Posted on

Hunter fatally shot after being mistaken for a deer by another hunter

The victim was found not to be wearing blaze orange or high-visibility clothing.

A man has been shot and killed while he was hunting by another hunter after allegedly being mistaken for a deer.

The incident occurred on Nov. 25 at approximately 7:16 p.m. when the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office received a report from the FBI and the Red Lake Tribal Police in northern Minnesota that a hunting fatality had happened on — or near to — the Red Lake Reservation boundary and was being investigated.

During the investigation into the death, authorities discovered that 28-year-old Lucas Dudley of Bemidji, Minnesota, was reportedly deer hunting when he was shot by 33-year-old Rain Stately of Redby, Minnesota. The two were not hunting together.

“Near dusk, Stately stated that he observed movement of what he thought was a deer and fired one round from his rifle,” said Ernie Beitel of the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office in a statement posted to social media. “When he discovered Dudley, he immediately called 911 and is cooperating with the investigation. Dudley was found not to be wearing typical blaze orange or other high-visibility clothing.”

According to authorities, Dudley has been transported to the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Officer for an autopsy.

Authorities did not disclose where Dudley had been struck with the bullet or how far apart the two men were when the incident occurred.

The incident is being investigated by the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office, Red Lake Tribal Police Department, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Division of Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

No decision has been made about whether Stately will face any charges in Dudley’s death.

Posted on

Two dead as car drives into pedestrian area in Trier, Germany

The driver has been arrested, police said.

“We arrested one person and one vehicle was seized,” Trier Police posted on Twitter. “According to initial findings, two people have died. Please continue to avoid the city center.”

The authorities have called on the public to avoid the city center and avoid spreading speculation about the incident. Several people have been injured, and more information will soon follow, Trier Police said.

There is no indication of an ongoing threat. The pedestrian zone — which in verified footage from the scene appears to be a shopping district in the center of Trier — has been cordoned off. Trier lies just inside the German border with Luxembourg, and the suspect is a 51 year-old from the Trier-Saarburg.

“I am shocked and deeply shaken by the crime in my hometown #Trier,” Malu Dreyer, a local lawmaker, said in a statement. “My deepest sympathy goes to the relatives of the dead. I wish all the injured will recover soon and quickly.Thanks to all the emergency services. I will be in #Trier soon.”

The investigation is still ongoing, and the Trier Police spokesperson told ABC News it was “way too soon” to establish a motive.

Posted on

Navy decides to scrap USS Bonhomme Richard after major fire

One of the two masts collapsed and the fire consumed large areas of the interior

The U.S. Navy has announced that it plans to scrap the USS Bonhomme Richard and not repair the amphibious assault ship ravaged by a major fire in San Diego in July.

The damage to the ship from the days-long fire, that at times reached 1,000 degrees, was too much to repair for a ship that had already been in service for almost a quarter of a century, according to the Navy.

“After thorough consideration, the secretary of the Navy and the chief of naval operations have decided to decommission the Bonhomme Richard due to the extensive damage sustained during that July fire,” Rear Adm. Eric H. Ver Hage, commander of the Navy Regional Maintenance Center, told reporters on an audio-only news conference Monday.

Ver Hage said the Navy had explored three possibilities that included scrapping the ship, repairing it or re-configuring it into a hospital ship or tender.

In the end, those costs appeared to be just as expensive — and would take as long — as a future purchase of a new modern amphibious assault ship.

Scrapping the ship will cost $30 million over a nine- to 12-month timeline instead of a possible $2.5 -$3.2 billion renovation cost that could take as long as five to seven years.

Replacing the amphibious assault ship with a new America-class ship capable of launching F-35 Joint Strike Fighters would cost $4.1 billion and take five to six years. There was no indication that purchasing a replacement ship was under consideration.

“We’ve got a number of LHAs being built right now, and so, you know, we think we’re in the right spot with regard to LHA construction for the time being,” said Capt. Stephen Murray, major program manager for surface ship readiness and sustainment.

The decommissioning process has already begun, with parts that can be used on other Navy ships being salvaged. The ship’s crew will be assigned to other positions within the Navy.

The Bonhomme Richard was pierside in San Diego undergoing renovations on July 12 when a fire began in a storage area above where Marine Corps vehicles were usually stored on the large amphibious assault ship.

The fire quickly spread through the ship’s main hangar and consumed large areas of the ship’s interior. On the flight deck, one of the ship’s two masts collapsed from the intensity of the flames.

The blaze raged for five days before firefighters were finally able to extinguish the flames leaving significant metal areas of the ship’s interior in melted pieces.

Since the fire, the Navy conducted engineering reviews to determine whether it made sense to go through a costly renovation of the ship that was commissioned in 1998 at a cost of $750 million. Adjusted for inflation, the ship’s cost in 2020 dollars would have been $1.2 billion.

In late August, defense officials confirmed to ABC News that they were investigating the possibility of arson and questioning a Navy sailor. On Monday, officials declined to comment on their ongoing investigation.

In late July, the Navy’s top admiral questioned whether it made sense to repair the ship after having seen firsthand all of the damage.

“I am 100% confident that our defense industry can put this ship back to sea,” said Adm. Mike Gilday, the chief of naval operations. “But, having said that, the question is: Should we make that investment in a 22-year-old ship? And I’m not going to make any predictions until we take a look at all the facts and we follow the facts and we can make reasonable recommendations up the chain of command on the future steps, any repair efforts, future repair efforts of Bonhomme Richard.”