A Standoff In A Motel And Possible Weapons Of Mass Destruction

There was a four hour standoff on Monday night at a Fort Pierce, Florida motel that got local police, a SWAT team, firefighters, a hazardous materials team and the FBI involved.

In a story from West Palm Beach tv station WPTV, two men finally ended up surrendering after they had barricaded themselves in one of the motel rooms. They were 64-year-old Michael Conley and 28-year-old Michael Hughes.

Conley allegedly showed investigators a white vial and told them that it contained the highly toxic poison, ricin. Police evacuated the guests and employees of the motel.

Conley also held a knife to his throat and threatened to hurt himself or anyone else who came in after the police knocked on the motel room door. There were negotiators that tried to talk the men out, but what finally worked was after electrical power was turned off to the motel.

The substance in the vial hasn’t been officially identified, yet. The charge for the two men was committing weapons of mass destruction hoax. I have to wonder what goes through some people’s minds.