Tensas State Bank hostage crisis

Last updated
Tensas State Bank hostage crisis
Location St. Joseph, Tensas Parish
Louisiana, United States
DateAugust 13, 2013 (2013-08-13)
Attack type
Shooting, hostage crisis
Weapons
Deaths3 (including the perpetrator)
PerpetratorFuaed Abdo Ahmed
MotiveMental health issues

On August 13, 2013, a gunman, identified as 20-year-old Fuaed Abdo Ahmed, took two women and a man hostage at the St. Joseph branch of Tensas State Bank. He killed two of the hostages after releasing the third. A subsequent police investigation officially concluded that Ahmed suffered from mental health issues and acted alone, while the incident was not classified as an act of terrorism.

Contents

Details

On August 13, 2013, Ahmed entered the St. Joseph branch of Tensas State Bank, armed with both a handgun and an AK-47 rifle. His duffel bag was packed with items that he planned to use to torture his hostages. [1] He held three people hostage: Charles Henry "Jay" Warbington, Jr., of Wisner in Franklin Parish, Tamara LaDean "Deannie" McDaniel, and Patricia White. [2] [3] All three were employees at the bank for more than twenty years. During negotiations, state police superintendent, Colonel Mike Edmonson, located a friend of Ahmed's in Alaska, who talked him into releasing one of the hostages, Patricia White. According to Edmondson, Ahmed was "mad at people that he said were mean to him. He had voices in his head." [4] Authorities said that Ahmed believed the family of his ex-girlfriend in Lake Providence had caused their breakup and had placed a "microphone device" of some kind in his head. [5] [6]

Eventually, Ahmed shot the remaining two hostages. Warbington died at the scene, while McDaniel was critically wounded and died two days later at Rapides Regional Medical Center in Alexandria. [6] Soon afterward, the Louisiana State Police broke into the bank and fatally shot Ahmed. [1] [4] It did not appear that Ahmed knew the hostages, [1] but the hostages recognized him. [5]

The perpetrator

Fuaed Abdo Ahmed
Born
Fuaed Abdo Ahmed

c. 1993
Fresno, California
DiedAugust 13, 2013 (aged 20)
St. Joseph, Tensas Parish, Louisiana
Cause of deathGunshot wounds
NationalityAmerican
MotivePossible mental illness

Fuaed Abdo Ahmed (c. 1993 – August 13, 2013) was identified as the hostage-taker and shooter. His family owned a Trak service station located across the street from the bank. His parents were from Yemen. According to Ahmed on Facebook, he was born in Fresno, California, was a "fan" of comedian Jerry Seinfeld and rapper Eminem, and was Muslim. [4]

Ahmed had been a football player at the private Briarfield Academy, located in Lake Providence in East Carroll Parish in far northeastern Louisiana. His coach, Ben Durham, said that Ahmed had 2,700 rushing yards and 40 touchdowns in his senior year. Durham described Ahmed as never displaying aggressive behavior when playing football, "He was a normal good kid. It's not like he ever had any fits of rage. Ever." Sometime later, Durham said that he had a Facebook conversation with Ahmed and noticed the emergence of his paranoid tendencies. [7]

FBI encounter on April 2013

On August 23, 2013, it was disclosed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had interviewed Ahmed in April while he was visiting in Yemen; his family reported him missing or possibly kidnapped. Ahmed told the agents that he had not been kidnapped and was hearing voices in his head and at times felt suicidal but claimed he would not injure others. Ahmed was also interviewed in June by the Department of Homeland Security in Los Angeles, when he returned to the United States from Yemen. Agents asked him about a Facebook photo posted of himself holding an AK-47 rifle in Yemen. During this interview, DHS said that Ahmed denied any criminal activity or inclination toward terrorism. Authorities in Los Angeles conducted their own evaluation of Ahmed and placed him a medical facility for several days of mental evaluation. [8]

Mental health problems

On March 12, 2014, state police confirmed after a months-long investigation that Ahmed had been treated at a California hospital several weeks prior to the shooting for paranoid schizophrenia. His brother, Yasser, told police that Ahmed had employed yoga for six hours a day in a vain attempt to "cure himself", rather than taking medication prescribed by doctors. [9] Police found in Ahmed's room a bottle of Risperidone, a drug used to treat schizophrenia; only three of the sixty pills were missing. [5] Yasser confirmed too that Ahmed had used narcotics and bath salts before he left Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, where he had been a short-term student.

An investigation found that the four-member SWAT team that breached the bank fired a total of twelve shots and struck Ahmed eight times, finding the police actions justifiable. In a letter found inside the vehicle that he drove to the bank, Ahmed claimed to have ended his ties to Islam, his family, and Middle Eastern culture and heritage. Instead, he extolled his American citizenship and said that he had become a "born again Christian". [9] Even with those claims, Ahmed contradicted himself when he wrote in the letter, seen by officials as a last will and testament, that neither whites nor non-Muslims could attend his funeral. [5]

Aftermath

Some 300 St. Joseph residents came together on the evening of August 20 to commemorate the victims. Ronny McDaniel, the husband of Tamara McDaniel, told the gathering that he is relying on his faith, saying, "I know in my heart it was meant to be. It was God's will to take them home. If they could come back right now, they wouldn't come back. I just believe they're in a better place." [10]

Robby White, husband of Patricia White, the hostage who was released, explained the loss to the community:

This tragedy wasn't on the scale of 9/11, but it had the same effect on this community. There's no way to describe the feelings that each of us felt when we discovered the situation had turned so very wrong. We became stunned, shocked and so damn angry. [10]

Colonel Edmonson addressed the gathering and announced a thorough investigation would be undertaken to determine why Ahmed attacked the bank and its employees. Edmonson said that a final report since released would attempt to reveal Ahmed's state of mind to help perhaps prevent future attacks of this kind. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tensas Parish, Louisiana</span> Parish in Louisiana, United States

Tensas Parish is a parish located in the northeastern section of the State of Louisiana; its eastern border is the Mississippi River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,147. It is the least populated parish in Louisiana. The parish seat is St. Joseph. The name Tensas is derived from the historic indigenous Taensa people. The parish was founded in 1843 following Indian Removal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newellton, Louisiana</span> Town in Louisiana, United States

Newellton is a town in northern Tensas Parish in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population is 1,187 in the 2010 census, a decline of 255 persons, or 17 percent, from the 2000 tabulation of 1,482. The average age of the population there is 41 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Joseph, Louisiana</span> Town in Louisiana, United States

St. Joseph, often called St. Joe, is a town in, and the parish seat of, rural Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States, in the delta of the Mississippi River. The population was 1,176 at the 2010 census. The town had an African-American majority of 77.4 percent in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterproof, Louisiana</span> Village in Louisiana, United States

Waterproof is a village in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States with a population of 688 as of the 2010 census. The village in 2010 was 91.7 percent African American. Some 24 percent of Waterproof residents in 2010 were aged sixty or above.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allen J. Ellender</span> American politician (1890–1972)

Allen Joseph Ellender was an American politician and lawyer who was a U.S. Senator from Louisiana from 1937 until his death. He was a Democrat who was originally allied with Huey Long. As Senator he compiled a generally conservative record, voting 77% of the time with the Conservative Coalition on domestic issues. A staunch segregationist, he signed the Southern Manifesto in 1956, voted against the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and opposed anti-lynching legislation in 1938. Unlike many Democrats he was not a "hawk" in foreign policy and opposed the Vietnam War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shootout</span> Combat between two parties using firearms, typically in a non-military context

A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a combat situation between armed parties using guns. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to describe combat situations primarily using firearms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tensas Parish School Board</span> School board in Louisiana, United States

The Tensas Parish School Board is an entity responsible for the operation of public schools in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. It is headquartered in the town of St. Joseph. The current superintendent is Paul E. Nelson, the former superintendent in neighboring Concordia Parish.

Electronic harassment, electromagnetic torture, or psychotronic torture is a conspiracy theory that malicious actors make use of electromagnetic radiation, radar, and surveillance techniques to transmit sounds and thoughts into people's heads, affect people's bodies, and harass people. Individuals who claim to experience this call themselves "targeted individuals" (TIs). Some claim they are victims of gang stalking and many have created or joined support and advocacy groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Man Haron Monis</span> Iranian-Australian Sunni Muslim and terrorist

Man Haron Monis was an Iranian-born refugee and Australian citizen who took hostages in a siege at the Lindt Chocolate Café at Martin Place, Sydney on 15 December 2014, lasting for 17 hours, until the early hours of the following morning. The siege resulted in the death of Monis and two hostages.

On 15 August 2013, a hostage crisis occurred in Islamabad, Pakistan, in the Blue Area of the city. Malik Muhammed Sikander took one woman and two children hostage, purported to be his wife and children. The event ended after six hours due to the intervention of Zamarud Khan and the shooting of Sikander.

On February 3, 2014, 15-year-old high school student Sergey Gordeyev opened fire at School No. 263 in Otradnoye District, Moscow, Russia, killing a teacher. Gordeyev then took 29 students hostage, killed one police officer, and injured another. Later on, he surrendered to the authorities. It is the first reported school shooting in Russia's modern history.

Michael David Edmonson is the former superintendent of the Louisiana State Police, with service from January 2008 until March 24, 2017. Thus far, he is the longest serving of the Louisiana state police superintendents. Edmonson was appointed by Republican Governor Bobby Jindal. Jindal's successor, Democrat John Bel Edwards, accepted Edmonson's letter of resignation after a dispute about troopers mishandling their expense accounts while at a conference in San Diego, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindt Cafe siege</span> Terror hostage-taking in 2014 in Sydney, Australia

The Lindt Cafe siege was a terrorist attack that occurred on 15–16 December 2014 when a lone gunman, Man Haron Monis, held hostage ten customers and eight employees of a Lindt chocolate café in the APA Building in Martin Place, Sydney, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney siege inquest</span>

The Sydney siege inquest was an inquest into the deaths that occurred during the 2014 Sydney hostage crisis, which was instigated by Man Haron Monis. The inquest started on 29 January 2015, had more than 100 witnesses and was run in blocks into 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orlando nightclub shooting</span> Mass shooting in Orlando, Florida (2016)

On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old man, killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States. Orlando Police officers shot and killed him after a three-hour standoff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 shooting of Dallas police officers</span> Mass shooting in Dallas, Texas

On July 7, 2016, Micah Xavier Johnson ambushed a group of police officers in Dallas, Texas, shooting and killing five officers, and injuring nine others. Two civilians were also wounded. Johnson was an Army Reserve Afghan War veteran and was angry over police shootings of black men. The shooting happened at the end of a protest against the police killings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, which had occurred in the preceding days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 Honolulu hostage crisis</span> Hostage crisis in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1996

The 1996 Honolulu hostage crisis occurred on February 6, 1996, in Sand Island, Honolulu, Hawaii, when 28-year-old John Miranda took hostages at the Seal Masters of Hawaii building, his former place of employment. During the hostage crisis, two hostages were injured, one seriously. Miranda was the only fatality during the crisis itself. However, a few weeks after the event, he was found to have murdered his former girlfriend prior to the crisis.

On March 9, 2018, a murder–suicide shooting took place at the Veterans Home of California in Yountville, California. The Pathway Home is a residential treatment program meant to help post-9/11 veterans struggling with PTSD and TBIs reintegrate into society. The shooter, Albert Wong, had attended the program until the home's executive director, Christine Loeber, dismissed him earlier in the week.

On July 21, 2018, a hostage incident occurred at a Trader Joe's store in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. 28-year-old Gene Evin Atkins, armed and fleeing police, crashed into a utility pole and ran into the nearby store. He fired at two pursuing police officers during the pursuit and after the crash; the two officers returned fire in Atkins's direction, hitting and killing a store employee, Melyda Corado, and hitting Atkins in the left arm. After escaping into Trader Joe's, Atkins barricaded himself and the rest of the store's patrons and employees inside the store. By the end of the incident, Atkins was arrested for various criminal felonies.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Cole Avery, St. Joseph mourns tragedy in bank, August 14, 2013". Monroe News-Star . Archived from the original on September 17, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Charles "Jay" Warbington Obituary (2013) the Town Talk".
  3. ↑ "Tamara LaDean "Deannie" McDaniel". listenupyall.com. Archived from the original on March 13, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "Police kill St. Joseph bank hostage taker; 1 hostage dies, Surviving hostage being treated at Alexandria hospital". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. Archived from the original on August 14, 2013. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Jim Mustian, Man who killed hostages in north Louisiana bank had mental illness, March 12". Baton Rouge Morning Advocate . Archived from the original on March 13, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  6. 1 2 "Tensas bank hostage dies at Alexandria hospital, August 15, 2013". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. Archived from the original on August 15, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Tensas bank suspect blamed ex-girlfriend's family, wanted to leave country, August 15, 2013". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. Archived from the original on August 15, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
  8. ↑ "FBI questioned St. Joseph bank gunman in April". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. Archived from the original on August 24, 2013. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
  9. 1 2 "Gunman in Tensas Parish bank standoff was treated for mental illness". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. Archived from the original on March 13, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 "Cole Avery, Joseph community gathers to remember slain bank employees, August 20, 2013". Monroe News-Star. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.