News | November 12, 2024

The HazMat Guys

• Car containing pressurized cylinders, lithium ion batteries explodes in New York City
• A car explosion occurred in the New York City borough of Queens on a Friday morning due to a pressurized cylinder stored inside the vehicle that failed, causing a fire and subsequent blast. The explosion happened at approximately 6:47 a.m., as reported by the New York City Fire Department on Facebook. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported, but the explosion did cause damage to five nearby cars and five houses.
• The car, an Infiniti QX56, belonged to Dinell Harricharan, who was on Long Island at the time of the incident. He had parked the vehicle outside his younger brother's house overnight. The car was used for their plumbing business, and equipment used for work, including an acetylene tank, was accidentally left inside, which led to the explosion. Normally, the acetylene tank is removed and stored safely in a garage each evening, but it was not removed on this occasion.
• Lithium-ion batteries stored in the car were not compromised, and the FDNY hazmat unit took precautions by packing them away. The explosion occurred just minutes before Dinell's brother, Jeremy Harricharam, was planning to use the car to take his wife, mother, and child out before starting his workday. Jeremy expressed shock at the timing of the incident.
• Fire officials suspect that gas from a ruptured canister inside the car ignited when Jeremy remotely started the vehicle using his key fob from inside the house. Unfortunately, the damage to the car is not covered by insurance, leaving Dinell Harricharan to start over financially. He expressed the importance of the car to their business and the need to rebuild and finance a new vehicle.
• Monkeys escape from Alpha Genesis research facility in South Carolina
• A police search is currently underway in Yemassee, Beaufort County, South Carolina, after 43 Rhesus macaque monkeys escaped from a research facility on Wednesday night. The facility, Alpha Genesis, specializes in providing nonhuman primate products and bio-research services. According to the company's website, the escaped monkeys are a group of very young females that have never been used for testing and are too young to carry diseases.
• Alpha Genesis is actively working to recapture the monkeys by enticing them with food, and police have set up traps and are using thermal imaging cameras to locate the animals. The Yemassee Sheriff’s Department has advised residents to keep their doors and windows secured to prevent the monkeys from entering homes. Residents are also instructed to call 911 if they encounter any of the monkeys and not to interact with them.
• Alpha Genesis is known for conducting clinical trials on monkeys, including treatments for brain disease disorders, and operates one of the largest nonhuman primate facilities in the United States. The company also manages a colony of 3,500 monkeys on Morgan Island, also known as Monkey Island, off the coast of South Carolina.
• This is not the first time primate escapes have occurred in the area. Previous incidents include an escape in May of this year and another in 2016 when 19 monkeys evaded security at Alpha Genesis but were recaptured six hours later. Additionally, in 2022, three monkeys escaped following a traffic accident in rural Pennsylvania.
• The company has not yet responded to requests for comment from NBC News. The report was compiled by Patrick Smith, a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.
• Man convicted of conspiring to commit 9/11-style attack on behalf of terrorist group
• A jury has convicted Cholo Abdi Abdullah, a 34-year-old man, of conspiring to steal a passenger jet and execute a 9/11-inspired terrorist attack under the direction of the Somalian terrorist group al Shabaab. Abdullah was found guilty on six counts, including conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and conspiring to murder U.S. nationals. He faces a potential life sentence.
• Abdullah had pledged allegiance to Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, known as al Shabaab, a militant Islamist group based in Somalia. According to prosecutors, he underwent training with the group, learning to use AK-47 assault rifles and explosives at various safe houses in Somalia. He was involved in a plot to hijack a commercial plane and crash it into a U.S. building, echoing the September 11, 2001, attacks.
• From 2017 to 2019, Abdullah attended a flight school in the Philippines to obtain a commercial pilot license. He researched pilot jobs, potential targets such as the tallest buildings in a major American city, and methods to open a cockpit door from the outside. He also investigated how to acquire a U.S. visa and communicated encrypted messages to his al Shabaab handler, detailing post-9/11 hijackings.
• Al Shabaab, which has pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda, launched a series of terrorist attacks in 2019 in retaliation for the U.S. decision to move its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem. These attacks included a deadly assault on a hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, on January 15, 2019, which killed 21 people, including a U.S. national who had survived the 9/11 attacks. The group also attacked U.S. military facilities in Somalia and Kenya, resulting in American casualties.
• The FBI investigated Abdullah's involvement in the 9/11 copycat plot. He had been in the custody of law enforcement authorities in the Philippines since July 1, 2019, before being brought to New York to face charges. On Monday, he was further convicted of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiring to commit aircraft piracy, conspiring to destroy aircraft, and conspiring to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries. Abdullah had pleaded not guilty to all charges in 2020. His sentencing is scheduled for March 10. An attorney for Abdullah did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The report was authored by Marlene Lenthang, a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
• Exclusive | Russia Suspected of Plotting to Send Incendiary Devices on U.S.-Bound Planes - WSJ
• The news story details a concerning development involving incendiary devices that were shipped through the logistics company DHL and ignited at two separate locations in Europe. According to Western security officials, these devices are believed to be part of a covert Russian operation. The ultimate goal of this operation was to start fires aboard cargo or passenger aircraft that were destined for the United States and Canada. This is perceived as an escalation in Moscow's sabotage campaign against Washington and its allies.
• The incidents occurred in July, with one device igniting at a DHL logistics hub in Leipzig, Germany, and the other in Birmingham, England. The explosions at these logistics centers prompted an urgent and widespread international investigation to track down those responsible for orchestrating this operation. The situation underscores the heightened tensions and the lengths to which state actors may go to disrupt and challenge their adversaries. The report highlights the ongoing geopolitical struggles and the use of unconventional methods to exert pressure and create instability.
• White supremacist planned to blow up electricity station using drone laden with explosives, U.S says
• The news story reports on the arrest of Skyler Philippi, a 24-year-old from Columbia, Tennessee, who is accused of attempting to destroy an electricity substation in Nashville as part of a white supremacist plot. According to authorities, Philippi planned to use a drone equipped with a bomb to attack the energy facility, aiming to disrupt the regional power network and cause societal chaos. This act was intended to further his extremist agenda, which aligns with accelerationist views—a theory held by some far-right extremists that advocates for societal collapse to create a racially homogeneous state.
• Philippi has been charged with the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and the attempted destruction of an energy facility. He appeared in court and is scheduled for another appearance on November 13. If convicted, he faces a potential life sentence.
• The FBI investigation revealed that Philippi had previously considered a mass shooting at a YMCA facility but later shifted his focus to targeting critical infrastructure for greater impact. He communicated with FBI sources about his plans and shared parts of his manifesto with an undercover agent, expressing his belief in "radical armed struggle" to protect his ideology.
• Philippi was arrested on November 2 by undercover agents who posed as co-conspirators. At the time of his arrest, he had a drone ready with an armed explosive device. Prior to his arrest, he participated in a Nordic ritual and expressed his desire for his actions to be remembered historically.
• The story highlights the influence of far-right extremism and the use of Norse mythology in such ideologies, noting Philippi's interest in pagan folklore and his homemade shirt with the message "Death for Odin." The case is being handled by the Justice Department, and Philippi's public defender has been contacted by NBC News for comment.