BASF guard shot Freeport, Texas Chemical Plant Complex

The Facts online newspaper ^ | 1-24-2004 | Staff Reports

[buffyt]

FREEPORT — Police were looking for a man Friday night who they said shot a BASF security guard at the perimeter of the plant near FM 1495 and Highway 36.

Freeport Police Chief Henrietta Gonzalez said the guard approached a suspicious truck about 9:20 p.m. and the man inside said he had been taking pictures. He then shot the guard in the shoulder area, Gonzalez said.

“He was shot at point-blank range,” said Detective Sgt. Sue Dietrich. “You could see the powder burns.”

Police did not release the guard’s name, but said he was doing well at Brazosport Memorial Hospital late Friday night.

The guard told police the shooter was a man of Middle-Eastern descent with bushy hair and a mustache, and had been driving a white pickup with tinted windows and a black stripe. The truck did not have a front license plate, according to police radio reports.

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

“There is nothing for us to indicate anything other than there is a shooting that happened on our property,” Rogers said. “We’ll just have to see what the investigation will reveal.”

Rogers said the security guard was employeed by Munday Corp., which provides the plant’s security force.

The culprit left the scene just after the shooting and did not get inside the plant gates, police said.

As of 10:30 p.m., Dietrich said the incident was not being investigated as an attempted terrorist attack.

FBI officials in Houston confirmed they had been notified of the incident but would not comment further.

The guard had been patrolling the perimeter of the plant, outside the gate and near a water tower, but in view of the plant’s ammonia tank. There was no access road or gate into the plant from the site of the shooting.

The wounded guard managed to drive down FM 1495 to the nearest plant gate, where an off-duty sheriff’s deputy working security at the plant called police.

The truck was last seen heading west on Highway 36, according to police radio reports.

[ninenot]

Pappy, you're right. Only the right-wing Christian fundamental extremists use guns.

The guard didn't see his Bible and pro-life sign in the dark.

[Dog Gone]

FBI agent Bob Dogium said, "Right now there's every reason to be very suspicious that it was terrorism."

There, that's better.

[Jeff Head]

Yea...you forgot the [/sarcasm] there.

They may have been able to get away with such a simple minded explanation to the public and potentially to themselves if the accented, middle-eastern looking man with the bushy hair and mustache hadn't shot the security guard as soon as he went to report the suspicious activity.

Something's going on with this one...I pray the agency's private face as respects this investigation is much, much more serious than this rediculous public face.

Jeff

[Jeff Head]

Or at least a ... it's too soon to say, we're not counting anything out at this point

[Dog Gone]

In another story on local television, the security guard said he was ducking to get out of the way when the shot was fired.

[Jeff Head]

Sure you name isn't ... bin_lurkin? LOL!

Sorry, no offense meant, just a joke.

Seriously, in today's environment, while we can't jump to conclusion that it was terror related, in the face of what has been reported it is just as rediculous to categorically rule it out. A Mid-eastern looking man who can't speak good english is taking pictures of a chemical plant (the ammonia tank no less) and then shoots the security guard who comes to investigate.

Nope...while you can't jumnp to the conclusion that it was terrorism...it is just as crazy (and in today's world perhpas more so) to rule it out.

Fregards.

[ninenot]

Hold on, here, Jeff.

WHY did the perp shoot? If he really wanted to silence the guard, he SHOULD have shot until the guard was DEAD.

On the other hand, if the guy merely wanted to high-tail it, he could have done that by stepping on the gas, hard.

The fact that the FiBI's are seemingly lackadaisacal tells me that they're not so sure about the guard's story, either.

[buffyt]

I have been hearing about terrorist treats to our chemical plants. They are all by their very nature extremely flammable and volatile. The Gulf coast is lined with them, and there some in Pasadena, Texas, too. I am so glad they called in the FBI. Our town is TINY and our police force is not equipped or trained to deal with things like this. It wouldn't take much for a terrorist to throw a bomb into the chemical plant right over the fence.

[buffyt]

GREAT POINT!!!! Gotta watch those elderly women!

[buffyt]

GEE, I HOPE that is all this is!

[demnomo]

Where did you get that FBI quote?

[demnomo]

Hiya, Texas Lady--it's been alomost 6 years since the March for Freedom in DC. Yowsa, how time flies. :)

Take care down there...

[Dog Gone]

I made it up in response to the post I was replying to. Sorry for any confusion.

[buffyt]

BASF used to be Dow Badische. But DOW Chemical is still DOW Chemical. And Dow bought Union Carbide a few years ago, so we own them now, too. Husband has been chemical engineer at Dow since 1973.

[StolarStorm]

Perhaps the perp got nervous and wasn't necessarily thinking clearly.

[Dog Gone]

ABC13 Eyewitness News
(1/24/04 - FREEPORT, TX) — A security guard at an ammonia plant in Freeport was shot Saturday morning after checking out a suspicious vehicle.

A guard on patrol at the BASF plant noticed a pick-up truck parked where he didn't think it should be. He went to investigate and questioned the man in the truck.

That's when that man pulled a gun and fired. The guard ducked. The bullet hit him in the shoulder.

[buffyt]

That was a horrible event! The ammonia truck, I still remember it like it was yesterday, such a tragedy.

[steve86]

It's got to cost a lot of $$ to advertise, so why do they do it???

They just want to be appreciated.

And put out the word in investors that BASF AG is the place to invest in manufacturing process innovation.

[buffyt]

GREAT to see you too, DEMNOMO!!!!! Yes time flies, October 1998 Freeper DC Rally! It was great, huh?????

[TexKat]

On a different topic: Fox News reporting that a Hazmat Team are on their way to the Capitol where a suspicious package leaking a white powdery substance has been found by a security guard.