Attempt to Buy Ambulance Spurs Fear

(AP) ^

[Dallas]

NEWARK, N.J. --

An attempt by two Middle Eastern men to buy a fake ambulance spurred authorities to issue warnings that terrorists may seek to use bogus emergency vehicles as weapons, authorities said.

About two weeks ago, two men walked into Movie Time Cars Inc., a Lyndhurst company that rents replicas of ambulances and police cars to TV and film producers. The men offered to pay cash to buy a replica ambulance, said Joe Sargo, the company's owner.

Sargo, suspicious, told the men he does not sell vehicles to anyone. The men quickly left, but an employee jotted down the license plate number of the car and called police, Sargo said.

That triggered a series of alerts to police and rescue agencies in northern New Jersey and New York that terrorists might seek to use emergency vehicles or look-alikes to carry out attacks, said Sandra Carroll, a spokeswoman for the Newark FBI office.

She said the FBI knows who the two men are and are seeking them for questioning, but has not connected them to any terrorist organizations. She would not identify the men but said they were confirmed to be Middle Eastern.

Carroll said the information from Lyndhurst police about the incident "was combined with some intelligence that ambulances or police cars may be a target." Alerts were sent to Bergen County and New York City police and rescue agencies to be on the lookout for anyone trying to obtain an emergency vehicle or look-alike.

Movie Time does not have actual ambulances or police cars, but the replicas are authentic enough that they can pass for the real thing, Sargo said.

"For all intents and purposes, what they wanted looked like an ambulance," he said.

Copyright © 2002, The Associated Press

[mhking]

Suspect profiling!!! That's what we need...

And we need the authorities to stop worrying about the PC police...

[Anamensis]

How dare the employees racially-profile those poor Middle Eastern men! [sarcasm off]

Thankfully Americans are waking up and taking notes.

[housethatruthbuilt]

love the way certain news agencies write their headlines. almost like they are trying to motivate the terrorists by making them think we live under our beds because of them.

[newgeezer]

It's only a matter of time before they recruit the necessary John Walker Lindhs to get their job done in sheep's clothing. No more will it suffice to be on the lookout for Middle Eastern men.

[johniegrad]

[Paul Atreides]

No more will it suffice to be on the lookout for Middle Eastern men.

Fortunately, you can tell their sympathizers, campus radicals, a mile away; by sight and smell.

[Paul Atreides]

I don't know what you are talking about. I know of hundreds of non-Middle Easterners people who walk up to perfect strangers wanting to buy an ambulance. It happens all the time. You need to get over your profiling mentality. ;-)

[daviddennis]

Not quite; they're still going to look a little suspicious since the overwhelming majority of members of the public are not seriously interested in buying an ambulance as rented to motion picture folks. That's a weird thing to do regardless of profiling.

And, of course, we're all looking now ...

D

[Neckbone]

the FBI knows who the two men are and are seeking them for questioning

Ahhh, seeking them. For questioning, don'tcha know. One more ignored memo from a field office..... What ever happened to doing something?

Oh, that's right- it's a peaceful religion

[Aquinasfan]

An attempt by two Middle Eastern men to buy a fake ambulance...

What exactly is a "fake ambulance"? Is it a real ambulance that's just faking it? Or is it made out of cardboard or something?

[xkaydet65]

would suspect it's only a special paint job. There would be no working EMS equipment, only mock ups.

[MattinNJ]

Why couldn't these guys have exercised their 2nd amendment rights and whip out a gun to hold these guys until the cops came. Oh thats right, they would have been sued for violating these rights.

[drb9]

I doubt that this is a true story. Islamist terrorists wouldn't want to BUY an ambulance--since they're just going to blow it up. They would just want to rent one. Using a credit card that turns out to be fake, so they don't end up paying anything.

[chs68]

I do some volunteer work for a local hospital, and it has always struck me just how vulnerable hospitals are to terrorist attacks.

Consider this:

In the hospital where I volunteer, it is possible to walk through the front door, and into any unit except the psych unit, the ICU's, and the NICU.

And, if you are disguised as an EMS driving an ambulance, and get access to the hospital through the ER,....well, the prospects are too frightening (terrorizing?) to contemplate.

I think the guy in NJ did exactly the right thing.

[3AngelaD]

Or, they could just get a loan from the Small Business Administration after
threatening and attempting to intimidate the loan officer.

[drb9]

I don't think the point is to use an ambulance to gain access to a hospital. I think their goal is to be able to speed into a downtown district, possibly past roadblocks guarding important buildings, and detonate an ambulance-bomb. Never mind, that the use of an ambulance for this purpose (even if targeting a legitimate military installation) is a blatant violation of international law.

[Dallas]

I'm suprised they didn't apply for a govnmt loan, and just buy one.

[LoneGOPinCT]

[gnarledmaw]

This couldnt happen if they would just close the damned ambulance sales loopholes...