Posted on 10/07/2004 10:14:24 AM PDT by crushelits
WASHINGTON - The Education Department has advised school leaders nationwide to watch for people spying on their buildings or buses to help detect any possibility of terrorism like the deadly school siege in Russia.
The warning follows an analysis by the FBI (news - web sites) and the Homeland Security Department of the siege that killed nearly 340 people, many of them students, in the city of Beslan last month.
"The horror of this attack may have created significant anxiety in our own country among parents, students, faculty staff and other community members," Deputy Education Secretary Eugene Hickok said in a letter to schools and education groups.
The safety advice is based on lessons learned from the Russia incident. But there is "no specific information indicating that there is a terrorist threat to any schools or universities in the United States," Hickok said.
Federal law enforcement officials also have encouraged local police to stay in contact with school officials and have encouraged reporting of suspicious activities, the letter says.
In particular, schools were told to watch for activities that may be legitimate on their own — but may suggest a heightened terrorist threat if many of them occur.
Among those activities:
_ Interest in obtaining site plans for schools, bus routes and attendance lists;
_ Prolonged "static surveillance" by people disguised as panhandlers, shoe shiners, newspaper or flower vendors or street sweepers not previously seen in the area;
_ Observations of security drills;
_ People staring at or quickly looking away from employees or vehicles as they enter or leave parking areas;
_ Foot surveillance of campuses involving individuals working together.
The effort is the latest by the Education Department and other federal agencies to encourage school officials to maintain and practice a plan for responding to emergencies.
After the terrorist takeover of the Russian school, President Bush (news - web sites) asked his top advisers to review their strategies for dealing with hostage situations, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has said.
The federal government is advising schools to take many steps to improve the security of their buildings. Those include installing locks for all doors and windows, having a single entry point into buildings and ensuring they can reach school bus drivers in an emergency.
The Education Department sent its letter by e-mail Wednesday to school police, state school officers, school boards, groups representing principals and many other organizations.
The Homeland Security Department also sent a bulletin Wednesday to federal, state and local emergency officials to provide fresh guidance based on the review of the school siege in Russia.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/2002068764_center21m.html
"Details about Seattle school found in Iraq"
By Sanjay Bhatt
Seattle Times staff reporter
ARTICLE SNIPPET:
"The disk, which included such things as school names, floor layouts and building security diagrams, made national news Oct. 7. At that time, it was said to contain information about schools in six states — California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey and Oregon.
With memories still fresh of the terrorist attack on a school in Beslan, Russia, disclosure of the disk raised both fears and controversy. At the same time, the U.S. Department of Education urged schools to heighten security.
On Oct. 8, however, federal officials were insisting there was no terrorist connection to the disk. The FBI said it had contacted local officials out of an abundance of caution.
The unidentified Iraqi man who made the disk, The Associated Press reported, was doing research and had no connection to al-Qaida or Iraqi insurgents attacking U.S. soldiers. The man's links to the Baath Party weren't considered unusual, given that most government officials and community leaders in Saddam Hussein's Iraq had to pledge allegiance to the party."
Cindy, I am bumping this "out of an abundance of caution".
Thank you so much and I'll bump you back for the exact same reason.
The dumb thing is, you call and report something suspicious and the cops/FBI just rolls their eyes and says "we'll make a note of it."
AAABEST caught some guys videotaping large buildings in Atlanta and the FBI didn't seem to care.
They can bend the rules and have the kids draw pictures of guns to defend themselves with.
"We want the kids to remain ignorant" is more like it. I dont' send my kids to publick screwel. I'm even getting nervous about sending them to private schools - the school in Beslan was a Christian School, I heard.
Just how ignorant are you?
ping to 201 FYI.
Well, you know, Kerry says this is a law enforcement problem, a nuisance really, that he will repell after we are hit... /s
Note: The following is an exact quote of a post and thread started by libertylass. Please note the third paragraph regarding schools.
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1258051/posts
POSSIBLE WITNESS TO TERRORIST ACTIVITY?
10/26/04 | LibertyLass
Posted on 10/26/2004 5:38:03 PM PDT by libertylass
I HAD MY OWN LITTLE EXPERIENCE LAST SATURDAY THAT PROMPTED ME TO CONTACT THE LOCAL POLICE, AND WHEN THAT DIDN'T SATISFY ME, THE HOMELAND SECURITY OFFICE IN SACRAMENTO, CA. THEY IN TURN SENT ME BACK TO MY LOCAL FBI OFFICE, WHO CONSIDERS MY "EVENT" WORTH LOOKING INTO:
I was walking my dog at about 10:30 am when a man pulled up to the curb in front of my condominium units. We have 23 units that are place in a horseshoe shape with the "opening" of the horseshoe facing the street. The "opening" contains the building for our clubhouse and sauna room so you can't actually see into our common area from the street.
Anyway, I didn't pay any attention to him until about a 1/2 hour later when I left with my dog to take her to the vet. As I walked to my truck (on the street) this middle-Eastern looking guy was standing in the middle of the street taking pictures of our condos. Our condos are directly across from a school and less than 1/2 a block from an elementary school where voting takes place for our immediate area.
At first I wasn't going to say anything, thinking he works for a real estate company, but because there are no "For Sale" signs, or "For Rent" signs on our front lawn, I found it odd. I recently refinanced my condo and they never took pictures of the front of the condo units, but only of my interior and immediate outside walls.
So.....as I walked towards him I asked "do you mind me asking you what you're doing?" He replied "I don't know that it's any of your business" at which time I replied "well, I live here and you're taking pictures of my condos, and people are watching out for this kind of thing." (I was getting perturbed at his uncooperative and disrespectful attitude.) I figure if he was a legitimate real estate agent, or an appraiser, he would have offered an explanation or a business card.
He stated "this is a public place" and proceeded to go get in his car. Me, always being a bit bolder than I should be, got a bit mouthy and said "Oh, so now you're going to leave when someone questions what you're doing?" He replied "yeah."
As he got into car I read his license plate number out loud, got into my truck, wrote it down along with the type of automobile (Dodge Intrepid) and drove to my moms to contact the police.
It turns out that they didn't consider him committing any crime (which I knew), so I contacted the dept. of homeland security. They referred me to my local FBI office in L.A. where my story was welcomed, and that I would be getting a follow up call from an agent at some point.
After talking to a co-worker she reminded me that one school is directly across the street from our units and the other one is around the corner just a few houses down.
Perhaps I was overreacting, but taking pictures of PRIVATELY owned homes without offering an explanation from a resident makes me suspicious. He spoke good English, but has a middle Eastern accent.
I keep thinking I'm gonna wake up in the middle of the night with an orange jumpsuit on and my hands tied behind my back. Shiver........
I believe he also wrote down my license plate number, but can't be sure.
Was I over-reacting you think?
http://www.krcg.com/news/news_detail.asp?story_number=9197
"JC Police Look for Suspicious Man"
11/4/2004, Jefferson City
ARTICLE SNIPPET #1: "Police are searching for a suspicious looking man seen outside two Jefferson City schools. Investigators say an unidentified man was seen on Thorpe Gordon Elementary School property Tuesday, videotaping through windows at the lobby entrance."
ARTICLE SNIPPET #2: "He says the man did not break any laws, but says he is a person of interest.
Authorities are looking for a white Chrysler with Ohio plates DEF 8407. If you have any information, call the Jefferson City Police Department at 634-6400."
Seen at 2 schools, yet NO description of the 'suspicious man'. Interesting and thank you for the ping.
INTERNET-HAGANAH.US (JERUSALEM POST): "SHIN BET: CHILD TERROR ON THE RISE" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The report also revealed that terror organizations hide bombs inside children's toys and satchels in order to evade detection.") (November 5, 2004)
http://www.local6.com/news/3932932/detail.html
"Report Of Camouflaged Men Prompts School Lock Down"
POSTED: 10:49 am EST November 19, 2004
UPDATED: 4:02 pm EST November 19, 2004
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "INDIALANTIC, Fla. -- Two elementary schools in Indialantic were placed under a lockdown Friday morning while police searched for two men reportedly wearing camouflage and considered suspicious, according to reports.
The lockdown was lifted around 10:30 a.m. and normal school activities resumed, officials said. No suspects were spotted during the search.
Local police departments and the Brevard County Sheriff's Office responded just before 9 a.m. after an anonymous caller told officials at Indialantic Elementary that the men were in the area behind the school, with one possibly armed, Local 6 News partner Florida Today reported."
Thanks for continuing to update this thread.
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http://www.wtop.com/?sid=340513&nid=25
"Three Attacks on Teen Girls Share Similarities"
Updated: Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2004 - 5:15 PM
ARTICLE SNIPPET #1: "COLESVILLE, Md. - A warning to parents in Montgomery county: Police are now investigating three attacks or attempted attacks on teenage girls in the last two weeks.
The incidents happened when the girls arrived home from school."
ARTICLE SNIPPET #2: "They all occurred between 3:30 and 4:30 in the afternoon, and the description of the suspect is similar in all three cases.
Police describe the suspect as hispanic, 30 to 40, 5'5 to 5'9 with medium to stocky build."
and in Germany...
http://www.internet-haganah.us/harchives/003305.html
Adding to this thread for historical documentation and archival purposes:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1204503/posts
"Armed men seize school in Russian region on North Ossetia, reports say"
Associated Press | September 1, 2004
Posted on 08/31/2004 11:52:44 PM PDT by HAL9000
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