‘Narrowly missed a tragedy’: Teen believed to be armed stopped from entering Wisconsin elementary school

November 8, 2024

Teen believed to be armed stopped from entering Wisconsin elementary school. Via Kenosha Police Department

(KENOSHA, Wis.) — Authorities in Wisconsin say an armed 13-year-old carrying a backpack and duffel bag was stopped from entering an elementary school Thursday morning after being confronted by school staff and taken into custody several hours later.

“We narrowly missed a tragedy,” Kenosha Police Chief Patrick D. Patton told reporters Thursday.

The 13-year-old, who previously attended Roosevelt Elementary School, attempted to enter the building at about 9 a.m. local time, Patton said.

The suspect tried to enter through other doors to the school building, but was not able to get in, Kenosha Unified School District Superintendent Jeffrey Weiss told reporters at a news conference. He then approached the front entrance and was buzzed into a vestibule area. Two school employees confronted the student, who got nervous and then fled, Weiss said.

“I can’t stress … really how heroic our office staff was,” Weiss said, adding “They helped avert a disaster.”

Police later identified the teen suspect, thanks to tips from the community.

“We can confirm that this was not just a suspicious individual, we believe that this was actually an armed suspect with a firearm and there was no legitimate reason to enter the school,” Patton said at a later news conference.

Police took the suspect into custody shortly after 2 p.m. local time. During the earlier news conference, police played a video they said depicted the suspect with a firearm and said the suspect looked up school shootings online and made comments to fellow students for weeks leading up to the incident.

Kenosha is located about 40 miles south of Milwaukee.

NYC teacher shot in hand by stray bullet that flew through classroom window: Police

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(NEW YORK) — A New York City teacher was struck by a stray bullet on the eve of the first day of school while setting up his classroom, police said.

The bullet flew through the window of the sixth-floor classroom, striking the 33-year-old teacher in his right hand, police said.

The incident occurred shortly before noon Wednesday at a middle school in the Bronx borough, according to the NYC Department of Education.

The bullet is believed to have been fired from an elevated surface a long distance from the school, M.S. 391, police said.

“The school was not targeted,” Deputy Chief Keiyon Ramsey with the NYPD’s Patrol Borough Bronx told reporters during a news briefing Wednesday.

The teacher suffered a graze wound to the palm of his right hand, Ramsey said. He was transported to a local hospital in stable condition and has since been released.

One fired bullet was recovered from the classroom and is being processed, Ramsey said.

Police are working to determine where the bullet came from and who fired it, according to Deputy Chief Louis Deceglie with the NYPD’s Detective Bureau Bronx Commanding Officer.

“We are currently searching all rooftops nearby, looking for both ballistic evidence and video evidence,” Deceglie told reporters during Wednesday’s briefing.

No students were in the classroom at the time of the shooting, as school does not start until Thursday. Additionally, no students were around the school at the time, Ramsey said.

“This egregious display of violence is both upsetting and reprehensible,” the DOE said in a statement. “NYPD immediately responded to the scene where one educator sustained non-life-threatening injuries. We will provide support additional support to this school community.”

There will be additional school safety agents and police officers at the middle school for the first day of school on Thursday “out of an abundance of caution,” Ramsey said.

Summer scorcher: Dangerous heat hits Northeast

ABC News

(NEW YORK) — The hottest weather of the season is spreading across the eastern half of the U.S. — with cities in the Northeast in the bull’s-eye on Wednesday — after baking the Midwest with extreme temperatures early in the week.

Chicago’s actual temperature hit 99 degrees on Tuesday, breaking the city’s daily record of 97 degrees. The heat index — what temperature it feels like with humidity — soared to a scorching 115 degrees in Chicago on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, heat advisories are in effect from St. Louis, Missouri, to New York City. An excessive heat warning was issued in Philadelphia, where the heat index could hit 105 degrees.

The heat index is forecast to rise Wednesday to 106 degrees in Baltimore, Maryland; 103 in Washington, D.C.; and 97 in New York City.

The final tennis major of the year, the U.S. Open, which is underway in New York City, is operating under an “extreme weather policy,” with stadium roofs partially closed and extended breaks for players.

More than a dozen cities could shatter their record high temperatures, including Washington, D.C., if it reaches 100 degrees.

The extreme temperatures will end in the Northeast on Thursday, but will linger in the Ohio Valley and Tennessee Valley through Friday.

On Thursday, the heat index is forecast to climb to 104 degrees in Nashville, Tennessee, and Columbia, South Carolina; 102 degrees in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Louisville, Kentucky; and 105 degrees in Greenville, Mississippi.

Record highs are possible Thursday in cities including Nashville and Louisville.

There are hundreds of deaths each year in the U.S. due to excessive heat, according to CDC WONDER, an online database, and scientists caution that the actual number of heat-related deaths is likely higher.

Last year marked the most heat-related deaths in the U.S. on record, according to JAMA, a peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Medical Association.

7 killed in Mississippi bus crash identified

WAPT via AP

(VICKSBURG, Miss.) — Seven Mexican nationals killed in a Mississippi bus crash over the weekend were identified Monday, including a 16-year-old girl and her 8-year-old brother, authorities said.

The names were released to ABC News by Warren County Coroner Doug L. Huskey a day after the National Transportation Safety Board announced that the preliminary investigation showed a tire failure caused the motor coach to run off the road and overturn.

Huskey identified those killed in the crash as 8-year-old Kain Gutierrez and his 16-year-old sister, Perla Gutierrez. Another 16-year-old girl who died was identified as Angelica Palomino, according to Huskey.

Also killed were Miguel Ariaga, 61; Elia Guzman, 63; and Victor Aviles Garcia, 32, and his 30-year-old brother, Moises Aviles Garcia, according to Huskey.

Huskey said that due to a language barrier, Kain Gutierrez was initially identified as 6 years old.

The crash happened early Saturday, east of Vicksburg, and left 37 other people injured, according to the highway patrol.

The 2018 Volvo commercial passenger bus, traveling from Atlanta to Dallas, was driving westbound on Interstate 20 when it drove off the road Saturday just before 1 a.m. local time, according to the highway patrol.

Six people were pronounced dead at the scene and one person died at Merit Heath Hospital in Vicksburg, according to the Mississippi Highway Patrol. The co-driver was not transported to a hospital, authorities said.

The Mexican consulate said in its statement that it has contacted a legal firm to help obtain detailed information about the crash.