Failed ATM robbers crash truck into Walgreens storefront, leave empty-handed
Pierce County Sheriff’s Department
(TACOMA, WA) — Two individuals drove a flatbed truck through the front doors of a store in Washington state in what appears to be a failed ATM robbery, according to surveillance footage recently released by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.
Police are now seeking the two would-be robbers who quickly fled the scene after failing to remove the automated teller machine from the Walgreens where it was installed.
The attempted robbery took place just before 5 a.m. on Dec. 9, according to ABC News’ Washington affiliate KOMO.
It involved a flatbed truck backing into and shattering the front windows of the entryway to a Walgreens in Pierce County.
Once the truck has successfully smashed its way into the store, two individuals can be seen getting out and running toward the ATM.
The two individuals, who are wearing reflective garments and balaclava-style masks during what the police have labeled a “commercial burglary,” then attempt to loop a cable around the machine. However, they appear to be unsuccessful in their attempts to dislodge it.
Realizing that they have not been successful, the individuals then decide to give up and instead flee the glass-spackled scene, according to the store’s security video.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department is now seeking information from the public about the crime.
(NEW ORLEANS, LA) — Witnesses described scenes of carnage in the wake of a car-ramming attack early Wednesday morning on Bourbon Street in New Orleans that left at least 10 dead and dozens injured.
The suspect, who has not yet been identified, was allegedly “hell-bent” on killing as many people as possible when he steered a pickup truck around barricades and plowed into a crowd of people ringing in the New Year, according to New Orleans Superintendent of Police Anne Kirkpatrick.
One witness, Paul S., who asked ABC News to withhold his full name, said he had watched a fireworks display and went back to his hotel, going to bed around 2:00 a.m. CT. A little over an hour later, he woke up to popping sounds.
“We heard a ‘pop, pop, pop, pop’ sound, followed by a sound that sounded like fireworks going off, like a big firework all at once, and it turned out that was the crash,” he said.
Paul said he peeked through the curtains to see what was occurring and saw police officers telling people in buildings to stay inside. He then went onto the balcony and started recording the aftermath of the attack.
“There’s litter all over the sidewalks, and then there were bodies laid up next to garbage cans and people rushing to give aid,” he said. “There were…these really bright lights out on Bourbon Street…and that illuminated the scene where you could look up and down a block and see it completely empty except for the bodies that were on the ground.”
“The one detail that feels the worst was a man who was in a wheelchair, who was clearly knocked out of it and on the ground in pain. It’s just right next to where the carpark ended,” Paul added.
Paul said he did not see the suspect but was able to see four bullet holes in the rear windshield of the pickup truck allegedly used in the attack.
Another witness, Jimmy Cothran, told ABC News’ Morgan Norwood he and his group ducked into a Bourbon Street nightclub when the commotion began.
Shortly after he entered the club, he said five girls ran in “frantically” and hid under chairs.
Cothran said he ran upstairs to the club’s balcony and witnessed “body after body mangled just as far as you could see. We counted 10, and at least six were instantly clearly deceased. Some were very clearly deceased, but others were yelling out. … It’s a lot to process.”
Cothran added that he saw some bodies in the street that bore tire marks.
“It looked like something out of a movie the way the bodies were mangled,” he said. “These people are never going to wake up.”
Dan McFee, another witness to the attack, had a close encounter with the suspect’s vehicle while standing on Canal Street, which intersects with Bourbon Street.
McFee said he was waiting for an Uber and saw the suspect’s pick-up truck. He heard tires “screeching” and the truck turned right onto Bourbon Street.
“It was heading directly towards me and the female friend I had with me. I basically wrapped my arms around her and threw ourselves to the right,” he told ABC News’ Diane Macedo.
McFee said he’s not sure if he was hit by the truck or by some debris but said he and his friend were flown into the air and came back down on the sidewalk.
He said he saw the truck barreling down the street, hitting other New Year’s Eve revelers and heard gunshots. He did not see the suspect inside the vehicle.
McFee added that he and his friend escaped with minor injuries.
“I believe we’re all alright. Fortunately, we had bumps and bruises and scrapes but no serious injuries,” he said.
The suspect was allegedly firing a gun as he mowed people down, law enforcement officials said. He was shot and killed by police when he got out of his vehicle with an assault rifle, the officials said.
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — As New York City prosecutors worked Thursday to bring murder charges against Luigi Mangione in the brazen killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, supporters of the suspect are donating tens of thousands of dollars for a defense fund established for him, leaving law enforcement officials worried Mangione is being turned into a martyr.
Several online defense funds have been created for Mangione by anonymous people, including one on the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo that as of Thursday afternoon had raised over $50,000.
The GiveSendGo defense fund for the 26-year-old Mangione was established by an anonymous group calling itself “The December 4th Legal Committee,” apparently in reference to the day Mangione allegedly ambushed and gunned down Thompson in Midtown Manhattan as the executive walked to his company’s shareholders conference at the New York Hilton hotel.
“We are not here to celebrate violence, but we do believe in the constitutional right to fair legal representation,” the anonymous group said in a statement.
The crowdfunding campaign prompted donations from more than 1,500 anonymous donors across the country, many of them leaving messages of support for Mangione, including one person who called themselves “A frustrated citizen” and thanked Mangione for “sparking the awareness and thought across this sleeping nation.”
The GiveSendGo fund for Mangione appeared to be briefly taken down before it was restored on Thursday.
In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for GiveSendGo said the company “operates with a principle of not preemptively determining guilt or innocence.”
“Our platform does not adjudicate legal matters or the validity of causes. Instead, we allow campaigns to remain live unless they violate the specific terms outlined in our Terms of Use. Importantly, we do allow campaigns for legal defense funds, as we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to access due process,” the GiveSendGo spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added, “We understand the concerns raised by such campaigns and take these matters seriously. When campaigns are reported, our team conducts a thorough review to ensure they comply with our policies. While other platforms may choose a different approach, GiveSendGo’s core value is to provide a space where all individuals, no matter their situation, can seek and receive support, with donors making their own informed decisions.”
Other crowdfunding sites such as GoFundMe have also taken down campaigns soliciting donations for Mangione’s defense.
“GoFundMe’s Terms of Service prohibit fundraisers for the legal defense of violent crimes,” the crowdfunding website said in a statement. “The fundraisers have been removed from our platform and all donors have been refunded.”
Amazon and Etsy have removed from their websites merchandise featuring Mangione, including T-shirts and tote bags reading “Free Luigi” and the phrase “Deny, Defend, Depose,” words police said were etched in the shell casings discovered at the scene of Thompson’s homicide.
“Celebrating this conduct is abhorrent to me. It’s deeply disturbing,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told ABC News senior investigative reporter Aaron Katersky in an interview Wednesday night. “And what I would say to members of the public, people who as you described are celebrating this and maybe contemplating other action, that we will be vigilant and we will hold people accountable. We are at the ready.”
Prosecutors at the Manhattan district attorney’s office have begun presenting evidence to a grand jury as they work to try to secure an indictment against Mangione, sources told ABC News on Thursday.
Mangione’s attorney, Thomas Dickey of Altoona, Pennsylvania, where Mangione was arrested Monday following a five-day manhunt, said his client is presumed innocent and will plead not guilty to any charges filed against him. Mangione is contesting extradition to New York.
Asked about people contributing to Mangione defense funds that have popped up, Dickey said, “People are entitled to their opinion and, like I said, if you’re an American and you believe in the American criminal justice system, you have to presume him to be innocent and none of us would want anything other than that if that were us in their shoes. So, I’m glad he had some support.”
But law enforcement officials have expressed concern that Mangione is being turned into a martyr. Someone this week pasted “wanted posters” outside the New York Stock Exchange naming other executives.
A bulletin released Wednesday by the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center, a multi-agency law enforcement intelligence-sharing network based in Philadelphia, included a photo of a banner hanging from an overpass reading, “Deny, Defend, Depose.”
“Many social media users have outright advocated for the continued killings of CEOs with some aiming to spread fear by posting ‘hit lists,'” the bulletin, obtained by ABC News, reads.
Meanwhile, New York Police Department investigators continue to build a murder case against Mangione, who is being held in Pennsylvania on charges stemming from his arrest there, including illegal possession of ghost gun and fraudulent identification. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to the charges in Pennsylvania.
On Wednesday, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that the three shell casings recovered at the scene of Thompson’s shooting matched the gun found in Mangione possession when he was arrested. She also confirmed that Mangione’s fingerprints were recovered from a water bottle and the wrapper of a granola bar found near the crime scene.
(NEW YORK) — Snow is headed to the Midwest and the West ahead of Thanksgiving, while rain will target the East Coast on Thanksgiving Day.
Here’s your weather forecast for the holiday week:
Monday
Snow is headed to Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on Monday, while rain is possible from Chicago to Detroit to Indianapolis.
In the West, lots of snow will accumulate in the California mountains. Parts of the southern Sierra Nevada mountain range below the snow line could see 4 to 8 inches of rain through Monday night.
Throughout the South, temperatures will be above average — in the 70s or 80s — on Monday.
Tuesday
Rain is headed to the Northeast on Tuesday, potentially causing flight delays during this busy travel week.
In the West, snow will continue in the Sierra Nevadas and will target the Rockies.
Rain showers are possible from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay area.
Wednesday
The Midwest, including Chicago, will see a mix of rain and snow on Wednesday.
In the West, snow totals will reach 3 to 5 feet for parts of the southern Sierra Nevadas in California. Up to 7 feet of snow is possible at the highest elevations.
The Rocky Mountains in Colorado are forecast to get 1 to 3 feet of snow. Wind gusts may reach 35 to 50 mph.
Temperatures on Wednesday will return to potentially record-breaking highs for Houston and Austin, Texas, with highs in the mid-80s.
Thanksgiving
A storm is expected to bring rain to most of the East Coast on Thanksgiving.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City will be rainy and chilly, with temperatures in the 40s.
Snow is possible in upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and northern Maine.
Temperatures will be average or below average for most of the country on Thanksgiving. But temperatures will be above average for Phoenix; New Orleans; Jacksonville, Florida; and Raleigh, North Carolina.
