SecurMAR — Security News
Kansas City, MO and Chicago, IL
Pipe bombs were sent to different financial institutions following a series of threatening letters. The devices did not detonate when opened because the sender, known as "The Bishop", did not fully assemble them.
New York, NY
A beige powder was discovered in an envelope sent to The New York Times. A mailroom employee opened the envelope and also found a handwritten letter about secret government anti-terrorism programs. The powder was later identified as corn starch.
Indianapolis, IN
An employee shot four co-workers at a factory. The incident was the result of a confrontation earlier in the week. The individual said that he was being teased at work.
St. Clair Shores, MI
Bags are banned in classrooms after a series of bomb threats were made to the school. The ban was established to assist with bomb detection dogs clearing the scene faster. Students can carry clear bags so it is easier to see the contents.
Chicago, IL
A gunman entered a Chicago high-rise and killed 3 people and wounded a fourth. He forced the lobby security guard to take him to the 38th floor. The gunman bypassed security turnstiles that require employee identification to activate.
Omaha, NE
A sophomore high school student brought a gun to school where it accidentally discharged during class. He was the only student injured in the incident.
Goleta, CA
A former postal employee entered the mail processing plant located about 90 miles northwest of Los Angeles and started shooting. She killed 6 people and wounded another before she committed suicide. The wounded employee later died from her wounds. The former employee was put on medical leave for psychological problems 3 years earlier. She entered the fenced facility by tailgating another car to get into the key card accessible parking lot. Once inside the parking lot, she obtained an employee key card and entered the plant. The plant had no metal detectors or onsite security personnel.
Seminole County, FL
A middle school student who brought a pellet gun to school was fatally shot by a SWAT team deputy. In the morning, a student reported that a classmate had a gun. The teacher alerted the school's resource officer and the school went into lockdown mode. After the 8th grade boy ran into the bathroom, he pointed what appeared to be a 9 mm semi-automatic Beretta handgun at the SWAT team member, who shot him.
Later that week, a 7th grade girl was arrested for making a bomb threat to the same middle school. The bomb threat was left on the school's answering machine and the call originated from a pay phone. The school was searched and no bombs were found.
Ocean City, MD
A suspicious package forced the evacuation of the 65th Street District Court after alert security guards discovered it taped under a courthouse toilet Tuesday afternoon. The District Court building and the attached Public Safety Building were evacuated shortly after the security guards reported the package and a bomb dog alerted officers that the package contained explosive materials. The fire marshal's office bomb squad used a bomb retrieval robot to remove the roughly 4-inch by 6-inch package and secure it in a bomb container. Early in the day, the security guards stopped a man they described as acting oddly at the newly installed security checkpoint at the court's entrance and told him he could not take a camera and camera bag into the court.
Calgary, Alberta Canada
A prominent businessman was shot in his high-rise office early in the morning. He was the president of a financial institution and received documented threats against him prior to his death. A co-worker discovered the body.
Asbury Park, NJ
Authorities arrested a man accused of mailing hundreds of anthrax hoax letters including one to President Bush, two days after he was charged with threatening the use of a weapon of mass destruction. He sent more than 200 of the letters, each containing a white sheet of paper with the word "anthrax" written vertically in multi-colored block letters, according to the FBI. The letters, which contained no return addresses, were sent to government agencies, media personalities, actors and actresses and businesses. None of the envelopes contained anthrax, the biological agent used in a series of unsolved 2001 mailings that killed five people. One reached a hospital, prompting authorities to shut down its mail room and decontaminate workers as a precaution.
Orange County, FL
A 13-year-old boy brought a .25 caliber handgun and a loaded magazine to school. A staff member overheard two boys talking about a pellet gun. When she left the classroom, she alerted the school's resource officer and the principal. The boys were removed from the classroom for questioning. No one knows why the boy brought the gun to school.
In another incident, two other middle school boys from the same school were arrested for carrying weapons to school. The incidents were unrelated. The first one happened in the morning when a boy brought a knife in his backpack and another student reported him. The second occurred when the other boy brought a silver plastic BB gun with working slide and removable magazine to school. He was showing it to fellow students during lunch.
Fayetteville, NC
A man entered a VA hospital and murdered a co-worker with a shotgun. The two were involved in a romantic relationship. He entered the facility with a shotgun in a box wrapped in gift paper. He confessed the shooting to the FBI. No metal detectors were used at the facility. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 551 workplace homicides in 2004. About 1 in 5 of these homicides is related to domestic violence.
Tacoma, Washington
A man is accused of entering a crowded shopping mall and opening fire with two assault rifles. Six people were injured in the attack. After searching the man's car and bedroom, authorities found plans for making bombs and poisonous gas.