Birthday Party

A South Bend teenager was shot and killed over the weekend at a children's birthday party. Now police have new information on the case. Watch this report by WSBT's Clifton French.

TROY, Mich. (AP) — Troy police say a group of 15 people who gathered at a popular pizza restaurant for a 1-year-old child's birthday party took the cake but left the bill. Police tell The Oakland Press and The Detroit News that the group met Wednesday at a Chuck E. Cheese in the suburb about 15 miles north of Detroit. But when the hostess presented the bill, she was told that the person paying had not yet arrived. When the hostess returned a few minutes later, the party had quietly left, taking the birthday cake.

Jees Torres will remember his 11th birthday as a real gas. The youngster was celebrating his birthday with friends and family Friday night when a truck crashed into his home in the 1600 block of Catalpa Street, breaking a gas line and triggering a potentially dangerous gas leak that caused the surrounding area to be evacuated. Witnesses said the chain of events started when a car traveling west on Dubail Street ran a stop sign and struck the truck, which was northbound on Catalpa.

Police have released the identity of a man who was fatally shot at a child’s birthday party on Saturday night, but it’s still unclear whether he was an innocent bystander or took part in the violence. The shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. in or near the apartment where the party was held at the Courtyard Place Apartments, a complex just off of Jefferson Boulevard and east of Ironwood Drive. Tyler Brownlee, 18, died when he was shot in the head.

One person wanted for questioning in connection with a deadly shooting at a child's birthday party over the weekend is now in custody. Police say Craig Dockery is being held in the St. Joseph County Jail now for two outstanding warrants. At this point, he's not being held for the shooting, but police still think he may be involved. Tyler Brownlee, 18, died Saturday night at Courtyard Place Apartments while attending a birthday party with his niece. Police say Robbie Duke instigated that shooting.

MICHIGAN CITY -- A Michigan City teenager is dead after a birthday party turned into a shooting.  Police say the victim, 17-year-old Ne'Keisha Hodges Hawkins, was an innocent bystander.  "Keisha loved everybody," Julia Flowers, Hodges Hawkins' aunt said. Inside of Flower's home, family of Hodges Hawkins look through pictures of their lost loved one.  All the while, they're asking why this could happen. "Why did they do this?" Flowers said. "How were they somewhere at a party shooting into a crowd?"

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Hundreds of Elvis Presley fans, including Chilean miner Edison Pena, have gathered at Graceland to sing "Happy Birthday" on the late rock n' roll icon's 76th birthday. Pena, the guest of honor Saturday at Elvis' birthday party, cut into a 4-foot high cake fashioned to look like stacked television sets as fans cheered both the singer and the miner outside Elvis' longtime Memphis home. Presley was born Jan. 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Miss. His birthday, while meaningful to Elvis fans around the world, does not attract the throngs of people who make the pilgrimage to Graceland to remember his death.

Just after midnight Sunday, South Bend police dispatchers received a call from a home in the 300 block of N. Studebaker with a report that a man standing on the porch said he’d been shot while walking down the street. Police responded to the call and transported the man to the hospital, a dispatcher said. A few hours earlier on Saturday night, a man was shot dead at a birthday party at the Courtyard Place Apartments. Police said they do not know if the shootings are related.

APOPKA, Fla. (AP) - Authorities say nine people have been wounded amid a shooting at a birthday party in a central Florida home after a fight erupted. The Orange County sheriff's office says the fight broke out late Saturday among teens attending the party near Apopka and one person pulled out a handgun and fired shots. Sheriff's Capt. Denise Demps-Rollins gave that account to the Orlando Sentinel and said police afterward stopped an SUV at a gas station carrying several teenagers.

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — For the third time this year, strong wind has lifted an inflatable bounce house off the ground during a kids' celebration in southern Arizona. Parents were able to get all the children out of the structure Friday before wind picked it up and whipped it around in the air at a fifth-grade graduation party in a Tucson park. A fire department spokeswoman said Monday that six children had minor injuries from flying debris that included ice chests and a stroller.

Jees Torres will remember his 11th birthday as a real gas. The youngster was celebrating his birthday with friends and family Friday night when a truck crashed into his home in the 1600 block of Catalpa Street, breaking a gas line and triggering a potentially dangerous gas leak that caused the surrounding area to be evacuated. Witnesses said the chain of events started when a car traveling west on Dubail Street ran a stop sign and struck the truck, which was northbound on Catalpa.

SOUTH BEND - An early morning shooting in South Bend is leaving some neighbors very uneasy. Police said around 3:30 on Saturday morning they responded to a fight at Courtyard Place Apartments. That's off Jefferson and 26th streets. When they got there, they found a 26-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound to his leg. He had surgery Saturday morning and police said his injuries are serious. They're not releasing his name at this time. Police took three people in for questioning after the shooting and they released two of them.

MICHIGAN CITY -- A Michigan City teenager is dead after a birthday party turned into a shooting.  Police say the victim, 17-year-old Ne'Keisha Hodges Hawkins, was an innocent bystander.  "Keisha loved everybody," Julia Flowers, Hodges Hawkins' aunt said. Inside of Flower's home, family of Hodges Hawkins look through pictures of their lost loved one.  All the while, they're asking why this could happen. "Why did they do this?" Flowers said. "How were they somewhere at a party shooting into a crowd?"

APOPKA, Fla. (AP) - Authorities say nine people have been wounded amid a shooting at a birthday party in a central Florida home after a fight erupted. The Orange County sheriff's office says the fight broke out late Saturday among teens attending the party near Apopka and one person pulled out a handgun and fired shots. Sheriff's Capt. Denise Demps-Rollins gave that account to the Orlando Sentinel and said police afterward stopped an SUV at a gas station carrying several teenagers.

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — For the third time this year, strong wind has lifted an inflatable bounce house off the ground during a kids' celebration in southern Arizona. Parents were able to get all the children out of the structure Friday before wind picked it up and whipped it around in the air at a fifth-grade graduation party in a Tucson park. A fire department spokeswoman said Monday that six children had minor injuries from flying debris that included ice chests and a stroller.

One person wanted for questioning in connection with a deadly shooting at a child's birthday party over the weekend is now in custody. Police say Craig Dockery is being held in the St. Joseph County Jail now for two outstanding warrants. At this point, he's not being held for the shooting, but police still think he may be involved. Tyler Brownlee, 18, died Saturday night at Courtyard Place Apartments while attending a birthday party with his niece. Police say Robbie Duke instigated that shooting.

A South Bend teenager was shot and killed over the weekend at a children's birthday party. Now police have new information on the case. Watch this report by WSBT's Clifton French.

Just after midnight Sunday, South Bend police dispatchers received a call from a home in the 300 block of N. Studebaker with a report that a man standing on the porch said he’d been shot while walking down the street. Police responded to the call and transported the man to the hospital, a dispatcher said. A few hours earlier on Saturday night, a man was shot dead at a birthday party at the Courtyard Place Apartments. Police said they do not know if the shootings are related.

Police have released the identity of a man who was fatally shot at a child’s birthday party on Saturday night, but it’s still unclear whether he was an innocent bystander or took part in the violence. The shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. in or near the apartment where the party was held at the Courtyard Place Apartments, a complex just off of Jefferson Boulevard and east of Ironwood Drive. Tyler Brownlee, 18, died when he was shot in the head.

TROY, Mich. (AP) — Troy police say a group of 15 people who gathered at a popular pizza restaurant for a 1-year-old child's birthday party took the cake but left the bill. Police tell The Oakland Press and The Detroit News that the group met Wednesday at a Chuck E. Cheese in the suburb about 15 miles north of Detroit. But when the hostess presented the bill, she was told that the person paying had not yet arrived. When the hostess returned a few minutes later, the party had quietly left, taking the birthday cake.