It’s Tuesday, June 15th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - A grandmother who was shot and killed along with her 1-year-old grandson inside a Florida Publix may have helped prevent the gunman from killing more people inside the supermarket, authorities said Monday.
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office officials said the interaction between the grandmother and the gunman inside the Royal Palm Beach Publix Thursday morning may have caused the gun to malfunction, forcing the gunman to reload. Authorities are still investigating the shooting that left the 69-year-old woman and her 23-month-old grandson dead. Their names haven't been released. Detectives haven't released a motive in the shooting or what possible connection the victims had to the gunman, 55-year-old Timothy Wall, who turned the gun on himself after shooting them.
No. 2 - An Uber driver who struck an electric scooter rider and fled the scene over the weekend has been arrested, police said.
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Hans Daniel Duran-Nieves, 24, surrendered to police Monday to face a charge of leaving the scene of a crash without serious injury in the Sunday morning crash, police said. According to an arrest report, Duran-Nieves was driving his Toyota sedan with a passenger in the area of Alton Road and 11th Street around 3 a.m. Sunday when he struck the scooter rider, identified as Michaela Mateos. Duran-Nieves stopped, got out of his car for less than a minute, then fled the scene, the report said. Mateos was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center with non-life-threatening injuries but suffered a broken left tibia.
No. 3 - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited a South Florida Jewish temple to denounce anti-Semitism and stand with Israel, as the Republican governor cloaked himself in religion Monday while signing a bill into law that would require public schools in his state to set aside at least one minute of silence for children to meditate or pray.
DeSantis visited the temple to sign two bills into law. One would expand the role of volunteer ambulance services, while the other makes Florida one of at least 15 states, a legislative analysis said, that would compel schools to hold moments of silence at public schools. The state had already been among roughly 18 other states that gave schools the option to do so.
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No. 4 - When former Congressman Alcee Hastings passed away this spring, his district lost representation in Congress, backing up many routine services for his constituents.
A key Congressional function is nominating candidates to military academies. Gov. Ron DeSantis set the special election to replace him for Jan. 11, 2022, nearly nine months after Hastings’ death. The wait is making some teenagers hoping to serve their country sweat as it dramatically shortens the process to nominate candidates to the academies. According to the military academies, the deadline for nominations is January 31, giving the new representative of District 20 under three weeks to do a process that normally takes months. To hear why some students say that won’t be enough time, click here for the story from NBC 6 investigator Phil Prazan.
No. 5 - Broward County Public Schools will be giving all youngsters a chance to get a nutritious meal during the summer months starting Tuesday.
The school district's Food and Nutrition Services department will distribute the free meal bundles to children every Tuesday starting June 15th with curbside pickup. The meal bundles will be available to all children 18 years of age or younger and those children do not have to attend a Broward County public school. For more information, including locations and individual service times, click on this link.
No. 6 - A jury sided with a business in the case of a South Florida man who sued his former employer, claiming he never got paid sick leave while at home quarantining with COVID-19.
According to the complaint, Timothy O'Bryan had been working as a mold and fire technician with Joe Taylor Restoration Inc. since 2018. Then he got sick back on March 30, 2020. He said he had symptoms of COVID-19, so the Delray-based company asked O'Bryan to stay home, quarantine and fill out two health forms. Owner Joe Taylor says there’s more to the story after one of his employees tried to sue him. To hear what that was, click here for the story from NBC 6 reporter Amanda Plasencia.
