Thank you so much for joining us tonight. Well see you again at 6 00. Tonight, as we come on the air in the west, several breaking stories. North korea. And here at home, the deadly walmart shooting. Authorities say the gunman was a disgruntled employee taking aim at coworkers with deadly force. Shooting a Police Officer who was raced to the hospital. They believe hes alive because of his bulletproof vest. And that Breaking News coming in from north korea right now. What theyve now done. James longman with new reporting. The severe Thunderstorm Watch in the northeast, as we come on the air tonight, as a Lightning Strike hits at least six people late today on the east coast. And the father who did not survive, trying to save his 11yearold son in a rip current. The boy made it to shore. The horrific case unfolding tonight. Multiple Family Members killed, then police say a man firing his way into a second home. The sheriff now asking tonight, was this suspect imitating the Jayme Closs Case . President trump doubling
down tonight, describing baltimore as hell, and declaring he is the least racist person in the world. The new turn tonight, two american teenagers accused of killing a Police Officer in rome. Authorities in italy now revealing the seveninch knife used in the attack. The race for 2020 tonight, and the showdown this evening, with one candidate now widening their lead. Your privacy tonight. The massive Security Breach. What weve now learned. 100 million people, Social Security numbers, addresses stolen. How to know if youre affected and what you should do right now. Rebecca jarvis standing by. And the miracle toddler slipping through a railing here, dangling from that balcony, and what they do on the ground to save him. Good evening. And its great to have you with us here on a tuesday night. And we begin tonight with another deadly workplace shooting. This time, at a walmart, an Employee Opening Fire on coworkers and on an officer. The suspect showing up early this morning, targeting those
fellow workers. He shot that officer, too. They say that officer survived only because he had a bulletproof vest on. The gunman was shot, he did survive. Hes now under arrest. Two coworkers are dead. Shaken employees gathered outside, learning it was one of their own. And tonight, the heartbreak and the search for answers in south haven, mississippi. Abcs Steve Osunsami leads us off from the scene tonight. Reporter 6 33 this morning. Customers who had just walked out of this 24hour Walmart Supercenter in suburban memphis say that the gunfire started in the parking lot, and then the man with the firearm ran inside the store. Kind of shook up over it, really. Once people realized what was going on, they all just flooded out. Reporter what was going on was yet another active shooter, and according to walmart, the Accused Gunman was a disgruntled employee. Police have arrested 39yearold martez abram, now charged with two counts of murder. His alleged victims are two Men Witnesses say he knew anthony brown, the stores manager, and brandon gales, whose family says he worked for walmart for 16
years. Both men were shot dead. Police arrived just minutes later. Two of our officers encountered the suspect outside on the west side parking lot of the building. One of our officers was shot at this time. Reporter the officer who was shot was saved by his bulletproof vest. The other officer fired and wounded the Accused Gunman, who was hospitalized and needed surgery, and remains in Police Custody tonight. And Steve Osunsami joins us live tonight from the scene of this shooting. And steve, youve learned that the police there had just conducted active Shooter Training exercises . Reporter yes, david. Police here finished formal active Shooter Training just two weeks ago, and i just spoke with the mayor of this city, who says the Accused Gunman set a fire inside the store, so, theyre certain he intended to hurt more people and are thankful their officers shut him down. David . We are thinking about the people of south haven tonight. Steve, thank you. And we are also following a breaking headline out of north korea tonight. The newest provocation, and it comes just days after they launched a new type of ballistic
missile. Moments ago, the white house now saying they are aware of this new report. Heres our Foreign CorrespondentJames Longman with late reporting tonight. Reporter less than one week after kim jongun fired off two shortrange ballistic missiles, news tonight hes at it again. A u. S. Official confirming north korea has now launched two more missiles from the Hodo Peninsula on the east coast. Today, President Trump insisting his relationship with the dictator remains strong. My relationship with kim jongun is a very good one, as im sure youve seen. Well see what happens. I cant tell you whats going to happen. Reporter it was one month ago today that the president and kim met at the demilitarized zone. Trump becoming the First American president to step into the north korean territory. Id be very proud to do that. Okay, lets do it. Come on. Reporter but since then, no direct talks at all between the two countries. So, lets get right to James Longman, hes Live In London tonight. And james, in just the last 24 hours, we take note that
secretary of state mike pompeo said he hopes Nuclear Negotiations will start, quote, again very soon. And now, this news tonight. Reporter david, tonight, no word when or if that will happen. We do know that the last communication with north korea was last week, when a Trump Administration official delivered photographs of the president and kim together at the dmz. Tonight, a senior Administration Official tells us they are aware of the new launch and are monitoring the situation. David . James longman on the Breaking News tonight. James, thank you. Back here at home and to the news here, a severe Thunderstorm Watch in the northeast as we began tonight. At least six people were struck by lightning working on a rooftop in wellington, florida. Four rushed to the hospital. And all of this comes as two tropical disturbances are brewing in the atlantic, and the hurricane now is at a cat 4 level. Lets get right to meteorologist rob marciano, hes tracking it all for us live tonight. Hey, rob. Reporter hi, david. The heat and humidity ahead of this front has made for some potent storms. We had a 76mileperhour wind gust just north of burlington. You see it on the radar here, upstate new york, a lot of trees down, ithaca, back through pennsylvania, as well. That watch is up until 9 00 tonight. Front moves east tomorrow, i95 cities are fog to going to get some big boomers, that will eventually break the heat, thankfully. And the hurricanes in the pacific, two of them, flossie and erick. Erick, a category 4 now, less than 1,000 miles from the big island. A southerly track, some weakening, we hope. Were watching a disturbance right now over puerto rico, giving them some record rains. That disturbance is rolling towards the southeast, will bring parts of the u. S. Heavy downpours. David . A lot to watch in these days ahead. Rob, thank you. Now to the horrific string of murders in wisconsin. A Gunman Killing three Family Members, then shooting his way into a second home, killing a woman there and wounding her parents. And tonight, the sheriff is now saying that that suspect may have been imitating the abduction of teenager jayme closs. Heres abcs alex perez. Reporter tonight, a horrifying scene police say may have been a copycat crime. Ritchie german jr. Is accused by police of killing four people and may have been imitating the
highprofile abduction last year of teenager jayme closs by shooting his way into the family home of one woman he may have intended on kidnapping. Kind of similar in nature. In the closs investigation, the door was breached, a shotgun was used. Mr. Closs was shot, mrs. Closs was shot. Reporter Authorities Say german killed three of his own Family Members at their home in lafayette, wisconsin, before heading to the home of the woman, shooting and injuring her parents and killing her before killing himself. Police say this may have been a failed kidnapping attempt. Theres some items that we found in the vehicle. The way the vehicle was left and running. Reporter last october, just 40 miles away, jayme closs was abducted from her parents home. Closs eventually escaped her abductor, who was sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping her and murdering her parents. David, investigators say theyre now reviewing Text Messages between the gunman and the woman they believe he was trying to
kidnap. The motive in this case remains unclear. David . All right, alex perez, thank you. Next tonight, we are learning more about the victims and the survivors of that Mass Shooting at a Food Festival in california, youll remember the pictures. The gunman unleashing at the family event. People running in panic. Three people died. And what weve now learned about this case tonight. Abcs will carr in gilroy, california, again this evening. Reporter tonight, investigators are scouring this massive crime scene, trying to figure out why Santino William legan opened fire on a packed Food Festival. Authorities now zeroing in on the Murder Weapon. They say the suspect legally bought the ak47style rifle in nevada on july 9th. The Gun Store Posting on facebook the suspect was acting happy and showed no reasons for concern. Police say he then illegally transported the gun into california before killing three, including 13yearold keyla salazar, who died as she stayed back with a relative with a cane. And 25yearold trevor irby. His parents speaking exclusively with abc station kgo. I just wish i could have held his hand when he passed to tell him i do love you. Reporter in all, more than a dozen injured. So, this is actually the one that went in and out of my leg. Reporter bullets grazed both justin bates and his best friend, nick mcfarland. The doctor said about five to seven different bullets grazed me. Im a Walking Miracle right now. Reporter we just found out the suspects family actually thought that he might have been a victim, that he might have been killed at the festival behind me, when they didnt hear from him for a long time. Ultimately, though, david, they found out that he was the gunman. David . Will carr tonight. Will, thank you. President trump ramping up his attacks on maryland congressman Elijah Cummings and on the city of baltimore, saying the people there are living in hell. Thats what he said today, adding that theyre largely africanamerican and that they really appreciate what im doing. Abcs Kyra Phillips is live at
the white house tonight, and kyra, the president also pushing back against those accusations that hes racist, and heres what he said today. I am the least racist person there is anywhere in the world. What ive done for africanamericans in two and a half years, no president has been able to do anything like it. And kyra, the president speaking today at jamestown, virginia, commemorating 400 years of Representative Government here, but a number of lawmakers decided to skip the speech . Reporter thats right, david. Virginias legislative black caucus boycotted trumps speech today, and in a statement, saying, it is impossible to ignore the emblem of hate and disdain that the president represents. Now, there was also one state lawmaker, david, of color, who did show up and he took the opportunity to protest, shouting, mr. President , you cannot send us back, virginia is our home. A reference, youll remember, to the racist chant that broke out at the president s most recent rally in greenville, north carolina. David . Kyra phillips at the white house. Thank you, kyra. And tonight, that issue of race and this rhetoric lately will likely come up during this newest democratic president ial debate. Another likely topic, frontrunner joe biden. Even though he wont be on the stage tonight on night one. In fact, look at this, a new National Quinnipiac poll showing the former Vice President increasing his lead, with 34 of democratic voters now supporting him. Elizabeth warren, kamala harris, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg all trailing behind. Lets get right to mary bruce, shes Live In Detroit for the debate tonight. And mary, this is a make or break moment, really, for many of the candidates. They have to try to break through the pack, and its a large one. Reporter well, david, for so many of the candidates on the wings here tonight who have been struggling to break through, they have to have some kind of moment here if they want to survive. As for the candidates in that middle tier, like amy klobuchar, beto orourke and Pete Buttigieg, theyre also looking for a muchneeded boost. Thesemoderate candidates are trying to distinguish themselves from their progressive rivals on issues Like Health Care and education, but theyre also trying to make the case they can can best appeal to those voters in the key swing states. David . Mary, lets laser in on two, right at the center tonight, Bernie Sanders and elizabeth warren. They are often teamed up in the past. But of course, the big question tonight, will they take each other on . Reporter yeah, david, the focus here is all on these two progressive powerhouses. Elizabeth warren and Bernie Sanders. Theyre running on many of the same issues, theyre fighting for the same voters and they are Close Friends and political allies. Tonight is going to test their truce, but both campaigns tell us this is simply not the night to start going after each other. David . Mary bruce Live In Detroit tonight. Mary, thank you. Overseas, and to italy now, and a new turn in the case of those two american teenagers accused of killing a Police Officer. Authorities tonight now revealing an image of the seveninch knife they say was used in the attack. Abcs senior Foreign Correspondent ian pannell is in rome. Reporter tonight, the Murder Weapon used to kill an italian policeman allegedly by an american teenager. The blade seven inches long, according to police, plunged into the officer 11 times, sometimes to the hilt. Police say 18yearold Gabriel Natale and 19yearold finnegan elder from California Confessing to the stabbing of officer Mario Cerciello rega after a drug deal gone bad. The pair allegedly stole a backpack from this spot, later demanding cash and cocaine for its return. They were spotted on surveillance running away, but when police finally confronted them, it allegedly turned violent. Today, the prosecutors saying elder claimed he was thrown to the ground and didnt know the men were police, and he started stabbing. The surviving officer insisted they identified themselves as police and showed badges. He says his partner fell to the ground crying, they stabbed me. Tonight, a close Family Member confirming to abc news that finnegan elder was arrested in 2016 for being involved in a prearranged fight at a party, but insisting he doesnt have a criminal record. David . Ian pannell in italy. Ian, thank you. Back here now, the president s nominee to be the nations number two Military Officer defending himself
against allegations of sexual misconduct. Air force general john hyten telling a senate panel, quote, nothing happened, ever, as his accuser sat behind him in that room. That accuser, an army colonel, says hes lying. Abcs Stephanie Ramos was there. Reporter tonight, the air force general in line to become the nations secondhighest ranking Military Officer, vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, forced to defend himself against Sexual Assault allegations. I want to state to you and to the American People in the strongest possible terms that these allegations are false. Reporter general john hyten today sitting just steps away from his accuser, army colonel kathryn spletstoser, a former aide at u. S. Strategic command. The 28year veteran told the