2 in custody for Tulsa shooting; 5 injured
TULSA, Okla. – Gunfire that left five people injured at a traditional Hmong New Year’s festival rattled a peaceful, tight-knit east Tulsa community, where some feared Sunday the rampage could deter others from attending upcoming cultural celebrations.
Two men have been taken into custody and face multiple charges in the shooting of five people at Saturday’s festival, authorities said Sunday. Authorities were holding 21-year-old Boonmlee Lee and 19-year-old Meng Lee, both of Tulsa. Each faces five counts of shooting with intent to kill plus firearms charges.
A witness at the party described the chaotic scene, as people lined up to get dinner were sent running and ducking for cover when the shots rang out.
Spokeswomen for the two Tulsa hospitals where the victims were transported said they could not release information on the condition of the wounded Sunday, citing the ongoing police investigation.
Evacuations kept India cyclone death toll low
BEHRAMPUR, India – Mass evacuations spared India the widespread deaths many had feared from a powerful cyclone that roared ashore over the weekend, officials said Sunday, as the country sorted through the wreckage of flooded towns, tangled power lines and tens of thousands of destroyed thatch homes.
Cyclone Phailin, the strongest storm to hit India in more than a decade, destroyed hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of crops, but more than 20 hours after it made landfall in Orissa state on the country’s east coast, authorities said they knew of 17 fatalities.
The final death toll is expected to climb further as officials reach areas of the cyclone-battered coast that remain isolated by downed communication links and blocked roads, but the evacuation of nearly 1 million people appeared to have saved many lives.
Far-right candidate scores win in France
PARIS – A candidate of France’s far-right National Front won a run-off vote in a local election Sunday that drew widespread attention amid signs that the once-shunned anti-immigrant party is gaining strength.
Laurent Lopez defeated center-right UMP candidate Catherine Delzers in the by-election to win one of 43 seats on the Var department council. France is made up of more than 100 departments; five or so departments make up a region.
A smiling Marine Le Pen, the National Front’s leader, appeared on French television and declared the results showed “a real desire for change by the French.”
Medellin building collapses, 11 missing
MEDELLIN, Colombia – Searchers hunted through the wreckage of a collapsed high-rise in Medellin on Sunday, trying to locate 11 people missing.
No deaths had yet been confirmed, and many lives may have been saved because the 54-unit apartment building was evacuated after cracks appeared on Friday, said Jaime Enrique Gomez, acting director of Medellin’s disaster preparedness agency.
After the tower collapsed about 8:40 p.m. local time Saturday, five other buildings in the “Space” development were evacuated as well.
Gomez said about 150 rescuers were trying to find the missing in the ruins of the 22-story building in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods of Medellin, Colombia’s second-largest city.
Associated Press
