COLBERT COUNTY, AL (WAFF)- Authorities arrested a man Wednesday in Russellville
following a sexual abuse indictment.

Christopher Hubert Martin, 30, was charged with sexual abuse
of a child less than 12-years-old.

Martin is being held in the Colbert County Jail under a
$100,000 bond.

The abuse was reported in October of 2012 by the victim's
mother. Investigators were given permission to examine the victim's bedroom.
The search resulted in evidence that led to a Grand Jury indictment for Martin. 

Copyright 2013 WAFF. All rights reserved.

SHEFFIELD, AL (WAFF)- A man is fighting for his life after an accidental shooting Tuesday night in Colbert County at the Autumn Point Apartments on Cox Boulevard in Sheffield.

Investigators said a man was cleaning his gun inside his apartment when it went off.

The bullet went through a wall and struck a man in the next unit through the abdomen.

At last check, the man was in critical condition at Huntsville Hospital.

Police said the shooting appears accidental and they have turned the case over to the district attorney's office.

Copyright 2013 WAFF. All rights reserved.

HOUSTON COUNTY, AL (WAFF)- There is a mystery brewing in south Alabama. An illness has hospitalized several people, killing two of them.

It is something that leaves the patient struggling to breathe.

The Alabama Department of Public Health is putting everyone on notice about a mystery illness.  Epidemiologists are conferring with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about a cluster of respiratory illnesses. 

The origin of the illness is unknown, but it is striking people in the Houston County area.  So far, seven people have been hospitalized with fever, cough, and shortness of breath.   Two of those patients have died.  

Lab specimens have been collected and are being studied.   For now, both the Public Health Department and the CDC are recommending hospitals use respiratory protocol when dealing someone with such an illness, meaning masks and gloves.