Month: January 2023

The attorney for Bryan Kohberger — the suspect in the fatal stabbings of four University of Idaho students — plans to waive extradition at a hearing on Tuesday. Jason LaBar, the chief public defender for Monroe County, Pennsylvania (where Kohberger was arrested) said that his client planned to waive extradition to expedite his return to Idaho. According to a statement LaBar released Sunday on their behalf, Kohberger’s family said “there are no words that can adequately express the sadness we feel.” 

University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, were stabbed to death in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho back in November 2022. Kohberger was arrested on Friday in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains after authorities had tracked him down. Police in Moscow, Idaho had been looking for a white Elantra as a possible piece of evidence; and a Hyundai Elantra was removed from Kohberger’s home in Pennsylvania on Friday. Moscow Police Chief James Fry said at a press conference Friday: “These murders have shaken our community and no arrest will ever bring back these young students. However, we do believe justice will be found through the criminal process.”

Latah County prosecutor Bill Thompson said that Kohberger, a graduate student at Washington State University, was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary.

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A police officer in Brackenridge, PA was shot and killed and another officer was wounded on Monday. The suspect was shot and killed by police later in the night.

Allegheny County Police Superintendent Christopher Kearns said that police encountered a wanted suspect on Monday night, identified as 28-year-old Aaron Lamont Swan, and engaged in a foot chase that lasted several hours. Swan was originally wanted for an alleged weapons violation of his probation, and police had encountered him Sunday night, but he was able to evade them following a chase.

There were two shooting incidents several blocks apart: one officer was shot and killed in the first incident, identified as Brackenridge police chief Justin McIntir Another officer was then shot in the leg in the second incident; the officer was transported to a hospital and is in stable condition, Kearns said. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro tweeted: “Police Chief Justin McIntire ran towards danger to keep Pennsylvanians safe — and he made the ultimate sacrifice in service to community.”

The suspect was then shot and killed in another shootout with police a little before 7 p.m. local time in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The people to whom the carjacked vehicle belonged were not harmed.

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According to the U.S. Geological Survey (“USGS”), a 5.4-magnitude earthquake struck Northern California on Sunday morning in an area where one struck less than two weeks ago. A 6.4 earthquark struck the region on Dec. 20, killing two people.

The USGS said the quake about 30 miles south of Eureka and was centered about 9 miles southeast of Rio Dell and ocurred at 11:35 a.m. PDT. The earthquake occurring at a depth of about 17.3 miles, according to preliminary information from the agency. Rio Dell, with a population of 3,367, is 267.5 miles north of Sacramento.

According to the California Department of Transportation, there were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage. Route 211 was temporarily closed as inspectors checked a bridge that crosses the Eel River in Humboldt County for damage.

Rio Dell Mayor Debra Garnes told CNN: “It was crazy. The earthquake felt more violent this time. It was shorter, but more violent. My refrigerator moved 2 feet. Things came out of the refrigerator. There’s a crack in my wall from the violence of it.” In the earlier quake, Garnes said 27 homes were red-tagged, meaning they were unsafe due to damage, and 73 homes were yellow-tagged in Rio Dell.

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Three New York City police officers are in stable condition after being struck by a man wielding a machete in an unprovoked attack near Times Square.

According to NYPD commissioner Keechant Sewell, the attack occurred just after 10 p.m. Saturday on West 52nd Street and 8th Avenue, outside a Times Square New Year’s Eve security screening zone. Sewell said the suspect, identified only as a 19-year-old man, approached an officer and attempted to strike him over the head with a machete. The suspect then struck two additional officers before one fired his service weapon, striking the suspect in the shoulder. The suspect is being treated for his injuries.

Officials said in an early New Year’s Day joint news conference that the FBI, NYPD and Joint Terrorism Task Force are leading the investigation into the attack. Mike Driscoll, FBI assistant director in charge of the New York field office, said: “I want to be very clear … there is no ongoing threat. We believe this was a sole individual at this time. There is nothing to indicate otherwise.” Driscoll said the FBI, through the task force, is working closely with NYPD to determine the nature of the attack and “will run every lead to the ground.” The authorities did not elaborate on a possible motive and said the investigation is in preliminary stages.

One of the injured officers suffered a skull fracture and a large laceration to his head, Sewell said. Another officer, an 8-year veteran, suffered a laceration, and Sewell did not elaborate on injuries to the third officer.

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