Rainier Ranger Shot

Big news from Mt. Rainier today.
http://www.npr.org/2012/01/02/144570245/mt-rainier-ranger-shot-to-death-gunman-sought

Tactical teams searched Mount Rainier National Park's snowy terrain through the night for an armed gunman suspected in the shooting death of a park ranger, as other officers used the cover of darkness to evacuate dozens of tourists who had been kept for their safety at a visitors center.

About 150 officers converged on the mountain park after ranger Margaret Anderson was shot to death Sunday morning, and searchers used an aircraft with heat-sensing capabilities to hunt from the skies.

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http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/updates/3346

They found the shooter, dead in a ditch.




Brian

More details:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57350970/suspect-in-mt-rainier-shooting-found-dead-in-snow/

I remember about 20 years ago somebody shot a ranger at Yosemite, but he survived because he was wearing a bulletproof vest

I'm not sure if I was more surprised that somebody shot a ranger, or that the ranger had a bulletproof vest

To people who know the area well, could you briefly explain the type of terrain where the killer's body was found (maybe compare it to something in the Whites???). Thanks.

RoySwkr said:

I'm not sure if I was more surprised that somebody shot a ranger, or that the ranger had a bulletproof vest

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I met a ranger hiking in Acadia two years ago and he was armed and was wearing a bulletproof vest on a fairly hot day. He said park rangers are the federal employees (outside active military) most likely to encounter violence as part of their daily job.

There are NPS park rangers whose official duties are classified as law enforcement. These rangers are the equivalent of a police officer, trained and carrying a sidearm, handcuffs, etc.

The assailant was an Iraq War veteran with major societal reintegration issues. To wit, he was mentally unstable. It's sad for his family (read the article for the details) that he lost control and did this. It's sad for ranger Anderson's family that she was the victim of his actions. I can only hope that they can find some level of closure in that this was neither a targeted attack against her (or park rangers in general) nor a completely random incident.

I suspect that allowing an unstable person to have a cache of weapons is something that some authority will need to revisit; however, the important thing here is that it did not turn out to be some type of (yes, I'll say it) terror action against the Rainier Park or the NPS.

Sure as heck sounds like terror action to me. I highly doubt other park rangers are sleeping easy after hearing about this.

I'm assuming you meant that it wasn't part of a larger scheme or network, just an isolated incident.

From the NYT article (clickable link):

"The last time rangers died at Mount Rainier was in 1995, when two climbing rangers died during a rescue. Ms. Anderson is the ninth National Park Service ranger killed in the line of duty since the parks were founded in 1916. A park ranger was last killed in 2002, at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona, in pursuit of a drug cartel hit squad."

While we each draw our own conclusions, that doesn't seem to me like a large number of officers killed in the line of duty over the past 100 years, given the millions and millions of visitors. Am not a statistician - and didn't stay at a smart hotel last night - but if I were a ranger I'd be more worried about getting hit by lightning than a bullet.

Of course, all of this doesn't alter the fact that a man lost his wife, and children their mother, to a deranged individual, plus the victims and their familes in the earlier shootout. And this fellow was someone's son, and we can only imagine the grief his parents may be feeling not only over the loss of their son, but the impact their son had on the lives of so many other people.

MichaelJ said:

The assailant was an Iraq War veteran with major societal reintegration issues. To wit, he was mentally unstable.

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My understanding was that his military experience was as a communications specialist. Doesn't sound like he saw combat but can't be sure. This individual may have had serious issues before he went into the service. Hopefully we will find out more as things unfold.

Keith

All shootings and deaths are terrible news. Some of us feel this a little stronger pull towards this story because we know the beauty of Rainier, but it looks to me like just one more sad situation, and not much different than if it were in a nearby neighborhood as we see too often in the news.

erugs said:

Some of us feel this a little stronger pull towards this story because we know the beauty of Rainier

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And indeed when the story first broke, before the gunman was found, that's why I posted it here.

MichaelJ said:

There are NPS park rangers whose official duties are classified as law enforcement. These rangers are the equivalent of a police officer, trained and carrying a sidearm, handcuffs, etc.

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I'd have liked to be the type of ranger known as a "fern feeler." I think there is another category or two, but can't remember them right now, nor the similar term for those who carry weapons. Anyone?

Kevin Rooney said:

While we each draw our own conclusions, that doesn't seem to me like a large number of officers killed in the line of duty over the past 100 years, given the millions and millions of visitors. Am not a statistician - and didn't stay at a smart hotel last night - but if I were a ranger I'd be more worried about getting hit by lightning than a bullet.

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More police officers have been killed in car related deaths than firearms as long as those records have been kept. Almost two to one. Any loss is significant but they face greater dangers on the highways and streets by cars and driving than by firearms. The fire service is the same. Car accidents are a very dangerous place to work, especially on the highways and interstates. We had one person with the entire interstate closed down, try to drive through a helicopter LZ. Luckily the SP stopped before he made contact with the helicopter. Didn't find out if he was drunk or just impatient.

Keith

Rainier is indeed beautiful even from 100 miles away ... when the skies are not cloudy and wet ...

I suspect that rangers are not unlike Maine wardens and one of the dangers they face are poachers who don't care what or whom they shoot.

I'd share Billy's sentiments about the killer but would hope that we could keep the discourse here raised above these baser instincts that, in a better world, we seek to subordinate to loftier ideals.

War is a hell I have thankfully never had to visit but I have seen the toll it takes on some! In cases there is much denial that the addiction to gunmetal, cammo and an overall anarchist atitude toward authority could be signs of a pending issue with grave consequences. Hopefully warning signs and demeanor will be dealt with more as these infrequent tragedies happen and news about them casts realism on what can happen. I would like to think that the national parks will remain a retreat from some of the world's ills and not a refuge/habitat for those that would harm others.

erugs said:

I think there is another category or two, but can't remember them right now, nor the similar term for those who carry weapons. Anyone?

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The people who carry weapons used to be called Protection Rangers, while those who gave talks were Interpretive Rangers. The latter category is increasingly outsourced to non-profit groups or volunteers. In smaller parks and outlying stations, one person may perform both duties with appropriate training.

Parks have other uniformed personnel who perform other duties such as collecting fees, picking up trash, operating trolleys at Lowell, etc. who are not technically rangers. Then there are historians, scientists, accountants, etc. who may or may not wear uniforms and aren't rangers either.

There's also commonly a third type of ranger besides the law enforcement and interpretive rangers- backcountry patrol. They are usually somewhere in between the two in terms of their enforcement powers and training. Typically, they try to use education of LNT techniques to meet their objectives. They are also usually the "first responders" in a search and rescue or first aid situation.

Just because someone isn't a law enforcement ranger or isn't a ranger at all doesn't mean you don't have to do what they ask you, though. NY has a law that states that all users of state land must comply with any and all reasonable requests by any uniformed member of the DEC. For example, in NY this would include state trail crews, interior outpost caretakers, and foresters (different than forest rangers).

Very interesting post on nwhikers.net from someone who was camping in the area during the incident...

http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=771284#771284

Wow, crazy story from the camper's point of view. Little did they know........

That was a good read.....and interesting how it went from the actual incident to a bunch of TV reporters trying to get a 1st hand story! scary situation for sure. A friend of ours was in "lockdown" at the visitor's center for 17 hours! Just a horrible situation all around.