A strengthening Ernesto is poised to become a hurricane after brushing past Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Tropical Storm Ernesto was poised to become a hurricane shortly after brushing past Puerto Rico late Tuesday as officials closed schools, opened shelters and moved dozens of the U.S. territory's endangered parrots into hurricane-proof rooms.

Ernesto is forecast to become a hurricane overnight as the center of the storm moves just northeast of Puerto Rico on a path toward Bermuda. Forecasters issued a hurricane watch for the U.S. and British Virgin Islands as well as the tiny Puerto Rican islands of Vieques and Culebra, which are popular with tourists.

“Since there is some chance of Ernesto becoming a hurricane while it is near the Virgin Islands, a hurricane watch remains in effect,” the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

The storm moved over the U.S. Virgin Islands on Tuesday night. After passing Puerto Rico, it is expected to move into open waters and be near Bermuda on Friday.

Heavy rains began pelting Puerto Rico, and strong winds churned the ocean into a milky turquoise as people rushed to finish securing homes and businesses.

“I'm hoping it will go away quickly,” said José Rodríguez, 36, as he climbed on the roof of his uncle's wooden shack in the Afro-Caribbean community of Piñones on Puerto Rico's north coast to secure the business famous for its fried street food.

Ernesto was about 60 miles (95 kilometers) east-northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico late Tuesday night. It had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph) and was moving northwest at 17 mph (28 kph).

“We are going to have a lot of rain,” Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said as he urged people to be indoors by early Tuesday evening.

He activated the National Guard as crews across the island visited flood-prone areas and older residents as part of last-minute preparations. Meanwhile, Department of Natural Resources officials who work at breeding centers for the island's only remaining native parrot, the Puerto Rico Amazon, moved them indoors.

Ernesto Rodríguez with the National Weather Service warned that the storm's trajectory could change as it approaches Puerto Rico.

“We should not lower our guard,” he said.

As intermittent rain pelted Puerto Rico's northeast, residents in Piñones tried to squeeze in a couple more hours of work.

María Abreu, 25, prepared fried pastries stuffed with shrimp, crab, chicken and even iguana meat as she waited for customers.

“They always come. They buy them in case the power goes out,” she said.

Down the road, Juan Pizarro, 65, picked nearly 100 coconuts from palm trees swaying in the strong breeze. He had already secured his house.

“I'm ready for anything,” he said.

Forecasters have warned of waves of up to 20 feet (six meters), widespread flooding and possible landslides, with six to eight inches (15-20 centimeters) of rain forecast for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) in isolated areas. Puerto Rico has six reservoirs that already were overflowing before the storm.

Officials in Puerto Rico warned of widespread power outages given the crumbling electric grid, which crews are still repairing after Hurricane Maria razed it in September 2017 as a Category 4 storm.

Juan Saca, president of Luma Energy, a private company that operates the transmission and distribution of power in Puerto Rico, urged people to report blackouts: “Puerto Rico's electrical system is not sufficiently modernized to detect power outages.”

Outages also were a concern in the neighboring U.S. Virgin Islands for similar reasons, with blackouts reported on St. Thomas and St. John on Monday.

“Don't sleep on this,” said U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan Jr., whose administration announced early Tuesday that it was closing all schools.

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency echoed those warnings, saying residents in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands “should be prepared for extended power outages.”

Early Tuesday, Ernesto drenched the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, where officials closed several main roads and warned that the quality of potable water would be affected for several days. Meanwhile, the storm downed a couple of trees in Antigua, and knocked out power to most of the island. Ernesto also forced the cancellation of dozens of flights to and from Puerto Rico.

Ernesto is the fifth named storm of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season this year because of record warm ocean temperatures. It forecast 17 to 25 named storms, with four to seven major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher.

Surfers wait for a wave before the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto at La Pared beach in Luquillo, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)

A surfer prepares to enter the water before the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto at La Pared beach in Luquillo, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)

Tourists sit on La Pared beach as Tropical Storm Ernesto passes by Luquillo, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)

Tropical Storm Ernesto drenches northeast Caribbean and takes aim at Puerto Rico

Tropical Storm Ernesto drenches northeast Caribbean and takes aim at Puerto Rico

This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken at 4:30 p.m. EDT and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Tropical Storm Ernesto over the Atlantic Ocean and moving west-northwest toward the Lesser Antilles, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. (NOAA via AP)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police arrested a suspect about half an hour after a shooting Tuesday that critically injured a teenage boy at a high school in Nebraska's largest city.

Families rushed to Omaha Northwest High School after the shooting was reported by the school resource officer during lunch at 12:23 p.m. Omaha Police Deputy Chief Sherie Thomas said officers from several departments quickly responded to the school and found the victim inside.

School shootings have become all too common across the country, with the most recent major one happening just last week in Georgia where two teachers and two students were killed in the town of Winder, and another teacher and eight more students were wounded. Dozens of school shootings have been reported in recent years, including especially deadly ones in Newtown, Connecticut; Parkland, Florida; and Uvalde, Texas. The classroom killings often trigger debates about gun control but little has changed in national gun laws.

Thomas said police believe the shooting was an isolated incident between two students. The 14-year-old suspect was arrested three blocks away about 30 minutes later.

Parents tearfully embraced their kids in the parking lot as the first few started to come out of the school after 1 p.m. The rest of the students were reunited with their families over the next couple of hours.

Thomas said a 15-year-old boy was critically injured in the shooting and rushed to a hospital. She said the victim was in stable condition several hours after the shooting.

One student told KETV that he was coming back to school after lunch and ran as fast as he could when he heard screams and saw people running because he didn't want to die and the Georgia shooting was on his mind.

Two nearby Catholic high schools — Marian and Roncalli high schools — were also locked down after the shooting, but that was lifted after the arrest.

Devon DeMott told the Omaha World-Herald that he raced to the school from his home a few blocks away as soon as his son texted him there had been a shooting.

“As fatherly instinct, I jumped in the car and headed up there,” said DeMott, who was glad to see a significant police presence when he arrived.

The school district canceled all Tuesday evening activities at Northwest High and all classes on Wednesday. Students are scheduled to return Thursday.

Artemis Else, right, hugs Angie Caswell as they wait outside Northwest high school after a shooting was reported Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (Megan Nielsen/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

Family members of students at Northwest high school gather and wait for students to be released from the school after a shooting was reported Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (Megan Nielsen/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

Pamela Caraballo, who has a child at the Northwest High School, reacts as she waits outside the school for students to be released after a shooting was reported Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (Megan Nielsen/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

Family members of students at Northwest high school gather and wait for students to be released from the school after a shooting was reported Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (Megan Nielsen/Omaha World-Herald via AP)