protestors. Clashes with police were becoming common in every major city. It didn’t help that Houston General was part of a nationwide system of hospitals with facilities in 12 major metropolitan areas. While no other medical center experienced a disaster like Houston General, the emotional and economic ripples were felt throughout the other eleven communities. This compounded an already tense situation in these areas that led to protests, mobs, and even minor looting.
I n Atlanta, riot police had been deployed, and two young men had been killed in the resulting encounter. As the news of the shootings spread, it wasn’t long before a full uprising broke out. The nation witnessed violence on a scale not seen since the Rodney King verdict in Los Angeles, years before.
Atlanta was burning.
Houston, Texas - August 1, 2015
KFOR News Production Room
It was late afternoon when a Houston news producer reviewed the video that his now deceased crew was transmitting back to the station before the explosion. The newsroom had been in complete turmoil since the hospital had been attacked. They had lost four co-workers in the blast, and that shock, combined with an unending series of major news events, had resulted in everyone’s forgetting about the film from that day. The producer and a sound engineer were watching as the female reporter interviewed a spectator from the crowd. The questions and answers were almost indiscernible due to the noise of the mob, so the sound engineer was trying to block out the background noise. The producer stopped the footage playback and pointed to the edge of the picture where he could see the side of a truck holding several storage tanks. In addition to the containers, the producer was intrigued by the figures of three men who were facing away from the crowd and were preoccupied instead with the truck.
“Can you isolate from that direction?” he asked the engineer. The crew that day had been equipped with the station’s latest digital video and audio equipment. The engineer pulled up a computer display with dozens of multi-colored lines and began typing and clicking with the mouse.
After about three minutes, he said , “How’s this?” and an audio began to play.
Both men sat in shock as the slightly warbled voices began to play over the computer ’s speakers. “Go back to Mexico, asshole! If all you fuckers went back home, maybe we would have jobs. Let’s kick his ass!” A few minutes later, they managed to enhance the video, and Ali’s shotgun could be seen in the picture. “This is priority one,” said the producer. “Get this on the air now! Someone get me New York on the phone, and oh, yeah, call the FBI too.”
KFOR News Houston began reporting that the explosion at Houston General Hospital was not a terrorist related attack, but was the result of a racial incident. The network then showed the clip of the three white men, moving toward the cab of a delivery truck and what appeared to be a Mexican man in the truck’s door pulling out a shotgun. The audio made it obvious what was going on. The cameraman had instinctively moved his camera toward the police officer who shouted, “Gun!” and a shot pierced the air. The picture then went blank, and the network anchor began to explain the source of the video.
Within a few hours, every news outlet in the world started playing the video clip over and over. Most people were relieved that it wasn’t a terrorist attack. On television, it appeared to be a simple argument that had somehow gotten out of control. The following morning, the stock market recovered slightly, and many people exhaled in relief. They had no idea how premature that relief was.
North Houston Suburbs
Bishop was watching when yet another breaking news alert flashed on his TV. He almost ignored it because it seemed like every five minutes there had been some event that the cable news warranted as special, new, or important. Most of them were just a new spin
I n Atlanta, riot police had been deployed, and two young men had been killed in the resulting encounter. As the news of the shootings spread, it wasn’t long before a full uprising broke out. The nation witnessed violence on a scale not seen since the Rodney King verdict in Los Angeles, years before.
Atlanta was burning.
Houston, Texas - August 1, 2015
KFOR News Production Room
It was late afternoon when a Houston news producer reviewed the video that his now deceased crew was transmitting back to the station before the explosion. The newsroom had been in complete turmoil since the hospital had been attacked. They had lost four co-workers in the blast, and that shock, combined with an unending series of major news events, had resulted in everyone’s forgetting about the film from that day. The producer and a sound engineer were watching as the female reporter interviewed a spectator from the crowd. The questions and answers were almost indiscernible due to the noise of the mob, so the sound engineer was trying to block out the background noise. The producer stopped the footage playback and pointed to the edge of the picture where he could see the side of a truck holding several storage tanks. In addition to the containers, the producer was intrigued by the figures of three men who were facing away from the crowd and were preoccupied instead with the truck.
“Can you isolate from that direction?” he asked the engineer. The crew that day had been equipped with the station’s latest digital video and audio equipment. The engineer pulled up a computer display with dozens of multi-colored lines and began typing and clicking with the mouse.
After about three minutes, he said , “How’s this?” and an audio began to play.
Both men sat in shock as the slightly warbled voices began to play over the computer ’s speakers. “Go back to Mexico, asshole! If all you fuckers went back home, maybe we would have jobs. Let’s kick his ass!” A few minutes later, they managed to enhance the video, and Ali’s shotgun could be seen in the picture. “This is priority one,” said the producer. “Get this on the air now! Someone get me New York on the phone, and oh, yeah, call the FBI too.”
KFOR News Houston began reporting that the explosion at Houston General Hospital was not a terrorist related attack, but was the result of a racial incident. The network then showed the clip of the three white men, moving toward the cab of a delivery truck and what appeared to be a Mexican man in the truck’s door pulling out a shotgun. The audio made it obvious what was going on. The cameraman had instinctively moved his camera toward the police officer who shouted, “Gun!” and a shot pierced the air. The picture then went blank, and the network anchor began to explain the source of the video.
Within a few hours, every news outlet in the world started playing the video clip over and over. Most people were relieved that it wasn’t a terrorist attack. On television, it appeared to be a simple argument that had somehow gotten out of control. The following morning, the stock market recovered slightly, and many people exhaled in relief. They had no idea how premature that relief was.
North Houston Suburbs
Bishop was watching when yet another breaking news alert flashed on his TV. He almost ignored it because it seemed like every five minutes there had been some event that the cable news warranted as special, new, or important. Most of them were just a new spin
Similar Books
