More than 1,500 attend vigil for Aurora shooting victims

More than 1,500 people braved snow and freezing drizzle to attend a prayer vigil for five slain co-workers Sunday, two days after they were fatally shot at a suburban Chicago manufacturing plant by a longtime employee who was fired moments earlier. The Rev. Dan Haas told those who gathered near five white crosses erected for the shooting victims outside Henry Pratt Co. in Aurora that Friday's 'senseless killings' left their families brokenhearted in the city about 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Chicago. 'All of these were relatively young people — many of them were very young people. We will never know their gifts and talents. Their lives were snuffed out way too short,' he said of the victims, who included a 21-year-old university student on his first day as an intern. Haas called on God to bring comfort to the families and Aurora. He then read the names and ages of the five shooting victims, prompting waves of sobs and cries from relatives attending the vigil. The city of Aurora tweeted that about 1,700 people attended the vigil in a snowy lot outside the industrial valve manufacturer where several ministers and a rabbi called for healing. Authorities said Gary Martin pulled out a gun and began shooting right after hearing that he was being fired from his job of 15 years at the plant for various workplace violations. Martin, 45, was killed in a shootout with officers, ending his deadly rampage. Five police officers and a sixth plant worker were injured in the shooting and are expected to survive. Aurora Mayor Richard C. Irvin told the vigil crowd that the city's residents feel for the victims' families 'with all our hearts.' 'When I thought about the words that I might share with our community and the families of the victims today, I thought to myself that just to simply offer condolences is not enough,' he said. 'It doesn't measure the amount of pain that we feel, for the loss that we've experienced in this community.

Ex-FBI official: 'Crime may have been committed' by Trump

Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said in an interview that aired Sunday that a 'crime may have been committed' when President Donald Trump fired the head of the FBI and tried to publicly undermine an investigation into his campaign's ties to Russia. McCabe also said in the interview with '60 Minutes' that the FBI had good reason to open a counterintelligence investigation into whether Trump was in league with Russia, and therefore a possible national security threat, following the May 2017 firing of then-FBI Director James Comey. 'And the idea is, if the president committed obstruction of justice, fired the director of the of the FBI to negatively impact or to shut down our investigation of Russia's malign activity and possibly in support of his campaign, as a counterintelligence investigator you have to ask yourself, 'Why would a president of the United States do that?' McCabe said. He added: 'So all those same sorts of facts cause us to wonder is there an inappropriate relationship, a connection between this president and our most fearsome enemy, the government of Russia?' Asked whether Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was onboard with the obstruction and counterintelligence investigations, McCabe replied, 'Absolutely.' A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment Sunday night. McCabe also revealed that when Trump told Rosenstein to put in writing his concerns with Comey — a document the White House initially held up as justification for his firing — the president explicitly asked the Justice Department official to reference Russia in the memo. Rosenstein did not want to, McCabe said, and the memo that was made public upon Comey's dismissal did not mention Russia and focused instead on Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton email server investigation. 'He explained to the president that he did not need Russia in his memo,' McCabe said. 'And the president responded, 'I understand that, I am asking you to put Russia in the memo anyway.' Trump said in a TV interview days after Comey's firing that he was thinking of 'this Russia thing' when he fired Comey. Those actions, including a separate request by Trump that the FBI end an investigation into his first national adviser, Michael Flynn, made the FBI concerned that the president was illegally trying to obstruct the Russia probe. 'Put together, these circumstances were articulable facts that indicated that a crime may have been committed,' McCabe said. 'The president may have been engaged in obstruction of justice in the firing of Jim Comey.' McCabe was fired from the Justice Department last year after being accused of misleading investigators during an internal probe into a news media disclosure. The allegation was referred to the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington for possible prosecution, but no charges have been brought. McCabe has denied having intentionally lied and said Sunday that he believes his firing was politically motivated. 'I believe I was fired because I opened a case against the president of the United States,' he said. In the interview Sunday, McCabe also said Rosenstein in the days after Comey's firing had proposed wearing a wire to secretly record the president. McCabe said he took the remark seriously, though the Justice Department last September — responding last September to a New York Times report that first revealed the conversation — issued a statement from an unnamed official who was in the room and interpreted the remark as sarcastic. McCabe said the remark was made during a conversation about why Trump had fired Comey. 'And in the context of that conversation, the deputy attorney general offered to wear a wire into the White House. He said, ''I never get searched when I go into the White House. I could easily wear a recording device. They wouldn't know it was there,'' McCabe said. In excerpts released last week by CBS News, McCabe also described a conversation in which Rosenstein had broached the idea of invoking the Constitution's 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. The Justice Department said in a statement that Rosenstein, based on his dealings with Trump, does not see cause to seek the removal of the president. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat who is seeking her party's nomination for president, told reporters after a campaign event Sunday in Las Vegas that if the people around Trump believe he cannot fulfill the obligations of his office, then they have a duty to invoke the 25th Amendment. A favorite target of Trump's ire, Warren said she has no special knowledge on whether there are grounds to remove Trump from office but said that 'there are a whole lot of people who do see him every day who evidently were talking about invoking the 25th Amendment.' ___ Associated Press writer Michelle Price in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

Four dead among nine shot in violent weekend in Jacksonville

At least four people are dead and five others hurt in seven separate shooting incidents, marking a violent weekend in Jacksonville.  Around 10:40 AM Saturday, police were called to a shooting on Rusty Lake Lane on the far Westside. JSO says they found a woman in front of the home suffering at least one gunshot, and that woman was pronounced dead by JFRD.  An arrest has been made in this case- 46-year-old Natosha Bailey. JSO says she and the victim, 41-year-old Sitoria Davis, had recently stopped speaking. Police say Davis went to Bailey’s home to speak with someone else. Davis was standing at the door with her daughter, who knocked on the door and rang the doorbell, when police say Bailey looked through the curtains and then fired a shot through the front door. JSO says a second shot was fired as the victim and her daughter were running away, but Davis was hit. Bailey has allegedly confessed to the shooting.  Later Saturday, at 2:48PM, police were called to a shooting on Ken Knight Drive North in Northwest Jacksonville. A man was found in the middle of the street and was taken to the hospital, but later died. JSO says 27-year-old Ronald Jenkins was killed in this apparent drive-by, and the suspect vehicle may be a black Kia Optima or Hyundai Sonata with at least two black men inside. Just before 5PM Saturday, JSO responded to Matthew Street, near Wilson and Firestone on the Westside. Two men were found suffering gunshots, one of who was pronounced dead on the scene and the other was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. That victim and a witness are cooperating with the investigation, according to JSO.  There is no suspect description available in this case, and police are still investigating what led up to the shooting itself.  Sunday morning, at 2:40AM, JSO got a call about a shooting at the Park Place Beach Apartments on Hogan Road on the Southside. We’re told a man was found with superficial injuries. There is no suspect description available.  A couple of hours later, around 4:45AM, police responded to the Lexington Hotel on Prudential Drive on the Southbank. Police say it appears two men from out of town were involved in an argument that turned physical, and led to one man shooting the other multiple times. The person who was shot was found in the hallway of one of the upper floors of the hotel. The injuries are not considered life threatening.  JSO says all parties involved have been located, although there’s no confirmation yet of any arrests. Police believe this was an isolated incident.  Later Sunday morning, at 8:40AM, two people were found on West 1st Street. An adult man was found dead in a home, and a woman was taken to the hospital in life-threatening condition with a gunshot injury. Police are canvassing the area, looking for surveillance footage, and continuing to investigate the incident.  And the weekend was capped with an attempted carjacking off Amanda’s Crossing Drive North, off Collins Road. Police say a man was shot when 3-4 black men tried to steal his vehicle in front of his home, and the victim resisted. JSO says the suspects fled in what they believe is a silver minivan that had recently been stolen, but that vehicle has since been recovered. The victim’s vehicle was not taken, and the victim himself is in stable condition. There is no indication any of these incidents are related, as police continue to investigate. If you have any information about any of these shootings, you’re asked to contact JSO at 904-630-0500 or JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org. You can also submit an anonymous tip and be eligible for a possible reward by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.