Crime scene barrier tape (Getty Images/Tetra Images)
(BATON ROUGE, La.) — Five suspects are in custody in a shooting at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge that killed one person and injured multiple others, police said.
The shots were fired in the food court, police said, describing it as a targeted incident during a fight between two groups, and not a random act of violence.
Baton Rouge Police Chief T.J. Morse said during a press conference Thursday night that officials are looking for more suspects believed to be involved. “In no way is this investigation over, and we do believe that there’s more people involved,” he said.
Morse said one handgun has been recovered from the scene.
Five people injured in the shooting were being treated at area hospitals, according to Baton Rouge police. The nature of their injuries is unclear. Police had initially said 10 people were injured before updating the total number of casualties to six.
All shoppers have been evacuated from the mall, Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sid Edwards said.
The scene has been secured, police said.
“I heard a loud ‘pop’ and then another ‘pop,'” a mall employee told ABC Baton Rouge affiliate WBRZ. “… I turn around and I see people dropping to the floor and then I saw the gun. … And he was turning around, shooting randomly.”
“I called security and said, ‘Shots fired in the food court, people are down, people are hit.’ And then the cops came and it was just total chaos … blood was everywhere,” she said.
“I’ve never seen anything like this in my life,” she said.
Police Chief Morse said that officials believe the violence began after some kind of disagreement. “It looks like guns were pulled afterwards, exchanged right in front of some of the food counters in the food court,” he said.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said he’s aware of the shooting and is coordinating with law enforcement.
“Please keep the victims and their families in your prayers,” Edwards said in a statement.
Mayor Sid Edwards said during the press conference Thursday night that “Baton Rouge has a history of pulling together in tragedy, and that’s tragic unto itself.”
The Mall of Louisiana confirmed in a statement that it would be closed all day on Friday “out of respect for the victims.”
“Our deepest sympathies are with everyone who was impacted by the senseless act of violence that took place here today,” the statement read.
Dwight Rust Jr. was charged this week with the first-degree murder of his wife, Michelle Rust. (Baltimore County Police Department)
(BALTIMORE, Md.) — Dwight Rust Jr. this week appeared virtually for his first appearance in a Maryland court, a day after being arrested for the first-degree murder of his wife, Michelle Rust, 24 years ago.
Baltimore County District Court Judge Krystin Richardson ruled in favor of prosecutors pushing to hold Rust, 48 without bail on Wednesday afternoon. He remains held at the Baltimore County Detention Center.
Rust first reported his wife missing on July 20, 2002, as the couple was preparing for their 3-year-old son’s birthday party. He said that Michelle Rust had left around 9:30 a.m. that morning to pick up some last-minute items from Walmart, but never returned. She was 24 years old at the time, and her body has never been found.
It is unclear what evidence might have led investigators to arrest Dwight Rust Jr. early Tuesday. The criminal indictment, obtained by ABC News, reveals little about why prosecutors believe Rust was responsible for her murder. In the indictment, Rust is charged with murdering his wife sometime “on or about” July 19 and July 20, 2002.
State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger declined to comment beyond the indictment. A spokesperson for the Baltimore County Police Department also declined to comment further.
In the bail review hearing on Wednesday, Assistant Attorney General Jacey Sheckells argued that Rust was attempting to start a new life with another woman when his wife went missing. According to Sheckells, Rust was having an affair with the woman.
Prosecutors requested that Rust be held without bail due to concerns he might try to intimidate witnesses.
Rust’s attorney, Jeremy Eldridge, denied the state’s allegations, maintaining Rust’s innocence.
“Having an affair with somebody doesn’t mean you’re going to murder,” he told ABC News after the hearing on Wednesday afternoon. “The state’s own witnesses, a lot of them, knew that he was ending the marriage. If people know that you’re breaking up with somebody, you’re not going to go and murder them. That doesn’t make any sense.”
In the years since, Rust has remarried and has been working for an HVAC company in the area.
“He has cooperated with law enforcement at every turn,” Eldridge said. “He’s given multiple statements and anything that the police have ever wanted or asked of him, he’s done without reservation.”
In cooperating over the past 24 years, Eldridge said Rust has also agreed to property searches by authorities.
When Michelle Rust failed to return from the trip to Walmart in 2002, Dwight Rust Jr. called her parents to see if she had stopped by their home. The family all together set out to search for Michelle Rust at nearby Walmart stores, but found no trace of her.
Her father-in-law, Dwight Rust Sr., found her green 1998 Dodge Caravan abandoned on a road that was just 10 minutes from their home. According to police, the ignition key had been broken off in the door. Investigators were unable to find the rest of that key chain, or any of the clothing and jewelry Michelle Rust was wearing when she went missing.
As Michelle Rust was diabetic and needed insulin, hundreds of family members, friends and volunteers quickly joined searches through woods, hospitals and pharmacies in the area to locate her.
Within months, still with no sign of Michelle Rust, police announced that they had concluded foul play was involved in her disappearance. The family also offered a $10,000 reward for any information related to the investigation.
A year after her disappearance, The Baltimore Sun reported that police had not yet ruled out Dwight Rust Jr. as a suspect.
“We pray and hope he is not responsible,” Ray Lins, Michelle’s father, told The Sun at the time.
In 2023, investigators returned to hunt for new evidence in the case. A group of forensic science students from Towson University assisted by using ground-penetrating radar to search for soil disturbance in the backyards of two properties. These homes formerly belonged to the couple and to Dwight Rust Jr.’s parents just next door.
“There’s no finality. Twenty-four hours a day, it goes through your mind: Where is she?” Michelle Rust’s father, Ray Lins, told The Sun in 2003. “People use the word closure. We love her. We miss her. And we don’t know what happened.”
When reached by phone on Wednesday afternoon, Ray and Gwen Lins declined to comment.
Rust faces a maximum penalty of life in prison for first-degree murder if convicted.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Monday, April 27.
The seal of the US Department of Justice on a podium prior to a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department’s internal watchdog announced Thursday it is launching an audit into the DOJ’s compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act that mandated the release of the department’s files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a statement from deputy inspector general William Blier.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Chemicals are removed from a home in Syosset, New York. (WABC)
(SYOSSET, N.Y.) — A New York father and son were arrested and charged after investigators discovered chemicals at their residence that had been combined to create explosive materials, according to police.
Investigators discovered the chemicals while they were looking into a “bias incident” in which a swastika was drawn in a male bathroom at Syosset High School on Wednesday, according to the Nassau County Police Department.
Investigators alleged the 15-year-old boy drew the swastika, police said.
Francisco Sanles, 48, has been charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, two counts of criminal facilitation, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment.
The unnamed teen has been charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, criminal mischief, aggravated harassment and making graffiti, police said.
When the chemicals were found, officers evacuated the home and began evacuating the residents of neighboring homes.
“The Nassau County Fire Marshal, Arson Bomb Squad, Nassau County Police Emergency Service Unit (ESU) were all notified and responded to the scene. The Nassau County Hazardous Material (HAZMAT) Response Team also responded and carefully removed the hazardous material from the home,” police said in a statement Thursday.
Further investigation revealed Sanles paid for the various chemicals on several occasions. He was then arrested, according to police.
Students and staff at Syosset High School were notified of the bias graffiti and ongoing investigation in an email from the school district on Wednesday night, according to a copy obtained by WABC.
“I am writing to inform you that the District found swastikas and racial epithets above urinals at Syosset High School. The District immediately commenced an investigation and notified the Nassau County Police Department. Our investigation identified the person responsible and this is now a criminal matter with an active police investigation,” the school district wrote.
“We are cooperating fully with our partners in law enforcement and remain in constant contact with them as their investigation continues. This student will also face serious consequences pursuant to the District’s Code of Conduct,” the district said.
Sanles will be arraigned Thursday at First District Court in Hempstead, police said. The unnamed teen will be arraigned in Nassau County Family Court, police said.
No attorney information for Sanles and his son is listed in court records.
The remnants of a fire smolders near a melted fence as a result of the Brantley Highway 82 wildfire on April 23, 2026 in Atkinson, Georgia. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
(BRANTLEY COUNTY, Ga.) — At least 1,000 homes are being threatened by two major wildfires in Georgia that have burned more than 34,000 acres combined, according to officials.
Dry conditions from a persistent drought and gusty winds continue to fuel the wildfires in Georgia, Florida and elsewhere across the Southeast.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency for 91 counties in South Georgia.
The two major wildfires burning in Southeast Georgia are the Highway 82 Fire in Brantley County, and the Pinelands Road Fire in nearby Clinch County, officials said.
The Highway 82 fire, which started on Monday, had grown to nearly 5,000 acres and had destroyed at least 54 homes, County Manager Joey Carson said at a news conference on Wednesday. The fire was 15% contained on Wednesday evening, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission.
Hundreds of homes are in danger of being burned in the Highway 82 Fire, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which sent assets and personnel to the area on Wednesday to assist in fighting the fire and helping the community recover.
The Pinelands Road Fire started over the weekend on mostly private forest land, officials said. It grew from about 9,000 acres on Wednesday morning to more than 29,600 acres by Wednesday night and was spreading toward Echols County, according to officials.
The fire was threatening 64 homes and 37 other structures in the area on Wednesday evening, but there were no reports of homes being destroyed, according to the Georgia Forestry Commission, which said that fire also was 10% contained by Wednesday evening.
FEMA said on Wednesday said that the two fires are threatening 1,000 homes. The agency sent assets and personnel to assist in battling fires and helping communities recover after the agency approved a Fire Management Assistance declaration.
“Obviously, this fire became a lot larger than we thought it would be on Monday. We’ve got resources that have come in from all over South Georgia and now from the state,” Carson said Wednesday, adding that he expected more resources from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to arrive later that day.
The fire, burning northwest of Brunswick, Georgia, “continues to exhibit unpredictable behavior,” according to a statement Wednesday night from the Brantley County Sheriff’s Office.
Chuck White, director of Emergency Management in neighboring Camden County, said at the news conference on Wednesday that some homeowners in the area “have lost everything.”
“I’ll be very honest with you and say it’s a miracle that we have not had any lives lost,” Carson said Wednesday afternoon, adding the blaze was among 90 wildfires that have ignited across the state since Saturday.
Schools in Brantley County canceled classes for the second day in a row on Thursday due to the fire threat and smoke, officials said.
“This decision has been made to ensure the safety of our students, families, and employees, and to allow our Brantley County families time and space to navigate the impacts of the fire,” the local school system said in a statement on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, students and staff at two schools in the Brantley County town of Waynesville were forced to evacuate during the school day, officials said.
The Georgia Forestry Commission also issued its first mandatory burn ban in state history on Wednesday. The ban on outdoor burning, which will remain in effect for at least 30 days, is for 91 counties in the lower half of the state due to worsening drought conditions and rising wildfire activity, the agency said.
Carson noted that firefighters nearly had the Brantley County fire under control on Tuesday until afternoon wind gusts escalated the fire danger.
“Within 30 minutes, the winds picked up pretty significantly, and it went from being almost in control to a major wildfire,” Cason said. “Yesterday morning, we had 700 acres burned. It burned over 4,000 acres in a matter of hours as soon as the wind picked up.”
Persistent dry conditions have led to one of the worst droughts on record for parts of Georgia, fueling wildfires in the state.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than 48% of Brantley County is under what is called an Exceptional Drought – the highest level of drought it has experienced in more than 25 years.
Across Georgia, more than 69% of the state is under an Extreme Drought. At the start of the year, only 1% of the state was under an Extreme Drought or higher.
Georgia needs between 12 and 18 inches of rainfall to end its current drought, according to data from the National Centers for Environmental Information.
In Florida, near the Georgia-Florida line, the Railroad Fire was burning in Clay and Putnam Counties, which are also under drought conditions. As of Wednesday morning, the Railroad Fire had grown to more than 4,000 acres and was more than 50% contained on Wednesday morning, according to the Florida Forest Service.
Across the Southeast – including Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South and North Carolina and Virginia – more than 97% of the region is under a moderate drought or higher.
Florida is experiencing its worst drought in 25 years, with at least 71% of the state under an extreme or exceptional drought, the two highest levels, the Florida Forest Service said.
Fire alerts issued from Texas to Montana and Minnesota
Meanwhile, pockets of fire weather continue to linger in parts of the Rockies and Great Plains on Wednesday.
More than a dozen states across the Rockies and Plains from Texas to Montana and Minnesota were under fire weather alerts on Wednesday due to hot, dry and windy conditions.
Relative humidity in parts of the Rockies and Plains on Wednesday was expected to fall to as low as 5%, and wind gusts up to 30 to 45 mph are also forecast, allowing any wildfires to rapidly start and spread.
The wildfire threat is expected to continue Thursday in the Rockies and Plains as wind gusts are forecast to reach 60 mph and relative humidity is expected to be down to the single digits.
Los Angeles County District Attorney placard. (Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
(LOS ANGELES) — A man is charged with murder for allegedly beating an 84-year-old man with dementia and setting him on fire, Los Angeles prosecutors said.
The victim, Bang Cho, had wandered away from a senior care home when he was attacked just before midnight on Sunday in downtown LA, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said.
The incident unfolded when Cho walked behind the suspect, Lavonta Wilder, and grabbed a bag Wilder was carrying, prosecutors said.
Wilder, a 40-year-old experiencing homelessness, allegedly “viciously” punched and kicked Cho, then lifted the elderly man over his shoulder and slammed him to the ground, and then set him on fire, prosecutors said.
Cho was taken to a hospital where he died the next day, prosecutors said.
Wilder is charged with murder and faces a special allegation of having a prior serious felony, prosecutors said. He’s due in court for an arraignment next month.
“The level of violence alleged here is brutal, callous and extreme,” LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement.
Cho “was disoriented and living with dementia, conditions that made him particularly vulnerable,” Hochman said. “Our thoughts are with the victim’s family as they endure this unimaginable tragedy.”
Christopher Gillum is seen in this undated police handout. (Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office)
(DESTIN, Fla.) — A former police officer who allegedly was traveling to Louisiana to conduct a mass shooting at a large festival was arrested Wednesday night in a Florida hotel where investigators found a gun and nearly 200 rounds of ammunition, authorities said.
Christopher Gillum, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was wanted by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety “for terroristic threats” and was arrested at a hotel in Destin, Florida, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Thursday.
“Authorities obtained information Gillum planned to travel to a festival in New Orleans to conduct a mass shooting and then commit suicide by cop,” the sheriff’s office said.
When officers arrested Gillum, they recovered a handgun and approximately 200 rounds of ammunition from his hotel room, the sheriff’s office alleged.
Attorney information for the suspect was not immediately available.
Gillum was a Chapel Hill Police officer from 2004 until 2019, when he resigned, a spokesman for the town of Chapel Hill said in a statement.
“He returned as a non-sworn employee in 2024 before leaving for another job by the end of that year,” Alex Carrasquillo, the town’s spokesman, said in a statement.
Gillum was being held in a Florida jail and awaiting extradition to Louisiana, the sheriff’s office said.
The Louisiana State Police did not say which festival the suspect was allegedly targeting, but said in a statement Thursday that “there are no known direct threats to any festivals in Louisiana.”
The state police will be conducting the ongoing investigation with the FBI, according to the department.
Protesters hold signs reading “justice for Casey Goodson Jr.” during the protest. Various Black Lives Matters groups collaborated with the family of Casey Goodson Jr. to put together a protest commemorating Casey Goodson Jr. on his 24th Birthday, January 30th. Casey Goodson Jr. was shot and killed by Columbus Deputy Jason Meade in early December 2020,. (Photo by Stephen Zenner/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Opening arguments in the re-trial of Jason Meade are set to begin in a Columbus, Ohio, courtroom on Thursday morning as the former Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy faces charges of murder and reckless homicide in the fatal 2020 shooting of 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr.
A jury, made up of nine women and three men, was seated on Wednesday afternoon, according to ABC Columbus station WSYX.
Meade’s second trial comes more than two years after his first trial ended in a mistrial in February 2024, as jurors failed to reach an agreement on the verdict. He has pleaded not guilty.
Meade, who testified during his first trial, claimed that he shot Goodson on Dec. 4, 2020, because he said the man waved a gun at him. Goodson’s family said that he was shot while returning from a dentist appointment and was walking into his grandmother’s home with a Subway sandwich in his hand.
A gun was found in Goodson’s possession with the safety on, according to police. Goodson was a legal gun owner and had a concealed carry permit, which was found in his wallet, police said.
No body camera video of the incident exists because at the time Franklin County Sheriff’s deputies were not issued body-worn camera equipment.
Meade was working with the U.S. Marshals in search for a potential violent fugitive when he fatally shot Goodson.
Goodson was not the target of the search.
The Franklin County Coroner’s Office found that Goodson had been shot six times from behind, including five times in his back.
A judge ruled ahead of the trial that Meade will be allowed to argue self-defense during his second trial, according to WSYX.
Prosecutors had argued that Meade should not be able to claim self-defense because he caused the situation that led to Goodson’s death, WSYX reported, but the judge ruled that Meade does have the option to argue self-defense because no evidence has been presented yet in this new trial.
Seth Walton, an attorney representing Goodson’s family, told ABC News on Wednesday that the family has endured “years of coordinated lies and distortions” as they cope with Goodson’s death.
“The only evidence that Casey Goodson, Jr. did anything to contribute to his own death comes from Jason Meade, and Jason Meade alone,” Walton said. “No independent witness. No footage. Just the word of the man who shot him in the back. And yet, despite everything Meade has claimed, the facts and evidence were strong enough to indict him and nearly convict him at the end of the last trial.”
Brian Steel, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 9 — the union that represents Meade — has supported him and claimed that shooting was justified.
“We just want the facts of this case to get out there, and where the jury lands, the jury lands,” Steel told WSYX.
“The reality is, he was not just an innocent person with a subway sandwich; he was an individual with a gun, pointed a gun at a cop, and the cop reacted,” Steel added.
ABC News reached out to Meade’s attorneys for comment.
Meade was charged with two counts of murder and one court of reckless homicide in Dec. 2, 2021 and was indicted by a grand jury.
Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Gary Tyack appointed two special prosecutors in June 2021 to investigate the case, citing a potential conflict of interest with his office, which has represented the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in legal proceedings.
The charges against Meade were brought by special prosecutors Tim Merkle and Gary Shroyer following an investigation by the Columbus Division of Police and the local branch of the FBI.
Meade was placed on administrative leave amid the investigation before retiring on disability on July 2, 2021.
This case led to widespread outrage and fueled pressure for the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office to equip deputies with body-worn cameras — a new policy that was rolled out in 2022, WSYX reported.
A 56-year-old man has been arrested and charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Louisiana with supplying the weapon allegedly used by the suspect to kill seven of his children and a nephew in Shreveport, Louisiana, April 19, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Louisiana U.S. Attorney’s Office)
(NEW YORK) — A 56-year-old Louisiana man is facing federal charges for allegedly supplying an assault-style pistol that Shamar Elkins is suspected of using to allegedly kill eight children, including seven of his own, in a shooting in Shreveport over the weekend, officials said.
Charles Ford, of Shreveport, was arrested and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and making false statements about the firearm to federal agents assisting in the investigation of Sunday’s massacre, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana. He faces a total of up to 20 years in prison if convicted of both charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Words fall short in the face of the acts Shamar Elkins perpetrated in Shreveport on April 19 – they are beyond comprehension or description,” U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller said in the statement announcing the charges.
Elkins, 31, died after leading police on a chase following the mass shooting in Shreveport that also left two women hospitalized with gunshot wounds.
Keller said investigators probing how Elkins obtained the weapon were led to Ford through information they obtained from the original purchaser of the weapon.
“Elkins’ death means that our community will never see him face justice,” Keller said. “Our hope, as we continue to investigate and prosecute this case alongside our law enforcement partners, is that holding the person whose gun Elkins used to perpetrate the crime accountable will give some small bit of solace to our Shreveport community.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Catalyst Refiners is shown in Nitro, West Virginia. (Google Maps Street View)
(NEW YORK) — Two people died and at least 19 others were injured following a chemical leak at a West Virginia refinery plant that was scheduled to be shut down Wednesday morning, officials said.
Kanawha County Commission President Ben Salango told reporters that workers were cleaning and decontaminating the Catalyst Refiners plant in Nitro, West Virginia, which is in the process of shutting down, when the incident took place around 9:30 a.m.
Kanawha County Emergency Manager CW Sigman said that as the workers were decommissioning a tank, nitric acid and M2000A were mixed, creating hydrogen sulfide.
“We could smell it downwind,” Sigman told reporters at a news conference.
A total of 21 people were taken to the hospital, two of whom died, according to Salango. Frank Barber, the president of Ames Goldsmith Corp, which owns the plant, said in a statement that the unidentified deceased victims were employees of the company.
One victim was listed in critical condition as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Salango. Barber said that the victim was also an employee of Ames Goldsmith.
Seven of the hospitalized victims were EMS crews who rushed to respond to the scene, Sigman said.
“They put themselves in harm’s way to try and save a life,” he said.
The plant was used to refine silver, according to Salango.
Sigman said that some of the employees immediately put on respirators and helped to get the people inside the plant out of harm’s way.
Sigman said the investigation is ongoing and will involve state and federal agencies as they try to get more answers as to how the incident took place.
He said that according to the plant manager, it was not uncommon for decontamination crews to mix the nitric acid and M2000A.
“But there was something going on that was different. That will [be] for the investigators to determine,” Sigman said of the decommission procedures.
A shelter-in-place was ordered for the surrounding area as investigators determine the extent of the leak.
Sigman said that fire officials have visited and toured the plant “in the last few months,” and met with plant managers about emergency response.
Barber said Ames Goldsmith is working with investigators in their probe.
“This is an unfathomably difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers are with our colleagues and their families,” he said.
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said he was monitoring the situation.
“We are working around the clock with local officials to ensure this incident is contained and that all necessary state resources are on the ground to protect the community,” he said in a statement.
