Violent crime down 10.3% in first months of 2024: FBI data
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(NEW YORK) — Violent crime decreased by 10.3% in the first six months of 2024, according to newly released preliminary FBI data.
From January to June 2024, the Quarterly Uniform Crime Report found that:
Murder decreased by 22.7%.
Rape decreased by 17.7%.
Robbery decreased by 13.6%.
Aggravated assault decreased by 8.1%.
Property crime decreased by 13.1%.
The preliminary data is based on voluntary submissions from 14,809 of 19,311 law enforcement agencies in the country.
The Midwest saw the largest percentage drop by region, with a 12% drop in violent crime.
Violent crime in 2024, a top issue for voters in the upcoming presidential election, is continuing its downward trend from 2023.
Data released by the FBI last month found that violent crime was down 3% from 2022 to 2023, with murders down 11.6%.
The drop in murders represents the “largest drop” since the agency has been collecting data, an FBI official said of the 2022 to 2023 trend in a call with reporters.
In that period, the report noted that rape decreased by 9.4%, aggravated assault decreased by 2.8%, and robbery decreased by 0.3%.
ABC News’ Jack Date and Luke Barr contributed to this report.
(CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis.) — More than two dozen people were injured, including three critically, after a wagon overturned at an apple orchard in Wisconsin, authorities said.
The incident was reported Wednesday morning at Bushel and a Peck Apple Orchard in Chippewa Falls.
Elementary school-age children, parents and other chaperones were on a field trip at the time and were on a wagon ride, according to Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes.
A tractor was pulling two wagons at a “low speed” on a public road when the accident occurred, Hakes said.
One of the wagons began to lose control and turn sideways as it descended a hill and overturned, resulting in injuries to both children and adults, Hakes said.
“It’s a traumatic day for a lot of people,” Hakes told reporters during a press briefing Wednesday afternoon.
Emergency personnel were dispatched for a “tractor accident involving two hay wagons with kids and adults,” Chippewa Fire District Deputy Chief Cory Jeffers told reporters.
The fire department activated its mass casualty protocol so that outside agencies could help respond to the incident, Jeffers said. One helicopter from the Mayo Clinic was called in, he said.
Twenty-five individuals were transported from the scene to various agencies, Jeffers said. One patient was transported via the helicopter and nine via ambulance, Hakes said. Some were also transported in personal vehicles, he said.
Three people have life-threatening injuries and five have serious injuries, according to Hakes.
Marshfield Medical Center-Eau Claire received seven patients from the incident who are being treated for minor to serious injuries, a spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.
Hakes said he believes all patients are in stable condition.
Authorities did not release additional details on the victims, including how many were children.
Hakes called the incident “heart-wrenching.”
“As a parent myself, it’s a parent’s greatest fear that something happens to their children,” he said.
He said he responded to the scene and helped calm the children and reunite them with their parents.
“The children were extremely brave, very resilient,” he added.
The scene has since been cleared, Jeffers said. All of the children who were still at the scene have been reunited with their families, he added.
The children attended St. Mark Lutheran School in Eau Claire, the school’s principal confirmed.
“At this point, we are focusing on reuniting the children with their caregivers,” Principal Peter Micheel said in a statement to ABC News. “Whenever we face a challenging time, we commit everything to the Lord’s care and trust his guiding hand.”
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ABC News left a message with the orchard seeking comment.
Chippewa Falls is located about 12 miles northeast of Eau Claire.
ABC News’ Alexandra Faul contributed to this report.
This screen grab taken from AFPTV on September 16, 2024 shows Ryan Wesley Routh speaking during an interview at a rally in support of humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and Ukrainian servicemen on April 27, 2022, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. US media named Ryan Wesley Routh, whom AFP interviewed in Kyiv in 2022, where he had travelled to support the war effort, as the suspected would-be assassin of Donald Trump. (Photo by AFPTV / AFP) (Photo by -/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Ima
(PALM BEACH, Fla.) — The suspect in what the FBI has called an “attempted assassination” of former President Donald Trump was a booster of a number of causes, ABC News analysis of his apparent social media profiles shows.
As authorities tried to unravel the motive and details of the case, sources said investigators were looking at whether Routh was frustrated with Trump’s position on Ukraine. Trump refused to answer when asked if Ukraine should win its war against Russia during the ABC News presidential debate last week.
Authorities recovered an “AK-47-style” rifle with a scope, two backpacks — one of which had a ceramic tile in it — and a GoPro from the scene, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said. The would-be gunman was within 300 to 500 yards of Trump when he was spotted. The former president was unharmed in the incident and it is unclear whether the suspect fired any shots.
Routh’s vehicle was stopped by police after a witness reported his license plate number to authorities. He was placed into custody on Sunday afternoon. Authorities expect to file charges relating to the incident in the coming days, sources told ABC News. The suspect’s motive remains unknown.
Routh is believed to have ties to North Carolina and Hawaii, according to sources. The FBI is conducting an extensive investigation into Routh’s social media activity, travel and any criminal record, sources said. Friends, family and associates are also being sought for interviews.
A law enforcement source told ABC News that profiles on X, LinkedIn, and Telegram are under investigation for a possible connection to Routh. Routh also appears to have operated a Facebook page, which has now been removed, and which listed the same phone number shared on his apparent X profile.
When ABC News dialed that number, an answering machine message said: “This is Ryan with Camp Box Buildings in Hawaii, and also the National Volunteer Center sending soldiers to Ukraine as well as Taiwan.”
Online, he appears to have been a prolific booster of several causes, chiefly of Ukraine’s, with numerous posts referring to an effort to recruit soldiers for that country. Specifically, many of Routh’s posts referred to an effort to send Afghan soldiers to Ukraine.
It was not immediately clear whether Routh had actually recruited any fighters for Ukraine or whether he had any contact with Ukraine’s military or government.
Routh’s apparent X profile contained dozens of posts calling on politicians, celebrities and journalists to support Ukraine. In 2022, shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion, posts on that profile contained claims that Routh had traveled to Kyiv.
Routh spoke with an ABC News team in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on April 30, 2022 — two months into the war — at a protest held by family members of Azov Battalion soldiers defending the city of Mariupol against Moscow’s forces.
He was wearing an American flag bandana around his neck and was holding a handwritten sign that read: “Please world we need everyone here. This is good against evil. These children want normal lives … End Russia for our kids.”
Routh told The Financial Times that he had tried to join Ukraine’s International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine — which is made up of foreign volunteers — but was rejected as too old. Routh claimed the Legion then suggested he work to recruit other foreigners to serve in the unit.
The International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine told ABC News via email: “We would like to clarify that Ryan Wesley Routh has never been part of, associated with, or linked to the International Legion in any capacity. Any claims or suggestions indicating otherwise are entirely inaccurate.”
A March 2023 post on a LinkedIn profile appearing to belong to Routh contained two undated photos of Routh, respectively showing him in front of the U.S. Congress and at Kyiv’s Independence Square. The post was captioned, “In DC and Kyiv to provide soldiers for the war effort.”
On June 10, 2020, Routh’s apparent X profile directed a post on X at Trump in which he said had supported Trump in the 2016 presidential election but that Trump had become a “disappointment.” The post concluded, “I will be glad when you are gone.”
Several X posts in March 2020 referred to support for then-Democratic presidential primary candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. Posts in January 2024 indicated support for former Republican presidential primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Facebook posts from October and November 2023 promoted conspiracy theories about China, COVID-19 and biological warfare. In December, Routh posted to the platform questioning the historical claim of Jewish people to Israel.
Routh’s apparent phone number was also listed on a website for a so-called “Taiwan Foreign Legion,” which calls on international volunteers to fight for Taiwan in the event of a possible conflict with China.
The most recent post on Routh’s apparent Facebook page also refers to an effort to convince Taiwan to accept Afghan fighters.
ABC News’ Pierre Thomas, Josh Margolin, Luke Barr, Aaron Katersky, Jack Date, Peter Charalambous, Alexander Mallin, Leah Sarnoff, Joe Simonetti, Helena Skinner and Zohreen Shah contributed to this report.
(HOUSTON) — A murder charge has been filed against a 35-year-old driver police allege struck and killed an innocent bystander on a sidewalk in Houston over the weekend while attempting to mow down his domestic partner.
Sanden James George was identified Monday evening by the Houston Police Department as the suspect arrested in a deadly crash near downtown Houston early Sunday morning.
George was charged with murder in the killing of a 41-year-old nightclub manager whom he allegedly struck with a car while attempting to run over his domestic partner, police said.
“An initial investigation, evidence from the scene, and witness statements determined a male suspect got into a physical altercation with a woman, 24, before attempting to intentionally strike her with his vehicle. She was not seriously injured. The suspect’s vehicle struck another woman and he fled on foot,” Houston police said in a statement.
The woman who was killed, whose name is pending verification by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, was pronounced dead at the scene by Houston Fire Department paramedics.
In addition to murder, George was charged with assault of his partner, police said.
The incident unfolded around 3 a.m. after patrol officers in the city’s Midtown area responded to a report of a pedestrian being hit by a car, according to Houston homicide detectives.
“It’s my understanding that the victim, the decedent, was actually the manager of one of the nightclubs and was preparing to go home,” Robert Klementich, a spokesperson for the Houston Police Department, said during a news conference Sunday.
Witnesses, including the alleged intended target, told police the suspect and his domestic partner were involved in an altercation at a nightclub and left the establishment, Klementich said.
Upon leaving the nightclub, George allegedly got into his car and started driving around crashing into multiple vehicles, Klementich said.
George’s domestic partner alleged to investigators that the suspect intended to strike her with the vehicle when he hit the innocent bystander, Klementich said.
“She was able to get out of the way,” Klementich said of the suspect’s companion. “Unfortunately, an innocent bystander who was walking on the sidewalk was struck by the suspect’s vehicle.”
George allegedly fled the scene on foot, but police found him in the area with the help of witnesses and took him into custody, according to homicide investigators. George was taken to a hospital and treated for minor injuries before being booked at the Harris County Jail, authorities said.
