Man Visits Texas State Sentaor Dan Patrick's Office, Fires Shots Outside Texas State Capitol

The blog LaVida Studios has photographs of the Texas Department of Public Safety apprehending the suspect.

Hit Tip to Texas Tribune / Abby Rapoport

Three or four shots were fired outside the State Capitol on the South Steps at 12:15 p.m. Thursday (22 Jan 2010).

An official in Governor's Rick Perry Office said the shooter entered the Governor's Business Office on the first floor and looked around.

The man was also spotted behaving strangely in the office of Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston. Logan Spence, a spokesman for Patrick, said the man, who was about 20 years old and spoke broken English, walked into Patrick's Capitol office and asked to speak to “the woman in the white shirt.” Apparently, Spence said, the visitor had seen another Patrick staffer in the hall and had followed her into the office

According to messages on Patrick's Twitter and Facebook page, the staff called security.

"He was acting in a way that made my staff concerned," writes Patrick on the Facebook page.

The visitor, who Spence said was “nervous and uncomfortable,” repeatedly asked to speak to the female staffer in private. When she wouldn’t go with him, he left the office — and shots were fired moments later.

“He was definitely not a constituent,” Spence said. “I don’t think he was targeting our office.”

“Several of us in the past have called for added security measures at the Capitol," Patrick told the Tribune. "Today’s event recalls the fact that we need to reevaluate people's access freely into our building. Currently, anyone can walk in at anytime. That’s not a safe situation. If it turns out indeed that the person who came into our office was also the person arrested, then my staff was in danger.”

There are no reported injuries, but DPS officials are going through the building to ensure everyone is safe. There's no word on a possible motive, or whether the suspect was aiming at particular individuals.

DPS spokeswoman Lisa Block says the crime scene is secure. The Capitol Grounds remain on lockdown; however employees may come and go in the building, according to emails to House employees. No one parked in the drive may leave and everyone must keep their identification badges visible.

Here are the emails:

________________________________

From: House Information
Sent: Thursday, January 21, 2010 12:48 PM
To: House; O0665
Subject: Capitol Lockdown

The Capitol is currently on Lockdown so please stay in your office and lock your door until further notice.

________________________________

From: House Administration
Sent: Thursday, January 21, 2010 2:03 PM
To: House;
Subject: Update - Employees with Valid State ID May Now Enter

Employees with valid State ID are now cleared to enter the building, including the parking garage. There was some confusion as to why the Senate sent out an email earlier stating that the lock down had been lifted, which was only true for the interior of the building. The perimeter was still under lock down at the time.

Again, the building is no longer being kept on lock down. The Capitol Grounds are still on lockdown, and at this time no one parked on the drive is being allowed to leave.

You may now enter and exit the Capitol Building on foot at all entrances except the south entrance. Please keep your ID with you and be prepared to produce it. State ID's are mandatory at this time. If you are an employee, you must wear your ID Badge visibly, and you may still be questioned. We ask for your full cooperation as DPS moves forward with the ongoing investigation. More updates will come as we receive more information.

Thank you for your patience during this time.

________________________________

Gov. Rick Perry Commends DPS Troopers Who Nabbed Capitol Shooter:

“I commend the Texas Department of Public Safety troopers who responded swiftly to a shooter on the South Steps of the State Capitol," Gov. Rick Perry said in a statement. "Thanks to their efforts no one was injured and the shooter was apprehended immediately and taken in to custody.”

Texas Gov. Rick Perry did the right thing...

The World Court and Mexico can't stop Texas !

Texas officials endorse enhanced driver's licenses

Texas officials endorse
enhanced driver's licenses
By Michael MartinezTechnology Daily

The top cop in Texas has endorsed a plan for the state to develop enhanced driver's licenses that can double as border-crossing credentials.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on Tuesday ruled that the cards proposed as part of the state's high-tech licensing plan would satisfy federal law.

Abbott was asked for his opinion about the initiative by the director of the Department of Public Safety.The Legislature recently authorized the plan to develop the license, which will be designed to meet nationwide standards for driving credentials recently released by the Homeland Security Department, as well as specifications for another initiative to speed cross-border travel.

Several other border states are moving to issue licenses that would satisfy both the so-called REAL ID Act and the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

(WHAT IS THE -
Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative ?)

Abbott said in his opinion that enhanced licenses would be legal under federal passport laws if they conform to the technology, security and operational requirements of the travel initiative, which mandate that that the cards be tamper-proof and machine-readable.

The ruling came as many states are considering the costs and consequences of developing driver's licenses to comply with REAL ID. Homeland Security earlier this month released the final regulations for the statute.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has said the final rules were designed to allow states more flexibility in meeting REAL ID's requirements. The department delayed several key deadlines to give states more time to enroll drivers, which Chertoff said should reduce the costs of compliance considerably.

Several states already have decided to ignore REAL ID. Privacy advocates also are pushing Congress to move on federal legislation to repeal the law.

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat, has continued to reach out to other governors in his quest to block the law. He said in a letter to governors last week that he wants them to speak with "one unified voice and demand that Congress step in and fix this mess."

Schweitzer signed a bill last year that prevents Montana from participating in REAL ID. Members of Montana's congressional delegation also have expressed serious concerns.

Legislation has been offered in both chambers of Congress to wipe the REAL ID slate clean and restart a negotiated rulemaking process to develop licensing standards that was abandoned when the bill was passed.

Schweitzer wrote that the cooperative rulemaking process would give state officials a seat at the table and could facilitate the development of more secure IDs faster than REAL ID ultimately will with the new deadlines.