An intruder armed with a sword was shot and killed by FBI agents outside of CIA headquarters. NBC News. The man was named Roy Gordan Cole and had attempted to drive into the CIA headquarters before. The CIA was negotiating with the man when he pulled up to the facility and refused to leave. The decision was made to push his car out of the way and that's when he got out of his vehicle and drew a sword. The CIA has been attacked before as in 1993 a Pakistani man attacked the site and killed two employees and wounded three more near the site of the building.
My Comment:
Slow news day and I think this is the most interesting thing that happened today. The FBI shooting someone is usually at least a little newsworthy and when it also involves the CIA it's probably worth writing about.
I don't think there is any question if this shooting was justified. A sword is a very dangerous weapon and you can kill or injure someone very quickly if you can get close enough. The downside is that you can get shot but it's still easy to close the distance and hurt and kill someone. It's obviously a lethal threat and the right decision is to open fire.
And it's not like there isn't a threat against the CIA. There are a lot of people with a grudge against the agency and I have to admit that I am not a fan of it myself. The list of enemies they have is almost endless and there are a ton of people that would like to see Langley burn to the ground. Foreign governments, terrorists, domestic groups and even lone crazies all want to attack the CIA headquarters.
My guess is that Roy Gordan Cole was in the last group. His plan here was stupid and it seems likely that he was mentally ill. Indeed, the article said they suggested that Cole was indeed mentally ill. If he was schizophrenic it's possible his delusions revolved around the CIA and he may not have been entirely responsible for his actions. If so this is a regrettable tragedy, but one that probably couldn't have been avoided.
It's possible that Cole had some other reason for his actions. It could have been an attack based on political ideology but I kind of doubt it. Even if it was, it's clear that his thinking was not organized and it may have been a spur of the moment thing.
Regardless, I am surprised that this kind of thing doesn't happen more often. Like I said, the CIA has a lot of enemies and there are more than a few people that hate them. And it's not like there is any shortage of mentally ill people. I do hope that if something like this happens again we have a similar outcome.
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