thanks for catching this on, Tom. Way cool!

However, poorly written:

Web posted at: 6:15 p.m. EST (2515 GMT)

6:15 PM ET is 3:15 PM PT -- and what time is 2515 GMT??

Microsoft Corp. Chairman William H. Gates III was killed today in Los Angeles during an appearance at a charity event held in MacArthur Park. Hit by two bullets believed to have been shot from the adjacent Park Plaza Hotel, Gates was rushed by ambulance to nearby St. Vincent Medical Center, where doctors declared him dead on arrival at 12:46 p.m. PST.

Unable to make up their mind, the staff and wire reports both claim that Gates was killed at the scene, but was not declared dead until his arrival at the hospital. Assumptions of this sort end news careers.

Hidell died at County-USC Medical Center at 2:55 p.m. PST ...

Posted at 3:15 PST -- and 2515 GMT...

Anyway, kudos for a scoop on the newswire team!!

The officer who who shot Hidell, Jacob Powell, was a recent recruit with six months experience on the LAPD, police said.

Repeating words (who who) is a no-no, and human interest belongs at the end of a hard-line news story, not in the second paragraph of a 13 paragraph write-up.

Appearing before an audience of roughly 200 invited guests and journalists ...

Too bad those 'journalists' cared more for an endowment check to the arts than the life of a fellow human being. Maybe they forgot their pencils? ...Or maybe the hoaxter should find better audiences for his shenanigans.

Police continue to treat both the park and hotel as active crime scenes.

Considering the crime to be only a couple hours old, who would be surprised?

LAPD spokesman David J. Kalish said that Officer Powell was forced to shoot Hidell when the alleged assassin tried to shoot the officer. "[Hidell] attacked one officer [Baker] on the fifth floor of the hotel, then tried to attack Officer Powell in the basement. Officer Powell was forced to fire to defend himself." Per standard procedure, Powell was assigned to non-patrol duty pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

Amazing how quickly all this was researched and compiled.

Kalish said the suspect made "no statements of any kind" after being shot by Powell, despite apparently being alive in the hotel basement for over 50 minutes before being loaded into an ambulance.



Responding to questions raised by police critics about the delay in allowing medical personnel to reach Hidell, Kalish stated, "Until officers on the scene were confident the scene was secure, we couldn't further jeopardize anyone's safety."





There is no reason the Assumed Press would have for knowing any of this, unless they were on the scene during the shootout, which implies the cops weren't really all that concerned about human safety.

Officer Baker, rushed via helicopter to the same hospital that treated Mr. Gates, was listed in critical but stable condition on life support. Officer Baker's family arrived at St. Vincent at 1:40 p.m. Baker was described as suffering from "several gunshot wounds" by hospital spokesperson Marisa Contel.

A minor:
What was the name of the ambulance service? Columbus makes a point of telling the public which medivac flights respond to which scenes. And it’s kind of odd. I had a picture of this occurring within a city, so where did the ambulance set down for the pickup?

A minor:
Seeing the in-depth account for the capture of the perp, the reporter should have a better handle on the wounded officer's “critical, but stable” condition.

Very odd:
Even though Officer Baker's family has been at the hospital since 1:40 PS PT (posted at 3:15 PM PT), doubtless pacing the waiting room, there is not a single note that reporters spoke with anyone. There’s always someone with too much to say about their family members, whether through hero-worship, or petty jealousy. Here there is nothing. Wondering why the reporters avoided the waiting room.

A real clincher:
Absolutely no mention whether hospital spokesperson Marisa Contel was arrested and charged. According to the last paragraph, she was the one who inflicted the wounds the officer is being treated for.

Well, the writer of this piece would get a passing grade, but I would definitely flunk the editor who let this piece hit the presses.

Cheers,
Dan