FBI Agent Shot by Booby-Trapped Wheelchair
The bomb specialists suspected that an Oregon home was booby-trapped. As they entered the front door, they noticed what appeared to be a tripwire. Seconds later, a shot rang out, apparently from a booby-trapped wheelchair. And an FBI bomb special agent was hit in the leg. Sixty-seven-year-old Gregory Lee Rodvelt, the man who used to live at this home in Williams, Ore., has been charged with assaulting a federal officer. And before the highly trained team even entered the house, it encountered a series of traps that are straight out of the adventures of Indiana Jones.
This started on Aug. 22, when a judge in Josephine County appointed attorney Joseph Charter to take possession of the property where Rodvelt resided in order to sell it. According to the criminal complaint, Charter asked authorities from the FBI and Oregon State Police to clear the property. He had reason to think it might be unsafe. Rodvelt had previously been charged with unlawful possession of explosives but was released to attend the property hearing. Several days prior to the judge's order, neighbors had seen Rodvelt at the property. There was another, more direct warning: Charter told the authorities that he spotted a sign "warning that the property was protected by improvised devices."
Also at OregonLive.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 03 2018, @04:26PM (1 child)
Aren't all first responders government employees? I'm not sure keeping firefighters and EMS afraid of going into a house is in anyone's best interest.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 04 2018, @03:36AM
To some people, their home is their castle, and the last thing they want is somebody bashing down their door, EMT or not. Other people would leave the door unlocked, if not for burglars.