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• 16 Mar 2005
  
  MS-13 Gang Arrests Net More Than 100 Members
   
   WASHINGTON, DC: More than 100 alleged members of the violent Central American street gang MS-13 have been arrested in a nationwide sweep, authorities said Monday, according to the Associated Press.
   
   Using information from local and state law enforcement agencies, federal agents charged 103 members of the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, gang with a range of criminal and immigration charges. The arrests came in the New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Newark, Miami and Dallas metropolitan areas over the last several weeks.
   
   Officials said MS-13 is one of the largest and most violent street gangs in the United States, and the majority of its members are in the country illegally. The gang has carried out beheadings and grenade attacks in Central America and is known to hack their enemies with machetes in cities along the East Coast in the United States.
   
   The arrests are the result of a new "Operation Community Shield" nationwide sting by the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to target violent gangs.
   
• Series of Reports -- Multiple Shooting Reported At Fulton County Courthouse, 11-12 March 2005
   
• 09 Feb 2005 - 17:00CST

  Suspect in Florida Shooting Captured After GunBattle

  LAKE COUNTY, FL: According to the Miami Herald and the Associated Press, a felon accused of gunning down a sheriff's deputy and wounding two others was captured Wednesday after an intense daylong manhunt in the Ocala National Forest, officers said.
  
  Jason Lee Wheeler, 29, was wounded in a gun fight with the officers who captured him in piney woods six miles from his home in rural Lake County, about 30 miles north of Orlando, at about 5 p.m., officers said.
  
  "We were able to flush him out of the woods," said Lake County Sheriff Chris Daniels. He said he did not know the nature of Wheeler's wounds, and that none of the deputies who captured him were wounded.
  
  The suspect, Wheeler, was removed from the woods on a stretcher aboard an airboat and was being taken to a hospital.
  
  09 Feb 2005 - 12:00 (noon) EST

  LODD: Spokesperson Says Deputy Has Died in Shooting

  LAKE COUNTY, FL: According to Sgt. Christie Mysinger of the Lake County, FL. Sheriff's dept., one of the deputies in the shooting incident described below has died as the result of his injuries sustained at a domestic dispute/shooting  involving suspect Jason Wheeler. Law enforcement (LE) sources tell EmergencyNet News that an armored rescue vehicle has been dispatched to a wooded area where the suspect might be hiding.  EmergencyNet News will bring you additional details as circumstances warrant...

  09 Feb 2005 - 11:00EST

  BOLO: Man Suspected of Shooting Deputies Wanted by Florida LE

  LAKE COUNTY, FL:  Lake County Sheriff's officers are requesting that the public call 9-1-1 in the event that they see: Jason Wheeler, age 29, who was involved in the shooting of three (3) sheriff's deputies earlier today.  Three deputies were responding to a call for a "domestic dispute," at the time of the shooting. At least one of the deputies was transported by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel to a local hospital.

  The suspect is thought to have escaped the shooting scene of a "Honda dirt bike" and may be considered armed and dangerous.  The suspect's wife reportedly told authorities that "he has an arsenal of weapons and that the property may have booby traps." ERRI law enforcement analysts said that great caution is urged in the event the suspect is encountered.  It is recommended that no one approach the suspect themselves...but, rather, call 9-1-1 and avoid any possible confrontation.  The initial incident occurred in the vicinity of the Ocala National Forest/Lake Katherine, FL area.
   

• Dec 2004

  Emergency Response Resource Locator:

  The U.S. National Response Plan is now available from DHS.  The documents are as follows:
  
  National Response Plan and Annexes
  December 2004
  (PDF, 114 pages, 2MB)
  http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/NRPbaseplan.pdf
  
  National Response Plan
  December 2004
  Full Version (PDF, 426 pages, 4MB)
  includes all annexes, "Emergency Support Function Annexes", "Support
  Annexes", and "Incident Annexes."
  http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/NRP_FullText.pdf 
   

• 02 Nov 2004
  
  Guidance on Initial Responses to a Suspicious Letter / Container With a Potential Biological Threat, This is an FBI – DHS – HHS/CDC Coordinated Document that can be found at: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/planning/pdf/suspicious-package-biothreat.pdf
   
• 10 Aug 2004

  Updated: August 10th, 2004 12:07:48 PM

  DHS Bulletin: Potential Terrorist Use of Official Identification, Uniforms, or Vehicles
  Department Of Homeland Security
  Information Bulletin

  OVERVIEW:  Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Information Bulletins are informational in nature and are designed to provide updates on the training, tactics, or strategies of terrorists. The following information is meant to advise the owners and operators of the nation's infrastructures about the possible use by terrorists of official identification, uniforms, or vehicles to gain access to sensitive facilities for purposes of planning or carrying out attacks. (In this Information Bulletin, 'official' refers to recognized implements of federal, state, and local governments and private sector entities.) While DHS possesses no information indicating an organized effort by extremist elements in the United States to illegally obtain official identification, uniforms, or vehicles in furtherance of terrorist activities, it has identified the recent theft or disappearance of large numbers of these items. Attempts to acquire official identification, uniforms, or vehicles would be consistent with the tactics and techniques of Al-Qaeda and other extremist groups, according to a variety of reporting sources.

  DETAILS:  Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups likely view the theft or other illegal acquisition of official identification, uniforms, or vehicles as an effective way to increase access and decrease scrutiny in furtherance of planning and operations. Although we possess no information that Al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups are systematically pursuing the illegal acquisition of the above referenced items, there is indeed precedence for the use of official identification, uniforms, or vehicles in the execution of terrorist attacks. Terrorist groups have utilized police or military uniforms to mask their identities and achieve closer access to their targets without arousing suspicion. This was illustrated in the December 2002, suicide bombings that targeted the Chechen Government Headquarters in Groznyy, Russia. Terrorists in South America, the Philippines and Pakistan have commandeered or stolen emergency medical services vehicles and uniforms (or cleverly designed imitations) to facilitate the execution of their attacks on key facilities.

  In an effort to understand the extent of official identification, uniform, and vehicle thefts, DHS recently conducted a survey of selected members of the law enforcement community in five states. This survey revealed that from February to May 2003 hundreds of official identification cards, badges, decals, uniforms, and government license plates were reported stolen or lost. Additionally, a number of private companies have reported receiving suspicious inquiries about renting official delivery vehicles and emergency services representatives have received unusual requests for detailed vehicle descriptions. There is no historical baseline to compare recent theft or suspicious inquiry data, and the intent or resolution of many of the thefts cannot be determined.

  The worldwide proliferation of individuals or 'companies' that traffic in high-quality imitations of official identification, uniforms, or vehicles is a related issue that increases the possibility such items could be used to facilitate future terrorist attacks and further complicates efforts to prevent their acquisition. For example, earlier this month the New York City High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force reported that it had identified a Japanese website selling near exact replicas of badges from law enforcement agencies such as the U.S. Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Agency, U.S. Marshals Service, and Los Angeles Police Department.

  Several press reports this year have referred to the theft and sale over the Internet of a large number of United Parcel Service (UPS) uniforms. Although these reports proved to be false, they did bring to the public's attention the potential security concerns of missing or stolen identification, uniforms, or vehicles.

  DHS reminds all recipients to remain vigilant to the disappearance of, or unauthorized inquiries regarding, official identification cards, badges, decals, uniforms, government license plates, and vehicles and establish practices that account for missing items. DHS encourages recipients to report suspicious incidents to the proper authorities and to remain vigilant for any nexus to terrorism

  PROTECTIVE MEASURES:  Recognizing that possession of some combination of official identification cards, badges, decals, uniforms, government license plates, and vehicles tends to reduce suspicion and might allow an individual or vehicle greater access to sensitive facilities, the following protective measures are suggested:

  -- Keep comprehensive records of all official identification cards, badges, decals, uniforms, and license plates distributed, documenting any anomalies and canceling access to items that are lost or stolen.

  -- Practice accountability of all vehicles to include tracking vehicles that are in service, in repair status, or sent to salvage.1

  -- Safeguard uniforms, patches, badges, ID cards, and other forms of official identification to protect against unauthorized access to facilities, to include stripping all decommissioned vehicles slated for resale and/or salvage of all agency identifying markings and emergency warning devices.2

  -- Check multiple forms of valid identification for each facility visitor.

  -- Verify the legitimate business needs of all approaching vehicles and personnel.

  -- Improve identification card technology to eliminate reuse or unauthorized duplication. Alert uniform store vendors of the need to establish and verify the identities of individuals seeking to purchase uniform articles.3

  -- Ensure all personnel are provided a security briefing regarding present and emerging threats.

  * ERRI reference: http://www.emergency.com/safe-sec.htm

  DHS encourages recipients of this Information Bulletin to report information concerning suspicious or criminal activity to law enforcement or a DHS watch office. The DHS Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection watch offices may be contacted at:

  For private citizens and companies Phone: (202) 323-3205, 1-888-585-9078
  Email: nipc.watch@fbi.gov
  Online: http://www.nipc.gov/incident/cirr.htm
  For Telecom industry - Phone: (703) 607-4950
  Email: ncs@dhs.gov For Federal agencies/departments - Phone: (888) 282-0870
  Email: fedcirc@fedcirc.gov
  Online: https://incidentreport.fedcirc.gov

  DHS intends to update this Information Bulletin should it receive additional relevant information, including information provided to it by the user community. Based on this notification, no change to the Homeland Security Advisory System level (HSAS) is anticipated; the current HSAS level is YELLOW.
   

• 25 Jan 2004

  Security Experts Are Watching for Guns Disguised as Mobile Phones
  By ADAM ZAGORIN
  
  From the Feb. 02, 2004 issue of TIME magazine
  
  Don't be surprised if you're asked to whip out your cell phone and make a call next time you go through airport security. A mobile phone that masquerades as a gun may sound like a device concocted for 007, but it's the latest hidden weaponry to show up on the radar of law-enforcement folks.
  
  Sources tell TIME that cell-phone guns, some of which have been seized in drug raids in the Netherlands, England and Germany, have been cited in several federal security alerts over the past year, the most recent just over a month ago. Though heavier than normal phones, the lethal ones look nearly identical. The hollowed-out devices, made in Croatia, are fired by punching buttons on the keypad and can shoot four .22-cal. bullets in rapid succession.  Source: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/ 0,9171,1101040202-581402,00.html
  
  Click here to view a short video of the cellphone gun from the ERRI archives. (Requires Real™ Video player to view the video)
   

• 24 June 2003
  
  Virginia Police Officer Killed In Traffic Stop Shootout

  VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA: After he pulled over two men who turned out to be suspects in an armed robbery minutes before, a police officer was killed in a shootout early Monday. One of the suspects also was killed. Officer Rodney F. Pocceschi, 33, did not know a nearby IHOP restaurant had been robbed when he pulled over a Ford Explorer, probably for speeding, at 0324 EDT.

  As Pocceschi walked toward the vehicle, the driver got out and began firing at the officer, who shot back. A 21-year-old suspect died at the scene. Pocceschi's bulletproof vest deflected one bullet but the officer also was shot multiple times in areas unprotected by body armor. Police arrested the 21-year-old passenger in the Explorer.
   

• 12 June 2003
  
  FBI Says Cellular Phones Rigged To Set Off Bombs

  WASHINGTON, DC: The Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Wednesday that while it was looking into the recent terrorist bombing in Saudi Arabia it found cell phones rigged to detonate explosives by remote control. The Bureau urged U.S. law enforcement officials to be on the lookout for similar devices. According to a weekly FBI bulletin to 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies, the modified cell phones turned up during searches following the 12 May bombing in Riyadh that killed 35 people, including nine Americans. ERRI analysts say this is not a new tactic. It has been used extensively in the Middle East, particularly as designed by Palestinian militants like "The Engineer," Yahya Ayyash. Ayyash was reportedly killed by a remote-detonated cell phone several years ago.

  Although the FBI said it has no information indicating any of the tens of millions of existing cell phones would be used by terrorists in the United States, the bulletin urged local officials to take precautions if a suspected device is found. The bulletin said that if officer encounter such a device, they should "immediately evacuate the area to a minimum distance of 300 yards. Radios, cellular telephones and pagers should not be used within 50 feet of the suspected device." The FBI said that terrorists also have used pagers and radio systems to detonate bombs by remote control.

  The FBI bulletin included details of how a cell phone can become part of a deadly bomb. It requires use of a battery, a switch, an initiation device such as an electric match or a light bulb, conducting wires and explosives. The phone itself is not a bomb. When the phone receives an incoming call, "the electrical power from the telephone's ringer or vibrator activates the bomb's circuitry" causing an explosion. The bulletin warned that "law enforcement officers without specialized explosives training should never attempt to remove or disable a suspected device." ERRI analysts said that the FBI warning goes double for Fire/EMS or other first responders who don't have an extensive knowledge of explosive ordinance disposal techniques.

  ERRI senior national security analyst Clark Staten said today that more needs to be done to train all emergency responders in regard to the identification of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), that they may increasingly encounter in the United States.
   

• 17 May 2003

  U.S. Public Warned To Be On Alert For Truck Bombers

  WASHINGTON: The U.S. State Department issued a nationwide alert on Friday for the U.S. public and American businesses to be on the look- out for possible attacks by suicide truck bombers in this country. Saying it had no specific information that a truck bombing of any kind was being planned in the United States, the DoS -- through its Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) -- said the nationwide alert was designed to pre-empt any such attack by advising the public as well as people who own and operate businesses on how such a terrorist event might take place. The alert, noting that the Department of Homeland Security believes a truck bombing by terrorists may be pre-empted if the general public remains on guard for certain indicators, outlined what it called general information to assist in recognizing potential truck bombers or other threats based on the Monday bombings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

  Asking the public to watch for and report any suspicious activity, the alert listed several indicators or actions that could be a precursor to an attack, including:

  -- Chemical fires, toxic odors, brightly colored stains or rusted metal fixtures in apartments, hotels, motels or self-storage units.

  -- The rental of self-storage space for the purpose of storing chemicals or mixing apparatus.

  -- The delivery of chemicals directly from the manufacturer to a self- storage facility or unusual deliveries of chemicals to residential or rural addresses.

  -- The theft of explosives, blasting caps, fuses or certain chemicals used in the manufacture of explosives.

  -- Small test explosions in rural wooded areas or the treatment of chemical burns or missing hands or fingers.

  -- The modification of a truck or van with heavy-duty springs to handle heavier loads.

  The alert noted that international terrorist groups have demonstrated the ability to plan and conduct complex attacks simultaneously against multiple targets. In the Riyadh attacks, it said, terrorists -- suspected of being linked to the al-Qaeda network -- assaulted three compounds occupied by Western guest workers using multiple vehicles. At least one vehicle in each assault team carried a large explosive charge, which was detonated by a suicide bomber.

  The alert said media reports indicated that the attackers drove up to each compound, killing those guarding the compound gates with small-arms fire. Vehicles carrying the explosive charges were then driven into each compound and detonated. In one instance, the alert said, it appeared the terrorists attempted to breach the gate security checkpoint by ramming it with a sedan.

  It is likely that those involved with executing the Riyadh attacks conducted extensive preoperational surveillance of the compounds selected, the alert noted, adding that meticulous planning to include surveillance is a hallmark of al-Qaeda terrorist attacks. While the ability to conduct multiple, near-simultaneous attacks against several targets is not new for terrorist groups such as the al-Qaeda network, the alert said the manner in which the Riyadh attacks were conducted indicated a more refined capability. The alert said that the split-second timing among the three attacks showed that a trained and dedicated cadre perpetrated the assault.

  The Department of Homeland Security sent the bulletin warning the operators and owners of various facilities in the United States to be vigilant. The DHS sent the seven-page bulletin on Thursday to business organizations, state and local governments, and state and local law enforcement agencies.  Source:  Risk Assessment Division, Information Analysis Directorate, Department of Homeland Security.
   

• 20:00CST - 20 Feb 2003

  Six Police (SWAT) Officers Shot; At Least One Dead

  ALEXANDRIA, LOUISIANA (EmergencyNet News) -- According to Police Chief Tommy Cicardo, a total of six police officers have been shot as they tried to arrest a suspect on charges of previously shooting at police. The incident reportedly occurred this afternoon near Overton and Warshauer streets in Alexandria. Preliminary reports say that three officers have been hospitalized in stable condition following a two hour stand-off and shoot out. The wounded officers were taken to St. Frances Cabrini and Rapides Regional hospital. At least one officer, so far unidentified, was killed during the incident...as was the suspect. Few other official details were available late Thursday and an investigation of the incident continues. (Note: Later reports suggest that two officers died in this tragic incident)
   

• 16 Feb 2003
  
  Houston Standoff Ends With Six Dead

  HOUSTON, TX: After an eight-hour standoff in which a police officer was wounded, six people -- including three children -- were found dead in a house northwest of Houston early Saturday. Authorities believe the man involved had killed his wife, girlfriend and three young daughters days earlier, then turned the gun on himself during the standoff. Two of the children were found stuffed into a barrel inside the home, and investigators said the man had bought eight quarts of disinfectant, apparently to clean the crime scene.

  Police went to the house on Friday evening as a follow-up investigation to a missing person case, because detectives had learned that the missing woman's boyfriend lived at the residence. As three detectives attempted to enter the home, one was shot in an exchange of gunfire with the man inside. Officers then surrounded the house for eight hours before finally entering it at about 0200 CST Saturday.

  The man's body was found in a bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head. The Harris County Sheriff's Department said the women and children -- 10 years or younger -- appeared to have been dead for days, and a diary in the house indicated the man had shot them on Monday. Two of the children's bodies were found stuffed in a barrel on the lower level of the two-story brick house.
   

• 08 Feb 2003
  
  The FBI released the following information on the individual that they are seeking:

  Mohammed Sher Mohammad Khan

  Alias: Muhammad Shir Muhammad Khan; Mohammed Essagh; Ja'Far Al-Tayar; Jaffar Tayar; Jaafar Al-Tayyar; Ali Abdul Qadir; Abdul Qadir

  Date of Birth: November 11, 1966;
  Place of Birth: Swat, Pakistan
  Height: 5'3" to 5'7"
  Weight: 132 pounds
  Hair: Black
  Eyes: Black

  The above individual, whose name and date of birth may be fictitious, is believed to have entered the United States illegally after September 1, 2001. Khan is an English speaker and sometimes has a beard. He is also asthmatic. Although the FBI has no specific information that this individual is connected to any potential terrorist activities, based upon information developed in the course of on-going investigations, the FBI would like to locate and question this person.

  The FBI has been working with Homeland Security Agencies (U.S. Customs, INS, TSA) to locate this individual. The above information has also been disseminated to the appropriate law enforcement agencies around the United States and throughout the world.

  A photograph of Mohammed Sher Mohammad Khan can be viewed on the FBI's website: www.fbi.gov. Anyone with any information pertaining to this individual is asked to contact their nearest FBI office.
   

• 07 Feb 2003
  
  FRANCE: Police said on Friday that they had seized two cellular phones capable of shooting four bullets, with the digital touchpads used as triggers. The black phones, which appear identical to normal cellular phones on the outside, were discovered in a raid on the home of someone suspected of being a criminal in the northern city of Rouen on Tuesday. The phones come apart in the middle to reveal a four-chamber compartment for .22- caliber bullets, which can be shot out of a protruding fake antenna.
   

• 22 Dec 2002
  
  Bratton Plans To Overhaul LAPD

  LOS ANGELES: New LAPD Chief William Bratton plans to overhaul the his department by granting more authority to local commanders, appointing civilians to top posts and consolidating some divisions under a new Homeland Security Bureau. Bratton unveiled his blueprint on Friday to about 100 police officials during a meeting in Burbank. The chief said he wants to decentralize authority, for instance, by granting police captains more responsibility for dealing with citizen complaints.

  Bratton is said to be planning to appoint an old friend, John Miller, to head the Homeland Security Bureau that will consolidate intelligence, counterterrorism, major narcotics and organized crime investigations. Miller was Bratton's deputy police commissioner for public affairs when Bratton was commissioner of the New York Police Department in the 1990s. Miller, co-host of the ABC News magazine "20/20," is the correspondent who interviewed master terrorist Usama bin Laden in 1998...
   

• 03 Dec 2002
  
  FBI Reports 142 Police Killings In 2001

  WASHINGTON: The FBI on Monday said 142 law enforcement officers were killed nationwide last year in the line of duty, including 72 who lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The 70 deaths not associated with the terrorist attacks represent a 37 percent increase over 2000, when 51 officers were killed while on duty. In a report released yesterday, the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR) said 105 of the slain officers worked for city police departments, 24 for county police and sheriff's offices, and three for state agencies. Four others were employed by federal agencies and six served with police in Puerto Rico.

  Of those killed at the World Trade Center, 37 were from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, 23 from the New York City Police Department and five from the New York Office of Tax Enforcement. One New York City Fire Department fire marshal, one U.S. Secret Service agent, one FBI agent and three officers from the State of New York Unified Court System also perished in the trade center tragedy...
   

• 13 Nov 2002 - Wanted By FBI: Amer El-Maati
  
  Aliases: Amro Badr Eldin Abou El-Maati, Amro Badr Abouelmaati
  
  DESCRIPTION
  
  Date of Birth Used: May 25, 1963
  Hair: Brown
  Place of Birth: Kuwait
  Eyes: Brown
  Height: 6'0" Complexion: Olive
  Weight: 209 pounds Sex: Male
  
  Remarks: El-Maati may be wearing a full beard and mustache. He requires corrective lenses and may be wearing eyeglasses.
  
  DETAILS:  Amer El-Maati is being sought in connection with possible terrorist threats in the United States.
  SHOULD BE CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS
  
  IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS PERSON, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL FBI OFFICE OR THE NEAREST AMERICAN EMBASSY OR CONSULATE.  (ERRI note: Do NOT take any action on your own...monitor the wanted individual and report at your earliest opportunity to the appropriate authorities)

  Source: http://www.fbi.gov/terrorinfo/el-maati.htm
   

• 23 Oct 2002
  
  Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department To Form Homeland Security Arm

  LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is reorganizing to create an Office of Homeland Security, whose members will be the first to respond to a terrorist threat or attack. The Board of Supervisors gave the OK on Tuesday to create the office, which will be composed of deputies already in special units, including the Office of Security Management; the bureaus of operation, emergency operations, safe streets, reserve forces; the Aero Bureau; and the Community Law Enforcement Partnership Unit.
   

• Series of EmergencyNet News "Real-Time" Reports Concerning Multiple Murders in the Montgomery County, MD Area -- 03 to 14 Oct 2002  (Updated 23:15:00CDT - 14 Oct 2002)
   

• INSTANT Update 17:00CDT - 13 Sep 2002

  Three Men Apparently Not Connected To Terrorism

  Collier County, FL (EmergencyNet News) -- According to the most recent account from the Associated Press, three men reportedly overheard in a restaurant talking about what sounded like a terrorist plot may have been "kidding around." Collier County Sheriff Don Hunter is quoted as saying that the men's comments in a Georgia restaurant may have been some sort of  joke. "If this was a hoax, they will be charged," Hunter added. The men's nationalities were identified by authorities as a Jordanian, an Iranian and a Pakistani. Gov. Jeb Bush and a federal law enforcement official in Washington said that a preliminary investigation suggests that the men had no apparent link to terrorism. Inquiry into the incident continues this evening...

  INSTANT Update 08:00EDT - 13 Sep 2002

  Two Vehicles Stopped; Bomb Squad Detonates Back Pack

  NAPLES, Fla. — A bomb squad detonated a suspicious package early Friday morning in a car along Alligator Alley, the main East-West highway crossing the Everglades, after an all-night search for two cars thought to be involved in possible terrorist activity. Bomb-sniffing dogs alerted authorities to material in both vehicles, said E.J. Picolo of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Explosive charges were used to blast open what appeared to be a backpack taken from one of the vehicles. Three so-far unidentified suspects are reportedly in custody.

  Get the latest details of this developing story...Click here for the latest from FOX News

  23:30CDT/00:30EDT - 12/13/Sep 2002

  Threat Advisory Issued For Miami, FL Area

  Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, FL (EmergencyNet News) -- According to both media and emergency service sources, a BOLO (Be-On-The-Look-Out) has been issued for three men and two cars that may be involved in some sort of dangerous plot involving the Miami area. Few official details about the plot are currently available, except a description of the vehicles and people who are wanted for questioning. The men were last seen traveling south on I-75 from Georgia.

  The description of the vehicles:

  A Nissan Maxima: cream color with gold trim and a Carmax tag on the front of the vehicle.

  A new Honda, black with Illinois plates.

  The suspects' descriptions:

  First: A man of possible Middle Eastern descent, 5'10'', 200 pounds, 20-30 years old, black hair, brown eyes, set wide apart, thick beard that extends past his collar. 

  Second man: again, possible Mideastern descent, 5'7'', 130 pounds, black hair that comes down to his collar.

  The third and final man, also of possible Mideastern descent, 5'7'' 130 pounds, shiny black hair.

  If you have any information about these men or vehicles you are urged to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS or in Broward call (954) 493-TIPS. Do not attempt to intervene on your own, call the police at your earliest opportunity.  Reference: WSVN-TV -http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/S4873/
   

• 30 Aug 2002
  
  Two Sheriff's Deputies Fatally Shot Near Washington

  PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD: Law enforcement officials said two Prince George's County sheriff's deputies were fatally shot on Thursday night when they tried to serve an emergency psychiatric petition at a house in the Adelphi, Maryland, area. Someone in the house opened fire on the deputies at about 21:30EDT. The deputies had entered the house without incident.

  The victims were identified early today as James Arnaud and Elizabeth MacGruder, age 30. Arnaud, who had been on the force for almost 13 years, would have turned 54 on Saturday. MacGruder joined the force in February 2001.

  Investigators were looking for one or two men who fled in a vehicle. It was still unclear for whom the psychiatric order was issued, who requested it and whether the home's owners or their two college-age children were involved in the incident at 9332 Lynmont Drive. MacGruder was hit in the back of the head. Arnaud was struck in the throat.

  It was also immediately unclear what kind of gun was used. One deputy was shot in the living room, and the other was shot in a back bedroom. Arnaud died inside the house. MacGruder was pronounced dead at Prince George's Hospital Center. An extensive manhunt is underway at the time of this report...trying to locate two suspects believed involved in the incident.

  The staff at ERRI/EmergencyNet News wish to send their prayers and condolences to the family, friends, and co-workers of the slain officers.
   

• Note to Orange County Sheriff's Office, Salt Lake City Police, or other Law Enforcement agencies wishing to disseminate information or request assistance from other emergency service agencies and/or the public in general:  Official agencies wishing public assistance with on-going cases may send press releases or other information that they would like distributed here or through EmergencyNet News channels by sending them in e-mail addressed to webmaster@emergency.com or fax them to 773-631-4703. We will do our best to be of whatever assistance we can and redistribute requests from official agencies as soon as they are received...just let us know how we can help...
   

• 12 June 2002
  
  Radiological Survey Equipment Needed By Emergency Forces?

  By Steve Macko, EmergencyNet News Managing Editor

  CHICAGO, IL: ERRI's senior national security analyst and retired emergency service chief, Clark Staten said that given recent warnings about attempts by terrorist forces to attack American targets with a Radiation Dispersal Device (RDD), it would be prudent for U.S. Fire. Police, and EMS units to obtain and use radiological survey equipment during any response to a known or suspected explosion. "Our recommendations would include, at this time, that someone (as determined by the jurisdiction having authority) among initial response forces to an explosion, be trained and equipped with appropriate radiological survey equipment to include a geiger-counter type device and dosimeters," Staten said. "This equipment could then be used to conduct a preliminary assessment of the scene and determine what appropriate protective clothing and equipment might be needed, or if other special units are required," the veteran analyst added.  "As times and tactical situations change, so must the capabilities of our emergency service agencies...we think it only prudent to make such a suggestion at this time," Staten concluded.  Additional reference: 1981 -"Handling of Radiation Accident Victims; A Prehospital Care Point of View," by Staten, C. L. , Fire Command Magazine, January 1981, Pg. 14-15, 19 (Note: requires Adobe .pdf reader/plug-in)
   

• 17:00CDT - 31 May 2002

  Explosive Missing in California; Reward Offered

  CALIFORNIA: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms posted a $5,000 reward Friday for information leading to the location of a cache of explosives that was reported stolen earlier this month. Special Agent in Charge John Torres said the explosives were stolen on May 18 from a mining operation in Scott Bar, Calif., near the Oregon state line border. According to officials and the Siskiyou County sheriff's department, 700 pounds of dynamite and related materials were stolen. ATF officials urged anyone with information to call 1-800-ATF-BOMB.
   

• 10 Apr 2002
  
  Cop Kills Five People In New Jersey

  DOVER TOWNSHIP, NJ: Police said five people were killed and two others were wounded when a veteran police officer went on a shooting rampage in two New Jersey towns. Authorities were searching overnight for one Edward Lutes, a Seaside Heights police officer for 15 years. He was reportedly later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

  The shootings started in Dover Township at around 22:00EDT Tuesday in two homes. Two of the unidentified victims were in a house located next door to Lutes' home and the other three victims were in a house across the street. A sixth person was wounded and taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River. It was not immediately known where the victim was at the time of the shooting.

  Lutes later went to nearby Barnegat Township and shot Seaside Heights Police Chief James Costello. He was hospitalized in stable condition at Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune. Police could not give a motive for the shootings...
   

• 28 Mar 2002

  Man Accused Of Killing Eight Near Paris Reportedly Commits Suicide In Police Custody

  FRANCE: Police said the suspect in a shooting rampage that left eight people dead at a city council meeting in suburban Paris killed himself on Thursday by jumping out a window. The 33-year-old man committed suicide while in police custody, jumping from a fifth-floor window of police headquarters in Paris. The suspect was accused of killing eight members of the Nanterre city council and injuring 19 others in a shooting attack early Wednesday.

  The man, who was unemployed and allegedly suffering severe psychological problems, had been in police custody since the attack. During a day of interrogation, the suspect told police he often "thought about killing someone and killing himself afterward." Television news reports said that police found a 13- page letter at the man's home. In the letter, the suspect recounted a failed life, saying he was disgusted with himself and with life in Nanterre, and he wanted police to kill him.
  
  Possible Truck Bomb Attack Warned By FBI

  WASHINGTON: The Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning the public that terrorists may be planning a truck bombing. While not citing any specific threats have been made in or against the U.S., the bureau on Thursday published a list of telltale signs that people should watch for. Labeled "for informational purposes only," the FBI web site warning urged citizens to be alert for the following signs, which it said might indicate plans for detonation of a truck bomb:

  --Theft of chemicals or explosives.
  --Theft of respirators or chemical-mixing devices.
  --Rental of storage space for chemicals.
  --Delivery of chemicals to storage spaces.
  --Theft of a van or truck capable of carrying more than one ton.
  --Chemical fires or toxic odors in apartments, hotel rooms or self-storage units.
  --Small explosions in wooded areas, which could be bomb tests.
  --Reports of hospital patients suffering losses of fingers or hands.
  --Chemical burns or severed hands that remain untreated.
  --Surveillance of potential targets.
  --Efforts to obtain blueprints of potential targets.

  In the event that you become aware of such activity, please notify your local law enforcement agencies, at the earliest opportunity.
   

• 19 Mar 2002
  
  Police Officer Killed in Shootout

  CHICAGO, IL: According to police, a Chicago police officer was killed in a shootout that erupted when police attempted to make an arrest at a Northwest Side apartment on Monday night. A suspect was fatally shot by other officers who returned fire. The officer, 47-year-old Donald Marquez, was part of a group of officers attempting to make an arrest in the 2400 block of North Avers Avenue at around 22:00CST on Monday.

  Marquez, an officer since February 1982, was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, and despite resuscitation efforts, pronounced dead at 00:25CST Tuesday. The officer was hit by several bullets. The man suspected of shooting the officer was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead late Monday.

  ---

• 17 Jan 2002
  
  Virginia Law School Shooting Leaves Three Dead

  GRUNDY, VIRGINIA:  (EmergencyNet News) Officials said that the dean, a professor and a student were killed when a gunman went a shooting rampage at a law school on Wednesday afternoon. The shooter was said to be a student who had been suspended from the school. The suspect was overpowered by other students and held until police arrived. Three other students were critically wounded by gunfire.

  The dean and a professor of the Appalachian School of Law were gunned down in their offices. A doctor who has a practice just half a mile from the school said that when he arrived on the scene, "there there were bodies laying everywhere." State police described the gunman as a Nigerian male who had flunked out last year and who had been suspended from school earlier Wednesday. The suspect is said to be 43-years-old and has a history of mental instability that school officials were aware of.

  The dean and the professor were reportedly "executed" in their offices. The gunman then went downstairs into a common area and opened fire on a crowd of students, killing one and wounding three others. He was tackled by four male students as he left the building. The weapon used was a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun. The three wounded students were hospitalized in critical condition.
   

• Police Operations Archive Page - Chronology and Summary of Events: 
  05 Mar 2001 to 06 Dec 2001
   

• Police Operations Archive Page - Chronology and Summary of Events: 
  18 Apr 2000 to 15 Feb 2001
  
• Series of 'real-time" EmergencyNet News Reports Concerning a Shooting Near the White House in Washington, D.C. -- 07 to 09 Feb 01 (Updated 09 Feb 2001)
• 06 Feb 2001: Series of EmergencyNet News "Real-Time" Reports Concerning A Multiple Shooting in Melrose Park, IL - 05 Feb 2001; Five Dead, Four Wounded in Workplace Rampage
• 04 Mar 00-Click here for a Series of EmergencyNet News Reports Concerning a Multiple Shooting 
  in Wilkinsburg, PA on 01 March 2000 (last updated on 04 Mar 2000)
• 04 Nov 99-Series of Real-time EmergencyNet News Reports Concerning a Multiple Shooting 
  at the Northlake Shipyard in Seattle, WA -- 03 Nov 99 to 04 Nov 99
• 03 Nov 99--Series of Real-time EmergencyNet News Reports Concerning a Multiple Murder in 
  Honolulu, Hawaii -- 02 Nov 99 to 03 Nov 99
• 08/20/99-09:30CDT-SWAT Lessons Learned from Columbine, CO
• 04 Nov 99 --Summary of Selected EmergencyNet News Real-time Reports Concerning Mass Shootings - 1996 to 1999
• 08/10/99-10:00CDT--EmergencyNet News coverage of a multiple shooting at a Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills, CA 
• 07/30/99-09:00CDT-Series of Real-Time EmergencyNet News Reports Concerning a Shooting Rampage at 3500 Piedmont in Atlanta, GA; 29 July 1999 to 30 July 1999
• 07/05/99-10:30CDT- Series of Emergencynet  News Reports Concerning Multiple Shootings in 
  Illinois and Indiana 02 July 99 to 05  July 99
• 06/27/99-09:00CDT- D.C. Police Launch Assault on Wave of Violence 
• 04/29/99-08:30CDT-EmergencyNet News Opinion/Editorial: Littleton; Who's to Blame?
• 04/20/99 to 05/01/99 - A series of EmergencyNet News Real-time Special Reports on a Shooting at the Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado
• 04/15/99-Series of Real-Time Reports on a Multiple Victim Shooting Incident in Salt Lake City, Utah 
• 08/03/98-09:00CDT--Disturbances Break Out In And Around Chicago Forest Preserve  
• 07/25/98-10:00CDT--Series of Real-Time Reports-Attack on Capitol Hill; Two Police Killed - 24 July 98
• 07/03/98-09:30CDT--Officer Safety Alert: Alabama, Armored Car Robbery/Pipebomb Trap
• 06/05/98-08:30--Series of Reports Concerning Police Manhunt For "Cop-Killer" in Colorado/Utah Area - 05/30/98 to 06/05/98
• 07/01/98-09:30CDT--French Police Monitor World Cup Violence Closely - 01 July 98
• 05/20/98-10:00CDT--Man Kills Three Police Officers Near Tampa, FL; Then Self
• 05/22/98-10:30CDT--Series of Real-Time Reports; Multiple Shooting at the Thurston High School in Springfield, OR
• 05/11/98-08:00CDT--Public Safety Target Acquisition: The 911 Solution, by James Denney
• 05/03/98--Commentary on Emerging Youth Violence; Who's Too Blame?
• 04/29/98-11:00CDT--Security: The Hot Topic In Mexico
• 03/30/98-17:00CDT--Series of Reports and Analysis Concerning Multiple Homicides in Jonesboro, AK -- 03/25-30/98
• 02/06/98-10:30CST--Law Enforcement News Briefs
• 01/19/98-22:00CST--Law Enforcement News Briefs; 01/17-19/98 (includes RealAudio Report)
• 01/04/98-09:30CST--Law Enforcement News Briefs - Series of Reports on Officer Duty-Related Deaths; 1998
• 01/01/98-11:00CST--Gunshots and Fireworks, Manila, Philippines Celebrates New Year's Eve; 3 Dead and 350 Injured
• 12/18/97-11:00CST--Man Takes Hostages in Plano, TX Day-Care Center
• 12/06/97-10:00CST--Colombia: The World Leader In Kidnappings
• 08/31/97-09:30CDT--Series of Real-Time Reports on the Tragic Death of Princess Diana of Wales
• 08/27/97-11:00CDT--Chicago and NYC Police Officers Reported Killed (2 newsbriefs)
• 08/26/97-08:30CDT--Sobering Dept. of Justice Domestic Violence Statistics
• 08/16/97-10:30CDT--Nationwide 911 Problems Reported
• 07/19/97-08:30CDT--Extended Coverage; Series of Articles on Alleged Mass Murderer Andrew Phillip Cunanan
• 07/15/97-10:30CDT--ENN Report-SWAT: Is It Being Used Too Much?
• 07/09/97-13:00CDT--National Credentialing For Law Enforcement Officers, Op-Ed by David A. Armstrong, Asst. Professor of Criminal Justice, McNeese State University
• 07/05/97-10:00CDT--Police Departments Tighten Requirements For New Applicants
• 06/11/97-10:00CDT--ENN Technical Report; The Advancement of Fingerprint Technology in Illinois
• 06/02/97-15:00CDT--ERRI Issues Officer Safety/Security Alert Following McVeigh Verdict in Denver
• 05/15/97-10:00CDT--Companies Should Prepare For Corporate Kidnapping Situations
• 05/03/97-14:00CDT--FBI Explosives Unit-Bomb Data Center Report
• 04/30/97-10:00CDT-- ENN Special Report - Kidnapping; A Latin American Growth Industry
• 04/12/97-14:00CDT--FBI Violent Crime Apprehension Program (VICAP)
• 03/21/97-09:00CST--The Emergence and Employment of Strategic Ultraviolence in the Management of Criminal Enterprise; by Denny and Lee
• 03/11/97-12:10CST--"Bizarre" Praying Gunman Kills 3 in Detroit Bank Incident (Updated 03/12/97)
• 03/09/97-11:00CST--Three Georgia Bureau of Investigation Agents Shot in Drug Stand-Off
• 03/05/97-11:00CST--Officer Safety Alert Issued For U.S./Mexican Border
• 03/01/97-14:00CST--Original "Instant Updates"/Summary of LAPD vrs. Bank Robbers in N. Hollywood, CA
• 01/15/97--FBI LEB; Riot Response, An Innovative Approach-TANGO TEAMS
• Police General Articles 1990 to 1996 - Page II of archives

• 10:00CST - 07 Feb 2002

  Man Subdued With Fire/Rescue Axe During Plane Incident

  Buenos Aires, Argentina (EmergencyNet News) -- United Airlines Flt. 855, flying from Miami to Buenos Aires, was the scene overnight of an unusual incident involving a man identified as a "young Uruguayan male." According to witnesses on the plane, the man reportedly attempted to kick his way into the cockpit of the flight. The suspect then struggled with one of the pilots, at which time a pilot allegedly struck the assailant with a fire/rescue axe. He was then subdued by the flight crew and is now in police custody in Argentina. There is an unconfirmed report that the suspect had "mental problems." Although official details are sketchy, Argentinean officials are saying that they don't believe that the incident was an attempted skyjacking. EmergencyNet News is monitoring events in Argentina closely and will provide additional updates as circumstances warrant... 
   

• 08:00CST - 08 Jan 2002

  Youth Finds Out Knives And Flares Are A No-No In Flight Carry-On

  CHICAGO, IL (EmergencyNet News) --  A 20-year-old male has been turned over to federal authorities after security screeners at Chicago's Midway Airport found four pocket knives, a box cutter, two flares and a bottle of lighter fluid in his carry-on bag. Police said state charges had not been filed Tuesday against the youth. A CPD spokesman said: "The FBI is interviewing him. If he's not charged with anything federal, we'll take over, but for the time being, it's in the FBI's hands."

  The suspect was heading toward a flight at the airport at about 16:00CST on Monday when security screeners spotted what appeared to be "contraband" in the youth's bag when it was sent through an X-ray machine. The screeners searched the man's bag and found the items. Police were called and the suspect was taken into custody without incident. Police said they did not know why the youth had those items in his possession.
   

• Series of EmergencyNet News "Real-Time" Reports Concerning An Attempted Bombing of American Airlines Flt. 63; 22 Dec 2001 to 08 Jan 2002
   

• 06 Nov 2001

  O'Hare Airport Security Lapse

  By Paul Anderson, ERRI Analyst

  Private security workers at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport are accused of allowing a man to pass through a security checkpoint with several knives and a stun gun in his carry-on luggage. The 27-year-old suspect was arrested attempting to board a United Airlines flight to Omaha, Nebraska, on Saturday night. He was charged with state misdemeanors of unlawful use of a weapon and attempting to board an aircraft with weapons.

  Apparently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation thought that being charged with state misdemeanors wasn't serious enough with what the man was allegedly trying to pull and after being released on bail on those charges early Sunday, he was rearrested by FBI special agents when he returned to O'Hare to retrieve his checked-in luggage and was charged with a federal felony count of attempting to carry a weapon on an aircraft.

  Seven security workers, including one supervisor, failed to detain the suspect after two folding knives were discovered in his pocket when he passed through a metal detector. The security workers did not notice seven other knives, an electronic stun gun and a can of Mace when the suspect's bag went through an X-ray machine. Instead, they were found by United Airlines employees in the gate area who searched the man's carry-on bag.

  U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said on Monday: "I consider the O'Hare failure a case of dramatic dimensions and I am recommending the FAA begin enforcement actions that could lead to a substantial fine against United Airlines." The security company responsible for the security failure is contracted by United. The screening workers were hired by Atlanta-based Argenbright Security Inc, which operates the screening operations at United's terminal. The FAA is investigating the incident.

  It was not immediately clear why the man tried to take the weapons aboard the airplane. In a statement, the FBI said "there was no allegation that terrorism was involved."

  In a television interview, the suspect said the whole thing was an misunderstanding triggered by his haste to catch the flight. He also said he had the stun gun because he was living alone and was "totally insecure."

  ERRI risk analyst Steve Macko said on Monday: "Does this security lapse surprise me? No. In 1996, ERRI published a number of reports outlining serious security problems at the nation's airports. In one report, we focused on the problems with screeners. This incident, nor how the hijackers were able to get aboard planes on September 11th with box-cutters, doesn't surprise me in the least. Something needs to be one to professionalize security operations at the nation's airports."
   

• 08/16/97-10:00CDT--EmergencyNet Report; Theft Ring Operating at O'Hare Airport (and maybe elsewhere)
• 07/04/97-10:00CDT--The Danger In The Skies Of Africa; Airline Safety
• 03/12/97-19:00CST- TWA Missile Theory Revisited; ENN Editorial and Recent Developments - ERRI Accused by Dissident of Being Part of U.S. Intelligence
• 11/17/96-16:00CST--TWA Flight 800 Crash, Get Your Stories Straight; Editorial Opinion by Jeremy Zakis
• 10/01/96-19:34EDT--NY/NJ Port Authority News Release; Contract Bomb-Dogs Begin Patrols
• 09/15/96-12:14CDT--JFK Airport Security Report; Concerns of Terrorist Vulnerability
• 09/13/96-11:00CDT--Investigative Report; Newark, NJ International Airport Security
• 08/01/96-10:30CDT--Questions Arise About Air Cargo Security in Wake of Flt. 800 Crash
• 07/29/96-12:00CDT--FAA Downplays Former I.G. Report; Report May be Suppressed??
• 07/26/96-14:37CDT--Iberian DC-10 Hijacked Into Miami International-Preliminary Reports
• 07/24/96-12:00CDT--A Long List of Suspects in Flt. 800 Disaster; ERRI Terrorism Theory
• 07/24/96-01:00CDT--Airport Safety & Security; Minimal Acceptable Standards
• 07/23/96-12:00CDT--How a Missile Might Have Brought Down TWA Flight 800; By Ron Lewis
• 07/21/96-13:00CDT--ERRI Issued Travel Warnings Prior to Flt. 800 Explosion
• 07/19/96-15:00CDT--Experts Say that Bomb is Most Likely Scenario for Flt. 800 Downing
• 07/19/96-13:22CDT--FBI Announces Toll-Free Number for Witnesses to Flt. 800 Disaster
• 07/18/96-15:00CDT--ERRI Brief on Shoulder-Fired Infra-Red Guided Missiles
• 07/18/96-10:36CDT--ENN "Day 2" Coverage of TWA Flt. 800 Explosion
• 07/17/96-20:50CDT--*FLASH REPORT* TWA Flight 800 Explodes After Leaving JFK Airport in NY
• 05/14/96-16:30EDT--"Device" Explodes in AirFrance Cargo Hold; Newark Intl. Airport
•  

• From: ERRI DAILY INTELLIGENCE REPORT-Thursday, March 14, 2002-Vol. 8 - 073

  TODAY'S CENTRAL FOCUS:

  DoS Officials Point To Drugs-Terrorism Ties In The Americas

  WASHINGTON: Two senior U.S. State Department officials have documented the symbiotic relationship that exists between drug trafficking organizations and terrorist groups in Latin America and other regions of the world. In joint testimony submitted on Wednesday, Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Rand Beers and Ambassador-at-Large for Counterterrorism Francis Taylor detailed the mutually beneficial results that accrue to terrorists and traffickers who cooperate with each other. The two officials appeared before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism, and Government Information.

  Taylor said: "Drug traffickers benefit from the terrorists' military skills, weapons supply, and access to clandestine organizations. Terrorists gain a source of revenue and expertise in illicit transfer and laundering of proceeds from illicit transactions."

  According to the two officials, a "historic link" exists in the Western Hemisphere between various terrorist groups and narcotics trafficking. Three specific geographical areas of concern were listed: Colombia, Peru, and the frontier area of Paraguay near the city of Ciudad del Este that borders both Argentina and Brazil.

  Beers said: "The linkage between drugs and terrorism in Colombia is one that particularly concerns us and one that we watch carefully." The officials said that the country's three main insurgent groups -- the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN), and the United Self-Defense Groups of Colombia (AUC) -- are all tied to narcotics trafficking.

  Some FARC units throughout southern Colombia raise funds through extortion of both legal and illegal businesses, protection of cocaine-refining laboratories, and involvement in local drug-trafficking activities. Colombian territory under the influence of the ELN includes areas used to grow opium poppy and cannabis. Although the ELN expresses a disdain for illegal drugs, it "does take advantage of the profits available."

  The AUC, which includes many Colombian paramilitary forces, has admitted using the cocaine trade to finance its activities. In their statement, Beers and Taylor noted that the head of the AUC, Carlos Castano, said in 2000 that "70 percent" of AUC operational funding was derived from drug money.

  In Peru, the remote geographic areas in which Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) guerrillas historically operated, combined with the group's reliance on violence to protect safe havens, made Sendero Luminoso "a natural to engage in protection and extortion rackets involving coca and cocaine." Beers and Taylor observed that after having "cut a brutal swath through Peru" from the 1980s through mid-1990s, Sendero Luminose waned in the late 1990s. They said that by 2001, however, the group had a "slight resurgence" in areas of Peru where coca is cultivated and processed, an indication that remnants of Sendero Luminoso are probably financing their operations with profits derived from the drug trade.

  Beers and Taylor pointed to Paraguay's tri-border region as a final area of concern in Latin America. They indicated that members of radical Islamic groups there are reported to be engaged in drug trafficking, money laundering, intellectual property rights piracy, alien smuggling, and arms trafficking.
   

• 01 July 2001
  
  MASSACHUSETTS:

  Robbers Target Pharmacies Near Boston For Oxycontin

  Police said that an armed robber targeted a Somerville, Massachusetts, Brooks Pharmacy late Sunday afternoon and took off with the store's entire supply of oxycontin, the theft being one of several pharmacy holdups of the powerful prescription pain drug in one day. Oxycontin is a very strong pain reliever that is now being illegally sold on the streets. Police said that a white man, about 20 years old, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses pulled out a gun at the pharmacy on Somerville Avenue. He demanded that the pharmacist open the store safe and then took the oxycontin supply. No one was reported hurt.

  Oxycontin is a powerful pain killer used primarily to treat cancer patients or others with intractable pain, but is now being sold on the street as a substitute for heroin. The Somerville robbery followed a similar robbery in the Boston suburb of Woburn on Sunday morning. The robbery happened at Wells Pharmacy.

  According to police, two men walked into the Woburn pharmacy wearing bandanas and pointing guns. They told everyone to get down. While one suspect tied the pharmacist and a technician's hands, the other went straight for the drugs, stealing all the narcotics in the pharmacy including oxycontin. Police said that the pharmacy has been hit several times in the past few years, including a robbery last October.

  On Friday, Boston police arrested a 21-year-old male and charged him with an oxycontin robbery at a Lynnfield, Massachusetts, pharmacy. Police in several Boston-area communities are working together to try and solve the many oxycontin robberies in the area.
   

• 02 June 2001
  
  UNITED STATES:

  Mexicans Identified As Top Drug Lords

  The United States government has included seven Mexican nationals in this year's list of the world's top suspected illegal drug traffickers. The list, compiled by the White House, is aimed at imposing financial sanctions on the individuals and penalizing companies that do business with them. The Mexican nationals in the list include the suspected leader of the Gulf Cartel, Oscar Malherbe de Leon, and Miguel Caro Quintero - one of the alleged leaders of the Sonora Cartel. The other five suspects include two Pakistanis, one Afghan national, a Korean and a Philippine national. This is the second such list issued by the US government since the introduction of the Foreign Drug Kingpin Designation Act in 1999.

• 21 Feb 2001
  
  Dangerous Drug Advisory:

  Police Say Ecstasy/PCP Mix Can Be Deadly

  FAIRFAX CTY, VIRGINIA:  Fairfax County Police are warning the public to be on the lookout for a new drug being sold, which combines the drugs Ecstasy and PCP. The pills sell for about $20 each. Police say they may be orange or white and engraved with a stamp of the Pokemon character, Pikachu.  Ken Larson, a former Fairfax County Narcotics detective, says the mixture of the two drugs can make for a potentially fatal combination. Larson says the PCP laced ecstasy was first brought to attention of police when an undercover officer made a buy from an adult male in December.

• 03 Nov 2000
  
  CALIFORNIA:

  Task Force Makes Ecstasy Seizure

  A major drug interdiction effort in Southern California appears to have paid off. This week, agents from an Inland Empire anti-drug task force arrested more than a dozen people allegedly responsible for importing huge quantities of the drug ecstasy, a hallucinogen known for its popularity at all night parties called "raves."

  According to authorities, it took months to build a case against the drug ring, which amassed a sizable fortune from its underground enterprise. Expensive cars, high-priced jewelry, weapons and large sums of cash were seized during this week's sweep. It was the task force's second big sting since December, when more than 700 pounds of ecstasy were seized. Authorities said most of the pills are smuggled into the U.S. from Belgium, France and the Netherlands. 

  Charles Stewart, age 31, was reportedly one of the individuals arrested by the task force. Investigators allege that Stewart is one of the leading suppliers of ecstasy in Southern California. He's also a party promoter. 

  According to the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, there were 476 drug-induced deaths in Los Angeles in 1998, and some of those were directly tied to ecstasy consumption. 

• 12 Oct 2000

  BOSTON, MA:

  DEA Says New Club Drug Can Kill

  The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is warning of a new drug gaining popularity with club-goers. Chemically similar to the rave drug ecstasy, the drug PMA is blamed for several deaths in the club scene. The DEA said that Boston is a prime target area for PMA dealers, as it has a large student population and youths with disposable income. Since February, PMA use has increased in clubs and raves in Florida, Illinois, Michigan and Canada.

  Special Agent John Gartland of the DEA said: "Two of the most serious side effects of it are increased pulse rate and elevated body temperature. It's my understanding that in one of the deaths that's been recently reported, the person that died had a body temperature of almost 117 degrees." Elevated temperature can lead to organ failure and death.

  Officials said that PMA is responsible for two deaths in Chicago and seven more in central Florida. Like ecstasy, PMA is manufactured in illicit labs. DEA agents said that the dealers themselves might not always be aware that they're not selling ecstasy. Both drugs give users a euphoric high, and those who buy it may believe they are buying ecstasy.

• 29 Sep 2000
  
  ORLANDO, FL:

  Imported Dangerous Drug ALERT: New Fatal Drug Hits Nightclubs

  Able to fry a person's brain like an egg, a new drug being sold on Central Florida's nightclub scene has set off a statewide alert after being tied to six deaths. Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner Dr Shashi Gore said on Wednesday that the pills burn out users' central nervous systems by raising body temperatures to as high as 108 degrees (F).

  Costing as little as $10, each dose is white, slightly larger than an aspirin and is stamped with three diamonds in the shape of a Mitsubishi logo. The pills, which have no connection with the Japanese company, apparently came from illegal labs in Germany and Denmark. They appeared in the United States last spring and caused the deaths of three young people in the Chicago area.

  According to drug agents, Paramethoxyamphetamine (PMA) is the latest in a series of illegal drug-related health threats in greater Orlando that began with crack cocaine in the mid-1980s and continued with heroin, Ecstasy and GHB in the 1990s. The so-called Mitsubishi pills contain a mixture of Ecstasy and PMA. Authorities do not know when the pills first arrived in Central Florida, but the drug was first detected in July after Wuesthoff Reference Laboratories in Melbourne ran comprehensive drug screens on a suspected Ecstasy overdose victim. On Tuesday, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued a warning that routine drug screens may not detect PMA.

  The Wuesthoff tests showed that five of seven Ecstasy-related deaths in Orange and Osceola counties this year involved PMA. Two of those five deaths came during a triple overdose Labor Day weekend. Two young men died after being ejected from a Lee Road nightclub. The third survived. In addition to those five victims, a woman who died in Lake County, Florida, may have bought the drug in Orlando. PMA in her blood was found by a laboratory in Gainesville.

  Nothing about the taste or initial euphoria from taking a diamond pill alerts drug users they may be on the verge of a fatal experience. According to the Journal of Analytical Toxicology, PMA shares hallucinogenic qualities with mescaline and Ecstasy. The first sign of impending death is a soaring temperature. Stupor can follow within an hour. By then, widespread bleeding of the brain and internal organs may have begun. Prompt emergency medical care does not guarantee survival.

  In two Orlando deaths, drug agents said, the victims were found thrashing on the floor like fish out of water. All of the local PMA victims consumed more than one drug, which is typical of overdose victims associated with the nightclub and rave scene. The other drugs included alcohol, Valium and marijuana. It`s possible the combinations and taking more than one dose contributed to their deaths. There is no known safe dose for PMA...

• 02/03 Aug 2000
  
  UNITED STATES:

  Feds Arrest 148 in Speed Drug Bust

  Federal law enforcement officials on Tuesday announced the arrest of 148 people across the United States for the alleged illegal trafficking in chemicals used to make methamphetamine, known on the streets as speed.

  Announcing the results of Operation Mountain Express, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno told a news conference federal agents had arrested 36 alleged laboratory operators and another 112 people suspected of distributing the chemicals. Reno said speed posed a serious threat across the country and likened its use to that of crack cocaine.

  A DEA spokesman described the arrests as the "largest pseudoephedrine bust in recent history". The suspects in Los Angeles, Denver, Orlando, Houston and other cities were indicted on various counts for handling pseudoephedrine, a precursor chemical used to manufacture the stimulant methamphetamine.

  Authorities also seized $8 million, and ten metric tons of pseudoephedrine, which is a precursor chemical that when altered, could be used to produce about 18,000 pounds of methamphetamine. A DEA spokesman said: "It is the first time that the DEA with the assistance of other law enforcement officer were able to arrest Mexican methamphetamine producers and pseudoephedrine sellers and distributors at the same time."

• 29 Mar 2000
  
  CARIBBEAN REGION:

  Major Drug Operation Nets 2,300 Arrests

  United States drug agents said on Wednesday that police arrested more than 2,300 suspects and seized tons of drugs in U.S.-coordinated narcotics raids in 24 Caribbean and Latin American nations and territories. During the 17-day sweep this month, anti-drug units from Ecuador to Haiti executed more than 7,300 search warrants against suspected traffickers. Authorities seized nearly 12,000 pounds of cocaine, 120 pounds of heroin and destroyed 94 cocaine laboratories. Police also seized 150 pounds of hashish oil, 30 pounds of morphine base, 172 vehicles, 13 boats and 83 weapons...

• 07/17/98-10:00CDT--Colombia's New Breed Of Drug Trafficker
• 01/26/98-10:30--Vancouver, Canada: The Alleged New Drug Smuggling Hot Spot
• 12/04/97-09:30CST--Today's Mexican Drug Cartels
• 08/25/97-10:00CDT--ERRI Report; Drug Cartel Intelligence Gathering
• 07/26/97-10:00CDT--Asian Drug Traffickers Can Run, But They Can't Hide Any Longer
• 06/13/97-10:00CDT--ENN Report; Heroin Proliferates Worldwide
• 05/28/97-08:30CDT--The Mexico/USA Border; A Gathering Storm...Editorial on Illegal Immigration and Drugs
• 07/11/97-10:00CDT-- New York Times Report; American Lawmakers Misinformed About Mexico and Drugs
• 04/13/97-10:00CDT--ENN Drug Alert; Methamphetamine Invades Middle-America
• 02/25/97-14:00CST--Mexico/United States Border; Review of Corruption and the War on Drugs
• 02/13/97-13:00CST--U.S. To Step Up Drug Interdiction Efforts in Peru; Riverine Force Proposed
• 01/04/97-13:00CST--ENN Team Coverage of "Ecstasy" Illnesses and Deaths (CA & U.K.)
• 04/97-Law Enforcement and the Mexican Armed Forces: The Military Undertakes New Internal Security Missions
• The Criminal Intelligence [Gathering] Function; Towards a Comprehensive and Normative Model
• 08/07/96-14:00CDT--Drug Dealers Invade Eagle Pass, TX
• 05/03/96-10:35CDT--Nationwide Drug Sweep Nets 150 Arrests; Mexico/Cali Connections
• 04/21/96-17:00CDT--Gen. McCaffrey Heads New Campaign to End Use of Drugs of Abuse
• 04/08/96-17:00EST--Drug Busts Clog NYC Court Systems; "Collars for Dollars"
• 04/01/96-14:00CST--Cali Drug Cartel Feels the Pressure; Police Continue 'War on Drugs'
• 03/23/96-09:00CST--FBI Agent Killed in Line of Duty-Philadelphia Drug Case
• 01/23/96-13:00CST--Arrest of Drug King-Pin Unlikely to Change Drug Problem
• 01/06/96-15:00CST--'Roofies'; Date Rape Drug of Choice
• 11/11/95-Cali Cartel Threatens Columbia President
• 01/11/92-FBI Enters War on Drugs; Shifting Resources
•  

• 24 Aug 2002
  
  Special ERRI Gang Crimes Report

  Salvadoran MS-13 Gang Rated Among The Most Violent; Street Gangs Trained as Guerillas

  FAIRFAX, VA: Gang experts say the MS-13 gang, a network of street thugs and paramilitary guerrillas from El Salvador, is one of the most dangerous Hispanic gangs in the United States, having killed three federal agents and shot several law enforcement officers in recent years. Unlike other U.S. street gangs, MS-13 maintains contact with its factions in El Salvador, as well as throughout the United States, according to a 2000 report by the Orange County, California, District Attorney's Office. EmergencyNet News reported on 16 August that the gang sent about 20 of its members from California to Fairfax County, Virginia, last month to kill a county police officer at random.

  According to an Officer Safety Alert issued by the Washington Metropolitan Police Department on 20 July, the Leesburg, Virginia, Police Department had learned that the California members "are upset with the local MS-13 gang because a Fairfax County police officer has not been killed." George Knox, director of the nonprofit National Gang Crime Research Center (NGCRC), said his agency ranks gangs from 1 (least dangerous) to 3 (most dangerous). MS-13 is a 3, he said, adding that "the level of violence for MS-13 is extraordinary."

  The Orange County district attorney's report, which is posted online at www.nagia.org/mara_salvatrucha.htm, states that MS-13 members "have been responsible for the execution of three federal agents and numerous shootings of law enforcement officers across the country." Local law enforcement officials said the gang has active members throughout the greater Washington area. On 31 July, 15 suspected members of MS-13 were arrested in Leesburg and charged with committing an act of violence by a mob and malicious wounding after a 25-year-old Leesburg man was struck with a machete.

  MS-13, which stands for Mara Salvatrucha, originated in the late 1980s, when refugees with La Mara, a street gang in El Salvador, joined forces with Salvadoran guerrillas, known as "salvatruchas."
   

• 03 Apr 2000 
  
  MINNESOTA AND NORTH DAKOTA: Five people are facing charges for allegedly selling illegal drugs in the states of Minnesota and North Dakota. Authorities said this is a major bust involving two rival Chicago-based street gangs. Those involved allegedly moved drugs from Chicago to Minneapolis and then on to smaller cities like St. Cloud, Minnesota, and Fargo, North Dakota. Leaders of the two gangs apparently forged an alliance at a picnic five years ago. Warrants are out for six more people. 
• 06/30/98-09:30CDT--North Korean Government Deeply Involved With Organized Crime?
• 12/23/97-09:00CST--Chinese Triads; An Update
• 12/03/97-10:00CST--Gangbanger Cops?? (Analysis)
• 10/03/97-10:00CDT--FBI Director Warns That Russian Organized Crime Threatens U.S. National Security
• 09/06/97-08:30CDT--Insider Threat: Political Threat To Local And National U.S. Interests, The Evolution And Emergence Of "The Gang State," By: James P. Denney
• 07/03/97-09:30CDT--Organized Crime Is Bleeding Russia Dry
• 05/12-13/97-12:00CDT--ERRI Special Report: How Street Gangs Control Prisons (2 part series)
• A Method for Distinguishing Gang Homicides from Non-Gang Homicides
• 08/28/96-17:00CDT--Gang Violence in Miami; Emerging Patterns
• 08/24/96-12:00CDT--Latin American Security Issues; Crime and Drugs
• 08/19/96-14:00CDT--Gangbangers in CyberSpace; Streetgang use of the Internet
• 07/21/96-14:00CDT--Analysis; Evaluation of Chinese "Triads" in Great Britian
• 06/22/96-14:00CDT--DOJ Study Reports Increasing Gang Problems
• 05/31/96-12:30CDT--Street Gangs Invade New Zealand; Crime on the Rise
• 05/18/96-10:30CDT--"Kids With No Hope, No Fear, No Rules, and No Life Expectancy; ENN Juvenile Crime Report
• 05/03/96-14:00CDT--Russian Crime Gangs Invade America; FBI/CIA Directors Report
• 03/16/96-17:00CST--Phoenix Task Force Conducts Massive Gang Crackdown
• 03/09/96-13:00CST--U.S. Government Wins Round One in Gangster Disciple Trial
• 02/23/96-13:30CST--Federal Law Enforcement Officials Target Gangster Disciples
• 01/30/96-14:00CST--Gang Crimes; SW Chicago Neighborhood Invaded
• 01/21/96-15:00CST--"Drug Franchising" and Streetgang Expansion
• 12/06/95-18:00CST--ENN Report; Four Teens Shot On Chicago S. Side-
• 10/22/94-ENN Report on New Streetgang Weapons
• 09/08/94-20:59CDT--KID KILLERS; A Tragedy of the 90's
• 04/25/94-21:00CDT--Chicago Gang Wars Escalating; Youthful Assassins
• 11/02/92-High School Violence Escalates; Gang Ties Reported
• 08/16/92-21:30CDT--Jamaican "Shower Posse" Kills 4, 18 Wounded in Miami Gang War
• 02/18/92-- ENN Special Report on Drug Distribution Networks and Gang Exploitation of Smaller Communities
• 11/12/91-17:00CST--Los Angeles Gangs Attempt to Take Over Chicago Streets
•  

• 28 Feb 2002
  
  WASHINGTON: Government officials say U.S. authorities are monitoring a growing number of contacts between American extremists and foreign terrorist groups to make sure the two don't begin collaborating on attacks. The officials caution there is no evidence to date that American extremists have been collaborating on any specific operations with European, Mid-East or Asian terrorists. But they said they have evidence that neo-Nazis, white supremacists and Black Muslim factions have reached out to foreign terrorists, whose similar hatred for Israel and the U.S. government might make them natural allies. (Article continues in ERRI DAILY INTELLIGENCE REPORT-Thursday, February 28, 2002-Vol. 8,  059)

  KALISPELL, MONTANA: Law enforcement officials said on Wednesday that a militia organization based in northwestern Montana "was plotting to assassinate as many judges, prosecutors and police officers as possible." The group had collected an arsenal that included fully automatic weapons and 30,000 rounds of ammunition. Flathead County Sheriff Jim Dupont, who was one of those targeted, said: "We found weapons, ammunition, survival equipment, booby traps, body armor, explosive, bomb-making equipment, you name it. It all certainly supports the theory that there was going to be big trouble. The last I heard, it didn't take 30,000 rounds of ammo to kill a turkey." Dupont said the "hit list" included his name and those of County Attorney Tom Esch, Kalispell Police Chief Frank Garner, state District Judges Kitty Curtis and Stewart Stadler, various deputies and police officers and family members where possible...(Article continues in ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT-Thursday, February 28, 2002-Vol. 6,  No. 059)
   

• 05/25/98-09:30CDT--Series of Real-Time Reports Concerning Bombing of a Church in Danville, IL - 05/24/98
• 05/09/98-08:00CDT--ATF Uncovers Dangerous Bank Robbery Conspiracy In Florida; Pipe Bombs
• 01/31/98-11:00CST--Letter bombs Received by Gainesville, FL Police Agencies
• 01/30/98-09:30CST--Series of Reports Concerning An Explosion at an Abortion Facility in Birmingham, AL
• 03/13/98--The Deal Between The Village of Cicero and the Klu Klux Klan
• 02/22/97-10:00CST--Bomb Explodes in Atlanta Nighclub; Secondary Device "Blown in Place"
• 02/03/97-09:30CST--ERRI Bombing Chronology-1997; Report on Explosions and Bomb Threats To Date
• 01/22/97-06:55CST--Explosion Reported at Washington, DC Planned Parenthood Clinic (includes ERRI Alert of 01/21/97)
• 01/19/97-18:10CST--ENN Initial Report; Bombing At Tulsa, Oklahoma Reproductive Clinic
• 01/16/97-11:20CST--Twin Bomb Blasts Strike Atlanta Suburb; On-going Series of ENN Reports
• 07/02/96-14:21CDT--Members of Arizona "Viper Militia" Indicted and Arrested
• 05/26/96-14:00CDT--Allegations of Militias Organizing in Northeast
• 05/22/96-09:11CDT--FBI/ATF Report to Congress About Black Church Fires in S.E.
• 04/29/96-10:45CDT--Spokane, WA City Hall Bombed; Supremacist Action Feared
• 04/26/96-11:45CDT--Federal Agents Raid "Militia Bomb Factory" in Central Georgia
• 04/24/96-16:00CDT--Aryan Republican Army Revealed; Bombs and Bank Robberies
• 04/22/96-17:00CDT--ENN Special Report; FBI Critical Incident Response Group and the Freemen Stand-Off
• 04/02/96-10:00CST--Double Bombing and Bank Robbery in Spokane, WA; Extremist Involvement?
• 03/28/96-10:00CST--Montana "Freemen" Hold FBI at Bay for 4th Day; Increased Activity Elsewhere
• 02/28/93-(w/update)-BATF Initial Assault on Branch Davidian Compound; 4 Agents Killed, 14 Wounded