Des Moines Public Schools superintendent detained by ICE
ICE officers clash with demonstrators outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility using smoke gas and plastic bullets to disperse crowds protesting against deportations in Broadview, Illinois, United States on September 19, 2025. Several hundred protesters had gathered near the Broadview ICE center, chanting against immigration enforcement policies. (Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Friday, according to the school district.
ICE said Ian Roberts was in the country illegally from Guyana and was working as a superintendent despite having “a final order of removal and no work authorization.”
When officers conducting a “targeted enforcement operation” tried to approach Roberts in his car on Friday, the superintendent sped away, and the officers later found his car abandoned, ICE said.
Police helped find Roberts, and when he was taken into custody, the superintendent was in possession of a loaded handgun, a fixed-blade hunting knife and $3,000 in cash, ICE said.
Roberts came to the U.S. on a student visa in 1999 and a judge gave him a “final order of removal” in May 2024, ICE said in a statement. Roberts has weapon possession charges from February 2020, the agency said.
School district officials said in a statement they didn’t have information on “next potential steps” for Roberts.
Roberts joined the Des Moines district in July 2023 and “held educational leadership positions in districts across the U.S. for 20 years,” school board chair Jackie Norris said at a news conference Friday.
“There is new information that has been made public that we did not know, and have not been able to verify as to whether that information is accurate,” she said.
“There is much we do not know,” she said. “However, what we do know is that Dr. Roberts has been an integral part of our school community since he joined over two years ago. During his time with our district, he has shown up in ways big and small, and has advocated for students and staff and begun introducing concepts that will help us reimagine education for future generations of Des Moines students.”
Stock image of police lights. Douglas Sacha/Getty Images
(SHEARON HARRIS LAKE, N.C.) — A 10-year-old girl is dead and a woman suffered “critical injury” after a drunken boater struck swimmers in a North Carolina lake over the weekend, according to officials.
Quinten Gregory Kight, 40, has been charged with felony operating a motor vessel while under the influence, unintentionally causing serious injury to another person, in the incident on Shearon Harris Lake.
Kight was also charged with operating his motor boat on the lake negligently, endangering the life of Jennifer Ann Stahle by not looking forward in the direction of travel and being under the influence, according to court documents.
“This was a heartbreaking accident, but one that was preventable. Alcohol was a factor, and the decision to operate a boat while impaired had devastating consequences,” Chatham County Sheriff Mike Roberson said in a statement on Monday. “We urge everyone to think twice before mixing alcohol with watercraft operation. It only takes a moment for lives to be changed forever.”
Kight was arrested on Monday.
While his bond was initially set at $500,000, Kight has posted an amended bond of $250,000, according to court documents. He is not allowed to operate a motor vehicle of any kind and is subject to cam monitoring, court documents said.
Kight has been appointed a public defender but the identity of his attorney was not immediately clear from court records.
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission didn’t immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
(BLACK ROCK CITY, Nev.) — Officials in Nevada are investigating a homicide after a Burning Man participant was found dead, according to the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office.
On Saturday at approximately 9:14 p.m., a sheriff’s deputy was alerted by an event participant at Burning Man — an annual festival that takes place in Black Rock City, Nevada — that there was a man “lying in a pool of blood,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement on Sunday.
Officials “immediately responded” to the campsite and found a “single white adult male lying on the ground, obviously deceased,” according to authorities.
Law enforcement then created a perimeter around the area, with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office’s Forensic Science Division assisting in “processing the scene and collection of evidence,” officials said. The sheriff’s office also noted that they interviewed “several participants in the immediate area.”
But as of Sunday, the investigation was “still ongoing,” with portion of the festival’s “City” having “heavy law enforcement presence until the scene can be released,” according to officials.
“Although this act appears to be a singular one, all participants should always be vigilant of their surroundings and acquaintances,” the sheriff’s office said.
On Monday, the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office told ABC News that detectives are actively receiving tips and tracking down information related to the death.
There have been no arrests, officials said.
The identity of the body, which will be transferred to the Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office, has not been identified by officials, the sheriff’s office noted.
Burning Man said in a statement they are “cooperating with law enforcement” as the investigation continues, and three public WiFi spots will be available for attendees who “need to communicate with loved ones,” the festival said.
As of Monday, no further information regarding the incident was available, officials said.
Officials said anyone with any additional information regarding the incident should contact the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Josh Nicholson through dispatch at 774-273-2641.
Burning Man is a “temporary metropolis in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert,” according to its website.
“Tens of thousands of people converge on a dry lakebed in Nevada, build a fully functional city where they live and work for week, then make it disappear without a trace. In this crucible of creativity, all are welcome!” the festival’s website said.
The sheriff’s office told ABC News investigation is made more difficult by the fact that Black Rock City is a temporary city that is disappearing Monday, now that attendees have left, so officials have to work before evidence disappears. Because that death happened in such a remote location in the desert, cell phone service is non-existent in most areas, so video and surveillance evidence is not as available as it would be elsewhere, officials said.
Among those killed was an officer who was a dad of two with a third on the way.
“We will always remember the sacrifice officer Islam, a husband, a son and father, made for all of us,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday. “To the other victims — people just trying to make a living, do their jobs — our hearts are broken, and we, too, grieve with your families.”
Here’s what we know about the victims:
Didarul Islam
Didarul Islam, 36, was an off-duty New York City police officer assigned to a Bronx precinct, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.
A Bangladeshi immigrant who joined the NYPD four years ago, Islam is survived by his wife, who is eight months pregnant, and two young sons.
“He was doing the job that we asked him to do,” New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. “He put himself in harm’s way. He made the ultimate sacrifice, shot in cold blood, wearing a uniform that stood for the promise that he made to this city. He died as he lived — a hero.”
“Didarul Islam represented the very best of our department. He was protecting New Yorkers from danger when his life was tragically cut short,” the NYPD said. “We join in prayer during this time of incomprehensible pain. We will forever honor his legacy.”
Wesley LePatner
Wesley LePatner, a Blackstone employee, wife and mom of two, was also killed.
She was the global head of Core+ Real Estate and the chief executive officer of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust.
LePatner spent over a decade at Goldman Sachs before joining Blackstone in 2014. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University, Blackstone said.
“Words cannot express the devastation we feel. Wesley was a beloved member of the Blackstone family and will be sorely missed,” Blackstone said in a statement. “She was brilliant, passionate, warm, generous, and deeply respected within our firm and beyond.”
“Our prayers are with her husband, children and family,” the company said. “We are also saddened by the loss of the other innocent victims as well, including brave security personnel and NYPD.”
LePatner was also a “beloved” member of the board of directors of the UJA-Federation of New York.
“Wesley was extraordinary in every way — personally, professionally, and philanthropically,” the organization said. “An exceptional leader in the financial world, she brought thoughtfulness, vision, and compassion to everything she did. In 2023, we honored her with the Alan C. Greenberg Young Leadership Award at our Wall Street Dinner, recognizing her commitment to our community and her remarkable achievements, all the more notable as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field.”
“She lived with courage and conviction, instilling in her two children a deep love for Judaism and the Jewish people,” the statement continued. “May Wesley’s memory be for a blessing — and a lasting source of strength and inspiration.”
Aland Etienne
Security officer Aland Etienne was also killed, his union confirmed in a statement.
Union President Manny Pastreich remembered Etienne as a “dedicated security officer who took his job duties extremely seriously.”
“This tragedy speaks to the sacrifice of security officers who risk their lives every day to keep New Yorkers and our buildings safe,” Pastreich said in a statement. “Every time a security officer puts on their uniform, they put their lives on the line. Their contributions to our city are essential, though often unappreciated. Aland Etienne is a New York hero. We will remember him as such.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Peter Charalambous and Darren Reynolds contributed to this report.
