AMU Emergency Management Original Public Safety

EDM Friday Briefing: One Dead, Multiple Injured in Active Shooting at Naval Air Station

Emergency and disaster management briefing for December 6, 2019: An active shooter incident occurred at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola early Friday morning with multiple people being transported to local hospitals; dangerous air quality levels prompted shelter-in-place and evacuations in the Texas community where a petrochemical explosion and fire occurred last week; Samoan doctors are going door-to-door with vaccinations in an effort to curb the ongoing outbreak of measles; four people are dead after an attempted armed robbery led to a high speed chase that ended in a hail of gunfire; a gas explosion at a southern Polish ski resort killed eight people; pirates kidnapped 19 crew members from a Greek crude oil tanker off the coast of Nigeria; three National Guardsman are dead following a Black Hawk helicopter crash in Minnesota; and officials are still searching for a motive that led an active-duty sailor to open fire at the Pearl Harbor Naval Yard on Wednesday.

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1) Authorities responded to reports of an [link url=”https://www.wcjb.com/content/news/Report-of-active-shooter-at-Naval-Air-Station-Pensacola-565881701.html” title=”active shooter at a naval base in Florida”] early Friday morning. Information posted by the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, stated that both gates to the facility were locked due to the situation. [link url=”https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/active-shooter-reported-naval-air-station-pensacola-n1096966″ title=”Reports indicate that one person was killed, the shooter is dead, and multiple people were taken to an area hospital”]. The incident occurred just two days after an active-duty sailor opened fire at the Pearl Harbor Naval Yard, shot three people, then allegedly turned the gun on himself.

2) Late Wednesday, nearly 14,000 residents in Port Neches, Texas, [link url=”https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chemicals-fire-tpc-portneches/second-evacuation-order-lifted-in-texas-city-hit-by-explosion-chemical-fire-idUSKBN1Y90DK” title=”were issued shelter-in-place and then voluntary evacuation orders for dangerous air quality levels”]. Air quality monitors had detected high levels of the cancer causing petrochemicals, butane and butadiene, following the chemical plant explosion and fire–which was finally put out on Tuesday. Officials have yet to determine what caused the explosion and fire, the [link url=”https://www.npr.org/2019/12/05/785023209/port-neches-residents-asked-to-leave-their-homes-near-site-of-plant-explosion” title=”fourth major petrochemical fire in Texas this year”].

3) [link url=”https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-measles-samoa/samoa-fights-measles-door-to-door-in-battle-on-anti-vaccination-messages-idUSKBN1Y9033″ title=”Samoa closed all non-essential public and private services for two days”], allowing doctors to take vaccinations door-to-door in an attempt to curb the current outbreak of measles. Samoan officials stated that 62 people have died from the measles, mostly babies and children, and the current outbreak has infected a total of 4,200 people. Health officials noted that [link url=”https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/05/samoa-measles-outbreak-families-fly-red-flags-to-request-vaccinations” title=”only 31 percent of the population is vaccinated against the disease”], and pointed to conflicting messages received by families through social media regarding the safety of vaccines.

4) [link url=”https://www.foxnews.com/us/florida-high-speed-chase-hijacked-ups-truck-gunfire” title=”Four people are dead after an attempted robbery that ended with a hijacked UPS truck”] and a high speed chase. The incident began at a jewelry store in Coral Gables, Florida, where the two suspects hijacked a UPS truck after the attempted robbery, took the driver hostage, then led police on a high speed chase for 20 miles. The incident ended in a hail of gunfire, [link url=”https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/chase-shootout-involving-hijacked-ups-truck-florida-leads-multiple-deaths-n1096871″ title=”allegedly with the UPS driver, the two suspects, and an uninvolved nearby motorist being shot and killed”].

5) A [link url=”https://www.reuters.com/article/us-poland-blast/polish-ski-resort-gas-explosion-kills-eight-including-four-children-idUSKBN1Y82NT” title=”gas explosion at a ski resort in Poland on Wednesday killed eight people”], including four children. The explosion toppled a three-story building in the southern Polish ski resort, Szczyrk, and rescue efforts discovered the eight victims in the rubble. Heavy equipment was brought in to help sift through the debris and more than 200 people, including [link url=”https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2019-12-04/gas-explosion-collapses-three-story-building-in-polish-ski-resort” title=”police officers and firefighters, participated the rescue effort”].

6) Pirate activity is on the rise in the Gulf of Guinea, and in the latest attack, [link url=”https://www.reuters.com/article/us-greece-nigeria-tanker-pirates-idUSKBN1Y910H” title=”19 crew members were kidnapped off a Greek ship”] after it left a Nigerian port. The ship was loaded with crude oil, and was just off the coast of Nigeria, 77 nautical miles from Bonny Island, when the incident occurred. Authorities are working to obtain the release of the kidnapped crew members, and officials noted that [link url=”https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/05/reuters-america-update-1-pirates-kidnap-19-crew-members-of-greek-tanker-off-nigeria.html” title=”ship did not request a navy escort to ensure its safety when it left the Nigerian port”].

7) Three National Guardsman are dead following the [link url=”https://www.reuters.com/article/us-minnesota-national-guard-idUSKBN1Y92TT” title=”crash of a Black Hawk helicopter near Kimball, Minnesota”]. The three were members of the Minnesota National Guard and were conducting a maintenance test flight of the UH-60 Black Hawk when they issued a mayday call nine minutes after take off. Official contact was lost between the helicopter and the National Guard at 2:05 p.m., and the [link url=”https://www.fox9.com/news/3-soldiers-confirmed-dead-in-minnesota-national-guard-black-hawk-helicopter-crash” title=”Minnesota Aviation Rescue Team, along with the Minnesota State Highway Patrol”], responded to scene where all three crew members were confirmed dead.

8) Authorities have yet to determine a clear motive for the shooting that left three people dead, including the gunman, in [link url=”https://www.foxnews.com/us/pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard-shooting-details” title=”a shooting on Wednesday at the Pearl Harbor Naval Yard in Hawaii”]. Military officials said that a 22-year-old active duty sailor, allegedly identified as G. Romero, opened fire on shipyard personnel before using his service pistol to kill himself. The three victims were [link url=”https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/family-mourns-pearl-harbor-shipyard-worker-killed-shooting-sailor-n1096901″ title=”civilian Department of Defense employees”], and and one person remains in critical condition at the Queens Health Center.


 

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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