EDM Monday Briefing: Gunman Opens Fire In a Nashville Church, SANDY Act Passes

Emergency and disaster management briefing for September 25, 2017: A man opens fire at a Nashville church, the Senate unites to pass the SANDY Act, relief pours into Puerto Rico following the opening of the island’s main port, the Mexican death toll rises as aftershocks continue to rock the nation, Houston police are searching for a suspect who opened fire on officers outside a restaurant, major wildfires continue to burn in California’s far north, the swine flu is detected at another Maryland fair, and the driver of a Greyhound bus is stabbed multiple times by a passenger.

1. One person was fatally shot and six others were injured when [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/09/24/official-says-at-least-6-hurt-in-tennessee-church-shooting.html” title=”a man opened fire at a church in Nashville”]. The gunman arrived just as the church service was ending and shot one woman in the parking lot before entering the church with two pistols and shooting six others before an usher tackled him. [link url=”http://abc13.com/suspect-in-nashville-church-shooting-attended-services/2449523/” title=”The usher was pistol whipped”] by the gunman who suffered a gunshot wound to the chest during the ensuing struggle. The suspect was apprehended and is currently in police custody. 

https://twitter.com/diegodelunamx/status/912183747902083072

2. In a unitarian effort to assist organizations dealing with disasters, [link url=”https://speedmatters.org/news/sandy-act-passes-us-senate” title=”the Senate passed the SANDY Act”], which requires cellphones to work on other carrier’s networks during emergencies, making 911 service more widely available. According to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, the system will help ensure the reliability of communications and 911 systems during a disaster. Pai is now working on improving the public safety communication system to make it even more resilient during and after a disaster, including [link url=”http://www.miamiherald.com/news/article175034856.html” title=”using water-impervious fiber optic cable and implementing Next Generation 911″], an internet-based 911 emergency system. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/business-continuity-planning-fire-police/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/business-continuity/” url3=”https://amuedge.com/business-continuity-hazard/”]
3. Opening of the main port in Puerto Rico has allowed [link url=”https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/24/puerto-rico-aid-hurricane-maria-cracked-dam” title=”federal aid to flow onto the island devastated by Hurricane Maria”] when it slammed into the island last Wednesday as a major Category 4 storm. At least 1.6 million gallons of water, along with cots, generators, and food [link url=”https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2017/09/23/federal-government-continues-hurricane-maria-response-and-relief-operations” title=”arrived into the port on 11 ships to help provide assistance to towns left without water, electricity, fuel, or phone service”] due to the storm. Of the island’s 1,600 cell phone towers, at least 1,360 are down, along with 85 percent of the above and underground cables that provide phone and internet service being knocked out. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/ngos-filling-gaps-in-planning-response-recovery/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/churches-lend-a-helping-hand/” url3=”https://amuedge.com/cert-teams-an-important-part-of-community-resiliency/”]
4. [link url=”http://abc13.com/southern-mexico-rocked-by-magnitude-57-earthquake/2448667/” title=”Mexico suffered yet another aftershock on Sunday”], this one a magnitude 5.9, as efforts to clean up and recover continued from the earlier deadly quake which occurred last Tuesday. The aftershock occurred on the same day that Mexican officials announced the death toll from the earlier 7.1 quake had risen to 318. Officials also noted that after a survey of Mexico City’s buildings, it was that found [link url=”http://www.dw.com/en/mexico-earthquake-death-toll-rises-to-318-as-new-aftershock-hits/a-40663594?maca=en-gk_volltext_AppleNews_world-16397-xml-atom” title=”87 percent of the 7,649 buildings inspected were habitable”], while the remaining structures would require repairs before being safe for habitation. 

https://twitter.com/ABC7/status/911981591081005057

5. Police in Houston are searching for [link url=”http://abc13.com/officers-nearly-hit-when-angry-customer-opens-fire/2451632/” title=”a suspect who fired shots at a restaurant and nearly hit officers”] who were outside the building. Police were called to the scene after a customer who had become angry began damaging property inside the restaurant, but by the time they arrived, the man was gone. A short time later, the suspect drove by the restaurant and [link url=”https://www.click2houston.com/news/gunman-damages-chachos-restaurant-opens-fire-at-police” title=”fired seven or eight shots toward the group of police officers”] gathered outside, although only a single police vehicle was struck. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/new-poll-reveals-police-fear-for-their-safety/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/controversy-body-armor-responders/” url3=”https://amuedge.com/improvised-nuclear-devices-guide/”]
6. Major wildfires burning in California’s uppermost northern region have consumed over 190,000 acres and [link url=”https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/09/25/massive-fires-wreak-havoc-on-communities-in-californias-far-north/” title=”threatened towns that are among some of the state’s most economically depressed”]. The three fire complexes burning in Siskiyou County–Eclipse, Salmon-August, and Orleans–believed to have been started by lightning, have at least 1,500 firefighters working to contain the blaze, but in some areas the terrain is so steep, it is impossible to access. Officials also noted that the largest wildfire in the state, [link url=”https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5511/” title=”the Eclipse Complex”], has threatened homes in Happy Camp, Seiad Vally, and Horse Creek, scorched over 100,000 acres, and is only about 50 percent contained. [relink url=”https://amuedge.com/wildfires-risk-high/” url2=”https://amuedge.com/wildfires-how-to-prepare-and-protect-homes-and-families/” url3=”https://amuedge.com/business-continuity-small-businesss/”]
7.  Officials closed three swine exhibits at county fairs in Maryland after [link url=”https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2017/09/25/exhibits-at-3-maryland-fairs-shut-down-after-swine-flu-cases/?utm_term=.39614d1c1acd” title=”11 pigs were found to be infected with the swine flu at the Great Frederick Fair”]. Initials tests identified the strain of swine flu as influenza A, but it is unclear if this strain is transmissible to humans. More testing will be done on the pigs and the remaining 50 or so pigs at the Great Frederick Fair are being [link url=”http://wtop.com/frederick-county/2017/09/swine-flu-detected-at-another-maryland-fair/” title=”held in quarantine”] until seven days after no symptoms of the influenza illness are observed. 

https://t.co/0N7ku8FM9s Pigs at Frederick County, Maryland fair test positive for swine flu

— POST Online Media (@poandpo) September 25, 2017

8. The driver of a Greyhound bus traveling to Las Vegas was [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/09/24/passenger-stabs-driver-on-greyhound-bound-for-vegas.html” title=”stabbed three times by a passenger late Friday evening”] about 12 miles from the California border, in Jean, Nevada. In an attempt to get the passenger, Armando Juarez, 31, who was threatening him with a knife, to sit down or get off the bus, the driver pulled over, exited the bus and was then stabbed by Juarez. The driver was taken to University Medical Center where he was [link url=”https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/stabbings/passenger-stabs-driver-of-greyhound-bus-heading-to-las-vegas/” title=”treated for serious, but not life-threatening, injuries”]. 

AUDIO: Greyhound bus driver stabbed twice in the chest while on phone with 911 https://t.co/dQ1QrByexo

— Eli Air Conditioning (@eliaclv) September 25, 2017