The Federal Bureau of Inquiry announced this morning that it
was investigating a recent fire and explosions at an Iowa biodiesel facility as
a potential act of terrorism. The attack Tuesday resulted in the release of
methanol from multiple storage tanks with resulting explosions and fire. No employees
were injured and two police officers were treated and released from the local
hospital with minor burns and contusions. One off-site evacuation was necessary
as only one family lived within ½-mile of the rural facility.
The attack was first reported to the police in nearby Bums
Rush, IA as consisting of five to six individuals armed with apparent automatic
weapons. The report was made by the Security Control Center for American Security
Guard, Inc. Paul Blart, their spokesman, told reporters that security cameras
and intrusion detection devices alerted the company to the possible intrusion.
Security Guards at the site were dispatched to the perimeter location where the
intrusion was detected. Guards confirmed a whole in the perimeter fence and
footprints of multiple individual entering the facility.
When asked if the local security force was armed, Blart
replied: “Our contract with Biodiesel of Iowa prohibits us from having armed
personnel on-site. That is why we notified the police when our cameras
indicated that armed individuals had entered the site.”
When police arrived on scene they started searching for the
intruders. When they entered the main storage tank area they were fired upon by
automatic weapons. Patrol officers returned fire, apparently puncturing two
methanol storage tanks. Minutes later an explosion occurred in the tank farm,
destroying multiple tanks. Fires continued to burn well into this Wednesday
afternoon.
When investigators were able to enter the site last night,
they found a WWI machine gun equipped with remote control and a large supply of
blank ammunition. It appears that no intruders were on-site during the exchange
of gun fire and no one actually fired at the police officers. Meanwhile, a
check of security systems at SGI determined that their system had been hacked
and the photos upon which the police report was made were fake. At that point
local authorities contacted the FBI.
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