As many as 19 injured in shooting at New Orleans Mother's Day parade

Published May 12, 2013

FoxNews.com

DEVELOPING: New Orleans police are searching for three suspects Sunday after at least 12 people were shot during a Mother’s Day parade.

Chief Serpas announced in a press conference that the youngest victim is believed to be a 10-year-old girl.  Police say she suffered a graze wound, WVUE Fox 8 reported.

Police say about 300 were attending the traditional jazz band parade when shots were fired.

Serpas said that the procession had been accompanied by officers, who saw two or three suspects run from the scene in the city's 7th Ward.

Nobody has been arrested. It's unclear what sparked the gunfire.

Eleven patients have been admitted to Interim LSU Public Hospital with no life threatening injuries, hospital spokesperson Marvin McGraw said.

Second-line parades are loose processions in which people dance down the street, often following behind a brass band. They can be impromptu or planned and are sometimes described as moving block parties.

A social club called The Original Big 7 organized Sunday's event.

No other information was immediately available.

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14 injured in knife attack on Lone Star College campus, suspect arrested

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    Student helps tackle campus stabbing suspect

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    Suspect detained in Lone Star College stabbing

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    Eyewitnesses describe Texas college stabbing

Over 12 people were stabbed Tuesday on the campus of Lone Star Community College campus in Cypress, Texas, after a male suspect reportedly used a small knife, ran from building to building and randomly attacked individuals along the way.

Harris Country Sheriff Adrian Garcia said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon that the suspect, described as a young white male, has been taken into custody. 

Garcia said officers responded to the campus after receiving a call about a male "on the loose" stabbing people. He said it was not immediately clear what type of weapon was used.

"Some of the details in the call slip did indicate that students or faculty were actively responding to work to subdue this individual," Garcia said, describing the man as being about 21 years old and enrolled at the college. "So we're proud of those folks, but we're glad no one else is injured any more severely than they are."

Garcia said buildings still were being searched Tuesday afternoon and that police could not release any further information as the investigation was still active and ongoing.

But department spokesman Thomas Gilliland did confirm, "It was the same suspect going from building to building."

Garcia said of the 14 victims, 12 of the victims in all were hospitalized and two refused treatment. Witnesses reported seeing students with stab wounds to the neck.

Of the six victims who were taken to Memorial Hermann Texas Trauma Institute, two remained in critical condition as of 6 p.m. ET, while three were in good condition and one had been discharged.

Police got the initial report at 11:15 a.m. A suspect with a knife was reported on the sprawling campus on the Northwest side of Houston and there were reports of multiple stab victims. The school was placed on lockdown. The length of the attack is unclear, but the suspect was reportedly taken down by a student.

The suspect, who witnesses say is a white male who has been seen on campus carrying a stuffed animal, reportedly told the tackling student “I give, I give,” and was promptly arrested by police.
Police could not immediately verify that report.

Local reports say a student in a classroom used an X-ACTO knife and began to attack fellow students and ran out of the room.

One student said the attack sounded like a rock concert and heard someone scream in pain. At that point, students went back into their classrooms, the student said.

Initial reports said there were two suspects, but police say it was likely to be one suspect who ran from different areas during the time of the attack.

“The initial reports said we have two suspects, but what I believe now is it was the same person running from building to building,” a police spokesman said at a press conference earlier on Tuesday.

Police are unaware of a motive in the attack.

A different Lone Star system campus was the site of a January shooting. Two people were wounded, and a 22-year-old man was charged with aggravated assault.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2 dead, several injured after private plane crashes into Indiana homes

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  March 17, 2013: The front end of a Hawker Beachcraft Premier jet sits in a room of a home on Iowa Street in South Bend, Ind.AP/South Bend Tribune

SOUTH BEND, Ind. –  A private jet apparently experiencing mechanical trouble crashed Sunday in a northern Indiana neighborhood, leaving multiple people dead after it hit three homes, becoming lodged in one of them, authorities and witnesses said.

The Beechcraft Premier I twin-jet had left Tulsa, Okla.'s Riverside Airport and crashed near South Bend Regional Airport, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Roland Herwig in Oklahoma City said.

"Fatalities have been confirmed at the scene," said Deputy St. Joseph County Coroner Michael O'Connell. He would not say how many people are dead.

The plane is registered to 7700 Enterprises of Montana LLC in Helena, Mont. The company is owned by Wes Caves and does business as DigiCut Systems in Tulsa, Okla. It makes window film and paint overlay for automobiles. Herwig said he did not know how many people were aboard the jet.

A woman identifying herself as Caves' wife answered the phone at their home Sunday and said, "I think he's dead," before hanging up.

In South Bend, Assistant Fire Chief John Corthier said some people who were injured had been taken to the hospital, but he did not know how many or what their medical conditions were.

The presence of jet fuel from the aircraft made the situation "very dangerous," Corthier said. The plane was lodged inside a house.

"It's still a rescue operation," Corthier said about three hours after the crash. Referring to one of the damaged houses, he said, "Because of the collapse in the house it's a very dangerous situation. We have to shore up the house before we can enter the house. "

Part of the neighborhood southwest of the airport was evacuated. Buses were transporting up to 200 people to a nearby shelter, Red Cross volunteer Jackie Lincoln said.

Mike Daigle, executive director of the St. Joseph County Airport Authority, said the jet attempted a landing, went back up and maneuvered south to try another landing, but eight minutes later the airport learned the plane was no longer airborne.

"There was an indication of a mechanical problem," Herwig said.

Stan Klaybor, who lives across the street from the crash scene, said the jet clipped the top of one house, heavily damaged a second, and finally came to rest against a third. Neighbors did not know if a woman living in the most heavily damaged house was home at the time, and a young boy in the third house did not appear to be seriously injured, Klaybor said.

"Her little boy was in the kitchen and he got nicked here," Klaybor said, pointing to his forehead.

His wife, Mary Jane, regularly watches planes approach the airport.

"I was looking out my picture window. The plane's coming, and I go, 'Wait a minute,' and then, boom," she said.

"This one was coming straight at my house. I went, 'Huh?' and then there was a big crash, and all the insulation went flying," she said.

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Drivers race in Daytona 500 after 33 fans injured in speedway crash

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. –  With the start of the Daytona 500 just hours away, NASCAR officials still have some cleaning up to do amid growing questions about fan safety.

The season opener will go off as planned Sunday less than 24 hours after at least 33 people were injured when a car flew into the fence during a NASCAR race at Daytona International Speedway, sending a tire and large pieces of debris sailing into the stands.

"Just seeing the carnage on the racetrack, it was truly unbelievable," driver Justin Allgaier said.

The final-lap accident Saturday marred the second-tier Nationwide Series race on the eve of a spectacle often called the Super Bowl of motorsports. Late into the night, track workers were scrambling to repair a huge section of fence that separates fans from the high-speed track.

Speedway President Joie Chitwood III has a news conference scheduled for Sunday morning to give the latest update on repairs and any safety changes that could be made before the "Great American Race."

The 12-car crash began about 200 feet from the start-finish line as the front-runners approached the checkered flag. Leader Regan Smith attempted to block Brad Keselowski for the win, triggering a horrific pileup that could have been much worse.

The front end of Larson's No. 32 car was sheared off, and his burning engine wedged through a gaping hole in the fence. Parts and pieces of his car sprayed into the stands, including a tire that cleared the top of the fence and landed midway up the spectator section closest to the track.

The 20-year-old Larson stood in shock a few feet from his car as fans in the stands waved frantically for help. Smoke from the burning engine briefly clouded the area, and emergency vehicles descended on the scene.

Ambulance sirens could be heard wailing behind the grandstands at a time the race winner would typically be doing celebratory burnouts.

"It was freaky. When I looked to my right, the accident happened," Rick Harpster of Orange Park said. "I looked over and I saw a tire fly straight over the fence into the stands, but after that I didn't see anything else. That was the worst thing I have seen, seeing that tire fly into the stands. I knew it was going to be severe."

Shannan Devine of Egg Harbor Township, N.J., was sitting about 250 feet from where the car smashed into the fence and could see plumes of smoke directly in front of her.

"I didn't know if there was a car on top of people. I didn't know what to think," she said. "I'm an emotional person and I immediately started to cry. It was very scary. Absolutely scary. I love the speed of the sport. But it's so dangerous."

Chitwood said 14 fans were treated on site and 14 others were taken to hospitals. Local officials said 19 people were taken to neighboring hospitals, including two who were in critical but stable condition.

Because of potential injuries, race winner Tony Stewart skipped the traditional victory celebration.

Stewart, who won for the 19th time at Daytona and seventh time in the last nine season-opening Nationwide races, was in no mood to celebrate.

"The important thing is what is going on on the frontstretch right now," said Stewart, a three-time NASCAR champion. "We've always known, and since racing started, this is a dangerous sport. But it's hard. We assume that risk, but it's hard when the fans get caught up in it.

"So as much as we want to celebrate right now and as much as this is a big deal to us, I'm more worried about the drivers and the fans that are in the stands right now because that was ... I could see it all in my mirror, and it didn't look good from where I was at."

There were at least five stretchers carrying injured people out of the stands, and a helicopter flew overhead.

Officials turned their attention to the track and the wreckage after injured were treated.

A forklift plucked Larson's engine out of the fence, and workers carried the tire out of the stands.

It was a chaotic finish to a race that was stopped for nearly 20 minutes five laps from the finish by a 13-car accident that sent driver Michael Annett to a hospital. His Richard Petty Motorsports team said he would be held overnight with bruising to his chest.

The race resumed with three laps to go, and the final accident occurred with Smith trying to hold off Keselowski through the final turn.

"It's Daytona. You want to go for the win here," Smith said. "I don't know how you can play it any different, other than concede second place, and I wasn't willing to do that today. Our job is to put them in position to win, and it was, and it didn't work out."

As the cars began wrecking all around Smith and Keselowski, Stewart slid through for the win, but Larson plowed into Keselowski and his car was sent airborne into the fence. When Larson's car came to a stop, it was missing its entire front end. Larson, who made his Daytona debut this week, stood with his hands on his hips before finally making the mandatory trip to the care center.

"I took a couple big hits there and saw my engine was gone," Larson said. "Just hope everybody's all right."

It appeared fans were lined up along the fence when Larson's car got airborne. But Chitwood said there was a buffer, adding there would be no changes to the seating before the Daytona 500.

"We don't anticipate moving any of our fans," Chitwood said. "We had our safety protocols in place. Our security maintained a buffer that separates the fans from the fencing area. With the fencing being prepared tonight to our safety protocols, we expect to go racing tomorrow with no changes."

Keselowski watched a replay of the accident and said it could cast a pall on the Daytona 500.

"I think until we know exactly the statuses of everyone involved, it's hard to lock yourself into the 500," Keselowski said. "Hopefully, we'll know soon and hopefully everyone's OK. And if that's the case, we'll staring focusing on Sunday."

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More than a dozen injured in Kansas City gas blast, fire, official says

KANSAS CITY, Mo. –  A massive fire triggered by a gas explosion engulfed an entire block of an upscale Kansas City shopping district and injured more than a dozen people, a city official said Tuesday evening.

City Manager Troy Schulte said he did not know of anyone being reported missing and had not heard of any fatalities.

The cause of the explosion was not immediately known, but Schulte said it is believed that an accident involving a utility contractor may have caused the blast.

Fox4KC.com reports that witnesses said the explosion was like an earthquake. The station said there were reports of blown-out windows and minor damage inside apartments near the blast.

Kansas City Fire Chief Paul Berardi said late Tuesday that cadaver dogs were searching the smoldering remains of a restaurant that burned to the ground following the explosion and blaze.

Berardi said the search for possible victims could take hours and that he expected his crews to be at the scene through the night.

While officials have said they have no reports of fatalities, Berardi noted, "I would always fear there are fatalities in a scene like this."

Initially Kansas City police had said the blast had been caused by a car crashing into a gas main. Fire and city officials later said they were not aware of a crash being involved in the blast. Other witnesses noted street signs in the area indicated utility work was being done in the area, and a worker at a restaurant destroyed in the fire said the facility was being renovated at the time.

Mayor Sly James was at the scene after the blast, praising the work of first responders.

"The first thing we need to be concerned about is the people that are injured," James said.

Police Sgt. Tony Sanders said the manager of JJ's restaurant was unable to account for three people, but it was unclear whether they were caught in the blaze or had left earlier. Later on Tuesday evening, Jim Ligon, a JJ's bartender, said they were still waiting to hear from one co-worker, whom he declined to name.

The University of Kansas Hospital was treating six people injured in the blast, said spokesman Bob Hallinan. He said one person was in critical condition, two were in serious condition and two others were expected to be released. He said all of those injuries were traumatic, such as broken bones, rather than burns or smoke inhalation. The final patient there was a burn victim who was transferred from Truman Medical Center, Hallinan said.

Dr. Marc Larsen, medical director of the emergency room at St. Luke's Hospital, which is near the scene of the fire, said they had treated eight people, six of whom were walk-ins with minor injuries. He said two males were in critical condition and would be kept overnight. He said one had extensive burns and another had facial trauma.

A phone message left Tuesday seeking comment from Missouri Gas Energy was not immediately returned.

Ligon, a bartender who has worked at JJ's restaurant for five years, wasn't working Tuesday night but said he started getting texts and calls from co-workers minutes after the explosion.

He said the incident happened during the peak of weekday happy hour, when there is typically anywhere from 15 to 45 people in the bar area as well as three to five tables of diners at the restaurant.

"JJ's has a small staff, a family feel," said Ligon, 45, of Kansas City, Missouri. "You see the same 100 people all the time -- a bar and restaurant for regulars. We're just really hoping we come out of here OK in terms of injuries."

The shopping area was established in 1922 by J.C. Nichols. Based on the architecture of Seville, Spain, it includes retail, restaurants, apartments and offices.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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