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| Police say 2 shooters have killed 4, injured 8 on grounds of Washington Navy Yard - Washington Post Posted: 16 Sep 2013 07:49 AM PDT What police believe to be two shooters, including one in fatigues, killed at least four people and wounded eight others at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday, throwing the region into fear and chaos as authorities tried to contain the incident. At least one of the shooters is "down," police said mid-morning, but it was unclear whether that means the suspect has been arrested or shot. They said the another suspect may remain at large, and police believe they have pinned him down in a building on the installation in Southeast Washington. Gunfire was heard shortly before 11 a.m., and police were sweeping the building where the shooter was apparently holed up. Witnesses said the gunman was heavily armed. At least two police officers were shot, but it was unclear whether either was among the fatalities. Police on the scene said one is a D.C. Metro Police officer who was shot twice in the leg and was evacuated on a helicopter that took off from a rooftop. The other was a base officer. Annamarie DeCarlo, a spokeswoman for MedStar Washington Hospital Center, said the hospital has two patients from the shooting being treated in its trauma unit. She said she did not know their conditions or if they worked in law enforcement. At least one other patient was taken to the trauma unit at George Washington University Hospital, a spokesman there said. Ten public and charter schools and a public school administration building in the District were placed on lockdown as a precaution, and flights out of Reagan National Airport were briefly halted, causing delays even after they began departing again. The U.S. Navy said that three shots were fired around 8:20 a.m. at the Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters building, where about 3,000 people work. Rick Mason, a program management analyst who is a civilian with the U.S. Navy, told the Associated Press that a gunman was shooting from a fourth floor overlook in the hallway outside his office. He said the gunman was aiming at people in the building's first floor cafeteria. David Stevens, a Navy contractor, was on the phone talking in building 197 when he heard an initial volley of shots fired. He heard people shouting that a shooter was on the building's fourth floor. He said he ran to the edge of a glass atrium that overlooks all the floors and glanced up, only to hear a "second deluge" of shots. The fire alarm sounded, and people began exiting the building. Stevens described the building as very secure. He said employees must present an ID at the entrances. Visitors must have security clearance to get in. "It's unbelievable that someone could get a rifle in there -- if that's what the shooter had," he said. Two Navy yard employees interviewed on CNN said they were fired on in a hallway by a gunman they described as a tall black man. A woman who gave her name as Terry Durham said that as she and co-workers were evacuating, she saw a man down the hall raise a rifle and fire toward them, hitting a wall. "He was tall. He appeared to be dark-skinned," she said. "He was a tall black guy," said her co-worker, Todd Brundage, who is black. "He didn't say a word." One man who said he was at his desk on the second floor when the shooting began recalled hearing a loud noise "like someone dropping an old metal desk." The man, who declined to give his name, said there was a pause, then several noises close together and he realized the danger: "There's a shooter in the building. I started walking toward the door and I heard people running down the hall." Employees described the chaos, as a fire alarm sounded and people shouted, "Where is he? Where is he?" Police closed the 11th St Bridge as well as M St SE between 2nd and 4th streets SE due to the shooting. Entrances to the Navy Yard Metro station remain open. U.S. Capitol Police confirmed enhanced security at the Capitol, but no immediate threat. Tyler Elementary School at 10th and G streets in Southeast was on lockdown. As helicopters circled overhead and emergency vehicles continued to rush to the scene, crowds of onlookers gathered on sidewalks and at a construction site near the Navy Yard, but police pushed them back, yelling at them to keep a distance from the grounds. President Obama has been briefed on the situation at the Washington Navy Yard, according to a White House official who asked not to be identified because the situation was still fluid. "The President has been briefed several times about the unfolding situation at the Washington Navy Yard by Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco and Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromanaco," the official said. "The President directed his team to stay in touch with our federal partners, including the Navy and FBI, as well as the local officials. We urge citizens to listen to the authorities and follow directions from the first responders on site." |
| After Rain Delay, Colorado Flood Rescues To Resume - Aspen Public Radio Posted: 16 Sep 2013 06:46 AM PDT Colorado remains under the spell of water. Steady rains Sunday hampered evacuation and rescue efforts and brought renewed warnings to a flood weary Front Range. When Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate arrives Monday to personally coordinate Federal aid, he'll find flood conditions spread over 15 counties and 11,750 evacuated people statewide. Many more are awaiting evacuations in the more mountainous areas since helicopters were grounded by weather. Those helicopters are expected to be back in the air in a major way Monday. "The pilots are going to go anywhere and everywhere they can," Boulder County spokeswoman Gabrielle Boerkircher tells the Daily Camera. "People need to be prepared to be evacuated. They need to try to flag down the choppers in any way they can." The number reported missing has fluctuated. As of Sunday afternoon the estimate was 1,253 – with most of those being in Larimer County. Many areas, like Estes Park, were without phone or cell service but have slowly been regaining contact, leading to rapid changes in the unaccounted for. Officials are slowly accounting for residents, as they cross reference names with Red Cross and shelter listings. "So we have a master list that will get shorter — hopefully far, far shorter, and time goes by and we cross reference where each of those parties are," said Nick Christenson with the Larimer County Sheriff's office. The death toll rose over the weekend. In addition to four previously announced fatalities in Colorado Springs, Jamestown, and Boulder, two women - one 60 and the other 80 - are both missing and presumed dead in the Cedar Grove area of the Big Thompson Canyon. Boulder County In a statement Sunday, Sheriff Joe Pelle said locating missing people is one of the highest priorities, with 5 teams dedicated to the task. The other focus is opening roads to all communities. An estimated 35 bridges are damaged with officials expressing concern about the one bridge used to access Lyons. "The bridge is unstable because of the flood. It loses a little earth each time a vehicle crosses it for a rescue. Scary for everyone," said Boulder Police Public Information Officer Kim Kobel on Twitter. In Lyons, 108 homes are destroyed and another 49 are damaged. The town still has no water, sewer, electric, or gas services and all efforts are aimed at rescue and infrastructure. In the city of Boulder some infrastructure issues are creeping up as well. "What we're seeing most is it's floodwaters overwhelming the sanitary sewer system," Boulder Public Works spokesman Mike Banuelos said to The Denver Post. "It's coming through the grates. That's a lot of what people are seeing. In some cases, it might be sewage backing up into homes. In those cases, we're asking people to evacuate because it's a health issue." Larimer County 1,120 square miles of the county has been impacted by the water. Many of the winding mountain roads that provide access to towns have been wiped out by overflowing rivers. That makes helicopters the only way to reach some of the stranded residents and time isn't an ally. "It's the middle of September, and it's not going to be long in this county before you start getting frost and you're going to start having some snow," said Incident Commander Shane Del Grosso. "It's going to take months and years to rebuild some of these roads." Weld County As flood waters crested in the foothills, the water has to go somewhere. Waters from Longmont, Loveland and Fort Collins all drained into the South Platte River causing it to flood as it flowed east. Those waters will eventually reach Nebraska. The east side of Greeley and Evans were hardest hit. Greeley Evans School District 6 Superintendent Dr. Ranelle says classes are canceled across the district Monday. The University of Northern Colorado has also closed their Greeley campus. While procedures are in place to deal with crises, the flooding in Evans is unprecedented. "I think that what is new for us is the protracted nature of this and the unpredictability because no one has ever dealt with this and the major systems that are beginning to fail," Dr. Ranelle. A no flush order is in effect in Evans as the town's water treatment plant remains unusable. It is creating a unique health situation. "Go get baby wipes as crazy as that sounds. But… you can do hygiene with baby wipes and dispose of them," said Fred Starr, public works director of Evans. "All we're asking is people that use water don't put it down the sewer system. That means bathroom water, shower water, laundry water, sink water. That's what's going in and impacting my system now." |
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