Robbie and Allisa Parker took the mound for the ceremonial first pitch.
A 12-year-old girl says she bit a man who tried to abduct her outside her...
Two Terrell men accused of threatening county officials in unrelated cases both...
Grand Prairie police are searching for a bank robber who targeted the Grand...
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Longtime Texas Rangers fan Robbie Parker, who lost his daughter Emilie in the the mass school shooting in Newtown, Conn. threw out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers home opener at the Ballpark in Arlington. (Video courtesy MLB and Texas Rangers)
The parents of a 6-year-old Texas Rangers fan who was killed in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting threw out the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day.
The Rangers lost one of their biggest fans in the shooting, when 26 children and adults were killed on Dec. 15. Emilie Parker was only 6, but she watched the Rangers with her father and even got to see them play in person at Fenway Park.
During batting practice at that game, Emilie caught a home run ball from David Murphy, who immediately became her favorite player.
On Friday, Murphy accompanied Emilie's parents and sister to the mound for the ceremonial first pitch.
As Robbie and Allisa Parker headed to the pitcher's mound, there were plenty of cheers, but those cheers quickly turned to tears in one of the more emotional moments in the history of Rangers Ballpark at Arlington.
"It was really tough to keep my emotions under control out there," Robbie Parker said. "It was pretty amazing."
Parker and his family have not accepted appearance requests since the shooting. They said they didn't think it was appropriate, but said Friday was different because of all the support they've gotten from Texans and Rangers fans.
"We just really thought that this would be a really neat way to express our gratitude and sincere appreciation for everyone who has supported us and with everything you've done with prayers and cards and kind words and gestures," he said.
Twice on the mound, there were moments where even the stadium itself seemed to shed a tear -- first when there Allisa Parker received a hug from her daughter's favorite player and then during the hug between Robbie Parker and Rangers legend Pudge Rodriguez.
Parker said he told him, "'I just want you to know how much I love you and your daughter. She is a great example to so many people.'"
"And he pointed to the crowd and said, 'all these people are here for you and here because of her,'" he said.
Parker said he hopes that kind of moment -- the hope people feel at the start of a season and the love they share with his hurting family -- can keep his daughter's legacy alive.
"My daughter is an amazing person and what she was able to do in my life and change the way I look at the world and the way my wife and I look at the world and treat each other -- I just want to make sure she continues to inspire other people to do that," he said. "She's an amazing person, and she's going to continue to do great things."
The Parkers have started a charity, the Emilie Parker Art Connection. Art was a way that Emilie expressed herself they decided to give back to local and school art programs.
Two Terrell men accused of threatening county officials in unrelated cases both say they are upstanding citizens who would never hurt anyone.
Investigators say Nick Morale, 56, phoned in a threat to a tip line established for the investigation into the deaths of the Kaufman County district attorney and his wife.
Morale told NBC 5 that he called the Crime Stoppers tip line with a warning, not a threat. He said he wanted to report a conversation he had with a member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Paris, Texas, but ended up leaving a partial message because his dog knocked his phone from his hand.
He said the gang member told him that a judge and Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland were the targets of the Jan. 31 shooting that killed Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse. Morale said he chalked up the conversation to boastful ranting until McLelland and his wife were found shot to death in their home.
Morale said he then decided to call Crime Stoppers to tell someone what he had heard. He said he called the tip line and said, "The next victim is judge" before his dog knocked the phone out of his hand. The phone fell two stories and broke, he said.
Robert Miller, 52, was arrested Thursday on a charge of a terroristic threat in connection with a Facebook posting and an email. Investigators said the posting made a threat to the safety of an assistant district attorney.
Miller said he sent what he called an op-ed of the Kaufman County courthouse and members of the district attorney's office to news media, including NBC 5. In an interview, he denied that the post was a threat of any kind.
The Facebook post contains harsh words for courthouse employees and warns that a specific assistant district attorney could be the next prosecutor targeted.
Miller said he only referred to the prosecutor by name because the person was listed third on the Kaufman County District Attorney's Office's website, beneath the names of McLelland and Hasse.
In the post, Miller suggested that the assistant district attorney seek other employment, perhaps in another state.
He said the post was his opinion and that interactions at the courthouse prompted him to write the post. It was only intended to be an expression of his First Amendment rights, he said.
Neither Miller nor Morale are suspects in the McLellands' deaths or are connected to them in any way, say authorities investigating the case.
Both say that the current climate of fear and a zero-tolerance stance for anything that can be construed as a threat against the courthouse is what landed them behind bars.
Miller and Morale are each being held on a single count of making a terroristic threat, which can carry state and federal penalties. Bond for each was set at $1 million.
The likely cause for this is that your browser, feed reader, or email application is configured to not accept cookies, or your reader may launch an external browser to view links without sharing cookies.
© 2013 Pheedo, Inc. All rights reserved.
The likely cause for this is that your browser, feed reader, or email application is configured to not accept cookies, or your reader may launch an external browser to view links without sharing cookies.
© 2013 Pheedo, Inc. All rights reserved.
La Salle University in Philadelphia has offered counseling services to a student who reported being abducted and raped on Easter Sunday.
The school is also defending its decision not to notify students of the off-campus assault when it happened, saying administrators did not view it as an ongoing threat to their campus community.
"This case is still very active," said Captain John Darby, who heads up the Special Victims Unit (SVU) of the Philadelphia police department.
The attack happened about a mile away from the school. The 20-year-old woman told police she was walking on the 4800 block of 10th Street around 10 p.m. She said a black van pulled up beside her and four men jumped out, grabbed her and forced her inside. Police are not revealing where the men took her, but the woman told detectives she was sexually assaulted several times before the attackers dropped her off in an unknown location and fled.
Police say the men are between the ages of 20 and 25. One had "MM" tattooed on his face.
"We here at SVU take these reports very seriously. We have a very good working relationship with the University and we're in constant communication with them," Darby said.
As news of the incident spread around campus, students like sophomore Karla Fernandez were concerned. "It couldv'e been anyone," she said.
Some students complained that the school didn't notify them about the attack. Federal law requires universities to issue safety alerts and advisories when there are serious or ongoing threats to the student or staff. This specific case, did not fit those guidelines, according to the school.
"Based on what we know, (which we cannot detail) it was decided a safety alert/advisory was not required, as we believed there was no serious or ongoing threat to our students or employees as a result of the reported incident," said Jon Caroulis, La Salle's Director of Media Relations.
Four days later, the school sent out a Safety Reminder to students, notifying them of the attack and offering the following tips:
"This is a very pro-active approach," said Capt. Darby. "They took this opportunity to remind folks of the steps that could be taken to minimize risk."
The latest crime statistics from La Salle are complete through the year 2011.
They show that on the main campus, a total of 4 on-campus sex assaults were reported in 2011, none in 2010 and two in 2009.
The bulk of student offenses are drinking and drug-related and most of that behavior goes on in the school's residence halls, according to the statistics.
The 10-year trend is down for drinking, and up for drug-related cases where students were disciplined:
La Salle University is located in the northwestern section of Philadelphia, on the edge of Germantown. According to the school website, the total student body is made up of over 7,300 students.
Two men in Terrell, Texas accused of threatening county officials in unrelated cases both say they are upstanding citizens who would never hurt anyone.
Investigators say Nick Morale, 56, phoned in a threat to a tip line established for the investigation into the deaths of the Kaufman County district attorney and his wife.
Morale told NBC 5 that he called the Crime Stoppers tip line with a warning, not a threat. He said he wanted to report a conversation he had with a member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Paris, Texas, but ended up leaving a partial message because his dog knocked his phone from his hand.
He said the gang member told him that a judge and Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland were the targets of the Jan. 31 shooting that killed Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse. Morale said he chalked up the conversation to boastful ranting until McLelland and his wife were found shot to death in their home.
Morale said he then decided to call Crime Stoppers to tell someone what he had heard. He said he called the tip line and said, "The next victim is judge" before his dog knocked the phone out of his hand. The phone fell two stories and broke, he said.
Robert Miller, 52, was arrested Thursday on a charge of a terroristic threat in connection with a Facebook posting and an email. Investigators said the posting made a threat to the safety of an assistant district attorney.
Miller said he sent what he called an op-ed of the Kaufman County courthouse and members of the district attorney's office to news media, including NBC 5. In an interview, he denied that the post was a threat of any kind.
The Facebook post contains harsh words for courthouse employees and warns that a specific assistant district attorney could be the next prosecutor targeted.
Miller said he only referred to the prosecutor by name because the person was listed third on the Kaufman County District Attorney's Office's website, beneath the names of McLelland and Hasse.
In the post, Miller suggested that the assistant district attorney seek other employment, perhaps in another state.
He said the post was his opinion and that interactions at the courthouse prompted him to write the post. It was only intended to be an expression of his First Amendment rights, he said.
Neither Miller nor Morale are suspects in the McLellands' deaths or are connected to them in any way, say authorities investigating the case.
Both say that the current climate of fear and a zero-tolerance stance for anything that can be construed as a threat against the courthouse is what landed them behind bars.
Miller and Morale are each being held on a single count of making a terroristic threat, which can carry state and federal penalties. Bond for each was set at $1 million.
Two boys missing from Tampa and the people they re believed to be with may be heading to or already in South Florida, the FBI said Friday.
Boys Missing From Tampa May Be Heading to O...
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Reactions Mixed to New Amber Alert Alarm Phone Message
The state Department of Law Enforcement sent out wireless alerts at about 1:45 a.m. Monday to thousands of Floridians about a missing 2-year-old in Collier County. The little girl was found safe Monday morning, but plenty of people were left wondering how their phones got the message in the first place. Christian Tavares, Chauntel James, Nicholas Perez and Michael Bernardoni spoke about the blaring alarm in Broward County.
Amber Alert Canceled After Margate Girl Found
Megan Williams, 12 was found safe in a car with 31-year-old Dana Broberg. Her mother, Melissa Ford, says the pre-teen met the Texas man online.
Two boys missing from Tampa, Fla. and the people they're believed to be with may be heading to or already in South Florida, the FBI said Friday.
An Amber Alert was re-issued for Cole Hakken, 4, and Chase Hakken, 2, who were last seen in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said.
They may be with their father Joshua Hakken, 35, and his wife Sharyn Hakken, 34, and they may be traveling in a 25-foot, 1972 Morgan sailboat, according to the FDLE. The vessel has a registration number of FL3717BK.
The boat has a blue hull, the name "Salty" with a picture of a paw near the back of the hull on each side, a blue Bimini top and a white sail with blue trim, the FDLE said.
Authorities urge anyone with information on the location of the children to call the FBI's Miami office at 305-944-9101, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department at 813-247-8200, or 911.
Stay with NBC6.com and NBC 6 South Florida for updates.
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