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A4 U.S. NEWS
Wednesday 7 OctOber 2020
Texas officer charged with murder in fatal store shooting

By JUAN A. LOZANO and and when his body con-
JAMIE STENGLE vulsed from the electrical
Associated Press current, they 'perceived
A white police officer has a threat' and shot him to
been charged with mur- death."
der in the fatal shooting After Lucas' arrest was an-
of a Black man following nounced, Merritt posted:
a reported disturbance at "This didn't happen quickly.
a convenience store in a It should (have) happened
small East Texas town, au- the day he murdered JP.
thorities said. John should still be here."
Jonathan Price was walking Price's relatives and friends
away from Wolfe City Po- said Price, a Wolfe City
lice Officer Shaun Lucas on employee, was a figure
Saturday night when Lucas well-known in the close-knit
opened fire, killing Price, community.
the Texas Rangers said in a "He had a bright future. He
statement released by the was going to start up his
Texas Department of Public own business, a fitness cen-
Safety. ter," Price's sister, April Louis,
Lucas, 22, was booked into told CBS This Morning. "And
the Hunt County Jail on it's just, it's just gone. I mean,
Monday night, the Texas it didn't have to end like
Rangers said. Jail records that." Price played football
show bail was set at $1 mil- in 2008 for Hardin-Simmons
lion. University in Abilene, Tex-
It wasn't immediately as. Hardin-Simmons foot-
known if Lucas had a law- This booking photo provided by the Hunt County (Texas) Sheriff's Office shows Wolfe City Police ball coach Jesse Burleson
Officer Shaun Lucas on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020.
yer who could comment Associated Press tweeted that the university
on his behalf. "lost one of our own in a
Lucas had been with the five officers and a chief of cas responded to a distur- Police didn't release details terrible situation. Jonathan
Wolfe City Police Depart- police, all of whom were bance call on Saturday about the disturbance, but Price was an awesome
ment for a little less than white men, according to night following a report of a family and friends of Price young man during his time
six months when the shoot- Texas Commission on Law possible fight. He encoun- said Monday that the one- with Cowboy football."
ing took place, according Enforcement data. The tered Price, 31, who was time college football play- Former Major League Base-
to records from the Texas town about 70 miles (113 reportedly involved in the er was intervening in a do- ball third baseman Will
Commission on Law En- kilometers) northeast of disturbance, and Price "re- mestic disturbance when Middlebrooks, who grew
forcement. His prior law en- Dallas has about 1,500 resi- sisted in a non-threatening he was shot. up with Price, said on Face-
forcement experience had dents. According to the posture and began walk- "When police arrived, I'm book: "I'm sick. I'm heart-
been working as a jailer U.S. Census Bureau, 71% of ing away," the Texas Rang- told, he raised his hands broken... and I'm furious."
with the Hunt County Sher- its residents are white, 14% ers said. and attempted to explain Middlebrooks started an
iff's Office for about five are Black and 13% are His- Lucas used a stun gun be- what was going on," said online fundraiser for Price's
months. panic. fore shooting Price, who civil rights attorney Lee Mer- family that surpassed its
As of last year, Wolfe City's According to the Texas was taken to a hospital and ritt in a Facebook posting. $50,000 goal in less than 24
police department had Rangers' statement, Lu- died, the statement said. "Police fired Tasers at him hours.q

Schools closed in virus hot spots as NYC battles flare-ups

NEW YORK (AP) — Hundreds of New York posed business closings. He pressed for a
City public and private schools were quick answer, saying the city was ready
closed Tuesday in neighborhoods with to close the enterprises Wednesday but
flare-ups of coronavirus cases as city and needed the state's approval.
state officials continued discussing the "We are at a crucial moment in our fight
possibility of shuttering many businesses in against the coronavirus," de Blasio said at
those areas. a virtual news briefing. "We have to bring
Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered the closing everything we can to bear. We have to
of schools in nine Brooklyn and Queens be tough about it."
ZIP codes on Monday. But he held off a He and Cuomo, both Democrats, have
decision on Mayor Bill de Blasio's proposal often been at odds over the pandemic
to close nonessential businesses in those response and previous issues.
areas, suggesting that the boundaries The affected areas are largely Orthodox
needed to be drawn differently to be ef- Jewish strongholds, and some commu-
fective. nity members have complained of being
"Once we have that done, then I don't singled out for enforcement.
have a problem with closing the essential De Blasio said Sunday that about 100
businesses," the governor said Monday, public schools and 200 private schools
A sign posted on Oct. 2nd advises anyone entering Edward R.
Murrow High School must go through a city health screening, arguing that closing schools was a higher would be shut down in the nine ZIP codes.
Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, in the Midwood section of the Brooklyn priority. The move came just days after the city's
borough of New York. De Blasio said Tuesday that the city and public schools opened for in-person
Associated Press state were continuing to discuss the pro- learning.q