New Haven Police, Fire and Coast Guard officials are searching for a possible missing swimmer off Lighthouse Point in New Haven.
Police say crews responded when a lifeguard reported possibly seeing an arm go under the water. A section of the beach is cordoned off for the search. At this time no one has been reported missing.
Check back for updates on the search as they become available.
The lifeless body of a 2-year-old girl who had been reported missing in Brooklyn's Prospect Park on Saturday was found in a section of the park's lake.
Ruhshona Kurbonova was retrieved from the lake in early evening after she was reported missing at around 1:10 p.m. near the park's boathouse, police said.
Police SCUBA divers searched the lake for the toddler and found her at around 6 p.m.
Ruhshona had been with her 3-year-old brother, who was found soaking wet by a person who called 911 and notified the child's parents. Ruhshona's mother then realized her daughter was missing, police say.
The toddler had been attending a family barbecue in the park.
Onlookers said the girl's mother had to be taken out of the park on a stretcher because she was so distraught upon learning that her daughter was dead.
An American flag that flew over the World Trade Center ruins and was given to the sister of a fallen firefighter has been returned after it was stolen last week.
The flag showed up back on Melissa Brengel's Long Island porch Thursday.
The person who took it returned it to the Huntington home with a note that said, "I am so sorry, I had no idea."
The flag is particularly special to Brengel and was given to her by the September 11th Families Association.
"We put it out during certain times of the year just to remember," she said.
Brengel's brother Jonathan Ielpi was a 29-year-old FDNY firefighter working out of Squad 288 in Queens when he died on Sept. 11.
A soldier from Meriden gave his mother a big surprise this Independence Day.
Pvt. Toby Hollman wasn’t expected home until April 2015. But much to the shock and delight of his mother Su, he served her water when she was out to an Independence Day dinner at Outback in North Haven.
“It just took me a second to realize that he was actually standing in front of me,” Su Hollman said.
He pulled it off with the help of family members and restaurant staff. Dinner was supposed to be a girls night out for Su and her daughter. That was the first sign for Su that something was up.
"Girls night out with my daughter, you have to understand that it's usually a surprise,” Su explained. “Something happened. But Su wasn’t prepared to see her son, who was supposed to be two thousand miles away. “I knew something was up, but I didn’t expect him at all,” she added.
Toby’s brother Noah Hollman was also surprised by his brother’s appearance.
“I didn’t think it was real at all,” Noah said. “I thought they were just messing with me.”
The reunion will be short - Toby heads back on Sunday for another 10 months of training to be a nursing specialist. But he says surprising his mom was well worth it.
“She’s always been there for me for everything,” he said. “She’s probably one of the biggest influences in my life.”
Farmington police have arrested a man after a domestic violence incident that shut down part of the Unionville section of town.
Police say they responded around 8:30 p.m. Saturday to an apartment complex on Mill St. Upon arrival they say a male suspect armed with a handgun was threatening to kill himself with his girlfriend and her young daughter in the home.
The woman and her daughter were able to safety leave the apartment. According to police, the man then temporarily barricaded himself.
The situation forced police to cordon off part of the street and issue a shelter-in-place order for a nearby restaurant. Neighbors received a reverse 911 call that told them to stay away from the windows and doors.
Police say a SWAT team was activated but didn’t have to come out. The suspect eventually exited the apartment peacefully. No shots were fired and no one injured. The incident resolved around 10 p.m.
The suspect, who as of now is only be identified as a man in his early 40s, is charged with two counts of breach of peace, risk of injury to a minor, and reckless endangerment.
The 18-year-old who was critically injured after his car struck a tree in Manchester early Wednesday has died, according to police.
Police said Safwaan Dalal was driving eastbound on Vernon Street when he veered off the road and up a car, then slammed into a tree on the 200 block.
Dalal was a recent graduate of Manchester High School, according to the school's student newspaper. Counselors will be at the school on Monday to offer support to students.
Investigators are still probing the cause of the crash but said speed may have been a factor.
According to the fire department, Dalal was trapped inside the car and was unconscious and unresponsive at the scene. Firefighters had to extricate him and gave him medical treatment on the scene.
Dalal was taken to Manchester Hospital, then airlifted via LifeStar for Hartford Hospital.
Anyone with information is urged to call Manchester police Officer Aaron Calkins at 860-645-5560.
After a stormy couple days while Hurricane Arthur headed up the east coast, Saturday is looking a lot clearer for what's left of 4th of July weekend and many rescheduled fireworks displays.
Strong winds knocked down many trees and caused some power outages across the state between July 3 and 4, but Saturday morning brings sunny skies and light 15-mile-an-hour breezes and Arthur has been downgraded to a tropical storm, according to NBC Meteorologist Monica Cryan. Temperatures are forecasted to climb into the 70s around 11 a.m. and the 80s by 3 p.m., she said at 7 a.m.
That bodes well for many 4th of July fireworks displayed rescheduled from Thursday and Friday due to the storms. By 9 p.m., around the time many fireworks displays start, the temperature will dip slightly to the low 70s with clear skies and calm winds, according to Cryan's 7 a.m. forecast.
The annual Derby-Shelton dueling fireworks were postponed to Saturday, with fireworks simultaneously lighting up the skies on each side of the Housatonic River following a concert at the Shelton Riverwalk. Fireworks in Bristol, Cheshire, Darien, Fairfield, Manchester, Middletown, New Britain, New Haven, New Milford, Norwalk, Orange, Salisbury, Stafford, Torrington, Wallingford and West Haven are scheduled for Saturday night. For more information on fireworks displays across Connecticut, click here.
Weather updates are available throughout the day on our weather web page and you can also take a look at our interactive radar.
An accident involving illegal fireworks has cost a South Bay man both of his hands.
The accident happened Friday night in San Jose, near Cassel Park, while Alazar Ortiz and his family were celebrating the Fourth of July.
Ortiz had his right hand amputated. On his left hand, doctors were able to save two of his fingers.
Family members said Ortiz is a construction worker, and this accident will most certainly cost him his job.
The 40-year-old man was lighting what family members described as a professional grade explosive, the kind used in large fireworks displays, when it prematurely exploded.
Ortiz was lighting the device in his mother’s driveway on Leeward Drive shortly before 10 p.m. Friday as his family watched.
On Saturday, family members said they were heartbroken. They also said they have a message they want others to hear about the dangers of buying and setting off illegal fireworks.
"So what we’re trying to do is to get those fireworks out of the streets, and especially from that store," Ortiz's nephew Luis said. "For $50, he blows his two hands."
Family members said Ortiz bought the explosive device at a market in San Jose. Police said they are now investigating that store.
In addition to losing his hands, Ortiz also suffered burns on his face and ears.
His mother said she just thanks God that he is alive.
A fisherman says he and two friends couldn't do anything to prevent a swimmer from being bitten by a white shark that the group had on a fishing line for about 30 minutes off the coast of off a Southern California beach on Saturday morning.
The fisherman, who identified himself only as Jason, said they were hoping to catch and release bat rays and tiger sharks by throwing bait into the water from the Manhattan Beach Pier. Instead, they hooked a juvenile shark and kept it on the fishing line with swimmers and surfers nearby.
"At this time the shark was headed straight for the swimmers, there was nothing we could do," Jason said.
"We were trying to pull him further away, and at that minute we'd seen the shark jump and it looked like he landed on the guy," he added.
The 50-year-old victim was bitten under his arm as the agitated shark tried to bite through the line.
That's when Jason's friend cut the line after holding onto the shark for half an hour.
"We didn't see what it was until the water was shallow enough that we could actually see what it was, and that was maybe 15 minutes into it," Jason said.
It's against California law to fish for great white sharks. Fishermen who catch one must cut it loose once it's been identified.
The fisherman said he didn't cut the line right away because the shark was "15 feet away from a surfer. If he's not on our line and we cut our line, he's free to go after whoever he wants inside the water."
The swimmer was taken to the hospital and was expected to survive.
Manhattan Beach police said fishing will not be allowed on the pier until Tuesday, July 8.
A Gary, Indiana, police officer was shot and killed while on-duty Sunday on his 47th birthday and a manhunt is underway for the gunman, police said.
Officer Jeffery Brady Westerfield was found by a citizen unresponsive in a parked squad car just before 6 a.m. near 26th Avenue and Van Buren Street, according to Chief Wade Ingram.
Police suspect the shooting may have stemmed from an earlier call in the area, possibly for a report of shots fired, Ingram said in a press conference Sunday.
"We believe he was searching the area for a suspect," Ingram said, noting that police are still investigating the incident.
Ingram said he did not believe the shooting involved a traffic stop. Shell casings were found at the scene, according to authorities.
Officials said Westerfield was a 19-year veteran on the force. He has four daughters and was engaged to be married.
"It is a tremendous loss to the department," said 5th District Councilwoman Kimberly Robinson.
Officials said they are following up on several leads in the investigation.
"Any loss of life, particularly a police officer's loss of life, is devastating to a department, is devastating to a community and what it means is we will to go through every legal measure to make sure that the person who is responsible for this is held accountable," said Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson.
Gun violence in the area had been declining with shootings down by more than 50 percent, until a spike in homicides occurred about a week ago, officials said.
"The fact that an officer has lost his life certainly causes you to question whether you can make the type of headway that needs to be made to ensure ultimate success," said Freeman-Wilson. "We know that we can push back on this."
The last time an officer was killed while on-duty in the area was 1998, Freeman-Wilson said.
Ingram said the Lake County Sheriff's Department is leading the investigation into Westerfield's death with the assistance of the Gary police department and other agencies. He said several officers were coming in on their day off to help with the manhunt.
"You can never be too careful as an officer," Ingram said. "Every day you put that uniform on your life is on the line."
Violence in Chicago continued over the Fourth of July weekend with at least 11 people shot in roughly four hours Sunday afternoon, bringing the total number of people shot since the holiday weekend began to more than 60.
At least seven people have been killed over the long weekend.
Most recently, a 21-year-old man was killed and a 19-year-old man was wounded in a shooting in the 5200 block of West Lake Street around 5:40 p.m. Sunday. Police said the two were sitting in a car when someone approached their vehicle and opened fire before fleeing on foot. The 21-year-old man was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene. The 19-year-old man was shot in the upper right thigh and was taken to Stroger Hospital in stable condition.
Earlier Sunday, a 20-year-old man was shot sitting in a vehicle around 12:20 a.m. near Montrose Avenue and Malden Street in the city’s Uptown neighborhood when a man walked up and fired shots.
The 20-year-old was transported to Illinois Masonic Medical Center with gunshot wounds to his back and he was later pronounced dead.
Police responding to a call of a person shot around 7:30 p.m. Saturday found an 18-year-old man unresponsive in the street in the 6500 block of South Seeley Avenue. The teen suffered wounds to his upper torso and neck and was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center in critical condition. He was later pronounced dead, police said.
Chicago Police fatally shot a 16-year-old boy in the city’s Gresham neighborhood around 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the 8700 block of South Sangamon Avenue.
Officers responding to a call of shots fired in the area said they saw someone fitting the shooter’s description holding a gun, according to a statement from Chicago police.
The offender turned and pointed his weapon in the direction of pursuing officers who then fired at him, police said.
The teen was pronounced dead at the scene.
A 30-year-old man who was shot while standing in a parking lot at 63rd Street and Austin Avenue has died, officials said.
Joel Bentley was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center following the shooting but was later pronounced dead, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
In a second fatal police-involved shooting, a man was shot by officers in the Portage Park neighborhood late Friday night.
Police said officers approached the man just before 10 p.m. in the 3800 block of North Cicero Avenue when they saw “an object protruding from his waistband” and tried to stop him. The man fled the scene and pointed a “large revolver” at pursuing officers, according to a statement from Chicago police.
Police then fired shots, fatally striking the man.
According to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office, the man is believed to be in his late teens or early 20s.
At least two others have been killed in shootings since Thursday.
The first homicide took place shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday in the 3800 block of West Monroe Street when two women were shot in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the city’s West Side.
One woman, 21, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The second person, also 21, was shot in the arm, police said.
On Friday, a man was killed and another man was wounded in a shooting at a strip mall at 63rd Street and Damen Avenue.
Police said the men were standing outside a building when a black vehicle pulled up and someone inside the vehicle opened fire, striking both men.
A 34-year-old man was taken to Holy Cross Hospital and later pronounced dead. A 35-year-old man was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County in critical condition, according to Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Janel Sedevic.
Area South detectives are investigating the shooting, police said.
At least 13 others were shot Sunday.
More than 30 others have been shot throughout the Fourth of July weekend.
An undocumented immigrant mother said she fled Honduras with her three young children due to escalating violence and because her husband, a police officer, received threats against their kids, ages 10, 9 and 4.
"In our country, you can't have kids, you can't be an honest person," the mother, who asked to remain anonymous told NBC 7 in Spanish, fighting back tears. "If you are, the gangs will kill you."
The 26-year-old is among the group of undocumented immigrant families flown from Texas to San Diego as part of the federal government’s plan to address the nation’s border crisis. She spoke with NBC 7 outside the federal building in downtown San Diego.
She said she saw no way out but to flee to America -- even if she had to do it illegally. She has a brother in Oklahoma with whom she'll soon be reunited. On Saturday, she said he was on his way to pick her and the kids up. Her ride came about five hours later.
The mother said she’s unsure what her future holds in America. She said she’ll have to wait and see what an immigration judge has to say about the fates of herself and her children.
Sitting on a bench next to her was another undocumented immigrant mother and her two children from El Salvador. She chose not to speak to NBC 7 but did say there were a dozen more immigrant families inside the federal building being processed.
Both mothers said they arrived to San Diego on a plane from Texas on July 1. They both said that plane was filled with all mothers and children together and no unaccompanied minors.
Despite the release of these families, just as in recent days, a spokesperson from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told NBC 7 she had no information regarding how many of these families had been released in San Diego.
She said officials would not be providing that information for security reasons.
The spokesperson also said the wave of undocumented immigrants tranferred to San Diego this week included either children with a parent, children with a relative and adults. She said ICE is not handling unaccompanied undocumented minors.
Two rounds of undocumented immigrants have been flown to San Diego this week – one group on Tuesday and the other group on the 4th of July.
After disembarking a chartered aircraft at the San Diego International Airport, Tuesday’s group of approximately 140 undocumented immigrant mothers and children were transferred onto Homeland Security buses and driven to Murrieta, bound for a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility.
However, heated protesters in Murrieta blocked the buses from entering, forcing federal authorities to send the passengers to smaller processing centers throughout San Diego County, including Chula Vista, Imperial Beach and Otay Mesa.
Friday’s group was also expected to be shuttled to Murrieta, but that never happened. Instead, they were bussed to a San Ysidro processing station and an immigration office in downtown San Diego.
According to federal authorities, the undocumented families and children will be released from CBP to ICE officials for additional processing. However, the timeline for all of this remains unclear.
Officials said the priority is to reunite the immigrants with family members currently living in the U.S.
They will be given a scheduled date for an immigration hearing and will be expected to return to federal authorities. Undocumented immigrants are typically released in anywhere from eight to 36 hours after detainment, officials said.
Bloomfield police have found the teenager who left his home late Saturday and did not return.
Justin J. Ruiz, 14, of 10 Beatrice Ave., Bloomfield, left his home at about 11 p.m. on July 5 after an argument with his mother, according to police. He was reported missing Sunday when no one heard from him after his departure, police said.
He was found at a relative's home in Hartford and returned to his mother, according to police. He was unharmed and did not require medical attention.
A teen who has been arrested in connection with the Southington apartment fire that killed a 19-year-old late June is scheduled to be arraigned in court in Bristol on Monday morning.
Eric Morelli, 18, of Southington faces a first-degree manslaughter charge and three counts of first-degree reckless endangerment in connection to the fire that killed Kristen Milano, 19, of Southington on Sunday, June 22.
Morelli's arraignment is expected to be be brief, according to Morelli's attorney, Ray Hassett, who will make a statement following his client's court appearance.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but friends and neighbors said Morelli might have been trying to wake up Milano's brother by throwing a lit firecracker at the window.
"I don't think [Milano] had a lot of enemies, from what I know," said neighbor Kelly Macken. "I heard it was an accident and that someone was trying to get her attention. But why would you throw a lit firecracker?"
Milano died of smoke inhalation after flames broke out in her unit at the Summer Brook Apartments around 4:30 a.m. that Sunday, according to the medical examiner's office. Her death has been ruled a homicide.
Police arrested Morelli, 18, of Southington, around 5 p.m.days later on Tuesday, June 24. He was released from police custody that night after posting his $150,000 bond.
Raymond Hassett, the attorney representing Morelli, issued the following statement the night he was arrested:
"My client, Eric Morelli, and his family are extremely sorry over what has happened. This is particularly difficult as Eric was a long-time friend of Kristen. Eric never intended to harm anyone and he is very remorseful about this tragedy. He has been fully cooperative with law enforcement and will be responding to the charges in court."
The fire was contained to unit 32A, where Milano lived.
Two of Milano's relatives made it out safely, and crews initially thought everyone was OK. They later found Milano's body in a second-floor bedroom, according to the Associated Press.
People who know Morelli said he's been in trouble with police before but never to this extent.
"I'm shocked to see that it went this far, because it's like little by little, he did things and it got worse and worse," said neighbor Linda Selander.
Firefighters received mutual aid from the Bristol Fire Department. The state fire marshal was called in to help with the investigation.
A makeshift memorial of candles and flowers was set up outside the apartment the week of the fire to remember Milano.
Family members have started a GoFundMe page to raise money for the burial. Zen Bar in Plainville held a fundraiser for Milano's family the Friday after the fire according to the restaurant's Facebook page.
Police said the warrant for Morelli's arrest has been sealed by the court and no further information is available.
The Bristol court is also awaiting Morelli's disposition in a separate motor vehicle case, according to the state judicial website. He is scheduled to appear in court for that case on Jan. 7, 2015, but the file containing information on the nature of the case is sealed.
Three people were confirmed dead in a small plane crash in the Lake Elsinore area of Southern California Sunday morning.
The call came in around 9:20 a.m. in the 32100 block of Ortega Highway, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
It was unknown whether there were more occupants in the plane at the time of the crash, said Jennifer Fuhrman of the Riverside County Fire Department.
A vegetation fire caused by the crash was contained to one-tenth of an acre, Fuhrman said.
Several agencies were investigating the wreckage of the single-engine Piper PA28 in the rough terrain, including the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board.
Nearly 70 firefighters and three helicopters responded to the plane crash Sunday, according to Cal Fire.
Some state parks, lakes and beaches have closed Sunday afternoon because they are at capacity.
Many people spent time outside at the parks, on boats and at the beaches in the sunshine following a stormy July 3 and 4.
These are the latest closures, as of 3:43 p.m.
More information on beach and state park closures will be provided as they become available.
You can also follow the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection on Twitter @CTDEPoutdoorrec for updates.
A hidden camera was found in one of the Hammonasset Beach State Park campground bathhouses in Madison early Saturday morning.
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) environmental conservation police officers removed the small camera device found that was disguised to look like a wall-mounted coat hook. They posted flyers warning visitors and campers to be on the lookout in the event there are any more hidden cameras.
Police continue to investigate and no arrests have been made at this time.
One man is recovering and two are under arrest after a stabbing in Vernon.
Vernon police say a 24-year-old Vernon man was stabbed in the stomach with a knife around 5 a.m. on Saturday. The victim walked from the scene at Union St. and Ward St. to Rockville General Hospital, and was transferred to Hartford Hospital for surgery.
Twenty-four-year-old Dylan Briggs and 25-year-old Jeffrey Johnson, both of 155 West Main Street in Vernon were arrested and charged in the incident.
Briggs is charged with first-degree assault, breach of peace, and false statement. Johnson is charged with first-degree assault, interfering with police, breach of peace, carrying a dangerous weapon, and tampering with evidence, according to police.
Both are being held at the Vernon Police Department on $250,000 bonds and will presented in Rockville Superior Court on Monday.
Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact Detective Sergeant Michael Conde at 860-872-9126.
The deadline is Monday for contractors interested in submitting bid proposals for the proposed $60 million project to build a baseball stadium to house the Rock Cats in downtown Hartford.
The city of Hartford is soliciting bids for an architectural firm and project manager to work on the 9,000-seat ballpark project, which the city would like completed by April of 2016 .
Hundreds of people attended a public meeting on the proposed ballpark on July 2 to voice opinions and listen to officials and Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra give an update on the project.
The city and the Rock Cats announced plans for the ballpark and to move the AA minor league Minnesota Twins affiliate to the capital city in early June, much to the surprise of fans and New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart.
City council officials still have to approve the baseball stadium proposal before the project can move forward.
Clinton and Madison residents are expected to protest a proposed Clinton propane facility Monday at Clinton Town Hall before a meeting on the project.
People opposed to the project proposed for Knollwood Drive in Clinton are raising concerns that the propane facility would decrease property values, bring more traffic to the area and pose safety risks to neighbors.
The town and developer Global Companies predict that the project would create about $100,000 in tax revenue.
