(NEW YORK) — The suspect in a quintuple homicide in Oregon allegedly targeted his girlfriend and her family and friends, shooting all five multiple times, authorities said.

Benjamin Parker allegedly carried out the killings on Saturday morning at a rural property he lived on near Forest Grove, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said.

The victims were Parker’s girlfriend, 26-year-old Stella Kimsey; Stella Kimsey’s grandmother, 85-year-old Mary Kimsey, Stella Kimsey’s mother, 60-year-old Rowan Kimsey; Stella Kimsey’s best friend, 26-year-old Linsey Haraldsen; and Linsey Haraldsen’s partner, 27-year-old Alvin Chu, authorities said.

Two dogs and two cats were also found shot to death, Det. Mark Povolny said at a news conference on Tuesday. A third cat was shot and wounded and later humanely euthanized, he said.

Parker allegedly tried to set fires at each of the bodies and at the home, Povolny said.

Parker, 36, allegedly fled the scene and he was later found dead in his car in Enumclaw, Washington, from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, the sheriff’s office said.

Parker’s mother told investigators that Parker called her Saturday night and confessed to the crime, Povolny said.

“He said he had been planning this for awhile,” Povolny said. “He said he planned to kill three people, but two more people were also killed.”

Parker did not give his mother a motive, but Povolny said Mary Kimsey texted a friend on Friday night that Parker and her granddaughter Stella Kimsey got into a “horrible fight” and “Stella told him he had to leave.”

Linsey Haraldsen told Mary Kimsey that “she was on the phone with Stella around that time when the call suddenly dropped,” Povolny said. Linsey Haraldsen then called Stella Kimsey’s mother Rowan Kimsey, who said she’d go check on her daughter and call back, Povolny said. But Rowan Kimsey never called back, so Linsey Haraldsen also went to the property, Povolny said.

When Mary Kimsey couldn’t reach any of the three women, she planned to pick up Alvin Chu and go to the property, Povolny said.

“Although the suspect is deceased, this does not mark the end of our work,” Sheriff Caprice Massey said at the news conference. “Our commitment now is to provide the families of Mary, Rowan, Stella, Linsey and Alvin with answers as we learn them. They deserve nothing less.”

ABC News’ Tristan Maglunog and Ashley Riegle contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — The father of a sailor deployed aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier was released by immigration authorities Tuesday — days after his son posted about the ordeal on Facebook, an account not disputed by the Department of Homeland Security.

Joshua Aviles, the sailor, posted on Facebook on behalf of the family that his dad, Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, had been released.

“Luis has been released back to our family,” the Aviles family posted on the sailor’s Facebook page. “We are grateful for all of the support for both Luis and Josh throughout this situation. At this moment, our family is taking time to be together. While we await the return of our proud Navy sailor, we kindly ask for your understanding and respect.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the release.

Over the weekend, Joshua Aviles detailed his father’s ordeal while he was deployed in a war zone.

“I just got a call that my dad was taken by ICE. If you know my dad, you know he is a hardworking, humble man who is always willing to help anyone if he can. My dad has his driver’s license, Social Security card, and work permit,” according to a post from Joshua Aviles on Saturday. “We have done everything through immigration to get his green card approved, and we are just waiting.”

He said it is “heartbreaking.”

“I don’t know how I can mentally continue working 12+ hour days knowing that my dad is somewhere, possibly being treated like a criminal. My dad’s only ‘crime’ was coming to this country to give my siblings and me a better life.”

Aviles is one of a number of active-duty military whose family members have been detained by immigration agents under President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.

In a statement after the sailor’s initial Facebook post, DHS did not dispute the account from Aviles.

“On August 22, Border Patrol arrested Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, an illegal alien from Nicaragua, after conducting a vehicle stop in Key West, Florida. He entered the country illegally on an unknown date and location. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings,” according to a DHS spokesperson.

“Having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation’s laws. Military service by an immediate relative does not automatically grant parole, lawful status, or immunity from immigration enforcement,” the spokesperson said. “We are simply enforcing the laws passed by Congress. This Administration does not pick and choose which laws to enforce.”

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(NEW YORK) — Target is apologizing for selling a children’s Halloween costume that some described as reminiscent of racist minstrel caricatures.

“An apology from us: We pulled an offensive Halloween costume that should never have been part of our assortment,” Target said in a statement posted on its website and social media pages late Monday. “It is no longer for sale.”

“As a company, we got this wrong, and we are deeply sorry,” the statement continued. “We know this is especially hurtful for our Black guests, team members and partners. Removing the costume is an important first step, and the company is looking closely at how this happened and what needs to change to ensure this won’t happen again.”

According to the product’s original description on Target’s site, the costume in question was the Kids’ Circus Glow Clown Halloween Costume Bodysuit. It features an orange and black shirt and pants set with black gloves and a hooded mesh mask with an attached miniature hat. The entire design also glows “under blacklight.”

The item is no longer listed for sale on Target’s website.

The controversial costume prompted calls to boycott Target on social media, a year after the retailer faced boycotts over its decision to cut some of its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

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(WASHINGTON) — The State Department announced that it is preparing to revoke tourist and business visas issued between 2016 and 2026 to foreign nationals who have sought or are actively seeking asylum in the United States, which officials say could result in the cancellation of tens of thousands of travel documents.

“Under President Trump and Secretary Rubio’s leadership, we are making clear that a visa is a privilege — not a right. We are coordinating with DHS to identify and revoke the nonimmigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

“These types of visas are issued with the clear understanding that they are for those who intend to return home. Obtaining a visa in order to seek asylum is fraud — which is grounds for visa revocation,” he added. “This is an ongoing process as we uphold the integrity of our visa and asylum laws.”

The revocations are expected to happen on a rolling basis, and internal estimates suggest they could reach or exceed 200,000, according to officials familiar with the matter. 

Applicants for tourist and business visas are asked to confirm that they will not apply for asylum and intend to return to their countries of origin.

The department’s plans were first reported by The Associated Press.

Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau posted to social media about individuals who use visas to get into the U.S. and claim asylum.

“People in the US and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims,” Landau wrote on X. “Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration law.”

It’s not clear whether any foreign nationals will be removed from the U.S. due to visa cancellations. In cases where the visa holder has an active asylum application, the claim will have to be adjudicated and denied before removal proceedings can move forward.

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(NEW YORK) — A federal judge in New York on Tuesday rejected Ghislaine Maxwell’s challenge to her conviction, finding her claims “meritless” or “frivolous.”

Maxwell was trying to vacate her conviction and 20-year prison sentence.

Maxwell was convicted of five felony counts, all arising from her participation with Jeffrey Epstein, in the sexual abuse of young girls over the course of a decade. A federal appeals court upheld her conviction and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up her petition.

In court filings, Maxwell argued documents released in the Epstein files supported her claims of constitutional violations, but Judge Paul Engelmayer called her claims “all meritless and all or almost all are frivolous.”

“And the purported ‘new’ evidence to which Maxwell points, principally materials released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, is largely irrelevant to the charges against Maxwell and does not support her claims of error,” the judge continued. “On the contrary, to the extent it is relevant, far from exculpating her, it incriminates her or reinforces the correctness of the legal rulings Maxwell challenges.”

Maxwell’s attorneys declined to comment.

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(NEW YORK) — A woman who had been sought in connection with the death of her husband, a Massachusetts police officer, is believed to have been found dead, police said Monday, calling the case a “tragic murder-suicide.”

A search had been ongoing for Karen Solomon, 58, after her husband — 57-year-old Worcester Police Department Patrolman Kurt Solomon — was found dead in a home last week.

This is a developing story. 

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