LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Ala. —

A search is underway in north Alabama after a man charged with capital murder and a deputy transporting him to court went missing Friday morning.

Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office employee Vicki White, who is the assistant director of corrections, and inmate Casey Cole White have not been seen since 9:30 a.m. Friday when they left for an alleged court appearance. The sheriff's office said the deputy and suspect are not related.

The marked vehicle that the two left the detention center in was located in the parking lot of a shopping center in Florence around 11 a.m. Friday. Their direction of travel is unknown.

Investigators are looking for any video footage that may give more information on the situation.

In a news conference Friday evening, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said Officer White, who is an employee of 25 years, told the booking officer at the detention center that she was escorting inmate White to the courthouse for a mental health evaluation. After dropping the inmate off with other deputies, Officer White said she was going to seek medical attention for herself because she wasn't feeling well.

Around 3:30 p.m., the booking officer attempted to contact Officer White with no luck and her phone was going straight to voicemail. They also discovered inmate White never returned to the jail. Officials said they began investigating "aggressively."

Officials said the officer and the inmate never showed up to the courthouse and it has since been determined that the inmate did not have any evaluations scheduled. Local urgent care offices also have no record of Officer White visiting on Friday.

The sheriff added that it is a "strict violation of policy" for inmates with those types of charges to be escorted anywhere by one deputy, but they believe Officer White wasn't questioned because she is the head of operations and coordinates all transports.

"Knowing the inmate, I think [Officer White] is in danger whatever the circumstances," Singleton said. "He was in jail for capital murder. He has nothing to lose."

According to court documents, Casey White's capital murder charge stems from the "brutal death" of Connie Ridgeway at her Rogersville home in 2015. The capital murder charge also includes first-degree burglary.

If anyone sees the suspect or deputy, do not approach them and contact 911 immediately.

, Ga. —

Authorities in Georgia hunted Saturday for a man who remained at large hours after he was suspected of gunning down three men and a woman in a suburban neighborhood south of Atlanta.

Andre Longmore, 40, is believed to be armed and dangerous, Hampton Police Chief James Turner said during a news conference. The shootings happened late Saturday morning in a subdivision in Hampton, a city of roughly 8,500 people.

Video above: Sheriff says all hands on deck in the search for the alleged shooter

Officials released few details about the killings. Turner said detectives were investigating at least four crime scenes near one another in the same neighborhood. He said Longmore is a Hampton resident, but declined to discuss a possible motive.

The suspect remained at large more than five hours after the killings, and authorities vowed to keep searching until he was in custody.

“We’ve done an exhaustive search in the general area and we’re now widening that a little bit,” Turner told reporters.

Investigators were also on the lookout for a Black GMC Acadia SUV that they believe Longmore might be driving.

Longmore doesn’t appear to have a listed phone number and The Associated Press could not immediately find a family member or attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Authorities didn't release the victims' names, saying they were working to notify their families.

Henry County Sheriff Reginald Scandrett said his office is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to Longmore's arrest and prosecution.

He also addressed Longmore directly, saying: “Wherever you are, we will hunt you down in whatever hole you may be residing in and bring you into custody. Period.”

Located about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Atlanta, Hampton is home to the Atlanta Motor Speedway, Georgia's racetrack for NASCAR events.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the Atlanta area and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are assisting in the manhunt and investigation.

The shootings marked the 31st mass killing of 2023, taking the lives of at least 153 people this year, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in a partnership with Northeastern University.

At least three people are dead and several others are hospitalized after an early morning shooting in Kanas City.

Kanas City Police were called to investigate a shooting that occurred Sunday morning around 4:30 a.m.

Police found 3 shooting victims in a parking lot and in the street. Those 3 victims, 2 men and 1 woman died at the scene.

Officers said at least 5 more shooting victims arrived at various hospitals by private vehicles or ambulances.

According to police, they have non-life-threatening injuries.

"My condolences to the families of the three people killed," Kanas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said in a series of tweets Sunday morning.

Police said it appears there was a large gathering of people in the parking lot at the intersection when the victims were shot.

Four people were injured, but not seriously, when the storefront of a grocery store in Vegas collapsed Friday morning.

According to the Associated Press, fire crews had to pull one victim from the debris around 6:20 a.m. local time at the La Bonita Supermarket.

Four people were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

La Bonita sent the following statement:

At this point, we don’t know the cause of the incident and are working with the proper authorities in charge of the investigation of the awning collapse that injured four people early Friday morning. The people injured were transported to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Our Desert Inn location will remain closed until further notice and/or cleared by the proper authorities.

All employees will be given the day off fully paid and offered any medical or emotional support services if needed. Once they are ready, they will be relocated to another location until we can reopen the Desert Inn store.

At this moment we can only thank God that this happened so early in the morning and not during busier hours. As we get more information, we will update everyone via social media and our website. We would like to thank all the first responders who arrived quickly and helped the injured.

– Armando Martinez
La Bonita Supermarkets General Manager

According to the AP, no one else was injured and there was little damage to the front of the store.

WATCH RECAP:

At this time, it is not known what happened or how much the damage will cost.

The AP reported that the store was built in 1979.

Other shops did not appear to be damaged and county officials took over the investigation to check for structural strength.

Joyce Lupiani at KTNV first reported this story.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —

On Albuquerque, New Mexico's, west side hot air balloons dotted the morning sky.

When Albuquerque resident Josh Perez looked up he couldn’t believe it.

“I [saw] the balloon. And she's like screaming. Everyone's screaming, 'the balloon, the balloon!' It was by itself so I was like well where is the basket so I immediately reacted and I started running that away,” Perez said.

Another Albuquerque resident on the north side of I-40 saw it when she took her dogs out for a walk.

“As I watch it, it gets smaller and smaller and finally it's interwoven and it just went into the scramble, vertical line and just spiraled straight down,” said witness, Tamara Sanchez.

According to the Albuquerque Police Department, the hot air balloon crashed into power lines near Central and Unser.

During a news conference, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said, “We know that the balloon encountered these power lines, this top line above me, they caught the top line and it's been cut and the envelope was separated from the basket and it's now being protected for evidence at a school nearby.”

Witnesses nearby did what they could to help. Albuquerque Police Department Chief Harold Medina said, “That's what being one ABQ is all about. When we are here together and willing to risk our lives as citizens to help others, if you risked your life I want to say thank you.”

Sanchez said, “When I saw it I think it was just that adrenaline. Like what if that's your family? What if that's your friend? You just kind of spring into action. You don't give it a thought. I just jumped in the car and came down here immediately to see if there's anything that I could do to help out.”

When people close by tried to help, there wasn't much they could do.

Perez said, “The basket was on fire there was a lot of smoke coming out of it. It was already on fire.”

“I saw the basket and then I saw the bodies on the ground. People were crying and hugging each other and kind of explaining you know what they witnessed and what they saw. I knew immediately when I saw them that they didn't make it,” Sanchez said.

State police released the names of all five victims early Sunday morning:

Pilot Nicholas Meleski, 62.

John Montoya, 61.

Susan Montoya, 65.

Martin Martinez, 59, a retired officer for the Albuquerque Police Department and his wife, Mary Martinez, 62.

All five victims were from Albuquerque.

The crash became the deadliest since 1982. Witnesses were in disbelief.

“Never in one million years did I think I would witness it. So when I actually saw it it took a minute to register like is this really happening,” Sanchez said.

WASHINGTON —

U.S. Capitol Police said one officer has died and another was injured after someone drove a vehicle past an access point on Friday afternoon at the Capitol, ramming the two officers.

The driver got out of the vehicle while appearing to brandish a knife before being shot by authorities, Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman said during an afternoon news conference.

During the news conference, Pittman announced the death of one of the officers. Capitol Police later said the officer was William "Billy" Evans, who had been with the force for 18 years.

No information about the injured officer was released.

The driver died after being shot by authorities, Pittman said. News outlets identified the suspect as Noah Green, 25, of Indiana.

Robert Contee, acting chief of Metropolitan Police Department, said the incident is "not an ongoing threat."

This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Pittman said Metro Police continue investigating the incident.

Video showed National Guard troops mobilizing near the scene.

One witness, the Rev. Patrick Mahoney, said he was finishing a Good Friday service nearby when he suddenly heard three shots ring out.

The incident happened just after 1 p.m. about 100 yards from the entrance of the building on the Senate side of the Capitol. Fencing that prevented vehicular traffic near that area was recently removed as the Capitol has started to open up after the Jan. 6 riots.

The security checkpoint is typically used by senators and staff on weekdays. Congress is currently on recess.

Video posted online showed a dark colored sedan crashed against a vehicle barrier and a police K9 inspecting the vehicle.

President Joe Biden had just departed the White House for Camp David when the incident occurred. As customary, he was traveling with a member of the National Security Council Staff who was expected to brief him on the incident.

Vice President Kamala Harris said that Evans made the ultimate sacrifice and the country is mourning.