Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Crime: 2 People Shot at U.S. Holocaust Museum–Security Guard Stops an Active Shooter
I hope and pray that the security guard that was wounded in this incident is able to survive, and my thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends. I think the angle I want to highlight here, is that this shooter was there to kill, and thus gets the title of ‘active shooter’. And the ones that responded and were able to stop him from killing, are the security guards. It wasn’t a SWAT team, or a special forces team, or some other SRT team, it was trained and ready to go security guards.
Without a doubt, today’s security professionals who carry weapons are completely aware of the active shooter scenario. That timing is everything, and you cannot wait on the cavalry to stop something like this or people will die. It is on the first responders (a security guard with a gun or even a private citizen with a gun) to stop it, and that is the reality of security and crime in today’s world.
The more we can train and keep on top of the best industry practices for dealing with active shooters, the better. It sounds to me like these guys did what was necessary to stop the guy, and certainly sacrificed to stop him. Right now, a security guard is sitting in a hospital bed hanging on to dear life, but because of their courage, they did their job and stopped this asshole.
It also sounds like the shooter was prior military and WW2 veteran, a member of MENSA, a white supremacist and had a criminal background. And what did he do? He decided to engage targets in a museum, before going through the screening machines and stations. So the targets would be anyone in that lobby or security guards in this scenario, and he bypassed the security apparatus, and made the security station area the target area. The shotgun is also a perfect weapon for shooting at multiple targets at close range, and quickly. Oh, and I guess he had a book as well, and possibly this was a way to promote his book. Now this guy is in the hospital, thanks to the good work of some security professionals. –Matt
Edit: The guard has died. Rest in peace, and thank you for your sacrifice.
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2 People Shot at U.S. Holocaust Museum
By Debbi Wilgoren and William Branigin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 10, 2009 2:52 PM
A gunman armed with a shotgun walked into the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in downtown Washington today and opened fire on a security guard before being shot and seriously wounded by two other guards, authorities said.
The security guard and the gunman were both transported to George Washington University Hospital with serious injuries, police said. A hospital spokesperson declined to release information on the condition of the two.
A third person sustained minor injuries in the shooting, according to police.
A law enforcement source identified the gunman as James W. von Brunn, who is known to authorities as a white supremacist.
Legal News: Sources–U.S. Contractors Will Not Face Iraq Charges
This is the latest, and I hope it turns out to be true. You never know over there and I will be happy when I see the report where these guys are actually free and telling their side of the story. –Matt
Edit: The Iraqi police Wednesday released three of the five U.S. contractors who were detained last week in connection with the slaying last month of an American in Baghdad’s Green Zone enclave, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said.
The men were freed on bail, but were forbidden to leave Iraq during the investigation of the death of Jim Kitterman, a 60-year-old construction contractor from Texas, said Rafae Munahe, a senior advisor to Interior Minister Jawad Bolani.
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Sources: U.S. contractors will not face Iraq charges
June 10, 2009
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — A judge in Iraq has decided that charges against five U.S. contractors are not warranted and they will soon be released from custody, according to an Iraqi security source and a source close to the five.
The reason for the contractors’ detention had been unclear.
The five were initially told they were being held in connection with the death last month of another contractor, James Kitterman, said the source close to the five.
But on Monday the men were told they were being held on suspicion of having unregistered weapons, although they were asked about their activities around the time Kitterman was killed.
However, Iraqi government officials told CNN Monday the five were detained as suspects in connection with Kitterman’s slaying.
The Iraqi security source said the five will either be released Wednesday or Thursday. They are waiting to finish the logistical procedures at the police station where they had been held.
None of the five has been charged with a crime.
Kitterman was found bound, blindfolded and fatally stabbed in a car in Baghdad’s Green Zone on May 22. The 60-year-old from Houston, Texas, owned a construction company that operated in Iraq.
The Green Zone, where Kitterman’s body was discovered, is the high-security area in central Baghdad that contains the U.S. Embassy and key Iraqi government buildings.
Access to the area, formally known as the International Zone, is tightly controlled.
Story here.
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Wednesday, June 10, 2009
EXCLUSIVE: Iraqi judge releasing U.S. contractors
Joseph Weber (Contact)
EXCLUSIVE:
Three Americans arrested in connection with the killing of a contractor in Baghdad’s Green Zone are being released Wednesday, said their attorney Timothy M. Haake.
The men are Donald Feeney Jr., 55; son Donald “Buddy” Feeney III, 31; and Mark Bridges, an employee of the Feeneys’ Corporate Training Unlimited security firm.
The case is the first under a 2008 agreement in which U.S. contractors are subject to criminal law in Iraq.
Two other men are being held but also are expected to be released. They have been identified as Micah Milligan, a Corporate Training Unlimited employee, and Jason Jones, employed by another security firm working in Baghdad.
Mr. Haake said no charges have been or were filed against any of the five.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
History: Sun Tzu and His Army of 360 Concubines
Sun Tzu and His Army of 360 Concubines
The king of Wu tested Sun’s skills by commanding him to train a harem of 360 concubines into soldiers. Sun divided them into two companies, appointing the two concubines most favored by the king as the company commanders. When Sun first ordered the concubines to face right, they giggled. In response, Sun said that the general, in this case himself, was responsible for ensuring that soldiers understood the commands given to them. Then, he reiterated the command, and again the concubines giggled. Sun then ordered the execution of the king’s two favored concubines, to the king’s protests. He explained that if the general’s soldiers understood their commands but did not obey, it was the fault of the officers. Sun also said that once a general was appointed, it was their duty to carry out their mission, even if the king protested. After both concubines were killed, new officers were chosen to replace them. Afterward, both companies performed their maneuvers flawlessly.
Sima’s biography claims that Sun later proved on the battlefield that his theories were effective, that he had a successful military career, and that he wrote The Art of War based on his tested expertise. His descendant, Sun Bin, also became a famous scholar of the military arts.
Link Here.
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Pakistan: Strong Bomb Hits Hotel in Northwest Pakistan
Strong Bomb Hits Hotel in Northwest Pakistan
June 10, 2009
By SALMAN MASOOD
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A powerful explosion Tuesday outside a five-star hotel in the northwestern city of Peshawar killed at least five people and wounded 25, Pakistani officials.
The blast was powerful enough to be heard for miles, witnesses said, and television images showed wounded people, with blood stained clothes, being helped out of the smoke filled lobby of the hotel, the Pearl Continental, which is one of the few major hotels in the city that cater to Western visitors.
Initial news reports suggested that militants opened fire on guards at the hotel and then rushed a vehicle loaded with explosives at a security check post. Similar tactics were used on May 28 by militants who attempted to attack the headquarters of the Pakistani intelligence service in Lahore, killing 26 people.
Sahibzada Anis, the district coordination of Peshawar, told Geo television that 5 people were killed while 25 were wounded in the blast. A guest at the hotel, Hafiz Faisal, told GEO the explosion left a big crater on the left side of the hotel.
The attack followed threats by Taliban leaders, who warned Pakistanis recently that they were preparing “major attacks” in large cities. Peshawar, capital of the North West Frontier Province and gateway to the tribal areas, has been the scene of frequent incursions by the insurgents and bombings in the past.
On the day of the Taliban warning, three bombs detonated in and around Peshawar, including at an electronics market and a police check point, as well as in Dera Ismail Khan, in the country’s troubled west, killing at least 11 people and wounding dozens.
Story Here.
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