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Illegal migrant from Venezuela allegedly shot NYPD officers at 'point-blank range,' ordered held without bail

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Illegal migrant from Venezuela allegedly shot NYPD officers at 'point-blank range,' ordered held without bail

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The illegal immigrant accused of shooting two New York City Police Department officers in Queens was arraigned on attempted murder and other charges on Wednesday, as prosecutors outlined how the suspect allegedly opened fire at “point-blank range” during a struggle on the ground. 

Bernardo Raul Castro Mata, 19, appeared remotely from his hospital bed to be arraigned in Queens Criminal Court in connection to the shooting of Officers Richard Yarusso and Christopher Abreu. 

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Judge Jeffrey Gershuny ordered Castro Mato, who is recovering from a gunshot wound to the ankle, held without bail on charges of attempted murder, assault, criminal possession of a weapon, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration, the New York Daily News reported. More than 50 police officers attended the hearing in person to show support for Yarusso and Abreu. 

Queens Assistant District Attorney Lauren Reilly said Castro Mata was the “very definition of a flight risk,” given he was “fleeing from uniformed police officers before shooting two police officers.” 

Authorities said Yarusso and Abreu were investigating a robbery pattern involving thieves on mopeds and scooters when they spotted Castro Mata on a scooter without a helmet riding the wrong way on 82nd St. near 23rd Ave. in East Elmhurst around 1:40 a.m. Monday. In court Wednesday, prosecutors said Castro Mata was riding an “unregistered motorcycle,” the Daily News reported. 

HOUSE REPUBLICAN USES AOC’S INSULT TO RIP SILENCE ON 2 COPS SHOT ALLEGEDLY BY MIGRANT GANG MEMBER: ‘BABY GIRL’

When the officers attempted to pull the migrant over, he fled on foot. One officer ran after him on foot, while the other followed in the police cruiser. The officers soon tackled Castro Mata to the ground.

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Bernardo Castro Mata, 19, appears in Queens Criminal Court on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, on attempted murder and other charges for allegedly shooting New York Police Department officers Christopher Abreu and Richard Yarusso. (Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Pool/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

“During the struggle, [Castro Mata] reached inside a crossbody bag that was across his chest, removed the firearm, put the gun against Officer Yarusso’s chest and shot Officer Yarusso in the lower middle portion of his chest at point blank range,” Reilly said, according to Daily News. “The defendant then shot Officer Abreu straight in the upper right thigh area.”

Gershuny ordered that Castro Mata be sent to Rikers Island once he is released from the hospital. 

“Trying to avoid a traffic stop using violence by any means necessary to get away leaves this court with no doubt whatsoever that he would flee with any means possible,” the judge said.

Police said Yarusso was wearing a bullet-resistant vest, which saved his life. Both officers were treated at Elmhurst Hospital and Yarusso pushed Abreu out in a wheelchair when they were both released hours after the shooting. Police returned fire during the struggle, and Castro Mata was shot in the ankle. He was taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Queens for treatment.

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New York City Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry addressed the media outside the Queens courthouse after Castro Mata’s arraignment.  (NYC PBA )

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT FROM VENEZUELA SHOOTS 2 NYC POLICE OFFICERS DURING FOOT CHASE IN QUEENS, AUTHORITIES SAY

“That night they both confronted a brazen, violent individual who wasn’t afraid to carry a gun and shoot two New York City police officers at point-blank range,” New York City Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said at a press conference outside the courthouse. 

“The skill, the grit of these two police officers was the reason they not only survived, they were able to stop that individual from hurting anyone else. Today, this court sent a message that they’re going to support these police officers who put their lives on the line every single day, just like these police officers and every New York City police officer out their lives on the line to protect New Yorkers,” Hendry, surrounded by dozens of officers, said. “But this message needs to be consistent: That if you attack a police officer, in every borough, in every courthouse across this city, they will be prosecuted. And those who are responsible for our public safety, owe it to every single New Yorker, every single police officer that they’re going to have a system in place that protects us all.” 

Officer Richard Yarusso, who was shot in the chest and saved by his vest, wheeled his partner, Officer Christopher Abreu, who was shot in the leg, out of Elmhurst Hospital to the applause of NYPD brass and officers Monday, June 3, 2024.  (Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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Police said Castro Mata entered the country illegally last July near El Paso, Texas and was staying at a former airport hotel-turned migrant shelter in the Elmhurst section of Queens. Citing sources, the New York Post reported that Castro Mata has a tattoo that signals to investigators he could be a member of Venezuela’s “bloodthirsty” Tren de Aragua gang.

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Prosecutors noted in court Wednesday that Mastro Mata’s .380-caliber pistol was recovered from the scene. It had two bullets left, one in the chamber and one in the magazine. 

Castro Mata was found in possession of multiple credit cards, two of which were connected to gunpoint robberies in the Bronx carried out by thieves on scooters at the time of his arrest. He had been suspected in a string of robberies and a May 30 incident in which investigators believe he pulled a gun on a security guard at a Lot Less store in Queens and fled by scooter.

After the shooting, police conducted a massive crackdown on illegal vehicles Tuesday night, seizing 72 illegal ATVs, motorbikes and mopeds as well as three vehicles during the operation. 

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Boston, MA

Boston sports anecdotes aplenty feature on new YouTube channel

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Boston sports anecdotes aplenty feature on new YouTube channel


Sports

Front Row to Boston Sports shares stories from the past by area media legends, including the Globe’s Bob Ryan and Dan Shaughnessy.

The Front Row to Boston Sports channel has launched on YouTube. screenshot

When reminiscing about sports moments and personalities of days gone by, the familiar anecdotes are often a joy to hear again and again.

Even better, though, is when there are fresh new stories to be told by those who were there.

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The new YouTube channel Front Row to Boston Sports offers both familiar tales and ones you may not have heard before, as told by four of the most connected journalists and best storytellers in the modern annals of sports in this region.

Legendary former sports anchors Mike Lynch (Channel 5) and Bob Lobel (Channel 4), along with Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy and former Globe columnist Bob Ryan, have teamed up to share the funniest, most heartfelt, and illuminating tales from their storied careers, from press row and the locker room.

The project is the brainchild of Peter Brown, a former news director at Channel 4, where he spent 22 years before moving on to an accomplished career in public affairs and communications.

“You come from a news background, you’re always thinking about what’s the best way to tell a story,” he said. “What better story is there to tell than those about Boston sports? Everyone who is from here or has lived here is in some degree a fan. I thought a look back at some great moments and some behind-the-scenes details that only the most plugged-in reporters would know would be a fun thing to do.”

So Brown reached out to Alan Miller, a former sports producer at Channel 4 who worked with Brown during the local news heyday in the 1980-90s. Miller, who later worked at the Globe and in the Channel 7 newsroom before retiring in May 2024, has long been one of the most well-liked figures in the Boston sports media landscape, someone who knows everyone and whose word is as good as a signature on the dotted line.

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Miller thought it was a super idea, and reached out to his close friend Lobel, along with Lynch, Shaughnessy, and Ryan. They all said yes immediately.

“We basically said, just tell us your best stories,” said Miller. “We wanted the stories that maybe you couldn’t tell on TV or in the newspaper, but the ones you might have told your buddies at the bar. The ones about what people are really like and what gets said behind the scenes. The ones about relationships. These were the four perfect guys to tell those.”

Currently, there are eight clips posted on the channel, ranging in length from just longer than three minutes (Ryan talking about his top five all-time Celtics) to 13 minutes (Shaughnessy sharing an assortment of Terry Francona stories). One of Lobel’s clips includes an emotional discussion of Ted Williams, while Lynch is especially insightful talking about Bill Belichick’s candor off camera during their old Bellistrator segments.

Brown and Miller plan to sprinkle out a few new clips each week. Since the project has been in the works for approximately a year, they were able to build up a catalogue of 30 clips before launch.

Miller said there’s another reason that everyone involved wanted to be part of the project — the fear that institutional knowledge about Boston sports isn’t what it used to be because of the changing media landscape.

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“When I was at Channel 7, John Havlicek died, and I think there were about three people in the newsroom who knew how John Havlicek was,” he said. “It’s not their fault, a lot of them are 20-something kids and half of them are from out of town.

“But there can be a real lack of knowledge about the past. And Boston sports, as you know, has an amazing past. You’d like the legacy and the memories to stay alive.”

Bonkers ratings in Boston

It’s no surprise that Patriots television ratings have risen this season corresponding with the team’s return to prominence.

But even if the rise in ratings is logical, some of the heights that they are reaching — or returning to, a half-dozen years after Tom Brady’s final season in New England — are remarkable.

Take last Sunday’s 35-31 loss to the Bills, which aired at 1 p.m. on CBS as a regional broadcast. The game had a 31.4 household rating and 78 share in Boston.

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That household rating — the percentage of households in a defined area tuned in to a program at a given time — is the highest for any Patriots game on any network since the regular season finale against the Dolphins in 2021. That also happens to be the last season the Patriots made the playoffs.

The 78 share — the percentage of households with television in use — is reminiscent of the viewership the Patriots enjoyed during the dynasty. As noted here previously, the Patriots averaged a 35.3 household rating and 66 share in 2018, their most recent Super Bowl-winning season.

Nine of the Patriots’ 14 games have aired on CBS this season. Those broadcasts have averaged a 25.7 household rating and 73 share, up 35 percent from last year (19.0/59) through the same span.

Overall last Sunday, the 1 p.m. slot — which also included the Chargers-Chiefs matchup — was a massive success for CBS, averaging 18.9 million viewers across the games. That made it the most-watched regional window on any network in 37 years.

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Chad Finn

Sports columnist

Chad Finn is a sports columnist for Boston.com. He has been voted Favorite Sports Writer in Boston in the annual Channel Media Market and Research Poll for the past four years. He also writes a weekly sports media column for the Globe and contributes to Globe Magazine.





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Pittsburg, PA

City residents staunchly oppose proposed property tax increase

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City residents staunchly oppose proposed property tax increase






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Connecticut

Woman suffers life threatening injuries in Rocky Hill house fire

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Woman suffers life threatening injuries in Rocky Hill house fire


A woman was rushed to the hospital after being seriously hurt in a fire Saturday in Rocky Hill.

This all unfolded during the late morning hours at a home on Main Street.

Fire officials say they had to rescue the woman from the home and her injuries are considered life threatening.

Hoarding conditions did a play a factor in the fire, according to the fire department.

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No other injuries were reported. Further details pertaining to the fire weren’t immediately available.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.



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