Missing USF students deemed ‘endangered’ by officials as search continues
In these photos released by the University of South Florida Police Department, Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy are shown. (University of South Florida Police Department)
(TAMPA, Fla.) — Investigators have listed that two University of Southern Florida doctoral students who went missing last week are endangered as the search continues.
Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, both 27, were last seen at separate locations in the Tampa area on April 16, according to the USF Police Department.
Officials received new information to warrant the upgrade to an endangered status, which indicates they are at risk of physical injury or death, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.
The sheriff did not provide any more details about the investigation or search efforts.
Limon and Bristy are friends, and a mutual acquaintance reported them missing, campus police said.
Limon, who is pursuing a degree in geography, environmental science and policy, was last seen at his Tampa residence at approximately 9 a.m. on April 16, according to police.
Bristy, who is studying chemical engineering, was last seen at the USF Tampa campus at the Natural & Environmental Sciences Building at approximately 10 a.m. that day, police said.
Both students have been entered into state and national missing persons’ databases.
Anyone with information on their whereabouts is urged to call the University of South Florida Police Department at 813-974-2628.
-ABC News’ Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
Cars make their way to Hobby Airport in Houston on Tuesday, July 9, 2024. Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images
(HOUSTON) — A man has been detained by police after allegedly exhibiting “unruly and unlawful behavior towards other customers” that caused a flight to return to Houston shortly after taking off, according to Delta Airlines and law enforcement.
The flight, departing from William P. Hobby Airport, was headed to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
“The safety of our customers and crew is paramount, and Delta has zero tolerance for unruly behavior. We apologize to our customers for this experience and delay in their travels,” Delta said in a statement on Wednesday.
After taking off, it landed at the William P. Hobby Airport in Houston around 5:40 a.m. local time, according to the FAA. The flight was only in the air for about 15 minutes.
Earlier reports and air traffic controller audio alleged the man was attempting to breach the cockpit of a Delta Airlines flight but Delta said he “did not make contact with or attempt to access the flight deck,” in a statement to ABC News.
A call reporting that “apparently an individual tried to gain entry into a cockpit” was made at around 5:35 a.m., according to the Houston Police Department. Police officers were dispatched to Gate 32 at the airport, where multiple police cars surrounded the aircraft, according to KTRK.
On air traffic controller audio, one of the pilots can be heard telling controllers, “we had a passenger get up and try to access the cockpit,” and that “he assaulted another passenger,” who the pilot said they wanted to get checked out.
Video reviewed and verified by ABC News shows a passenger whose hands are bound being escorted off a Delta flight 2557 on Wednesday morning in Houston.
The FAA said the flight “returned safely” to Hobby “after the crew reported a passenger disturbance.” The FAA said it will investigate the incident.
There were 85 passengers and five crew on board the plane. The flight re-departed and arrived in Atlanta, about 90 minutes behind schedule, Delta said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
In this image released by the Baltimore Police Department, law enforcement officers are shown at the scene of a shooting, on March 10, 2026. (Baltimore Police Department)
(BALTIMORE) — A police officer was shot in an “active shooter incident” in Baltimore on Tuesday, according to police.
A suspect has also been shot, according to the Baltimore Police Department.
The shooting occurred on the 6200 block of Park Heights Avenue, according to police, who urged people to avoid the area.
The officer has been transported to an area hospital, according to police.
Authorities have not released any information on the condition of the officer or the suspect.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Enhanced surveillance video released by Cornell University, May 3, 2026, shows university President Michael Kotlikoff backing out of an on-campus parking space after a group confronted him about free speech. (Cornell University)
(NEW YORK) — Cornell University’s president claimed he was the victim of “harassment and intimidation” following a parking lot confrontation with a group of people who said he tried to back his car into them.
The incident unfolded on Thursday, April 30, after Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff introduced an Israel-Palestinian debate series that was hosted by the Cornell Political Union and co-sponsored by the Cornell Progressives, Cornellians for Israel, and Students for Justice in Palestine.
Kotlikoff said the behavior he experienced while allegedly being followed to his car in an on-campus lot by six or seven people, some of them students, “is harassment and intimidation, with the direct motive of silencing speech.”
“It has no place in an academic community, no place in a democracy, and can have no place at Cornell,” Kolikoff said in his statement released to the Ithaca, New York, university’s community on Friday.
Following the debate, videos posted online showed several people following Kolikoff to his car while questioning him about freedom of speech. The videos showed Kolikoff’s black Cadillac backing up out of a parking space as students appeared to be standing behind his vehicle.
One person, according to a video, complained that Kotikoff’s car bumped into him and ran over his foot before the school president drove off.
Aiden Vallecillo, a member of Students for a Democratic Cornell, told ABC affiliate station WSYR in Syracuse that he and other students followed Kolikoff from the debate to his car, peacefully questioning him.
Vallecillo claimed that Kotikoff escalated the situation when he got behind the wheel of his vehicle.
“As we were still trying to talk to him, he just immediately started reversing into us,” alleged Vallecillo, who claimed that Kotikoff’s car backed over his foot.
Sophia Arnold, president of the Students for a Democratic Cornell, said she witnessed the incident and expressed dismay over Kotikoff’s alleged behavior.
“I don’t even have the words for it. I was pretty shocked and offended,” Arnold told WSYR. “A random pedestrian pulling out of a supermarket parking lot would probably have shown more care.”
On Sunday, the university released enhanced surveillance video of the incident, which the school said occurred in a parking lot near Day Hall. The footage showed a group of people standing behind Kotikoff’s car as it backed out of a parking space, stopping when it appeared to bump a person filming with his cellphone, and then continued to back up and drive off.
In an earlier statement, Kyle Kimball, vice president for University Relations, said the security footage “shows students following President Kotlikoff to his car and surrounding the car to prevent him from leaving after the Cornell Political Union event.”
It was unclear on Sunday if the incident was reported to the campus police or was being formally investigated. In response to a request for comment on Sunday, a university spokesperson directed ABC News to the statement Kolitkoff released to the Cornell community on Friday.
In that statement, Kolitkoff, who was appointed as the school’s president in March 2025, said he was “accosted by a group of several individuals in the hall, among them students and non-students” as he left the event.
“These individuals are known to Cornell for their past conduct, including a long history of ongoing verbal and online abuse toward numerous members of Cornell’s administration and staff, as well as disruptive protest resulting, in the case of two individuals, in bans from campus,” Kolitkoff said.
He alleged that they followed him across campus from the event space “while loudly shouting questions” and using their phones to record the incident.
“After answering a few questions, I let them know that I was not planning to engage further, and asked them to stop recording,” Kolitkoff said.
Kolitkoff claimed the students continued to follow him, and said at least one told him, “No, we are not going to stop.”
He said when he got to his car, the group surrounded his vehicle, “banging on the windows” and blocking him from leaving.
“I waited until I saw space behind the car and then, using my car’s rear pedestrian alert and automatic braking system, was able to slowly maneuver my car from the parking space and exit the parking lot,” Kolitkoff said.
