Author: Staff

Police in Arizona confirmed that a suspect is dead and another person has been hospitalized after a shooting broke out outside an Amazon delivery station in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler early Wednesday morning. The victim was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Immediately afterward, a second armed contract worker fatally shot the suspect in the parking lot, police said. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. There was no immedate report on the motive for the shooting.

Reports of a shooting at the Amazon Fulfillment Center came in just after 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. Multiple law enforcement resources responded, and Chandler police officers later confirmed that three people were involved in the shooting. During an afternoon news conference. Chandler Police Sgt. Jason McClimans said that the suspect, who wasn’t an Amazon employee or contrator, entered the grounds of the delivery hub and shot the unarmed contract worker multiple times at about 9:30 a.m. He said the wounded worker was hospitalized in critical condition, but is expected to survive, and that the other contracted Amazon employee who fatally shot the suspect wasn’t injured, adding he possibly stopped an active shooter situation. The names of the suspect and two contracted employees weren’t immediately released.

The Chandler facility operates as a pickup zone for contracted Amazon Flex drivers, who pick up packages to deliver the same or next day to customers. Chandler is a suburban community located about 20 miles southeast of downtown Phoenix.  Amazon spokesperson Richard Rocha said that the two contractors work to support Amazon’s delivery network, while the suspect was not employed by Amazon nor any of its contractors. Said Rocha: “We are deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence in our parking lot. We’re working closely with law enforcement as they investigate and are focused on supporting our team during this difficult time.”

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Authorities confirm that two police officers were shot and killed at a Motel 6 in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi early on Wednesday morning. The officers were responding to a call for service made to the Bay St. Louis Police Department from the motel, which is located along a stretch of interstate Highway 90 that runs through the Gulf Coast city.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said in a news release that officers arrived at the Motel 6 before 4:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday, where they encountered the suspect, a woman, who fatally shot one officer and injured a second officer before killing herself. The first officer was pronounced dead at the scene, while the second officer succumbed to injuries later on Wednesday morning. Bay St. Louis Police Chief Tody Schwartz confirmed that the officers killed were Sergeant Steven Robin and Officer Branden Estorffe.

The suspect’s name has not been released, and the nature of the service call that initially brought officers to the motel is still unknown. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said in a statement: “MBI is currently assessing this critical incident and gathering evidence. Additional information may be made public at a later time.” Once the investigation is complete, agents at the state bureau will turn over their findings to the state’s attorney general’s office, the statement noted.

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The United States Coast Guard said Tuesday night that the two men who went missing more than a week ago while sailing to the Florida Keys have been found safe. 76-year-old Joe DiTomasso and 64-year-old Kevin Hyde were found about 214 miles east of Delaware by the tanker vessel Silver Muna just after 4:15 p.m. Tuesday. The men are being taken to New York for evaluation.

Hyde and DiTommasso had departed Cape May, New Jersey on Nov. 27th on their 30-foot sailboat, the Atrevida II, along with a pet dog, according to the Coast Guard. The pair was last seen aboard their boat as it left the Oregon Inlet in North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Dec. 3. Family and friends contacted officials on Sunday after last speaking with the pair on that same day, prompting a search that included aircraft and vessels.

The Atrevida II was located Tuesday afternoon approximately 214 miles east of Delaware, after the men waved down the tanker vessel Silver Muna around 4:18 p.m. Tuesday. The Coast Guard said in a statement: “The Atrevida II was found to be without fuel and power, rendering their radios and navigation equipment inoperable.”

The two men and dog were brought aboard the tanker and evaluated by the vessel’s medical staff “with no immediate concerns.”  Ditommasso and Hyde are now aboard the Silver Muna, headed to New York. Once they arrive, they’ll be transferred to a Coast Guard vessel and reunited with family, which is expected Wednesday. Cmdr. Daniel Schrader, the spokesperson for the Coast Guard Atlantic Area, said in a statement: “This is an excellent example of the maritime community’s combined efforts to ensure safety of life at sea. We are overjoyed with the outcome of the case and look forward to reuniting Mr. Hyde and Mr. Ditomasso with their family and friends.”

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