Salt Lake City PL Press Release (fwd)

[Publib Poster]

*This message is 124 lines.*
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Sender: jpolly at nysernet.ORG (Jean Armour Polly)
 
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As you probably know, a gunman entered the Salt Lake City Public
Library on March 5th, took several hostages, and was shot to
death.  Salt lake City Public Library reports it has been
overwhelmed with requests for information and have asked State
Library staff to help them deal with the demand for information.
Here is the latest press release from the SLC Library. They are
requesting that you do not call them for more information or
updates.  SLCPL will provide updates as necessary.
 
PRESS RELEASE FROM SALT LAKE CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY, MARCH 7TH,
1994.
 
Salt Lake City Public Library
Becomes Site of Hostage Siege
 
Shortly before 10 am on Saturday, March 5th Clifford Lynn Draper,
who has been quietly watching a Tibetan Sand Painting ceremony,
leapt on to the Fiction service desk, pulled out a .45-caliber
semi-automatic gun and began ordering hostages into a small,
nearby conference room.  Draper also carried a bomb built on the
designs of the Vietnam era anti-personnel claymore mine,
threatening to detonate it.  Librarian, Gwen Page, became one of
the hostages and one of the heroes during the six-hour ordeal.
 
Library staff acted immediately to the situation, calling 911,
 
helping patrons remain calm, and beginning evacuation procedures.
All five floors of the building were cleared in under five
minutes.
 
Nearly 100 people were on the second floor of the main Library
watching a traditional ceremony being performed by Tibetan
Buddhist monks visiting Salt Lake City.  The monks has been at
the Library throughout the week creating a traditional sand
mandala, which the Tibetans revere as a sacred object.  The
closing ceremony, during which the mandala is dismantled, was
ironically intended to bring about peace and harmony.
 
In addition to librarian Gwen Page and 8 patrons, one of the
hostages was a police officer dressed in plain clothes.  Lt.
Lloyd Prescott was conducting a police training next door when he
heard of the situation at the Library.  He quickly walked to the
Library and voluntarily become a hostage himself.  The siege
ended nearly four and a half hours after it began, when Lt.
Prescott saw the opportunity to shoot the gunman.  The gunman
died minutes after arriving at Salt Lake's LDS Hospital.  None of
the hostages were injured.
 
Both Prescott and Page were praised as heroes in the situation.
Page, who is a 17-year library veteran, was chosen early as a
hostage.  As she was corralled into the conference room, she saw
the opportunity to inconspicuously help several hostages out a
second door.  She then elected to stay in the room with the
hostages.  Library Director Day has nothing but praise for
police, library staff, and especially Page.  "I'm deeply grateful
to the professionalism and rapid response of the police officers
who answered our emergency call.  And I'm proud of our staff --
particularly Gwen Page -- who saved lives because of their
dedication to the public."
 
Fellow librarian, Lenore Lewis agrees, "Through Page's courageous
actions in diverting the gunman's attention to allow some
hostages to escape, she demonstrated -- for all of us -- our
commitment to serve and protect the public.  she risked her own
live to save others."
 
After hostages were led by SWAT team members out of the building,
the bomb squad entered with dogs.  The threat of a bomb was real.
Draper's bomb was detonated on site.
 
There were other Library heroes, as well.  Weekend custodian Vern
Bolinder, quietly and quickly led patrons off the Library's
second floor and out of the building.  He stayed in the building
throughout out the siege along with Deputy Director Nancy Tessman
and librarian Mike Mabe.  The three staff members provided
building maps for police, controlled the internal telephone lines
and were available to control power and keys to the building as
instructed by the police.
 
Library page, Jenny Wright, was just reporting to work in the
Children's Department when Draper took hostages at gunpoint.
Watching the gunman from across the escalators, Wright thought
quickly to protect eight children and their parents.  "I kept
calm because there was no reason to upset the children," she
said.  "I told them we were going to a party in the back room."
Wright led the children and parents to the west section of the
second floor, filed them into a room and locked the door.  One
inside the room, Wright directed the children to some toys stored
there.  "I also told them not to open the door to anyone because
library employees will have a key,"  she said.  "The kids were
great.  Some of them knew what was going on, but they kept calm
and followed every order I gave."  The group remained in the room
for about 10 minutes, until the gunman had ordered his hostages
into the conference room and closed the blinds.  At that time,
librarian Jean Schmid arrived and led everyone down the
escalators and out a back exit of the staff area.
 
Many staff members remained outside the Library waiting and
watching.  As the day grew cold and rainy, library employees not
scheduled to work that day arrived with jackets, blankets and
transportation for anyone without a ride home.
 
Commenting on the aftermath of the situation, Library Director
 
Day stated, "The issue of security continues to be an important
issue to all libraries.  The experience at the Salt Lake City
Public Library does strongly indicate that a trained committed
staff along with effective planning, can and does make a
difference."
 
"The Salt Lake City Public Library is in the process of working
with the police and staff to review the events of the day for any
future lessons.  But, clearly, a lot of things went right in a
very difficult situation."
 
Day noted, "someone asked where all the heroes have gone --
they're alive and well, thank you."
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