TailGator911
Silent Key/KF4ANC
What an afternoon here! My scanners came alive at about 12:40 with the announcement of an active shooter at the Wright Patterson AFB Medical Center...where my wife works. If you walk into the lobby of that hospital she is one of the first smiling faces you see, she manages the Einstein Bagels kiosk right there next to the pharmacy. Needless to say I was shocked. She did not answer her phone or reply to my numerous text messages. I phoned a few people and relatives that also work on the base and they were all incommunicado. Then the media came alive with special reports and footage from the hospital, whipping it all into a frenzy. I stood here by my radio desk wringing my hands and changing the TV channels while monitoring the scanners. What else could I do? Having the information advantage with digital scanners (tho LSM was horrendous, TRX-1 did the best job today) ) I figured the best thing to do was stay right here and monitor the situation and keep making attempts to contact her by phone. I was a nervous wreck, to say the least.
There was no information. I was hearing LE after LE arriving at the scene. I heard them set up a staging area. Medics were already there. I caught some chit-chat about 'all medics and emts to the back door', my imagination went wild and I foresaw the worst. That had to mean there were casualties, right? But, there was something amiss. There were no med coms. No medical transports. I heard a conversation between two cops on a mutual aid frequency wondering who broke the glass doors. One replied 'the training guys'.
Then, another announcement that it was a training procedure misunderstanding, no active shooter, no hostages, no one barricaded, no casualties. Huh? Channel 2 had even announced there were 'hostages inside the hospital, and the shooter was barricaded on the 4th floor.' What? My anxiety and fear was soon replaced with anger and frustration. My wife texted me. They wouldn't let her have her phone during the 'excersize'. Are you kidding me? All of this from an active shooter training excersize? I can only shake my head.
Our media is out of control. That's all I have to say about this afternoon's chaos. They snowballed misinformation into a train wreck and are now on the tube blaming a 911 caller, the base information guy, everything and everybody but themselves. Apparently, gone are the days of verification, they hear a wild rumor and it's off to the ratings contest. If they are wrong, they can always apologize later. No biggie.
My wife is angry and tired, having been kept for 3 hours after her closing shift. Made to walk over a mile away with her hands in the air like a hostage. Sit on a shuttle bus for over an hour with no AC. I am sapped and empty after riding the emotional rollercoaster all day. I canceled plans and caused a delay for someone. And, for what? I hope today was a good lesson for some folks. There really is a thing called Fake News.
JD
kf4anc
There was no information. I was hearing LE after LE arriving at the scene. I heard them set up a staging area. Medics were already there. I caught some chit-chat about 'all medics and emts to the back door', my imagination went wild and I foresaw the worst. That had to mean there were casualties, right? But, there was something amiss. There were no med coms. No medical transports. I heard a conversation between two cops on a mutual aid frequency wondering who broke the glass doors. One replied 'the training guys'.
Then, another announcement that it was a training procedure misunderstanding, no active shooter, no hostages, no one barricaded, no casualties. Huh? Channel 2 had even announced there were 'hostages inside the hospital, and the shooter was barricaded on the 4th floor.' What? My anxiety and fear was soon replaced with anger and frustration. My wife texted me. They wouldn't let her have her phone during the 'excersize'. Are you kidding me? All of this from an active shooter training excersize? I can only shake my head.
Our media is out of control. That's all I have to say about this afternoon's chaos. They snowballed misinformation into a train wreck and are now on the tube blaming a 911 caller, the base information guy, everything and everybody but themselves. Apparently, gone are the days of verification, they hear a wild rumor and it's off to the ratings contest. If they are wrong, they can always apologize later. No biggie.
My wife is angry and tired, having been kept for 3 hours after her closing shift. Made to walk over a mile away with her hands in the air like a hostage. Sit on a shuttle bus for over an hour with no AC. I am sapped and empty after riding the emotional rollercoaster all day. I canceled plans and caused a delay for someone. And, for what? I hope today was a good lesson for some folks. There really is a thing called Fake News.
JD
kf4anc
