In the Loop

“A man” and his “friend or relative” have been found with ricin in a Las Vegas motel room with several animals including a dead dog. Oh, but there’s no connection to terrorism, and the dog died because of lack of food and water. And this all went on two weeks ago. So what are their names?

From AP:

LAS VEGAS (AP) – Vials found in the motel room of a man hospitalized in critical condition tested positive for the deadly toxin ricin, authorities said Friday. There was no indication of any link to terrorist activity, Las Vegas police Deputy Chief Kathy Suey said at a press conference.

The man was admitted to Spring Valley Hospital in Las Vegas in critical condition on Feb. 14, hospital spokeswoman Naomi Jones said. Suey said he had made an emergency call for help because of breathing problems. His name was not made public.

The investigation of the apparent ricin didn’t begin until Thursday, police said, after someone Suey identified as “a friend or relative” went to the sick man’s hotel room to retrieve his belongings and found “several” vials of a powder and brought it to the motel manager. Police were ultimately called to the Extended Stay America Motel several blocks west of the Las Vegas Strip.

Interesting that this story surfaces more than two weeks after the fact, on a Friday afternoon. This also happens to be the Friday afternoon before the March 4 primaries in Texas and Ohio, which will draw almost all of the news coverage.

Names. I want names.

From the Washington Post on the massacre at Virginia Tech:

Based on witness interviews, police believed it was an isolated domestic case and chose not to take any drastic security measures, university officials said. But about 9:45 a.m., a man entered a classroom building, chained some of the doors shut behind him, then started walking into classrooms and shooting faculty and students with the two handguns, causing some to leap out of second-story windows and others to lie on the floor and bar their doors to keep the shooter from entering. Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum said investigators were not certain that the same man committed both shootings. But several law enforcement sources said it was.

. . . .

Although the gunman in the dormitory was at large, no warning was issued to the tens of thousands of students and staff at Virginia Tech until 9:26 a.m., more than two hours later.

“We concluded it was domestic in nature,” Flinchum said. “We had reason to believe the shooter had left campus and may have left the state.” He declined to elaborate. But several law enforcement sources said investigators thought the shooter might have intended to kill a girl and her boyfriend Monday in what one of them described as a “lover’s dispute.” It was unclear whether the girl killed at the dorm was the intended target, they said.

Students who lived in the dorm said they received knocks on the door telling them to stay in their rooms but nothing else. Shortly before 9:30 a.m., the university sent out this e-mail: “A shooting incident occurred at West Amber Johnston [dorm] earlier this morning. Police are on the scene and are investigating.

“The university community is urged to be cautious and are asked to contact Virginia Tech Police if you observe anything suspicious or with information on the case.”

Steger said that, even though the gunman was at large, “we had no reason to suspect any other incident was going to occur.” He said 9,000 students live on campus and 14,000 live off-campus, and “it’s extremely difficult if not impossible to get the word out spontaneously.”

Students on campus and parents were angry. When Blake Harrison, 21, of Leesburg learned of the shootings, he said, he called an administrative help line and was told “to proceed with caution to classes.” He said: “I’m beyond upset. I’m enraged.”

I’m not ready to completely condemn the VT administration’s response, but the chief’s statement opens a can of worms. Somebody committed two murders in an on-campus dorm and was not in custody and it was two hours before any official communication was sent? I understand not wanting to panic people, but given that they had the shootings in August it seems that the response should have been more proactive. If they could send an email at 9:30, they could have sent one at 8.

I think lots of schools will be (and should be) initiating an immediate review of their incident response policies and procedures, with a special focus on improving intra-campus communications. Digital signage can be placed in every building where students congregate, in entrances, foyers, seating areas, hallways, et al. University staff should also be trained in how to disseminate information and every school should have an incident response team to ensure that all are working from the same playbook providing the same direction so there are no mixed or confusing messages.

Robin and I went to see United 93 last night. I highly recommend the film. Director Paul Greengrass has said that the passengers and crew were the first to enter the post 9/11 world and his description is accurate. It’s a very difficult film to watch because you know what’s going to happen, but watching those heroes rise up and fight back made me very proud and thankful for what they did. We should never forget them and their actions on that day.