Posted on 11/24/2006 11:23:24 AM PST by Anti-Bubba182
MIAMI, Nov 24 (Reuters) - A man possibly carrying a machine gun entered the headquarters of the Miami Herald newspaper on Friday, forcing some workers to evacuate the bayfront building in downtown Miami, police and newspaper officials said.
The man, who was wearing camouflage, was identified by Herald employees as Jose Varela, a cartoonist who had worked for the Herald's Spanish-language sister publication, El Nuevo Herald.
"We believe he's armed with what the security guard is describing as a machine gun," Miami Police spokesman Delrish Moss told CNN. No one was was being held hostage and no shots had been fired.
Miami Herald Executive Editor Tom Fiedler said the man apparently believed the newspaper was not being properly run.
El Nuevo reporter Rui Ferreira said in a blog that he had spoken to the gunman, who told him, "You are speaking to the new director of the newspaper and I am going to unmask all of the true conflicts in the newspaper."
Varela called the paper a "pigsty", said it made fun of the Cuban exile community in Miami and that the paper paid poorly.
"They've been making fun of people long enough and today they will see it end in violence. But someone has to pay and that person is going to be (Humberto) Castello." he said, referring to the Spanish-language paper's executive editor.
Ferreira said Varela had been in the newsroom a week ago and told former colleagues he had bought himself a sawn-off shotgun and an Uzi submachine gun because he felt unsafe in Jupiter, a Florida town he moved to after his recent divorce.
The newspaper is owned by McClatchy Co. (MNI.N: Quote, Profile, Research).
Just for the record...for those school administrators who might read this (they're always watching) I would never ever deliberately derail the LIBERAL AGENDA I mean ummmm the established curriculum in such a manner!
~wink wink~ ~nudge nudge~
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