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Three people were shot at a popular Pennsylvania amusement park on Saturday night following an altercation between two groups of teenagers.  According to Allegheny County Police, the shooting took place at Kennywood amusement park in West Mifflin. Three people — two 15-year-old boys and one 39-year-old man — were reportedly injured from gunshot wounds Saturday night.

On Sunday morning, Kennywood alerted on Twitter that the park was closed for the night and that “all guests have exited” after the shooting took place on what was the first night of the park’s Phantom Fall Fest.  Allegheny County Police shared in a Sunday news release that the shooting followed an altercation in front of the park’s Musik Express ride, and that multiple agencies responded around 10:49 p.m. One 15-year-old was shot in the thigh and is still at a hospital; the 39-year-old was hit in the leg and released following treatment and the other teen is hospitalized with a graze wound and in stable condition. Others were reportedly treated for “trample” injuries following the events at the amusement park.  Police say they recovered a handgun inside the park, and the search for the suspect is ongoing.

The park later issued an official statement: “We are greatly saddened by the violence that occurred last night. Our thoughts are with those who were injured as a result of the incident, as well as all guests and team members affected by what happened. …We are closely collaborating with police as they investigate. Our entry security protocols include a state of the art weapons detection system put into place at the start of this season, video scanning, and bag checks. We regularly supplement our park security staff with officers from the Allegheny County Police Department and West Mifflin Police Department, who were contracted to support our teams during operating hours, including Saturday evening. We will continue to cooperate with authorities throughout their investigation.

The park is closed Sunday, September 25. We will reopen as scheduled on Friday evening, September 30, and will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.”

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As Tropical Storm Ian heads towards Florida and is expected to become a hurricane Sunday night, reaching major hurricane strength early next week, Gov. Ron DeSantis has issued statewide state of emergency, citing the risk of a major hurricane making landfall on Florida’s western coast.

Currently located in the Caribbean Sea with maximum sustained winds near 50 mph and higher gusts, forecasters predict that Ian is expected to become a major Category 3 hurricane by Monday or Tuesday.  According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm is 540 miles southeast of the western tip of Cuba and could approach the Florida Keys and the southern and central area of the Florida peninsula beginning Monday through to Wednesday morning

The potential hurricane is expected to bring 2 to 6 inches of rain to the Keys and peninsula and heavy rainfall to northern and western Florida, as well as to other states in the southeastern U.S. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. These rains may produce flash and urban flooding across the Keys and the peninsula through midweek.

Over the weekend, President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida as the state faces a potential major hurricane from the current storm, the White House said. Biden’s approval of a Florida emergency declaration orders authorized federal aid.

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On Thursday, House Democrats passed a package of new police reform bills that would fund recruitment and training for police departments across the country, including new language for police accountability. Early in the day a procedural vote on the bills narrowly passed 216-215 when a group of progressive Democrats objected to providing more funding to police departments. It now heads to the Senate.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., said: “The Invest to Protect Act will ensure that local police departments across our country have what they need to recruit and retain the finest officers, to provide necessary training, and to invest in providing mental health resources for our officers.” 

California Democratic Rep. Katie Porter sponsored one f the bills, which would create a grant program for departments to hire and dispatch mental professionals instead of law enforcement officers when incidents involve behavioral health needs. Another bill provides funding to police departments with fewer than 200 officers and also allows the funding to be used for data collection about police and community safety.

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