When I saw the shooter’s name, Emiliano Cuevas Bravo, I figured it would get ugly on social media. It did. I’m sure with all the national news coverage on immigration and deportations — and because Indiana Attorney General, Rokita, issued Seymour a Civil Litigation Demand with questions on whether it is a so-called Sanctuary City, in violation of state law — many want to know if the dude was an illegal immigrant.
Seymour Police Department: Investigators contacted the Department of Homeland Security and learned that Cuevas-Bravo is an American citizen.
Incident release below, but first, interesting data:
Per Indiana Public Media, Seymour’s Hispanic and Latino population was less than 1% in 1990. According to census data in 2025, nearly ONE QUARTER (25% for those playing along at home) of its population are Hispanic or Latino. According to the Brookings Institute, the number of immigrant and Latino people in Seymour increased by 174% from 2010 to 2020. Since the shooter resides in Seymour, I guess there was a 1 in 4 chance that he/she would be Hispanic/Latino.
And on a happier note…
I saw 3 hummingbirds on the feeder today… and one chipmunk on the deck.
Today was the first sighting for me here at the barndo of a hummingbird. I simply LOVE watching them… and living here. Even better? Not one single snake slithered in my field of vision. 🙂
*** INCIDENT RELEASE ***
On April 30, 2025, at approximately 11:59am, Seymour City Communications received a 911 call from within the Jackson County Public Library located at 303 W 2nd St, Seymour, IN, in reference to an active shooter. Seymour Police Officers, along with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Indiana State Police, and Indiana Excise Police, immediately responded to the scene.
Within moments of the 911 dispatch, officers surged into the building and searched for the active shooter. Just prior to law enforcement’s arrival, a patron of the library was able to subdue the suspect, identified as Emiliano Cuevas-Bravo (18 years of age), and was actively holding him down when officers entered the building. After taking Cuevas-Bravo into custody, officers then cleared the building to ensure there were no other threats, and escorted patrons and employees outside.
Investigators with the Seymour Police Department, Indiana State Police – Versailles Post, and the FBI– Indianapolis Field Office, arrived on scene and conducted the investigation. Investigators contacted the Department of Homeland Security and learned that Cuevas-Bravo is an American citizen.
Investigators determined that Cuevas-Bravo is a Seymour High School student. Investigators furthermore determined that Cuevas-Bravo went to Seymour High School earlier in the morning to target the School Resource Officer(SRO). Cuevas-Bravo was unable to locate the SRO and left the school. Cuevas-Bravo then went to the Jackson County Library where he entered the main lobby and fired a single round toward an employee at the checkout desk. An employee received non-life threatening injuries.
An item of concern was found in the library near where Cuevas-Bravo was taken into custody. Members of the FBI’s Explosive Disposal Unit, Indiana State Police – Special Operations Section, and Columbus Police Department responded, then conducted operations on the concerned item.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for Cuevas-Bravo’s vehicle which was subsequently searched. Numerous items of evidentiary value were located and collected from the vehicle, in addition to items located inside the library.
Although the investigation is ongoing, it appears that Cuevas-Bravo acted alone. Out of an abundance of caution, the Seymour Police Department will have additional officers stationed at the Seymour Community Schools ahead.
The Seymour Police Department would like to thank our many partners, to include the Seymour Fire Department, Jackson County EMS, Jackson County Sheriff, Indiana State Police, Indiana Excise Police, Columbus Police, FBI, DHS, Jackson County Emergency Management, and Seymour City Department of Public Works.
CuevasBravo was charged with 2 counts of Attempted Murder, 1 count of Criminal Recklessness with a deadly weapon, and 1 count of Intimidation.
* All parties herein depicted or described are presumed innocent until or unless proven guilty in a court of law. *
Now you know: Indiana law requires proof of lawful presence to obtain a driver’s license, and undocumented immigrants do not have this status.
Perry and I did our civic duty yesterday and early voted at the Jackson County Public Library in Seymour. It’s the first time I’ve ever cast my ballot without first wading through a bunch of people campaigning for their candidate — handing out nail files and ink pens — in the staging area.
500 per day voting at JC library and tens of millions nationwide
Perry buddied up to some older chick and got the deets on the local voting numbers and I looked up the national average online. I’m going to be surprised if final tallies fail to show there was a big turnout for this election. The early-voting process was smooth and the atmosphere was friendly.
The only thing I can’t stop thinking about (because I’m weird on certain things), is how those paperclips will remain on those envelopes inside the ballot boxes. I wonder if every polling place has the same procedure — your printed ballot is placed in an envelope and sealed, and then the green paper with your voting ID and info is paper-clipped to the outside of the envelope before you put it in the ballot box.
I can’t keep paperclips to hold stuff together in my desk drawer — think about millions and millions of those suckers trying to do that job. 🥴
EDIT: I spoke with Katie who early voted in her now home state of Tennessee. She explained that no paperclips were used. It’s 2024… why can’t there be a unified process across the country that’s accurate? We’ve had 235 years to figure it out. We put a man on the moon in 1969 for crying out loud!
Now you know: The Constitution uses the 10-year Census to determine the number of representatives in the House for the next decade. The 2020 Census changed the representation for the 2024 election in several states. (Colorado, Florida, and North Carolina each gained a vote in the Electoral College, while Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania each lost one seat. Texas gained two votes.)
Anytime you buy ANYTHING, your email address will end up on their mailing list. More likely than not, your email will end up on multiple lists as they also sell your info. Sometimes, those pushy marketing emails bring your attention to something amazing! Like today… this really important message was in the mix with around 100 others and I’m just lucky I saw it.
Home Depot wanted to let me know I needed to purchase a snow shovel ASAP — and they have the perfect one for me. It’s even on sale for the next 5 days.
But it’s just recently turned fall!
Riding home from Seymour with Ben, I noticed the corn growing on the side of the road. It looked brown enough to be ready for harvest!
The corn here looks like it has weeks to go before Mr. Farmer will be in harvest mode…
Who knows if the crops were planted near the same time or if the conditions were different (not sure how different since they’re not that far apart). What I do know is that I never really looked at corn before moving here. Heck… in Seymour, I wasn’t sure there was corn except in a can from the Jay C store. 😉
What seems to be consistent locally is the number of hummingbirds gathering at feeders.
Talked to my friend, Julie in Scipio, and we were both talking about how we have only a handful of hummers left. Sure hate to see those amazing little creatures hit the southbound trail. I hope they remember to stop here next year and bypass those pesky neighbors down the road.
Now you know: In a resting state, the brain consumes about 20% of the body’s energy. The sight and hearing parts of the brain consume far more energy than parts used for smell and memory. Also, white matter only uses 20-25% of energy as gray matter.
It sure seems like summer is just getting started when in fact, it’s coming to a close.
School is starting across the state. My granddaughter starts tomorrow (August 1), and the school local to me begins the following day — almost a full month earlier than when I went to school.
The Jackson County Fair is over and the Indiana State Fair begins on Friday… the day after many kids are back in school. That’s crazy, isn’t it?
Visual proof of where we are within the summer season…
My rural privacy fence — Mr. Farmer’s corn field — has tasseled and the silks have appeared. This marks the end of the growth period and the beginning of the reproductive stage. The tassels (the male part of the corn) is out there shedding pollen to fertilize the silks (the female part) on the ears. Harvest will be happening in the blink of an eye.
I love fall… but I love summer more. Even with required grass mowing, I still prefer summer over every other Indiana season.
For southern Indiana, peak fall foliage is mid to late October.
There’s still time to enjoy summer in the Hoosier state. I’m not ready to roll it up just yet — even though my granddaughter can’t join me for sunny days in the pool after this week.
Now you know: ‘River monster’ on Animal Planet ended as the host, Jeremy, said they’ve run out of monsters to uncover.
Most important thing first — happy birthday to Alisa Lou! She’s 39 with a few practice years. If she would run for Mayor of Crothersville, she would have my vote. 🙂
And more in local news…
Jackson County, Indiana — and especially Seymour — is in an uproar over a proposed inclusive economic agenda. You can view the agenda by clicking here. Monday night’s city council meeting location was filled to capacity with community members voicing their opinions — but not everyone that wanted to attend was able to get in. Another meeting will be held at Seymour High School at a date to be determined.
It’s a PR nightmare.
First, the person that chose to call the proposed building “Immigration Welcome Center” instead of “Resource Center” should be out of a job. When you include the word “immigration” with “economic development” you should expect pushback and powerful feelings of opposition.
When focus groups are listed (both verbally and in writing) as resources for the agenda’s data, it looks bad when those serving on those boards and are members of those groups — including city council members — publicly state they were neither approached nor received any type of communication. Thoughtful planning? I think not.
I watched the meeting on a live feed from start to finish. Sadly, I don’t think opinions matter at this point — and I’ll be surprised if a compromise is reached.
Choose your residential housing location carefully!
No one can predict the future. But all of us can consider the impact certain changes might have on our chosen residential location with forward thinking. It doesn’t matter where on God’s earth you plan to live.
You already know to check tax rates, quality of education, available services, etc. when you decide where to live. But what you might not consider is how deeply you should anticipate the unknown factors.
Play out long-term scenarios in your head and the likelihood of them happening.
Are you in an established neighborhood where there’s no room for unwanted development? If your setting is rural, what are the chances property near you will be sold off for something you don’t want to live beside?
It’s an investment of time to reflect on the possibilities that might impact what’s important to YOU. Personal… not political.
For example, before purchasing this property I asked myself this question: What’s the likelihood that the Kovert farm will be sold for commercial development or apartments to be built in my lifetime? Not likely, me thinks. While not an important consideration for some, it was paramount for me.
Now you know: In 2022, James Earl Jones officially retired from voicing Darth Vader, but signed permission for Lucasfilm to use archive recordings and AI to continue using his voice for the character.
