As luck would have it (and having absolutely nothing else to do yesterday afternoon/evening) I followed the Modesto coverage non-stop from about 1/2 hour after the incident began until midnight PDT.

I was monitoring Modesto PD, Stanislas (sp?) county sheriff and fire frequencies thanks to "radioreference" as well as the Fox40 TV coverage.

A few things were remarkable about the incident. Among them was the fact that they erected temporary fences around the scene and the unprecidented level of LE response. Even seasoned TV reporters commented that they had never seen that level of response to a single barricaded suspect. The other strange occurance (well documented by Fox40) was the deployment of an FBI heavy armored vehicle upon which the TV audience saw technicians erecting an LRAD system. My question was why attach an LRAD device for a suspect holed up in an apartment? I mean, why a crowd control device for a barricade situation?

The other anomaly was that up until I pulled the plug, with the fire raging in the complex, LE still could not confirm that there was even a suspect in the residence! It would seem that no sign of any shooter was seen after the initial attacks on the locksmith and the deputy.

Finally the unusual number of similar incidents occuring at the same time in various parts of the country had me wondering if there was a coordinated effort involved. Shooting incidents requiring lockdowns and massive police response were reported in Denver, CO, of course the NH incident as well as one in Texas and also Ohio. And then there was the mysterious double homicide at the Coast Guard Kodiak Island communications station.

Altogether it seems that yesterday was, to say the least, a remarkable day in law enforcement.