Man arrested, faces federal charge in connection with Palisades Fire: DOJ
Volunteers with Samaritan’s Purse search for meaningful personal items for members of the Alvarado family in the rubble of their home which burned in the Eaton Fire on February 05, 2025 in Altadena, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
(LOS ANGELES) — An arrest has been made in connection with the Palisades Fire, which caused widespread destruction in Los Angeles County and killed a dozen people earlier this year, the Department of Justice announced on Wednesday.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, is accused of igniting a fire on Jan. 1 in the Pacific Palisades that ultimately erupted into the Palisades Fire, the Department of Justice said.
The brush fire was suppressed by fire crews but continued to smolder underground before high wind caused it to surface and spread nearly a week later, “causing what became known as the Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles City history,” acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said during a press conference on Wednesday.
Rinderknecht has been charged by criminal complaint with destruction of property by means of fire. He was arrested on Tuesday near his residence in Florida and is scheduled to make his first court appearance in Orlando federal court on Wednesday, officials said.
The fire erupted on Jan. 7, burning more than 23,000 acres over more than three weeks and destroying nearly 7,000 structures, according to California fire officials.
It ignited the same day as the Eaton Fire, which burned more than 14,00 acres in Los Angeles County, destroying more than 9,400 structures and killing 19 people, according to officials.
The fires started burning during strong Santa Ana winds, which, combined with dry conditions, helped their ability to spread quickly. This spread prompted mass evacuations.
The Palisades Fire decimated the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
The FBI said it is working alongside state and local law enforcement “to fully investigate and seek justice in the fatal shooting” of Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
The FBI asked for tips from the public as the manhunt for the perpetrator continued, urging anyone with information, photos and video from the incident to share it with investigators.
FBI Director Kash Patel said earlier the agency “stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation.”
Officials are due to hold a press conference at 9 a.m. ET on Thursday. UVU will be closed until Sept. 14, according to a notice posted on the university’s website.
As the search for the suspect continued, President Donald Trump and prominent MAGA personalities sought to tie the killing to Democratic political rhetoric.
In a video posted to social media, Trump said, “It’s a long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree.”
“For years, those on the radical Left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals,” he added. “This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.”
Trump’s son Eric, meanwhile, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity he was “sick and tired of seeing the bullets — they are only going one way.”
Kirk — a 31-year-old father of two — was considered a confidant of Trump and highly influential in the conservative youth movement.
He founded the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA in 2012 at the age of 18, and in the 2024 elections was credited with building significant support for Trump among young voters.
He was hit by a single shot during the outdoors event at the university’s Orem campus shortly after noon. Kirk was taken to hospital but was later pronounced dead.
The Utah event was expected to include a “prove me wrong” table, according to the tour’s website.
Ahead of Kirk’s visit to Utah Valley University, some students started an online petition asking university administrators to stop him from coming.
Though Kirk’s visit was controversial on campus, police were tracking no specific or credible threats before the fatal shooting, Utah law enforcement sources told ABC News.
More than 3,000 people were estimated to be at the event, according to the university’s police chief, Jeff Long. There were six police officers, along with Kirk’s private security, according to Long.
Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason called the shooting a “targeted attack,” and said the scene is a “very large area.”
Mason said the “only information” they have on the possible shooter was taken from CCTV on campus, and that the person was dressed in all dark clothing. The shot was fired on campus from a “longer distance,” potentially from a roof, he said.
There is no evidence that anyone else was involved, according to authorities.
Salt Lake City FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls said the investigation is in the early stages.
“We are following all the leads and all the evidence,” he said during the press briefing on Wednesday.
(NEW YORK) — The Utah Department of Public of Safety said in an update Wednesday night that two people were initially taken into custody after the shooting but later released.
The first was released and later charged with obstruction by university police. The second person was taken into custody and released after an “interrogation” by law enforcement, the department said.
Utah authorities said “there are no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals.”
Trump was among those who paid tribute to Kirk.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump said on social media. “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
“It’s horrific. It’s one of the most horrible things I’ve ever seen,” Trump told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl.
“He was a great guy,” Trump said. “He was a good man. He was an incredible guy. Nobody like him.”
Trump ordered all American flags throughout the country to be lowered to half-staff through Sunday evening in Kirk’s honor.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called the fatal shooting a “political assassination.”
Vice President JD Vance called Kirk “a genuinely good guy and a young father” while urging prayers in the aftermath of the shooting.
Cox said earlier he was being briefed “following the violence directed at Charlie Kirk” during the conservative political activist’s visit to the campus.
“Those responsible will be held fully accountable. Violence has no place in our public life. Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act,” he said on X.
Condemnation came from both sides of the political spectrum.
“There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now,” Former President Joe Biden said. “Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirk’s family and loved ones.”
“The attack on Charlie Kirk is horrifying and this growing type of unconscionable violence cannot be allowed in our society,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said on X.
Fellow Democratic governor, California’s Gavin Newsom, said on X that the “attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.”
Mourners hold candles during a candlelight vigil to commemorate the first anniversary of a mass shooting that claimed 18 lives at Just-In-Time Recreation and Schemengees Bar & Grille on October 25, 2024 in Lewiston, Maine. (Zhu Ziyu/VCG via Getty Images)
(LEWISTON, Maine) — Dozens of survivors and families of victims of the 2023 mass shooting in Maine are suing the federal government over its “negligence” in failing to address “known dangers” posed by the Army reservist who would go on to kill 18 people.
Lawyers for about 100 survivors and families of victims announced their intent to sue the government last October. Now, with no response or acknowledgement, the group said, they are officially filing suit.
At least 18 people were killed and more than a dozen others injured after a gunman opened fire at two locations in Lewiston, Maine: a bowling alley where a children’s league was taking place and a local bar. The massacre was one of the deadliest shootings in U.S. history.
The gunman, Robert Card, displayed multiple warning signs in the weeks and months leading up to the shooting, including a clear pattern that was known to the Army, but to which they did not respond, the 119-page suit alleged.
“Well before the mass shooting, the Army was aware that Robert Card had classic warnings signs of high risk to himself and the public. The Army’s knowledge; its mandatory processes; its promises to Card’s family, medical providers and local law enforcement; and its actions in undertaking to intervene individually and in combination created a legal duty on the part of the Army to address the risks posed by Card in a reasonable manner,” the suit said.
The actions that should have been taken were buttressed by a wealth of knowledge of the “unique risks” service members with “mental health crises” pose to “themselves and the public,” but instead those policies were “violated” in failing to take “mandatory action” with Card, according to the suit.
“The Army knew that the combination of mental health deterioration, blast-induced brain injury, access to weapons, and paranoid delusions required immediate and decisive intervention to prevent tragedy,” the suit said. “The Army had mandatory reporting systems, crisis intervention protocols, and state law utilization procedures designed for such situations.”
The Army’s own investigation into what led up to the shooting found, among other things, “multiple communication failures between military and civilian hospitals, as well as with SFC Card’s chain of command,” as ABC News has previously reported. Those failures “impacted” Card’s “continuity of care,” and possibly, could have prevented him from wielding weapons as he did, the investigation found.
The group’s suit now seeks “accountability from the U.S. Army, Department of Defense, and Keller Army Community Hospital after those institutions ignored warning signs of the dangers posed by Army Reserve Sergeant, Robert Card, including Card’s threat six weeks before the tragedy that he planned to commit a mass shooting.”
(NEW YORK) — Patrick Brady, a New York City firefighter, had a “medical episode” while battling a five-alarm fire in Brooklyn on Saturday and later died at the hospital, officials said.
Brady, 42, was an 11-year veteran of the department, FDNY Commissioner Robert S. Tucker said in a joint press release with Mayor Eric Adams.
“Firefighter Patrick Brady gave his life protecting the city we all love; there is no sacrifice that is more selfless than the actions that took place this evening,” Adams said in a statement.
Brady had been battling a fire on the roof of 9407 Kings Highway in Brooklyn on Saturday when he had a “medical episode” and went into cardiac arrest, the department said. He was treated on the scene and then rushed to Brookdale hospital, where he later died, officials said.
“A resident of Queens, he is survived by his wife, Kara, and his two brothers, Jimmy and Brian, who are both FDNY Firefighters,” the department said. Other members of his family, including cousins and uncles, are also FDNY Firefighters, according to the department.
“This family is a firefighter family,” Adams said during a somber press conference held at Brookdale hospital in Brooklyn early Sunday morning.
“They’ve been dedicated to protecting the lives of New Yorkers, and we will all cherish Patrick’s memory,” Adams added.
