It’s Thursday, May 26th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Mourners in Uvalde and other Texas cities held vigils Wednesday for the 19 children and two teachers killed in Tuesday’s shooting at an elementary school.
“Our hearts are broken. We are devastated,” Pastor Tony Gruben of Baptist Temple Church said at the Uvalde County Fairplex Wednesday evening. Other vigils in Texas cities were held in San Antonio and in the state capital of Austin, while people in cities nationwide from New York to San Diego also grieved for the losses. The gunman who massacred 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Texas had warned in private online messages minutes before the attack that he had shot his grandmother and was going to shoot up a school, the governor said Wednesday.
No. 2 - There was an increase in police officers and deputies at schools in Miami-Dade and Broward Wednesday in response to the horrific school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 students and two teachers dead.
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Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony shared his grief at a news conference Wednesday, where he said he received hundreds of phone calls and messages overnight from parents, friends, family and pastors who asked if it was safe to send kids to school. Tony said the enhanced patrols on school campuses are not because of any intelligence or threats that came in locally, but they want teachers and students to feel safe returning to classrooms after such a terrible school shooting.
No. 3 - Maria Carmona and Jose Morales want to remember their 10-month-old son as a happy and smiling baby.
"We know he's an angel," Carmona said. "He went straight to the sky with God." Their son, Mateo, was killed last Friday alongside his aunt allegedly by a neighbor, who later went on a crime spree in multiple cities in Broward County. Mateo and Elizabeth Carmona were murdered in the family's Coral Springs apartment, as a result of blunt force trauma. The family's next-door neighbor, Dale Spidle, is now charged with the murders. His motive is still a mystery. Spidle is also charged with the murder of another man he's accused of shooting and killing after a crash in Pompano Beach.
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No. 4 - In family videos and photos, Broward Dr. Omar Awan can be seen celebrating his birthday and traveling overseas with his five children and wife.
“He was a very gentle soul. He was very, very supportive. Not only was he a provider but he was the backbone of the family,” said his wife Dr. Liliana Awan. In February 2019, Awan didn’t come home from doing errands so his son used a cell phone tracker to find him. A cellphone video shows the aftermath of the violent crash ending with Awan’s 2016 Tesla Model S in flames on South Flamingo Road, just minutes away from his home. According to the medical examiner report, Awan died from burns and inhaling toxic fumes, not from the impact of the crash. Click here for the message from his family in a report from NBC 6 investigator Willard Shepard you’ll see Only on 6.
No. 5 - Florida would require statewide recertification of condominiums over three stories tall under a bill sent Wednesday to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis by lawmakers, their legislation a response to the Surfside building collapse that killed 98 people.
The House unanimously passed the bill during a special session originally called to address skyrocketing property insurance rates. The condominium safety bill was added to the agenda Tuesday after an agreement was reached between the House and Senate. Recertification would be required after 30 years, or 25 years if the building is within 3 miles of the coast, and every 10 years thereafter. The Champlain Towers South was 40 years old and was going through the 40-year-recertification process required by Miami-Dade County when it collapsed last June.
No. 6 - In an Eastern Conference Finals highlighted by blowout wins, the Boston Celtics made a statement that shocked many inside the FTX Arena.
Forward Jayson Tatum led Boston with 22 points, including 18 in the second half, as the Celtics got the 93-80 win over the Miami Heat in Game 5, taking a 3-2 lead in the series. Tatum stayed hot to open the fourth quarter, scoring eight straight points as Boston began to pull away. The Celtics would lead by as many as 23 points to get their second straight win in the series, led by 25 points from guard Jaylen Brown. Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 18 points while Jimmy Butler added 13 points. Game 6 is Friday in Boston.
