NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
INCIDENTS
United States Park Police
Officers Join In Response To Navy Yard Shootings
Early on the morning of September 16th, A.A. walked into Building 197 in the Washington Navy Yard in Southeast Washington and began shooting people.
Within seven minutes of the first shots being fired, Metropolitan PD and Park Police officers assembled into active shooter teams and went into the building to stop the shooting spree.
By that time, Eagle 1, the Park Police helicopter, piloted by Sergeant Ken Burchell, was already flying over the Navy Yard. Also onboard were rescue technician/paramedics Sergeant David Tolson and Officer Michael Abate and an MPD canine officer.
An active shooter team made up of MPD and USPP officers located A.A. and engaged him in a gun battle, eventually stopping him. Unfortunately, an MPD officer suffered serious gunshot wounds to his legs during the gun battle. He was transported to a local hospital and later was listed in good condition.
Tragically, thirteen people were killed in the incident, twelve of them innocent victims who had just reported for work on a Monday morning. Another eight people were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.
During the incident, Eagle 1 transported a gunshot victim to the hospital and extracted three other people from the rooftop, inserted two USPP SWAT team members, and provided flyover watch and intelligence to the ground units.
USPP Eagle 3 was also up in the air, piloted by Officer Jonathon Lindley with Sergeant Timothy Ryan as rescue technician/paramedic onboard. Eagle 3 also provided flyover watch and intelligence to ground units.
The USPP command staff immediately established a command
center for the Navy Yard incident at USPP Headquarters.
Many other law enforcement agencies also responded to the
incident, providing support and assistance. The response was truly a
collaborative effort, showing the agencies at their best during the
worst possible scenario.
[Sergeant Paul Brooks, Public Information Officer]
Big South Fork NR&RA
Ginseng Poacher Sentenced
Ranger Zeb Whitaker and Chief Ranger Randy Scoggins were on patrol in the Tennessee District on May 8th when they came upon a vehicle parked in a pullout off Highway 297 near the Leatherwood Ford area.
Whitaker tracked the occupants of the vehicle into the woods and observed them actively digging wild American ginseng inside the park boundary. He concealed himself and continued to monitor the digging activities while Scoggins returned to the cruiser to run the license plates.
Whitaker contacted the two ginseng poachers as they were leaving the area and found them in possession of 38 wild ginseng roots. One man was cited for digging ginseng. When he failed to show up in court for his initial appearance, a warrant was issued for his arrest. Scott County Tennessee officers arrested him on the outstanding warrant and rangers transported him to federal court, where he pled guilty to digging ginseng. He was fined $250 for the violation and ordered to pay restitution to the park in the amount of $380.
[Noel Mays, Park Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS. To see the full text, including images, NPS employees should go to the InsideNPS home page ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index). Non-NPS employees can see most of them on the NPS Digest page ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/):
Eisenhower NHS - Last Saturday and Sunday, Eisenhower National Historic Site sponsored its annual World War II living history weekend. Almost 400 living history enthusiasts from 50 organizations portrayed military personnel from the European Theater in 1944.
Office of International Affairs - The Office of International Affairs has developed a World Heritage Fellowship program to provide technical assistance in the management and conservation of World Heritage Sites in developing countries. Thirteen fellows have gone through the program to date.
Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services - Participants began the second annual six-week training session of the National Search and Rescue Academy (NSARA) on September 16th at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center.
Nicodemus NHS - On August 20th the National Park Service co-hosted a community learning experience, entitled “The Journey from Ellis to Nicodemus,” during which NPS staff and others followed the route taken by the town's original founders to reach the settlement.
Learning and Development - A new e-course with mobile application components is now available. It's the first in a series of special park use courses being launched through DOI Learn.
Office of Communications - Jennifer Mummart will join National Capital Region as associate regional director for communications on September 30th.
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The Morning Report is produced by the Office of Communications with the support of the Office of the Associate Director for Information Resources. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov).
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