AMU Emergency Management Original Public Safety

EDM Wednesday Briefing: NYPD Detective Shot During Alleged Armed Robbery

Emergency and disaster management briefing for February 13, 2019: One officer was killed and another injured by friendly fire during an alleged armed robbery in Queens, New York; a private chartered jet overran a snow-covered runway at the Richmond Municipal Airport in Indiana; the Mansfield, Ohio abduction victim and her abductor are dead following a police chase and shooting; a deadly fire killed at least 17 people when it ripped through a budget hotel in New Delhi, India; the West Coast is feeling the impact of the latest atmospheric river out of Hawaii–the Pineapple Express; air travel is slowly recovering following a day of cancellations and delays due to severe weather; government officials in the Philippines are blaming low vaccinations rates for the current deadly outbreak of measles; and after a three month investigation into the yoga studio shooting in Tallahassee last November, authorities conclude that the shooter was a very disturbed individual.

  1. Two police officers were shot during an alleged armed robbery Tuesday night in Queens, New York. [link url=”https://www.foxnews.com/us/nypd-officer-shot-in-queens-while-on-duty-police-say” title=”One of the officers, a 19-year veteran of the force and a police detective, was killed”], while the other received a gunshot wound to the leg. According to reports, the suspect was brandishing an imitation gun, and was critically wounded when the two officers fired their weapons as they retreated out of the store, [link url=”https://www.foxnews.com/us/nypd-officer-shot-in-queens-while-on-duty-police-say” title=”where they were both allegedly struck by the friendly fire of arriving officers”].  
  2. A chartered plane [link url=”https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2019/02/11/plane-slides-snowy-runway-across-highway-indiana/2838473002/” title=”skidded off a snow covered runway in Indiana”] before crossing a highway and plowing into a farm fence. The private jet, a twin engine Beechcraft 400A, manufactured by the Raytheon Aircraft Company, had a pilot, co-pilot, and one passenger on board when it landed at Richmond Municipal Airport in Indiana and overshot the end of the runway. The plane hit the approach lighting system while going through a field at the end of the runway, where it crossed a road, Indiana 227,  then hurtled into a farm fence before coming to a stop with the nose of the plane resting on the ground.  
  3. A woman that was abducted in Mansfield, Ohio, was killed, along with her abductor, during a shooting that involved police in Kentucky. A frantic 911 call told of a woman, [link url=”https://www.foxnews.com/us/abducted-ohio-state-university-student-and-suspected-abductor-killed-in-police-shootout” title=”later identified as 20-year-old Skylar Williams”], being forced into a vehicle at a gas station in Mansfield by a man, who was identified as 24-year-old Ty’rell Pounds, before a police chase ensued. The suspect led police on a chase down Interstate 71 and into Kentucky, [link url=”https://fox8.com/2019/02/12/kentucky-state-police-say-mansfield-abduction-victim-suspect-both-dead-following-shooting/” title=”where they made several attempts to stop the vehicle”], before they were finally successful, when the officer, who heard a gunshot and feared for the passenger, opened fire.  
  4. Authorities in New Delhi, India stated that a fire swept through a hotel early Tuesday morning, resulting in the [link url=”https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-hotel-fire/delhi-hotel-fire-kills-at-least-17-spurs-safety-concerns-idUSKCN1Q10CE” title=”deaths of at least 17 people and sparking safety concerns”]. Most of the victims were sleeping when the fire, likely started by a short-circuit, broke out and guests were unable to break through windows or find their way through narrow, wood paneled hallways. Budget hotels in the rapidly-expanding Indian capital city are notorious for having poor building regulations despite frequent raids by civic authorities to [link url=”https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-hotel-fire/delhi-hotel-fire-kills-at-least-17-spurs-safety-concerns-idUSKCN1Q10CE” title=”enforce building codes, fires safety measures, and evacuation procedures”].  
  5. The West Coast of the United States is about to [link url=”https://www.businessinsider.com/r-pineapple-express-from-hawaii-set-to-soak-california-2019-2″ title=”feel the impact of the latest atmospheric river”]–one that is known as the “Pineapple Express”–because the flow of moisture is from waters adjacent to the Hawaiian Islands. According to weather forecasters, it is the wettest atmospheric river this year, which means California could see as much as 8 inches of rain and 8 feet of snow in higher elevations, [link url=”https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Atmospheric-River-Bay-Area-Rain-Wind-505722971.html” title=”increasing the risk of flooding, and causing mudslides”], especially near wildfire burn scar areas. The same system was responsible for high winds, heavy rainfall, and high elevation snow that impacted many of the Hawaii’s islands last weekend. 
  6. Air travel is getting back on track following a day of [link url=”https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2019/02/12/tuesday-flight-woes-airlines-cancel-flights-waive-change-fees/2845330002/” title=”snow and icy weather”] that tracked initially from the West Coast Monday, and into the Midwest and then the Northeast on Tuesday. As of 8:45 p.m. Tuesday, more than 2,525 flights had been canceled, while another 5,570 were delayed, as airlines waived change fees for travelers due to the weather. Airports across the nation were affected, with cancellations from Seattle to Boston, and into Canada, where [link url=”https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2019/02/12/tuesday-flight-woes-airlines-cancel-flights-waive-change-fees/2845330002/” title=”major delays and cancellations were reported at Toronto Pearson, Montreal, and Ottawa”].  
  7.  Government officials in the Philippines are [link url=”https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/philippines-vaccine-scare-blamed-deadly-measles-outbreak-190213003609208.html” title=”blaming low vaccination rates for the current, deadly outbreak of measles”] where reports indicate that at least 70 children have died from the disease. There have been 4,300 reported cases across the nation, with Manila, the nation’s capital–and the surrounding provinces–reportedly having the highest number of cases. A recent Dengue vaccine scare that [link url=”https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/philippines-vaccine-scare-blamed-deadly-measles-outbreak-190213003609208.html” title=”damaged the integrity and effectiveness of the health department”], is believed to have led to the vaccination rate decline from 85 to 60 percent, while in some communities, it is down to 30 percent.   
  8. Florida authorities have wrapped up their three-month investigation into the [link url=”https://www.foxnews.com/us/police-yoga-studio-shooter-was-disturbed-hated-women” title=”deadly shooting that occurred in a yoga studio”] in an upscale neighborhood in Tallahassee last November. Police allege that the shooter, Scott Paul Beierle, 40, was a disturbed individual that hated women, and he planned the attack in advance, then expected to die following the attack. In the shooting attack, [link url=”https://www.foxnews.com/us/police-yoga-studio-shooter-was-disturbed-hated-women” title=”Beierle shot six people, two of whom died”], then pistol-whipped another person before he took his own life. 

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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