Officer fatally shot in parking garage
SILVER SPRING, Md. -- A Maryland police officer died Monday after he was found with a gunshot wound, authorities said. The officer was in a parking garage that was part of his regular patrol.
Acting Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones said that the death of officer Thomas J. Bomba, 38, is being treated as a homicide. But Jones said investigators were "looking at all options in regards to this investigation."
Jones added that police did not have any suspect or suspect descriptions.
Bomba was on patrol around 9 a.m. when he reported that he encountered "disorderly subjects" at a parking garage in downtown Silver Spring.
Jones said Bomba requested assistance, and when fellow officers arrived at the garage three of four minutes later, they found Bomba on the garage's top floor, suffering from a gunshot wound. Bomba was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Jones said Bomba was wearing a body camera, although it was unclear Monday afternoon if the device was activated or correctly functioning.
Instability hinders New Orleans rescue
NEW ORLEANS -- Rescue workers and search dogs moved gingerly through a dangerously unstable New Orleans hotel Monday in a risky search for the only person still missing after the structure partially collapsed.
Two people are known to have died in the Saturday disaster and more than 20 were hurt.
On Sunday, the body of one worker was removed from the site. The Orleans Parish coroner's office identified the victim Monday as Anthony Floyd Magrette, 49. In addition to one missing worker, authorities said, the body of another was still in the rubble.
Fire Chief Tim McConnell told reporters that engineers were in the building to determine how best to stabilize it. Experts also were working on plans to stabilize and remove a 270-foot-high crane that is in danger of tumbling.
"We are putting our folks at somewhat risk," McConnell added later. "When you're in rescue -- you're trying to get some people out -- you take a little more risk."
Stabilization and cleanup were expected to take weeks.
Large sections of two major thoroughfares near the French Quarter and the main business district remained closed, including streetcar tracks and bus routes. Mayor LaToya Cantrell said 37 families have been put up at hotels.
The cause of the collapse is under investigation. Officials said the last inspection of record at the site was Sept. 24.
LA firefighters douse leftover hotspots
LOS ANGELES -- Firefighters on Monday doused remaining smoldering areas from a destructive wildfire that raged along the northern edge of Los Angeles last week.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said containment of the approximately 12-square-mile fire was about 43 percent Monday.
Updated assessments also lowered the number of destroyed structures to 17 but increased the number damaged to 58.
The fire began Thursday night and was rapidly spread by Santa Ana winds. A man in the fire area went into cardiac arrest and died.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
To the east in Riverside County, a 1.5-square-mile fire that destroyed dozens of mobile homes and left two people dead last week was reported to be 94% contained.
That fire ignited when a trash truck driver dumped a burning load amid winds.
Suit targets abortion clinic ordinance
JACKSON, Miss. -- Abortion opponents in Mississippi have filed a lawsuit challenging a city ordinance designed to restrict noise levels and require protesters to remain a certain distance from the entrance of health care facilities.
The Mississippi Justice Institute, which pushes for limiting government regulations, filed the state court lawsuit Friday for members of Sidewalk Advocates for Life. The lawsuit says the Jackson ordinance unconstitutionally limits free-speech rights as people try to persuade women not to end pregnancies.
Jackson City Council members adopted the ordinance Oct. 1, and it is scheduled to take effect Oct. 31.
Owners of nearby shops have complained about commotion outside Mississippi's only abortion clinic, Jackson Women's Health Organization. Some protesters use bullhorns, and the clinic plays loud music to cover the sound.
The Jackson ordinance prohibits people from protesting within 15 feet of any entrance to a health care facility. It also says that within 100 feet of the entrance, each person has a "personal bubble zone" of 8 feet, and that no one may get inside the bubble to hand over a leaflet or to engage in "oral protest, education or counseling." Further, the ordinance prohibits amplified sound within 100 feet of the property line.
Violation carries a $1,000 fine, 90 days in jail or both.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports
A Section on 10/15/2019