Back in August of 2013, Rockne Warren Newell, armed with a rifle and a handgun, stormed a township meeting in the Ross Township Municipal Building in Saylorsburg, Pa. Witnesses say he fired through a wall into the meeting room and then burst into the room itself, guns blazing. Three people died, and two sustained wounds before citizens attending the meeting restrained him. Newell’s rampage apparently grew out of disputes over permits for his home.
Targeting government buildings
It doesn’t happen often, but local government buildings occasionally come under attack. A recent FBI study reported a total of 160 active shooter attacks on various kinds of sites between 2000 and 2013. Eleven involved non-military government facilities. Attackers also shot up two school board meetings during the study period.To help keep public servants safe, local governments are asking for more secure public buildings.
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