This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Breaking News

  • Possible Washington Navy Yard Shooting

    Multiple news reports indicate another possible active shooter at the Washington Navy Yard.  No official confirmation yet.

    More to follow.

    Added:  reports indicate buildings nearby have been evacuated, nearby roads closed, and employees who have not yet reported to work have been notified to remain home.

    Added:  first security sweep of area reportedly complete; no evidence of gunman.  Second sweep ongoing.

    Added:  reports now say no shots were fired.  However, the compound apparently remains on lockdown.

    Added:  appears to have been a false alarm.  No injuries, and DC police are now reporting that the incident appears to have been a false alarm (no shots fired) and occurred because “loud noises frightened someone”.  (Link includes pretty decent timeline of the incident as of 0925 EDT.)

    Assuming that’s true, that’s good news – and given the facility’s recent history, I guess it’s at least marginally understandable.   But I don’t think I’d call in “shots fired” to 911 unless I was pretty damn sure what I heard was indeed gunfire.

    Added:  maybe not false alarm after all.  Reports now say surveillance video shows 2 people jumping fence at Navy Yard.  Police are now reportedly “storming” 2nd building.  All clear NOT given.

    Added:  Fox now reporting NMCC confirms shots fired.  Unclear when this was reported.

    Added:  Fox and local CBS TV website now reporting no evidence of shooter or victims. All clear still not given for Navy Yard.

    Added:  FBI reportedly has indicated all clear.  Looks to have been a false alarm.

    Final Entry:  no shots appear to have been fired.  ATF agents on scene speculate that construction noise nearby may have prompted initial “shots fired” report.

    . . .

    Bottom line:  looks like a false alarm – which is good news.  But you would think people might be able to tell the difference between construction noise and gunshots.

    Then again, in many big cities a huge fraction of the population buys the “guns bad” bull, and has never actually fired a gun.  And if they’ve lived a decent part of town all their life, they may never have actually heard one fired other than on TV.  So they might actually not know what gunshots nearby sound like.

    All’s well that ends well, I guess.

     

  • Gunmen kill 27 on Tunisian beach

    Gunmen kill 27 on Tunisian beach

    Sousse

    UPI reports that gunmen attacked sunbathers on a beach near Sousse, Tunisia today. According to reports there are 27 dead.

    Sources told Al Jazeera the gunmen exchanged fire with security forces before one man fled.

    British tourist Gary Pine told Sky News he thought at first that “fire crackers” were going off at the hotel.

    “There was a mass exodus off the beach,” he said. “My son was in the sea at the time and myself and my wife were shouting at him to get out and as he ran up he said ‘I’ve just saw someone get shot.’”

    From Sky News;

    According to BBC, the Tunisian interior minister told them that he’s calling it a terrorist attack.

  • Fort Meade shooting

    Fort Meade shooting

    Meade

    According to the Washington Post, two people tried to ram the gate at the NSA part of Fort Meade, Maryland this morning resulting in the death of one of the fellows;

    One person was killed and at least one other person was injured, according to two law enforcement officials. Few other details were immediately available about the incident which occurred around 9 a.m.

    Anne Arundel County Fire officials confirmed that they had sent units to NSA’s facility but said they could not release any information because the incident is on the NSA property.

    Just before 11 a.m., NSA officials said they had no further information.

    CBS News reports that it was firefight;

    One person was killed in a firefight that erupted Monday after a car with two people tried to ram a gate at the Fort Meade, Md., military base near a gate to the National Security Agency, according to preliminary reports cited by two U.S. officials.

    The officials said a firefight ensued after the car tried to crash the gate, and at least one of the two people in the car died. Fort Meade is home of the NSA.

    Other news sources are calling it an incident, so I guess it’s somewhere between a firefight and an incident.

    Reports now are that the two in the car were dressed as women.

    Update from CBS News;

    A U.S. law enforcement official told CBS News that officials believe the two people who rammed the gate were men dressed as women.

    A federal law enforcement official told CBS News that a small amount of cocaine and a weapon were found in or near the vehicle.

    One of the suspects who was shot in the incident was identified as Kevin Fleming of Baltimore, U.S. law enforcement sources told CBS News. Fleming, who was hospitalized, has a lengthy criminal record including for assault.

  • Shooter arrested near Fort Meade

    Shooter arrested near Fort Meade

    NSA Shooter

    The Associated Press reports that a fellow suspected to be the shooter in several incidents yesterday on the Maryland Inter-County Connector was taken into custody;

    The FBI believes the person in custody is responsible for shootings along Maryland highways, including one near the Fort Meade Army installation, which is home to the NSA, FBI spokeswoman Amy Thoreson said in a statement. She said no other information was available early Wednesday.

    A person was taken into custody in Anne Arundel County on Tuesday night, county police said in a statement posted on Facebook on Wednesday morning from a verified account.

    In two incidents Tuesday afternoon, someone fired on a truck on the Inter-County Connector in Prince George’s County, and one person was taken to the hospital after being injured by broken glass. Later in the afternoon and about 12 miles away, there was a report of shots fired along the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in Anne Arundel County; the NSA reported damage to a building nearby. No injuries were reported.

    There have been several similar incidents recently in the Baltimore-Washington area and police had said they were investigating if they were linked.

    WTTG Fox5 says that the gunman is a 35-year-old local resident;

    The first shooting happened around 2:40 p.m. Maryland Transportation Authority Police say shots were fired on the Inter-County Connector and that say one vehicle was hit. One person was injured by broken glass after officers believe at least two bullets pierced the windshield. The vehicle waas driving near the area of Old Gun Powder Road in Laurel. Investigators said the shooter was either in a wooded area off the Inter-County Connector, or on the overpass.

    A second shooting was reported near the National Security Agency headquarters around 5 p.m. Shots were fired into a building from along the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. No personnel were injured in the shooting.
    In an online report, the Baltimore Sun said authorities were investigating connections between those two incidents, and three other incidents in Anne Arundel, Howard and Prince George’s counties.

    Earlier, feds were looking for a light-skinned black male driving a Black Lincoln Town Car that they suspected was involved in the shooting.

  • Canadian Parliament under seige (Updated)

    According to broadcast Fox News, the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa is locked down after a Canadian soldier was shot at their War Memorial and the gun man then ran towards the parliament building. From the UK’s Daily Mail;

    The shot soldier’s condition is unknown but paramedics were seen performing CPR on him, the Press reported.

    One Ottawa Citizen reporter inside the building, Jordan Press, wrote on Twitter that the suspect was ‘5″9-5″10, overweight & wearing a dark jacket’.

    He added that the suspect’s car – a Toyota Corolla – was parked in front of the building with its engine still running.

    A Toyota so it must be a terrorist act.

    Rumor control says that the gun man has been killed, but it’s just rumors at this point.

    UPDATE: MSN says that the soldier who was shot at the War Memorial has died from his wounds.

  • Fort Benning addresses Ebola infection case rumors. UPDATEDx2.

    It seems that a initial entry soldier was placed under isolation precautions at Martin Army Hospital at Fort Benning for suspicion of symptomatic Ebola. The person who has not been identified was reported to have recent travel to Nigeria and presented a high grade fever. As of this post, it is believed that the fever was caused by a reaction to one of the immunization shots given during inprocessing. The base commander Major General Scott Miller, spoke on record to address the rumors that there was a active Ebola case, about a possible ebola case on Fort Benning.

    During standard screening procedures, we identified a newly arrived Soldier with a recent travel history to Nigeria. The Soldier displayed an elevated temperature, and while he is not likely to have the Ebola virus, we have initiated necessary protocols out of an abundance of caution.

    The Soldier has been isolated and is being monitored, even though it’s likely that his fever can be attributed to immunizations he received during in-processing.

    We are currently in coordination with medical and CDC professionals to ensure testing is accurate and complete.

    Representatives from Fort Benning also made a statement to address the rumors that the base and hospital were placed on lockdown.

    “None of that’s true,” said Gary Jones, the Maneuver Center’s public affairs officer. “The gates were never closed. The hospital is not closed and will not be closed.”

    “The post itself is open for business, and it’s business as usual,” said Col. Patrick Donahoe, Chief of Staff at the Maneuver Center of Excellence.

    UPDATE: October 18th 2014.

    Just a few minutes ago Fort Benning gave a status update on how the Solider is doing and more information about his background. The person in question was assigned to the 30th Reception Battalion.

    “Today, the Soldier’s temperature has returned to within normal range, which is completely inconsistent with the disease process associated with Ebola,” MACH Commander Col. Scott Avery said in the statement.

    Avery also said the soldier “does not pose a risk to others.”

    UPDATE x2: October 18th 2014.

    The Solider in question’s test came back negative for Ebola. Fort Benning Representatives gave this statement.

    “While we are relieved this Soldier does not have Ebola, this was an opportunity for Fort Benning to not only test our systems, but exceed protocols to better ensure the safety and well-being of our Soldiers and those in the workforce who support them,” Maneuver Center of Excellence Chief of Staff Col. Patrick Donahoe said.

  • Shooting at Fort Hood? Again?

    According to KCENTV, there’s a possible shooting on Fort Hood. But I don’t see anything anywhere else. Fort Hood is locked down. Here’s the live feed;

    kcentv.com – KCEN HD – Waco, Temple, and Killeen

    6:18 PM: Bell County Sheriffs reported to CNN that there’s an active shooter on Fort Hood. Suspect is white male with a .45 cal pistol.

    “They got some kind of shooting incident going on. They haven’t told us anything. It was on post and being handled by the military. Fort Hood has not asked for any assistance,” said Lt. Donnie Adams with the Bell County Sheriff’s Office.

    6:29: KAKE reports one person dead and others injured.

    6:31: Fort Hood Tweet;

    Fort Hood Twitter

    7:11 PM: CNN says the shooter is dead (not clear how he was killed) also others are 15 injured. Remember they told us Hasan was dead initially, too.

  • Another Navy base shooting

    Chief Tango sends a link from NBC News in regards to another shooting by a civilian at Norfolk’s Navy Station in Virginia. Details are sketchy at the moment, but it looks like the security personnel shot and killed a gun man who had killed a sailor;

    The incident aboard the USS Mahan [an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer], which was docked at Pier 1 of the world’s largest naval base, also left the male suspect dead, according to the U.S. Navy.

    The shooting happened at about 11:30 p.m. and the base was put on lockdown while security forces responded to the incident.

    Authorities would not specify how the suspect was killed, how he got the weapon onto the ship, or what led to the shooting. Both suspect and victim were male.

    The ship is still a crime scene.