November 24, 200619 yr Miami Police evacuated the The Miami Herald building this morning after a man claiming to be armed walked into the sixth-floor El Nuevo Herald newsroom and barricaded himself in the top editor's office, police said. Employees identified the man as El Nuevo Herald cartoonist Jose Varela. They said Varela appeared agitated and demanded to see El Nuevo Herald's executive editor, Humberto Castello. He appeared to be armed with a handgun, employees said. El Nuevo Herald is a Spanish-language newspaper published by The Miami Herald Media Co. ''I thought it was a joke,'' one employee said. Castello told police that Varela apparently took over his office and trashed it, including a cartoon of the executive editor that Varela had drawn. Another employee said Varela walked in and started talking to employees. Then, he began ordering women out ''for their own security,'' the employee said. About 12 to 15 workers inside the newsroom were present, employees said. El Nuevo Herald employees have been instructed not to talk to other reporters. Hundreds of Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald employees were milling in the newspaper's parking lot as a steady stream of workers left the building. Many were speaking on cell phones, reassuring loved ones that they were all right. The man's motives are unclear, police said. Miami Police asked their counterparts at the Miami-Dade County Police Department to dispatch Marine Patrol units to gain security of the Herald's waterfront, said Miami-Dade spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta. He did not know how many marine officers were dispatched. LINK I was the first person out the building...mama didn't raise no fool
November 24, 200619 yr Do you know the guy, Roman? What do you think could've prompted this crazy stunt?
November 24, 200619 yr Author never heard of the guy...according to a press conference they just had he was mad at someone censoring his cartoons....
November 25, 200619 yr I work right down the street in Braman Motors (BMW) and I saw all the choppers circling around! crazy!
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