Suspect on the loose after deputy shotStory Highlights
NEW: Authorities: Prisoner who used wheelchair may have been faking
NEW: Suspect may have gotten into white Nissan, report says
NEW: Prisoner was serving two life terms for robbery
Sheriff’s office: Deputy overpowered while taking prisoner to court
POMPANO BEACH, Florida (CNN) — A prisoner under transport to court Wednesday overpowered and shot a deputy accompanying him before escaping in the transport van, a Broward County Sheriff’s Office spokesman said.
Michael Mazza is suspected of shooting a sheriff’s deputy and escaping in a prisoner transport vehicle.
1 of 2 Spokesman Elliot Cohen said authorities are hunting for suspect Michael Mazza, 40, who was on his way to appear in court in Fort Lauderdale on a robbery charge.
Mazza, who was serving two life sentences for robbery, was in a wheelchair in the transport van because of complaints of back pain. Cohen said authorities now suspect Mazza was faking.
The white transport van, with green stripes and “Sheriff” written on the side, was found shortly before 10 a.m. ET in a parking lot of a residential area in northern Broward County, CNN’s John Zarrella reported.
The discovery prompted officials to put 19 schools in the Pompano Beach area on lockdown as authorities looked for Mazza, who is believed to be carrying the deputy’s weapon.
The sheriff’s deputy is in critical condition at North Broward Medical Center, Cohen said.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/07/officer.shot/
Prayers for the deputy.
St. Michael’s grad to speak on cyberterrorism
COLCHESTER — Matthew Devost, a 1993 graduate of St. Michael’s College, now CEO of Terrorism Research Center in northern Virginia, will speak at St. Michael’s today at 4 p.m. in Cheray Science Hall, room 101.
His topic is “Cyberterrorism, Information Warfare and Critical Infrastructure Protection.” The public is welcome to attend.
Devost grew up in Norton, on the U.S.-Canada border. In addition to his duties at the Terrorism Research Center, he is president of Total Intelligence Solutions, which is also located in northern, Virginia. He has been researching the impact of information technology on national security since 1993. In his various positions, he has done security analysis, identifying infrastructure threats for Fortune 500 and government clients, including Microsoft and Citigroup.
He speaks frequently on national and international broadcasts as an expert on terrorism and information warfare.
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/NEWS/71107018