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Authors: Michael Stark
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but also our perceptions. We have a report from Charles Ritchfield at our ABC affiliate in Raleigh with more on that story.
A faint hiss poured out of the radio, replaced seconds later by a man whose voice carried that same Midwestern lack of accent common to news casters.
Reports have flooded in today from at least a dozen states describing shocking and violent episodes with patients in late stages of the Fever. In Texas, a man broke free from his restraints and used the cord from the blinds in his room to strangle a passing security officer. He then seized the guard’s sidearm and went on a rampage, killing two nurses on his floor before being shot by security.
Washington police found several bodies that had been dismembered, and left lying in pieces near the junction of I-90 and I-5. Authorities said the flesh on most of the separate parts appeared to have bite marks and large portions had apparently been consumed. During the investigation, officers shot and killed a man running down the middle of I-90, who they say approached them, coughing and feverish, and telling wild tales of monsters chasing people down and eating them. Officers said he became combative when they tried to detain him, and refused orders to surrender. A police spokesman said that shots were fired when officers felt their own lives in danger.
Similar reports erupted from Charlotte, one of the epicenters of the disease in the United States. Police say that gun battles flared up in dozens of neighborhoods overnight as residents fought home invasions from diseased intruders. A radio station in the city disputed at least some of those claims, airing statements from witnesses who insisted the attempted break-ins came from, and this is a direct quote, ’creatures right out of your nightmares.’ Officials are playing down such reports, indicating they feel the high fever associated with the infection to be generating not only aggressive feelings, but also hallucinations in those most acutely affected.
This is Charles Ritchfield, reporting.
The radio faded back to the local correspondent with barely a hitch.
This morning, FEMA released a statement telling residents to stay home. Spokesperson Diane Freeman told ABC news that hospitals were already overwhelmed and many were unable to accept new Fever patients. She suggested instead that residents call 911 and let local emergency services respond as they were able. She warned that for many, there would be no medical service available and said residents should take all necessary precautions to secure their home and property during this time of trouble for the nation.
The White House released a statement this afternoon calling on citizens to heed the travel ban and avoid putting additional pressure on authorit ies. The statement carried the president’s hopes that the disease would pass swiftly and his prayers for those afflicted. Also noted in the press release were plans to set up a nationwide system to deliver food and other supplies to cities and states. The statement indicated that procedures will be promulgated to state and local officials in the coming days.
In local news, the first regional case of the Fever may have come from Nags Head today. EMT’s responded to a call from one Glenda Hawkins, a sixty-four -year-old woman located just north of the National Seashore boundary. Authorities say that Mrs. Hawkins had called in reporting shortness of breath, a persistent cough, and a rising fever. Emergency Services Director, Alan Woods, said that the most troubling aspect of Mrs. Hawkins case came from the question of how she was infected, saying that the woman insisted she had not been out of the county in months. Although she has not been officially diagnosed, her symptoms correspond to those noted with other fever victims. Woods said that other reports of the Fever springing up in isolated areas where none of the victims had previously traveled or been exposed to anyone who
A faint hiss poured out of the radio, replaced seconds later by a man whose voice carried that same Midwestern lack of accent common to news casters.
Reports have flooded in today from at least a dozen states describing shocking and violent episodes with patients in late stages of the Fever. In Texas, a man broke free from his restraints and used the cord from the blinds in his room to strangle a passing security officer. He then seized the guard’s sidearm and went on a rampage, killing two nurses on his floor before being shot by security.
Washington police found several bodies that had been dismembered, and left lying in pieces near the junction of I-90 and I-5. Authorities said the flesh on most of the separate parts appeared to have bite marks and large portions had apparently been consumed. During the investigation, officers shot and killed a man running down the middle of I-90, who they say approached them, coughing and feverish, and telling wild tales of monsters chasing people down and eating them. Officers said he became combative when they tried to detain him, and refused orders to surrender. A police spokesman said that shots were fired when officers felt their own lives in danger.
Similar reports erupted from Charlotte, one of the epicenters of the disease in the United States. Police say that gun battles flared up in dozens of neighborhoods overnight as residents fought home invasions from diseased intruders. A radio station in the city disputed at least some of those claims, airing statements from witnesses who insisted the attempted break-ins came from, and this is a direct quote, ’creatures right out of your nightmares.’ Officials are playing down such reports, indicating they feel the high fever associated with the infection to be generating not only aggressive feelings, but also hallucinations in those most acutely affected.
This is Charles Ritchfield, reporting.
The radio faded back to the local correspondent with barely a hitch.
This morning, FEMA released a statement telling residents to stay home. Spokesperson Diane Freeman told ABC news that hospitals were already overwhelmed and many were unable to accept new Fever patients. She suggested instead that residents call 911 and let local emergency services respond as they were able. She warned that for many, there would be no medical service available and said residents should take all necessary precautions to secure their home and property during this time of trouble for the nation.
The White House released a statement this afternoon calling on citizens to heed the travel ban and avoid putting additional pressure on authorit ies. The statement carried the president’s hopes that the disease would pass swiftly and his prayers for those afflicted. Also noted in the press release were plans to set up a nationwide system to deliver food and other supplies to cities and states. The statement indicated that procedures will be promulgated to state and local officials in the coming days.
In local news, the first regional case of the Fever may have come from Nags Head today. EMT’s responded to a call from one Glenda Hawkins, a sixty-four -year-old woman located just north of the National Seashore boundary. Authorities say that Mrs. Hawkins had called in reporting shortness of breath, a persistent cough, and a rising fever. Emergency Services Director, Alan Woods, said that the most troubling aspect of Mrs. Hawkins case came from the question of how she was infected, saying that the woman insisted she had not been out of the county in months. Although she has not been officially diagnosed, her symptoms correspond to those noted with other fever victims. Woods said that other reports of the Fever springing up in isolated areas where none of the victims had previously traveled or been exposed to anyone who
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