5 die in Arizona car crash during Border Patrol pursuit



At least five people were killed and more than a dozen hurt when an SUV crashed while it was being chased by the Border Patrol in Arizona, authorities said Sunday.

Pima County Rural/Metro Fire Chief Willie Treatch said the midsize SUV was carrying 22 passengers, but U.S. Customs and Border Protection said 18 were aboard.

Treatch said five people died at the scene and 17 were rushed to the hospital, some by helicopter.

The incident happened about 11 p.m. Saturday near the intersection of Interstate 10 and State Highway 83 in Vail, Ariz., officials said.

Federal authorities said the Border Patrol had tried to stop a Chevrolet Tahoe for an immigration check, but the Tahoe didn’t stop. Instead, it continued west on Interstate 10 to the exit for Highway 83, went out of control on the exit ramp and flipped over, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said.

“Preliminary reports indicate that the driver of the Tahoe lost control on the exit ramp and rolled the vehicle, resulting in multiple fatalities and injuries,” the agency said in a statement. LA Times


FACTS & FIGURES


President Barack Obama urged Congress on March 25 to "finish the job" on crafting a comprehensive immigration reform bill, saying he expects that to be done next month. ABC News

The new immigration legislation - marking the first comprehensive effort since a 2007 plan died in the Senate - is intended to largely solve the problem of illegal immigration while clearing a backlog of millions of foreigners trying to enter the country through legal channels. The Washington Post

In addition, billions of dollars would be invested in new border-control measures, including surveillance drones, security fencing and 3,500 additional federal agents charged with apprehending people attempting to enter illegally from Mexico. The Washington Post

The bill would also dramatically change the way the U.S. grants visas and green cards for future immigrants. Among the changes, according to the USA Today, it:

Eliminates the diversity **** lottery, which randomly grants up to 55,000 visas a year to people around the globe, most of which go to African countries.

Ends the practice of allowing U.S. citizens to petition for green cards for their siblings.

Creates a "merit-based" ****, which awards up to 250,000 visas a year based on a point system that measures their education and employment, among other criteria.

Increases the cap on the number of H1B visas, which go primarily to college-educated foreigners in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, from 85,000 to 205,000.

Creates up to 200,000 visas a year, known as W visas, for people to work in retail, construction, hospitality and janitorial jobs.

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Five dead in shooting south of Seattle




Gunfire erupted at an apartment complex in a city south of Seattle and five people were shot to death, including a suspect who was shot by arriving officers, police said early Monday.

Officers responding to an emergency call at 9:30 p.m. Sunday at the apartments in Federal Way found two injured men on the ground in a parking lot.

"When we arrived, there was a lot of gunfire already being fired and multiple calls, 911 calls of gunfire," said Federal Way police spokeswoman Cathy Schrock. One of the men reached for a gun as police moved in to assist the two, she said.

At that point, other officers opened fire. The suspect died but police said it wasn't immediately clear if it was from their gunfire.

The other man on the ground and a third man in the parking lot were found dead.

In a search of the complex, police found a fourth man dead in one apartment and a slain woman in another unit.

Schrock said police were trying to determine if the woman was accidentally hit by gunfire.

There was no immediate word what set off the shooting.

"We're gonna continue to go door to door in hopes that we can find some additional witnesses, and hopefully we won't be finding any more victims." Schrock said.

After police flooded the scene and carried out searches of the area, authorities said they did not think another shooter was on the loose or that there was an immediate threat to the public.

There were no reports of any officers being injured, and the names of the five people who were killed were not immediately available.

Federal Way is about 20 miles south of Seattle. abcnews.go.com

FACTS & FIGURES

In another recent shooting, two people were shot in the leg at Denver's Civic Center during Saturday's 4/20 pot rally and a third person was grazed by a bullet. Fox News

Also on Saturday afternoon, an armed man hijacked a Capital Metro transit bus and led police on a 30-mile chase from Austin to Bastrop before pulling the bus over and killing himself, police said.

The U.S. averages 87 gun deaths each day as a function of gun violence, with an average of 183 injured, according to the University of Chicago Crime Lab and the Centers for Disease Control. The Daily Beast

Each year, about 4 to 7 million new firearms are manufactured for sale in the United States. bradycampaign.org



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