Here is your 6 To Know for Monday, October 25.
It’s Monday, October 25 - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Vigil Held for Sunrise Mother Allegedly Killed By Confessed Convict
A special vigil was held Sunday in memory of a Sunrise woman who police say was killed by a convicted murderer.
Family and friends gathered in Davie to remember 33-year-old Erika Verdecia, who leaves behind a 6-year-old daughter. Verdecia's body was recovered about a week ago near Orange Drive.
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The emotional vigil was held at the spot her body was found.
Eric Pierson, 54, was arrested October 16 on a first-degree murder charge just hours after her body was found.
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No. 2 - Florida Surgeon General Refuses Mask, Is Told to Leave Meeting
Florida's top health official was asked to leave a meeting after refusing to wear a mask at the office of a state senator who told him she had a serious medical condition, officials have confirmed.
Florida Senate leader Wilton Simpson, a Republican, sent a memo to senators Saturday regarding the incident at the office of Democratic state Sen. Tina Polsky, asking visitors at the building to be respectful with social interactions. Polsky, who represents parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties, had not yet made public her breast cancer diagnosis.
Polsky told The Associated Press about the tense exchange with state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo that was first reported by the news site Florida Politics. She said Ladapo and two aides were offered masks and asked to wear them when they arrived for the Wednesday meeting. She did not tell him she had breast cancer, but said she had a serious condition.
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No. 3 - 3 Teens Arrested in Murder of Missing Miramar High Student
Three teens have been arrested in the killing of a Miramar 18-year-old whose body was found days after he'd been reported missing.
Miramar Police said Saturday that a 16-year-old and two 17-year-olds have been arrested in connection with the killing of Dwight "DJ" Grant.
The teens are charged with first-degree murder, criminal conspiracy and tampering with evidence, police said.
Grant, a senior at Miramar High School, had been reported missing by his family on Sunday.
Neighbors describe him as a good kid who was mostly quiet, into gaming and had plans to go to college.
“I watched Dwight grow up, and that’s what hurts. I won’t see him smile again,” neighbor Sergio Smith said.
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No. 4 - Alec Baldwin ‘Practicing' With Gun When It Went Off
Witnesses said actor Alec Baldwin was "practicing" with a gun when it went off on the set of the film "Rust," striking and killing a cinematographer, according to court records released Sunday. But they also revealed that a camera operator told authorities Baldwin had been careful with weapons on the set.
Cameraman Reid Russell told a detective that Baldwin was rehearsing a scene Thursday in which he was set to draw his gun while sitting in a church pew and point it at the camera. The camera wasn't rolling when the gun went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Russell told a detective according to a search warrant affidavit.
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No. 5 - Recent College Grad Warns Others After Losing Thousands of Dollars in Scam
It started with a text from what appeared to be Bank of America, warning Miyana Evans that her account had likely been compromised. Minutes later she also got a call.
“I was like, ‘I’m so happy that you called. Let’s get this worked out,’” she said. “They were like, ‘OK, we’ve got you. We’re going to go ahead and walk you through the process of protecting your account.’”
The person on the phone told Miyana that a $3,500 transfer from her Bank of America account to an unknown Zelle account was “pending” and that to keep her money safe, she needed to “reverse” the transaction by sending the money back to herself, using a new Zelle account.
“They were like, ‘we can stop it if you act now,’” she said. “I’m like, ‘ok, let’s get this done.’”
But it wasn’t Bank of America texting or calling Miyana – it was a scammer. Those $3,500 she transferred to keep her money “safe” had been swiped by the scammer.
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No. 6 - These 4 Hospitals Were the ‘Hardest Hit' by the Pandemic in South Florida
Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are decreasing across Florida as the deadliest wave of the virus leaves the state. Hospitals are now taking this time to stock up for what they believe will come next.
New data shows which hospitals in South Florida were hit with coronavirus patients the hardest and longest.
NBC News used data from the Federal Department of Health and Human Services to locate which hospitals across the country were at or above capacity for the most weeks in a row.
In South Florida, four of the hardest hit hospitals were community-focused facilities within Baptist Health South Florida and Memorial Healthcare System: Mariners Hospital, West Kendall Baptist, Memorial West, and Memorial Hospital Miramar.
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