NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
Suspect arrested: A man suspected of fatally shooting a 7-year-old boy and three adults in southern Ohio was arrested Friday after a dayslong manhunt, authorities said. Arron Lawson, 23, was detained after a person spotted him walking along a road, Lawrence County Sheriff Jeffery Lawless said. He is being held on charges of murder and aggravated murder. Lawson was arrested near Ironton, about 12 miles south of where authorities found three adults dead in a trailer home on Wednesday evening and later found the body of 7-year-old Devin Holston. A fourth adult who was stabbed at the home fled and was hospitalized. Lawson lived just up the road from the trailer home. Lawless said Lawson was related to some of the victims, but the sheriff hasn’t discussed what might have motivated the killings.
Social Security benefits: Millions of Social Security recipients and other retirees will get a 2 percent increase in benefits next year. It’s the largest increase since 2012 but comes to only $25 a month for the average beneficiary. The Social Security Administration announced the cost-of-living increase Friday. The COLA affects benefits for more than 70 million U.S. residents, including Social Security recipients, disabled veterans and federal retirees. That’s about one in five Americans. By law, the COLA is based on a broad measure of consumer prices generated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Attempted escape: Authorities on Friday identified two employees killed during an attempted escape from a North Carolina prison. The state Department of Public Safety said Justin Smith, 35, and Veronica Darden, 50, were killed Thursday during the attempted breakout from Pasquotank Correctional Institution in Elizabeth City. Smith was a correctional officer at the prison’s sewing plant, where Darden trained inmates making safety vests and other items. Smith and Darden were killed after inmates started a fire at the prison sewing plant in an attempt to escape, officials said. But prisons spokesman Keith Acree said officials did several counts after the fire and all 725 inmates were accounted for.
Officer slain: A New Orleans police officer was fatally shot Friday during a struggle after he and his patrol team left their cars to investigate something suspicious, authorities said. Other officers returned fire, wounding a suspect who eventually surrendered to a SWAT team, police said. Officer Marcus McNeil was killed, and the suspected gunman, Darren Bridges, 30, was wounded and taken into custody. McNeil, 29, a three-year veteran, is survived by his wife and two children, ages 5 and 2. Bridges will face charges including first-degree murder.
Four shot: Orange County authorities on Friday arrested a man suspected of fatally shooting two people, including his father, and wounding two others at a home in Aliso Viejo. The manhunt for Luke Ferguson, 26, ended when he was spotted in a car near Los Angeles International Airport. The victims were identified as Douglas Ferguson, 59, and his girlfriend, Lisa Cosenza, 51.