AMU Emergency Management Original Public Safety

EDM Monday Briefing: Toronto Shooting; Ritz Crackers Recalled

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Emergency and disaster management briefing for July 23, 2018: Terrorism has not been ruled out as a motive for a shooting in Toronto that has left three dead and 12 people injured; a hostage situation at Trader Joe’s in California started with the shooting of the suspect’s grandmother; the CDC announces that the cases of cyclospora likely linked to McDonald’s salads has ballooned to 163 across 10 states; four suspects have been arrested in connection with an apparent acid attack on a 3-year-old boy in England; Ritz Crackers products are being voluntarily recalled due to the possible presence of salmonella; a police officer in Fort Myers is in critical but stable condition after being shot while responding to a call; a shooting inside a Mormon Church in Nevada leaves one dead and one injured; and residents near Athens, Greece were forced to flee their homes on Monday as a wildfire rapidly advanced into their neighborhoods.

  1. A shooting rampage in Toronto, Canada Sunday night has left [link url=”https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/toronto/article-one-dead-13-injured-gunman-killed-in-toronto-mass-shooting/” title=”three dead and 12 people injured”], including a 9-year-old girl who was critically injured. The gunman walked down popular and busy Danforth Avenue around 10:00 p.m. shooting at pedestrians and into restaurants before being found dead in an alley after an exchange of gunfire with police. A motive for the shooting has yet to be determined, [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/07/23/toronto-shooting-rampage-leaves-2-dead-12-hurt-gunman-dead-after-firing-into-restaurants.html” title=”but police have not ruled out terrorism”].  

  2. A more than two hour hostage situation at a Trader Joe’s supermarket in Silver Lake, California on Sunday ended with [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/07/22/grandmother-shot-hostages-held-at-supermarket-1-woman-dead.html” title=”one person being killed and the suspect finally surrendering to police”]. The incident began violently when the suspect shot his grandmother several times in her home, which also injured his girlfriend, before he led police on a chase that ended when he crashed into a pole, then ran into the Trader Joe’s. The suspect, Gene Evin Atkings, 28, fired at officers during the chase, and continued to exchange gunfire with police as he ran into  the store, [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/07/22/suspect-in-trader-joes-deadly-shooting-idd-held-on-2-million-bail.html” title=”allegedly striking and killing one female employee outside the store”].  

  3. The number of people infected with [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/health/2018/07/20/illnesses-linked-to-mcdonalds-salads-sicken-over-160-cdc-confirms.html” title=”the cyclospora bacteria from consuming McDonald’s salads has ballooned to 163″], and has expanded to include a total of 10 states with reported cases. The outbreak was first identified last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with illness originally being reported in Illinois and Iowa. McDonald’s salads are likely linked to the 163 cases that the CDC now reports are spread across the states of Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/health/2018/07/20/illnesses-linked-to-mcdonalds-salads-sicken-over-160-cdc-confirms.html” title=”with a single case in Florida linked to a McDonald’s purchase in Kentucky”].  

  4. Four men have been arrested in connection with [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/07/23/4-men-arrested-in-connection-with-apparent-acid-attack-on-3-year-old-british-boy-police-say.html” title=”an apparent acid attack on a three-year-old boy”] in Worcester, England on Saturday. The incident occurred at a busy discount store around 2:15 p.m. local time, when [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/07/22/uk-police-think-boy-3-was-attacked-with-acid-at-store.html” title=”a substance was thrown at the boy, burning his arms and face”]. The boy was later released from the hospital, but according to authorities, [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/07/23/4-men-arrested-in-connection-with-apparent-acid-attack-on-3-year-old-british-boy-police-say.html” title=”the long-term medical implications that may result from the attack are unknown at this time”].  

  5. Makers of the popular Ritz Crackers have issued [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/health/2018/07/22/ritz-cracker-products-recalled-amid-fears-salmonella.html” title=”a voluntary recall of their products due to concerns over salmonella contamination”]. Mondelēz Global, LLC, the maker of the products, issued the recall after the supplier for the whey powder used in the products noted it was concerned about the possible presence of salmonella in the powder. The recall is for various products including, among others, the Ritz Bits Cheese Sandwich Crackers, Ritz Cheese Cracker Sandwiches, and Ritz Everything Crackers [link url=”https://us.mondelezinternational.com/~/media/MondelezCorporate/us/uploads/downloads/press-releases/2018/Ritz-Recall-2108.pdf” title=”distributed in the United, States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands”].  

  6. A police officer in Fort Myers, Florida was seriously injured on Saturday when [link url=”https://www.news-press.com/story/news/2018/07/22/fort-myers-police-officer-shot-condition-serious-but-stable/815588002/” title=”he was shot while responding to a call at a Marathon gas station”]. The incident occurred around 7:30 p.m. on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard when a shooter opened fire, [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/07/22/police-officer-shot-in-fort-myers-fla-suspect-in-custody-police-say.html” title=”striking Fort Myers Police Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller, 29″]. The suspect was also injured and another police officer immediately transported Jobbers-Miller to Lee Memorial Hospital Trauma Center where he underwent life-saving surgery and was listed in critical but stable condition.   

  7. One person is dead and another wounded after [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/07/22/1-dead-1-wounded-in-shooting-at-nevada-mormon-church-suspect-in-custody.html” title=”a shooting inside a Mormon church in Fallon, Nevada”]. The suspect, 48-year-old John Kelley O’Connor opened fire during a service at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse, [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/07/22/1-dead-1-wounded-in-shooting-at-nevada-mormon-church-suspect-in-custody.html” title=”and fired several shots that killed one person and struck another person in the leg”], then walked across the street to his house. The suspect surrendered to police and the motive for the shooting appears to be directed at an individual and not the church.  

  8. Residents in Athens, Greece [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/07/23/residents-flee-forest-fire-near-greek-capital-athens.html” title=”fled their homes Monday as a rapidly advancing wildfire scorched a nearby mountainous pine forest”], turning the sky over Athens orange from the smoke. Fire officials noted that 80 firefighters were on scene to fight the blaze and were being assisted by seven water-dropping planes and four helicopters. [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/07/23/residents-flee-forest-fire-near-greek-capital-athens.html” title=”Strong gusty winds that are frequently changing direction are hampering firefighting efforts in the area”], and at least one home has already been consumed by the wildfire.  

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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