Month: April 2024

“Rust” movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 27, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in a Santa Fe, New Mexico, court on Monday in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was shot when actor Alec Baldwin was handling a gun during the film’s production in 2021. Prosecutors sought the maximum penalty of 18  months in state prison.

Gutierrez-Reed, the chief weapons handler for the Western movie, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter last month after mistakenly loading a live round into the revolver Baldwin was using on the movie set. Following Gutierrez-Reed’s conviction, the judge ordered her to be held in police custody pending her sentencing. Per Reuters, the shooting is believed to be the first time in modern times that a member of a film crew or cast was killed by a live round accidentally loaded into a gun.

Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for the firearms on the New Mexico set of Rust. In October 2021, a gun held by Alec Baldwin was discharged during a rehearsal for the Western film. Although the weapon was not supposed to be loaded with live ammunition, a bullet was fired, killing 42-year-old Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. Gutierrez-Reed was charged in January 2023 with one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of tampering with evidence for allegedly handing off a bag of cocaine following her police interview after the shooting. She pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Gutierrez-Reed, who was dressed in a khaki prison uniform, wiped away tears as she was sentenced by New Mexico District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer. She cried as she addressed the court asking for probation, saying (per US Weekly): “My heart aches for the Hutchins family and friends. … Helena has been and always will be an inspiration to me. I understand she was taken too soon and I pray that you all find peace. My heart goes out to the film industry for the devastating pain that this tragedy caused. …When I took on Rust, I was young and I was naive, but I took my job as seriously as I knew how to do. Despite not having proper time, resources and staffing, when things got tough, I just did my best to handle it.”

Baldwin’s trial is set for July 10 after a grand jury indicted him on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in January.

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Authorities confirmed on Monday that a sheriff’s deputy and a police officer were killed after a shootout Sunday night in Liverpool, N.Y., a suburb of Syracuse. The person authorities consider the prime suspect in the case was also killed, police confirmed.

The shooting occurred as police investigated a stolen vehicle in Salina, New York (Liverpool is one of five small suburban communities in the town of Salina, according to Salina’s website.) Syracuse Police Chief Joseph Cecile told a news conference that at about 7 p.m., two Syracuse officers “initiated a traffic stop on a suspicious vehicle” that took off; the officers initially lost sight of the vehicle, but were able to track it to an address in Liverpool via its license plate.  At a little after 8 p.m., Syracuse officers and deputies from the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office got to the address and were inspecting the suspicious vehicle when they saw what they thought were firearms inside. Then, shots suddenly rang out and there was “an exchange of gunfire.”

Per CBS News, the Syracuse police officer and Onondaga County sheriff’s deputy were initially taken to a local hospital in critical condition following the shooting; after which, both were pronounced dead at University Hospital. Police Chief Cecile said “we lost two heroes tonight,” adding that the officer who was killed had about three years on the job; while Onondaga County Sheriff Toby Shelley told reporters the slain deputy was “seasoned” and “very well-liked in his community. … (He was) just a great guy.”

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said at a press conference: “This is a dark day for Syracuse. This is our worst nightmare come true. “Our thoughts right now are with the families of those two officers, two heroes, and if anyone knows the family member of a police officer, give them a hug. This is their worst nightmare and we just need to be there for everyone in the law enforcement community today.”

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Authorities in Oklahoma have arrested and charged four people on suspicion of kidnapping and murder in connection with the March disappearance of two Kansas mothers, who were last seen driving through the Oklahoma panhandle last month.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced that Tad Bert Cullum, 43, Tifany Machel Adams, 54, Cole Earl Twombly, 50, and Cora Twombly, 44, were taken into custody on Saturday; they are suspected of kidnapping and murdering Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, before they vanished on March 30. The four were booked into the Texas County Jail in Oklahoma on suspicion of first-degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder. Adams is the grandmother of Butler’s children, and Cullum is her boyfriend; while Cole and Cora Twombly have been in an eight-year relationship and are friends with Adams on Facebook.

Butler and Kelley were the subjects of an “endangered missing advisory” issued by Texas County authorities on March 30 after a vehicle they were traveling in was found abandoned in a rural part of Texas County south of Elkhart, Kansas, the bureau said. The women were only reported missing when the car they were driving was found 1,000 feet off Oklahoma State Highway 95, approximately 3 miles away from its destination. Butler and Kelley were considered acquaintances, as Kelley supervised Butler’s visits with her children. The women were traveling to Eva, Okla. to pick up Butler’s children who have been living with their paternal grandfather, according to NewsNation.

Butler and Kelley have yet to be found; Butler was in the middle of a bitter custody battle with the father of her children, seeking more visitation time, as she sought full custody of the children. KFOR reported that Adams is said to have had custody of the children at the time of Butler’s disappearance.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the women is asked to contact the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation at tips@osbi.ok.gov or 1-800-522-8017.

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A mass shooting in a south Chicago neighborhood on Saturday night has left one child dead, and 10 people wounded, according to police.

CBS Chicago reported that three other children were among the 10 injured during a shooting in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood around 9:20 p.m., near West 52nd Street and South Damen Avenue. Chicago police said that the victims were at a family gathering when the shooting took place.

Chicago police said they responded to a Shotspotter alert of 18 rounds fired and found multiple victims with gunshot wounds at the scene. According to Chicago Police Area One Deputy Chief Don Jerome, officers then began providing life-saving care, including tourniquets and chest seals.

Chicago Police Area One Deputy Chief Don Jerome said the shooting was targeted and likely gang-related, with witnesses telling police they saw a black sedan pull up in the area, and an unidentified person started shooting into the crowd before fleeing. Jerome said: “The offenders’ actions, make no mistake, are horrific and unacceptable in our city.”

An 9-year-old girl was shot in the head and died, according to police and her family, who identified her as Ariana Molina. Two boys ages 1 and 8 were in critical condition, and one 9-year-old-boy suffered minor injuries. Officials said the ages of the adult victims ranged from 19 to 40.

Area One detectives are investigating the incident, with police stating that they believe two people committed the shooting. As of press time,  no one has been taken into custody.

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According to a new report published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the most recent outbreak of measles is threatening the United States’ elimination status. The CDC report states that measles has spread at a rapid clip this year: from January to March, the U.S. recorded around 30% of the total cases seen since the beginning of 2020. The rapid increase in the number of measles cases during the first quarter of 2024 “represents a renewed threat to the U.S. elimination status,” according to the CDC report.

Measles is highly contagious, and an infected person can spread the disease to up to 90% of people close to them if those contacts aren’t immune. An article from NBC News reports that from 2020 through 2023, the U.S. recorded an average of five measles cases in the first quarter of each year. Those low numbers were due, in part, to the Covid pandemic, when fewer people were interacting in person. By contrast, this year’s first-quarter tally was 97.  Additionally, the United States nearly lost that elimination status in 2019, when it recorded more than 1,200 cases — most of which were associated with outbreaks in Orthodox Jewish communities in New York. The high case load this year could put that elimination in jeopardy once again — as of April 4, the U.S. had already recorded seven outbreaks and 113 cases.

Per ABC News, the first measles vaccine was introduced in 1963 and, thanks to a yearslong and highly effective vaccination campaign, measles was considered eliminated from the U.S. in 2000, meaning the disease is no longer constantly present (though there are still occasional outbreaks.) The U.S. has been able to maintain its elimination status, despite cases popping up due to international travel and unvaccinated or under-vaccinated communities.

The CDC report calls for more widespread vaccination coverage, sharing that approximately 91% of measles cases recorded in the U.S. since January 2020 were among people who were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status. The report further states that in 2024 so far, 83% of recorded cases have been in people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown; while half of the 2024 cases have been in children under age 5. 65 people have been hospitalized. this year, and no one has died of measles in the last four years. The report states that one dose of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is 93% effective at preventing measles, and two doses are 97% effective, but added that the “risk for widespread U.S. measles transmission remains low because of high population immunity.”

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O.J. Simpson — NFL football star, and controversial, high-profile subject of one of the most famous murder trials of all time — has died at age 76. Las Vegas outlet Local10.com had reported earlier this year that Simpson was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer in February 2024.

The Simpson family shared in a statement via X on Thursday, April 11: “On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.”

Simpson originally rose to fame and popularity as a football player: first as the Heisman Trophy-winning tailback for the University of Southern California in the late 1960s, and later playing 11 seasons in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers. Per ESPN, Simpson won four NFL rushing titles, rushed for 11,236 yards in his career, scored 76 touchdowns, made five first-team All-Pro squads and played in six Pro Bowls. His best season was 1973, when he ran for 2,003 yards — the first running back to break the 2,000-yard rushing mark (doing it in 14 games) while averaging 141.3 yards per game – which is still an NFL record.

Simpson later went on to become a commentator for “Monday Night Football,” as well as dabbling in acting in movies such as “The Naked Gun” series in the 1980s. He appeared in films such as “The Klansman,” “The Cassandra Crossing” and “The Towering Inferno,” as well as the miniseries “Roots”.

However, he became infamous and a household name following the 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, who were fatally stabbed. Simpson was married to Nicole Brown Simpson from 1985 to 1992; she was found stabbed to death outside her Brentwood condo alongside her friend, Ron Goldman, on June 12, 1994. Simpson was charged with the murders when investigators found a glove with blood stains on his property, and he originally agreed to turn himself in to the Los Angeles Police Department; but instead, he became involved in a low-speed car chase on June 17 as he evaded being arested. Police pursued Simpson as he rode in a 1993 Ford Bronco driven by his former teammate Al Cowlings, who said that Simpson was holding a gun to his own head during the drive.

Simpson was arrested for their deaths, after which the highly-publicized, 11-month criminal trial took place from 1994-95. The trial became one of the most significant events of the 1990s, and is believe to have been one of the most widely publicized events in American history. Amid much controversy, Simpson was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Brown Simpson, and Goldman.

Simpson’s legal troubles were far from over, however, when in 2008 he was found guilty on 12 charges relating to an armed robbery incident in Las Vegas in 2007. Simpson was sentenced to 33 years in prison and was granted parole in July 2017 before being released in October 2017, and eventually granted early discharge from parole in December 2021. (per Entertainment Weekly)

Simpson is survived by kids Arnelle, Jason, Aaren, Sydney and Justin. (Simpson shared Arnelle, Jason and Aaren with first wife Marguerite Whitley; he shared children Sydney and Justin with ex-wife Nicole.)

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