Virginia Tech Mass Murders

April 17th, 2007

Let me first say that I have a daughter in college and I can’t imagine what the Virginia Tech students and parents are going through right now. This is not the type of tragedy you can foresee or even ever imagine. Our hearts go out to all those close to this disaster. From a security standpoint, could this event have been prevented or casualties minimized? Here are my thoughts on that crucial question:

First, I think we have to be very careful when second guessing or criticizing school officials and campus police. This type of event would be impossible to predict, unless there were early warning signs that were ignored. I have heard no information regarding any early warning signs regarding the shooter, prior to the first shooting. However, we should try to learn from this horrific event, and determine if more could be done in order to possibly prevent other attacks or reduce casualties.

If the initial shooting of the first two victims was the first sign of trouble, that is where we should first concentrate. I can understand that the campus police investigated the first shooting and apparently believed it to be an isolated domestic incident. Canceling classes would have been a difficult call for them to make under such circumstances. However, in hindsight, the shooter was still at large. I have to say that it appears there were several options that could have been pursued. Options would probably have included canceling of classes, or letting students go to classes but locking down classrooms, and/or provide a greater police presence on campus until suspect was identified and apprehended.

My firm has worked with educational institutions in the past, where threats have occurred. We would probably have recommended an immediate beef-up of on-site security until the suspect was located. Possibly a combination of additional police, even if off duty officers had to be hired, and the lock down of classrooms could probably have saved lives. Again, it is always easy to criticize after the fact, and that is not what I am trying to do. If we can learn from this incident, we should do so. Additional officers on site might have enabled a faster response to the second shooting, or even an early sighting of the suspect when he surfaced with handguns and extra ammunition in tow.

I know that no one will feel worse about this tragedy than the police officers and school officials at Virginia Tech. Who could ever imagine the magnitude of the situation?

Rob Kimmons
rob@kimmonssecurity.com
(281) 679-0070

Terrorist using chlorine in crude chemical weapons!

April 1st, 2007

The water and waste water industries should be aware that terrorist in Iraq have recently made and used crude chemical weapons by adding industrial chlorine to conventional bombs. Reuters News Agency reports, “The US Military said a second bomb in two days using chlorine gas …. adds to concerns that insurgents are broadening their range of weaponry to include crude chemical bombs. A second chlorine bomb may show a new militant tactic (February 2007)”.

The British are also fearful of chlorine terrorism and have begun a campaign for monitoring industrial chlorine. Police are monitoring the movement of industrial chlorine across Britain amid fears that terrorists are planning to hijack those transporting the toxic chemical. Authorities in both the US and Britain are fearful chlorine terrorism could be used for domestic terrorism purposes.

The following are some basic safeguards that can be put into place to help counteract this potential threat to water and other industries that use chlorine and other toxic agents:

• Conduct pre-employment investigations of all employees and vendors who have access to water plants and chlorine.
• Consider a policy where all vendors handling chlorine must be escorted on and off plant sites.
• Conduct a vulnerability assessment, no matter the size of your fresh or waste water utility (suggested by the USEPA and TCEQ).
• Conduct employee awareness training regarding how to handle suspicious individuals, safeguarding of chemical agents etc.
• Consider the installation of security hardware at water and waste water sites.  Detection, deterrence, and response are critical security elements.

Hopefully, the use of chlorine as a terrorist weapon within US borders will not happen.  However, the fact that terrorists abroad have added this to their weapons arsenals is a very disturbing development.  Please do not hesitate to contact myself or my staff if you have any questions or concerns.

Rob Kimmons
rob@kimmonssecurity.com
(281) 679-0070