DC Security Scare Results In Arrest At Metro Station
October 8, 2009 by Homeland Security NTARC News
Filed under Incident Reports
A security scare Tuesday night, in Northwest D.C. resulted in the arrest of a man after he threatened to blow up the Friendship Heights Metro station, according to a criminal complaint in the case.
Story From MyFoxDC
It was a chaotic scene Tuesday night in Friendship Heights when three blocks of Wisconsin Avenue Northwest were cleared of cars and pedestrians. Adjacent buildings and restaurants were evacuated, including both Mazza Gallerie and Chevy Chase Pavilion.
It all happened because of a young man who was caught on camera by FOX 5 sitting in on the sidewalk along Wisconsin Avenue wearing a blue sweater and handcuffs.
Police say the man’s name is Ahamed Ali, based on a driver license from Bangladesh. Witnesses and police say Ali had been hanging around Chevy Chase Pavilion for a couple of days, taking notes, making threats, and acting strangely.
Now, according to a police report obtained by FOX 5, more is known about what had concerned passersby and police.
Investigators say Ali was overheard calling out: “I’m not scared to die! I will kill you! I will blow people up and the Metro!”
“He made some statements, threatening individuals,” said Sgt. Guy Poirier of the Joint Terrorist Task Force. “At that point we had to take him at his word, what he meant.”
Sgt. Poirier says this was not an overblown response.
“Metropolitan Police Department takes everything serious,” he said. “We take it as a real event until we can prove otherwise.”
Police say they arrested Ali while he sat near the Starbucks kiosk inside the Chevy Chase Pavilion, only steps from the Friendship Heights Metro station.
