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Tuesday 22 May 2018

Witnesses: Frantic effort to save officer who was run over

By DAVID McFADDEN over her," Kurek said. "I heard, 'Get out of the least one armed suspect, police manning the inter-
Associated Press Logan Kurek, who is a vol- car!' 'Get out of the car!' police said. section. Heavily armed of-
TOWSON, Md. (AP) — Heav- unteer firefighter, said he Get out of the car!' at least At a gas station located at ficers with a trained canine
ily armed police swarmed heard his younger brother three times, and then a a cordoned-off intersec- also could be seen walking
into a suburban Baltimore "frantically screaming" and pop," Amendt said. tion in Perry Hall, some resi- through backyards amid
community where a fe- ran outside to perform CPR. Amendt said his wife also dents gathered to watch the search. A pair of offi-
male officer was fatally The officer was responding ran outside and tried to re- three helicopters of TV cers elsewhere, with guns
injured Monday, search- to a call about a suspicious vive the officer, to no avail. news crews buzzing over drawn, entered a home's
ing for at least one armed vehicle when she encoun- "This is a shock. It's a quiet the neighborhood. An un- front door as they scoured
suspect after witnesses re- tered at least one suspect community. It's just so sad," marked car with law en- the neighborhood.
ported hearing a pop and and was "critically injured," Amendt said. forcers, including one of- "The cop cars just keep
seeing the officer run over police spokesman Cpl. Vinson said the family of the ficer cradling a rifle in the coming. It's pretty scary,"
by a Jeep. Shawn Vinson said. Neigh- officer, who would have back seat, drove past and said Sukvir Singh, an em-
The witnesses described bors called authorities and been a four-year veteran in was waved through by ployee of the gas station.q
seeing the badly injured of- tried to save her, but she July, has been notified, but
ficer on the ground as sev- was pronounced dead police didn't immediately
eral residents tried to keep upon arrival at a hospital, identify her.
her alive, but she was sub- Vinson said. Authorities were advising
sequently declared dead "What exactly happened motorists to avoid the area
at a hospital. we are not sure yet until and residents to shelter in
Tony Kurek told The Asso- an autopsy is performed," place while the hunt for the
ciated Press his adult son Vinson said at a press con- suspect or suspects con-
was outside in the family's ference Monday. He said tinued. Students at several
yard Monday afternoon he had no immediate in- local elementary schools
in the northeast Baltimore formation about her fatal were not being dismissed
County community of Perry injuries, or whether she had but were instead being
Hall when the son saw the fired her own weapon. held over on alert status,
officer with her gun drawn, Kurek's neighbor, Dahle and their parents were told
confronting the occupants Amendt, said he had just to await further instructions.
of a Jeep. settled into his recliner for Police from several agen- An emergency vehicle passes a roadblock near a scene where
"The next thing he heard a rest when he heard a cies backed by federal law a Baltimore County police officer died, while investigating a sus-
was a pop, and he saw the woman's voice outside his enforcement are widely picious vehicle, Monday, May 21, 2018, in Perry Hall, Md. (AP
Jeep take off and run right house. searching the area for at Photo/Patrick Semansky)

US files plea deal in deadly Florida airport shooting

By CURT ANDERSON, AP Le- nosed as schizophrenic, layout of the Los Angeles
gal Affairs Writer initially told the FBI he was International Airport three
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) acting under some form of days before flying to Flor-
— Federal prosecutors filed government mind control. ida, but does not indicate
court documents Monday Then, he changed his story why he did that or why he
in which an Alaska man to claim that he shot his vic- ultimately chose Florida.
agreed to plead guilty to tims in support of the Islamic It also describes the injuries
a Florida airport shooting State extremist group, but suffered by the six wound-
rampage that killed five no ties to terrorist groups ed people along with the
people in exchange for a have been found. multiple surgeries and
life prison sentence. Since his arrest, Santiago medical procedures they
The agreement says that has been treated for his have had to endure.
Esteban Santiago, 28, will mental illness and his attor- Before leaving for Florida,
plead guilty to 11 of the neys have repeatedly said the document says that
22 counts against him in he is competent to under- Santiago threw out some
the attack that also left In this Jan. 30, 2017, file photo, Esteban Santiago, center, is led stand the legal proceed- possessions, such as per-
six wounded. Prosecutors from the Broward County jail for an arraignment in federal court ings. Prior to the shooting, sonal papers and clothes,
reached a deal with San- in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Federal prosecutors on Monday, May 21, he was briefly treated at an which were found in a trash
tiago's defense lawyers not 2018. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File) Anchorage mental institu- bin at the Anchorage mo-
to seek the death penalty tion after showing up at the tel where he was living.
in exchange for the guilty ka, acknowledged in the ings were recovered. local FBI office claiming to One piece of paper "ap-
plea. Instead, Santiago document that he flew on "He recounted how he en- be hearing voices, then re- peared to be a checklist,
would serve a life prison a one-way ticket from Alas- tered a stall, removed the leased with no restrictions which included a notation
sentence plus 120 years, ka to Fort Lauderdale-Holly- gun from the box, loaded on owning a gun, authori- to 'clean' the laptop," the
according to the docu- wood International Airport it, and put it in his waist- ties have said. document says. Yet after
ments, and will waive his with a 9mm handgun in a band," prosecutors wrote The statement of facts filed replacing the hard drive on
right to appeal the sen- checked weapons box in of Santiago's confession Monday — signed by San- his laptop, the document
tence. The deal is expect- on Jan. 6, 2017. Santiago to investigators. "He con- tiago and his attorneys — says it was left behind in
ed to be finalized Wednes- loaded the gun in a bath- fessed that, after he left lays out in detail the actions Alaska.
day in Miami federal court room and came out firing, the men's restroom, he shot Santiago took that day, as Santiago also will forfeit to
before U.S. District Judge emptying two ammunition the first people he encoun- well as a few new pieces the U.S. government the
Beth Bloom. clips before lying on the tered." of evidence. For instance, 9mm Walther handgun us-
The mentally troubled San- floor and surrendering to Santiago, an Iraq war vet- the document states that ing in the shooting, accord-
tiago, of Anchorage, Alas- police. Fifteen bullet cas- eran who has been diag- Santiago researched the ing to the agreement.q