Today's Scary Experience

[legion]

My wife and I knocked off early from work today. Not much going on. Might as well start the holiday weekend early, right? Many people in town did the same thing.

As my wife and I are sitting in the living room talking, her phone rings. It's about half past 4. She picks it up. The expression on her face changes immediately. The blood drains, the muscles tighten. Finally she responds: "Are you sure? How do you know this?" She pauses as the other person talks. "Have they caught the guy?........Okay, bye then."

My wife tells me that a gunman was spotted entering the headquarters of one of the largest employers in town. The building is in lockdown, employees have been relocated to the basement, the entrances have been sealed, roads are blocked off, and the police are searching the building.

My wife turns on the local country music station. It is not playing country music, but is instead giving minute-by-minute coverage of the gunman situation and relaying any new information that comes in. Someone who was leaving the building spotted a man entering the complex at a different entrance with what appeared to be some kind of long gun.

We live a half-mile from the place where this is all going on.

I have tons of friends that work in that building.

My wife and I both get on our cell phones and start calling people. We confirm that all of our close friends had also left early for the day. Everyone we know is safe.

Now, let me back up two years... A bank near our house was robbed during the day and the robber fled into our neighborhood. He ends up knocking on our next door neighbors door--presumably to demand sanctuary. No one is home and he ends up hiding in the neighbors bushes where he is found by the police.

Now, I had no intention of injecting myself into the situation, but if the situation were to come to me, I felt the need to be prepared. My wife and I relocated to the basement and took the radio, the 870, and the G17 with us.

No real new information is coming out. At around 5:50, my friend text messages me and says that the local CBS news will have a story at 6:00. At 5:55 he calls me and relays the conclusion to the situation...

At 6:00, the local news confirms what my friend told me. Bloomington police have searched the building and found nothing. The have reviewed the surveillance footage and confirmed that at 4:10 p.m., a custodian entered the building with a 3 foot section of conduit. They have found the custodian in question and verified this.

[ronin]

oh good lawd!

[legion]

Apparently the Bloomington Police, Normal Police, County Police, State Police, and Department of Homeland Security were all on site for the "stand off".

I honestly don't know what could/should have been done differently. About 3,000 people work in that building, although probably less than 500 were working late on the day before a holiday.

[widgeon13]

move to another neighborhood in another state!

[bell]

who reported that they saw a "gun"?......sounds like it was conduit to me and the guy watching the camera called it in? or am i missing something?
there was no gun? or there was deffinately a gun? who called it in or saw it?

[einreb]

good move...

[TerryH]

Good to hear all seems well. Not to sound cynical/morbid, but what if one of your friends was hiding near a gunman and .................. his cell phone rang! ugh.

[legion]

Originally Posted by bell

who reported that they saw a "gun"?......sounds like it was conduit to me and the guy watching the camera called it in? or am i missing something?
there was no gun? or there was deffinately a gun? who called it in or saw it?

No, it was someone driving past the building.

[DARISC]

What's scary is that anybody can walk into a hardware store and buy conduit .

[mossguy]

Bush hates conduit.

[TerryH]

Conduit Rice?

[livi]

Chris! You can come up from the basement now!


Seriously. Creepy story. Glad it had a peaceful ending.

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by livi

Chris! You can come up from the basement now!

He say "Nope....no conduit."

[legion]

Originally Posted by livi

Chris! You can come up from the basement now!

But...I might get pushed down the stairs!

[legion]

Originally Posted by TerryH

Good to hear all seems well. Not to sound cynical/morbid, but what if one of your friends was hiding near a gunman and .................. his cell phone rang! ugh.

They herded all of the employees into the basement--where there is no cell phone reception. A little fact I just happen to know. I knew that any no answers I got were most likely people in the building.

[Danny_Ocean]

This is hard evidence all conduit over 18" should be banned (or the ends must be painted fluorescent orange).




- Conduit doesn't kill people. People kill people.

[Mothy]

I remember years ago I was standing at a corner in Sydney waiting for the lights to change so I could cross the road. I had a length of conduit with me as well.

It was a sunny day, so I had the shades on. When the light changed this lovely elderly lady took my arm by the elbow and said "Let me help you across this busy road sweety"

She though I was blind.

[Aerkuld]

Seriously?
What the heck were they thinking?






Working late the day before a holiday weekend!

Glad it turned out OK though.

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by Danny_Ocean

- Conduit doesn't kill people. People kill people.

Conduit is a conduit to crime.

[the]

Originally Posted by DARISC

Conduit is a conduit to crime.

It's a gateway tubing.