NATION & WORLD BRIEFS

Shooting in Washington leaves 2 dead, 5 injured

WASHINGTON – Two people have been killed and five others injured in a shooting in the nation’s capital early Sunday.

Police were looking for a single gunman after the seven people were shot around 3 a.m. in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington. The five people who were injured were all taken to local hospitals, said Jeffrey Carroll, the executive assistant chief of the Metropolitan Police Department. All of the victims are adults, he said.

Police did not immediately provide details of the circumstances surrounding the shooting or the conditions of those injured.

The District of Columbia is struggling with a sharp increase in violent crime, which went up 39% in 2023. The increase was largely fueled by a 35% rise in homicides and growth in carjackings, which nearly doubled. Police Chief Pamela Smith has pushed lawmakers to pass legislation that would strengthen penalties for gun offenses in the nation’s capital.

Traffic accident in Afghanistan leaves 21 dead and 38 injured

ISLAMABAD – A traffic accident in southern Afghanistan left at least 21 people dead and 38 others injured, according to a provincial traffic department.

The accident occurred on Sunday morning in Gerashk district of Helmand province on the main highway between southern Kandahar and western Herat provinces, a statement from the department in Helmand said.

A motorbike crashed into a passenger bus, which then hit a fuel tanker on the opposite side of the road, said Qadratullah, a traffic official in Helmand. An investigation into the accident was underway, he added.

Eleven of the 38 injured people were transferred to hospitals with serious injuries, said Hzatullah Haqqani, a spokesman for the Helmand police chief.

Boy dies after eating strawberries at school fundraiser, reports say

An 8-year-old Kentucky boy has died after eating strawberries at a school fundraiser, according to reports.

The Madisonville Police Department responded to call of an unresponsive child around 6:30 a.m. on Friday, according to local outlet 14 News.

The outlet is reporting that the child, whose identity has not been released to the public, had eaten several strawberries at a school fundraiser on Thursday. The boy started experiencing an allergic reaction and began developing a rash. He was taken to the emergency room by his family but was brought home hours later. The next morning the family tried to wake the child for school, but he wasn’t breathing.

The news outlet is also reporting that several other people went to a local hospital after eating strawberries at the fundraiser.

The Hopkins County Health Department is advising the school to dispose of any remaining strawberries from the fundraiser as they continue their investigation.