On land, one of America’s top archers is on the hunt for three spots on Team USA for this summer’s Rio Olympics. At sea, however, his bullseye is a bit different. 

When he isn’t shooting arrows with freakishly precise aim, 19-year-old Olympic hopeful Collin Klimitchek can be found shooting a spear underwater in the Pacific Ocean.

Klimitchek is an avid spear fisherman. He took to the sport after an archery trip to El Salvador in 2011 and quickly got hooked.

"You know it's not about catching stuff, it's why they call it fishing, not killing, it's just about the experience, getting in the water and hanging out with friends,” Klimitchek said in an interview with NBC 7.

Spearfishing seems to be a popular activity among Collin’s peers, especially in San Diego’s vast waters.

Several other top-ranked archers with a chance to make the 2016 Olympic team headed to the August games in Rio De Janeiro frequently join him on trips to La Jolla, the Mission Beach jetty and Sunset Cliffs.

This year the outings are fewer given the travel demands and training that comes in an Olympic year but Klimitchek still tries to get out every other week.

So, does being one of the world’s best archers help him with spearfishing?

“Usually the fish are moving, not still, so if you have time to actually aim that's nice, but a lot of time it's just getting used to where your gun is going to hit and just throwing it up, and instincts," he explained. “Not as much like archery but there’s some similarities.”

Klimitchek says both sports require you to stay calm, keep a clear, level-headed mind and control both your heart rate and emotions.

That’s also the case for him, all around, as he waits to hear if he made Team USA.

The final archery team won’t be announced for several more weeks but Klimitchek has a good shot at making his Olympic dream come true. And, the fact that Rio has an ocean, well that’s just a bonus.

Carlie Trent, the 9-year-old Tennessee girl who was allegedly kidnapped by her uncle last week, has been found, police said Thursday.

Her uncle, 57-year-old Gary Simpson, is in police custody, Josh Devine, a spokesman for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, confirmed to NBC News. 

Resident Donnie Lawson and Baptist minister Roger Carpenter found Simpson and Carlie on their property along rural trails. Carpenter then held Simpson at gunpoint while Lawson called 911, TBI Director Mark Gwyn said during a press conference Thursday.

Simpson — Carlie's uncle by marriage — has been charged with “especially aggravated kidnapping,” according to Gwyn.

A 30-year-old man faces five felony charges that accuse him of beating a University of Kansas woman he met on Tinder and holding her captive for five days, NBC News reported.

Shane Steven Allen is in custody at the Douglas County Jail on $100,000 pending a June 24 hearing on one count of kidnapping and four counts of aggravated battery, according to jail records and the county district attorney’s office. 

Allen kidnapped the 20-year-old woman on April 12, according to the charges. That night, he accused the woman of flirting with one of his friends and punched her in the eye, knocked her to the ground and beat her, the arrest affidavit said. 

Allen would not let the woman go home and returned her to her sorority on April 18, according to police.

California’s government is collaborating with Baja California this month to recycle about 50,000 waste tires in an effort to prevent a potential Zika habitat from forming in the Tijuana-San Diego border region.

The Policy Director at WILDCOAST, Fay Crevoshay, said the pilot program launched Thursday morning at Los Laureles in Tijuana, Mexico. The Mayor of Imperial Beach, Serge Dedina, and the Executive Director of the Regional Water Quality Control Board, David Gibson, participated in the event.

The tires create habitat for the Aedes species of mosquitoes to spread into San Diego from Tijuana, according to Crevoshay. This mosquito species transmits diseases such as Dengue fever, Yellow fever and Zika virus with devastating consequences.

In stormy weather, rain can sweep up waste tires into the Tijuana River. From there, the tires flow through international boundaries and harm the coastal ecosystems near San Diego, according to Crevoshay.

The tires negatively impact habitat and recreational resources in the Tijuana River Valley and nearby oceans, said Crevoshay. Altogether, the tires pose a notable threat to public health and the environment.

The pilot project will continue through April 2017. It’s funded by CalRecycle, the California State agency for recycling.

Crevoshay said the program marks a fresh collaboration between the public, private and social sector with combined efforts from the Secretary of the Environment for the State of California (SPA), the Promotora Ambiental SA de CV (PAS), GEN and the project’s lead WILDCOAST.

Its launch was also attended by officials from Baja California such as their Secretary of the Environment Thelma Castañeda, according to Crevoshay.

A man suspected of killing his girlfriend, her father and her sister was found dead in a home on Chicago's Far South Side on Thursday after an hourslong standoff with police.

SWAT teams descended on the home, believed to be where 29-year-old Kevin Robinson was hiding, around 4 a.m. at 103rd Street and Union Avenue in the Fernwood neighborhood. People who were inside the home evacuated as first responders arrived.

The incident prompted a nearly 11-hour standoff involving numerous gunshots, the release of gas and several pleas from police and family members before SWAT officers found Robinson dead in the home from what they believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

Authorities said a weapon was recovered "from [Robinson's] hands" at the scene, but it was not immediately known if he suffered any gunshots wounds from police fire. 

"The offender in this incident was an engine of violence and was no stranger to the criminal justice system," said Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson.

Police allege Robinson walked into a home Wednesday night just a few miles away, in neighboring Englewood, and killed his girlfriend, Makeesha Starks, and her father, Jerome Wright. He shot them in the head around 11:20 p.m. at a house in the 1500 block of West 71st Street, according to police.

Both Starks, 30, and Wright, 50, were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Starks' sister, 26-year-old Kiera Kinard, was shot in the back and died after being transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center.

The triple homicide is believed to have unfolded both inside and outside the home, according to police. Wright’s body was found near a sidewalk on 71st Street, while a body of one of the women was discovered inside the home, police said.

Sources said the suspect fled in one of the victims' vehicles after the late-night shooting, and the vehicle was tracked to the location of the standoff early Thursday morning.

Little information was released on the standoff until shots were fired just before 9:30 a.m. by both the suspect and police. 

Police said Robinson leaned out a window and fired multiple rounds at SWAT officers across the street. The officers returned fire.

"We did have a short conversation with him, he did answer a phone," said Deputy Chief Steve Georgas. "That conversation did not go anywhere. It was shortly after that where he appeared at the window and fired 10 to 12 shots at our officers."

Authorities said it was not known if the man was struck by gunfire, but he was able to run upstairs in the home after the shooting.

Just before 12:30 p.m., a succession of loud "pops" rang out, which authorities said were the release of a "less-lethal gas," followed by screams. 

Police used a loudspeaker to encourage the man to come out of the home.

"No one is going to hurt you," police said. "We need for you to come out."

The suspect's mother was also heard over the loudspeaker saying, "I love you. Please come on out. I want to see you at home." 

Robinson's family said they do not believe he fatally shot himself, and allege he was killed by police while trying to surrender. 

A woman was struck and killed by a train in Carlsbad Thursday, authorities confirmed.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department (SDSO) said the fatal collision happened just before 1:30 p.m. at Avenida Encinas, north of Palomar Airport Road.

Investigators said the woman was crossing in an area marked restricted for pedestrians when an southbound Amtrak train going between 70 to 80 miles per hour hit her.

The train's engineer did activate the emergency braking system on the train but was unable to stop it.

She was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. No other injuries were reported.

The woman's name was not immediately released and the investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information on this case can call the SDSO’s non-emergency line at (858) 565-2000 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

A pedestrian bridge in San Ysidro will open in July at the El Chaparral port of entry, the Governments of Mexico and United States announced Thursday.

The Pedrestrian West Facility (PedWest) will begin processing travelers heading into the U.S. beginning on July 15.

Pedestrians can cross through the west side of the El Chaparral port of entry and reach the PedWest entry building as well as the new multimodal transit facility on Virginia Avenue.

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The bridge will eventually allow southbound pedestrians to cross into Mexico and include a multimodal transit center in Tijuana.

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More than 50,000 vehicles and 25,000 pedestrians cross the border at the El Chaparral-San Ysidro port of entry every day.

The national union that represents Border Patrol agents is drawing criticism about its March endorsement of presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Some of that criticism is coming from within the rank-and-file of the union, as agents question their own organization.

The vice president of the National Border Patrol Council said the organization endorsed Trump because he was the only candidate focused on border security - an issue that directly impacts agent safety.

"This endorsement was based on one facet and one facet alone," said Shawn Moran, VP of the National Border Patrol Council. "It was about increased border security and that's why we endorsed Donald Trump for president."

Some rank-and-file border patrol agents have questioned their own union.

In Texas, a local union tried to disavow itself from the endorsement, an effort that failed by one vote.

The issue is also raising concerns among immigrant rights advocates, who say Trump's comments show a lack of respect toward Mexican nationals and toward immigrants.

"The specific concern is that Mr. Trump has used hateful rhetoric. He has made disparaging comments about Mexican nationals that overgeneralize," said Pedro Rios, the director of the American Friends Service Committee.

Moran said presidential candidates making comments that offend some is not unheard of, stressing the decision was about agent safety.

"I believe that if you look into everything that every candidate has ever said, you could find something to disagree with and that would paint that candidate in a poor light," Moran said.

Moran said 122 agents have lost their lives in the line of duty since the organization's inception. In the last 10 years, 30 agents have died in the line of duty.

Immigrant rights advocates say 46 people have lost their lives after encounters with BP agents since 2010. That's the year agents were captured on video torturing Anastasio Rojas by using a Taser gun on him repeatedly, as he begged for mercy before dying.

Rios, who has worked with immigrants for decades, said amping up the divisive rhetoric on the topic of immigration is not just unnecessary, but possibly dangerous.

"If they are endorsing someone with that hateful rhetoric, then suddenly, we question whether the agents themselves believe this hateful rhetoric," said Rios. "I think it places a lot of questions and a lot of needless tension in the community."

A mother and her nine-year old daughter are displaced after a fire rips through an apartment in City Heights on Thursday, San Diego Fire (SDFD) confirmed.

Crews arrived to find heavy smoke and fire coming from a second story, two-bedroom apartment on the 4000 block of 38th street, just north of University Avenue.

The fire started at approximately 11:19 a.m. and there was no one inside at the time, SDFD confirmed.

During an initial search of the unit, firefighters found a Chihuahua that was suffering from smoke inhalation. They brought the dog out and placed a pet oxygen mask to revive it.

SDFD says the dog was okay after several minutes. Animal Control took responsibility of the dog until the owners can claim it.

Firefighters knocked down the fire in about 20 minutes.

Red Cross is helping the mother and daughter find temporary housing.

According to SDFD, the cause of the fire was determined to be electrical.

From active teachers to retired educators, the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) is asking everyone to help students improve their grades in Southeast San Diego.

SDUSD leaders announced plans this afternoon to expand summer school classes through partnerships with local churches and community organizations, according to the SDUSD Communications Director Linda Zintz. The goal is to support students academically and encourage them to accomplish their goals through a strong education.

The announcement came at the St. Stephen’s Church of God on 5825 Imperial Ave. Zintz said leaders from SDUSD were joined by community representatives from Southeast San Diego.

By partnering with local churches, SDUSD will be able to offer summer school to students starting on July 9. According to Zintz, the classes will continue for six more weeks on Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to noon.

The pastor and founder of St. Stephen’s Church of God in Christ, George D. McKinney, will be using his church to host summer school, said Zintz. Other churches under the Southern California Second Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction will also contribute to the program. SDUSD will soon post a list of the religious and community organizations that are hosting summer school on their website.

Students who enroll will have free access to educational services such as tutoring in math, reading and writing. Zintz said they will also be mentored in self-esteem, teamwork, self-pride, conflict resolution and community pride.

Some officials who were present at the announcement include SDUSD President Mike McQuary, Trustee Sharon Whitehurst-Payne, Superintendent Cindy Marten and other community leaders, according to Zintz.

The project is not receiving any funding from the government. This program has relied exclusively on volunteer contributions, said Zintz. Retired and active educators as well as volunteer tutors are donating their time to help students.

The program is currently aiming to provide a free early lunch for the students as well, according to Zintz. SDUSD Trustee Dr. Sharon Whitehurst-Payne is reaching out to prominent business leaders in an effort to gain more donations.

Anyone who would like to volunteer can call the Volunteer Site Director, Elder John Powell, at 619-262-2671.

The Senate struck a bipartisan compromise deal to give President Obama more than half the money he’s asked for to fight the Zika virus, NBC News reports. 

The deal was brokered by Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, a Republican, and Washington Democrat Patty Murray. It will allocate $1.1 billion in emergency funding to help states prepare for the virus before mosquito season starts.

Obama has been pushing for $1.9 billion in emergency funding. Republicans in Congress have balked at giving so much money in a funding stream that gives Congress so little control. Some conservatives worry it will be used as a slush fund to pay for other public health initiatives. 

Zika is spreading quickly across Central and South America. Health officials say there will be cases and outbreaks in the United States once the weather gets warmer and mosquitoes get really active.

The "unofficial start of summer" is two weeks away.

And in Mission Beach right now, city contractors are in the homestretch of finishing a long-running boardwalk and seawall restoration project.

But it wound up going over budget because of unforeseen complications.

The Mission Beach Boardwalk is a magnet for locals and tourists alike -- especially for "Zonies", escaping the extreme summer heat in their state.

The boardwalk has been undergoing repairs since last September.

After having downtown's Horton Park renovation project drag on for years, city officials are thrilled the Boardwalk work will be completed on time.

It was inconvenient for businesses, and a detour hassle for strollers, joggers, cyclists and skaters.

But now, it’s become a sight and stretch of oceanfront pathway to behold.

On Thursday, work crews were laboring on the last few yards of the most heavily traveled stretch of the Mission Beach Boardwalk -- four-tenths of a mile of oceanfront promenade proceeding south from Mission Boulevard, and passing Belmont Park in the process.

The project was bid back in February of last year, and awarded to an Orange County contractor in June.

But the city didn't learn until September that the Boardwalk is a national "historical resource" that needed ultra-special, labor-intensive treatment to restore.

That added more than a million dollars to the bottom line, which now totals $5.5 million.

"It's a pretty major undertaking,” says Ron Helm, a Tierrasanta resident who once lived in Pacific Beach but returns to the boardwalk on almost a weekly basis.

“You can see the progress getting made, you can see them working at it, and how hard it is to tear all this out and redo it, “ Helm said during a stop on a walking tour with several friends near Belmont Park.

“It's been deferred maintenance for a long time, like a lot of things in this country. So it's about time we got back in and started fixing things up."

The fixup includes 26 ornate lamps of the same make as the long-gone originals from 1925, from the same foundry in Springfield, Pennsylvania.

But they’re high-tech, wireless-operated, and vandal-resistant.

Why cheap out, when San Diego is a tourist town that likes to put its best foot forward?

"If that's what it's going take to keep us on the map,” says South Clairemont resident Rick Burton, interviewed near the Mission Beach Surf & Skate shop.

“You know, it costs a little money to get in and out of San Diego. And I think we should offer the tourists a first-class time. And for the most part, when I walk up and down the boardwalk and I see these tourists, there's a lot of smiles on these faces -- which means they're going to come back."

Ron Helm agrees: "I think it is better for tourists. People aren't all crowded in. It makes it a more presentable approach to the ocean. So I'm in favor of it."

The project should be wrapped up next week, when the City Council is expected to approve the overrun funding on the contract.

A May 26th ribbon-cutting ceremony is now in the works.

And fingers are crossed for a sunny, breezy-but-not-windy Memorial Day weekend.

San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) has scheduled a planned power outage Saturday evening for northern Escondido.

The outage will start at 10 p.m. on May 14 and continue for up to eight hours to replace a cable in the area.

SDG&E has sent letters to all residents who will be impacted by the outage.

The outage will be weather permitting.

To get more information or if you experience an outage you were not notified about check the outage map on SDG&E’s website or call 800-411-SDGE.

Almost 90,000 gallons of crude oil gushed from a Shell oil facility into the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast on Thursday, NBC News reports. 

The spill left a 13- by 2-mile sheen of oil on the waves, according to federal authorities.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, which is part of the U.S. Interior Department, said Shell Offshore Inc. reported that production from all wells that flow to its Brutus platform, about 90 miles south of Timbalier Island, Louisiana, had been shut off. 

No injuries or evacuations were reported, the safety bureau said.

The San Diego Association of Governments wants to put a tax increase on the November ballot. The measure proposes a half-cent sales tax increase on county residents to fund transportation and infrastructure around the county for the next 40 years.

The proposed tax hike already has a number of critics. It’s being opposed by environmentalists and community leaders who don’t like the way the money would be used.

About 40 percent of the money would go toward public transit, according to the proposal, including things like a new trolley line from San Ysidro to Kearney Mesa and improvements on existing bus services.

Just 3 percent is earmarked for biking and walking-related projects.

In this week’s San Diego Explained, VOSD’s Maya Srikrishnan and San Diego NBC 7’s Monica Dean break down SANDAG’s proposed distribution of the tax-hike dollars and look into who has a problem with the ballot measure.

San Diego firefighters will soon start wearing military appreciation T-shirts on Sundays.

The shirts, with a blue digital camouflage design, carry the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department logo on the front and back, the American flag embroidered on the right arm and a “Support Our Troops” yellow ribbon on the left arm.

“The idea for the shirt came to us from a Fire Captain and Firefighter/Paramedic at our Pacific Beach fire station,” San Diego Fire Chief Brian Fennessy said. “Once we worked out the details, we were only too happy to support it. We not only have a large number of veterans within our ranks at San Diego Fire-Rescue, but we are proud to honor and support the men and women serving in the military in our community and across the nation.”

The T-shirts are approved to be worn by on-duty firefighters on Sundays only. The shirts are available for purchase by firefighters and the general public at the San Diego Firefighters L145 gift shop, at 10405 San Diego Mission Road, Suite 201, in San Diego.

Donations will benefit local veterans’ and military organizations.

Donald Trump’s longtime butler told NBC News Thursday that he thinks President Obama should be "hung ... from the portico of the White Mosque — it used to be the White House."

In a phone interview with NBC News, Mar-a-Lago historian Anthony Senecal stood by his remarks on Facebook, in which he lashes out at the president, Hillary Clinton and other Democrats. Senecal has also expressed his frustration over Muslims saying he doesn’t like and doesn’t trust them. 

Senecal said he never discussed his political views with his employer but chose to vent on Facebook. The posts were first reported by Mother Jones — and prompted a Secret Service investigation. 

The Trump campaign insisted Senecal hasn't worked for Trump "for years." 

"Tony Senecal has not worked at Mar-a-Lago for years, but nevertheless we totally and completely disavow the horrible statements made by him regarding the president," Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said in a statement.

A Georgia woman caught on surveillance video taking on two armed carjackers said she forgives them, NBC News reported.

Jasmine Warren fought back against two men who attacked her and tried to steal her car at an Atlanta gas station on Saturday evening. The two can be seen in the video punching and dragging her as they try to drive off with her car. 

Warren said she forgave the two assailants, whom she described as young and afraid.

"You're wrong for trying to rob from me," she said. "It's not the end of the world for you. It doesn't mean that you can't change and make changes in your life." 

A man pleaded guilty in the smuggling deaths of two unauthorized immigrants found in the trunk of a car in August 2014.

The migrants were found dead at the San Ysidro Port of Entry after being exposed to high temperatures with little ventilation.

Eduard Ervemac Saavedra, 44, a citizen of Peru, pleaded guilty on two counts of encouraging and inducing illegal aliens resulting in death and two counts of bringing illegal aliens into the United States for financial gain Thursday.

As part of the plea agreement Saavedra admitted to enticing another man, Nicholas George Zakov, 43, to smuggle the migrants into the U.S. with the prospect of $3,500 cash.

After recruiting Zakov, Saavedra arranged for Tarcisio Casas-Blanco and Jose Aurelio Quiroz-Casas, both Mexican citizens, to be hidden in the trunk of Zakov’s Dodge Challenger in Tijuana.

Saavedra directed Zakov to enter the U.S. through the San Ysidro Port of Entry with Casas-Blanco and Quiroz-Casas remaining in the trunk. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers later discovered Casas-Blanco and Quiroz-Casas unresponsive inside the trunk.

Despite efforts to revive the men they died of hyperthermia and mechanical asphyxiation.

Zakov is a U.S. citizen and has pleaded guilty to alien smuggling charges in the deaths of Casas-Blanco and Quiroz-Casas.

He was sentenced to 84 months in prison.

Saavedra faces three years to life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 25, 2016.

A woman who was assaulted by a Massachusetts man during a stabbing rampage inside the Taunton mall is speaking about what happened for the first time since Tuesday night's attack.

Thirty-eight-year-old Jucelia Gleason was in the path of the of the deadly rampage, and says she's still trying to understand why she's still alive.

"He could hurt me severely, but I gotta think that God helped. And he let me go of his hands," she said.

Gleason was working the Macy's cosmetic counter in the Silver City Galleria Tuesday. It was a typical evening, until a man police identified as 28-year-old Arthur DaRosa rammed his car through the entrance.

"He didn't target me, he targeted any person that came his way," she said.

Gleason says DaRosa jumped out of his car and attacked a customer, then came after her.

"He dragged me around like a rag doll. He pulled me by my arm and my hair, and he threw me around fixtures, walls and corners of places," she recalled.

She said DeRosa did not appear to have a weapon and, for some reason, he let her go before continuing on.

Two people were killed in the rampage — one at the mall, and one at a Taunton home — and others were injured, police say. DaRosa died after being shot by an off-duty officer in a restaurant in the mall.

"I just feel so sorry for the families that lost their loved ones," Gleason said.

She only suffered minor bruises and says it will be quite some time before she returns to work.