Mass Casualty Event

[Cow Poke]

You may have seen on the news.

Truck driver got denied (or downgraded) on his CDL at the local DPS Licensing Station on Thursday, and was very angry threatening "you'll be sorry", "I'll be back".

The following day (yesterday) he returned in an 18-wheeler he stole from a another trucker who was fueling up at a truck stop, led police on a chase into our town, drove up the street where the DPS licensing station is, and took a hard right turn smashing full force into the front of the building, injuring nearly a dozen people, three critically, and one died later that day.

The trucker actually smashed into the building, backed up, made another run, backed up and was gonna hit it again, but a Sheriff's Deputy managed to climb on board the cab and yank the guy out.

The scene was.... literally like a bomb went off inside the building, and injured people everywhere.

We will be having a CISM debriefing Sunday afternoon for all first responders - DPS, SP, PD, EMS, constables....

Prayers for the recovery of the injured, the grief of the family who lost their 90-year old mother/grandmother/greatgrandma/friend....

Pray for the CISM team (and me as Chaplain) as we deal with this Sunday afternoon.

(yes, I know this pretty much reveals my location, and there are sicko people who will want to take advantage of that, but such is life)

[rogue06]

You may have seen on the news.

Truck driver got denied (or downgraded) on his CDL at the local DPS Licensing Station on Thursday, and was very angry threatening "you'll be sorry", "I'll be back".

The following day (yesterday) he returned in an 18-wheeler he stole from a another trucker who was fueling up at a truck stop, led police on a chase into our town, drove up the street where the DPS licensing station is, and took a hard right turn smashing full force into the front of the building, injuring nearly a dozen people, three critically, and one died later that day.

The trucker actually smashed into the building, backed up, made another run, backed up and was gonna hit it again, but a Sheriff's Deputy managed to climb on board the cab and yank the guy out.

The scene was.... literally like a bomb went off inside the building, and injured people everywhere.

We will be having a CISM debriefing Sunday afternoon for all first responders - DPS, SP, PD, EMS, constables....

Prayers for the recovery of the injured, the grief of the family who lost their 90-year old mother/grandmother/greatgrandma/friend....

Pray for the CISM team (and me as Chaplain) as we deal with this Sunday afternoon.

(yes, I know this pretty much reveals my location, and there are sicko people who will want to take advantage of that, but such is life)

If your DPS Licensing Stations are designed in any way like the ones here, then it is highly likely that all of the victims were folks waiting to get or renew their license and not those he was angry at.

[Cow Poke]

If your DPS Licensing Stations are designed in any way like the ones here, then it is highly likely that all of the victims were folks waiting to get or renew their license and not those he was angry at.

Kinda - the lobby and waiting areas are typically at the very front, then the "counter" where the DPS employees wait on customers, and right behind them a wall that separates the "private" areas from the public areas.

Several employees were wounded, but so were several people who were simply there to renew their licenses. Fortunately, the "waiting room" is to the left of the main entrance, so the brunt of the damage was the people working the counter, and those standing there getting their photo taken or signing documents.

The lady who denied the trucker's CDL wrote on her notes for the denial "subject very irate". She said he promised "I'll be back", and when he did come crashing through the building, yelled, "I told you I'd be back!"

[rogue06]

Kinda - the lobby and waiting areas are typically at the very front, then the "counter" where the DPS employees wait on customers, and right behind them a wall that separates the "private" areas from the public areas.

Several employees were wounded, but so were several people who were simply there to renew their licenses. Fortunately, the "waiting room" is to the left of the main entrance, so the brunt of the damage was the people working the counter, and those standing there getting their photo taken or signing documents.

The lady who denied the trucker's CDL wrote on her notes for the denial "subject very irate". She said he promised "I'll be back", and when he did come crashing through the building, yelled, "I told you I'd be back!"

That fella deserves a "seat of honor"

[Cow Poke]

Oddly enough, the guy who did this went to school with our Assistant Chief of Police, and nobody remembers him as anything other than "normal".
(Yes, he was a local)

[rogue06]

Oddly enough, the guy who did this went to school with our Assistant Chief of Police, and nobody remembers him as anything other than "normal".
(Yes, he was a local)

Folks are under a lot of undue strain these past 5 years.

[mossrose]

Oh, dear Lord! Praying.

I did see a glimpse of that, but not the whole story, so I had no idea it was where it was!

[One Bad Pig]

[Christianbookworm]

[Cow Poke]

Today at 2 PM I will be overseeing a CISM debriefing with the first responders who were involved in this. It will be DPS, Sheriff's Office, Game Wardens, Constables, Local PD, Fire Department, EMS.... we are expecting about 45 participants besides 11 CISM Team Members.

[Cerebrum123]

[rogue06]

Today at 2 PM I will be overseeing a CISM debriefing with the first responders who were involved in this. It will be DPS, Sheriff's Office, Game Wardens, Constables, Local PD, Fire Department, EMS.... we are expecting about 45 participants besides 11 CISM Team Members.

Again, and hoping it turned out well.

But I just gots to ask... "game wardens"?

[Cow Poke]

Again, and hoping it turned out well.

But I just gots to ask... "game wardens"?

Game Wardens in Texas have full police powers throughout the state and are on the same radio frequencies. They showed up to help.

[Christianbookworm]

So, what happened to the perp? Is he getting locked up for the rest of his life? And are the other victims still okay?

[Cow Poke]

So, the debrief was over 3 hours long, over 45 participants and 11 CISM Team members.
DPS showed up in force - and I was really impressed with how open and vulnerable they were.
There were 5 ladies who were the "Drivers License Ladies", and three DPS Troopers who work in (and out of) the building.
The Troopers were in a back room, and heard on the radio about a stolen 18 wheeler that was being pursued by police in the area.
They listened as it was getting nearer to them, and were just about to run out to their vehicles and join the pursuit.
Then they heard a Sheriff's Deputy call on the radio "He's about to crash into DPS".
The Troopers looked at each other and said, "WHAT DID HE SAY?" followed by a deafening crash and the roar of a truck engine in their lobby.
They fully believed that all of the DL Ladies HAD to be dead.
Many of the ceiling tiles and much of the sheetrock pretty much vaporized into dust, and they couldn't see or breathe.

Long story short - the only fatality (so far) was an elderly man, and none of the DL Ladies was seriously wounded.
I will be recommending to DPS Chaplain that two of the ladies seemed particularly traumatized and will need follow up.
The Police chief and I agreed that the officer who climbed up into the cab to drag the driver out of the truck will need follow up.
That one - the officer - is a special case, as he is the officer assigned to coordinate the Police Chaplain (me), though he is a self professed agnostic.

All in all, everybody agreed that they were impressed how well they worked together in such a horrific chaotic scene, and how well they brought it quickly to order.
When somebody bemoaned that they felt like they failed or "didn't do enough", others would jump in and assure them "you did all you could".

It is by no means a "hold hands and sing kum bah yah" kind of thing, but it's truly rewarding to see these professionals "talk it out" and quite possibly mitigate any PTSD or related trauma.