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MONDAY, JUNE 13, 2016
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49 too many.
WWW.EMPORIAGAZETTE.COM
TRAGEDY IN ORLANDO PETTIGREW
LYON COUNTY
TRIAL SET
TO BEGIN
TODAY
By Jessie Wagoner
[email protected]
Former area reporter covers deadliest
shooting in American history
By Jessie Wagoner
The Associated Press
and
[email protected]
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jermaine Towns, left, and Brandon Shuford wait down the street
from a multiple shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, Sunday.
Towns said his brother was in the club at the time. A gunman
opened fire at a nightclub in central Florida in the deadliest mass
shooting in modern U.S. history.
PHOTO COURTESY OF LAUREN SEABROOK
Lauren Seabrook was scheduled to begin her new job at WFTV in
Orlando today. She moved up her start day in light of the tragic
shooting.
ORLANDO, FLORIDA — It had
been an evening of drinking, dancing and drag shows. After hours of
revelry, the party-goers crowding
the gay nightclub known as the
Pulse took their last sips before the
place closed.
That’s when authorities say
Omar Mateen emerged, carrying
an AR-15 and spraying the helpless
crowd with bullets. Witnesses said
he fired relentlessly — 20 rounds,
40, then 50 and more. In such tight
quarters, the bullets could hardly
miss. He shot at police. He took
hostages.
When the gunfire finally
stopped, he had slain 49 people and
critically wounded dozens more
in the deadliest mass shooting in
modern U.S. history. Mateen, who
law enforcement officials said had
pledged allegiance to Islamic State
in a 911 call shortly before the attack, died in a gun battle with
SWAT team members.
Authorities immediately began
investigating whether the assault
was an act of terrorism and probing the background of Mateen,
a 29-year-old American citizen
from Fort Pierce, Florida, who had
worked as a security guard. The
gunman’s father recalled that his
son recently got angry when he
saw two men kissing in Miami and
said that might be related to the
assault.
Thirty-nine of the dead were
killed at the club, and 10 people
died at hospitals, Orlando Mayor
Buddy Dyer said.
A tragic debut
Lauren Seabrook has been a familiar face for Kansans — bringing
the news into homes through her
reporting with KSNT and KWCH.
However, Seabrook spent last
week making a big move to Orlando. She accepted a job with WFTV
Channel 9 and was scheduled to
begin work on Monday.
Then tragedy struck.
Seabrook — who regularly
covered stories and events in Emporia during her time at KSNT in
Topeka — was just getting settled
Please see Orlando, Page 3
The jury trial for Tyler Pettigrew began today.
Pettigrew is charged with
with reckless involuntary manslaughter, reckless aggravated
battery and several traffic violations related to
an automobile
accident that
occurred on
Oct. 16, 2012,
in which Mark
Harrison, 59,
of Madison
died.
Pe tt i g re w
has remained Pettigrew
free on bond
since his arrest in November
2015. He is represented by defense counsel Monte Miller. Kansas Assistant Attorney General
Karen Wittman is prosecuting
the case. Eighth Judicial District
Judge Steven Hornbaker is presiding over the trial as all Lyon
County District Court judges
have recused themselves from
the case.
Other charges from the Attorney General’s office include use
of a wireless communication device while driving, speeding 66
mph in a 60 mph zone, driving
left of center and following too
close.
The trial is expected to last
three days.
VIRGIN PRAIRIE UNITES VISITORS AT SYMPHONY IN THE FLINT HILLS
By Evan Pflugradt
Flint Hills Media Project
In the rolling pastures of the
Flint Hills, inside Chase County,
lies a lone, dusty road leading
to the South Clements Pasture.
Step out into the gravel and
dirt, and you’ll be greeted
by the beauty
of a 360-degree vista view; sights
of tallgrass, open fields and cattle, only electric lines standing
miles off in the distance. Pick up
on these little details and you’ll
understand what Christy Davis
wants all Kansans to see.
“Just passing in a car, the prairie can look like a green blur, but if
you get out and you really interact
with the land, you see the beauty
in details,” said Davis, executive
director for the Cottonwood Falls
nonprofit, Symphony in the Flint
Hills, Inc. “As Kansans, sometimes we don’t appreciate the
beauty we have in our own backyard.”
The 11th annual Symphony in
the Flint Hills showcased
The event was more than muthe Kansas City Symphony besic, hosting education tents, praihind conductor Aram
rie flower walks and covered wagDemirjian. They played to
on rides. Davis said the goal of the
a sell-out crowd of about
event is to get visitors to stop by
7,000 people —
and engage with the preserves of
made up of about
land made for cattle grazing.
700 volunteers,
“It’s the view, the people,
1,000 patrons and
5,000 general admission visitors.
Please see Symphony, Page 3
MATT CROW/FLINT HILLS MEDIA PROJECT
A crowd gathers in Chase County to watch and listen to the 11th annual Symphony in the Flint Hills near Clements on Saturday.
HANNAH ROBERTS/FLINT HILLS MEDIA PROJECT
Jeff Davidson from Eureka sings during the Story Circle.
VOL. 124, NO. 295
AMY DEVAULT/FLINT HILLS MEDIA PROJECT
A crowd gathers in Chase County to listen to the 11th annual Symphony in the Flint Hills.