Getaway Gunman Shoots Chemical Plant Guard

AP Fox News ^

[BlackJack]

FREEPORT, Texas

[BlackJack]

This guy says he was taking pics of lights? Yeah Right!

[Unknown Freeper]

Thread from earlier this morning. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1064351/posts

[BlackJack]

FREEPORT -- U.S. and Texas law enforcement agencies are investigating the shooting of a security guard outside an ammonia terminal on the Texas Gulf Coast, a law enforcement official said today.

A security guard at the BASF Corp. ammonia terminal in Freeport, 60 miles south of Houston, was shot late Friday by a man in a pickup truck parked outside the terminal's fence and within sight of a multistory ammonia tank, said Henrietta Gonzalez, chief of the Freeport Police Department.

The guard was listed in good condition today at an area hospital where he was recovering from a gunshot wound to the shoulder, said BASF spokesman Tim Fitzpatrick.

Agents from the FBI, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Texas Department of Public Safety and U.S. Coast Guard were in Freeport investigating the shooting, Gonzalez said.

Chemical plants and refineries have tightened security since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks for fear they may be targets in a future attack.

An FBI spokesman was not immediately available to comment.

The guard spotted the pickup truck while making his rounds outside the terminal's grounds. When confronted, the truck driver, whom the guard described as having a heavy accent, said he was taking pictures of the lights of the ammonia terminal and adjacent port, Gonzalez said.

The guard said he turned away to make a radio call and then looked back to see the driver pointing a handgun at him. He was shot as he moved to run away and the driver sped off.

[Madstrider]

The guard told police the gunman was a man of Middle Eastern descent with bushy hair and a mustache.

And Texas is near the border. Hmmm. Wonder how this guy got in the country?

[FreeAtlanta]

Isn't saying the man was Middle Eastern looking, profiling? </sarcasm>

[NittanyLion]

BASF spokeswoman Sharon Rogers said there was no indication the shooting was linked to terrorism.

Did she manage to maintain a straight face?

[per loin]

Why would a security guard be patrolling without a radio?

[dinok]

Islam is a peaceful religion...realy...ignore the bombing and murdering...that is all a plot by the CIA and their Zionist masters...I read this on the net.

[EGPWS]

BASF spokeswoman Sharon Rogers said there was no indication the shooting was linked to terrorism.

It was just some nut case right wing extremist that left the mountains to disrupt the public, so just move along...

[TomGuy]

BASF spokeswoman Sharon Rogers said there was no indication the shooting was linked to terrorism.

Middle Eastern-looking man takes pictures, shoots a security guard, disappears, but no sign of terrorism---wow, I sure feel better [yeh, right]. Hey clueless Rogers, think Shoebomber Reid who also wasn't linked to terrorism, initially.

[lelio]

This guy says he was taking pics of lights?

I don't know about you, but I can't count the number of times I've been taking pictures of lights at a plant late at night and put a cap in a security guard. No seriesly, I can't.

[pabianice]

"Screech! Profiling!"

[A Navy Vet]

How is ammonia nitrate made? Or do I have the right chemical used in the fertilizer bombs?

[JasonC]

Looking at ways to create an airborne toxic event, sounds like.

[lelio]

Why would a security guard be patrolling without a radio?

That, and you would think being BASF they would have a video tape of the incident.

[Admin Moderator]

Please include original titles.
Thanks.

[deport]

Who said he was patrolling without a radio?

[TomGuy]

I don't know about you, but I can't count the number of times I've been taking pictures of lights at a plant late at night and put a cap in a security guard. No seriesly, I can't.

Maybe that taking-pictures-of-the-plant,-shooting-the-security-guard,-and-fleeing is one of those jobs we need illegals for because Americans won't take that kind of job.

I wonder whether this ME-looking guy is undocumented (here illegally), naturalized citizen, greencard holder, or tourist with a French visa. I'd bet on the undocumented or French visa.

[deport]

Security guard at Texas chemical plant shot

Police hunt man who sped away in truck

Saturday, January 24, 2004 Posted: 1724 GMT ( 1:24 AM HKT)

FREEPORT, Texas (CNN) -- Police on the Texas Gulf Coast were searching Saturday for a man who shot and wounded a security guard at a chemical plant Friday night.

The guard was shot in the shoulder by a man he came across while conducting a routine patrol of the factory. The guard, whose name was not released, is in stable condition after surgery at a local hospital, Freeport Police Chief Henrietta Gonzalez said.

The guard approached a man in a pickup truck parked in a suspicious area, she said. The man rolled down his window and told the guard he was taking pictures of the lights around Freeport's port area and the BASF plant, Gonzalez said.

When the guard reached to open his microphone to report to his dispatcher, the driver of the truck pulled a gun and fired, hitting him in the right shoulder, she said.

The shooter sped away, and the guard drove himself to the factory gate where he knew armed, off-duty Brazoria County Sheriff's officers, employed by the company, were posted. The 911 call was made at around 9 p.m. local time, she said.

The guard said the male shooter had dark hair, a dark mustache and had not recently shaved. He spoke in accented English, the guard told authorities.

The FBI is monitoring the situation but said the Freeport police is the lead agency, FBI agent Bob Dogium said. "Right now there's no indication that it was terrorism," he said.

Gonzalez said the suspect was driving a white, half-ton, dual-cab Chevrolet pickup truck with dark-tinted windows and no front license plate, which is required in Texas. The security guard said he could not see if there was a rear plate because the tailgate was down, she said.

Police have found the slug, which went through the guard's shoulder, and are testing it. Gonzalez said officers believe it came from a 9 mm or .380 handgun.

The Ludwigshafen, Germany-based BASF is one of the world's largest chemical manufacturers. The Freeport complex includes 16 plants, including an ammonia plant next to the deepwater cargo port. The facility produces adhesives, super absorbers, paints, nylons and plastics.

Freeport is on the Gulf of Mexico about 60 miles southeast of Houston.

[baltodog]

Darn right!!

How dare they single out bushy-haired men with mustaches.