AMU Emergency Management Public Safety

EDM Friday Briefing: Florida Victims Identified, Gunman Was Treated at Mental Health Clinic

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Emergency and disaster management briefing for February 16, 2018: The gunman that opened fire at a Florida high school and killed 17 people received prior treatment at a mental health clinic, the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Florida have been named, authorities have identified the victims of a suspected murder-suicide in Michigan, a mall manager is dead after gunfire erupts outside an Alabama mall, multiple pet food recalls follow the discovery of salmonella and a euthanasia drug, a student in South Carolina has been arrested after posting a threat to his school via social media, police arrested two brothers in the Bronx who allegedly paid high school students to extract explosives from fireworks, and all schools in the Nutley School District were closed Friday due to a security threat currently under investigation by local police.

  1. On Wednesday afternoon, [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/02/16/florida-school-shooting-timeline.html” title=”a former student opened fire at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida”], killing 17 and wounding 14 others, before dropping his weapon and backpack and blending in among the crowd of students authorities were evacuating from the building. The suspect, Nikolas Cruz, 19, was expelled from the school the previous year and appeared to be a troubled individual. [link url=”https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/14/17013596/parkland-florida-high-school-shooting” title=”Reports also indicate that Cruz threatened peers”], talked about killing animals, posted disturbing photos and videos online, and had received prior treatment at a mental health clinic. [link url=”https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/14/17013596/parkland-florida-high-school-shooting” title=”The incident marked the third deadliest shooting”] in the United States in the last five months.

  2. [link url=”http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article200220844.html” title=”Victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Florida were identified by police”] as the town mourned the loss of students and teachers during a service held at the Parkridge Church in Coral Springs on Thursday. Of the 17 killed, 14 were students and three were teachers, one of who was also a coach, Aaron Feis, who shielded students from the shooter by blocking them with his body. Reports indicate that the suspect, Nikolas Cruz, 19, [link url=”http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article200373444.html” title=”who was arrested about an hour after the shooting in the nearby town of Coral Springs, Florida”], later confessed to the shooting.  

  3. Police have identified the victims of [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/02/15/latest-police-identify-members-slain-michigan-family.html” title=”a suspected double murder-suicide in Sebewaing, Michigan”] as being that of the alleged shooter, Bob Bonini, 61, his wife, Margo, 60, and daughter Katelyn, 21. Police were called to the home by a resident who requested a well-being check after they were unable to reach the family. Police discovered all three bodies in the home early Thursday morning and suspect the shooting had occurred at least 12-24 hours prior. Officials also noted that they were prominent members of the community and that [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/02/15/police-2-slain-at-home-before-person-responsible-kills-self.html” title=”authorities had never responded to a domestic violence call at the home”].

  4. Gunfire that erupted at the Western Hills Mall in Birmingham, Alabama left the mall manager, Anthony Alberigi, [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/02/15/police-alabama-mall-manager-fatally-shot-3-in-custody.html” title=”dead after he was caught in the crossfire between two groups of young men”] just outside one of the mall entrances. Police said multiple cars in the parking lot suffered damages from bullets, as did vehicles in a nearby car dealership. One additional person was wounded–[link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/02/15/police-alabama-mall-manager-fatally-shot-3-in-custody.html” title=”a motorist driving along Interstate 59/20 was grazed by a stray bullet”].  

  5. Multiple recalls are being issued on several brands of dog food after they were found to contain dangerous substances for dogs. [link url=”http://www.syracuse.com/product-recalls/2018/02/dog_food_recalls_salmonella_deaths.html” title=”Four brands have recently been recalled for potential salmonella contamination”]–Darwin’s Natural, including their Zoologic brands, Raws for Paws Ground Turkey Pet Food, Redbarn Pet Products, and Smokehouse Pet Products. The Food and Drug Administration stated that at least two human illnesses had been reported to them from individuals handling the allegedly infected foods. [link url=”http://www.syracuse.com/product-recalls/2018/02/dog_food_recall_euthanasia_drug_gravy_train_kibbles_n_bits.html” title=”The second recall comes from the detection of the euthanasia drug, phenobarbital”], which was found in low levels in Gravy Train and Kibbles N’ Bits dog food during testing by the FDA. Smucker’s issued the voluntary recall out of an abundance of caution after being notified by the FDA about the presence of the drug in the two food brands.  

  6. A student at Broome High School in Spartanburg, South Carolina, [link url=”http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/37512924/deputies-broome-high-student-arrested-after-snapchat-threat-round-2-of-florida-tomorrow” title=”was arrested on Thursday after making a threat to his school via social media”]. Reports indicate that the student was arrested when authorities were alerted to the post that showed a male student wearing a partial mask and posing with a gun along with a caption that read “Round 2 of Florida tomorrow.” Police went to the home, and with the parent’s permission, [link url=”http://wspa.com/2018/02/15/broome-high-student-arrested-after-making-threat-against-school/” title=”conducted a search where both the mask and gun”], identified as a pellet gun, were found. 

  7. Two brothers, Christian, a former teacher, and Tyler Toro, both 27, from the Bronx in New York, [link url=”http://www.syracuse.com/state/index.ssf/2018/02/new_york_city_teacher_bomb_making.html” title=”allegedly paid students $50 an hour to break apart fireworks to extract the explosive powder”]. The pair were arrested on Thursday and are facing federal bomb-making charges after authorities found 32 pounds of bomb-making ingredients in a closet in their apartment. Officials were alerted to the potential threat by the school where Christian had worked after [link url=”https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/nyregion/terror-arrest-bronx.html” title=”a laptop he used was found to contain a book with instructions for how to make explosives”]. 

  8. The Nutley School District in New Jersey [link url=”http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2018/02/nutley_schools_closed_friday_due_to_security_threa.html” title=”closed all its schools on Friday as police continue to investigate a security threat posted on Instagram late Thursday”]. Although officials did not disclose the contents of the video posted on Instagram, they were able to identify and speak with the individual who posted the video and were in the process of speaking with all individuals in the video to gain further information. School officials stated they [link url=”http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5400031/New-Jersey-town-cancels-schools-threatening-post.html” title=”closed the district’s schools on Friday as a safety precaution and to allow police to fully investigate the security threat”]. 

Kimberly Arsenault serves as an intern at the Cleveland/Bradley County Emergency Management Agency where she works on plan revisions and special projects. Previously, Kimberly spent 15 years in commercial and business aviation. Her positions included station manager at the former Midwest Express Airlines, as well as corporate flight attendant, inflight manager, and charter flight coordinator. Kimberly currently holds a master's degree in emergency and disaster management from American Public University.

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