Posted on 08/10/2006 2:29:53 PM PDT by conservative in nyc
Chicago police on Thursday morning arrested one of the 11 Egyptian students who were wanted for failing to show up for an exchange program in Montana.
At 8 a.m., about four hours after heightened security restrictions went into effect following a foiled terror plot in Britain, a man at the Delta terminal at O’Hare International Airport tried to use a ticket to go to Bozeman, Montana, but his ticket was out of New York rather than Chicago, police Supt. Philip Cline said at a news conference.
A disturbance then ensued. “He was raising his voice for the level for the counter agent to call for the police officer to come over,” Cline said.
The man, Ahmed Abou El Ela, 21, was found to be one of the missing Egyptian students, Cline said.
”He was acting in a strange, erratic behavior, and the Delta supervisor and they went a little farther in their investigation with the ticket, and they discovered that he was one of the missing students that they were looking for,” said Chicago police officer Tim Bulger, who arrived at the scene.
The Delta supervisor contacted the university, who in turn told her to call the Chicago Police Department and the FBI, Bulger said.
“They say he was kind of fidgety, moving around and kind of talking in a loud voice, which caused for a little bit of alarm,” Bulger said.
El Ela was calm when Bulgar arrived. He was taken into custody and turned over to federal authorities, Bulgar said.
Authorities began searching for the 11 Egyptian students after they arrived in the United States last month, but failed to show up for an exchange program at Montana State University.
Two other students were arrested Thursday in suburban Baltimore. Three more were arrested on Wednesday -- one in Minnesota and two in New Jersey. The other six arrived as planned at the Montana school.
The Egyptian men were among a group of 17 students who arrived in New York from Cairo on July 29 with valid visas, according to U.S. authorities and university officials.
The missing students pose no terrorism threat, FBI officials said.
Not the brightest bulb in the box, I'd say.
"The missing students pose no terrorism threat, FBI officials said."
Oh. OK.
I would think that after today they would change this statement!
Must not have heard that the whole country was looking for him. Must also have missed the media alerts about beefed up security at airports.
And CNN tvs are everywhere at the airport.
What kind of dipwad at the airline counter calls the school instead of the police ASAP?
"Not the brightest bulb in the box, I'd say."
I'd have to agree. LOL
Now wait to hear this from the left:
"You would be upset and act like that too if you were lost trying to find your college in the wrong state".
Um, I guess we can now assume that these Egyptians are not innocent. Anyway, what innocent person would hear the huge media uproar about his AWOL status and not go to the local police station to clear his name?
How did he get to Chicago from NYC - if he took a bus, why didn't he just go all the way to Montana?
Three down, eight to go.
Gee, if he only spoke some Spanish he'd qualify for catch-n-release, and maybe a Guest Worker permit!
He must have gone to NYC or Chicago public schools.
Well, my sister lives in Cairo.... Egyptians are not the smartest people around. Lots of inbreeding.
Just what I was going to say. I mean how do they determine this? Does this guy say "I am not involved with terror" and that is that?
So, will the Fed's investigate how he got from NYC to Chicago? Do we have a Islamist underground railroad?
It's hard to find good, qualified suicide-bombers these days!
Strange...very strange
No, I think we have at least 6 of the 11.
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