Month: September 2026

By Whitney Burney

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    SOUTHFIELD, Michigan (WXYZ) — Southfield police are searching for a masked gunman who opened fire on a home early Monday morning, narrowly missing the homeowner and critically injuring the family’s dog.

The shooting happened around 5:30 a.m. in a neighborhood near 12 Mile Road and Evergreen Road.

Home surveillance video captured the frightening encounter. The footage shows a masked man approaching the front door, knocking, and then opening fire with what appears to be a large firearm.

The gunfire shattered glass and left multiple bullet holes in the front door and side of the home.

Donald McCuin, who lives at the house where the shooting happened, said he watched the incident unfold on video after the shooting.

“I got a video, a picture of this gentleman walking up to my door, knocking on the door. Then he knocked on the door again. Then he heard somebody, he saw something. That’s when he stepped back and started letting it go,” McCuin said.

McCuin said he was walking to the front door when the shots rang out. He says he froze in place when the gun began going off.

“You see those holes right here on the door? I’m standing right here,” he said as he stood on a stairwell mere feet away from the front door. “I hit the floor. I laid down. I saw blood. I said, ‘Man, they got me.'”

But it wasn’t McCuin who had been struck.

His 3-year-old pit bull was hit by gunfire and is now recovering after suffering a gunshot wound to the face and another to the body.

McCuin later learned just how close he came to being seriously injured.

While speaking with paramedics, he said a bullet fragment was discovered in his clothing.

“She said, ‘Hold still. I think it’s something in your pants.’ She reached back there and said, ‘I think it’s a bullet,’ and she pulled it out of my pajama pants,” McCuin recalled.

Police estimate about five rounds were fired into the home.

The shooting has shaken neighbors in what residents describe as a typically quiet area. McCuin said he has no idea why someone would target his home.

“That was my first thought. How could this be happening? What is going on?” he said. “I’ve done nothing.”

Despite the trauma, McCuin says he is focused on gratitude and faith.

The grandfather of 15 hopes his story will inspire others.

“It makes me feel truly blessed,” McCuin said.

He added, “God is good and He’s at work all day, every day, and all we have to do is believe in Him and keep it moving.”

Southfield Police have not announced any arrests. Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to contact the Southfield Police Department or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak-Up. You will remain anonymous.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WXYZ verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Patrick Talbot

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    OKLAHOMA CITY (KOCO) — A new AI and augmented reality helmet, tested in Oklahoma City, is designed to help firefighters navigate through smoke, locate victims faster and improve safety during emergencies.

Moving in zero visibility and extreme heat with only seconds to find someone inside is the reality firefighters face when responding to burning buildings. The C-Thru system, developed by Qwake Technologies, uses AI and augmented reality to help firefighters see through smoke while also transmitting their visuals to commanders outside.

“If we had found a way to move a car through a city with all of the hazards, why have we not found a way to help a firefighter navigate the screams of the baby in the back room?” said Sam Cossman, CEO of Qwake Technologies.

Oklahoma City was one of 30 fire departments nationwide selected for a Homeland Security field assessment of the technology. Victor Stagnaro, CEO of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, explained the system’s impact.

“It changes that equation. Search and rescue is roughly half the time than what it used to be. A shorter search means a shorter exposure,” Stagnaro said.

Cossman said that 81% of firefighters in the assessment reported better orientation in zero-visibility conditions, and less experienced firefighters completed their primary searches faster.

Oklahoma City Fire Chief Richard Kelley said testing technology like this is a critical part of their mission.

“We owe it to the residents we serve every day. We have to do our best to be able to identify what is the best way to effect the rescue. What is the best way to save a life? What is the best way to make sure that family members are reunited back with their loved ones? And we’ll do it at all costs to make that happen,” Kelley said.

The system has moved beyond testing and is now being used in real-world scenarios. On Monday, it returned to Oklahoma City.

“We are very much at the beginning of this journey,” Cossman said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Pari Apostolakos

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    MONTZ, Louisiana (WDSU) — A newborn in Montz, Louisiana, defies medical odds and inspires her parents and community with her resilience despite being born with severe medical challenges.

Wren Roberts, now 3 weeks old, was not expected to survive, according to her parents, Savannah and Nick Roberts. Savannah said doctors told her during a 20-week pregnancy scan there were some serious medical conditions they found in her baby.

“They told us from the get-go, you know, she’s probably going to miscarry,” Nick said during an exclusive interview with WDSU reporter Pari Apostolakos at the couple’s home.

When that miscarriage didn’t happen, the couple learned of additional medical conditions. The couple said doctors told them Wren’s body was “not compatible with life.”

Then came the day she was born.

“We’d just push through and held on to God and prayed that he would at least give me an hour, or even a couple of minutes just to hear her cry. Because that’s all, at that point, that’s all I really wanted, was just to hear her cry,” Savannah said, cradling Wren in her arms. “And he gave me a lot longer than that. So, I’m very thankful for that.”

Savannah, a nurse, has made a career helping others heal.

“I struggled with that, and just knowing that I get to go care for other people, but I can’t take care of her and save her life, just like I would another patient, a random person,” she said.

Wren was born with conditions including spina bifida, club feet, her heart and some other organs on the opposite side of her body, with some, like her spleen, missing altogether.

Her parents said doctors consider her a medical marvel.

“Every doctor that sees her, they’re just, they laugh, you know, they just say this is unexplainable,” Nick said.

The Roberts family brought Wren home the day after she was born, believing her life would be short. But at 6 days old, they began to see signs that Wren wasn’t giving up.

“Everybody kept saying ‘Y’all were so strong,'” Savannah said. “But, honestly, sometimes I don’t. It’s not that I feel strong. It’s just, life has to go on, and you have to push through, and that’s what we did.”

The couple credits their community, family and faith for keeping them grounded throughout this challenging time.

“Since the 20-week scan, I had prepared myself to have a medically complex child, you know, and I got that,” Savannah said. “I know that she won’t be here forever, but I got what I wanted. He gave me exactly what I wanted.”

Nick added, “At first we started asking, why us? You know, why us? And it got to the point, it was like, why not us?”

“There’s nothing that I could have done differently or anything like that to make this not happen,” Savannah said. “So, I have to trust his plan and leave it in his hands.”

Savannah and Nick said neither they nor anyone in their families has any of Wren’s medical conditions. They are treating every day with their daughter as a blessing, not knowing how long they might have with her.

The couple hopes sharing Wren’s story will raise awareness about rare medical conditions and inspire hope. While online crowdfunding pages have been set up to support the family, Savannah and Nick said what they truly want are people’s prayers.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Dacia Johnson, Hayley Crombleholme

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    OCALA, Florida (WESH) — An 18-year-old was injured on Sunday evening in Ocala after police said they were hit by a car while filming “a social media video where they were giving a haircut on the median.”

The Ocala Police Department said the injured pedestrian was with two other young adults when it happened on Southwest College Road.

OPD said a 3500 Chevy Silverado traveling westbound collided with a Lexus SUV that was entering the intersection from Ocala West Plaza. That’s when the Silverado struck the 18-year-old pedestrian who was standing on the median.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, but no signs of impairment were reported for either driver.

Damian Fox said he was driving his motorcycle through the area after the crash.

“The one kid was sitting up; the other kid was motionless on the ground. That’s when all the firemen and stuff got there rendering aid and stuff,” Fox said.

Local content creator Yaj Lerom said he was in the area and saw the aftermath, getting pictures of shoes lying in the street next to evidence markers.

He said he also talked to two of the people who had been shooting the video for social media when the 18-year-old was hit.

“We were chilling right there, and I was giving my boy a haircut, and he was recording it,” a male, who wasn’t identified, said. “I remember just hearing a bunch of cars, like, the tires screeching and s— soon as I looked back, the car hit my friend.”

By Monday night, the Ocala Police Department said the 18-year-old who was hit was stable.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By KAKE Staff

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    WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) — Police say a 21-year-old man has been arrested after shooting his parents and sister at a home in east Wichita on Saturday.

Police say that on Sept. 26 at 11:29 a.m., Sedgwick County Emergency Communications received an open-line 911 call. The caller initially did not respond to dispatchers but shortly afterward reported that people had been shot at a residence in the 5000 block of East Blake Street.

Wichita police officers responded to the home, where they found three people who had been shot: 49-year-old Juan Valenzuela-Ayala, 40-year-old Brenda Silva-Cervantes and 25-year-old Daisy Valenzuela. Three others inside the home, a 17-year-old boy, a 17-year-old girl and a 2-year-old girl, were not injured.

A GoFundMe has been created to help with funeral expenses.

The preliminary investigation identified Juan Valenzuela-Silva as the suspect and determined he had left the residence in a 2014 Infiniti QX60.

Investigators entered the vehicle information into the FLOCK Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) system and received information indicating the vehicle was traveling south out of the Wichita area, possibly toward Oklahoma.

Once investigators verified the suspect and vehicle information, WPD released it to the public, along with an image of the vehicle captured by the FLOCK system earlier that day before the shooting.

WPD also quickly coordinated with regional law enforcement partners. Through WPD’s three-agency partnership with the Kansas Highway Patrol and Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, the Kansas Highway Patrol Air Support Unit was notified and launched to assist in locating the vehicle. WPD also shared information with the Cowley County Sheriff’s Office, Butler County Sheriff’s Office, Oklahoma Highway Patrol and Kay County Sheriff’s Office in Oklahoma.

Additional FLOCK alerts later indicated the vehicle was traveling toward Butler County. A Butler County deputy located the vehicle, and, with assistance from the Kansas Highway Patrol Air Support Unit, deputies conducted a traffic stop south of Augusta.

Valenzuela-Silva was taken into custody without incident and transferred to the custody of the Wichita Police Department.

“This is an unimaginable tragedy for a family that lost three loved ones in a single act of violence,” Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan said. “From the moment our officers arrived, their first priority was making sure the 2-year-old and the two teenagers inside the home were safe. From there, our focus turned to finding the person responsible and taking that individual into custody as quickly and safely as possible. Our investigators, officers and law enforcement partners worked together across jurisdictional lines, using every resource available, including Flock ALPR to locate and arrest the suspect within hours. I am grateful for the work of our personnel and our partners who responded without hesitation. Most importantly, our thoughts remain with the family members and loved ones who are grieving an extraordinary loss.”

Valenzuela-Silva was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on suspicion of capital murder. He remains jailed on $99,999,999 bond.

The case will be presented to the Sedgwick County district attorney’s office for formal charging this week.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Savannah Lee

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    NEVADA, Iowa (KCCI) — A shirt for a knotted pressure dressing and a belt and screwdriver for a makeshift tourniquet are the things that three men used to help save the life of a coworker.

Back on Sept. 3, Stefan Luppen, Drake McKeever and Nolan Stoahl, employees at Mid-States Companies, said they simply acted on pure instinct when a coworker slipped a piece of steel out of his hand and cut his arm.

“As soon as we saw how bad it was, there was no hesitation on jumping into action and making sure he was taken care of,” Nolan Stoahl, manufacturing coordinator at Mid-States Companies, said.

The patient had suffered from a five-inch laceration to the right bicep, just nearly missing a major artery, leaving him struggling to stay conscious while waiting for first responders.

“We didn’t know exactly how bad it was initially with his hand over the injury,” Drake McKeever, a machine lead at Mid-States Companies, said. “Once he moved his hand around and the amount of blood that came out of his arm, I think that was more of the instinct of, ‘OK, this needs to be sealed up now rather than waiting until we had somebody come and bring us the right equipment.'”

In the roughly 20 minutes it took for first responders to arrive, McKeever, who was next to the patient when the incident happened, immediately tore the shirt off his back to apply pressure.

Luppen, also a volunteer EMT, used his nylon belt and screwdriver to control the bleeding with a makeshift tourniquet. Stoahl tracked down first responders when they arrived and led them to the scene.

“I mean, it’s just you do what you can with what you got,” Luppen said. “The belt I wear is mainly for that reason, hoping never to use it that way, but it kind of panned out; glad it’s what I was wearing.”

Chris Brandes, public safety director and Nevada chief of police, says if it wasn’t for these measures, things could’ve ended a lot worse.

“Obviously, any bleeding to an extremity could be a loss of life due to that lower blood pressure and loss of volume,” Brandes said. “So, delaying or slowing that bleed initially is critical.”

Brandes said that LifeFlight was requested, but due to inclement weather, they weren’t able to get to Nevada. He added that if the men didn’t take the measures they took, with LifeFlight unable to assist, it could’ve turned deadly.

That’s why on Monday night, the three men were awarded a Life Saving Award at the Nevada City Council meeting, the first ones in the city in over three years.

“I mean obviously I knew it was pretty serious, but it kind of puts it in perspective as how serious it was,” Luppen said.

“It was a team effort, but I don’t think we could have possibly done as good as we did without all of us,” McKeever said.

The patient was transported to Mercy One in Des Moines, where he underwent surgery. They are currently recovering.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Mary Saladna, Imani Clement

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    PLYMOUTH, Massachusetts (WCVB) — When he’s not walking, Kyndal Ray Edwards is usually talking and hugging it out with people who are inspired by and grateful for his mission and his message.

Edwards began his walking journey in Jacksonville, Florida. He walked all the way to the West Coast and back, racking up 20 million steps and crossing 37 state lines, including Massachusetts during a nor’easter.

“I’m from Florida. I’m a hurricane boy, so it was alright. Not too shabby,” Edwards said.

And it helped— that New Englanders following him via social media showed up with gear.

“I had five people the other day say, ‘Hey can I get you a pair of rain boots? ‘Gentlemen came with a pair of rain boots; they brought me rain pants. People made sure I was really okay.”

Kyndal’s nationwide walk is also a personal journey that he started while serving time in prison.

He promised himself that when he regained his freedom, he would stay clean and dedicate himself to helping others.

Every mile, every bracelet, every dollar raised is about honoring those lost to suicide and addiction, and initiating a dialogue about mental health and recovery.

“How they’ve lost somebody or how they’re in recovery themselves or have dealt with depression. So it’s an automatic conversation starter,” Edwards said. “I want people to know that there is hope.”

Kyndal only counts the days he actually walks, so Tuesday will mark Day 1,000, the same day he will finally reach Boston.

His final destination? Lubec, Maine. He should arrive by October 25.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Adi Iyer

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    FARMINGTON, Utah (KSTU) — For 25 years, Jason CoZmo’s been performing as Dolly Parton.

“I do impersonations but Dolly Parton has been my 9 to 5 for the past 25 years, from LA to New York and back to Utah,” said Jason CoZmo, a career entertainer and impersonator.

He started off in musical theater, worked at Disneyland, tried his hand at acting and eventually was drawn to drag shows, which is when the Dolly character was born.

“It’s almost like the public chose Dolly, for years I tried to audition for TV and movies and things like that,” said CoZmo. “Put on a Dolly wig, I’ve been in three TV shows, talk shows, three movies and four books.”

To CoZmo, Dolly Parton wasn’t just bigger than life, she was a big part of his.

“She is, she’s my life, this is how I make a living, this has been the bulk of my adult life.”

Through his years of performing as her, CoZmo even got to meet her.

“She’s love, she’s just so much love. Having been around her and in her presence, she’s just like a ball of energy, like a ball of light around her.”

That’s why when Dolly Parton passed away, it hit CoZmo especially hard.

He’s only performed as Dolly twice since, one of those times being at the Dolly Parton Day celebration at Station Park in Farmington.

“It felt almost disrespectful at first, now it feels like a duty, like I have to carry on her music, and her legacy,” said CoZmo.

And that’s exactly what CoZmo intends to do.

“She has passed on but she will live on forever, and I hope that I can, as an artist, be able to do that. It’s what I’ve been doing, is playing Dolly, and putting her music out there and her message, she’ll never be gone.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.