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Facebook posting offers new details on suspect in fire at FAA radar center [Chicago Tribune](Chicago Tribune (IL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sept. 30--The Naperville man accused of setting fire to an FAA radar center described himself as "stoned and nervous" on Facebook minutes before authorities said he severely damaged the facility in suburban Aurora. Brian Howard, 36, also expressed confidence that his actions would not cause any major disruptions -- a prediction that has proven wildly false. The fire has grounded thousands of flights since Friday and wreaked havoc on air travel nationwide. "The outage I am about to take should not take a large toll on the air spaces as all comms should be switched to the alt location which will most likely cause some delays," Howard wrote in a Facebook post minutes before the fire. Federal prosecutors had quoted from excerpts of the post in the criminal complaint filed against Howard last week, but the Tribune has obtained the entire message. Howard, who authorities said tried to kill himself after setting the fire, still does not fully understand the chaos he created, said his attorney, Ronald Safer, acknowledging the authenticity of the Facebook posting by his client. "There's no question that he did not intend for this to have the impact it did," Safer told the Tribune today. In the posting, Howard, who had been working as a government contractor at the Aurora facility for the past eight years and recently had learned that he was being transferred to Hawaii, suggested there would be no major disruptions as long as the center's employees did their jobs, but he then took a shot at government workers. "That being said, who knows what else will become a factor due to government employees being in control of the upcoming situation," he said in the post, which is shielded from public view on the social networking site. "Many of them live up to exactly how they are viewed by the public, lazy and useless. But this is what I have come to view of most US Citizens, lazy. We sway how all people exist being US Citizens, yet few care. I of course say this stoned and nervous, not wanted to but feeling that I at least need to at least try and make this difference. " One of Howard's relatives saw the message and immediately contacted Naperville police, according to the criminal complaint. Minutes after it was posted, a control center employee called 911 to report the fire. The FAA said it expects the Chicago Center to be fully functional by Oct. 13. During a brief appearance by Howard in federal court Monday, Safer agreed his client should stay in custody. "We feel right now that it's in his best interest to be in a place where he is secure," Safer later told a crush of reporters and cameramen in the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse lobby. Howard arrived at the Aurora radar center around 5 a.m., Friday dragging a hard-sided suitcase on rollers, according to an FBI affidavit filed in federal court. About 30 minutes later, he posted the rambling Facebook message in which he said he planned to kill himself and threatened to take down ZAU, a reference to the control's center three-letter call signal. "Take a hard look in the mirror, I have,"Howard wrote in the post. "And this is why I am about to take out ZAU and my life. April, Pop, love you guys and I'm sorry. Leaving you with this big mess. Do your best to move on quickly from me please. Feel like I give a (expletive) for the first time in a long time again...but not for too long (haha!) So I'm gonna smoke this blunt and move on. Take care everyone." Upon arriving at the center, paramedics followed a trail of blood to an area where they noticed the carpet had been pulled away to expose telecommunications cables and other wires. There was also a gas can nearby, along with burned towels and a black, hard-sided suitcase, according to the affidavit. As they followed the blood through the basement area where Howard worked, they also saw a lighter and at least two knives, according to the affidavit. They located a bleeding, shirtless Howard underneath a table. He was attempting to slit his throat when paramedics found him and took the knife away from him, authorities said. He asked them to leave him alone. Howard apparently used gasoline to start the fire and had also tried to slit transmission lines, burning and cutting himself in the process, officials said. As many as 30 employees were evacuated, including one who was treated for smoke inhalation. The fire caused all radio frequencies to go dead and prompted the center to shift to its back-up system until it was shut down completely by the evacuation, employees said. The stoppage brought both O'Hare and Midway airports to a complete standstill. The FAA halted all flights in the Chicago area as well as jets heading to the region. Such a scenario -- called "ATC Zero,'' short for a complete halt to air traffic -- hasn't occurred since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, officials said. The center is responsible for flights traveling at 5,000 feet above the central United States, including Illinois, Indiana and parts of Ohio. Howard faces one count of destruction of aircraft facilities, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted, but an indictment could bring additional charges. During his brief court appearance Monday, he wore green hospital clothes with a white bandage around his neck. He grimaced as he rose to the podium before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Mason and spoke only when asked his name and if he understood the charge against him. As deputy marshals led him from the courtroom, a family member called out, "We love you, Brian," prompting him to glance back toward the gallery. On Monday Safer, a former federal prosecutor, called Howard's actions last week a "tragic mistake." "On Friday morning Brian tried to take his life," he said. "That he did so in a way that inconvenienced ... many, many people is unacceptable and he deeply regrets that." "What I would ask of the public is that they consider people in their own family, friends, touched by that kind of trouble," Safer told reporters. "And that they summon the kind of compassion and forgiveness that they would want us to summon for those people. "We are confident that the process in which we are embarked on now will open the doors to the help that Brian needs," Safer added. Howard's mother and sister attended the court hearing but declined comment. Howard grew up in Highland, Ind., a bedroom community in Northwestern, Ind. Former neighbors said he left town after graduating from high school in 1996 and joined the Navy, where he served on a submarine. His mother, Arlene Marcinek, serves on board of directors for the Lake County Agricultural Society. "I remember him (Brian) from when he was a kid, when he was, like, 20," fellow board member John Laszlo said. "He's a decent guy." ___ (c)2014 the Chicago Tribune Visit the Chicago Tribune at www.chicagotribune.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |