Getaway Gunman Shoots Chemical Plant Guard

January 24, 2004

FREEPORT, Texas  — A security guard at a BASF Corp. chemical plant was shot in the shoulder Saturday after he approached a suspicious truck and talked to a man who said he had been taking pictures, authorities said.

The guard' name was not released, but Freeport police said he was doing well at a Brazosport hospital following the Friday night shooting.

The guard told police the gunman was a man of Middle Eastern descent with bushy hair and a mustache. The man was driving a white pickup with tinted windows and a black stripe.

BASF spokeswoman Sharon Rogers said there was no indication the shooting was linked to terrorism.

"We'll just have to see what the investigation will reveal," she told The Brazosport Facts for a Saturday story.

FBI officials in Houston confirmed they were notified of the shooting but would not comment further, saying the Freeport Police would handle the investigation. Shortly after the incident, local police searched the area with a canine unit and found gun power on the scene, as well as the bullet used in the shooting.

The suspect left after the shooting and did not get inside the plant. The guard had been patrolling the plant's perimeter outside the gate and near a water tower but in view of the plant's ammonia tank (search), officials said.

The injured guard managed to drive to the nearest plant gate, where an off-duty sheriff's deputy working security at the plant called police.

Fox News' Scott Biederman contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,109407,00.html