Month: February 2024

A suspect was taken into custody Monday in connection with the deaths of two people in a dorm room at the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs. A post on X from the Colorado Springs Police Department read: “On Monday morning, February 19, 2024, members of the Colorado Springs Police Department took a suspect into custody in connection to our investigation into the homicides on Friday, February 16, 2024, on the campus of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS).”

Colorado Springs Police later announced the arrest of Nicholas Jordan in Colorado Springs on Monday morning. adding that the suspect and the victims knew each other. The Colorado Springs Police Department said in a statement that the killing was “an isolated incident between individuals who were known to one another and not a random attack against the school or other students.”  The two victims — a 24-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman — were identified Sunday as 26-year-old Celie Rain Montgomery of Pueblo, CO and 24-year-old Samuel Knopp of Parker, CO. Kopp was a registered student at UCCS, while Montgomery was not currently registered, police said.

Police said they obtained an arrest warrant on Jordan, 25, of Detroit on Friday on two counts of first-degree murder. He was spotted by police officers near the 4900 block of Cliff Point Circle East on Monday morning and was arrested in a traffic stop without incident, and taken to the El Paso County Jail. So far his arrest photo hasn’t been released.

University Chancellor Jennifer Sobanet said at a news conference: “We are in shock as we process this tragic loss of two lives. My heart is broken for the victims of today’s senseless violence.” The UCCS campus is located along Austin Bluffs Parkway in northeast Colorado Springs. It is one of four universities in the University of Colorado system.

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Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, is accusing the Kremlin of hiding his body to cover up killing him in an Arctic penal colony. Russia’s prison agency said that Navalny, the fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests, died in prison Friday Feb. 16, 2024. Navalny, 47, was serving a combined 30 ½-year jail sentence when he died. He was recently transferred to the prison above the Arctic Circle, where conditions were harsh and his allies worried about his health and frequent isolation in the punishment cell.

Navalnaya’s comments came as Navalny’s team said his mother and lawyers were denied access to his body and told the probe into what killed him had been extended, with the body under “chemical examination” for another 14 days. Ahead of her meeting with European Union foreign ministers in Brussels, Navalnaya posted a nine-minute video posted to YouTube.  She vowed to continue her late husband’s fight against President Vladimir Putin, and called on Russians to rally around her. Navalnaya, 47, said in the video: “three days ago, Vladimir Putin killed my husband. We know exactly why Putin killed Alexei three days ago. We will tell you soon about it. We will also definitely find out who exactly and how exactly this crime was committed. We will name names and show faces.” Navalnaya added that authorities were waiting for traces of “yet another Putin’s Novichok” to leave his body, a reference to the military nerve agent used to poison him years ago. Navalnaya also vowed to continue her husband’s efforts: “The most important thing we can do for Alexei and for ourselves is to continue to fight. I will continue the life work of Alexei Navalny. I call on you to stand with me.”

The Kremlin has denied involvement in that poisoning and dismissed suggestions that Putin was behind his death. Russia’s prison authorities said Navalny died suddenly after collapsing following a walk in the remote “Polar Wolf” prison on Friday afternoon.  However, many international leaders blame Putin. and Navalny’s supporters have dismissed the official version of events.

Spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said on Monday that Navalny’s mother and his lawyers had been denied access to the nearby morgue, sharing on X: “They were not allowed to go in. One of the lawyers was literally pushed out. When the staff was asked if Alexey’s body was there, they did not answer. The cause of death is still ‘unknown’.  They lie, buy time for themselves and do not even hide it.”  Yarmysh added that “the investigators told the lawyers and Alexey’s mother that they would not give them the body. The body will be under some sort of “chemical examination” for another 14 days.”

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Two police officers and one firefighter were shot and killed in Burnsville, Minnesota, on Sunday after responding to a domestic violence call. According to a statement from the state’s department of public safety, the shooter in the case is also dead.

According to a statement from Gov. Tim Walz on X:  “Horrific news from Burnsville. While responding to a call of a family in danger, two police officers and one firefighter lost their lives, and other officers were injured. We must never take for granted the bravery and sacrifices our police officers and first responders make every day. My heart is with their families today and the entire State of Minnesota stands with Burnsville.” Walz said that other officers were reportedly injured, but details on their conditions were not provided.

The Burnsville Police Department confirmed there was an “active scene” but did not provide additional information. Police have been gathered in the Burnsville neighborhood since early Sunday morning. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said on social media that it was responding to a scene in Burnsville “where there have been reports of officers involved in a domestic-related shooting.”

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar posted on X that she was informed three officers were shot in Burnsville: “Learned from police this morning that three officers have been shot in Burnsville. They were doing their jobs. They were protecting our community. John and I are praying for them and their families and the Burnsville P.D. this morning.”

Both the city of Golden Valley, located 20 miles north of Burnsville, and the West St. Paul police departments offered condolences on social media. Burnsville is located south of both Minneapolis and St. Paul; according to the city’s website, it’s the ninth largest suburb in the metro area, with more than 64,000 residents.

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Officials in Texas said they have identified a person of interest, but are no closer to finding missing 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham. Authorities said 42-year-old Don Steven McDougal was arrested Friday night on an unrelated charge of aggravated assault, and has since been named as a person of interest in the disappearance after witnesses tied his dark blue 2003 Chevrolet Suburban to the case. The Texas Department of Public Safety are asking for the public’s help in reporting any sightings of the vehicle on Thursday or Friday, issuing a photo of the SUV on X with the vehicle’s license plate clearly visible in the photo.

Meanwhile, the search for Audrii Cunningham resumed Saturday morning, focusing on an area around Lake Livingston, a reservoir in East Texas north of Houston. Audrii’s mother, Cassie Mathews told reporters “I’m being told that they have possibly found her backpack in this area, but no signs of her.”

According to authorities, Audrii was dropped off at her bus stop in Livingston, Texas, Thursday morning but never made it on board. Her family reported her missing at 5:30 p.m. that day, leading to the Amber Alert. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said Audrii was last seen near her home was wearing a black hoodie with white lettering, a camo backpack, black pants and black high-top tennis shoes at approximately 7 a.m., on Friday, in the 100 block of Lakeside Drive, in Polk County. PCSO said she should have caught the school bus at her neighborhood bus stop; however, school officials told the Sheriff’s Office the school bus did not pick Audrii up, nor did she report to school.

Authorities were seen searching in a wooded area near the Lake Livingston dam, but investigators – including the non-profit Texas EquuSearch – are also focusing on other areas of interest besides the lake area, without having publicly identified them.

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