Inmate accused of shooting officer escapes
FLORENCE, Ala. - An Alabama inmate awaiting trial for the attempted murder of a police officer has escaped for the second time this year.
News outlets reported Lauderdale County Detention Center administrator Jason Butler said officials discovered around 11 p.m. Saturday that 43-year-old Christopher Wayne Kilpatrick had escaped. Kilpatrick had previous escaped the facility April 8 and was taken into custody again April 15 following a standoff.
Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said Kilpatrick escaped using the same method as in April, and cited "faulty design on the jail."
Kilpatrick was originally indicted in December on multiple charges in connection with the August 2016 shooting of Florence Detective Michael Price. Price was trying to apprehend Kilpatrick, who had walked off a work-release detail. He was indicted on additional charges after his first escape.
1 dead, 2 hurt in shootout outside restaurant
DECATUR, Ga. - A shootout outside a restaurant in the metropolitan Atlanta area has left one man dead and two men wounded.
News outlets reported DeKalb County spokeswoman Shiera Campbell said an argument outside Wats Crackin Garlic Crabs in Decatur on Saturday night escalated into a shootout. A 23-year-old man wearing a bulletproof vest was killed.
Police haven't released the victim's name or said why he was wearing a vest. Campbell said police believe the deceased started the fight, following the other man into the parking lot.
Forty-two-year-old Travis Allen has been charged with malice murder. He sustained minor injuries. It's unclear if he has a lawyer.
An innocent bystander also sustained injuries believed to be non-life-threatening.
Further details weren't immediately released.
Smoke in halls clears school
CHATTANOOGA - DuPont Elementary School children were sent home Monday afternoon after reports of a power outage and smoke in hallways at the school.
No injuries were reported, and parents were notified that after-school care would not be provided. The building was evacuated as a precaution and so officials could focus on resolving the problem, Chattanooga Fire Department spokesman Bruce Garner said.
The outage and smoke later were determined to be the result of a power surge that blew out a number of light ballasts - which regulate the current to the lamps and provide sufficient voltage to start the lamps - in the building. Work was started to correct the problem, and everything was expected to be ready for children to return today.