Nation briefs 2/2/16

Officer kills man holding BB gun

WASHINGTON -- District of Columbia police said an officer fatally shot a man who had a weapon that turned out to be a BB gun. Police chief Cathy Lanier said at a news conference the officer tried to stop the man, who was acting suspiciously, early Monday, but the man fell as he tried to flee, and the gun fell from his clothing. Lanier said the man tried to gain control of the weapon and didn't comply with the officer's commands. Lanier said the man has not been identified yet. She said he was black, and the officer is white. Race has not been raised as a factor in the shooting, but it comes amid a national debate about the deaths of black men at the hands of police.

Prosecutors: ISIS inspired man's plot

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Federal prosecutors said a North Carolina man accused of planning an Islamic State-inspired attack also offered to pay an informant to kill his parents. A federal indictment unsealed Monday charges Justin Nojan Sullivan of Morganton with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State, as well as firearms charges and a count related to attempted murder-for-hire. Federal prosecutors said his mother opened a package containing a silencer he ordered, and his parents questioned him about it. The indictment alleges he believed his parents would interfere and offered to pay the informant to kill them. Sullivan was arrested over the summer and accused of planning terrorist killings in the U.S. He's in federal custody awaiting trial.

Police make arrest in 1996 slaying

FREDERICK, Md. -- Frederick police are announcing an arrest in the 1996 slaying of a 15-year-old girl. Frederick Police Department Lt. Clark Pennington said Monday 52-year-old Lloyd Harris was arrested last week in Kansas City, Missouri, in the death of Stacy Lynn Hoffmaster. Harris is being held at the Clay County jail in Liberty, Missouri, pending extradition proceedings. Pennington said a Frederick County grand jury indicted Harris Jan. 22 on charges of first-degree murder, first-degree rape and third-degree sex offense. Hoffmaster was reported missing in October 1996. Her body was found in December 1996 under a moving blanket in a wooded area where Pennington said Harris was living. She had been strangled.

CDC says Chipotle outbreak is over

WASHINGTON -- The federal agency that monitors public health said the outbreak of E. coli illness linked to Chipotle restaurants that sickened 60 people appears to be over. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday the most recent illness reported to the agency began Dec. 1. Although the CDC closed its investigation, the source of the illness that spread to 14 states remains unknown. Chipotle executives said they never may be able to identify what made people sick. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. undertook a revamping of food preparation methods at its more than 1,900 locations. But the outbreak drove the company's stock down by 26 percent over the last three months, and it warned of a potentially sizeable hit to profits last month.

-- From wire reports