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Holocaust Museum shooting: one officer down
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Update: Incidents, especially those involving civilians, resonate especially hard with Oklahomans, who endured the Oklahoma City Murrah Building bombing fourteen years ago. As terrified tourists recount their stories at the Holocuast Museum in Washington, D.C. during today's shooting, we remember:
That quiet world of America's heartland shattered at 9:02 a.m.
Timothy McVeigh, later executed for his crimes, was leaving town when the Ryder rental truck he'd packed with more than 6,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, nitromethane, and diesel fuel mixture and parked in front of the Murrah building exploded. The impact was so great that it measured 3.0 on the Richter scale. As Wiki summarized:
The blast destroyed a third of the building and created a 30-foot (9.1 m) wide, 8-foot (2.4 m) deep crater on NW 5th Street next to the building.The blast destroyed or damaged 324 buildings in a sixteen-block radius destroyed or burned 86 cars around the site, and shattered glass in 258 nearby buildings (the broken glass alone accounted for 5% of the death total and 69% of the injuries outside the Murrah Federal building).] The destruction of the buildings left several hundred people homeless and shut down multiple offices in downtown Oklahoma City. Total damages from the bombing totaled at least $652 million.
The human cost: 168 killed, including more than a dozen children, and more than 800 injured, families shattered and friends sundered. Oklahoma City was in chaos, and the sounds of that day still echo in grieving hearts.
Update: Although D.C. police have yet to officially cnfirm, the shooter is being widely identified as James Vonn Brunn, an ex-con and white supremacist. Although his website, Vanguard News Network, was down earlier this afternoon, I obtained the cached Google version, which is here.
A security guard and the shooter, who's reported to be either 87 or 88, are hospitalized in grave condition. Washington D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty is providing a press conference this afternoon.
Update: The FBI, which has assumed jurisdiction over the crime, has issued this statement:
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation has sent members of its National Capital Response Squad, including agents and team members on SWAT, Evidence Recovery, and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, to provide on scene support,” said John Perren, the Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office’s Counterterrorism Division. “The situation is fluid and therefore no other statements will be made at this time.”
David Schlosser, a spokesman for the U.S. Park Police, said two people were shot -- the security guard and the gunman. Both were transferred to a local hospital, he said.
Schlosser said the gunman entered the museum shortly before 1 p.m. ET carrying a "long gun," but that it's unclear whether he was carrying a rifle or a shotgun. He shot one security guard, Schlosser said, and then two other security guards returned fire, wounding the shooter.
Update: In an early-information press briefing, a spokesman for the U.S. Park police confirmed that a security guard and the gunman were both shot, and are hospitalized. David Schlosser said that the shooter carried "a long gun", but at present it isn't know if it was a rifle, as previously reported, or a shotgun
Update: Terror reigned today at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum as a gun man opened fire inside the tourist-flled museum. The suspect, reportedly armed with a rifle, and a security guard were injured during the ensuing gun battle.
Toursts hit the floor as shots flew and broken glass spewed around the conflict area. School children were rushed out of the building and onto their waiting bus.
The Consulate of Israel called the shooting at the holocaust museum"disturbing" and said it seemed "someone didn't internalize the message."
About 1.7 million people visit the Museum each year. The memorial opened in 1993.
Update: a security guard and as many as two others were injured. The FBI terrorism task force is on the scene along with hundreds of other security and safety personnel. A suspect has been arrested.
According to a police press briefing, the suspect shot one security guard and another one returned fire.The insident happened inside the museum.
Original story follows.
Washington police are investigating a "shots fired" incident shortly after lunch today at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. One officer has reportedly been shot and taken to the hospital.
Streets around the incident side are locked down, creating gridlock. Fox News is providing live stream coverage.
Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea takes a look at the irony of the shooting taking place in a "gun free" zone.
Image credit: Holocaust Museum
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