August 5, 2019 4:20 am
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (AP) – Authorities say a car flipped over the infield fence at a central Pennsylvania speedway and struck a track volunteer, killing him. The Cumberland County coroner’s office said two Sprint car drivers crashed into each other while rounding a turn at Williams Grove Speedway just before 9:30 p.m. Friday. Coroner Charles Hall said one of the cars went out of control, hit the inside wall and then flipped up and over the infield fence. The car struck a man sitting in the back of a pickup truck parked along the fence. Hall said 67-year-old Richard Speck Jr., of Mechanicsburg, a volunteer at the track, was pronounced dead at the scene. The speedway said the rest of Friday night’s racing program was canceled. State police, the coroner’s office and speedway officials are investigating. (Photo: PennLive)
August 5, 2019 4:19 am
DAYTON, Ohio – A Washington man was among those killed in Sunday morning’s mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio. Nicholas Cumer was a student at St. Francis University and graduated from Washington High School in 2012. Cumer was a graduate student in the Master of Cancer Care program. He was in Dayton as part of his internship program with the Maple Tree Cancer Alliance. The Maple Tree Cancer Alliance said on Facebook that just last week, they offered Cumer a full-time position to run one of their new offices. The family has released the following statement: “We are heartbroken by the loss of our Nicholas in this senseless act on August 4. As our family grieves, we ask for privacy at this time. Thank you.” St. Francis University President Fr. Malachi Van Tassell also released a statement: “Nicholas was dedicated to caring for others. He was recognized at the 2019 Community Engagement Awards among students who had completed 100+ hours of service. In addition, he was a graduate assistant with the university marching band. “We join the nation in mourning Nicholas, alongside all of the victims of this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with their family and friends during this most difficult time.” University officials said a Mass would be celebrated in Cumer’s memory later in the week.
August 4, 2019 8:30 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) – If pinball machines or video games are your idea of fun, they’re filling the David L. Lawrence Convention Center this weekend. The Replay FX Arcade and Video Game Festival has turned the facility into one of the largest arcades anywhere. There are more than 1,000 games to play, including pinball, console games like Xbox and PS4, virtual reality systems, PC games and tabletop games. Pittsburgh’s official esports team, the Pittsburgh Knights, will also be hosting competitions at the event.
August 4, 2019 8:24 am
BALTIMORE (AP) – Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings is inviting President Donald Trump and other Americans to Baltimore, taking the high road after a barrage of presidential tweets disparaging the black-majority city and its long-serving Democratic congressman. Cummings made his first public remarks after days of Trump’s name-calling and criticism during the opening of a neighborhood park on Saturday. He called Baltimore “a great community.” At 68, and using a walker, the congressman said he doesn’t have time for those who criticize the city where he grew up. He wants to hear from people willing to help make the community better. The park was built on a formerly vacant lot often filled with trash. Cummings said, “Come to Baltimore, and you will be welcome.” Trump in a tweet called the city a “rat and rodent infested mess.”
August 4, 2019 8:22 am
PITTSBURGH (WPXI) – St. Raphael School in Morningside will not reopen this upcoming school year. The Board of Pittsburgh Regional Catholic Elementary Schools met in June and July to talk about this. They found that only 39 students registered for next school year.
August 4, 2019 8:19 am
EL PASO, Texas (AP) – El Paso Mayor Dee Margo has confirmed police are investigating whether a racist screed posted online shortly before a shooting that killed 20 people in a busy shopping area was written by the suspect. In it, the writer expresses concern that an influx of Hispanics into the United States will replace aging white voters, potentially turning Texas blue in upcoming elections and swinging the White House to the Democrats. The writer is also critical of Republicans for what he described as close ties to corporations and degradation of the environment. Though a Twitter account that appears to belong to Patrick Crusius included pro-Donald Trump posts praising the border wall plan, the writer of the online document says his views on race predated Trump’s campaign. Though the writer denied he was a white supremacist, the document says “race mixing” is destroying the nation and recommends dividing the United States into territorial enclaves determined by race. The area where the shooting occurred is about 5 miles from the main border checkpoint with Ciudad Juárez, and the mayor said that tens of thousands of Mexicans legally cross the border each day to work and shop in El Paso.
August 4, 2019 8:16 am
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) – A police spokesman in Dayton, Ohio, says the second mass shooting in the U.S. in less than 24 hours took place in “a safe part of downtown.” Speaking at a press conference Sunday, Lt. Col. Matt Carper said the suspect in the deaths of nine people was shot to death by responding officers in the Oregon District. Police believe there was only one shooter. They haven’t yet identified the suspect or a motive. Carper said the suspect fired multiple rounds from a long gun. At least 16 other people have been hospitalized with injuries from the early morning shooting.
No details about the victims have been released. A family assistance center has been set up at the Dayton Convention Center. Sunday’s shooting came hours after 20 were killed in El Paso, Texas.
August 4, 2019 8:13 am
SOUTH PARK, Pa. (AP) – Police say an officer in western Pennsylvania shot and wounded a man after a struggle that followed an early morning police chase and foot pursuit. Allegheny County police say officers in Monongahela tried to stop a car shortly before 3 a.m. Saturday but it fled into Allegheny County, then went out of control and hit two parked cars and a residential structure in South Park Township. Police say a Monongahela officer struggled with a fleeing suspect, and after using a stun gun to little effect, shot the suspect once in the torso. The 29-year-old suspect was taken to a hospital in stable condition and faces charges of aggravated assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. The officer was treated for bruises, cuts and abrasions. County police are investigating.
August 3, 2019 7:09 pm
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — At least 19 people were killed in a shooting Saturday in a busy shopping area in the Texas border town of El Paso, and a 21-year-old man was taken into custody, law enforcement officials said. Two law enforcement officials identified the gunman as Patrick Crusius of the Dallas area. One of the officials told The Associated Press that at least 15 people were killed. The officials were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation publicly, and both spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. Hospital officials said another 23 people were injured and being treated. Most of the victims were shot at a Walmart near the Cielo Vista Mall, El Paso police Sgt. Robert Gomez said at a news conference. He said the store was packed with as many as 3,000 people during the busy back-to-school shopping season. “This is unprecedented in El Paso,” said Gomez, who added that many of the injured had life-threatening injuries. Police responded in the midmorning to an active shooter scene at the mall, near Interstate 10 on the east side of the city, and were advising people to stay away from the area and to look for missing family members at a school being used as a reunification area. The mass shooting in El Paso came less than a week after a gunman opened fire on a California food festival. Santino William Legan, 19, killed three people and injured 13 others last Sunday at the popular Gilroy Garlic Festival, and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Ryan Mielke, a spokesman for University Medical Center of El Paso, said 12 people were brought to the hospital with injuries, including one that died. Two of the injured were children who were being transferred to El Paso Children’s Hospital, he said. He declined to provide additional details on the victims. Police said by midafternoon that a suspect was in custody and the public was no longer in danger. Gomez said the suspect, who used a rifle, was arrested without incident. Police believe he was the “sole shooter” but are continuing to investigate reports that others were involved.
August 3, 2019 8:26 am
NEW YORK (AP) – A lawyer for the officer accused of using a chokehold in the death of Eric Garner says his client is disappointed an administrative judge recommended his firing.
But the lawyer says he remains “cautiously optimistic” the officer ultimately won’t be dismissed. Attorney Stuart London said Friday that Officer Daniel Pantaleo did nothing wrong and plans to keep fighting for his job. Pantaleo was suspended Friday pending a final decision by Police Commissioner James O’Neill. London and police union leader Patrick Lynch urged O’Neill to stand up for Pantaleo, saying officers otherwise won’t feel they can do their jobs without losing them. London says he’ll appeal to a court if Pantaleo is fired. Garner’s dying pleas of “I can’t breathe” in 2014 became a rallying cry against police brutality.
