Fox News Conference - Live Now [Maryland/VA Shooter]

FNC ^ | 10-17-02 | Fox News

[Kerberos]

Fox News is now broadcasting a live news confernece with Chief Moose

[EnquiringMind]

"That guy was interviewed several times...where was he from anyway? I couldn't figure out the accent"


I was trying to figure that out, too. Wasn't his name something like Massell? He looked kind of ME but with blue/hazel eyes, and his accent sounded to be a combo of French/Spanish/ME. His demeanor seemed odd, too....grinning inappropriately, IMO.

[Kerberos]

"I have said all along that I assign NO credibility to this "eye-witness" info... "

Why is that?

[KevinB]

I was listening to WTOP (DC News) this morning and they reported that a number of vehicles and individuals matching the descriptions had been put under surveillance. I was astonished by the report because if the perp thinks he may be under surveillance he will lay low. In fact, we've now gone through the longest stretch without a shooting, so perhaps that's what's going on.

If LE is going to catch the guy, the last thing they should do is encourage him to lay low. There's a good chance that Moose's statements about the information being noncredible is simply to lull the guy into a false sense of security to get him moving again.

[Timesink]

Last Friday, I was listening to streaming audio of DC's WTOP radio. The anchor was interrupted mid stroke during his breaking play-by-play of the shooting aftermath that morning. It was an EBS activation for a flood warning! NWS retracted the flood warning as an error minutes later - and issued the correct flood watch - via the anchors mouth.

Most stations these days have automated EAS (not EBS anymore) computers. When an emergency signal comes in, the computer flips the swich and takes over the broadcast without warning. The only person that might have even a few moments' warning is the station engineer, and that's only if he's in the engineering room at the time and actually notices anything flashing on the screen.

Around here in Pittsburgh, EBS doesn't get activated for flood warnings - I thought that took a hurricane or something. Needless to say, I was a bit startled when the anchor was cut off during breaking news with the classic "impending doom" EBS tones.

I believe it's up to each local National Weather Service office to decide what's "important enough" to issue an EAS alert. For example, I think a big rainstorm is less dangerous in Pittsburgh than it would be in New Orleans.

Also, I too have noticed a large increase in testing on radio and TV - and what is strange and different is they are not waiting for commercial break to test, they're just cutting right in.

FCC regulations require one test per week, and it has to be on a different day and time each week, usually coordinated by state. So you could theoretically have a test on Saturday at 8:15 pm, then another on Monday at 10 am. And if your local stations serves a tri-state area, who knows, they might have to obey all three states' test orders.

And just to make it more annoying, your cable company also has to run weekly tests, which are completely separate from TV and radio station tests. So all in all, I'd have to see a huge, blatantly obvious massive increase in tests before I'd start worrying about some impending disaster.

(Interesting data point: The main reason for the creation of the EBS/EAS was so that the president could immediately commandeer all TV and radio stations nationwide on a moment's notice in the event of a national emergency. That remains the top priority of the EAS to this day. Yet it has never been used for that purpose, not even once.)

[EnquiringMind]

That's him.

[aeronca]

The "witness" that was on with Greta the other night gave me the willy's so bad I had to change the channel. Maybe the problem is the witness is a suspect??? Just a thought...

I wonder if it was the witness that FOX interviewed during the day? My response was the same as yours.

[TexKat]

August 1, 2001 in a parking lot next to a 24 hour convenience store in Falls Church, Va, hijacking terrorists Hani Hanjour (pilot) and Khalid al-Mihdhar (logistics man) met with Martinez-Flores (an illegal immigrant) who took them to a government building and sold them identity papers for $50.00 each. These fake documents assisted in the terrorist being able to board airplanes on Sept 11.

Info found in Inside 9-11 What Really Happened by the reporters, writers, and editors of Der Spiegel magazine.

[SarahW]

Again, he's not the "unreliable" witness.

He is not the source of descriptions of the shooter, the van, or the weapon used. He was there, heard the shot, saw the fallen woman. That's it.

He might have attracted some attention bc of his appearance.

I wonder if any of the "witnesses" based their description on his appearance.

Massis is a surname used by armenians, in greece, lebanon, turkey, syria, etc. Also some french folks, probably of ME extraction.

I can't imagine the police didn't speak with him, and check him out, what he was doing there.

Reading the transcript, I don't get a sense of him being shady, just nervous and excited to be on a news show, with a story to tell, and having english as a second language. If he was too proud and smiley, I would attribute that to his excitement and pride at being a guest, and desire to thank his host.

As far as his account being unreliable, his only observations were the sound of the shot in relation to time and place, and seeing the fallen woman and how the store and other people there reacted.

[SunnyUsa]

Oh, wow...I agree and I'm glad I'm not alone thinking this....

I just posted this below on another thread on the same topic:

something is really screwed up about this investigation and latest news conference.....

Alot of the people I saw interviewed from that Home Depot shooting seemed all foreign to me...
I mean not one of them spoke English as a first language... it really struck me as so odd.

Could it be that they are being set up, "witnesses" in the area to give false info?

The eyewitness guy that Greta Von whatever interviewed on FOX almost seemed like the whole thing was a joke...and he was smirking and smiling at the camera... I wonder if he's the guy that they are discrediting now?

AND I kept thinking he looked olive skinned....anyone else see it?
5 posted on 10/17/02 2:04 PM Eastern by SunnyUsa

[blam]

"And I also think that this information about us deploying these planes should not have been released to the media, but LE doesn't seem to have a problem with that, but they sure got their shorts in a wad over the Tarot card."

Could this investigation/operation have been federalized CIA/FBI/DoD and the LEO's have been ordered not to say. (That could be why they (the LEO's) don't know a damn thing, they're out of the loop)

[johnb838]

What is the story with the "I need a shower NOW" line?

Pretty-pleaze?

[SarahW]

French/ME fits with the surname.

[Thisiswhoweare]

Earlier this afternoon, fox was going to break and, they showed a clip of a group of (what appeared to be cadets) walking slowly across some area appearently seraching for clues.

Takes me back to the Chandra Levy investigation, where they couldn't come up with any credible evidence. A little over a year later, some guy and his dog find the remains.

Are these the "experts" that we all are watching to solve this?

Nuff said.

[SarahW]

It shoudln't strike you as odd, because there are so many immigrants in DC.

It ain't Idaho.

[SarahW]

And that is meant to ncluded surrounding suburbs like falls Church, BTW

[Kerberos]

"There's a good chance that Moose's statements about the information being noncredible is simply to lull the guy into a false sense of security to get him moving again."

That's possible but my gut reaction is that is not what is transpiring here. My belief is that LE has know for some time that this is a terrorist assault but are scared shirtless as to what the public backlash against Arabs living in this country would be if that was disclosed. And I would even agree that that is a valid concern.