Mass Transit Warning To Be On Alert For Terrorism
Several news agencies are reporting there’s a reminder today from federal officials that rail and transit systems can be vulnerable to terrorist attacks. A reminder is being sent out to law enforcement around the country. The FBI and the Homeland Security Department warn that improvised explosive devices are the most common method used in attacks on transit systems and authorities need to be vigilant in watching for suspicious items and/or activity.
Officials are recommending that transit system security officials conduct random sweeps at terminals and stations, and that police make random patrols and board some trains and buses.
Officials have said privately that the investigators who searched some New York City apartments earlier this month were worried about the possible use of backpack bombs on New York City mass transit trains.
Source
From Around The Country
Philadelphia – Philadelphia police said they have already been operating on an elevated security level before this weekend, supporting Septa and Amtrak on random sweeps. And for passengers we spoke to they say these days you can’t depend on anything to be completely safe.
“I was surprised there were so many Amtrak police officers here this afternoon. I thought something was going on here,” said Leslie Thompson.
But Thompson suspects they’re trying to make themselves visible after federal authorities say two men could have been plotting to attack the mass transit system somewhere in the U.S. Other passengers noticed.
San Francisco- Bay Area mass transit operators tightening security following a nationwide terror alert. Bay Area operators are heeding the call to conduct random patrols and board some trains and buses to look for anything unusual. BART says it already does this. The agency will not announce any details about exactly how it will adhere to the warning.
“Many of the things that they are suggested are already taking place, many of them are behind the scenes,” BART spokesperson Jim Allison said. “The one exception to that is bag checks, and unless the alert level would be raised to a red level, then we would consider bag checks.”
Golden Gate Transit says it is also following recommendations to tighten security.
What To Do If You Spot Suspicious Activity
If you see suspicious behavior, do not confront the individuals involved.
Take note of the details:
S – Size (Jot down the number of people, gender, ages, and physical descriptions)
A – Activity (Describe exactly what they are doing)
L - Location (Provide exact location)
U – Uniform (Describe what they are wearing, including shoes)
T – Time (Provide date, time, and duration of activity)
E – Equipment (Describe vehicle, make, color etc., license plate, camera, guns, etc)
Suspicious activity is often recalled after an event. We must train ourselves to be on the lookout for things that are out of the ordinary and arouse suspicions.
Feds: Man Plotted Terror Attack On Mass Transit
July 22, 2009 by national
Filed under Incident Reports
A young man whose journey from Patchogue to Pakistan took him to an al-Qaida training camp and an attack on a U.S. military base emerged yesterday as a key player in al-Qaida plots against area mass transit systems, as he continued to cooperate in multiple investigations of international terrorism.
Bryant Neal Vinas, 26, was captured in Pakistan in November. He pleaded guilty secretly in January to aiding in a 2008 rocket attack on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, training with al-Qaida and supplying information on city subways and the Long Island Rail Road to the terrorist group, according to Brooklyn federal court records unsealed yesterday.
Following in the footsteps of previous American terror trainees such as John Walker Lindh and Jose Padilla, the licensed truck driver who grew up in Medford provided information after his arrest in Peshawar that led to a warning to area commuters in November about a possible attack on mass transit, law enforcement officials told Newsday.
“He . . . turned on his country,” one official said, calling Vinas “the real deal.”
