Tacoma, Washington Police Officer Shot Dead; Suspect Killed After 12-Hour Standoff
Posted: December 1, 2016 Filed under: Crime & Corruption, Health and Social Issues | Tags: ABC News, Active shooter, Albuquerque, Albuquerque Police Department, Des Moines, Iowa, New Mexico, Police officer, San Antonio, Sergeant, SWAT, The Washington Post, Traffic stop Leave a comment
Tacoma police officer shot dead, barricaded suspect killed
This post has been updated.
Katie Mettler reports: After a nearly 12-hour standoff with multiple law enforcement agencies in Tacoma, Wash., a 38-year-old man suspected of fatally shooting a police officer Wednesday was killed by a single bullet from a SWAT team member early Thursday morning.
“We’ve suffered a great loss and I think the community has suffered a great loss. And I don’t know how to put that into words other than to say that everyone here appreciates the kind thoughts and the prayers that are going out to us.”
— police spokeswoman, Loretta Cool
The man, whose name has not been released, had barricaded himself inside a three-story home on the city’s east side late Wednesday afternoon after unleashing bullets on two Tacoma officers who had responded to the residence after reports of a verbal domestic dispute between two people.
“They showed great patience and restraint to make sure those kids were out safe. The whole situation is horrible. We have a deceased officer, but we have a whole lot of heroic ones that went in and got those kids.”
The man’s wife and another woman were able to escape the gunfire Wednesday, reported the News Tribune, but local authorities did not say until after the suspect was killed that two young children remained inside the home throughout the extensive standoff.
The boy and the girl, believed to be aged 8 and 11, respectively, were rescued from the home by a SWAT team around 3:20 a.m. local time Thursday, and were taken to the hospital for an evaluation, authorities said.
Police knew all along that the two children were trapped inside with the gunman, but didn’t share that information with the public for “tactical reasons,” Pierce County sheriff’s detective Ed Troyer told The Washington Post.
“Our priority was to make sure those kids were safe,” Troyer said. “We weren’t going to let those children get hurt.”
Troyer couldn’t say exactly how authorities managed to pull the children to safety, but he told The Post that there were negotiators outside the home and law enforcement officers inside the home who “never left” for the duration of the standoff. The man, who was armed with multiple weapons, had barricaded himself and the two children in an upstairs bedroom and refused to let them go, Troyer said.
[Read the full story here, at The Washington Post]
The sheriff’s department SWAT team was able to rescue one of the children, Troyer said, then separate him from the second. Before he could reach his weapons, a SWAT officer fired a single, fatal round, and authorities were able to safely remove the children from the home. Read the rest of this entry »
Ohio State Suspect Abdul Razak Ali Artan Left Cryptic Facebook Message Before Attack
Posted: November 28, 2016 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Mediasphere, Religion, Terrorism | Tags: 2016, Active shooter, African Americans, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Americans, Anwar al-Awlaki, Campus police, Fort Hood, Islamic terrorism, Islamism, Muslim, Nidal Hasan, Ohio, Ohio State University, Osama bin Laden, Radical Islam, Somali, United States, United States presidential election Leave a comment
Abdul Razak Ali Artan was killed by a police officer after the car-and-knife ambush.
“America! Stop interfering with other countries, especially Muslim Ummah… We are not weak. We are not weak, remember that.”
— Abdul Razak Ali Artan, on Facebook
Abdul Razak Ali Artan, 18, wrote on what appears to be his Facebook page that he had reached a “boiling point,” made a reference to “lone wolf attacks” and cited radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.
“America! Stop interfering with other countries, especially Muslim Ummah [community]. We are not weak. We are not weak, remember that,” the post said.
Two hours before that, a cryptic post on the page said: “Forgive and forget. Love.”
Officials cautioned that they have not determined a motive for the ambush, which sent 11 people to the hospital Monday morning. A senior law enforcement official told NBC News that investigators are trying to determine whether Artan had personal problems or something else that might have pushed him over the edge.
A photo of Abdul Razak Ali Artan that accompanied an interview in the OSU publication The Lantern. Kevin Stankiewicz / The Lantern
“He told a campus publication that on his first day at OSU, he was ‘kind of scared’ to pray in public.”
A police officer was on the scene within a minute and killed the assailant, likely saving lives, university officials said. “He engaged the suspect and eliminated the threat,” OSU Police Chief Craig Stone said.
Law enforcement officials told NBC News that Artan was a Somali refugee who left his homeland with his family in 2007, lived in Pakistan and then came to the United States in 2014 as a legal permanent resident.
[Read the full story here, at NBC News]
He lived briefly in a temporary shelter in Dallas before settling in Ohio, according to records maintained by Catholic Charities.
Artan attended Columbus State Community College for two years, graduating cum laude with an associate’s degree before moving on to Ohio State to continue his studies. He told a campus publication that on his first day at OSU, he was “kind of scared” to pray in public.
“If people look at me, a Muslim praying, I don’t know what they’re going to think, what’s going to happen.”
“If people look at me, a Muslim praying, I don’t know what they’re going to think, what’s going to happen,” Artan was quoted as saying in the Lantern.
The violence unfolded just before 10 a.m. ET Monday near an academic hall on the Columbus, Ohio, campus, where 60,000 students are enrolled.
Officials said Artan drove onto campus by himself and rammed the car past the curb and into a crowd on the sidewalk. Read the rest of this entry »
[VIDEO] Ohio State University Student Describes Scene Outside Watts Hall
Posted: November 28, 2016 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Mediasphere, Terrorism | Tags: 2005 levee failures in Greater New Orleans, Active shooter, Anti-terror, Machete, news, Ohio State University, Terror attack, video Leave a comment
BREAKING: Active Shooter; Report of ’20 Victim Shooting’ Incident in San Bernardino
Posted: December 2, 2015 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Mediasphere, U.S. News | Tags: Active shooter, Airport police, Akron Beacon Journal, Big Bear Lake, Cajon Pass, California, California Highway Patrol, Car chase, Fire department, Incident Command System, KNBC, KTLA, Los Angeles, San Bernardino County, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Leave a comment
San Bernardino Fire Department units were responding to a report of a “20-victim shooting” on Wednesday, authorities said.
The incident was reported in the 1300 block of South Waterman Avenue, the Fire Department tweeted shortly before 11:15 a.m.
San Bernardino police confirmed around 11:30 a.m. there was an active shooter in the area of Orange Show Road / Waterman Avenue near Park Center Circle….(read more)
Developing….
Source: KTLA
#ChaseBankShooting? #PlannedParenthoodShooting?
Posted: November 27, 2015 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Mediasphere | Tags: Active shooter, Chase (bank), ChaseBankShooting #PlannedParenthoodShooting, Colorado, Colorado Shooting, Colorado Springs, Planned Parenthood, SWAT Leave a comment
BREAKING: At least 13 People Killed and 20 injured in Shooting at Oregon’s Umpqua Community College Campus
Posted: October 1, 2015 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption | Tags: Active shooter, California State University, Campus, Cleveland, Delta State University, France, Oregon, Portland, Roseburg, Sacramento, Umpqua Community College Leave a comment
FOX2now.com reports: Authorities were “responding to reports of an active shooter” Thursday morning at the campus of Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, a sheriff’s spokesman said.
“There is a situation going on out there but we don’t have any more information at this time,” said Douglas County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Dwes Hutson.
Preliminary information indicates 15 people were killed and more than 20 others injured in a shooting at Oregon’s Umpqua Community College in Oregon on Thursday morning, said Oregon State Police spokesman Bill Fugate. The reports indicate that the shooter has been detained, Fugate said….
Developing..
Source: FOX2now.com
Poynter’s Al Tompkins: Should You Use the Video and the Fax from the WDBJ Shooting?
Posted: August 26, 2015 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Mediasphere, U.S. News | Tags: ABC News, Active shooter, American Broadcasting Company, CNN, Facebook, Fax, journalism, Journalist, media, New York, news, Semi-automatic pistol, Twitter, WDBJ Leave a comment
Using the video
A number of journalists have asked me if I thought it was ethical to use the video of the shooting on air and online. My answer is, “it all depends.” It depends on why you are using the video and how you will use it and how long you will use it.
We know now that the video itself is news — not just because it shows the shooting but also because it appears to show the shooter. That is reason enough to show the video in some way.
But consider alternatives. In the early hours after the shooting, the video (complete with horrific audio) was news because the “what” of the story was still unfolding. As the story turns to “why,” the graphic video becomes less newsworthy.
So you have a few options:
- Use the video unedited with audio.
- Use the video up to the moment that screaming begins and cut the audio but continue the video.
- Use the video with no audio.
- Use still frames and no video.
- Use none of the images.
What about the shooter’s video?
The shooter, Vester Flanagan, recorded his own actions and posted the video on social media while on the run from police.
That video is, once again, news because it is evidence.
Why air it? The extremely graphic video is a firsthand account of what happened. It shows how close the shooter stood while the crew was on the air. He pointed the semi-automatic pistol at Parker while she continued the interview. He backed off for a few seconds, then raised the weapon again and began firing point-blank.
And it is too graphic to use.
Journalists can be justified in airing or publishing graphic images when the images resolve disputes about what occurred. In shootings involving police, for example, when there is a question about the justifiable use of force, video, even graphic video, can clear or indict the shooter. There has to be a journalistic purpose to justify the graphic image’s use. Read the rest of this entry »
Ambush Attack at Recruitment Center: Suspect Identified as Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez
Posted: July 16, 2015 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Mediasphere | Tags: Active shooter, Andy Berke, Associated Press, CBS News, Chattanooga, Police officer, Tennessee, United States Navy, United States Navy Reserve, Washington DC, WRCB 1 Comment
UPDATE: Active shooter situation is over, per Chattanooga Police. TEMA confirms 5 people are dead, including 4 Marines and gunman, and 2 wounded in shooting at Military Recruitment Center. CBS reports that law enforcement have identified the suspect as Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez…
Developing…
[VIDEO] ‘Active Shooter’ Update: Chattanooga Navy Reserve Center Shooting Confirmed; Witness Says Recruiting Center Targeted
Posted: July 16, 2015 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption | Tags: Active shooter, Andy Berke, Chattanooga, Chattanooga Navy Reserve Center, CNN, Fire chief, Police car, Police officer, Randy Jackson, Tennessee, Twitter, U.S. Navy Leave a commentThe U.S. Navy tweeted Thursday that there has been a shooting at a Navy reserve center on Amnicola Highway in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Navy also said it was investigating a shooting at another Navy building in the city.
One officer is “down” in connection with the shooting, Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke told reporters.
He was not specific about the officer’s condition.
“This is a very, very terrible situation and we need to go figure out how we can handle it,” he said.
Meanwhile, a witness in Chattanooga told CNN that she saw a gunman fire shots at a building that houses military recruiting offices Thursday morning. Read the rest of this entry »
Update: All Clear after Active shooter Report at Fort Lee
Posted: August 25, 2014 Filed under: Breaking News, Mediasphere | Tags: Active shooter, Fort Hood, Fort Lee, Military base, United States Army, United States Army Combined Arms Support Command, Virginia, Washington Leave a commentALL CLEAR: U.S. Army’s Fort Lee no longer on lockdown after ‘active shooter incident’
(CNN/AP) — The “all clear” has been given at Fort Lee Army base in Virginia where an active shooter had been reported.
The installation was locked down, the post said, adding that the incident was reported at Building 5020 of the Combined Arms Support Command headquarters.
Fort Lee is near Petersburg, Virginia, about 30 miles south of Richmond and 135 miles south of Washington.
Retired Maj. Gen. James “Spider” Marks, a CNN military analyst, described the post as a “very active” one, with soldiers “routinely coming and going to get various types of training.”
In an active shooter situation, he said, everyone locks down in place to avoid becoming a target while letting authorities and military police respond.
Active shooter incident reported at CASCOM HQ, Bldg. 5020. All personnel enact active shooter protocols immediately. Post on lockdown.
— U.S. Army Fort Lee (@ArmyFortLee) August 25, 2014
FORT LEE, Va. (AP) — An active shooter has been reported at the Fort Lee Army base in central Virginia.
Officials say the base has been put on lockdown and personnel there have been told to enact active shooter protocols.
The four-story building involved is the headquarters for the Army’s Combined Arms Support Command.
No other details were immediately available.
UPDATE: Report: All Clear Given After Active Shooting Scare at Fort Lee Army Base
Developing…
