I know this is "off-topic" but I know that so many posters on this board are from the Houston area and I thought maybe I should at least get this out. This morning on the local news in Houston, they reported a Security Breach at the BASF Plant (Amonia plant) in Freeport . The security guard said a middle eastern looking man drove up to the gate in a white van (or truck, I can't remember) and told the sec. guard that he was going to take pictures of the plant lights (yeah, right). The security guard got nervous and radioed the other security guard. When he did, the man in the van shot the sec. guard and took off. The tail gate was down and he was not able to get the plate numbers. The sec. guard is in stable condition at a local hospital. The FBI and Homeland Security has been called in.
With the Super Bowl here next week and the prediction of artic cold (maybe even snow??) and over 100,000 people here next week, it could be catestrophic if they were to pull something like that! This is a huge security breach. Don't know how many of you saw this on tv this morning. The reporters were there live. Anyhoo, just thought I would let everyone know.....
Peace, Tano
Security breach in Houston
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Security breach in Houston
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Stephanie
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Thanks for the info Tano.
We've seen courtesy of what Beer and others have posted drawings and other threats to stadiums. In Steve Quayle's website, there was a high alert issued (in his site) for the Philadelphia game.
I'm glad to see that Houston has that lock-down of the stadium going on right now.
We've seen courtesy of what Beer and others have posted drawings and other threats to stadiums. In Steve Quayle's website, there was a high alert issued (in his site) for the Philadelphia game.
I'm glad to see that Houston has that lock-down of the stadium going on right now.
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southerngale
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David also posted about this around the same time as this post in the thread Reliant Stadium "lockdown" in effect until games o in case ya wanna read that too. I posted an article from a Houston news site.
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Stephanie
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southerngale wrote:David also posted about this around the same time as this post in the thread Reliant Stadium "lockdown" in effect until games o in case ya wanna read that too. I posted an article from a Houston news site.
I saw that and it was actually that post I was referring to. Very scary but I'm glad to see that they are taking no chances!
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BASF gunman remains on loose
By Michael Baker
The Facts
Published January 25, 2004
FREEPORT — The identity and motive of a man who shot a BASF security guard was still unknown Saturday, but law enforcement officials have all but ruled out a terrorist plot.
“As we look at this a little deeper, do more interviews and visit with the victim, we do believe we’re correct in believing this has no terrorist links,” said Bob Doguim, spokesman for Houston’s division of the FBI.
A guard was on routine patrol about 9 p.m. Friday on the highway in front of the plant’s ammonia tank when he saw a pickup in the dirt at FM 1495 and Highway 36, Freeport Police Chief Henrietta Gonzalez said. The tailgate was down, blocking the rear license plate, and there was no front license plate, she said.
The driver told the guard he was photographing lights in the area, near Port Freeport, Gonzalez said. The guard turned to notify the dispatcher through a microphone, but when he turned back around, he was facing the barrel of a gun, she said.
After the driver shot the guard at close range in the right shoulder, he drove away down Highway 36, toward Jones Creek. Law enforcement around the state continued to look for the truck and driver Saturday, Gonzalez said.
The guard managed to drive to a nearby plant gate, where an off-duty sheriff’s deputy working security called police, reports show. He was taken by ambulance to Brazosport Memorial Hospital. Hospital officials would not comment on his condition, but Gonzalez said he was recovering.
“He’s doing OK,” Gonzalez said. “He had some surgery to repair the wound.”
BASF spokeswoman Sharon Rogers said the guard is expected to make a complete recovery.
Gonzalez released the guard’s name as Robbie House, but could not provide his age or hometown. Neither Rogers nor the hospital could confirm his identity.
The guard described the man as having a dark complexion, dark hair, a mustache, a 5 o’clock shadow and an accent he believed to be Middle Eastern, Gonzalez said. He spoke in broken English, she said.
Doguim said he was not sure Saturday afternoon if the description has held up after further interviews with the guard.
The announcement Saturday afternoon that terrorism was unlikely followed the deeper investigation and talks with the guard, Doguim said. Early interviews can be helpful to apprehend culprits quickly, but they also can be misleading because of the trauma a victim has experienced can distort stories, he said.
“God forbid you get held up by someone in a parking lot,” Doguim said. “But he could have been holding a squirt gun, and it would have looked to you like a bazooka.”
Rogers said the incident was not a breech in security, as Gonzalez said the truck was close to the road. The ammonia tank, which has its own guard force, is about a quarter-mile from where the guard was shot, but the company is not concluding the shooter had any interest in the tank. There was no access road to the tank at the site of the shooting.
Gonzalez, too, said there was no evidence to lead the investigators to suspect terrorism.
“It’s just best that we try to stick to the facts as we know them,” Rogers said. “All we really know is he was shot.”
Freeport police contacted the FBI, as well as the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs, Gonzalez said. Because a chemical plant was involved, it was the department’s obligation, she said.
Officers scouted the area using a dog from the U.S. Department of Energy, Gonzalez said. No explosives were found, but police have found the bullet, which went through the guard’s shoulder, she said.
It is the first incident of its type in Brazoria County, said Chief Deputy Charles Wagner of the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Department.
While the FBI was involved, Freeport police continued to lead the investigation Saturday, Doguim said. The incident is not currently within the FBI’s jurisdiction, but should the investigation turn up something that would have federal interest, it’s good the FBI be in on the ground floor, he said.
The FBI also will assist Freeport if requested in the investigation, he said.
“It certainly is protocol and just plain good business that all of us in law enforcement notify each other when something like this occurred,” Doguim said. “There’s not any immediate danger, but it’s smart.”
The road where the guard was shot, near one of the city’s water towers, leads to the area that used to provide parking for the Texas Treasure casino boat, Port Freeport Executive Director Pete Reixach said. It’s blocked off a bit farther down the road, he said.
With the shooter at-large, other agencies are keeping high vigilance. However, most said the security level is not out of the ordinary for an industrialized area in a post-Sept. 11 world.
Rogers would not comment on BASF’s specific course of action.
“We’re taking the appropriate steps,” Rogers said. “But we don’t talk about security in the interest of keeping it secure.”
The port has stepped up its security, Reixach said.
“Whenever you have something like this in the immediate area, you take precautions you wouldn’t normally take,” Reixach said. “We’re patrolling a little bit more in that particular area.”
The sheriff’s department is watching the rest of the plants closely in addition to searching for the shooter’s truck, Wagner said. Anyone who sees a suspicious vehicle should contact their local law enforcement agency, he said.
Like Gonzalez and Rogers, the county is not jumping to any conclusions, said Rick Perry, the county’s emergency management coordinator.
“We’re waiting for the investigation to finish,” Perry said. “It could have been a grudge. It could have been anything.”
Even with terrorist ties looking remote, the possibility is not completely off the table, Doguim said.
“We’ll run it in the ground until we’re convinced we’re running down the right track,” he said.
Michael Baker covers industrial issues for The Facts. Contact him at (979) 237-0150.
BE ON THE LOOKOUT
The shooter was driving a white, club cab, half-ton Chevrolet pickup with black trim at the bottom and dark-tinted windows, reports show. There is no front license plate. Anyone with information should call Freeport police at (979)
239-1211.
By Michael Baker
The Facts
Published January 25, 2004
FREEPORT — The identity and motive of a man who shot a BASF security guard was still unknown Saturday, but law enforcement officials have all but ruled out a terrorist plot.
“As we look at this a little deeper, do more interviews and visit with the victim, we do believe we’re correct in believing this has no terrorist links,” said Bob Doguim, spokesman for Houston’s division of the FBI.
A guard was on routine patrol about 9 p.m. Friday on the highway in front of the plant’s ammonia tank when he saw a pickup in the dirt at FM 1495 and Highway 36, Freeport Police Chief Henrietta Gonzalez said. The tailgate was down, blocking the rear license plate, and there was no front license plate, she said.
The driver told the guard he was photographing lights in the area, near Port Freeport, Gonzalez said. The guard turned to notify the dispatcher through a microphone, but when he turned back around, he was facing the barrel of a gun, she said.
After the driver shot the guard at close range in the right shoulder, he drove away down Highway 36, toward Jones Creek. Law enforcement around the state continued to look for the truck and driver Saturday, Gonzalez said.
The guard managed to drive to a nearby plant gate, where an off-duty sheriff’s deputy working security called police, reports show. He was taken by ambulance to Brazosport Memorial Hospital. Hospital officials would not comment on his condition, but Gonzalez said he was recovering.
“He’s doing OK,” Gonzalez said. “He had some surgery to repair the wound.”
BASF spokeswoman Sharon Rogers said the guard is expected to make a complete recovery.
Gonzalez released the guard’s name as Robbie House, but could not provide his age or hometown. Neither Rogers nor the hospital could confirm his identity.
The guard described the man as having a dark complexion, dark hair, a mustache, a 5 o’clock shadow and an accent he believed to be Middle Eastern, Gonzalez said. He spoke in broken English, she said.
Doguim said he was not sure Saturday afternoon if the description has held up after further interviews with the guard.
The announcement Saturday afternoon that terrorism was unlikely followed the deeper investigation and talks with the guard, Doguim said. Early interviews can be helpful to apprehend culprits quickly, but they also can be misleading because of the trauma a victim has experienced can distort stories, he said.
“God forbid you get held up by someone in a parking lot,” Doguim said. “But he could have been holding a squirt gun, and it would have looked to you like a bazooka.”
Rogers said the incident was not a breech in security, as Gonzalez said the truck was close to the road. The ammonia tank, which has its own guard force, is about a quarter-mile from where the guard was shot, but the company is not concluding the shooter had any interest in the tank. There was no access road to the tank at the site of the shooting.
Gonzalez, too, said there was no evidence to lead the investigators to suspect terrorism.
“It’s just best that we try to stick to the facts as we know them,” Rogers said. “All we really know is he was shot.”
Freeport police contacted the FBI, as well as the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs, Gonzalez said. Because a chemical plant was involved, it was the department’s obligation, she said.
Officers scouted the area using a dog from the U.S. Department of Energy, Gonzalez said. No explosives were found, but police have found the bullet, which went through the guard’s shoulder, she said.
It is the first incident of its type in Brazoria County, said Chief Deputy Charles Wagner of the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Department.
While the FBI was involved, Freeport police continued to lead the investigation Saturday, Doguim said. The incident is not currently within the FBI’s jurisdiction, but should the investigation turn up something that would have federal interest, it’s good the FBI be in on the ground floor, he said.
The FBI also will assist Freeport if requested in the investigation, he said.
“It certainly is protocol and just plain good business that all of us in law enforcement notify each other when something like this occurred,” Doguim said. “There’s not any immediate danger, but it’s smart.”
The road where the guard was shot, near one of the city’s water towers, leads to the area that used to provide parking for the Texas Treasure casino boat, Port Freeport Executive Director Pete Reixach said. It’s blocked off a bit farther down the road, he said.
With the shooter at-large, other agencies are keeping high vigilance. However, most said the security level is not out of the ordinary for an industrialized area in a post-Sept. 11 world.
Rogers would not comment on BASF’s specific course of action.
“We’re taking the appropriate steps,” Rogers said. “But we don’t talk about security in the interest of keeping it secure.”
The port has stepped up its security, Reixach said.
“Whenever you have something like this in the immediate area, you take precautions you wouldn’t normally take,” Reixach said. “We’re patrolling a little bit more in that particular area.”
The sheriff’s department is watching the rest of the plants closely in addition to searching for the shooter’s truck, Wagner said. Anyone who sees a suspicious vehicle should contact their local law enforcement agency, he said.
Like Gonzalez and Rogers, the county is not jumping to any conclusions, said Rick Perry, the county’s emergency management coordinator.
“We’re waiting for the investigation to finish,” Perry said. “It could have been a grudge. It could have been anything.”
Even with terrorist ties looking remote, the possibility is not completely off the table, Doguim said.
“We’ll run it in the ground until we’re convinced we’re running down the right track,” he said.
Michael Baker covers industrial issues for The Facts. Contact him at (979) 237-0150.
BE ON THE LOOKOUT
The shooter was driving a white, club cab, half-ton Chevrolet pickup with black trim at the bottom and dark-tinted windows, reports show. There is no front license plate. Anyone with information should call Freeport police at (979)
239-1211.
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vbhoutex
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I personally think it is a coverup. The FBI is trying to say he shot himself now just to get attention. I guess it is a possibility, but I just don't buy it. They are trying there usual tactics of "interviewing" the guy and saying "I can see it in your eyes. You want to tell someone the thruth-that you shot yourself...". 
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Skywarn, C.E.R.T.
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