Emergency and disaster management briefing for December 6, 2019: An active shooter incident occurred at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola early Friday morning with multiple people being transported to local hospitals; dangerous air quality levels prompted shelter-in-place and evacuations in the Texas community where a petrochemical explosion and fire occurred last week; Samoan doctors are going door-to-door with vaccinations in an effort to curb the ongoing outbreak of measles; four people are dead after an attempted armed robbery led to a high speed chase that ended in a hail of gunfire; a gas explosion at a southern Polish ski resort killed eight people; pirates kidnapped 19 crew members from a Greek crude oil tanker off the coast of Nigeria; three National Guardsman are dead following a Black Hawk helicopter crash in Minnesota; and officials are still searching for a motive that led an active-duty sailor to open fire at the Pearl Harbor Naval Yard on Wednesday.
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1) Authorities responded to reports of an [link url=”https://www.wcjb.com/content/news/Report-of-active-shooter-at-Naval-Air-Station-Pensacola-565881701.html” title=”active shooter at a naval base in Florida”] early Friday morning. Information posted by the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, stated that both gates to the facility were locked due to the situation. [link url=”https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/active-shooter-reported-naval-air-station-pensacola-n1096966″ title=”Reports indicate that one person was killed, the shooter is dead, and multiple people were taken to an area hospital”]. The incident occurred just two days after an active-duty sailor opened fire at the Pearl Harbor Naval Yard, shot three people, then allegedly turned the gun on himself.
BREAKING: Multiple patients taken to hospital after shooting incident at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida panhandle. https://t.co/jJy7O9YJOg
— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 6, 2019
2) Late Wednesday, nearly 14,000 residents in Port Neches, Texas, [link url=”https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chemicals-fire-tpc-portneches/second-evacuation-order-lifted-in-texas-city-hit-by-explosion-chemical-fire-idUSKBN1Y90DK” title=”were issued shelter-in-place and then voluntary evacuation orders for dangerous air quality levels”]. Air quality monitors had detected high levels of the cancer causing petrochemicals, butane and butadiene, following the chemical plant explosion and fire–which was finally put out on Tuesday. Officials have yet to determine what caused the explosion and fire, the [link url=”https://www.npr.org/2019/12/05/785023209/port-neches-residents-asked-to-leave-their-homes-near-site-of-plant-explosion” title=”fourth major petrochemical fire in Texas this year”].
Second evacuation order lifted in Texas city hit by explosion, chemical fire https://t.co/v3N0WM8223 pic.twitter.com/Hl6s9n3ZbG
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 5, 2019
3) [link url=”https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-measles-samoa/samoa-fights-measles-door-to-door-in-battle-on-anti-vaccination-messages-idUSKBN1Y9033″ title=”Samoa closed all non-essential public and private services for two days”], allowing doctors to take vaccinations door-to-door in an attempt to curb the current outbreak of measles. Samoan officials stated that 62 people have died from the measles, mostly babies and children, and the current outbreak has infected a total of 4,200 people. Health officials noted that [link url=”https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/05/samoa-measles-outbreak-families-fly-red-flags-to-request-vaccinations” title=”only 31 percent of the population is vaccinated against the disease”], and pointed to conflicting messages received by families through social media regarding the safety of vaccines.
People in Samoa are placing red flags outside their ?as a sign that members of their household need vaccination. For the next 2 days, mobile outreach teams are providing #measles vaccination to all Samoans aged 6 months-60 years in response to the current outbreak. #VaccinesWork pic.twitter.com/dhvfTgbrBF
— World Health Organization Western Pacific (@WHOWPRO) December 5, 2019
4) [link url=”https://www.foxnews.com/us/florida-high-speed-chase-hijacked-ups-truck-gunfire” title=”Four people are dead after an attempted robbery that ended with a hijacked UPS truck”] and a high speed chase. The incident began at a jewelry store in Coral Gables, Florida, where the two suspects hijacked a UPS truck after the attempted robbery, took the driver hostage, then led police on a high speed chase for 20 miles. The incident ended in a hail of gunfire, [link url=”https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/chase-shootout-involving-hijacked-ups-truck-florida-leads-multiple-deaths-n1096871″ title=”allegedly with the UPS driver, the two suspects, and an uninvolved nearby motorist being shot and killed”].
A high-speed police pursuit of a UPS truck that began with an armed robbery and shootout at a jewelry shop in Coral Gables ended in a hail of gunfire, killing four people in Florida Thursday evening. https://t.co/1QGLUoLpAf
— NBC 7 San Diego (@nbcsandiego) December 6, 2019
5) A [link url=”https://www.reuters.com/article/us-poland-blast/polish-ski-resort-gas-explosion-kills-eight-including-four-children-idUSKBN1Y82NT” title=”gas explosion at a ski resort in Poland on Wednesday killed eight people”], including four children. The explosion toppled a three-story building in the southern Polish ski resort, Szczyrk, and rescue efforts discovered the eight victims in the rubble. Heavy equipment was brought in to help sift through the debris and more than 200 people, including [link url=”https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2019-12-04/gas-explosion-collapses-three-story-building-in-polish-ski-resort” title=”police officers and firefighters, participated the rescue effort”].
Gas explosion collapses three-story building in Polish ski resort https://t.co/HlEIs1a4Cy pic.twitter.com/TYK5EghKfD
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 5, 2019
6) Pirate activity is on the rise in the Gulf of Guinea, and in the latest attack, [link url=”https://www.reuters.com/article/us-greece-nigeria-tanker-pirates-idUSKBN1Y910H” title=”19 crew members were kidnapped off a Greek ship”] after it left a Nigerian port. The ship was loaded with crude oil, and was just off the coast of Nigeria, 77 nautical miles from Bonny Island, when the incident occurred. Authorities are working to obtain the release of the kidnapped crew members, and officials noted that [link url=”https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/05/reuters-america-update-1-pirates-kidnap-19-crew-members-of-greek-tanker-off-nigeria.html” title=”ship did not request a navy escort to ensure its safety when it left the Nigerian port”].
Pirates boarded a fully loaded supertanker off the coast of Nigeria https://t.co/9zGOTJymth
— Bloomberg (@business) December 4, 2019
7) Three National Guardsman are dead following the [link url=”https://www.reuters.com/article/us-minnesota-national-guard-idUSKBN1Y92TT” title=”crash of a Black Hawk helicopter near Kimball, Minnesota”]. The three were members of the Minnesota National Guard and were conducting a maintenance test flight of the UH-60 Black Hawk when they issued a mayday call nine minutes after take off. Official contact was lost between the helicopter and the National Guard at 2:05 p.m., and the [link url=”https://www.fox9.com/news/3-soldiers-confirmed-dead-in-minnesota-national-guard-black-hawk-helicopter-crash” title=”Minnesota Aviation Rescue Team, along with the Minnesota State Highway Patrol”], responded to scene where all three crew members were confirmed dead.
BREAKING: Minnesota's governor says all three crew members were killed in a Black Hawk helicopter crash. https://t.co/qk2mfjably
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 6, 2019
8) Authorities have yet to determine a clear motive for the shooting that left three people dead, including the gunman, in [link url=”https://www.foxnews.com/us/pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard-shooting-details” title=”a shooting on Wednesday at the Pearl Harbor Naval Yard in Hawaii”]. Military officials said that a 22-year-old active duty sailor, allegedly identified as G. Romero, opened fire on shipyard personnel before using his service pistol to kill himself. The three victims were [link url=”https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/family-mourns-pearl-harbor-shipyard-worker-killed-shooting-sailor-n1096901″ title=”civilian Department of Defense employees”], and and one person remains in critical condition at the Queens Health Center.
#PearlHarborShooting: Officials are still trying to determine a motive for yesterday's shooting at the Pearl Harbor shipyard. Here's what we know about the victims and the shooter. @KHONnews. pic.twitter.com/WyEJEPzKTD
— Lauren Day (@LaurenDayNews) December 6, 2019