ATF Visits McKinley

By Ashley McBride and Veronica Jones

Archie, the ATF rescue dog, sniffs for Ammonium Nitrate.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) held an information seminar at McKinley to talk about internship possibilities in the summer. The new ATF headquarters is adjacent to the New York Ave-Florida Ave-Gallaudet U train station, officially making them our neighbors.

Two agents walked around the room in the gear they usually wear when going on location. The two husky men answered questions from students in the Lecture Hall, machine guns and protective armor in hand.

ATF is most known for dealing with tobacco, alcohol and firearms, but they also police large events to make them safer.

"We were at the Superbowl in Arizona," said a special teams operative. "Our presence at these events really makes people feel safer and they can actually enjoy themselves."

The seminar also included a demonstration using a police dog named Archie and trace amounts of Ammonium Nitrate. The 5 year-old Labrador retriever pawed around the room searching for a lunch bag containing the bomb-making material. He found the chemical right away, which awed the audience.

The demonstration also included Archie sniffing different aluminum cans to see which one had a hazardous chemical in it. Once he found the right one he was rewarded with food and vitamins.

McKinley has partnered with several different local agencies in the past to provide its students with internships and summer job. We can now add the ATF to the list.

By Anna Kinsman |  February 15, 2008; 9:56 AM ET News
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