Security Guard Violently Attacked Near Solutia Park

August 5, 2010

Authorities are investigating an early morning attack on a security guard near Solutia Park.

According to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office incident report, the 26-year old female security guard employed by Securitus was attacked while making routine rounds at Ascend Performance Materials on Old Chemstrand Road in Cantonment.

The guard told deputies she was checking a bathroom in an outlying building located on the fitness center grounds near Solutia Park. The bathroom should have been locked, but the guard said she was immediately jumped from behind when she opened the unlocked door. The victim said a black male with a white shirt and dreads held a knife to her throat and said he would kill her if she screamed.

The guard told deputies that a struggle followed, and she was struck several times on her head and face with her own 7-inch long steel and plastic security wand. She said her shirt was ripped during the struggle. The guard was apparently knocked unconscious for an unknown length of time during the struggle.

It was not known exactly what time the incident occurred early Wednesday morning.  Her last security log entry was 4:06 a.m., and she called for help on her radio at 4:35 a.m.

The guard was transported by ambulance to West Florida Hospital for treatment of wounds to her head and face, as well as what deputies termed “defensive knife wounds” to her arms.

An Escambia County K-9 unit was called to the scene but was unable to locate a suspect.

Deputies have not established any motive for the attack; the investigation into the incident continues.

Comments

34 Responses to “Security Guard Violently Attacked Near Solutia Park”

  1. David Huie Green on August 6th, 2010 10:26 am

    REGARDING:
    “i bet all these comments were made from men”

    You think the men were having a cat fight?

  2. mom~0f~2~beautifulgirls on August 6th, 2010 4:22 am

    i bet all these comments we’re made from men…come on people this was a random attack and this person should be commended cause she did was needed,to fight for her life….u guys wouldn’t of been so harsh if it was a male….
    “to the female security card,it’s good to hear ur doing good and survived the attack i would of kicked his sorry butt”

  3. molino jim on August 5th, 2010 7:59 pm

    Over the years I’ve done some amount of defensive tactics training and can say that women are as good if not in some cases better. The use of pressure points and other non weapon combat helps women. Some of the male “students” knew it all—so we would put the person on the mat with a small female instructor and have a good laugh at the males failure. The guard may have found this building unlock several times before and was jumped by the person with the knife. I know that there is all sorts of training –but a knife at your throat is hard to over come. I hope the lady is ok and will try to keep up the good work. PS—–SOME SECURITY COMPANIES DO NOT WANT THEIR PEOPLE TO CARRY A FIREARM.

  4. dnutjob on August 5th, 2010 7:24 pm

    I hope she has a speedy recovery, and no long term effects from this attack. The more people post on here the more it resembles the pnj comment section no one can stay on the subject…It is just letting you know anyone can be attacked at anytime and any where, she was just doing her job.

  5. Carrie on August 5th, 2010 5:53 pm

    well we do need to be more armed i have a bagde and my right and my left hands no night stick no gun no mase…im a single women and it was a JOB im pretty sure alot of pensacolians understand that i love my job and ive done alot for my contractor as far as save a coworker prevent theft and help during medical and fire emergencies theres more to a security officer than walking rounds….and i work with pretty amazing people as emt/guards women && men!!

  6. David Huie Green on August 5th, 2010 4:35 pm

    REGARDING:
    “If you can’t do the job then don’t take it.”

    Which raises the question of what “the job” is. Generally it is to identify problems and get help, not to personally be an army of one.

    Regarding weapons, remember high pressure vessels and lines filled with poisonous gases might make most firearms a bad idea.

    AND

    “I don’t trust XXXXXXX for the most part in jobs where they can’t do the job.”

    Why trust anyone in a job you know they can’t do? It doesn’t matter what goes where the X’s are.

    Implied is that most of a given group can’t do a particular job but it is always the individual to be considered. Can THIS individual do THIS job?
    If the answer is Yes, then no problem.
    If the answer is No, then no problem.
    Employ accordingly.

    David wondering why people attack each other
    and who all will throw fits if I suggest
    more cameras might be used
    to beef up security

  7. luv my 3 boys on August 5th, 2010 4:22 pm

    David for blinding dangerous bugs

    ROTFL!!!!!! LUV IT!

  8. pm on August 5th, 2010 4:07 pm

    When we took defensive tactics we were taught that a knife was the most dangerous of weapons we could be attacked with. We were taught to defend ourselves – but, also to avoid a person with a knife if we could. Even if we were armed with a gun – a person with a knife is much more dangerous. This valiant woman was just trying to make a living – praise her for working the dark shift by herself and trying to do her job. The way I read this story is that the man in the bathroom probably broke the lock after a day and evening of drinking or drugs, went to sleep and she diligently did her job. When he awoke and saw her he attacked her with a knife and his hands and arms. If my presumption is correct and he was still high -it would have made no differnce if a man or woman (no matter how big or little) confronted him. When people are high or just angry they are super strong and in my humble opinion she is lucky to be alive and I hope she has the courgage to not let his violent actions rule her life. She is to commended not scorned and ridiculed.

  9. Klondike Kid on August 5th, 2010 3:41 pm

    I have had the priviledge during my lifetime to have known several women who would have beaten this crackhead to within an inch of his life. Then he could tell the other crackheads in jail what happened to him. I don’t know the lady this happened to but it is a shame anyway. With jobs being as scarce as they are here, she probably needed that job bad. I wish her well.

  10. David Huie Green on August 5th, 2010 11:16 am

    REGARDING:
    ” if they can’t carry a gun is wasp spray.”

    But wouldn’t that be chemical weapons?

    Bound to be a treaty violation there somewhere. (Unless she was shooting at the wasp next behind the fellow and “accidentally” hit him instead.

    David for blinding dangerous bugs

  11. William on August 5th, 2010 10:39 am

    Let’s focus more on the topic of the story and stop the personal back and forth bickering in the comments, please.

  12. Janna on August 5th, 2010 10:38 am

    1) Please copy and paste the names I called you in my original post.
    2) I understand the First Amendment Rights and I am also expressing my opinion that women can do any job that men can do.
    3) I hope in the future if you do have a problem at your home, and a female officer responds that she chooses to help you after the slander you have thrown at the women in law enforcement.
    4) I believe my comment on women in the kitchen was a rhetorical question… you know that thing where you ask something but you don’t expect an answer.
    5) Congrats on being #2 in a “man’s world” such as Sales… really? Sales is a man’s world?
    6) And I understand where you are coming from when you say your Grandchildren are proud of you.

  13. what a shame on August 5th, 2010 10:17 am

    Janna whoooaaa!
    Obviously I have hit a nerve with you.
    For that I am sorry.

    Your the one who started calling names first and wanted a fight.
    So I told you to go soak your head.

    Your the one who still doesn’t think I have a right to my opinion.
    Well let me tell you something
    It’s my first amendment…
    I also pay my taxes.
    AND i do want my heros that I pay for to come save me in the
    event of a robbery or a home invasion to be big, burly, strong and
    arrmed with all the training they can get. I have a right to that
    opinion.

    I never said women should stay in the kitchen. you did.
    Never said they should make this job one that you had to
    be in the military in order to get.

    What I said was in words that apparently you can’t comprehend is
    that I don’t want some undertrained woman who weights 130lbs approximately
    and stands 5′3′ to come and try to save me from some guy
    who is 200lbs and 6′ tall and has military training behind him and now
    is trupped up on methanphedomines and breaking into my home in
    the middle of the night. DUH!

    I sold furniture all my life and worked in a mans field with 10 other men,
    my position on sales was #2..
    See I don’t mind women in fields where they CAN do the job.
    THERE IS THE DIFFERENCE.

    Is that clear enough for you.

    By the way, My children ARE very proud of me and so are my grandchildren..

    ARE YOURS?

  14. AL on August 5th, 2010 10:03 am

    hehehe I know a young lady in the PPD I would like you to meet and challenge. LOL

    That said – even a man can get / does get complacent on a security job. I am a female and worked through the old “NYCO” security for a couple of years… it gets extremely boring and easy to be distracted.

  15. Janna on August 5th, 2010 9:34 am

    What a shame- Congrats to your daughter for having excellent training. However I know several women in the law enforcement field that I would call to protect me before several men.

    Perhaps Securitus should do more to make sure their employees are trained to react to this type of situation, instead of banning women from the JOB. However I don’t think that “service training” which I can only assume you are referring to as Military Training should be required for a Security Guard job.

    So what jobs do you think Women should stay out of as a “Man’s job”? Law Enforcement, Fire Rescue, Construction?? Please enlighten me on what women can’t do.

    And while you’re at it, what would you like me to soak my head in?? Because the only sexist person on this blog is you. I’m sure your daughter would be ashamed that you would say women can’t do the very thing she has had training in.

    So what’s the answer? Duh… more training and the option to protect yourself with a better weapon. Not “Women shouldn’t do the job a man should be doing.”

  16. [_]\ on August 5th, 2010 9:32 am

    WHAT A SHAME probablly has a husband who has taught her,….. YEP what a shame!!!

  17. what a shame on August 5th, 2010 9:28 am

    Where did I say I wanted women in the kitchen.
    Why don’t you just say I want them pregnant and barefoot.

    Geesh….I’m a woman for crying out loud.
    But I don’t want a scrawny female coming to my rescue if
    a druggie comes through my door.

    I WANT 5 BIG BURLY HIGHLY TRAINED OFFICERS OF THE LAW.
    AND I MEAN MEN. LOL

  18. giddy up on August 5th, 2010 9:16 am

    Put a “MAN” on the job. Too many women are trying to act like a man. I am a woman. God created man and woman. There is a difference. Giddy up – spoke up.

  19. what a shame on August 5th, 2010 9:15 am

    Oh thanks william for the clarification on that…my bad!
    However, I was just kidding on the last paragraph anyway,
    thats why I wrote lol.

    By the way william,
    as I get to know you and your paper may I say you do do a wonderful
    job and kristi’s pictures are wonderful also.

    thanks.

  20. what a shame on August 5th, 2010 9:10 am

    I don’t have a closed mind or a sexist attitude,
    See I am a woman…..
    ANDDDD by the way I have a girl child who fought in the war.
    So go soak your head.

    This woman was jumped from behind because she wasn’t on guard…
    and that was her JOB!
    This woman had her weapon taken away from her and he beat her
    with it over the head and face.
    ANDDDD yes if grabbed from behind even when there is a knife at
    your throat there is a way to get out of it let alone not have your
    weapon taken away from you.

    If this woman had been in the service and had training like a man
    she may have known how. From the hole the perp had on her,
    I presume he was in the military.
    Most ppl in the millitary have had such training and many of them
    take more.

    My daughter had several kinds of training that they gave her and
    she also took more training after she came back state side.
    SHE is one of the few women I would call if I had a problem.
    She also has a permit to carry and knows the laws of Florida
    and Alabama inside and out.

    ALL I’m saying is I don’t trust females for the most part in
    jobs where they can’t do the job. There are way to many times
    that women want in where they can’t do the job and then
    how many men does it take to fix what she couldn’t handle.

    Obviously your the sexist.
    Your the one who can’t admit, that women don’t wrestle with
    men because they can’t beat them.

    AT LEAST NOT WITHOUT EXTENSIVE TRAINING.

    Most of the women I see just want to be paid like a man has
    always been paid because they are big and burly.
    Well women aren’t big and burly, and if I’m in trouble I want
    some big strong burly man with a lot of training and muscle
    to come rescue me.

    Not some woman who just wanted the money and get’s
    her weapon taken away from her and used on her, how
    the heck is that going to help me.

    I have a right to my opinion.

  21. William on August 5th, 2010 8:55 am

    what a shame — the article says her SHIRT was ripped. It says nothing about a skirt.

  22. what a shame on August 5th, 2010 8:53 am

    Carrie
    I didn’t say it happened to her because she was a woman.
    My point was that this perp may have not gotten away with
    this had it been a big burly man security guard.

    Then again, come to think of it, if she was wearing a skirt
    and the article says she was, maybe he was thinking about
    doing something else to her and since she fought he changed
    his mind or something, so maybe your right maybe I meant
    that this whole thing wouldn’t have happened in the first place if
    she hadn ‘t been a woman in a skirt.

    lol

  23. MEDstudent on August 5th, 2010 8:47 am

    oh and the wasp spray really does work i accidently sprayed my boyfriend in the eyes one time. it was really funny but kinda bad lol

  24. MEDstudent on August 5th, 2010 8:46 am

    Women can do the same thing as men. It is a shame when most women do the same things as men ranging from sports like soccer to on the job with security or being a police woman. Most women are stronger and can handle more pain then men. IF you believe women belong in a kitchen why dont you switch roles with her because even in the kitchen the women can do it 10 times better than men they can do it better then men anymore on the job at home or with the family.

  25. YELLARHAMMER on August 5th, 2010 8:08 am

    What these security guards need to carry with them if they can’t carry a gun is wasp spray. The wasp spray will reach out futher and when shot in the eyes of an assailant they will have to go to the hospital for an antidoded, then they can be tracked. I hope this security guard is and will be ok.

  26. Janna on August 5th, 2010 7:48 am

    I have a hard time believing that just because she is a woman this situation ended this way. Any person who is grabbed from behind and forced with a knife would have the same outcome.

    “what a shame”- Shame on you for living in the fifties… do you believe women belong in the kitchen too?? Oh yeah, they don’t need a watch, there is a clock on the stove. Shame on you for reverting back to what equality has been fighting for decades.

    I don’t care if an officer is a man or a woman. If they can do the job, then forget about what their gender is. And you raise a good point on whether the perpetrator was drugged or not. Anyone hopped up on an adrenaline stimulator could take out the biggest male cop on the force. Doesn’t matter. Maybe they should start arming the security.

    But I do have to say, I am still baffled at your sexism towards woman in uniform… let me guess, they don’t belong in the military either??

    I pity you for your closed mind.

  27. Jackie Townsley on August 5th, 2010 7:43 am

    I think any person can do the job (male or female) if properly trained. I agree with the people that say our security officers need to carry something more than a metal stick.Lets get these guards trained and armed, so they can do the job they were hired for. God, Guns, Guts Made America, Lets Keep All Three

  28. WHO? on August 5th, 2010 7:40 am

    First off: I’m glad the woman security officer is ok. (Besides the mental trauma) The physical wounds will heal.

    Secondly: Just because your a woman does not mean you can’t become a security guard or a police officer. I feel sorry for people that think like that. Many women work just as hard if not harder than men. I praise the female security guard for being strong and confident enough in herself to accept this job. Do not let some man tell you other wise. I know some women that are alot stronger than some men.

    Good Luck to the female security officer and I will keep you in my prayers!!

  29. Carrie on August 5th, 2010 7:38 am

    I am a female guard for securitas and its not just because she was a female it could have happened to anyone lucky she did get away…security is looked at as how most movies plays it out to be but i tell you it something totally different…and as far as being armed its up to the site in their contract most plants are unarmed due to chemicals and other things they woould prob not be good thing if it were shot at…well i wish my fellow coworker luck in her speedy recovery!!!

  30. what a shame on August 5th, 2010 7:12 am

    One thing that would help is to have men security guards, she is lucky
    if she wasn’t violated!

    I don’t know why women take these kinds of jobs,. most of them
    can’t do it if their is any kind of trouble.

    Let’s face it most violent crimes are purpatrated by men and women
    are not capable of wrestling with them.

    I have seen it take 5 cops to take down one drug addict who didn’t even
    have a weapon.

    What the heck is a lone woman going to do.

    I usually have little sorrow for a woman police officer who has a problem
    on the job because she couldn’t handle the perp.
    What was she doing taking the job in the first place.

    If I have a home invasion I don’t want some women cops sent to my door.
    I want 5 big burly healthy men officers so they can take them down.

    I know a bunch of women are going to jump on me, but I don’t care.
    If you can’t do the job then don’t take it.

    I’m not saying that if this had been a man this would have ended differently,
    but then again I believe he would have stood a better chance and maybe
    even apprehended this creep so somebody else didn’t get jumped and
    maybe next time killed.

    That being said I’m glad this woman is alive.

  31. idunno on August 5th, 2010 6:17 am

    Hope this dirtbag is caught & executed…..i mean prosecuted….

  32. [_]\ on August 5th, 2010 5:44 am

    Anothr fine citizen in our community, and another fine reason to carry a pistol

  33. Everett on August 5th, 2010 1:12 am

    The security folks aren’t armed even though it’s the largest chemical maker in this area. Thats hard to believe. The same security company has the Gulf Power contract and they are armed. When Ascend bought out Solutia they dramatically cut service contracts including security. I’m sure if security is unarmed they don’t pay very well. My best to the female security officer in her recovery.

  34. John on August 5th, 2010 12:42 am

    Sounds like they need to go armed and up their numbers out there. This should have ended with the guy being shot and the guard going home to her family.