the facility since the protests began and claimed they have seen the poor conditions firsthand.
Federal and state law enforcement agents have clashed with protesters on numerous days, with federal officers in some instances firing tear gas and using batons. Several people have been arrested, some of whom were accused of assaulting federal officers.
Sherrill and other New Jersey Democrats have criticized the federal government for their response and actions against the protesters and have called on everyone to lower the temperature.
A curfew was enforced outside the facility starting Sunday night.
Baraka, who said Tuesday that he had spoken with protesters, said that there were no arrests made Monday night but that the curfew would continue for at least one more day.
Limited visitation privileges were restored Sunday following a request by the governor.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
(LAS VEGAS) — Prosecutors in Nevada said they’re looking to try the teenage girl accused of stabbing three horses in adult court.
Officers responded to a barn in Las Vegas early Saturday and found three horses “intentionally injured with a sharp object,” Las Vegas police said.
A teenage girl who was in Las Vegas for an equestrian competition was identified as a possible suspect, according to police and the National Barrel Horse Association. She allegedly had access to the barn and authorities believe she may have used a knife to wound the horses, police said.
The horses’ injuries were not life-threatening, but they were expected to keep the animals from competing at this weekend’s event, police said in a statement.
The teen, who was at a nearby hotel, was taken into custody and booked for 12 counts of willful/malicious kill/maim/torture animal — horse and three counts of felony malicious destruction of private property over $5,000, police said.
The Clark County District Attorney’s office said Tuesday that it wants the teen charged in adult court and said it’s “reviewing the matter to determine what charges to file which may include willful or malicious torture, maiming, or killing of an animal and felony malicious destruction of property.”
“These allegations involve deliberate acts of extreme cruelty against defenseless animals and have had a significant impact on the victims, the owners, and the broader equestrian community,” Clark County DA Steve Wolfson said in a statement.
The teen is next due in court on Thursday. A separate hearing will be scheduled for a judge to determine if the case should be moved to adult court, the DA’s office said.
The suspect was a competitor in the NBHA’s Professional’s Choice Vegas Super Show this weekend, according to the organization.
“The situation was addressed immediately in coordination with the National Barrel Horse Association, the South Point Hotel & Casino Security, Metro Police, and all appropriate parties,” the NBHA said in a statement.
“All appropriate steps have been taken to ensure the well-being of all horses,” the organization added.
The owner of one of the injured horses spoke out in a statement to ABC News, saying, “this situation is absolutely devastating.”
“To see [my horse] Detail who is my entire world and my best friend, in so much pain, helpless and injured,” said the owner, who did not want to be named.
The owner alleged that the teenage suspect follows her on social media and “has made comments and attempts about trying to meet me and Detail at last year’s NBHA Supershow.”
“This year she happened to be in the same warmup pen at the same time as me and officially met me and Detail. This was one night before the stabbing,” the owner said. “She made comments on Detail’s markings.”
ABC News has also reached out to the owners of the other two injured horses.
Nighttime shot of unfurled police tape next to flashing lights from a police car. (halbergman/Getty Images)
(MUSCATINE, Iowa) — Six people were killed in a shooting spree at multiple locations across an Iowa city in an apparent domestic dispute, according to police.
The suspected gunman died from a self‑inflicted gunshot wound as officers confronted him, police said.
The “series of homicides” occurred Monday at two residences and a business in Muscatine, police said.
“Today I simply do not have the words — this act of evil and what it has done to our community,” Muscatine Police Chief Anthony Kies said at a press briefing Monday.
Four of the victims were killed in one home, according to police. The shooting was reported around 12:12 p.m. local time Monday, according to the Muscatine Police Department. First responders found all four individuals dead at the scene.
The suspect — identified by police as Ryan Willis McFarland, 52, of Muscatine — left the home prior to police arriving, authorities said. Officers located him nearby on a trail along the Mississippi River.
“While talking to Ryan Willis McFarland, he took his own life,” Kies said. “Officers and EMS personnel rendered aid. However, he was pronounced deceased at the scene.”
Amid the investigation, detectives learned there were possibly additional victims and subsequently located two men dead from apparent gunshot wounds, authorities said. One was found at another home and the other at a nearby business, authorities said.
“Preliminary findings indicate the shootings stemmed from a domestic‑related dispute,” the Muscatine Police Department said in a press release. “All victims are believed to be family members of the deceased suspect.”
Police have not released the names or ages of the victims.
According to Muscatine Community Schools, the victims included two school district employees and two students.
“Our hearts are broken for the family members, friends, colleagues, classmates, and all those affected by this unimaginable loss,” Muscatine Community Schools Superintendent Clint Christopher said in a message to the school community on Monday. “We ask that you keep everyone impacted in your thoughts during this incredibly difficult time.”
The police chief said the suspect has a criminal record, though he did not elaborate. There is no active threat to the community, Kies said.
Aerial view of Coast of NJ (Michael Duva/Getty Images)
(WILDWOOD, N.J.) — The search is ongoing for a 14-year-old boy who went missing in the ocean at the New Jersey shore, officials said.
An officer in Wildwood was alerted to a swimmer in distress at about 1:26 p.m. Monday, local police said, and police, lifeguards and fire department personnel were sent to the scene.
The first responders saw several people in the surf and three swimmers were helped out of the water, according to police. One swimmer was taken to a hospital and listed in stable condition, authorities said.
Officials then learned that a 14-year-old boy was still missing, police noted.
More rescuers joined the search for him, according to police, and the Coast Guard, New Jersey State Police and other agencies were called in to help look by boat and helicopter.
“Conditions were very rough,” Wildwood Fire Chief Ernie Troiano III told ABC News, noting there were strong winds, strong currents and rough seas.
The teen has not yet been found. Search efforts are ongoing, officials said.
A protester speaks to the police using a megaphone near the Delaney Hall detention center on May 31, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark has ordered a mandatory curfew surrounding Delaney Hall from 9 PM Saturday until 6 AM Sunday. (Photo by Andres Kudacki/Getty Images)
(NEWARK, N.J.) — Newark Mayor Ras Baraka on Tuesday called for the immediate closure of Delaney Hall, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility that he and activists allege is housing detainees in poor living conditions and without adequate medical care, and threatened to file suit if the facility remains open.
There is already a lawsuit against the GEO Group, the private company contracted by ICE to run the facility. However, the mayor and city leaders said that they will expand their litigation to call for the facility’s closure if state health inspectors aren’t given full access to the detention center.
Protests and an alleged hunger strike have been ongoing since May 22 after reports alleged the 300 inmates inside the ICE detention center have been poorly fed, are not receiving proper medical care and are being held in poor conditions.
Baraka said there was a report that alleged one of the inmates suffered a miscarriage and was not given proper care.
“It’s troubling, which forces us to expand our lawsuit against Delaney Hall” Baraka said at a news conference outside Delaney Hall.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin has previously said that the reports of the poor conditions are untrue.
The federal government and the GEO Group did not have an immediate comment about Baraka’s announcement.
Several elected officials have visited the facility since the protests began and claimed they have seen the poor conditions first hand.
Federal and state law enforcement agents have clashed with protesters on numerous days, with federal officers in some instances firing tear gas and using batons.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill and other New Jersey Democrats have criticized the federal government for their response and actions against the protesters and have called on everyone to turn down the temperature.
A curfew was enforced outside the facility starting Sunday night.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Jeffrey Epstein is seen in this image released by the Department of Justice in Washington, December 19, 2025. (U.S. Justice Department)
(WASHINGTON) — Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are demanding that Committee Chairman James Comer bring in acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel to answer questions “immediately” as part of the panel’s probe into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Ranking Member Robert Garcia on Tuesday sent Comer a letter, which was first obtained by ABC News, requesting that Blanche and Patel appear for separate videotaped transcribed interviews before the committee as questions mount over their handling of the Epstein files.
The GOP-controlled committee to date has not video recorded any of its transcribed interviews, only depositions.
“Given the deep involvement of Director Patel and Mr. Blanche, the Committee cannot credibly continue its investigation without their videotaped, transcribed testimony,” Garcia wrote in the letter to Comer.
In a statement to ABC News, Garcia said the panel’s closed-door interview last week of former Attorney General Pam Bondi “made one thing clear: we need to talk to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel.”
“These agency leaders were directly involved in the cover up of the Epstein files and botched roll-out of the documents, which re-victimized survivors and made a mockery of our Justice Department. Oversight Democrats are demanding answers straight from the source,” Garcia said.
Bondi, during her appearance on Friday, told lawmakers that Blanche was delegated responsibility for overseeing the release of the millions of Epstein files.
Garcia wrote in the letter that Bondi referenced Blanche’s name 30 times during Friday’s interview and pointed to him “as the person responsible for DOJ’s actions involving the review, withholding, and botched release of Epstein-related records.”
Democrats also want to question Blanche over his involvement in convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell’s prison transfer. Bondi testified, according to a source familiar with her testimony, that she opposed a pardon for Maxwell and was unaware of the transfer until after it happened.
“Rather than provide answers in her testimony, Ms. Bondi repeatedly shifted responsibility to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche,” he said.
The letter comes the same day that Blanche is slated to testify on Capitol Hill before a House appropriations subcommittee.
Blanche’s testimony could spark fireworks after Bondi’s transcribed interview on Friday, where she testified that she delegated compliance with the Epstein Transparency Act to her then-deputy.
Garcia said Democrats want to hear from Patel, who Bondi frequently named during her interview as also overseeing the release of the Epstein files. Democrats said they were alarmed by Bondi referring to Patel repeatedly during the interview.
“By Ms. Bondi’s own account, Director Patel was involved in locating, reviewing, and possibly redacting FBI records relating to Jeffrey Epstein. Ms. Bondi even raised concerns that the FBI had previously withheld material from the DOJ,” Garica wrote.
Comer, in comments made last Friday, said that both parties bear responsibility for the failures surrounding Epstein, the wealthy financier who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sexually exploiting and abusing dozens of minor girls at his homes in New York and Palm Beach, Florida.
“The government has failed the survivors. There’s no question about that,” Comer said. “And that dates back five presidential administrations. We’re taking this investigation seriously.”
The E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Court House, home of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, DC (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — A federal appeals court on Monday concluded that the Trump administration’s transgender military ban is likely unconstitutional and “appears to be driven by the bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group.”
In a 2-1 decision, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s decision blocking the Department of Defense from removing current servicemembers because of their gender dysphoria.
“At this preliminary stage, I conclude that the Hegseth Policy is both arbitrary and based upon animus, and for those reasons the Policy violates Plaintiff-Appellees’ constitutional right to equal protection of the law,” wrote Judge Robert Wilkins, referring to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The decision only applies to the service members who sued the administration and does not bar the Pentagon from blocking transgender people from joining the military.
According to the court, prospective military members can seek relief after the case has completely moved through the courts, while active service members face a more serious hardship by being expelled from the military.
“For those servicemembers facing expulsion, it is not clear how easily they can be reinstated and made whole. But even if they can be reinstated after being separated, it appears to us to be a much greater hardship to end a military career than to delay the start of one,” Judge Wilkins wrote.
Judge Justin Walker — the sole judge on the panel appointed to the bench by a Republican president — dissented and said members of the military could be deprived of certain rights guaranteed to the civilians.
“Like today’s majority, I cherish those rights, and so I understand the impulse behind the majority’s unprecedented intervention into military affairs. But because the plaintiffs are service members not civilians, and because we are judges not generals, I respectfully dissent,” he wrote.
“We have neither the expertise nor the authority to decide whether the military can exclude the plaintiffs from its ranks. The Constitution assigns that authority to Congress and the Commander in Chief,” he added.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
(LAS VEGAS) — A teenage girl has been arrested for allegedly injuring three horses at an equestrian competition, officials said.
Officers responded to a barn in Las Vegas early Saturday and found three horses “intentionally injured with a sharp object,” Las Vegas police said.
A teenage girl was identified as a possible suspect, police said. She allegedly had access to the barn and authorities believe she may have used a knife to wound the horses, police said.
The horses’ injuries were not life-threatening, but they were expected to keep the animals from competing at this weekend’s event, police said in a statement.
The teen, who was at a nearby hotel, was taken into custody and booked for 12 counts of willful/malicious kill/maim/torture animal – horse and three counts of felony malicious destruction of private property over $5,000, police said.
The suspect was a competitor in the National Barrel Horse Association’s Professional’s Choice Vegas Super Show this weekend, according to the NBHA.
“The situation was addressed immediately in coordination with the National Barrel Horse Association, the South Point Hotel & Casino Security, Metro Police, and all appropriate parties,” the NBHA said in a statement.
“All appropriate steps have been taken to ensure the well-being of all horses,” the organization added.
Former Shelby police officer Karson Hyder is seen in a booking photo released by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. (North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation)
(SHELBY, N.C.) — A former North Carolina police officer who was seen in a viral doorbell camera video repeatedly punching a woman during an arrest has been charged with assault, authorities said.
Former Shelby Police Officer Karson Hyder, 22, turned himself in on Monday, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, which said it has charged him with one count of assault inflicting serious injury in connection with Friday’s incident.
He was processed at the Cleveland County Detention Center and released on a $10,000 secured bond, the bureau said. It is unclear if he has an attorney at this time.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said it initiated an investigation that “examined an allegation of excessive use of force” at the request of the Shelby police chief and the Cleveland County District Attorney.
Hyder was fired Saturday after the Shelby Police Department completed an administrative investigation into the incident, according to Shelby Police Chief Brad Fraser.
“While this incident does not reflect the values of the Shelby Police Department, it does reinforce the importance of holding ourselves to the highest standards of conduct,” Fraser said during a press briefing on Saturday, calling the former officer’s actions “disturbing and inappropriate.”
Officers were conducting a criminal investigation in Shelby on Friday when they encountered a “suspicious female,” Fraser said.
The doorbell video appears to show an officer repeatedly punching a woman, identified as 34-year-old Cherrie Moore, during an arrest before another officer appears to intervene. It is unclear what happened before the video.
Hyder did not respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.
Moore’s family, who had called for the officer to be charged, told ABC News on Monday that they “feel great” about the charging decision. Her uncle said she suffered a broken nose in the incident but the extent of her injuries was not clear.
“We just want the right thing done, and I think the first right thing is that he be charged,” Moore’s uncle, Michael Moore, previously told ABC News. “Once he’s charged, then we can move forward.”
Moore has mental health issues and is homeless, her uncle said.
She was initially charged with misdemeanor breaking and entering, resisting arrest and assault on a government official, which were ultimately dropped, according to her family.
Moore was charged with resisting a public officer in August 2025 in an incident that also involved Hyder, court documents obtained by ABC News show. She pleaded guilty the following month and was sentenced to time served, according to the filings.
ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab, Matt Foster and Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.
