Category: National

South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace says she has obtained records through a congressional subpoena that reveal the value of several confidential sexual misconduct and harassment settlements struck on behalf of members of Congress and paid at the expense of the U.S. taxpayer totaling more than $338,000 over a 10-year run — while a letter to the House Oversight Committee shows that many additional records on the subject have been destroyed.

Mace shared the names of eight former members and the office of one former member shortly after obtaining the documents on Monday. 

None of the former members shared by Mace still hold public office anywhere, but the underlying disclosure offers a glimpse into the legislative branch’s recent history addressing sexual harassment.

In a post on X, Mace — a member of the House Oversight Committee — first posted a picture of a binder she says contained more than 1,000 pages of records from the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights beginning in 2007 and stretching into 2017.

The settlements are paid by the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights Section 415 fund, which is authorized by the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995.

Among those named by Mace are former Rep. Patrick Meehan, R-Pa., and former Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La., and former Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., and former Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., who both passed away shortly after leaving Congress.

Mace listed a settlement of $8,000 in 2009 for the office of McCarthy, who is alleged to have been aware of and conducted mistreatment related to a consensual sexual relationship between an aide and a senior staffer. She also faced allegations of discrimination based on sex and disability, and reprisal.

For Conyers, a $50,000 payment was made in 2010. He’s alleged to have made advances on a staffer. Four years later, Conyers faced a hostile workplace, sexual harassment, age discrimination, and reprisal allegations, resulting in improper termination, resulting in a $27,111.75 payout.

Meehan is listed to have two cases involving alleged sexual harassment by a senior staffer that the member was aware of and alleged sexual harassment by the member. The severance pay period for the complainant is listed at $39,250.

Meehan confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday that he paid back the settlement after resigning.

“There is no comment. There is nothing [Mace] puts out that wasn’t already public 8 years ago,” Meehan wrote. “Yes, I personally repaid the full settlement amount within 30 days of leaving as I said I would.”

Alexander, who left Congress in 2013 and went on to become the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs, faced an allegation of a consensual sexual relationship with a staffer prior to her employment, resulting in her alleged mistreatment and firing, according to a source familiar with the document production. The payout was listed at $15,000.

Alexander told ABC News in a statement that the $15,000 settlement tied to his name was the result of “the behavior of two staffers” in his office.

“Nineteen years ago, during my tenure in Congress, there were two separate and unrelated incidents involving the behavior of two staffers in my office. The allegations were referred to the proper authorities and settlement payments were made by the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights,” Alexander wrote. “After an immediate investigation, both offending staffers’ employment with my office were terminated immediately. At no time during my tenure in Congress was any allegation made against me.”

An attorney for Rep. Eric Massa, D-N.Y., who faced allegations of hostile workplace, sexual harassment and inappropriate touching, told ABC News in 2017 that the former congressman had no knowledge of the payments. There were three Massa cases listed and three settlements totaling to $115,000.

Former Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, told ABC News in 2018 that he had no intention of repaying the $84,000 sexual harassment settlement stemming from a 2014 complaint by a former congressional aide alleging sexual harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation. He resigned in 2018 and died last year.

The records surrounding nine cases were provided Monday to Mace and the House Oversight Committee by the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights as part of an initial document production pursuant to a committee subpoena, according to a letter signed by John N. Ohlweiler, general counsel at the OCWR, that was sent to the committee on April 24.

The letter presents “relevant statistical information” regarding OCWR cases from Jan. 1, 1996, through Dec. 12, 2018. The OCWR says it “approved a total of 349 awards or settlements to resolve complaints against legislative branch offices.” 

“Some of these awards or settlements may have resolved more than one complaint filed by the same individual against the same office. Of these 349 awards or settlements, there were 80 that were settled by the Office of a Member of the House of Representatives or the Office of a Senator,” the letter states.

ABC News has reviewed an April 24 letter to the committee, which does not name any of the lawmakers whose cases are detailed in the 1,000-page document production to the Oversight Committee, meeting an April 30 deadline imposed by a committee subpoena. A source familiar with the document production confirmed to ABC News that the names listed by Mace do appear in the 1,000-page response from OCWR, though ABC News has not yet independently reviewed the complete document production.

Mace says she will release the documents after carefully reviewing them to ensure that any sensitive information about victims is fully redacted.

In his letter to the committee, Ohlweiler explained how the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights determined which documents met the committee’s objective to investigate sexual misconduct or harassment involving a member of Congress.

Ohlweiler’s letter notes that the CAA Reform Act of 2018 requires OCR to establish a program for the permanent retention of records and OCR’s current Record Retention Policy requires the digital preservation of records from all filed cases.

“We prioritized our efforts on identifying those cases involving allegations of actual Member misconduct — particularly sexual misconduct or sexual harassment — that resulted in awards or settlements, and locating the documents associated with those cases,” Ohlweiler wrote Oversight Chairman James Comer and ranking Democrat Robert Garcia.

The letter from Ohlweiler explains that from the 80 total settlements, at least 20 case files “were destroyed pursuant to an ‘OCWR Record Retention Policy’ that required case records to be destroyed ten years after the case was fully closed” in accordance with a retention policy “put in place in 2013 to align OCWR with regular government-wide record retention practices.”

The OCWR says it maintained a retention policy that required case records to be destroyed ten years after the case was fully closed — a policy it put in place in 2013 to align OCWR with “regular government-wide record retention practices.”

Ohlweiler’s letter notes that the CAA Reform Act of 2018 requires OCR to establish a program for the permanent retention of records and OCR’s current Record Retention Policy requires the digital preservation of records from all filed cases.

“These 20 destroyed physical case files dated to the time period between 1996 and 2003. There are 3 additional physical case files from 2003 and 2004 for which the ‘OCWR Record Retention Policy — Destruction Schedule’ indicates the physical case files were destroyed, but we have not yet physically confirmed that destruction took place because the relevant boxes from long-term storage have not been examined.”

Ohlweiler says that OCWR does still possess and has reviewed the original Settlement Agreements for these 23 cases — including the terms of the settlements. But Ohlweiler says the documents “do not specify any details about the underlying allegations, including who was accused of committing the alleged misconduct.”

There were six additional cases scheduled for destruction between 1997 and 2001 for which OCWR does not have the Settlement Agreement or the case file, according to Ohlweiler’s letter. Ohlweiler says that information within the office’s retired content management system confirms that these six cases were filed against member offices and were ultimately settled.

“For these 6 cases, the CMS does not provide any information regarding the terms of the settlement (except that only one of the six required a payment from the 416 Fund) or the details of the underlying allegations,” Ohlweiler wrote.

“The results of my subpoena of Congress’s sexual harassment slush fund are in. Nine members. One thousand pages,” Mace posted on X on Monday. “All records prior to 2004 were destroyed — which tells you everything you need to know about how long this has been buried. We are reviewing every page. We will name all nine. We will release the full 1,000 pages — once we confirm that personally identifiable information of victims and witnesses has been properly redacted. Accountability is not a threat. It is a promise.”

“Read that again: they destroyed all the evidence prior to 2004,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Florida, reacted on X. 

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

The Board of Immigration Appeals has reinstated deportation proceedings against pro-Palestinian student Mohsen Mahdawi, according to a court filing from his attorneys.

In February, Judge Nina Froes dropped the deportation case against the Columbia University student, ruling in part that the Department of Homeland Security failed to authenticate a memo allegedly signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio claiming Mahdawi posed a threat to United States foreign policy. 

The Trump administration appealed that decision and the BIA, which skews conservative, overturned Froes’ decision. 

he move reinstates deportation proceedings against Mahdawi, but it will be overseen by a different judge after Froes was terminated from her position. Her firing comes as critics of the Trump administration say it has sought to reshape immigration courts by replacing immigration judges in an attempt to ramp up deportations.

The Executive Office for Immigration Review did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Mahdawi’s arrest is still being challenged in federal court, so the government can’t deport him for the moment, the ACLU said. He was detained in April 2025 when he arrived at his citizenship interview. 

“The government continues to weaponize the immigration system to silence dissent,” Mahdawi said in a statement. “But it cannot erase the Constitution or the First Amendment, which protects free speech for all. The government is trying to punish and deport me, a stateless Palestinian refugee from the occupied West Bank, because it opposes my peaceful advocacy for human dignity and equal rights for Palestinians. But I remain unafraid and faithful that justice will prevail in America and in Palestine.”

Arguing for his detainment last spring, lawyers for the Trump administration pointed to a 2015 FBI investigation, in which a gun shop owner alleged that Mahdawi had claimed to have built machine guns in the West Bank to kill Jews.

However, the FBI closed that investigation and Mahdawi was never charged with any crime, a point a federal judge highlighted when he ordered Mahdawi’s release in May 2025.

 

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(STEWART COUNTY, Tenn.) — An Army Special Forces veteran accused of trying to kill his wife then fleeing into the woods was found dead, likely from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said Wednesday.

Craig Berry, 53, went into the woods near his home in Dover on May 1 after allegedly shooting his wife, according to the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident sparked a dayslong manhunt involving assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, Tennessee Highway Patrol and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the sheriff’s office said.

“During search today, Stewart County Sheriff’s Office SWAT, along with TBI agents, located the body of wanted subject Craig Berry,” the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “Initial indications show he died due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

The U.S. Marshals also confirmed Wednesday that Berry is dead “and no longer a threat to the public.”

Deputies responded to a domestic altercation at his residence around 1:30 a.m. on May 1, and Berry was gone before deputies arrived, authorities said. His wife was transported to a medical facility, according to the sheriff’s office, which did not provide details on her condition.

He was wanted for attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a weapon, domestic assault, and leaving the scene of an accident, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which had added him to the state’s Most Wanted list earlier Wednesday.

Berry was an Army Special Forces veteran with “extensive military training,” according to the U.S. Marshals Service, which on Tuesday had also issued a wanted bulletin for the suspect.

He had “extensive training in survival tactics,” the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office said, and had warned that it could be a “lengthy process” to capture him.

Berry was last seen alive in the wooded area near Old Paris Landing in Dover on May 2, according to the U.S. Marshals.

He was armed with “at least one handgun” and may have taken extra ammunition, Stewart County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Paulette Redman said in a statement on Monday. He was captured by a trail camera wearing camouflage clothing, the sheriff’s office said.

The U.S. Marshals Service was offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information on Berry, while the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was offering $2,500.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.) — Nearly 30 years after 19-year-old Kristin Smart disappeared, California investigators conducted new search warrants as part of their ongoing probe into the location of her body.

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday that deputies executed a search warrant at the 500 block of East Branch Street.

The sheriff’s office declined to provide further details about the operation.

“The Sheriff’s Office remains committed to bringing Kristin home to her family. No further information is available,” it said in a statement.

Smart attended an off-campus party at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where she was a freshman, on May 24, 1996, but never returned to her dormitory.

Investigators declared Smart legally dead in 2002 and the case remained cold until 17 years later, when the true crime podcast “Your Own Backyard” launched and helped investigators to get new witnesses and evidence.

In 2021, investigators arrested and charged Paul Flores, who was a student at the college at the time of Smart’s disappearance.

Detectives said that some classmates found Smart passed out during the early morning hours of May 25, 1996, and Flores appeared out of nowhere. He claimed to the other classmates that he knew where she lived and offered to help her to her dorm, detectives said.

Flores was interviewed by officers following Smart’s disappearance, but he was not charged.

In 2021, police searched the home belonging to Flores’ father, Ruben Flores, and allegedly found human blood and fibers in the dirt that matched the colors of the clothing Smart had been wearing when she went missing.

A jury convicted Paul Flores in October 2022 of first-degree murder and he was sentenced in 2023 to 25 years to life.

Ruben Flores was charged with being an accessory to murder; however, a jury acquitted him on those charges.

Paul Flores appealed his conviction, but in January, the California Supreme Court denied his petition for review of his conviction.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(STEWART COUNTY, Tenn.) — An Army Special Forces veteran accused of trying to kill his wife then fleeing into the woods has been added to the Tennessee Most Wanted list, authorities said Wednesday, as a manhunt involving state and federal agencies continues.

Craig Berry, 53, went into the woods near his home in Dover on May 1 after allegedly shooting his wife, according to the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responded to a domestic altercation at his residence around 1:30 a.m. on May 1, and Berry was gone before deputies arrived, authorities said. His wife was transported to a medical facility, according to the sheriff’s office, which did not provide details on her condition.

He is wanted for attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a weapon, domestic assault, and leaving the scene of an accident, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Berry is an Army Special Forces veteran with “extensive military training,” according to the U.S. Marshals Service, which on Tuesday also issued a wanted bulletin for the suspect.

He has “extensive training in survival tactics,” the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office said, warning that it could be a “lengthy process” to capture him.

The U.S. Marshals Service, Tennessee Highway Patrol and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are assisting in the search, the sheriff’s office said. State troopers have employed helicopters in the manhunt.

Berry was last seen in the wooded area near Old Paris Landing in Dover on May 2, according to the U.S. Marshals.

He is armed with “at least one handgun” and may have taken extra ammunition, Stewart County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Paulette Redman said in a statement on Monday.

The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information on Berry, while the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is offering $2,500.

Authorities said he is 5’11” and 185 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. He was captured by a trail camera wearing camouflage clothing, the sheriff’s office said.

Anyone with information is urged to contact 1-800-TBI-FIND or the Stewart County Sheriff’s Office at 931-232-6863.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — A 45-year-old Texas man has been charged in connection with a shooting near the Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in which a teenage bystander was hit by gunfire, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Michael Marx faces three charges in connection with Monday’s shooting — felony assault of federal officers with a dangerous weapon, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and unlawful possession of a firearm, the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

The complaint includes new images from CCTV showing the frantic scene during the shooting, which occurred at a busy intersection where multiple civilians were crossing the street Monday afternoon.

After a plainclothes Secret Service agent observed Marx in possession of a firearm, several uniformed Secret Service officers responded and located the suspect at 15th Street and Independence Avenue SW, at the time Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade was departing the White House, according to the complaint.

Officers gave “verbal commands” to the suspect, who began to run, according to the complaint. As officers chased him, the suspect pulled a firearm from his waistband while running and began firing toward one of them once he reached the sidewalk, according to the complaint. A bystander behind the officer was struck in the leg, it said.

Officers returned fire, striking Marx in his hand, left arm and upper abdomen and collapsed at the intersection, according to the complaint.

Investigators recovered a handgun loaded with 9mm ammunition from the area where Marx fell, according to federal prosecutors. He does not hold a license to carry a handgun in Washington, they said.

As U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro first told ABC News on Tuesday, Marx allegedly made statements to officers, including “F— the White House” and “Kill me, kill me, kill me,” while being transported in an ambulance to a hospital.

“We will prove this defendant carried an illegal firearm into the heart of Washington, D.C., opened fire at Secret Service officers near a crowded intersection, and shot an innocent bystander who was simply crossing the street with his family,” Pirro said in a statement Wednesday. “My office will pursue the most serious charges available against anyone who brings gun violence to our streets, particularly when that violence unfolds steps from the seat of our government and the path of the Vice President of the United States.”

Court records do not list any attorney information for Marx at this time.

The teen injured in the shooting has since been released from the hospital, Pirro told ABC News.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday asked a federal appeals court in New York to pause its ruling rejecting his challenge to the writer E. Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit so he can pursue an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

A jury awarded Carroll $83 million in damages in 2024 after she successfully argued that Trump defamed her with comments he made disputing her claim that he sexually abused her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined last week to re-hear Trump’s claim of immunity and his attempt to substitute the United States as a defendant in Carroll’s case.

Trump on Wednesday asked the 2nd Circuit to stay its ruling in order to allow him “to present important questions relating to, without limitation, Presidential immunity and the Westfall Act to the Supreme Court.”

If the stay is not granted, Trump’s attorneys said he would suffer irreparable harm.

The jury in 2024 found that, as a result of Trump’s comments, Carroll was harassed and humiliated, subjected to death threats, and feared for her physical safety for years. Trump has denied all wrongdoing.

A separate jury in an earlier trial awarded Carroll $5 million in damages after holding Trump liable for defamation and sexual abuse. 

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Ted Turner, the television and media mogul who launched CNN — the first 24-hour cable news network — and a roster of successful TV and entertainment brands, died on Wednesday, according to the network. He was 87.

“Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement,” according to a statement from Mark Thompson, the chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide. “He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and our world.”

“On behalf of the Turner family, it is with great sadness that we announce the passing of philanthropist, environmentalist and cable pioneer Ted Turner who died peacefully today at age 87, surrounded by his family,” a statement from Turner Enterprises said.

The company added, “He charmed people he met with his warmth and general lack of conceit, despite his many successes and celebrity – an attribute made apparent in his response to anyone who addressed him as “Mr. Turner” – he’d always reply, “Call me Ted!”

A private family service is planned and a public memorial will be held at a later date, Turner Enterprises said.

Turner announced in 2018 he was battling the progressive brain disorder Lewy body dementia, acknowledging issues with his memory.

Born in Cincinnati, Robert Edward Turner III was raised in Savannah, Georgia. He attended Brown University briefly before leaving the university and joining the U.S. Coastal Guard Reserve during the Vietnam War.

Turner began his career as an executive at his father’s advertising business, Turner Advertising Company. Following the death of his father, he became president and chief executive of the company and turned the firm into a global enterprise.

He entered the television business in the early 1970’s when he acquired an Atlanta UHF station, WJRJ, and renamed it WTCG. The station originated the “superstation” concept, transmitting via satellite to cable systems across the country. Later renamed TBS, the station became a precedent for the modern basic cable station.

On June 1, 1980, Turner Broadcasting System launched CNN, the first 24-hour cable news network. In his launch speech at the network’s Atlanta headquarters in June 1980, he expressed hope that CNN’s national and international coverage would “bring together in brotherhood and kindness and friendship and in peace the people of this nation and this world.”

CNN quickly made its mark covering major news events such as the 1982 Lebanon War and the 1986 Challenger explosion as they happened.

A chain of successful cable television brands followed for Turner, including CNN International, Cartoon Network, TNT and Turner Classic Movies. Turner Broadcasting later acquired the film studios Castle Rock Entertainment and New Line Cinema.

Turner’s company also expanded into sports starting in the late 1970s, acquiring the MLB’s Atlanta Braves and the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks won three division titles under the company’s ownership. The Braves won the 1995 World Series.

In 1988, Turner ventured into the professional wrestling business, purchasing Jim Crockett Promotions and renaming it as World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The company served as the main competitor to Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation (WWF) over the next decade. WCW was purchased by McMahon’s company in 2001.

In October 1996, Turner Broadcasting merged with Time Warner Inc., and in 2001, Time Warner merged with AOL to create AOL Time Warner.

Turner also made his mark as a philanthropist. In 1990, he founded Turner Foundation which supports efforts for improving air and water quality, developing initiatives to protect the climate and maintaining wildlife habitat protection, among other initiatives. The Turner Foundation says it has given more than $380 million to hundreds of organizations since its founding.

In 1997, Turner announced a historic pledge of up to $1 billion to the United Nations and the following year, he created the United Nations Foundation (UNF). The organization supports the goals and objectives of the United Nations to promote “a more peaceful, prosperous and just world.”

Speaking to ABC’s “This Week” in 2012, he described his interest in supporting U.N. efforts.

“Everybody needs help sometime, no matter how rich and powerful you are,” he said. “I did not know for sure when I started that it was going to work…there were a lot of things that weren’t getting done, that are getting done now, done a lot more quickly.”

He added, “Saving the world is a hard job.”

Turner also launched the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), a think tank he co-chaired with former Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia that seeks to reduce “nuclear and biological threats imperiling humanity.”

He was the recipient of numerous awards, including Time Magazine’s 1991 “Man of the Year,” the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ Lifetime Achievement Award, the Audubon Medal from the Audubon Society, and the Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in Communication. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004.

Turner was married three times, including to actress Jane Fonda from 1991 to 2001. He is survived by five children, fourteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect in the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, was indicted Tuesday by a grand jury on four counts — three of which he had already been charged by criminal complaint.

Those initial charges he was indicted on are attempting to assassinate the president, transportation of a firearm with intent to commit a felony and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. The fourth new charge is assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon, according to the indictment.

The California native was tackled by law enforcement after the gunfire April 25 inside the Washington, D.C., Hilton hotel, where thousands of journalists, as well as President Donald Trump and members of his Cabinet, were gathered for the annual dinner.

Allen did not reach the ballroom, where the dinner was underway. A Secret Service member was shot during the incident, but the bullet hit the agent’s protective vest, officials said.

Allen — who officials say traveled by train from California to D.C. — allegedly left a note which said that administration officials were his targets and were “prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” according to the criminal complaint against him.

The suspect allegedly wrote that Secret Service agents were targets “only if necessary, and to be incapacitated non-lethally if possible,” the complaint said.

Allen has not yet entered a plea.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(DUSON, La.) — Ten people were transported to the hospital due to a chemical leak at a facility in Louisiana that prompted evacuations, police said.

The “hazardous materials incident” was reported to authorities shortly after 7 a.m. CT on Tuesday in Duson, located about 10 miles west of Lafayette, according to Louisiana State Police. The incident occurred at FIBA Technologies, the Duson Police Department said.

A “valve malfunction” resulted in a boron trifluoride leak, state police said. The gas has a “pungent, suffocating odor,” according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Video from the scene posted by state police showed a white cloud billowing from the facility.

Hazardous materials crews responded and successfully contained the leak after about an hour, authorities said.

Six employees at the business, three first responders and one employee from a nearby business were transported to area hospitals for treatment due to exposure, police said. They are in stable condition and their injuries are believed to be non-life-threatening, police said.

The surrounding area, including businesses in an adjacent industrial park, was evacuated as a precaution amid the response. All evacuation and shelter-in-place orders have since been lifted and there is no threat to the immediate area, police said.

FIBA Technologies provides gas containment equipment and services for the industrial gas industry. ABC News has reached out to the company for comment. 

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.