Posted on 01/25/2004 8:08:32 PM PST by JustPiper
And we do.
I feel much better now that after one night the FBI can make that statement.
Jan. 25, 2004, 12:24AM
Terror not suspected in incident at plant
Guard claims gunman was taking photos
By PEGGY O'HARE
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
FREEPORT -- The shooting of an unarmed security guard at a chemical plant here drew the attention of national security officials because the gunman, who was described as having a heavy accent, told the guard he was taking photographs of the area.
But after repeated interviews with the shooting victim, federal authorities Saturday said they have little reason to believe the incident was the work of terrorists.
"As we have looked at this, we don't believe we have any kind of a terrorist threat or that there was any kind of terrorist planning or organization going on," FBI spokesman Bob Doguim said Saturday.
Robbie House, a security guard contracted by BASF Corp., told authorities his attacker was possibly of Middle Eastern or Pakistani descent. He also told police the gunman claimed to be photographing "lights." The shooting occurred in an isolated area near BASF's ammonia terminal on FM 1495 late Friday.
House, who was shot in the shoulder, is expected to make a full recovery. The gunman and his truck have not been found.
After two FBI agents interviewed the wounded guard a second time Saturday afternoon, FBI officials said circumstances surrounding the shooting remained suspicious.
Doguim would not say if House had changed his story, and he declined to give specifics about why law enforcement officials were leaning against the incident being terrorist-related. But he noted that there had been no intelligence suggesting such an event might occur.
"This is isolated," Doguim said, "and we have no other information out there to suggest we should look at this in any other way."
Bulletins describing the gunman and his pickup were issued to law enforcement agencies across the state.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs officials and the U.S. Coast Guard also were notified.
A dog trained to detect gunpowder and bombs was brought in by the U.S. Department of Energy to search the grounds, and it discovered what investigators believe is a projectile that traveled through the guard's shoulder, Freeport Police Chief Henrietta Gonzalez said.
She asked the public to remain calm as the investigation continues.
"We feel very confident we've done everything we can do at this time ... based on the very vague information that we have," Gonzalez said Saturday.
FBI agents spent the day in Freeport, a coastal community about 60 miles south of Houston that has many petrochemical plants and complexes.
BASF would not discuss what security measures it is taking in response to the shooting, the first such incident at a chemical plant in the Freeport area.
The shooting happened about 9:15 p.m. Friday when House spotted the pickup parked on a dirt access road off FM 1495 near the Port of Freeport, police said. The access road, across the highway from the ammonia terminal, is gated with a sign that reads: "Restricted and authorized personnel only."
When the security guard asked the driver what he was doing there, the driver said he was "taking pictures of lights," Gonzalez said.
The guard turned to speak into a radio attached to his shoulder, turned back to the truck to see a gun barrel pointed at him and was shot in the right shoulder, Gonzalez said. The man in the truck then fled toward Texas 36, she said.
The security guard told investigators the gunman had a dark complexion, dark hair and a mustache, and was unshaven.
House had apparently mentioned the pickup in radio transmissions earlier in the night, police said.
BASF's ammonia terminal, which has been in the area for about a decade, stores raw materials brought in by pipeline to manufacture the company's products, BASF spokeswoman Sharon Rogers said.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2369939
I feel much better now that after one night the FBI can make that statement.
"Nothing to see here, move along..."
VALDEZ, Alaska, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Tanker loadings were under way again in Valdez, Alaska, Friday after being suspended for two days due to terrorism concerns.
The Coast Guard allowed the big ships to resume taking on oil from the Alaska Pipeline late Thursday under the watchful eye of swarms of federal agents, local police and military troops.
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