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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?


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; US: California
KEYWORDS: homelandsecurity; staysafe; terrorism
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To: libertylass

No over-reaction. Well done. Carry on.


101 posted on 10/26/2004 6:51:16 PM PDT by Jackknife (.......Land of the Free,because of the Brave.)
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To: libertylass

Thank goodness, no I haven't had this kind of experience but you did the right thing. We all have to keep our eyes and ears open. Keep a look out.


102 posted on 10/26/2004 6:52:13 PM PDT by tiki (Win one against the Flipper)
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To: libertylass

In light of the Russian school incident... you did the right thing.


103 posted on 10/26/2004 6:54:24 PM PDT by Arizona Carolyn
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To: Drummer

Sounds like we all need the FBI number programmed in our cell phones.


104 posted on 10/26/2004 6:57:16 PM PDT by Arizona Carolyn
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To: libertylass

You did the right thing and showed the fortitude we all should have. One thing that does bother me is that at this stage local police would not pursue it in any way. Just goes to show the disconnect between law enforcement when there should be none.


105 posted on 10/26/2004 6:57:51 PM PDT by Sparky760 (The sleeping Giant has been awakened)
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To: Joe Hadenuf

'Hey, brilliant idea!'

Yeah, okay Joe.


106 posted on 10/26/2004 7:07:29 PM PDT by xone
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To: libertylass
no you were not overreacting. and thanks for reporting this.

my story is about a van walking buy with a camera on a tripod that i could see in the open door behind the driver's door. the truck stopped at every house and took a picture. naturally, i called the police. he asked me where i lived, then laughed, almost frantically, and thanked me very much for my call. he explained that the truck was taking pictures of all houses and their street numbers for use in their 911 information data base. when a 911 call comes in and the police must be dispatched, they want a picture of the house to be sent to the police car to better help the officer get to the proper house as quick as possible. i had a good laugh too.

107 posted on 10/26/2004 7:13:39 PM PDT by mlocher
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To: libertylass
you did the right thing. I have 5 grandchildren, I worry all the time about something going horribly wrong while they are at school. I just hope there are more people like you out there, They might save one or all of my grandchildren.
108 posted on 10/26/2004 7:14:06 PM PDT by mammer
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To: Vigilantcitizen

>>
What building in Atlanta was it?
<<

The Turner building, publicly refered to as "Centennial Tower," 101 Marietta Street. My company's regional office is located there, though I work from home in Savannah. The perp also filmed the Westin hotel, which I understand to be an exceptionally vulnerable structure.


109 posted on 10/26/2004 7:20:37 PM PDT by noblejones (The Focus group folks told him to do this . . .)
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To: libertylass

Very, very glad you reported this. This is what we all must do. Thank you!


110 posted on 10/26/2004 7:20:54 PM PDT by Wait4Truth ("There is nothing complicated about supporting our troops in combat!" - GWB)
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To: libertylass
I've always said, better safe than sorry. You did the right thing. Please don't think you overreacted.

Several years ago while I was working in the NY State prison system, we had had an incident that resulted in the prison being locked down and the cells being searched one at a time. At one point, one of the female officers I worked with (I'm female) was frisking an inmate's cell and discovered some drill bits. There was no reason for this inmate to have those drill bits, and so the officer wrote a misbehavior report on the inmate. Sherry had charged the inmate with possession of escape paraphernalia. Several of the male officers thought she was overreacting, and made fun of her for writing the inmate up on escape related charges. To them it was all a big joke.

Several weeks went by, and either on a tip, or on a random search of this inmate's cell, it was discovered that the inmate had managed to drill through the vent in the back of his cell wall, and was able to climb in and out of his cell onto the catwalk when he chose. The catwalk ran between the two rows of cells on either side of the gallery. This catwalk was kept locked at all times, and was accessed only by staff for plumbing repairs and replacing blown fuses.

Besides discovering the vent removal, they also discovered civilian trousers in his cell. Since inmates are not allowed to have anything but green pants in their possession, it was determined that the inmate had planned to make an escape attempt at some future time. He was brought up on outside charges and his sentence extended.

The guys who had laughed at Sherry for making such a big deal over the drill bits suddenly weren't laughing anymore. Had they taken the situation as seriously as Sherry, and looked upon the discovery of the drill bits as a potential security risk, they might have found that the vent had been tampered with sooner than they did. At it was, they were lucky all he'd been able to do was get out on the catwalk. I learned after that time, that it never hurts to question things, no matter how stupid or trivial it may seem. As one person told me when I first took the prison job, "The only dumb question is the one you don't ask."

111 posted on 10/26/2004 7:21:52 PM PDT by mass55th ("If I were two faced, would I be wearing this one?"----Abe Lincoln (1809-1865))
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To: libertylass

Sorry, my standard advice for dealing with a ME type with a smart mouth could get you arrested.


112 posted on 10/26/2004 7:23:34 PM PDT by paul51 (11 September 2001 - Never forget)
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To: libertylass

You were not over reacting. This type of activity is on the rise in all states. Let's just hope the authorities take it seriously.


113 posted on 10/26/2004 7:23:55 PM PDT by Wolfhound777 (It's not our job to forgive them. Only God can do that. Our job is to arrange the meeting)
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To: libertylass

libertylass....good thinking! Just knowing that you could ID him and his vehicle; may keep this bold and ignorant ME from trying anything in your neighborhood. Amazing that this jerk could think that his taking pictures of condos wasn't something out of the ordinary; especially since he didn't mention real estate, insurance etc.

Stay safe...BTW I hope that you have a big dog!


114 posted on 10/26/2004 7:36:59 PM PDT by all4one (With the new poll numbers coming out, what did Kerry say to Edwards? - - "It's Over Johnny")
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To: Mr. Wright
"They will say this, "had that been a white guy taking pictures, you would have never said anything - much less confronted the man"!

I don't care what color someone is.. If I see a stranger standing in the middle of my street, taking pictures of my property, you bet I am going to think it is suspicious.

Islamo Fascists don't have to be dark skinned.... The animals in Russia were light skinned, and still were thinking they were going to get their 72 raisins.
115 posted on 10/26/2004 7:41:41 PM PDT by pop-aye (For every journey, there is a higher path.)
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To: diamond6
"Just to be safe, I'd buy a gun, security system and a dog, but then I'm paranoid anyway. :)"

Then I must be waay over the top... my security system consists of the guns and the dogs..

"Just because your not paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you."
116 posted on 10/26/2004 7:45:53 PM PDT by pop-aye (For every journey, there is a higher path.)
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To: libertylass

You did the right thing -
I had a 'weird' thing happen to me here in NYC and called the terroism task force here -
it involved 3 guys ... anyway the story is a bit involved - but they were 'fishy' in my view - I lost them in the crowd and even followed to try to get their photos -(I had my camera with me as we were doing a Bush/Cheney table near Madison Square Gardens....)
I think everybody's eyes and ears are crucial...
God Bless....keep your eyes open for that vehicle and stay safe.


117 posted on 10/26/2004 7:58:37 PM PDT by LibertyLight (I've got more hair than Kerry & Edwards together!)
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To: libertylass

yes, I think you were over-reacting. Most likely he was a P/I working for some lawyer somewhere.


118 posted on 10/26/2004 7:59:04 PM PDT by Steven W.
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To: flaglady47
In light of some warnings about sneaking up at ports (like in Chicago) with explosives, in small boats, etc., she's curious and a bit concerned. Now, it's probably nothing, although an oddity, but this is how we now live our lives, worrying about the potential 5th column living in our country, perhaps right down the street.

There is an old saying about something walking and squalking like a duck.. good chance it might be a duck. You live there, you see the goings on... if it is unusual, make a report, and be vigilent.

The thing that has struck me cold about our current situation is the relative silence of American Muslims after 9/11 and continuing to this day with the beheadings etc.

My theory is that those that are silent are either silent out of fear (think organized crime and the silence it causes) or they are silent because they philosophically agree with what is happening. Either of these responses makes me convinced that we must all remain vigilent. Gut check things, if they don't pass the gut check, then report.

A simple report, that was listened to, about Middle Easterners taking jet flying but not landing lessons might have prevented the attacks.
119 posted on 10/26/2004 8:00:10 PM PDT by pop-aye (For every journey, there is a higher path.)
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To: oceanview

I would go to the two schools and tell them what happened and to watch for any suspicious people or events. Tell the people at the voting location too. They all deserve to know and keep their eyes and ears open. Tell your neighbors too so that they can keep on the watch. Do you have a neighborhood watch group? If you do then certainly contact them. I would take my own personal action considering what happened to the Russian school. It hopefully is nothing but even on a slight chance that it is not and many lives may be involved I would take my own action too. I would also call the FBI up and ask them if they have done any follow up. This is the address of the Homeland Security site where you can give them your terrorist threat tips http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?theme=36. Maybe you scared them off if they are terrorist. Hopefully they don't plan on going somewhere else. This is a reminder for all of us to keep our ears and eyes opened pray.


120 posted on 10/26/2004 8:01:38 PM PDT by Bellflower (A new day is coming!)
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