A South Carolina congressman is warning of threats that face Americans “anywhere” after four years of an open border following the random murder of a Lancaster mom of two last month.

The comments come after Lancaster authorities charged six illegal immigrants, between the ages of 13 and 21, in connection with Larisha Thompson’s May 2 murder. She was shot to death while driving to meet friends in Rock Hill.

“Two children will not have a mother to come home to,” Republican South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman told Fox News Digital in a phone interview. “It can happen anywhere, at any time. That’s the sad part. We’ve seen it all over the country.”

He added that while Laken Riley, the Augusta University student killed by illegal Venezuelan migrant Jose Ibarra in February 2024, has become “the face” of crimes committed by those living illegally in the United States, there are similar victims in states across the country, including Thompson and others, such as Lizbeth Medina, Jocelyn Nungaray, Rachel Morin and Kayla Hamilton.

SIX MIGRANTS CHARGED IN SC MOM’S MURDER DETAILED CRIME IN EERIE MESSAGES: ‘JUST THE BEGINNING’

“The positive thing is: the border’s secure now, but you’ve got to realize: four years of leaving the doors open to over 160 countries to put criminals and anybody else that wanted to come into the country,” Norman said. “You wouldn’t open your house up like that. Yet the Democrats are still not condemning what Joe Biden intentionally did. But it’s a new day, and hopefully, [it is] going to be straightened out in time.”

Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office deputies located Thompson, 40, deceased with a gunshot wound behind the wheel of her vehicle on Riverside Road in Lancaster, which is located about an hour south of Charlotte, North Carolina.

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On May 12, authorities announced the arrests of three adults – Asael Aminadas Torres-Chirinos, 21, Jarby Ardon Ramos-Odari, 18, and Jeyson Sobied Pineda-Salgado, 17 – and three juveniles, ages 13, 14 and 15, in connection with Thompson’s death and a separate burglary that occurred on April 30.

“We’re a nation of law and order, and we’ve got to get back to that.”

— Rep. Relph Norman, R-S.C.

“The unknown is what we fear,” Norman said when asked about people with criminal intentions who may have crossed illegally into the United States during the Biden administration. “When you hear [FBI Director] Kash Patel talk about threats… the fact is that they’re doing their best, but… we don’t know who’s here. And we’re getting a lot of them out, but there’s still the unknown of who’s left here. And that’s the problem. How many more deaths do we have to have that are just so senseless?”

On May 12, authorities announced the arrests of, from left to right, Jeyson Sobied Pineda-Salgado, Asael Aminadas Torres-Chirinos and Jarby Ardon Ramos-Odari and three juveniles in Larisha Thompson’s death. (Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office)

Norman said he hopes prosecutors pursue the death penalty against the adult suspects accused of murdering Thompson.

“South Carolina is a great state,” Norman said, but added that people have “got to be aware” and “diligent.”

SIX ILLEGAL MIGRANTS CHARGED IN SOUTH CAROLINA MOTHER’S MURDER DEFY ‘DECENCY’ IN ‘CIVILIZED SOCIETY’: SHERIFF

Lancaster Sheriff Barry Faile said Thompson’s “shooting defies any sense of decency in a civilized society,” during a May press conference.

“Ms. Thompson was going about her business on a Friday night, not bothering anyone. All of a sudden, these six men and boys – out to get something for nothing from someone they did not know and had no business bothering – pulled alongside her car, and Torres-Chirinos opened fire, killing Ms. Thompson,” Faile said at the time. “There’s no place in our society for acts like this or the people who commit them, and my hope is these six are never again among us.”

Rep. Ralph Norman talks with reporters before a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol on June 4, 2025. (Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)

The Department of Homeland Security has placed detainers on all six individuals charged, Faile said during a press conference, adding that the community is a “much safer place today because these six individuals are off the streets.”

Faile alleged that the suspects pulled up alongside Thompson and fatally shot her in what authorities described as a “random robbery attempt.” Authorities believe the other five suspects were in the vehicle with Torres-Chirinos, who was driving and allegedly fired the fatal shot at Thompson. They are accused of attempting to enter her vehicle and then fleeing the scene upon realizing that it was locked.

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On April 30, deputies were dispatched to the Van Wyck Mart at 644 Rock Hill Highway before 8 a.m. to investigate a burglary. The store owner told deputies that surveillance video footage showed several young men trying to get into the store around 10:30 p.m. on April 29. When they could not get inside, they allegedly broke open a door on the northwest corner of the building, which opened up to a bathroom that had access to the inside of the store.

On April 30, deputies were dispatched to the Van Wyck Mart at 644 Rock Hill Highway before 8 a.m. to investigate a burglary. (Google Maps)

The suspects are also accused of firing a handgun at a security camera and the bathroom door. Detectives collected ballistics evidence at the scene.

The store the suspects allegedly broke into and the location of Thompson’s murder are a seven-minute drive apart. Detectives determined that ballistic evidence recovered from the scene of the murder came from the same 9 mm handgun used at the burglary days before.

SOUTHERN BORDER APPREHENSIONS PLUNGE MORE THAN 90% FROM A YEAR AGO IN APRIL, CBP SAYS

Through digital surveillance, investigators also identified Torres-Chirinos at the scene of both crimes. They questioned him at the sheriff’s office on May 8, and by the end of that day, they had identified, located and detained the five additional suspects.

The three adult suspects are charged with murder, attempted armed robbery and second-degree burglary. Authorities believe Torres-Chirinos fired the handgun in both incidents, and he is charged with two counts of firearms possession during the commission of a crime and one count of firearms possession by an unlawful alien. A judge denied bond for all three men.

The three juvenile suspects are also charged with murder, attempted armed robbery and second-degree burglary.

All six suspects are subject to removal from the United States under federal immigration law based on their immigration status, the sheriff’s office said. 

Thompson’s family is “grieving and trying to get their heads around how something like this could happen,” Faile added.

A Florida-based diver thought he was doing the right thing when he freed a group of sharks—but instead, it led to a felony charge and, years later, a presidential pardon from Donald Trump.

On May 28, Tanner Mansell and John Moore Jr. were two of the sixteen recipients of Trump’s full pardons after the pair were convicted in 2020 of theft of property within special maritime jurisdiction.

Mansell, 31, of Jupiter, Fla., reflected on the fateful day leading to his conviction and the eventual unexpected pardon from the White House.

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In April 2020, Mansell and Moore took a group, which included the Kansas City police chief and a SWAT officer, and encountered a buoy connected to a longline over a dive site. A longline is a type of deep-sea fishing gear with baited hooks to catch fish.

“It was just another ordinary day on the water,” Mansell said. “I had been running trips there for years and never had anything like this happen. I spotted something red in the distance thinking that, you know, maybe it was trash or a diver,” he said. “We saw that it was a buoy connected to a line, which is when we started calling law enforcement.”

Unaware that the longline belonged to a legally sanctioned National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shark research operation, Mansell and his team acted swiftly and cut the line. They released 19 sharks back into the ocean.

“I had no idea that this could be possible, you know, that you could have a permit to kill all these sharks,” he said, noting that they had called the Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC) and NOAA’s hotline before making the decision.

“In our mind, the entire time, we thought we were uncovering a crime rather than committing a crime,” he said.

Tanner Mansell leads shark exhibitions and is passionate about conservation efforts. (Used with Permission via Tannerunderwater)

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That belief quickly unraveled. Days later, Mansell said he received a call while out to dinner. 

“I just felt like my world came to a stop, my heart sank,” he said. “We called [law enforcement], we did everything that we could.” 

Despite their outreach to law enforcement, both divers were charged and convicted. While they avoided prison time, they were ordered to pay $3,343.72 in restitution, and the felony convictions prevented them from voting, owning firearms and traveling freely.

“The judge made a comment, and he commended us for our dedication to [the] environment,” he said. “He gave out what my lawyer said was probably the lowest sentence ever.”

Looking back, Mansell said he would have acted differently if he had known the law surrounding legal shark killings.

“Knowing what I know now, I absolutely would do things completely differently,” he said. “But if I didn’t know that there were permits for this, I don’t think that I would change anything… when you think you’re doing the right thing, you think you’re doing the right thing.”

President Donald Trump pardoned a Florida diver who freed a group of sharks. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)

“We were really surprised to get the pardon,” he added. “It wasn’t really discussed by my lawyers because it was so far down the line.”

A turning point came when the case went to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and Judge Barbara Lagoa confirmed what Mansell believed throughout the legal process.

“She basically said … this should’ve never gone forward … she’s never come across a criminal that has called enforcement to report what they’re doing in real time,” he said. 

Publicity from that opinion reached the libertarian Cato Institute, which published an article that eventually caught the attention of the White House. 

“The White House actually called our lawyers and said that they were looking into this and asked for more information,” he said. “That was really cool because our lawyer called us that the White House had it in front of them and were looking into it.”

TANNER MANSELL’S PRESIDENTIAL PARDON – READ IT: APP USERS CLICK HERE

Mansell learned of his pardon while boarding a plane, sharing he was left “speechless” from the news.

“I was getting a call from my lawyer and I answered, and he says, ‘Well, I’ve got good news for you. You just got a full presidential pardon.’ I was speechless. I couldn’t even say thank you. I just soaked it in.”

Mansell profusely thanked the White House and Trump for the pardon.

“All I can say is thank you. And I hope that, you know, maybe in the name of sharks, we can all take a look at what’s happening and say that [legal killings of sharks] shouldn’t be happening in Florida.” 

“I’m just so grateful. I have said thank you every step of the way. Words can’t explain it,” he said. “I know that the White House took a look at this and they decided it was worth it. And I got President Trump’s signature.”

I SPENT 36 YEARS IN PRISON FOR A CRIME I DIDN’T DO. TRUMP’S EARLY PARDONS ARE THE RIGHT IDEA

Though the felony remains technically on record, Mansell said the practical implications of the pardon allow him to continue his work.

“The felony is fully forgiven so now I can vote, and I can own a firearm from what I understand,” he said. “And most importantly, it expedites getting travel visas for my work in conservation.”

Tanner Mansell shared that he was shocked when learning he was the recipient of a Presidential Pardon following his 2020 conviction. (Used with Permission via Tannerunderwater)

Asked how his view of government and justice had evolved, Mansell admitted, “At first, I was like, I lost a lot of faith in it. I felt like it was just unfair, but now I’m thankful for the due process.”

“I’ve learned so much through this process,” he said. “I’ve always considered myself a law-abiding citizen, somebody that doesn’t break the law and I respect law enforcement and commercial fisherman.”

“I got through into this political battle between commercial fisheries and shark diving tourism and it’s tough, but now I’m on the other side,” he said. “At first I lost a lot of faith in the criminal justice system and now, a bit of that faith in the justice system is restored. There are a lot of checks and balances for a reason.”

Mansell remains committed to shark conservation and hopeful his case will raise awareness. 

“This case never should have been filed,” Mansell’s attorney, Ian Goldstein, said in a statement. “These gentlemen made an honest mistake and were trying to save sharks from what they believed to be an illegal longline fishing setup. I can’t think of two individuals more deserving of a Presidential Pardon.”

Five people aboard an American Airlines flight were hospitalized Sunday after the airline said the aircraft experienced “unexpected turbulence.”

American Airlines Flight 1286 was traveling from Miami to Raleigh-Durham in North Carolina when the plane hit turbulence, an American Airlines spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement.

The plane, an Airbus A321, landed safely at Raleigh-Durham International Airport at around 10:50 p.m. “after the crew reported possible injuries to cabin crew and passengers due to turbulence,” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement.

An airport spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement that RDU Fire Rescue, along with rescue personnel from Wake and Durham Counties, met the flight when it landed around 11:30 p.m. and rushed five individuals to a nearby hospital.

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Three flight attendants and two passengers were taken to the hospital, according to the airline, and later released. No further details about the extent of any injuries were immediately provided. The airline added that the seat belt sign was on when the flight encountered turbulence.

Passengers who said they were aboard the flight described the ordeal to WRAL News.

“It was like being on the top of a roller coaster and going down,” said one passenger, who wanted to remain anonymous. “It sounded like we hit something and then we just dropped in the air.”

Another passenger told the outlet that the sudden shift in altitude sent people, laptops, cell phones and items from the drinks cart “flying in every direction” in the cabin.

An American Airlines spokesperson said the flight hit “unexpected turbulence.” (Kevin Carter/Getty Images, File)

AMERICAN AIRLINES PLANE THAT CAUGHT FIRE HAD ENGINE PARTS INSTALLED INCORRECTLY, NTSB FINDS

A passenger described seeing two flight attendants get injured, including one they said suffered a broken arm and another who was burned from hot water on the drinks cart. The passenger said a man was also knocked unconscious.

Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) welcome signage in Morrisville, North Carolina, U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“I would say it was absolutely horrific,” one passenger told the outlet. “People thought that they were going to lose their lives.”

The FAA said it will investigate the incident.