Police response to Texas school shooting remains unclear
AUSTIN, Texas — Santa Fe High School had conducted active shooter drills, armed police officers patrolled the hallways and students went through a scare in February after a false report of a campus gunman.
But in the aftermath of the deadliest public school shooting in Texas history, early witness accounts and recordings from emergency dispatch describe a 30-minute nightmare as the real thing unfolded last week, even as authorities continued to keep details close Sunday.
Among the biggest unknowns is when the confrontation began at the high school outside Houston between police and 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, who authorities say opened fire on an art lab with a shotgun and .38 caliber handgun shortly after the first bell Friday morning. Pagourtzis wasn’t hit in the attack even though officials have described him engaging in a drawn-out firefight with police.
Ten people were killed, most of them students. Galveston County District Attorney Jack Roady declined to answer questions about the shootout and investigation Sunday, including whether police may have hit any students in a gunfight with the shooter.
He also said autopsy reports won’t be released while the case is pending.
Venezuela keeps voting stations open amid light turnout
CARACAS, Venezuela — Voting centers across Venezuela’s capital appeared largely empty during Sunday’s presidential election, and authorities kept polling stations open past the official closing time while government officials offered assurances that millions turned out to vote early.
Opposition leaders said the lifeless voting centers were evidence that Venezuelans heeded their call to abstain from voting in an election they contended was certain to be rigged in favor of socialist President Nicolas Maduro.
It was unclear when results might be made available.
Both Maduro and two anti-government candidates who broke with the opposition’s push to boycott the election urged voters late in the day to go to the polls.
“We’re not going to let a minority decide the destiny of this country,” said Javier Bertucci, a television evangelist who was considered a longshot in the race.
Investigators finally get look at materials from Cohen raid
NEW YORK — Criminal investigators are getting their first look at materials gathered from raids on the home and office of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer as a process to separate items subject to attorney-client privilege appears to be meeting a judge’s demand that it occur speedily and efficiently.
The progress comes just days before U.S. District Judge Kimba M. Wood will preside over a fourth hearing resulting from Michael Cohen’s efforts to gain influence over what potential evidence seized in the April 9 raids can be deemed subject to the privilege and blocked from the view of criminal prosecutors. Prosecutors say they are investigating possible fraud as they study Cohen’s personal business dealings.
Wood last month designated a former federal judge, Barbara Jones, to serve as a neutral party — known as a special master — and resolve disputes over what items can be kept secret and out of the view of investigators.
Twice, Jones has filed letters updating the status of the privilege search, most recently a week ago. She said she will provide Wood with a timeline for concluding the privilege review once she has received enough of Cohen’s electronic property.
In a letter to the court on Friday, Cohen’s lawyers indicated they were encouraged by the system that was set up, noting the “careful review procedure that is currently being overseen by the special master.” The letter was filed as they sought to exclude Michael Avenatti, an attorney for porn star Stormy Daniels, from joining the court case.
Police: Man rams vehicle into restaurant, kills 2; injuries
BESSEMER CITY, N.C. — A man intentionally rammed a vehicle into a North Carolina restaurant busy serving Sunday lunch, killing his daughter and another person and injuring several others, authorities said.
Bessemer City Police said in a statement that preliminary evidence indicates the man purposely smashed his way into the Surf and Turf Lodge where reports say families were eating a relaxed midday meal.
Footage from the scene showed emergency responders treating people on the ground outside the restaurant as shocked patrons milled about in the aftermath of the crash. Killed was 26-year-old Katelyn Tyler Self, the daughter of the driver and a Gaston County Sheriff’s Office deputy. Authorities haven’t released the name of the second person fatally injured , saying they were still notifying relatives.
Police said the driver, Roger Self, was arrested after the vehicle had fully slammed its way inside the steak and seafood restaurant in Bessemer City, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Charlotte. Authorities did not immediately make clear what charges Self would face.
They said in their statement that they had begun a homicide investigation.