Tourists flee after attack
Thousands of vacationers flee Sousee, being shuttled from the city in buses without public announcements that might draw attention. Tourist:
We were planning to stay for a week, but we’re cutting our trip short because we are scared.
France beheading, explosion
One person is beheaded and at least 12 injured in an explosion in what officials say was a terrorist attack at a gas factory in a small town in southeastern France. An Islamic State flag is found at the site of the attack. President Hollande:
The terrorist nature of this act are without doubt. There is no doubt that the intention was to provoke an attack, an explosion.
Takes responsibility for attack
The Islamic State claims responsibility for the attack at the Beach Resort in Tunisia. According to their statement, the attack is a response to Islamic State leaders encouraging their followers to increase assaults during Ramadan.
Let them wait for the glad tidings of what will harm them in the coming days, Allah permitting
Beach resort attack kills at least 39
A gunman dressed as a tourist took an assault rifle out of his beach umbrella and kills 39 people at Sousse, a Tunisian beach resort. The gunman is shot and killed by police. He is currently unidentified. It is unclear how many were injured and if the death toll will rise. Officials:
An attacker had posed as a swimmer but was carrying a rifle under a parasol. He started shooting on the beach before entering the Hotel Riu Imperial Marhaba, continuing to shoot as he walked past the pool. He was then shot dead in an exchange of fire with police. He was a student not previously known to authorities.
James Horner dies in plane crash age 61
Horner dies when the single-engine plane he is piloting crashes in Cuyama, California, north of Santa Barbara. The crash starts a one-acre brush fire. Agency statement:
It is with the deepest regret and sorrow that we mourn the tragic passing of our dear colleague, long-time client and great friend, composer James Horner. Our thoughts and prayers are with James’ family at this difficult time, and also with the millions of people around the world who loved his music. A shining light has been extinguished, which can never be replaced. It has been an honor and a privilege to have worked with James since the inception of our agency. For more than three decades, his unique creative genius made an indelible imprint on each of our lives and on those of the entire Hollywood community. There is not a person in our GSA family who wasn’t touched by the power and reach of his music, and who isn’t diminished by his loss.
Victims named
The Coronor’s office releases the victims’ names:
State Sen. Clementa Pinckney, the church’s pastor.
Cynthia Hurd, 54, St. Andrews regional branch manager for the Charleston County Public Library system.
Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, a church pastor, speech therapist and coach of the girls’ track and field team at Goose Creek High School. Tywanza Sanders, 26, who had a degree in business administration from Allen University, where Pinckney also attended
Ethel Lance, 70, a retired Gilliard Center employee who worked recently as a church janitor.
Susie Jackson, 87, Lance’s cousin who was named by a relative and was a longtime church member.
Depayne Middleton Doctor, 49, who retired in 2005 as Charleston County director of the Community Development Block Grant Program.
Mira Thompson, 59, a pastor at the church.
Daniel Simmons Sr., 74, who died in a hospital operating room.
Over 160 people stranded, 40 missing
Rockfalls at Malaysia’s Mount Kinabalu, caused by a 6.0-magnitude earthquake on Borneo Island, leave more than 160 people stranded on the peak, with some injured, according to officials. Forty people are reported missing. Sabah state tourism minister:
It’s very tricky now. We can’t land a helicopter up there because visibility is so bad, but the people can’t come down on their own because the main route is now impassable.
First South Korea deaths
South Korea’s health ministry confirms the first deaths of two people due to MERS. A 58-year-old woman, who had been treated as a suspected case of MERS, died of acute respiratory failure on June 29 and tests later came back positive for the virus. The other victim died on June 30, a 71-year-old man who was confirmed to have the virus several days ago. Six more people have been diagnosed with the disease, bringing the total number of people infected to 25 including the two victims. Acting Prime Minister Choi Kyung-hwan tells an emergency meeting of officials:
People believe that the health authorities’ response has been inefficient and poor. We should use all our national resources to alleviate their concerns.
Bomb threats against U.S. airlines
Multiple bomb threats are made against U.S. airlines in five major cities. Government sources:
The TSA Operations Center in Washington, DC had received a phone threat stating that there was an explosive device on the plane, [flight from San Diego to Philadelphia]. Out of an abundance of caution the airport declared a bomb threat and moved the plane to a remote area. In addition to the U.S. Airways flight, threats were made on a Delta flight to Atlanta, a United flight to Chicago O’Hare, a Korean Air flight to San Francisco and a Volaris Air flight to Guadalajara, Mexico, according to government sources.
Six bodies found
After over 24 hours of digging and searching, officials find the bodies of six of the ten miners trapped when the mine collapsed. Four others are still missing. Police:
Rescue crews in Guyana have recovered the bodies of six miners who had been missing since an open-pit gold mine collapsed in the South American country. Authorities are still searching for four other miners. Crews are digging despite heavy rains and mud to recover bodies buried up to 20 feet (6 meters) in the pit.
Mine collapses
Guyana gold mine collapses and buries ten miners, injures at least seven. The inured are being treated in area hospitals. Official:
Recent heavy rains have made the work especially treacherous. [The] organization has been working to persuade operators to provide adequate support for the mud walls but said many disregard those precautions.
Philippine factory fire deaths rise to 72
More than 70 people die in a fire at a footwear factory in the Philippines. The fire rages for over five hours on the outskirts of the capital, Manila. The total number of survivors remains unclear but five people are pulled alive from the blaze. The rising death toll comes as a relative of several of the victims said the blaze trapped workers in the building’s second floor where iron grills on windows prevented their escape. The building was occupied by the Kentex Manufacturing Corp. factory. Fire Marshal:
Arson investigators will look into why people were unable to escape from the second floor when there was a ‘sufficient exit’ that includes a wide stairway to the back of the building leading to the outside.
Eight dead, all passengers accounted for
An eighth body is found in the wreckage of the train by a search dog, in the mangled first car. The victim has not been identified; only six of the victims have been identified by authorities or friends and family. Mayor Nutter says that all 243 passengers are now accounted for.
Destroys museum artifacts
ISIS releases a video that shows militants destroying ancient artifacts in a museum in the city of Mosul in Iraq. Some of the artifacts are over 2,000 years old. U.N. spokesman:
The destruction of cultural heritage is reprehensible and criminal.
Train derails, kills seven
Train 188, a Northeast Regional, carrying 238 passengers and five crew members and heading to New York City from Washington D.C., derails and tips over in Philadelphia killing seven people. The front of the train is going into a turn at Frankford Junction in Port Richmond, when it started to shake before coming to a sudden stop. Dozens of passengers are injured, and some climbed out of windows to get away. Witness:
The train started to decelerate, like someone had slammed the brake. Then suddenly you could see everything starting to shake. You could see people’s stuff flying over me.
Rail service on the Northeast Corridor between New York and Philadelphia has been stopped. The NTSB says it is gathering information about the derailment and will launch an investigative team.
Interstate crash kills four
Four people on board a single-engine Piper PA-32 die when it crashes into a major interstate in Atlanta after leaving DeKalb Peachtree Airport. The four on board were headed to the University of Mississippi, where 25-year-old Phillip Byrd — one of the passengers on board — was set to graduate, according to his grandfather, who said the other passengers were his son, grandson and his fiancee. No motorists are injured according to reports. Witness:
I looked into my rear view mirror and saw this mass of flames. Everybody says this, but it really does feel very surreal … to the point of … did I really see that? It’s just horrible. I couldn’t stop shaking.
Shooting
Soofi and Simpson are killed by police after shooting at a security guard outside an artistic exhibit of the Islamic prophet Muhammed in Dallas Sunday evening. The event was organized by Geller and also features Wilders as a speaker. A traffic officer working after-hours as security for the event and armed only with a service pistol kills both men, who were wearing body armor and carrying assault rifles. An unarmed security officer working with the patrol officer is shot in the ankle. None of the approximately 200 people attending the event is hurt. Witness:
There was no panic. We knew something had happened, but we didn’t hear anything and didn’t see anything. Security guards quickly escorted the event’s organizer, Pam Geller, from the stage. We were concerned about the [wounded security guard’s] safety and his well-being and just wanted to understand the process of what was going to happen.
Boat sinks
Boat carrying an estimated 137 migrants sinks south of Sicily. Survivors say that up to 40 people fell into the sea. Save the Children’s representative:
They [survivors] said there were 137 people aboard an inflatable boat that deflated or exploded – it wasn’t clear – and that some of them fell overboard.
Saved after 80 hours
80 hours after the quake, a French search and rescue team finds twenty-eight-year-old Rishi Khanal under the rubble on the outskirts of Kathmandu after more than 10 hours of digging. The team uses specialized gear that detects signs of life. Khanal appears to have a broken leg. Doctor:
It seems he survived by sheer willpower.
US ISIS attack warning
TSA issues warning that ISIS attack on US soil is imminent while FBI investigates the possibility. VIPR (Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response) teams are deploying to various undisclosed locations. ISIS frequently threatens to attack the US, this is the first time the US is responding as if it is a credible threat. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security declines to comment on specifics but states:
Over the last few months, we have made a number of security adjustments, including enhanced screening at select overseas airports and increasing random searches of passengers and carry-on luggage on flights inbound to the U.S., reflecting an evolving threat picture.