Security Protocol Was Key In Stopping Fox 5 DC Break-In Suspect
TENLEYTOWN (WJZ) — Crime tape is still up after a security guard shot a man trying to break into Fox 5 DC Monday afternoon.
The man, identified as George Oddemns, is still hospitalized Tuesday. He is expected to recover from a single gunshot wound.
He is accused of breaking through two doors by kicking through the glass, and was stopped by two security guards, one spraying him with mace, and when that didn't work, the other guard opening fire on him.
"He forced his way in by kicking in the door, and the shooting occurred in the lobby area of the station," said Commander Melvin Gresham with DC police.
Court records show the man has sued the station in the past, asking for $100 billion and claiming that Fox 5 had nanochipped him.
DC police said he is suspected to have mental health issues.
Fox 5 staff also said he has sent bizarre and rambling emails to employees in the past.
The case details are similar to another newsroom attack in another city. Late in June, investigators said Jarrod Ramos used a shotgun to blast his way through the doors of the Capital Gazette offices in Annapolis.
With no security to stop him, journalists became open targets in their own newsroom.
Ramos is now charged with killing five Gazette staffers.
In the years before, he had sued a columnist for the paper, an editor and publisher.
Months later, just 35 miles away, Fox 5 reporters left their newsroom and crossed the yellow tape to cover an attack on their station, anchors and reporters tweeted Monday, calling the incident, "Scary,"
Another typed, "Security protocol worked. We are safe,"
Investigators said Oddemns was not armed.
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