View Full Version : MacDill AFB - FBI agent shoots vet
Army veteran fatally shot at MacDill AFB in Tampa
By TAMARA LUSH
The Associated Press
11:32 p.m. Wednesday, May 19, 2010
TAMPA, Fla. — An Army veteran who sped away from MacDill Air Force Base security on a motorcycle was fatally shot Wednesday by an FBI agent after the man threatened him with a knife, officials said.
At about 6 p.m., base security was called to an altercation, which wasn't described, at a camping area inside the base, said Col. Larry Martin, the base commander.
The veteran who was described as a guest at the camping area was arguing with another person, but officials wouldn't name either.
"We don't have a lot of details about what went on in that altercation," Martin said.
The veteran sped away on his motorcycle and security tried to stop him, Martin said.
He evaded authorities and drove to the Dale Mabry Gate, one of the main entrances and exits to the base. Law enforcement tried to stop him and the man got off his motorcycle. He came "directly at" the agent with a knife, said FBI special agent Dave Couvertier. The agent shot more than once, killing the veteran, Couvertier said.
"This individual who was shot, approached law enforcement officers, specifically looking at agent and threatening him with a knife," Coubertier said.
Officials said the agent is a liaison officer to the base and was assisting MacDill officers.
No one else was injured. The Air Force did not release the dead man's name, nor did they release the name of the FBI agent.
"Our security forces personnel acted promptly to safeguard the base and its personnel," Martin said.
The base was not under lockdown but the Dale Mabry Gate remained closed. The RV camping area is only used by people with base access.
MacDill, located south of downtown Tampa, is home to U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia.
___
Copyright 2010, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Find this article at:
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/army-veteran-fatally-shot-531234.html
The events cited are tragic. The FBI agent is liaison to MacDill.... He's out with the Security Forces (SF) at the gate. It might be a coincidence? Welll, it might?
v/r
phil
The Reaper
05-20-2010, 04:51
That Fam Camp is a wild place.
TR
That Fam Camp is a wild place.
TR
TR,
I've 'heard' North on Dale Mabry just beyond I-4, is too ...;)
v/r
phil
TR,
I've 'heard' North on Dale Mabry just beyond I-4, is too ...;)
v/r
phil
Actually not I-4 but I-275. Yes that's right, Tampa is known as the strip capital of America. When the Super Bowl hit town last year the local newspaper did a piece on all of the strippers coming in from out of town and they found plenty of places to ply their trade.
The Reaper
05-20-2010, 06:53
TR,
I've 'heard' North on Dale Mabry just beyond I-4, is too ...;)
v/r
phil
I have no knowledge of the Mons, 2001, or any of the other off-limits establishments reputed to be in that area.
Joe Rezner is a fiction of your imagination.
TR
I have no knowledge of the Mons, 2001, or any of the other off-limits establishments reputed to be in that area. Joe Rezner is a fiction of your imagination.
Years ago when I lived in NY, the Friday before a long weekend I ended up on the 5:30pm US Air Flight to Vegas. Something was different, even my feeble SA picked up on the fact, 30% of the flight was composed of young good looking enhanced women in sweats. I mentioned this observation to friends over dinner who said, " Oh you must have caught the "ballet flight", happens every weekend. I caught a lot of guff for innocently responding "I never heard of a Las Vegas ballet...":)
Utah Bob
05-20-2010, 14:02
Never bring a knife to a gunfight.
doctom54
05-20-2010, 20:16
Never bring a knife to a gunfight.
My thought exactly;)
AngelsSix
05-20-2010, 20:31
Never bring a knife to a gunfight.
Amen!!;)
Leozinho
05-20-2010, 20:37
The events cited are tragic. The FBI agent is liaison to MacDill.... He's out with the Security Forces (SF) at the gate. It might be a coincidence? Welll, it might?
v/r
phil
What you are implying? Why would it be a coincidence that a law enforcement officer would respond to a call?
Never bring a knife to a gunfight.
Unless it's an M-1917 bayonet on the end of a Winchester M-1200 like we used to carry for riot control. :p
Richard's $.02 :munchin
Ambush Master
05-20-2010, 21:46
Unless it's an M-1917 bayonet on the end of a Winchester M-1200 like we used to carry for riot control. :p
Richard's $.02 :munchin
Unless the "Ventriloquist Watchdog" has a Muzzle on it!!!:D:munchin
What you are implying? Why would it be a coincidence that a law enforcement officer would respond to a call?
Leozinho,
Nothing to imply - it is unusual for a Bureau agent to respond to a call on a military installation. Perhaps your experience is different/greater than mine?To me the facts (or lack thereof) is quite noteworthy. As you know, the MOU between DoJ and DoD is such that the military is responsible for all law enforcement activities on DoD installations. After the military sorts it all out - a determination is made that persons detained who are not subject to the UCMJ is then released to civilian Law Enf authorities. Even with the MOU, the Bureau still has jurisdiction for federal crimes on the installation, and rarely the Bureau can, and does come on installations with unique matters in which they inform the Law Enf desk (or a MCIO) that the Bureau has a warrant - and they serve it after such coordination.
Furthermore, as a taxpayer I can question the benefit of an FBI agent assigned to a uniformed security force, given the difference in mission. The liaison program is much different and usually involves something much more complicated.
I've been removed from it all for several years, but the issues of military LNOs to the Bureau as well as Bureau LNOs to certain military commands was/is clearly defined. I suspect the LNO position is to one of the unified/specified 4 star commands at MacDill? Again, things may have changed and FBI agents are assigned to MP desks on Army bases?
As I posited, the Agent could have been at the gate (perhaps) waiting for an official visitor, he could have been talking to a Security Force friend, or he could have been their with a "real world" scenario.
But given his role as an LNO it is highly unusual that he is responding to incidents or taking direct action on a military installation.
Drunk Vets on a motorcycle leaving a mliltary camp ground are the sort of things that (at least from 1970 - 1997) the Bureau agents I worked with were trained to avoid.
This is unusual. I suspect there is a story here beyond what the PAO is putting out. Either this Vet was a "person of interest" or they were expecting a higher forece protection level that evening - or perhaps, this Vet and the agent had met before?:munchin
v/r
phil
Defender968
05-21-2010, 06:41
Leozinho,
Nothing to imply - it is unusual for a Bureau agent to respond to a call on a military installation. Perhaps your experience is different/greater than mine?To me the facts (or lack thereof) is quite noteworthy. As you know, the MOU between DoJ and DoD is such that the military is responsible for all law enforcement activities on DoD installations. After the military sorts it all out - a determination is made that persons detained who are not subject to the UCMJ is then released to civilian Law Enf authorities. Even with the MOU, the Bureau still has jurisdiction for federal crimes on the installation, and rarely the Bureau can, and does come on installations with unique matters in which they inform the Law Enf desk (or a MCIO) that the Bureau has a warrant - and they serve it after such coordination.
Furthermore, as a taxpayer I can question the benefit of an FBI agent assigned to a uniformed security force, given the difference in mission. The liaison program is much different and usually involves something much more complicated.
I've been removed from it all for several years, but the issues of military LNOs to the Bureau as well as Bureau LNOs to certain military commands was/is clearly defined. I suspect the LNO position is to one of the unified/specified 4 star commands at MacDill? Again, things may have changed and FBI agents are assigned to MP desks on Army bases?
As I posited, the Agent could have been at the gate (perhaps) waiting for an official visitor, he could have been talking to a Security Force friend, or he could have been their with a "real world" scenario.
But given his role as an LNO it is highly unusual that he is responding to incidents or taking direct action on a military installation.
Drunk Vets on a motorcycle leaving a mliltary camp ground are the sort of things that (at least from 1970 - 1997) the Bureau agents I worked with were trained to avoid.
This is unusual. I suspect there is a story here beyond what the PAO is putting out. Either this Vet was a "person of interest" or they were expecting a higher forece protection level that evening - or perhaps, this Vet and the agent had met before?:munchin
v/r
phil
I would tend to concur with you JAGO that it is very unusual to have an FBI agent at the gate. My guess would be that this was a case where the agent was at the right place at the wrong time, had his badge on his belt along with his gun (as most agents do) and became involved either at his own decision or that of the Vet...time will tell but I'm sure there are many details about this that we're not privy too yet.
Also any federal crimes that occur on an AF Base are generally handled by OSI,.... on most normal bases at least in my experience. Now with that being said the things that are located at McDill make it a different beast altogether than a normal run of the mill AF base. At the run of the mill bases I've never seen an FBI agent on based at, all let alone actually attached to Security Forces.
At the run of the mill bases I've never seen an FBI agent on based at, all let alone actually attached to Security Forces.
1974-1976 in Bldg 2203, Ft Hood TX. Ft Hood Field Office US Army CID and the Killeen resident agency of the FBI shared that building. We had over 30 CID agents and they had 3 FBI agents (Ed J***s, Pat Cr****y, and Tom B***n) along withtheir clerical support staff and a radio technitian assigned to the Resident Agency (subordinate to the San Antonio office).
Ft Hood at that time was an "open post". Ranchers leased portions of the post from the Army. Ranges were litterally mined for brass. Hookers/Pimps would end up dead on the post. Many, many cases were handed over to the Bureau after the initial CID work up lead to civilian suspected. The Bureau readily accepted the cases after consulting with the US Attorney's Office in Waco, generally after about 0900 hrs.:rolleyes: The Killeen RA covered an area of responsiblity greater than the all of Ft Hood and they agents were away from their office, a fair portion of the time.
And years later - it was not at all unusual to have (a) members of the FBI's HRT at Bragg.. I'm just sayin....
v/r
phil
Due to the nature of their mission, this unit at Fort Benning had an FBI LNO in the 80s when I was HHC CDR 1-507th.
http://www.cid.army.mil/fort_benning_bn.html
Just sayin...;)
Richard
Due to the nature of their mission, this unit at Fort Benning had an FBI LNO in the 80s when I was HHC CDR 1-507th.
http://www.cid.army.mil/fort_benning_bn.html
Just sayin...;)
Richard
.....and they had a QRF mission to respond to Plaines, GA after a certain gentleman (quite unpopular at the time) returned home from his rather unseccessful 4 years in D.C.
The two (interceptor equiped) Fords that Treasury provided the office were smokin' hot. :D
v/r
phil
I would tend to concur with you JAGO that it is very unusual to have an FBI agent at the gate. My guess would be that this was a case where the agent was at the right place at the wrong time, had his badge on his belt along with his gun (as most agents do) and became involved either at his own decision or that of the Vet...time will tell but I'm sure there are many details about this that we're not privy too yet. .
The press is reporting the agent was at the right place at the wrong time and the agent made a decision to intervene. Also last night the local press interviewed the brother of the deceased. Reportedly the deceased had history of substance abuse and had a prior conviction of assault on LEO. Finally the press reported that the deceased is prior Army Vietnam Vet with Purple Heart and was diagnosed with PTSD. As always take press reports for what they are worth.
AngelsSix
05-21-2010, 20:40
I have had Secret Service and FBI agents working alongside during certain missions at the base, it is not anything unusual.
The nut jobs also know they are there and why, as well.
Draw whatever conclusions you like.
PTSD is starting to sound like a convenient excuse for bad behavior by some individuals.........
Leozinho
05-22-2010, 15:25
But given his role as an LNO it is highly unusual that he is responding to incidents or taking direct action on a military installation.
Drunk Vets on a motorcycle leaving a mliltary camp ground are the sort of things that (at least from 1970 - 1997) the Bureau agents I worked with were trained to avoid.
v/r
phil
Times have changed. Given the event at Fort Hood, I would expect any LEO on post, even a Fed working as a liaison, to respond to a report of an unknown subject fleeing police (or whatever the report might have been.)
If that is how the agent ended up involved, I would be surprised if the agent knew the call involved a drunk Vietnam vet leaving the campground (and therefore he couldn't be expected to avoid it), not that it makes any difference to me.
incarcerated
06-15-2010, 00:57
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/15/florida.air.base.arrests/?hpt=T2
Armed pair held at Central Command base
June 15, 2010 2:12 a.m. EDT
MacDill Air Force Base, Florida (CNN) -- All gates at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida will be open Tuesday after being temporarily closed after a heavily armed man and woman were taken into custody when they tried to enter the facility without authorization, an Air Force spokeswoman said.
They were stopped at a gate at the base that houses the headquarters for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan early Monday evening after they could not show proper identification, Senior Airman Katherine Holt said. A search of the vehicle after they were detained found military-style uniforms and gear and several "rifle-type" weapons, Holt said.
The two were questioned Monday evening, another Air Force spokeswoman, Elizabeth Gosselin said.
Authorities cordoned off their sport utility vehicle and searched it using a robot, but no explosives were found, Holt said. Video showed base personnel removing weapons, ammunition and military-style clothing from the vehicle, which was later towed away.
The Tampa, Florida, installation houses the headquarters of U.S. Central Command, which runs the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the U.S. Special Operations Command.
AngelsSix
06-15-2010, 18:35
June 15, 2010
Man who tried entering MacDill Air Force Base was AWOL, officials say
The Associated Press
TAMPA — An AWOL serviceman arrested as he tried to enter MacDill Air Force Base with weapons and ammunition in his vehicle has been charged with desertion and will be turned over to the Army, base officials reported this evening.
Spc. Christopher Paul Kilburn had been stationed with Alpha Company, 1-16th 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan., a media release from the base said. It did not specify when he left. Kilburn will be turned over to Army officials, and additional charges will be pending as the investigation continues.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office will decide how to charge Kilburn’s companion, Palm Beach resident Micah Noel Goodier.
The couple was arrested Monday evening, when they tried to gain access to the base. The base’s public affairs office did not know if either person had an attorney.
Air Force Col. Dave Cohen said during a news conference earlier today that it doesn’t appear to have been a terrorism attempt.
Investigators were still trying to get to the bottom of the couple’s motivation and intent, Cohen said.
“We’ve been talking to them since last night trying to get information, and we’re still trying to put that puzzle together,” he said.
The couple’s Honda CRV contained three handguns, three rifles and some ammunition, Cohen said. He described them as “military style” but commercially available.
He said they tried to drive onto the base at about 5 p.m. at a remote gate and flashed phony military identification. A security officer became suspicious, and the couple cooperated when they were asked by officers to get out of the car.
When the weapons were found, a bomb disposal unit was called to examine the car, Cohen said. No explosives were found.
“At no point was the security of MacDill Air Force Base breached,” he said. “The system worked exactly as it was supposed to.”
MacDill, situated on a peninsula south of downtown Tampa, is the home of U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also houses the U.S. Special Operations Command that coordinates the activities of elite units from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.
Last month, an FBI agent who was at the base on unrelated business fatally shot a Vietnam veteran after an altercation. The veteran had been staying at the family campground on the base. Officials said he came at the agent with a knife before he was killed.
incarcerated
06-17-2010, 01:07
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/06/ap_gordon_explosives_061610/
Man seized at Army post had land mine, laser scope
By Kate Brumback - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jun 16, 2010 14:48:26 EDT
FORT GORDON, Ga. — A former national guardsman pretending to be an active-duty soldier convinced an officer to give him a sophisticated laser sight for military rifles before he was caught hours later on the base with a land mine, several grenades and night vision devices, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Federal prosecutors said in a criminal complaint that Anthony Todd Saxon, 34, falsely pretended to be an Army master sergeant on Tuesday and sought to steal the infrared laser targeting sight. He was expected to appear in federal court later Wednesday.
Saxon was wearing a full combat uniform, including rank and insignia, when he was stopped at Fort Gordon by military police and questioned about his activities, according to the complaint. After Saxon gave them consent to search his vehicle, authorities said they found several grenades and the land mine, among other equipment.
According to the complaint, Saxon told investigators he was able to obtain the laser sight by telling a captain in the base’s military police office that he was a master sergeant in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and that he needed it to train a soldier.
He told investigators he was able to obtain the device after signing a receipt, according to the court documents. He also said he was a member of the Army National Guard between 1993 and 1995, but was medically discharged for heart problems.
Florida National Guard spokeswoman Crystal McNairy said that Saxon joined the Guard in 1993 and left with an honorable discharge in 1994. She said his rank was private 1st class, but she would not provide any other details about his service.
Fort Gordon spokesman Buz Yarnell said Saxon was stopped on the Army post because his car matched the description of a vehicle suspected in an earlier theft of military equipment from the post in April. Yarnell would not say what had been stolen.
Yarnell said the grenades, called “flash bangs,” use blinding light and loud noise to stun people but don’t explode into lethal shrapnel.
“He couldn’t have done any serious damage,” said Yarnell, who would not say whether the explosives were detonated.
He said there’s no suspected connection between Saxon and an AWOL serviceman arrested Monday in Florida after he tried to enter MacDill Air Force Base with weapons and ammunition in his vehicle. But Yarnell said military authorities still don’t know what Saxon was doing on Fort Gordon....
Yarnell said the grenades, called “flash bangs,” use blinding light and loud noise to stun people but don’t explode into lethal shrapnel.
“He couldn’t have done any serious damage,”
Guess they've never heard of Aiyana Jones...
And so it goes...
Richard's $.02 :munchin
Military investigates shooting at Ga. Army post
By SHANNON McCAFFREY (AP) – 3 hours ago
FOREST PARK, Ga. — An Army reservist was shot to death and another was custody Thursday at a post south of Atlanta that is a gathering place for area reserve units.
Army spokesman Col. Dan Baggio said the victim died at the U.S. Army Reserve Center located on Fort Gillem. He could not offer specifics about the shooting that happened between 4:30 and 5 p.m.
Authorities said they were withholding the names of the soldiers until they can notify family members, but did say both were men.
Authorities have not determined a motive and it's unclear what the relationship was between the two men. Nobody else was injured.
Peter Chadwick, a spokesman for Fort Gillem and Fort McPherson, said it's unclear whether anybody else was inside a building when the shooting happened or whether any civilians were involved.
Fort Gillem, established in 1943, is one of three Georgia military bases slated to shut down under a sweeping round of base closures decided in 2005. Along with nearby Fort McPherson and Naval Air Station-Atlanta, the 1,427-acre Army post is scheduled to close next year.
The post includes the headquarters for the U.S. Army Recruiting Brigade and 1st U.S. Army, which does reserve and National Guard training east of the Mississippi. It also includes the U.S. Army and Air Force Exchange Distribution Region and the only Criminal Investigation Division laboratory in the world.
Chadwick said the reserve center is located on Fort Gillem, but does not share the same command.
Thursday's shooting followed a bizarre arrest at Fort Gordon Tuesday. A former national guardsman was caught on the east Georgia base with a land mine, several grenades and night vision devices, authorities said.
Anthony Todd Saxon, 34, was charged with impersonating an Army master sergeant and stealing the infrared laser targeting sight.
It remains unclear what Saxon planned to do with the devices.
Associated Press Writer Dionne Walker in Atlanta contributed to this report.
incarcerated
06-21-2010, 10:11
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gfcmWSIQzNkGZl6eYjI6vgpyxG5QD9GFOINO0
NJ naval base locked down; spokesman won't say why
(AP) – 16 minutes ago
LAKEHURST, N.J. — Officials have lifted a lockdown at a navy base in Lakehurst, N.J.
Senior Airman David Carbajal (CAR'-bah-hall), a spokesman, says there were several "incidents" Monday that he is not yet able to provide more information about. Carbajal says no shots were fired and the base is now secure.
The lockdown lasted about two hours and kept traffic from getting into or out of the base.
The base is perhaps best know as the spot where the airship Hindenberg exploded in 1937. Now known as the Naval Air Engineering Center, one of its main missions relates to the equipment used to launch aircraft from carriers at sea.