Security Briefs - Feb. 5 - Feb. 11
The Latest Headlines:
- Witness Describes Shooter in Ohio Highway Sniper Case
- Ricin Investigation Continues as Senate Buildings Reopen
- Government Approves Arming Cargo Pilots
- Ricin Investigation Continues as Senate Buildings Reopen
Witness Describes Shooter in Ohio Highway Sniper Case
Investigators trying to solve a series of highway shootings around Columbus, Ohio, have a description of the shooter who fired on two vehicles on Sunday, news services reported.The two shootings on Sunday took place on two different bridges over Interstate 71 in Fayette County, about 35 miles from the intersection of Interstate 71 and Interstate 270, the Columbus beltway, the Associated Press reported. The locations are farther south than any previous shootings.
CNN reported on its Web site a passenger in one of the cars attacked Sunday described the shooter as a white male, between 30 and 40 years old, in a small dark car, according to Franklin County Sheriff Chief Deputy Steve Martin.
Ricin Investigation Continues as Senate Buildings Reopen
As the last of three closed Senate office buildings reopened Monday, a week after the discovery of poisonous ricin powder was found in Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's office, federal authorities were using DNA analysis to try to glean clues about the source, news services reported.Meanwhile, a federal law enforcement official told the Associated Press the letter containing a small vial of ricin and addressed to the White House, which was intercepted Nov. 6 by the Secret Service, bore a postmark from Chattanooga, Tenn.
That letter was nearly identical to one found at a mail-sorting facility in Greenville, S.C., on Oct. 15. The letters, signed "Fallen Angel," complained about the new rules concerning the hours a truck driver can work.
Authorities are also testing to ricin to see if they can figure out where the castor plants used to make the poisons were grown, the Washington Post reported. Transport Topics
Government Approves Arming Cargo Pilots
The U.S. government said Feb. 3 it would begin recruiting cargo pilots to carry guns in the cockpit for the first time, the Associated Press reported.Congress created the program to deputize pilots as federal law enforcement officers in late 2002, but excluded cargo pilots at the last minute. However, cargo pilots successfully lobbied Congress to allow them to join passenger pilots, who fly the same planes that they do, AP said.
Classes for pilots who volunteer and pass the psychological testing will begin in the spring, said Mark Hatfield, Transportation Security Administatration spokesman. Transport Topics
