Florida shark victim will have leg amputated, hospital says
ORLANDO, Fla. — A 17-year-old Florida girl who was attacked by a 9-foot shark last week learned she will have her leg amputated Tuesday.
Addison Bethea, of Perry, was scalloping Thursday with her brother in Keaton Beach — in Taylor County — when a shark pulled her underwater, according to Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare.
The shark bit Addison’s upper right leg, causing her to lose her quadriceps, TMH said.
“The bite also caused massive nerve and vascular damage,” TMH said in a post. “The injuries to Addison’s leg are so extensive that they will require amputation just above the right knee, which will take place during surgery on Tuesday.”
Surgeons were able to restore blood flow to Addison’s leg by rebuilding the blood vessels but due to the nature of the injury surgeons will have to amputate the teen’s leg just above the knee. Addison is a school cheerleader and tennis player.
“This is the best-case scenario for Addison, and the best option to get her back to the most normal life possible,” Addison’s mother, Michelle, of Satellite Beach, Florida, said. “Addison got a little emotional today when we told her about the amputation,” her mother said, “but she has accepted it, and she knows this is her best path forward. She’s embracing it and trying to keep a positive outlook.”
On Monday, another possible shark attack occurred shortly before noon in New Smyrna Beach when a 28-year-old male surfer was bitten on his foot, according to Volusia County Beach Safety. The man, whose injuries were not life threatening, was driven to the hospital by a friend.
—Orlando Sentinel
Boston police arrest 13-year-old allegedly driving with gun
BOSTON — A 13-year-old boy is accused of carrying a loaded gun while driving in the city Monday night, according to Boston Police.
The juvenile was arrested after he allegedly refused to pull over for police in Dorchester late on the Fourth of July. It’s the latest in a string of juvenile arrests across the city.
Officers assigned to the Youth Violence Strike Force Officers arrested the boy on firearm charges along Columbia Road at around 11:34 p.m.
While on directed patrol, officers looked up the plate of a vehicle, and they determined that the registration information did not match the vehicle. Officers activated their emergency lights and sirens to conduct a traffic stop, but the boy refused to stop — and continued to drive slowly.
Officers were eventually able to get him to stop, and removed the boy from the vehicle. As they conducted a pat frisk, they saw a gun fall from his leg to the ground.
The firearm was a .380 Ruger loaded with one round in the chamber and five rounds in the magazine.
The boy is expected to be arraigned in Dorchester Juvenile Court on charges of delinquent to wit: unlawful possession of a firearm; unlawful possession of ammunition; operation of a motor vehicle without a license; attached registration plates; operating unregistered motor vehicle; and refusal to stop for a police officer.
—Boston Herald
Gunfire at Minneapolis park leaves 8 people injured
MINNEAPOLIS — Gunfire at a park along the Mississippi River near downtown Minneapolis wounded eight people, some of them with critical injuries, officials said Tuesday.
The shooting occurred about 11:30 p.m. Monday at Boom Island Park, just south of the Plymouth Avenue Bridge, said Park and Recreation Board spokeswoman Robin Smothers.
No arrests have been announced.
"There was no formal July 4 event or fireworks in the park or on the river," Smothers said in an email, "but park visitors gathered on their own at Boom Island and other parks to celebrate the holiday."
Smothers said "eight victims are hospitalized, (with) several in critical condition." She did not have information about the victims' identities or exactly how many were among those with critical wounds.
A park police incident report listed four people with a "major injury," with three of them 18 years old and the other 22 years old.
HCMC spokeswoman Christine Hill confirmed early Tuesday afternoon that the downtown hospital received eight people from the Boom Island incident. Hill declined to reveal any of their conditions.
Neither Park Board spokeswoman had information about the circumstances surrounding the gunfire. They said that anyone with information about the shooting should call park police at 612-230-6550.
—Star Tribune
‘QAnon Shaman’ drops his appeals in Jan. 6 Capitol riot
WASHINGTON — The self-proclaimed “QAnon Shaman,” who became infamous for appearing in the U.S. Senate chamber shirtless with a horned headdress during the Capitol riot, dropped the appeal of his guilty plea and 41-month sentence.
The request by Jacob Chansley to dismiss his appeal was granted, according to a Tuesday filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Chansley, who was sentenced to three years in prison for his role on Jan. 6, 2021, appealed in November after he pleaded guilty a few months earlier to obstructing an official proceeding.
Chansley’s attorney, John Pierce, did not immediately return a call seeking comment on why his client voluntarily sought to drop his appeal.
Chansley became one of the most recognizable symbols of the insurrection after being filmed carrying an American flag through the Capitol. The Donald Trump supporter left a hand-written note on a dais that then-Vice President Mike Pence had fled as the riot unfolded during the counting of electors for the 2020 presidential election.
“It’s Only a Matter of Time,” the note said. “Justice is coming!”
—Bloomberg News
