DC Security Scare Results In Arrest At Metro Station

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.

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DC Metro Trains Collide During Rush Hour – Several Casualties

Two D.C. Metro trains collided during rush hour Monday. Initial reports indicate several casualties.

Metro confirms two trains have collided on the Red Line between the Takoma and Fort Totten stations. It happened close to the Fort Totten station, a Metro spokesperson said.

A Metro spokesperson said one person is dead and nine others have been hurt.

D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman Alan Etter said one train was on top of the other train.

This is “developing into a mass casualty event,” Etter said. “We’re expecting a number of injuries. We’re not aware of any fatalities at this point.”

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FBI Watching Somali Muslims In Washington D.C.

Fearing the next terror attack could emerge from America’s growing Somali refugee population, federal authorities have stepped up surveillance in Somali communities – including a large enclave just outside Washington.

In fact, WND has learned that the Baileys Crossroads area of Northern Virginia – about 10 miles from the capital – was a critical focus of security investigations in advance of the presidential inauguration in January.

Investigators say a troubling number of the area’s Somali men hold “militant” anti-American views and sympathize with al-Qaida. They typically work as taxi drivers, gathering at local coffeehouses during their breaks, as well as at a nearby mosque tied to 9/11.

Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Va., which assisted at least two of the al-Qaida hijackers, has a large representation of Somali immigrants. Investigators say a former Dar al-Hijrah imam is now working with al-Qaida to arm and recruit fighters – including Americans – for the holy war in Somalia.

“Somalis were the hot topic during the inauguration, and they still are,” said a senior investigator assigned to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Washington. “They’re very militant, and they’re all over that area.”

Authorities estimate the Washington area is home to about 6,000 Somalis, most of whom are Muslim.

Another troubling hotspot is Minneapolis, where individuals have traveled to Somalia to train with an al-Qaida-backed terror wing called Al-Shabab, which means “the youth” in Arabic.

The FBI has launched investigations in the thriving Somali community of 70,000 there, questioning local men suspected of being radicalized. Last year, some 20 young Somali men – all American citizens – left to join the jihad. All of them worshipped at the same pro-jihad mosque – Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center – whose leaders deny a connection. Investigators, however, suspect the young men were recruited and bankrolled there. The mosque’s imam is on the FBI’s terror watch list and is grounded from air travel.

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Baituallah Mehsud Claims Responsibility

Pakistani Taliban militant leader Baituallah Mehsud claimed on Saturday responsibility for an attack on a U.S. immigration center in New York state in which 13 people were killed.

“I accept responsibility. They were my men. I gave them orders in reaction to U.S. drone attacks,” Mehsud told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location.

via Reuters.

Taliban Leader Vows To Attack D.C. Says “Will Amaze The World”

UPDATE:Taliban Leader’s Washington Threat Is Credible, Analysts Say

Terrorism experts call Mehsud a “rising young star” who is linked both to the December 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the bombing last September that killed 54 people in the Marriott hotel in Islamabad — and they say his threat to carry out an attack in Washington should not be discounted.

“It should be taken seriously because [Mehsud] has ordered the deaths of many Pakistanis and Afghans and has a close alliance with Al Qaeda,” said James Phillips, a terrorism expert and senior research fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs at the Heritage Foundation. Read more

CIA, NSA Adopting Web 2.0 Strategies

While the United States intelligence community may have gotten a lot of publicity for its Wikipedia-like Intellipedia Web site, agencies like the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency are ramping up their use of other social and Web-inspired software as well. Read more

First Responder Gear Sold At Auction Despite Terrorism Concern

NOTE: Legislation in regards to the sale of Police, Fire, Emergency and First Responder Gear, should be a top priority at the local, state and national level. Laws governing the sale of these items doesn’t need to be something we look back upon and say should have been implemented. If you’re a lawmaker interested in introducing this legislation, contact us. Read more

Kidnapping Capital of the U.S.A. – Phoenix Arizona

Brian Ross and ABC News report what officials caution is now a dangerous and even deadly crime wave. Phoenix, Arizona has become the kidnapping capital of America, with more incidents than any other city in the world outside of Mexico City and over 370 cases last year alone. But local authorities say Washington, DC is too obsessed with al Qaeda terrorists to care about what is happening in their own backyard right now.

“We’re in the eye of the storm,” Phoenix Police Chief Andy Anderson told ABC News of the violent crimes and ruthless tactics spurred by Mexico’s drug cartels that have expanded business across the border. “If it doesn’t stop here, if we’re not able to fix it here and get it turned around, it will go across the nation,” he said. Read more

Homegrown Jihad: The Terrorist Camps Around the U.S.

Watch The Trailer Here

Homegrown Jihad: The Terrorist Camps Around the U.S. premiered On February 11, 2009, at 7:30 pm. at the Landmark Theater in Washington, DC.

According to the press release, “The American public was never supposed to know. The 2006 Justice Department document that exposes 35 terrorist training compounds in the U.S. was marked “Dissemination Restricted to Law Enforcement.” All the copies of Sheik Muburak Gilani’s terrorist training video, “Soldiers of Allah,” had been confiscated and sealed, all of them, that is, except one that Christian Action Network now reveals in the documentary Homegrown Jihad: The Terrorist Camps Around the U.S.” Read more

FBI Headquarters Evacuated After Electrical Fire

Authorities say the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., was briefly evacuated because of a small electrical fire in the basement.

No injuries were reported, but two streets were closed while authorities investigated.

FBI spokesman Richard Kolko says no criminal activity was suspected and that everything was “under control” by late afternoon.

D.C. fire department spokesman Alan Etter says there appeared to have been an electrical fire in a utility room underneath the building.

Etter said officials received a call from inside the building around 4:15 p.m. about a loud, explosion-like noise and smoke coming from the ventilation system.

The few people working on the holiday had to leave the building but were later allowed to return.

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Capitol Building – Man Arrested Nearby With IED, Rifle, Ammunition Allegedly Found in Jeep

A man is under arrest in Washington after an improvised explosive device, a rifle and some ammunition were allegedly found in his jeep, Capitol Police said Friday.

The man stopped to ask police for directions near the Capitol building at about 11 a.m. EDT Friday, at the intersection of 2nd and Independence Avenue Southeast, according to Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider. Read more