AMU Emergency Management Original Public Safety

EDM Friday Briefing: Violent Incident at a School Thwarted by Tipster and Police

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Emergency and disaster management briefing for December 14, 2018: A police officer was shot and killed in Georgia and a K-9 is in critical condition following a traffic stop, an explosion and fire at the MarkWest gas processing plant in Pennsylvania prompts a Hazmat response, French police confirm the death of the suspect from the Strasbourg Christmas market shooting, the romaine lettuce E. coli outbreak has been linked to at least one farm in Santa Barbara, California, police thwarted a possible violent incident at a school in Richmond, Indiana Thursday thanks to a tipster, Del Monte canned corn has been recalled for a botulism risk, authorities determined that hundreds of bomb threats emailed across the U.S. and Canada on Thursday were not credible, and an air traffic controllers strike in France and weekend weather in the United Kingdom is severely impacting airline flights and travel.

  1. [link url=”https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/dekalb-county/dekalb-officer-killed-in-the-line-of-duty-had-been-with-department-less-than-2-years/888748014″ title=”A police officer was shot and killed in DeKalb County, Georgia”] on Thursday evening during a traffic stop. The incident occurred after the male operator of the vehicle exited the car and ran, and the officer pursued him on foot. The suspect pulled out a handgun and [link url=”https://www.foxnews.com/us/georgia-officer-shot-killed-during-traffic-stop-k-9-critically-wounded-police-say” title=”shot the officer”], who was taken to the hospital where he died from his injuries. The suspect also exchanged gunfire with other responding officers, [link url=”https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/dekalb-county/dekalb-officer-killed-in-the-line-of-duty-had-been-with-department-less-than-2-years/888748014″ title=”and shot a K-9″], before he was shot and killed during the exchange.

  2. An [link url=”https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2018/12/14/explosion-at-markwest-facility-in-washington.html” title=”explosion and fire at the MarkWest gas processing company”] in Washington, Pennsylvania, late Thursday, injured four employees, prompting a response by at least one Hazmat Team. Officials say that [link url=”https://www.cbsnews.com/news/washington-pennsylvania-markwest-energy-facility-explosion-fire-today-2018-12-13/?ftag=CNM-00-10aac3a” title=”a fracking tank at the facility that holds liquid ethylene glycol plus hydrocarbons caught fire”], exploding and causing the fire at the processing plant. Parent company, Marathon Petroleum, reportedly stated that the explosion occurred around 6:00 p.m., and the subsequent fire [link url=”https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2018/12/14/explosion-at-markwest-facility-in-washington.html” title=”caused burn injuries to the employees”], who were life flighted to two Pittsburgh hospitals, where one is said to be in critical condition.  

  3. Police in France have confirmed [link url=”https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-security/main-suspect-in-strasbourg-attack-killed-in-gun-battle-with-police-officials-idUSKBN1OC0UT” title=”the death of the alleged gunman”] who opened fire at the Strasbourg Christmas market. The suspect, Cherif Chekatt, 29, was on the run for 48 hours before police located and tried to arrest him when he turned and shot at the officers. The officers returned fire, and shot and killed the suspect, who prior to the market shooting, [link url=”https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-security/main-suspect-in-strasbourg-attack-killed-in-gun-battle-with-police-officials-idUSKBN1OC0UT” title=”had been on a watchlist as a potential security threat”].  

  4. Fifty-nine people in 15 states were sickened by E. coli infected romaine lettuce, prompting a massive recall, that officials say has now been linked to at least one farm in California. The [link url=”https://www.businessinsider.com/romaine-lettuce-ecoli-outbreak-traced-to-infected-ca-farm-reservoir-2018-12″ title=”Adams Bros. Farm has been accused of using infected reservoir water on their crops”], which according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is not the only farm involved in the outbreak. Officials have tied the E. coli outbreak to at least two other nearby counties, [link url=”https://www.businessinsider.com/romaine-lettuce-ecoli-outbreak-traced-to-infected-ca-farm-reservoir-2018-12″ title=”Monterey, and San Benito”].  

  5. A tip called into police in Richmond, Indiana about a potential active shooter incident at a nearby school, [link url=”https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/national/police-respond-shooting-indiana-middle-school/hrv45dcS3Ih5EDbQ9JBugI/” title=”likely thwarted a mass shooting”], but ended in the death of a 14-year-old boy. After receiving a tip about an alleged violent incident that may occur at the Dennis Intermediate School, police were able to arrive at the school ahead of the suspected shooter, a male, 14, who shot out the glass of a locked door and went inside. Police immediately followed and engaged the active shooter, [link url=”https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/national/police-respond-shooting-indiana-middle-school/hrv45dcS3Ih5EDbQ9JBugI/” title=”who exchanged gunfire with officers before shooting and killing himself”]. 

  6. Another recall has been issued, this time for [link url=”https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/13/health/del-monte-corn-recall-bn/index.html” title=”Del Monte canned corn due to its potential contamination by bacteria that can cause botulism”]. The specific corn being recalled is the Fiesta Corn–seasoned with red and green peppers–which the company states was under-processed, and could result in life-threatening illness because spoilage organisms or pathogens might be present, thus contaminating the food. More than 64,000 cases of the canned corn has been recalled, [link url=”https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/13/health/del-monte-corn-recall-bn/index.html” title=”which was distributed across at least 25 states in the U.S. and multiple other countries”], including, Aruba, Bahamas, El Salvador, and Suriname, among others.

  7. [link url=”https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-bomb-threats/bitcoin-bomb-threats-sweep-u-s-canada-but-lack-credibility-idUSKBN1OC2PV” title=”Bomb threats were emailed to hundreds of businesses, schools, and public offices on Thursday”], across the United States and Canada, prompting some schools, subways, and businesses to be evacuated as a precaution. Reports of the threats surfaced around 2:00 p.m., as police departments across the U.S. began reporting the threats on Twitter. Ultimately, hours later, no threats were found, and [link url=”https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-bomb-threats/bitcoin-bomb-threats-sweep-u-s-canada-but-lack-credibility-idUSKBN1OC2PV” title=”authorities believe that the incident was likely a wide-scale digital scam or hoax”] because the emails asked for $20,000 bitcoin to prevent the explosives from being set off.  

  8. As the holiday season gets into full swing, air travelers should be aware of lengthy delays and outright cancellations due to a variety of issues, including airline and air traffic controller strikes, and severe weather. Strikes are pending on British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, [link url=”https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-88302/French-air-strike-causes-chaos.html” title=”while in France, air traffic controllers went on strike today”] in continuing protests by public servants against the Macron administration, which has wreaked havoc on air traffic between Britain and France. In the United Kingdom, [link url=”https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-weather-forecast-latest-yellow-warning-met-police-britain-snow-ice-a8681611.html” title=”a yellow warning was issued for weather this weekend”], with the Met Office forecasting snow and ice over much of England, and a blizzard over Northern England and Scotland.   

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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