04-18-2013, 01:03 PM
Source article
As the sun rose Thursday over West, Texas, the scope of the small town's devastation came into fuller view: a gruesome, bloody scene, homes flattened to rubble, and scores of firefighters battling a raging blaze.
The massive, deadly blast at a fertilizer plant Wednesday night forced the evacuation of about half the town of about 2,800 people and left officials asking key questions: Was it a crime or an accident? How could it have happened?
"Nothing at this point indicates we have had criminal activity, but we are not ruling that out," said Sgt. William Patrick Swanton of the nearby Waco Police Department.
A more immediate question is how high the death toll will rise.
It could be between five and 15, Swanton said. Dr. George Smith, the city's emergency management system director, said it could spike to 60 or 70.
"We have two EMS personnel that are dead for sure, and there may be three firefighters that are dead," Smith said.
"There are a lot of people that will not be here tomorrow," Mayor Tommy Muska warned late Wednesday.
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![[Image: BIGUbldCUAA5UjF.jpg]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BIGUbldCUAA5UjF.jpg)
There's a reason why the FBI investigate anyone attempting to purchase large amounts of fertilizer ever since 9/11. This is it. I have a close family member who oversees day-to-day operations at an oil distributor, and a few years back they were involved with the FBI when they were contacted by what seemed to be shady individuals who wanted to buy a large quantity of chemicals. Never found out what happened with that, sort of how like when you report someone to Blizzard for cheating and they say "we'll take of it."
As the sun rose Thursday over West, Texas, the scope of the small town's devastation came into fuller view: a gruesome, bloody scene, homes flattened to rubble, and scores of firefighters battling a raging blaze.
The massive, deadly blast at a fertilizer plant Wednesday night forced the evacuation of about half the town of about 2,800 people and left officials asking key questions: Was it a crime or an accident? How could it have happened?
"Nothing at this point indicates we have had criminal activity, but we are not ruling that out," said Sgt. William Patrick Swanton of the nearby Waco Police Department.
A more immediate question is how high the death toll will rise.
It could be between five and 15, Swanton said. Dr. George Smith, the city's emergency management system director, said it could spike to 60 or 70.
"We have two EMS personnel that are dead for sure, and there may be three firefighters that are dead," Smith said.
"There are a lot of people that will not be here tomorrow," Mayor Tommy Muska warned late Wednesday.
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There's a reason why the FBI investigate anyone attempting to purchase large amounts of fertilizer ever since 9/11. This is it. I have a close family member who oversees day-to-day operations at an oil distributor, and a few years back they were involved with the FBI when they were contacted by what seemed to be shady individuals who wanted to buy a large quantity of chemicals. Never found out what happened with that, sort of how like when you report someone to Blizzard for cheating and they say "we'll take of it."
Quote:Considering the mods here are generally liberals who seem to have a soft spot for fascism and white supremacy (despite them saying otherwise), me being perma-banned at some point is probably not out of the question.