Man with chainsaw fatally shot by police inside senior-living facility, officials say
The entrance doors of the River Glen of St. Charles, in St. Charles, Illinois, are seen in a screengrab of a video shot Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (WLS)
(ST. CHARLES, IL) — A man wielding a chainsaw inside a senior-living facility in St. Charles, Illinois, was shot and killed by police early Sunday, state and local law enforcement said.
The man, whom police have not publicly identified, was allegedly attempting to cut down a tree on the facility’s property at about 8:45 a.m. on Sunday. He was “shirtless” when police arrived at the facility, on the 900 block of North 5th Avenue, the St. Charles Police Department said in a press statement.
“Just before police arrival, witnesses advised the subject had now gained entry to the lobby of the building and began confronting residents with the chainsaw,” the department said.
Officers sought to deescalate the situation, but “the suspect continued his attempts to use the chainsaw against residents of the building,” as well as against responding officers, the department said.
Officers used a taser on the man, “but his attack continued,” the press statement said. An officer then fired his gun, striking the alleged attacker, police said.
“The male suspect was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced deceased,” the Illinois State Police said in a press release.
Officers and residents of the assisted-living facility were treated at the scene for minor injuries, police said.
“We are deeply grateful for the swift action of our team and law enforcement,” a spokesperson for the facility, the River Glen of St. Charles, said in a statement. “We want to emphasize that our community is secure, and all residents and staff members are safe.”
The Illinois State Police said it would investigate the shooting.
Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office in Bozeman, Montana. Via Google Maps Street View
(BIG SKY, Mont.) — A Montana man has been charged in the killing of a fellow camper that was so brutal it was initially reported by a 911 caller as a possible bear attack.
Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, of Basin, Montana, has been charged with deliberate homicide in the killing of Dustin Kjersem, authorities announced at a news conference Thursday evening.
Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said Abbey confessed to the killing after investigators zeroed in on him based on DNA collected from a beer can inside the slain man’s tent.
The sheriff said it does not appear the two men knew each other and that they met in a “chance encounter” as Abbey searched for a campsite.
“There does not appear to be any connection between our victim and our suspect,” Springer told reporters Thursday.
Kjersem’s body was found dead in a tent on Oct. 12 in a fairly remote camping area in the Moose Creek area.
The sheriff said Kjersem arrived in the Moose Creek area on Oct. 10 for a camping trip and had set up a wall tent, complete with a wood stove, beds and lamps.
That same night, Abbey was also in the area looking for a place to camp and noticed Kjersem had already taken the campsite, the sheriff said.
Abbey told investigators Kjersem “welcomed him to the campsite” and offered him a beer, the sheriff said.
Then at some point Abbey hit Kjersem with a piece of wood, stabbed him in the neck with a screwdriver and then hit him with an ax, the sheriff said.
The motive for the attack is still unknown, the sheriff said.
“We have a bit of his story, but … we don’t really know what the true story is,” Springer said.
The sheriff said Abbey later returned to the crime scene to remove items from the campsite that he believed might have evidence to tie him to the killing, including a cooler, firearms and the ax.
Kjersem was last heard from on Oct. 10 as he was leaving to go camping for the weekend. He had plans to pick up his girlfriend on the following day and take her out to the campsite, the sheriff said. When he didn’t show, she grew concerned and went with a friend to the campsite and found his body inside his tent.
The initial 911 call reported it as a possible bear attack.
When investigators responded to the scene of the crime, a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks agent with expertise in bear attacks did not find any signs of bear activity at the scene, prompting investigators to treat the incident as a homicide, according to the sheriff’s office.
An autopsy determined multiple wounds led to his death. Kjersem’s injuries included “significant damage” to his skull, Springer previously said.
Abbey’s DNA was identified on the beer can by analysts with the Montana State Crime Lab on Oct. 25, authorities said. Abbey was located in the Butte area. He was initially arrested on Oct. 26 on a probation violation.
As of Wednesday morning, Trump surpassed the 270 electoral votes need to secure the presidency, and that could mean major changes to the health care landscape.
During his campaign, Trump vowed to make the Affordable Care Act “better” and to protect “women.” He also suggested that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would shape the public health agenda of his administration.
This is what a second Trump term would mean for health care policies including health insurance and reproductive rights.
Future of the ACA and Medicare
Trump has been inconsistent on what his plans are regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the landmark law signed in 2010 by then-President Barack Obama.
During his first term, Trump tried several times to repeal the ACA but was unsuccessful. In November 2023, he also vowed to replace it in a post on his social media planform, Truth Social.
Since then, he has shifted course. In March, Trump said is “not running to terminate” the ACA but said he wanted to make it “better” and “less expensive,” in a post on Truth Social.
During the September presidential debate, he said he had “concepts of a plan” and said it would be “better health care than Obamacare,” but offered few details.
There could also be changes to Medicare, a federal health insurance program for people aged 65 or older and younger people with disabilities.
Trump has promoted Medicare Advantage, which is run by commercial insurers. What’s more, Project 2025 — a plan of conservative policy proposals proposed by the Heritage Foundation and not endorsed by Trump — has proposed Medicare Advantage be the default option for Medicare coverage.
Experts have said this could privatize the program and prevent people from receiving care from doctors and hospitals that don’t accept Medicare Advantage.
Also at risk are those with pre-existing conditions. Under the ACA, insurers cannot charge more or deny coverage to someone or their child because of a pre-existing health condition. However, Vice President-elect JD Vance has suggested placing people with chronic conditions into separate risk pools, which could raise premiums for those with pre-existing conditions.
Kennedy vows to remove fluoride from drinking water, vaccine review
During a charity dinner last month in New York City, Trump pledged that Kennedy would “go wild on health.”
Kennedy, an environmental lawyer with no public health or medical background, has been vocal on certain health policies he would like to tackle including fluoride in drinking water and review of vaccines.
In an interview with NPR on Wednesday morning, Kennedy doubled down on his promise that the Trump administration will recommend that local governments remove fluoride from their water supplies.
He has claimed that fluoride in drinking water affects children’s neurological development and that other countries which have removed fluoride from their water supplies have not seen an increase in cavities.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says fluoride prevents cavities and repairs damaged to teeth caused by bacteria in the mouth. Fluoride also replaces minerals lost from teeth due to acid breakdown, according to the agency.
Additionally, Kennedy told NPR he would work “immediately” to increase research into the safety of vaccines, though he insisted, “We’re not going to take vaccines away from anybody.”
“We are going to make sure that Americans have good information,” he said. “Right now, the science on vaccine safety, particularly, has huge deficits in it. We’re going to make sure those scientific studies are done, and that people can make informed choices about their vaccinations and their children’s vaccinations.”
Top U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials have said that FDA-approved vaccines are “high quality, effective, and safe.”
In an interview with NBC News, he also suggested firing many workers at the FDA’s nutrition department.
Uncertainty about the future of reproductive rights
Although Trump has taken credit for ending Roe v. Wade — which was overruled by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 — he was hesitant during his campaign to state his stance on abortion.
During the presidential debate in September, he said he believed in exceptions for rape, incest and to save the mother’s life but declined to say if he would veto a national ban.
However, in October, he wrote on the social platform X that he would not support a federal abortion ban, and said abortions laws are up to the will of the voters in individual states.
Trump told CBS News in August he would not use the 150-year-old Comstock Act to ban mail delivery of medication abortion pills, which drew rebuke from some conservatives and anti-abortion advocates.
In September, during a rally in Pennsylvania, he said he would be a “protector” of women and that they “wouldn’t be thinking about abortion” if he were elected. He doubled down on these claims last month during a rally in Wisconsin, with Trump saying he would “protect” women “whether the women like it or not.”
He has not offered specifics on what being a “protector” means in this capacity.
ABC News’ Will McDuffie contributed to this report.
(PHOENIX, AZ) — A disabled Black man in Arizona faces multiple charges after a pair of Phoenix police officers punched him and shocked him with a stun gun. Tyron McAlpin, who is deaf and has cerebral palsy, faces charges of felony assault and resisting arrest.
The incident, which took place on Aug. 19, was captured on both surveillance video and police body-worn camera. The officers said they were investigating an assault at a nearby Circle K and McAlpin fit the description of the suspect given by a bystander. However, the original description of the suspect was for a white man who had been creating a disturbance in the store. They also claimed that McAlpin became combative and tried to run when they approached him.
McAlpin’s lawyers said the video shows otherwise.
In the video, police are seen pulling up to McAlpin and ordering him down to the ground. He doesn’t appear to immediately comply. The video then shows the officers punching him 10 times in the head and shocking him with a stun gun four times while yelling “Get your hands behind your back.” McAlpin’s attorney said he didn’t know what was going on and could not hear the commands.
A union for the department’s officers argues that people should know what to do if a police car comes up and uniformed officers approach and that the officers had to force McAlpin to comply not knowing he was deaf at the time. The union also said McAlpin took a fighting stance and bit the officers.
“After reviewing all evidence presented, Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner Nick Saccone determined there was sufficient evidence for the felony charges against the suspect due to his actions against the officers,” Phoenix Law Enforcement Association President Darrell Kriplean said. A Maricopa County judge has ruled there was probable cause for the arrest and is cause for the charges.
The department said it stood behind the officers and suggested people avoid making judgments about the incident until all the evidence is reviewed rather than focusing entirely on an excerpt of the footage. The police department is investigating the arrest.
The incident came after the Department of Justice in June released a report concluding that the Phoenix Police Department engaged in civil rights violations including racial discrimination and bias against the disabled. Their investigation found “systemic problems” within the department’s policies, training, supervision and accountability systems that were “perpetuated” for years.
The DOJ opened its investigation in August 2021 after complaints about use of excessive force among Phoenix police. The department said it welcomed this inquiry to help them understand how they can better serve the community.
