The New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice runs “Flip the Script,” a 40-week program that trains at-risk teens and young adults, often with gun charges, in filmmaking. The 18- to 24-year-old participants, mainly from Brownsville, Brooklyn, and the South Bronx, are paid $20 an hour.

One of those teens, KJ Campbell, lost his father and two brothers to gun violence. The 19-year-old was also arrested in 2023 for illegal gun possession.

Campbell says that while in jail, he realized he needed to change the course of his life, “I see how people in there talk, the way they move, I don’t wanna be like them.”

Soon after Campbell’s release from jail, he enrolled in “Flip the Script,” which sparked his passion for filmmaking.

“I feel like this program could get me way far than I’m supposed to be … because I know I’ve got talent,” said Campbell. He now plans to pursue a career as a film director.

Samantha Kleinfield, the Office of Criminal Justice’s executive director, created the program in 2021 to help combat gun violence.

So far this year, 14% of shooting suspects in New York City are minors, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, and 14% of all shooting victims are also under the age of 18.

“We were looking at innovative ways to address the rising gun violence and gang violence in New York City,” said Kleinfield. “Filmmaking is seen as the transformative power of the arts to be able to process the trauma that a lot of these kids have experienced.”

Entertainment industry professionals mentor the participants and teach them hard and soft skills needed to launch their careers.

One of the mentors, Aaron Jones, urges his mentees to adopt a new mindset: “It’s cool to be positive and to do something with your life, instead of just throwing it away.”

The 12-person crew is expected to finish their project this summer — a short film about gun violence that will premiere at a movie theater and be entered into next year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

The office aims to establish a pipeline that leads from the program to full-time jobs. Since its inception in 2021, over 60 people have graduated from the program and 70% of them are still employed.

Kleinfield has an even bigger vision for the participants long term, saying, “I want to see them at the Academy Awards.”

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The agency said its officers seized 473 shipments containing 1,507 weapon-modifying devices from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2024.

The agency said it stopped 155 shipments containing 354 Glock switches — which modify semiautomatic weapons to make them fully automatic — between January and June. In July, August and September alone, CBP officers seized 241 shipments containing a total of 948 switches. Customs officials did not provide specific seizure figures for subsequent months.

Most of the Glock switch shipments had come from China, and were destined for various locations throughout the U.S., officials said.

The agency shared three images of Glock switches its officers seized in Chicago.

“These seizures clearly illustrate how closely CBP examines import manifests and identifies items that could potentially harm our nation or our citizens,” LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, director of field operations for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Chicago Field Office, said in a news release. “Using their targeting experience, they’re able to consistently spot new shipping trends and keep these dangerous devices out of the hands of criminals. There are reasons these items are illegal.”

The agency said automatic fire conversion switches for handguns are not legal to use or possess. They allow users to pull and hold the trigger to fire as many rounds as possible.

The devices can be ordered online or made by 3D printers, officials said. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives restricts their importation.

Late last year, multiple states sued Georgia-based Glock Inc. for allegedly turning a “blind eye” to how easily switches can turn handguns into fully-automatic weapons.

Eric Henderson contributed to this report.

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Police said Jerod Taylor, 39, fled the scene of a reported domestic assault on November 7 before police responded to a home in the 20000 block of Goddard Road in Lexington Park.

During their investigation, officers found multiple guns in plain sight, despite Taylor being barred from possessing firearms due to his prior convictions.  

Detectives executed a search warrant at the home and in nearby vehicles, leading to what police called an “extensive collection” of weapons.  

Police said they found 3D-printed “ghost guns,” semi-automatic rifles, handguns, shotguns, an AK-47, 18 suppressors, and over 1,300 rounds of ammunition. They also found 74 auto sears, which are used to convert firearms to fully automatic weapons, and a 3D-printed, fully automatic rifle were also found.

Taylor is charged with illegal possession of ammunition, unlawful possession of an assault weapon with intent to sell, second-degree assault, and several other related charges. He also has an outstanding warrant for theft, according to police. 

What is a Ghost Gun? 

According to Maryland State Police, a ghost gun is a firearm made with unfinished parts that do not have serial numbers, making them difficult to trace. 

In March 2023, a law went into effect in the state, prohibiting the sale of ghost guns and requiring that all privately made firearms have serial numbers. A law that banned the sale of ghost guns also went into effect that month. 

In February 2024, Baltimore City reached a $1.2 million settlement with Polymer80 Inc., a ghost gun manufacturer that was allegedly undermining firearms laws by selling ghost gun kits and parts to buyers who did not complete background checks. 

In 2023, the Baltimore Police Department recovered 462 ghost guns. 

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Police said around 11:30 p.m. on the Fourth of July, a person in the passenger seat of an SUV fired multiple gunshots at a group of people gathered on the 1900 block of South Salford Street, a side street between Chester and Kingsessing avenues in Southwest Philadelphia.

Police said a 19-year-old man, who was shot once in the face, was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and pronounced dead late Thursday night.

A pop-up party had reached the neighborhood after officers broke it up multiple times across the city on Thursday night, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said at a news conference Friday.

The party was set to begin in North Philadelphia but was broken up by Philadelphia police officers before it moved across the city in the area of 58th Street and Kingsessing Avenue near the Francis Myers Recreation Center, Bethel said.

“We were getting a number of calls from that community,” Bethel said. “The men and women were on the ground working to break up that group, and they believe that around 11 o’clock they were able to get that group to stand down.”

“Unfortunately, through their network, they were able to reconvene and that resulted in an individual coming up in a vehicle, firing multiple rounds from that vehicle and striking multiple individuals on the highway,” Bethel said.

Police said an officer found a victim with gunshot wounds lying in the middle of the street, and then other officers were called to the scene. Police found a total of nine victims, five of whom are adults and four who are teenagers.

Some victims were found at the scene, while others showed up at nearby hospitals. Police said all surviving victims are in stable condition.

In addition to the 19-year-old, police said medics took four victims to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center:

A 23-year-old man, who was shot once in the right leg;An 18-year-old man who was shot once in the left leg;A 21-year-old man who was shot once in the left shoulder;A 17-year-old boy who had a bullet graze his head

Two victims were being treated at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, including a 16-year-old boy shot once in the left thigh and a 15-year-old girl shot once in the left foot.

A 14-year-old boy first arrived at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania’s Cedar Avenue location before he was transferred to CHOP.

A ninth victim, a 24-year-old man, arrived at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Delaware County seeking treatment and was later taken to Penn Presbyterian.

Philadelphia police pledge to break up pop-up events after shooting

A similar event by the same organizers took place in Fairmount Park in mid-June and also ended in a shooting, Bethel said. A shooting took place near that event that wounded four people and killed 17-year-old Isya Stanley.

“We have a duty to stop these activities,” Bethel said, saying juveniles’ parents need to get involved but acknowledging young adults are also involved in the pop-up events.

There have been 14 shootings and two homicides connected to pop-up events, the commissioner added.

Police will now be upping enforcement of these events.

“We can no longer just allow individuals to come from – many of the kids and most of the individuals who were shot here…are not from this area,” Bethel said.

Bethel said the Fourth of July is one of the most challenging days for the police department and moving officers around the city. 

Police didn’t mention a motive or suspects for the shooting but Bethel said officials are working toward identifying the vehicle involved and have made progress in the investigation.

“It is very alarming, and especially when we have officers in the area to try to prevent anything like this from happening, and it still happened,” Philadelphia Police Inspector Kpana Massaquoi said in an earlier news conference soon after the shooting.

The mass shooting happened about one year after 5 people were killed less than a mile away, in the area of 54th Street and Chester Avenue. That was one of the deadliest mass shootings in Philadelphia history.

Kingsessing had just honored the victims of that shooting with a vigil on July 3.

“The pain and the trauma that you are feeling right now is not normal,” Mayor Cherelle Parker said. “And you shouldn’t have to get used to it. I don’t want you to think that we in the city are ever going to get used to it.”

Parker said that while the city has touted its homicide numbers are down as is the number of shootings, “if anybody thinks that we can look at those stats and celebrate here in the city of Philadelphia like we have tackled, like we have found the solution, the magic wand to address the culmination of violence, unnecessary violence in the city, this is no time to be celebrating.”

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Buscemi was attacked in Manhattan last week, according to his publicist.

Police on Tuesday identified the suspect as 50-year-old Clifton Williams. On Friday, police said they had a person of interest in custody, but did not immediately release the person’s name or say if they were charged.

Suspect appeared to be talking to himself

Video shows the 66-year-old “Boardwalk Empire” actor walking south on Third Avenue just before noon on May 8. Then, he looks up to greet someone before crossing East 27th Street. 

Police said a man wearing blue punched Buscemi moments after he crossed the street. It was unprovoked. 

“I feel like it’s crazy, but it’s believable it happens. I live right around here and I hear it all the time,” said Juliana Tronconi. 

More exclusive video shows the suspect appeared to be talking to himself while walking north on Third Avenue moments before the attack.

Buscemi, a Brooklyn native and former FDNY firefighter, was taken to Bellevue Hospital for bruising, swelling and bleeding to his left eye.

Photos have emerged showing Buscemi with a bruised face. He declined an on-camera interview. 

“Another victim of a random act of violence in the city”

On 9/11, Buscemi went to Ground Zero to help his former engine company, and he received keys to the city in 2021.

A rep for Buscemi said he’s now “another victim of a random act of violence in the city.”

“He is OK and appreciates everyone’s well wishes, though incredibly sad for everyone that this has happened to while also walking the streets of New York,” the rep added. 

The NYPD says felony assaults in New York City are up 15 percent year-to-date, and misdemeanor assaults have increased by about 7 percent.

“It’s horrible actually. I got attacked right here too, years ago,” said Richard Robbins of Kips Bay. “I was walking down the street and somebody came by and smacked me in the back of my head and knocked me down.” 

“It’s a reflection of the leadership of our country and our city,” another man said. “They’d arrest you but you’d be out the next day or that afternoon. So why not punch out Steve Buscemi?” 

Former NYPD Deputy Commissioner Rich Esposito told CBS New York random attacks can be challenging for law enforcement, because “they’re not predictable.”

“We are seeing an uptick, and of course that’s scary to all of us, but it doesn’t mean it’s a trend that’s going to continue,” he said.

Buscemi the latest actor attacked in NYC

Buscemi’s “Boardwalk Empire” co-star Michael Stuhlbarg was also attacked at random while on a run on the Upper East Side in March. A suspect was arrested. 

In 2020, actor Rick Moranis was randomly attacked on the Upper West Side. Prosecutors said that suspect was facing charges in several other incidents. 

Anyone with any information on the suspect in Buscemi’s case is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.    

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Shortly after 11 a.m., school officials posted on social media that an active shooter had appeared on the school’s campus. The county’s emergency management reported the suspect had a rifle.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said at a news conference Wednesday evening that “deadly force was used” and the suspect is dead. Kaul said a number of officers are on leave following the incident, as is standard when an officer-involved shooting takes place, but did not provide an exact number.

The Mount Horeb Area School District said the alleged shooter “did not breach entryway” at the middle school and there were “no reports of individuals being harmed, with the exception of the alleged assailant.”

“He was outside and didn’t enter the school,” Kaul said. He would not say if the suspect ever fired any shots or tried to get inside the school.

The suspect has yet to be identified, but Kaul said he was a minor and a student in the school district.

Kaul said the district has been on lockdown since the call came in and family reunifications were ongoing as of Wednesday evening.

Witnesses described hearing gunshots and seeing dozens of children running. Parents were initially left with little information as the entire campus was placed on lockdown.

“There’s just a bunch of police officers that kept like knocking on the door and making sure that it was barricaded, and our (substitute teacher) that we had was by the door ready,” one witness told CBS News. “We’re all just sitting there crying and texting our parents.”

Kristen Malone waited frantically as law enforcement searched for possible additional suspects. Her 11-year-old daughter called her on the phone to tell her that she loved her.

“My biggest fear kind of felt like it was unfolding,” Malone said. “I was able to talk to my daughter just a couple of minutes ago, but you still want to be able to touch them and hug them. I know they’re pretty scared. … It was just screaming and chaos in the background

More than a dozen law enforcement vehicles were at the scene, including SWAT-style trucks with emergency lights flashing. First responders surrounding a gurney on the sidewalk also were visible.  

The district reported that their initial search of the school “has not yielded additional suspects.” Kaul said later Wednesday officials did not believe there was any ongoing threat to the community.

The district had begun releasing some students of other schools by early afternoon and anxious parents gathered at a bus depot waiting to be reunited with their kids.

“I have been briefed on the incident at the Mount Horeb Area School District and am closely monitoring the situation,” Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement. “I am praying for the health and safety of our kids, educators, and staff and grateful for the first responders who are working quickly to respond.”

Max Kelly, 12, said his teacher told the class to get out of the school. He said they skated to a street, ditched their in-line skates and ran to a nearby convenience store and gas station and hid in a bathroom.

Kelly was reunited with his parents and sat on a hillside with them early Wednesday afternoon waiting for his younger siblings to be released from their own schools. He still wore socks, his shoes left behind.

“I don’t think anywhere is safe anymore,” said his mother, 32-year-old Alison Kelly.

Shannon Hurd, 44, and her former husband, Nathian Hurd, 39, sat in a car waiting for their 13-year-old son, Noah, who was still in the locked-down middle school.

Shannon Hurd said she was alerted to the incident by a text from Noah saying he loved her. She said she nearly fell down the stairs at her work as she ran to get to the school.

“I just want my kid,” she said. “They’re supposed to be safe at school, in Mount Horeb of all places.”

Schools across the country have searched for ways to prevent mass shootings inside their walls, from physical security measures to drills on a response to an active shooter to technology including detailed digital maps. Many also rely on teachers and administrators working to detect early signs of mental health struggles.

Mount Horeb is about 25 miles west of Madison.

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Protesters were out for hours, starting along Fifth Avenue near the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree before heading downtown. 

Video showed tense moments while some demonstrators were in custody. 

The NYPD said a total of six people were arrested. 

Police said one officer fell and hurt his knee while helping another officer. 

The injured officer was in stable condition, according to police. 

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The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office identified the 69-year-old man as Paul Kessler, a pro-Israel protester. The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles described him as an “elderly Jewish man,” and said a pro-Palestinian protester struck him with a megaphone in what they described as an “antisemitic crime.”

Update: Jewish protester’s death in LA area remains under investigation as eyewitness accounts conflict

“Violence against our people has no place in civilized society,” the Jewish Federation said in a statement. “We demand safety. We will not tolerate violence against our community. We will do everything in our power to prevent it.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations denounced the alleged attack and expressed support for the Jewish community. 

“We urge everyone to wait for the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office to complete its investigation before drawing any conclusions,” the organization said in a statement. “While we strongly support the right of political debate, CAIR-LA and the Muslim community stand with the Jewish community in rejecting any and all violence, antisemitism, Islamophobia, or incitement of hatred.”

Deputies said the alleged battery happened at about 3:20 p.m. at the intersection of Westlake Boulevard and Thousand Oaks Boulevard, where simultaneous pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protests were taking place. Witnesses told investigators that a counter-protester struck Kessler before falling and striking his head on the ground. 

He was taken to the hospital where he died a day later. 

The Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office classified his death as a homicide. Deputies said they are actively investigating the incident and have not ruled out the possibility of a hate crime. 

Investigators urge anyone with information to reach out to the sheriff’s office at (805) 384-4745. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477. 

Video and pictures of the incident can be anonymously sent to the VCSO here.

–Laurie Perez contributed reporting.

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Kruger, 39, was shot seven times, according to police. He was taken to an area hospital, where he later died.

Police have not made any arrests and no weapons were recovered.

Jaz Brown heard the gunshots and screams of her neighbor, Kruger, outside their door early Monday morning. 

“Josh was calling for help and I called the police to make sure they’d come out for them,” Brown said.  

Kruger overcame homelessness and addiction to work for five years in city government, handling Mayor Jim Kenney’s social media and serving as the communications director for the city’s Office of Homeless Services.

He left city government in 2021 to return to journalism, according to his website. He wrote for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Weekly, Philadelphia City Paper and other publications.

Kenney said in a statement that he is “shocked and saddened” by Kruger’s death.

“[Kruger] cared deeply about our city and its residents, which was evident in his public service and writing,” Kenney said in a statement. “Our administration was fortunate to call him a colleague, and our prayers are with everyone who knew him.”

On his website, Kruger described himself as a cat person who “hates driving cars, preferring to bicycle or ride trains.”

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement that “Josh deserved to write the ending of his personal story.”

“Josh Kruger lifted up the most vulnerable and stigmatized people in our communities — particularly unhoused people living with addiction,” Krasner said. “As an openly queer writer who wrote about his own journey surviving substance use disorder and homelessness, it was encouraging to see Josh join the Kenney administration as a spokesperson for the Office of Homeless Services.”

The DA’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee said Kruger never stopped fighting for Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ community.

“Many of us knew Josh Kruger as a comrade who never stopped advocating for queer Philadelphians living on the margins of society,” the committee said in a statement. “His struggles mirrored so many of ours — from community rejection to homelessness, to addiction, to living with HIV, to poverty — and his recovery, survival, and successes showed what’s possible when politicians and elected leaders reject bigotry and work affirmatively to uplift all people.”

Friends and neighbors of Kruger are devastated. They said he was a force for change who lived out the words he wrote to give voice to the voiceless. 

“This is a shock to the system. A shock to the community,” Stephens said.

“I am so upset. I can barely think straight,” Stephens added. “He was loved by so many people. He didn’t deserve what happened to him. Someone in your house and someone can just barge in a kill you. And for what!?”

Kruger was there for Stephens, a trans woman, after she was attacked outside of her home just blocks away in 2020. 

“When I was a victim of a hate crime, he was one of the first people to be neighborly and come over and provide support. Kind words. At that time I feared for my safety. I feared people would come back again,” Stephens said. 

The two shared a common bond – both activists for the LGBTQ+ community.

“We admired each other because I was an activist on the front lines with my blow horn but he used journalism as a form of activism,” Stephens said. “He used journalism as a way to speak about the societal ills that affect our most vulnerable communities and he cared so deeply about the communities.” 

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Police said a man and a woman, ages 41 and 40, along with their children, ages 3 and 1, were found stabbed to death inside their apartment at 328 W. 86th St., following a wellness check on Monday afternoon.

CBS New York spoke to heartbroken and perplexed residents. The father who died grew up in the building. He was the superintendent and his father was the super before him.

Residents described him as a doting family man and it seems nobody can imagine what went wrong.

A historic co-op was the scene of what investigators believe to be a gruesome murder-suicide.

“A lot of tears and a lot of gasping,” Jeff Kimmel said.

“Everybody is freaking out,” Lynne Allen added.

Police were called to the building off Riverside Drive at around 3 p.m. by the father of the building’s super. Sources told CBS New York he was trying to get a hold of his 41-year-old son.

The super’s dad knocked at his one-bedroom apartment, and when no one answered he looked into the peephole and saw his son’s 40-year-old wife bleeding on the floor.

Police arrived to find the couple, along with their 3- and 1-year-old sons dead. Each had been stabbed.

“They were adorable. They were babies,” Allen said.

Investigators found kitchen knives at the scene and saw no signs of a break-in.

“He’s like a really decent human being. He’s like a nice guy. So I have no idea what could’ve possibly happened,” Kimmel said.

Residents said the super moved into the building when he was just 10 years old, when his father was the super.

“I’ve known him since he was a little boy and used to play stick ball with the kid who is now the nighttime super in the corner building,” neighbor Philip Caggiano said.

Caggiano said he has bumped in to him the other day.

“And I thought how great to live on this street with this happy family. This is heartbreaking, just heartbreaking,” Caggiano said.

The young family was getting ready to move to Westchester County, where the father had just accepted another job as a super.

“Because he’s outgrown a one-bedroom apartment with his family of four and we all were so happy for him, just thrilled he got this upgrade and lifestyle change and everyone was really happy,” Allen said.

Investigators spent hours trying to figure out exactly what happened, while neighbors racked their brains to figure out why.

“This isn’t what you expect in this building, in this gorgeous neighborhood, in this very quiet building,” Allen said.

Residents said the super’s last day was supposed to be at the end of this month, but the family was planning to stay in the building until they moved into their new apartment in Westchester in a few weeks.

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