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Police: Officers may have been lured into deadly ambush

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This combo of images provided by the Connecticut State Police, show, from left, Bristol, Conn. Police Department Sgt. Dustin Demonte, Officer Alex Hamzy and Officer Alec Iurato. Authorities said Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022, they believe that police officers Demonte and Hamzy, who were shot dead in Connecticut, had been drawn into an ambush by a 911 call about possible domestic violence. A third officer, Alec Iurato, was wounded but expected to recover. (Connecticut State Police via AP)

BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — Two police officers who were shot dead in Connecticut had apparently been drawn into an ambush by an emergency call about possible domestic violence, authorities said Thursday. A third officer was wounded in the gunfire.

State police said in a release that the 911 call Wednesday night about a dispute between two siblings appears to have been “a deliberate act to lure law enforcement to the scene” in Bristol.

Bristol Police Sgt. Dustin Demonte and Officer Alex Hamzy were killed. Officer Alec Iurato was injured.

Police said the suspect, Nicholas Brutcher, 35, was shot dead, and his brother Nathan Brutcher was wounded. The surviving brother, 32, was hospitalized, and it wasn’t immediately clear whether he or his family have an attorney or someone else who can speak for them.

Neighbor Danny Rodriguez said he was outside his home across the street when the gunfire rang out.

“I heard a whole war going on behind me,” he said. “It was so loud and crazy.”

At one point, he said, a woman screamed, “You … killed them!”

The deadly encounter came during a week when at least 11 police officers have been shot around the country.

Nationwide, 54 officers have died by gunfire on the job so far this year, compared to 62 throughout 2021, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, a nonprofit organization that tracks U.S. police officer deaths. (This year’s overall number is far behind last year’s pace, largely due to declining deaths from COVID-19.)

Connecticut state police said they were still working to answer many questions that remained about the confrontation. No video of it has emerged publicly.

State Police Sgt. Christine Jeltema said that when officers answered the call at roughly 10:30 p.m., they encountered someone outside the house, and shots were fired.

Neighbors said they heard two or three sets of gunshots, about 30 in all.

Schalitda Strong, who lives diagonally across the street from the shooting, said she ducked into her room “because it sounded so close.” Strong said she called 911, but police were already on their way.

Police haven’t yet said who opened fire, who fired the fatal shots, or how many guns were fired in all.

“They thought they were going somewhere to give help, and their lives were needlessly taken, and another seriously injured,” Bristol Police Chief Brian Gould said at a vigil Thursday evening. Gov. Ned Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz joined the crowd that packed a local high school auditorium to pay respects.

He was “very focused on his career and furthering his career and education,” the chief said. Demonte, who earned a bachelor’s degree in criminology, had worked as a school resource officer. He and his wife were expecting their third child, Gould said.

Philip Demonte Jr. called his brother “an all-around good guy” with a great sense of humor.

“No one had anything bad to say” about him, his brother said. “Terrible loss, someone who died for no reason.”

Hamzy, 34, had gotten many letters of commendation during his eight years on his hometown police force, the chief said. Like Demonte, Hamzy was an advisor to a police cadet program.

“The outpouring of love, support and prayers from so many is deeply appreciated,” Hamzy’s family said in a statement.

Scores of officers lined a street and followed a vehicle carrying Hamzy’s body from the shooting scene late Thursday morning. Demonte died at a hospital.

Iurato, 26, joined the Bristol department in 2018 and has a bachelor’s degree in government, law and national security, the chief said. Iurato was released from a hospital Thursday morning.

Bristol, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) southwest of the state capital of Hartford, is home to about 60,000 people and to the sports network ESPN.

The governor called the shooting “a senseless tragedy,” ordering flags to be lowered to half-staff in the officers’ honor.

It followed shootings of police officers this week in Greenville, Mississippi; Decatur, Illinois; Philadelphia,Las Vegas and central Florida. Two of those officers, one in Greenville and one Las Vegas, were killed. And in North Carolina on Thursday evening, a police officer was among five people killed in a shooting in a residential area.

The last fatal shooting of a Connecticut officer at the scene of a crime was in 1918, when Preston Constable William Kinney was gunned down while serving an eviction notice, according to the Connecticut Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation. New Haven Officer Robert Fumiatti died in 2007 from health complications stemming from a gunshot wound sustained five years earlier during a drug investigation, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page website.

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Politics

State Rep. Angie Nixon Condemns Deadly ICE Shooting, Calls for Independent Investigation

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (FNN NEWS) — Following the fatal shooting of 52-year-old father and construction worker Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Houston, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate and Florida State Representative Angie Nixon released the following statement:

Statement from Rep. Angie Nixon

“Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was a father who spent decades building homes and providing for his family. He was fatally shot in the street by an ICE agent operating from an unmarked vehicle. My heart breaks for his wife and three sons.

“Our nation faces a moral choice. We must stop investing billions of taxpayer dollars in an agency that, in my view, terrorizes communities, operates with too little accountability, and often conducts enforcement actions without body cameras or clear identification. Those resources should instead be invested in strengthening our communities and helping families meet their basic needs. I believe ICE should be abolished.

“I stand in full solidarity with Lorenzo’s family in calling for a fully independent and transparent investigation into his death. I also call for the immediate release of his brother and the other individuals who were detained during this incident if they are being held without legal justification.”

Key Points

  • Rep. Angie Nixon expressed condolences to the family of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.
  • She called for a fully independent and transparent investigation into the fatal shooting.
  • Nixon criticized ICE’s enforcement practices and renewed her call to abolish the agency.
  • She urged the release of Lorenzo’s brother and others detained during the incident if their continued detention is not legally justified.

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US NATIONAL NEWS

U.S. Expands Sanctions Targeting Iran’s Financial Networks and Regime Financiers

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WASHINGTON (FNN NEWS) — The Trump administration announced a new round of sanctions Friday targeting individuals and businesses accused of helping finance Iran’s ruling elite and facilitating international financial transactions on behalf of the Iranian regime.

The sanctions, announced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, target a global financial network that U.S. officials say supports Iran’s Supreme Leader and other senior regime officials.

Global Financial Network Targeted

According to the administration, the sanctions focus on Ali Ansari, a Dubai-based Iranian national accused of managing an extensive network of real estate and commercial holdings across multiple countries on behalf of Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s Supreme Leader, and other regime insiders.

U.S. officials said the network includes assets and business interests in:

  • Germany
  • United Kingdom
  • Spain
  • Cyprus
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Other international jurisdictions

The administration alleges the network has been used to help Iranian regime officials maintain access to international financial markets.

Currency Exchange Houses Sanctioned

The Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on three Iran-based currency exchange firms and their associated leadership:

  • Mohammad Darbani and Partners
  • Lavasani and Partners
  • Mohsen Khandan and Partners

The sanctions also extend to the firms’ managing partners and affiliated front companies.

According to the administration, these entities allegedly enabled Iran to obtain foreign currency and conduct international financial transactions despite existing U.S. sanctions.

Administration Cites Maximum Pressure Campaign

The White House said the latest designations are part of President Donald Trump’s broader strategy to increase economic pressure on Iran.

Administration officials said they will continue targeting individuals, businesses and financial institutions—including foreign entities—that facilitate illicit Iranian commerce or assist the regime in evading U.S. sanctions.

The administration maintains that the sanctions are intended to pressure Iran to end what it describes as destabilizing activities in the region and to hold accountable those who enable corruption within the Iranian government.

Authorities Used for Sanctions

The sanctions were imposed under multiple executive authorities, including:

  • Executive Order 13902, targeting Iran’s financial and petroleum sectors.
  • Executive Order 13876, focusing on Iran’s Supreme Leader and affiliated individuals.
  • Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886, which provides counterterrorism sanctions authority.

Treasury officials said the latest designations build upon previous actions by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targeting Iran’s shadow banking system and currency exchange networks.

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US NATIONAL NEWS

White House: Trump Administration Deports Convicted Child Sex Offender After Minnesota Pardon

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WASHINGTON (FNN NEWS) — The White House announced Friday that the Trump administration deported a Laotian national convicted of sexually abusing a child after Minnesota officials granted him a pardon.

 

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