Talk of the Town
(NEW YORK) — A woman who had been sought in connection with the death of her husband, a Massachusetts police officer, is believed to have been found dead, police said Monday, calling the case a “tragic murder-suicide.”
A search had been ongoing for Karen Solomon, 58, after her husband — 57-year-old Worcester Police Department Patrolman Kurt Solomon — was found dead in a home last week.
This is a developing story.
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(HAMMOND, La.) — An innocent woman was killed when gunmen fired 70 to 80 bullets into a car at a Louisiana gas station, apparently believing that their target was in the car, according to police.
Hammond police said the gunmen’s alleged target had been in the car before the shooting, but not at the time of the shooting.
Before the gunfire erupted early Thursday, the suspects were stalking a car at a farm, Hammond Police Chief Edwin Bergeron Jr. said at a news conference.
“At some point [the alleged target] was in the vehicle, and then exited the vehicle to ride with someone else,” Bergeron said.
The victim’s car then left the farm and went to a Chevron gas station, the chief said, and the suspects followed.
When the driver of the victim’s car got out and went inside the gas station, the suspects’ car “pulled up next to it … and began shooting,” Bergeron said.
The suspects fired between 70 and 80 shots, taking the life of 50-year-old Patricia Shepard, who was sitting in the car, Bergeron said.
She was an “absolute innocent victim,” the chief said. “She was not involved.”
Bergeron said investigators are searching for at least two or three suspects.
“We will not rest until the scumbags like this go to jail … for them to roll up and kill an innocent woman in a car because they thought it was somebody else,” he said.
The suspects were driving a car that was stolen in Mississippi earlier in the week, police said.
Authorities urge anyone with information to call the Hammond Police Department at 985-277-5755 or the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at 1-800-554-5245.
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(MINNEAPOLIS) — A 26-year-old man was shot multiple times while attending a prayer service in Minnesota, and the suspects are at large, authorities said.
The shooting unfolded just before 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Canterbury Park Expo Center in Shakopee, about 25 miles outside of Minneapolis, the Shakopee Police Department said.
The victim was taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center in unknown condition.
“We are actively working to identify the involved individuals,” police said in a statement. “Anyone with information should contact Shakopee Police Department at 952-445-1411.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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(WASHINGTON) — The Southern Poverty Law Center is facing an investigation and potential criminal charges by the Justice Department, apparently stemming from its past use of paid informants, the organization’s interim CEO said in a statement Tuesday.
A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
“For 55 years, the Southern Poverty Law Center has stood as a beacon of hope fighting white supremacy and various forms of injustice to create a multi-racial democracy where we can all live and thrive,” SPLC interim CEO Bryan Fair said in the statement.
“We are therefore unsurprised to be the latest organization targeted by this administration. They have made no secret of who they want to protect and who they want to destroy,” the statement said.
Fair did not elaborate in the statement on how the SPLC was alerted to the DOJ inquiry, though he said, “the focus appears to be on the SPLC’s prior use of paid confidential informants to gather credible intelligence on extremely violent groups.”
Fair, in the statement, outlined the organization’s history in explaining why the SPLC for years used informants to infiltrate far-right and domestic extremist groups, and denied any criminal wrongdoing on the part of the SPLC.
He also sought to frame the criminal inquiry as a continuation of the Trump Justice Department’s efforts to crack down on groups opposed to the administration’s policies.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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