BULLETIN: Gunman Allegedly Targeted Austin Police Department And Other Government Buildings In Overnight Attack In Texas

breakingnews72BULLETIN: (6th Update 9:51 a.m. ET U.S.A.) A gunman who reportedly targeted the headquarters of the Austin Police Department and other government buildings in an overnight attack in Texas has been shot dead.

Austin Assistant Chief Raul Munguia has told reporters that the suspect appears to have used a vehicle that contained an improvised explosive device. Because the suspect was wearing a vest of some sort, there is concern that it could be armed, too.

A bomb squad was dispatched.

Early reports suggest the other buildings included the federal courthouse in downtown Austin and Mexico’s consulate.

Austin is the capital of Texas. Police and first responders were targeted in an attack last week near Tallahassee, Florida’s capital.

From NBC News, quoting a person who observed part of the incident (italics added):

“[The shooter] was in full gear so he didn’t seem like a civilian, but there was no writing on any of the equipment,” the restaurant server said. “It seemed like he was wearing a bullet-proof vest and he was wearing a helmet with a clear visor over his face.”

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8 Responses to “BULLETIN: Gunman Allegedly Targeted Austin Police Department And Other Government Buildings In Overnight Attack In Texas”

  1. Quick notes: Lede from USAToday at 11:21 a.m. ET today:

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    A white, middle-aged gunman, in what appears to be a politically motivated anti-government attack linked to immigration, fired more than a hundred rounds at buildings in downtown Austin early Friday and tried to set fire to the Mexican consulate before he died of a gunshot wound.

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    Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/28/gunman-killed-targeted-austin-buildings/19607141/

    The firing of 100 rounds of ammunition at government buildings in a downtown area in the middle of the night is deeply disturbing. The allegation that the suspect tried to set fire to Mexico’s consulate is at least equally disturbing.

    A few questions:

    * Had the fire been started successfully, would the suspect then have tried to ambush the first-responders — as was the case with the fire set in Florida last week?

    * Did he go shoot up the other buildings because he had trouble setting the fire?

    * Was the plan all along to attack three government buildings?

    * How could a person’s thinking become so poisoned?

    * Did the Thanksgiving holiday play any role in this? Did the suspect believe the police would be particularly vulnerable during this time?

    In September, two Pennsylvania state troopers were ambushed outside their barracks at 11 p.m. So, cover of darkness was an element, as was the case in Texas overnight.

    But the evidence in the Pennsylvania case suggests the attacker was making war against the state and declaring the troopers the enemy because they represented the state.

    IMHO, it is very telling that the suspect shot up the police department and the federal courthouse in Texas. Combined with the actions at Mexico’s embassy, it’s hard to imagine that there was not an extremist political motivation of the “lone wolf” variety (at least).

    These are personal wars with the aim of creating larger wars. It is domestic terrorism — at least. And because of the general murkiness of it all, unseen forces — both domestic and external — could be pulling the strings.

    Patrick

  2. Police chief says the BB&T Bank at 5th and Rio Grande also was targeted.

    So, government installations AND a bank targeted.

    KVUE has video of the police news conference:

    http://www.kvue.com/videos/news/local/2014/11/28/19615269/

    Patrick

  3. PatrickPretty.com:
    Police chief says the BB&T Bank at 5th and Rio Grande also was targeted.

    So, government installations AND a bank targeted.

    KVUE has video of the police news conference:

    http://www.kvue.com/videos/news/local/2014/11/28/19615269/

    Patrick

    Police now walking back the BB&T claim:

    Patrick

  4. Statement from the Foreign Ministry of Mexico:

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    THE FOREIGN MINISTRY EXPRESSES ITS CONCERN AND CONDEMNS THE INCIDENTS THAT TOOK PLACE EARLY MORNING IN AUSTIN

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its profound concern and condemns the incident that took place early morning in Austin, Texas, in which an individual shot at several public buildings in the city´s downtown area, including the Consulate General of Mexico. The incident ocurred outside of working hours, on a non-working day and no victims were reported.

    Consul General of Mexico in Austin, Rosalba Ojeda, has been in contact with local and federal authorities since the incident happened. This morning, Consul General Ojeda inspected the facilities in coordination with the aforementioned authorities.

    As a result of the first inspection, damage to the exterior and access to the Consulate were detected, apparently as a result of gun shots. A thorough evaluation of the damage to the facilities is being conducted. At this moment, there is no evidence that the gun shots were directed exclusively to our consular representation.

    The Consulate General will keep the Mexican community appraised of the resumption of consular services. This will occur as soon as necessary repairs take place to reestablish the proper conditions to provide services in a safe manner.

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will closely follow the results of the investigation.

    ________________________________________

    Source: http://www.sre.gob.mx/en/index.php/archived-press-releases/2874-the-foreign-ministry-expresses-its-concern-and-condemns-the-incidents-that-took-place-early-morning-in-austin

    Patrick

  5. Quick note: Austin police held a briefing at 3 .m. ET today. I saw about 15 minutes of it through a live feed set up by KXAN. What was said was equal parts remarkable and disturbing. The feed link appears to have closed now.

    I’ll post the URL if the video of the session becomes available.

    For now at least:

    http://kxan.com/2014/12/01/chief-on-austin-gunman-hate-was-in-his-heart/

    Patrick