Month: August 2023

A suspect is in custody after shots were fired near the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Monday, prompting the university to go on lockdown. One faculty member was killed in the shooting, while officials searched for an “armed and dangerous person.” The suspect was captured about an hour and a half after the shooting at Caudill Laboratories, and an all-clear was issued for the campus about two hours after that. Tuesday’s classes have been canceled.

UNC students were first alerted to an armed and dangerous person on or near campus shortly after 1 p.m;  and the university issued an alert to remain sheltered in place because a suspect was at large by 2:24 p.m. Campus police released a photo of an unnamed person of interest at 2:35 p.m. with the warning: “If you see this person, keep your distance, put your safety first and call 911.”

School officials said at a briefing Monday afternoon that no other injuries were reported. UNC Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz said in a letter to the university community: “I am devastated and saddened by today’s shooting in one of our campus buildings, a place where we conduct our important work of teaching, mentoring and research every day.  This shooting damages the trust and safety that we so often take for granted on our campus. We will work to rebuild that trust and safety.”

UNC Police Chief Brian James said the FBI has joined the investigation into the shooting: “We certainly want the opportunity to interview the suspect. To actually have the suspect in custody gives us an opportunity to figure out the why. And even the how, and also helps us to uncover a motive and … really just why this happened today.”  North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement that officials “are taking precautions to protect campus safety following today’s shooting. This is a tragic way to start a new semester and the state will provide any assistance necessary to support the UNC community.”

As of press time, the faculty member was not publicly identified, and officials did not name the suspect. University police have not determined the relationship between the victim and gunman or indicated any kind of possible motive.

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Two people were killed and at least four others were injured on Monday when an emergency response helicopter lost control, crashing into a Pompano Beach, Florida apartment building. The accident happened shortly before 9 a.m. EDT when a sheriff’s department Airbus fire and rescue helicopter went down just south of the Pompano Beach Airpark, home of the Goodyear Blimp.

There were three people aboard the Eurocopter EC135 helicopter, according to initial FAA reports. Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony told reporters that one person who was on the ground, as well as Capt. Terryson Jackson of the Sheriff’s Department, were killed in the crash. The sheriff said the two injured crew members were able to crawl out of the helicopter’s wreckage and did not appear to suffer life-threatening injuries. The two surviving members of the helicopter crew, as well as two civilians on the ground, were transported to North Broward Medical Center. Capt. Jackson, 49, was an experienced and valued member of sheriff’s department, Sheriff Tony said, adding: “He was one of my firefighters. We lost one of our captains today who was onboard serving his community, hoping that he would get a chance to do what he does best which is to land and extract somebody else. Unfortunately, in the crash he was trapped, could not get out, and we lost him.”

The rescue chopper was answering an emergency call from North Lauderdale when it developed “mechanical issues” and crashed, according to preliminary assessments. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, Veda Coleman-Wright, said during a news conference at the scene that the helicopter was en route to a scene in North Lauderdale to pick up a woman who had been involved in a crash, and that a fire broke out onboard and then other mechanical issues occurred.

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Six people were shot early Sunday morning in Louisville, Kentucky at the Southern Restaurant and Lounge at 301 W. Market Street.

Officers arrived on the scene to discover one man shot and killed with six others injured at approximately 3 a.m. First Division commander Major Shannon Lauder said the shooting Sunday morning started between restaurant patrons and people on the sidewalk. There were no details about what started the violence.

Police said around 200-300 people were in the area at the time of the shooting. The Southern Restaurant and Lounge was being investigated by Louisville Metro and Kentucky alcoholic beverage enforcement authorities for allegations its operations exceeded the permissions of its restaurant alcohol license. Posts on its social media pages over the past several months show videos of dancing and bottle service. A post on the Southern Restaurant and Lounge Facebook page mentioned relocating. with the business was marking what it called “Southern’s Last Rodeo” to mark the closing of the current location before a planned move.

Mayor Craig Greenberg said Sunday afternoon that one man who was listed in critical condition later  passed away; three women and another man had non-life threatening injuries.  LMPD said there is no suspect or suspects this early in the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to use the the crime tip portal (click here) or call the LMPD tip line at (502)574-LMPD (5673).

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Police on Sunday identified the shooter who killed three people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, over the weekend. Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said at a news conference that the suspect, 21-year-old Ryan Christopher Palmeter, entered the store near Edward Waters University around 1 p.m. carrying an “AR-style” rifle, a handgun that had swastikas on it and was wearing a tactical vest. The suspected gunman alleged to have fatally shot three Black people and terrified others in a “racially motivated” rampage. Palmeter died by apparent suicide by one of the weapons, which he purchased legally.

Sheriff Waters played a brief clip from the security footage showing Palmeter shooting at a black Kia 11 times outside the store, killing his first victim seated inside the vehicle, identified as Angela Michelle Carr, 52, before storming through the front sliding glass doors and gunning down victims at random. The other victims killed in the shooting were identified as 19-year-old Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr. and 29-year-old Jerrald De’Shaun Gallion. Waters said that for some unexplained reason the suspect allowed other patrons, both white and Black, to leave the store.

Waters said that after killing his last victim, Palmeter texted his father instructing him to use a screwdriver to get into his bedroom, where he discovered his son’s last will and testament and a suicide note on his laptop. Waters revealed that Palmeter authored several documents including one to his parents, one to the media and one to federal agents, saying: “Portions of these manifestos detailed the shooter’s disgusting ideology of hate. Plainly put, this shooting was racially motivated and he hated Black people.”  Waters described the documents as “the diary of a madman,” full of offensive and hateful language, including racial slurs, and that they were “completely irrational.” Waters said during Sunday’s news conference: “Our community is grappling with why this atrocity occurred. I urge us all not to look for sense in a senseless act of violence. There’s no reason or explanation that will ever account for the shooter’s decisions and actions. His sickening ideology is not representative of the values of this Jacksonville community that we all love so much.”

Palmeter lived with his parents in Orange Park, about 20 miles southwest of Jacksonville, and had no criminal arrest history.  He legally purchased two guns this year, buying a Glock 20 10 mm semiautomatic handgun from the Orange Park Gun & Pawn shop on May 6 and an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle from the Wild West Guns and Shop in Jacksonville on June 22.

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