FBI Was Warned of Sniper Suspect

Associated Press ^ | OCTOBER 26, 05:17 ET | GENE JOHNSON AND JOHN SOLOMON

[B4Ranch]

The FBI was told by a witness last summer in Washington state that sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad was trying to obtain a silencer for his gun and wanted to kill police officers, and authorities decided to treat it as a local police safety matter, law enforcement officials say.

FBI agents had concerns about some aspects of the witness' account and did not interview Muhammad at the time, the officials told The Associated Press.

Authorities said emphatically Friday that nothing they received in June or July from the witness, Harjee Singh, suggested Muhammad and a 17-year-old companion, John Lee Malvo, would later cross the country and go on a random killing spree in the suburbs of the nation's capital, as they are now suspected of doing.

FBI agents, however, reinterviewed the witness again this week and received new details from him, but still have reservations about certain aspects of his accounts, officials said.

Singh, of Bellingham, Wash., said he met with authorities last summer and told them Muhammad and Malvo — whom he had met at the local YMCA — had talked to him about a possible plan to shoot police officers.

``I raised the red flag three months ago,'' Singh said. ``I told them what their intention was.''

Asked to elaborate, Singh said, ``They told me they were likely to do a sniper attack. They told me they were going to shoot to kill.''

Asked by AP if the two men named targets, Singh responded: ``Yeah, cops.''

He said the pair also mentioned possibly firing at a tanker truck.

One law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Singh told the FBI that Muhammad was trying to equip a gun with a silencer and was threatening to kill police officers but had few details.

``We looked at this as an officer safety issue,'' the official said. ``This came to us in July. He (Singh) complained about Muhammad and his desire to obtain a silencer and to kill police officers.''

The official said the FBI did not try to interview Muhammad at the time, concluding the silencer issue was a matter for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and that the threats against police were a matter for local law enforcement.

ATF Special Agent Patrick Berarducci said Friday night that his agency heard about Muhammad and the silencer issue only in a casual conversation at the Bellingham Police Department.

``In a conversation about other law enforcement matters, mention was made of Muhammad and the fact that he was attempting to obtain a silencer, but there was really no specifics and it was just one of thousands of conversation that our agents have with law enforcement,'' Berarducci said.

Singh wasn't the only witness to provide the FBI with information that Muhammad was trying to equip a gun with a silencer. A former Army buddy told the FBI earlier this week, just before Muhammad was arrested, that the Gulf War veteran talked to him about equipping his rifle with a silencer and remarked that such a weapon could do damage, according to court documents.

Bellingham Police Chief Randy Carroll said his agency had met with Singh last summer. Police met again with Singh on Wednesday night, Carroll said.

``There was nothing he told us three months ago or last night that would lead us to believe Mr. Muhammad or Mr. Malvo would have the kind of future that led them to where they are today,'' he said.

The chief added that Singh's story changed when he was re-interviewed this week

Bellingham police spokesman Lt. Dac Jamison said there wasn't enough information in the original interview over the summer to arrest Muhammad. He said he did not know whether his department issued an alert based on Singh's information, but added ``it wouldn't surprise me if something was issued.''

``If you hear that somebody has started thinking about the crime, but there's no plan, where do you go with that, other than to go interview the people?'' Jamison asked. ``By the time we were aware of it, Muhammad had been gone six months.''

During the reinterview this week, Singh provided additional details about what he knew about Muhammad, but law enforcement officers are concerned about some conflicting facts, officials said.

Singh said he did provide ``additional information'' Wednesday night that he had not offered previously, but has not changed his story.

Bellingham is proving to be an important location in the investigation of the sniper shootings, which left 10 people dead and three wounded.

[SarahW]

The official said the FBI did not try to interview Muhammad at the time, concluding the silencer issue was a matter for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and that the threats against police were a matter for local law enforcement ::eye roll:: FBI - Foolish, bumbling idiots.

[BeAllYouCanBe]

"cops had followed up the lead"

I wonder if a white guy had made the threat if it would have been blown off without follow-up. It seems to me that a black male is susposed to have a certain amount of anger or animosity for cops and that is considered normal.

I just saw an incident at my local mall where a black teen was right in the face of the cops over a parking violation and I know for sure a white kid would have gotten a club over the head and a ride to jail.

[BeAllYouCanBe]

"bumbling idiots"

1930's FBI protects US from Organized Crime.

1940's FBI protects US from Nazi sabotage.

1950's FBI protects US from Communist spies.

1960's FBI protects US from radical anti-war groups.

1980's FBI protects US from FBI agents who flip to the other side and become Russian double agents.

1990's FBI protects US from Right-Winged militias.

2000's FBI __________________ you fill in the blanks.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

There were a lot of signals alright!

JIHAD IN AMERICA:

To find all articles tagged or indexed using JIHAD IN AMERICA, click below:
	click here >>>	JIHAD IN AMERICA	<<< click here
(To view all FR Bump Lists, click here)

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for those links.

I put them on the Jihad list!

[SarahW]

"Ignores stuff"

[Tailgunner Joe]

bttt

[SBprone]

"FBI agents had concerns about some aspects of the witness' account and did not interview Muhammad at the time, the officials told The Associated Press."

This is the statement that ticks me off. It implies that information isn't worth anything unless it meets the same standard as credible courtroom testimony.

WRONG!!!

Information regarding a possible future crime can come from anybody, including people who are inconsistent with their accounts or who have an axe to grind. Testimony-grade information is required by lazy Federal LE pukes who won't accept a gift if it isn't properly wrapped.

Maybe somebody should market FBI gift wrap for those important occasions when one of us citizens wants our tip to really cut through the bureaucratic crap they have piled up.

[Darksheare]

I'm not sure it's over.
They were looking for a BURGUNDY Caprice.. And I don't know too many people who can mistake blue for burgundy. They also were looing for a panel van and a mini van, both white.

And the arrest was just too darn easy. Too simple, too.. choreographed?
Maybe there's more than one sniper, and the others are now laying low until we get lax again. Get all snuggly and cuddly in our sense of euphoria that "THE Sniper has been caught."
Maybe I'm just being a paranoid former Mil type.

[WOSG]

WOW! you did good.

[WOSG]

" Bellingham Police Chief Randy Carroll said his agency had met with Singh last summer. "

How low and despicable of them to quibble about what exactly Singh said. typical CYA. Singh was just relaying what he claimed he told by the perps ... IF THE COPS WERE ON THEIR TOES, THEY WOULD HAVE NOTICED A GUY PRACTISING SHOOTING EVERY DAY AND AN ILLEGAL IMMMIGRANT. Isnt that enough to keep close tabs????

Yes, and being stopped 5 times whassup with that??? didnt they log the license plates, so they could maybe figure out which cars end up at the roadblocks multiple times???

[BeAllYouCanBe]

"SHOOTING EVERY DAY AND AN ILLEGAL IMMMIGRANT"

I know from living in CA that the local police don't even ask the immigration status of someone who looks or talks alien.(Our local police chief was not inclined to give the FBI any help after 9-11 to sort out hostiles from friendlies.)

When a person is looking for a silencer for a weapon (an assult rife to be exact) and practicing a lot of shooting (maybe the police thought that he didn't want to disturb the neighbors) it makes me suspicous but I'm just a citizen.

[BeAllYouCanBe]

"I don't know too many people who can mistake blue for burgundy."

I'm a color blind rights advocate.

I have about a 70% color loss so I could make the mistake and don't think I could be a cop because of that disability.

At work they want to "dumb down" things by color coding everything but for me it is total confusion. About 10% of all males suffer from some color vision deficiency.

[B4Ranch]

I have no idea how many law enforcement agencies there are in existence or how many data bases their are that log everytime we are stopped, interviewed, or call the local PD, but I do know this; Since this idea of political correctness came along our country certainly has changed.

Blacks make up about 17% of our population and 40 to 50% of our prison population. The cops aren't allowed to publically profile who they think a criminal could be unless the picture comes out white. Mexicans fill a large percentage of the prisons but don't say "illegal alien" in public unless you want a dirty look or an unkind reply. The quality of the person filling just about every working position has fallen to standards that would have been unacceptable back in the 50's or early 60's.

What we call teachers today that fill our public schools and are supposed to teach our children is disgusting. Too many of them are 100% in line with the trash standards put out by the NEA and they think it is fine to teach our kids that being a pervert or a homosexual is just another type of sexual standard.

So why do we expect that our law enforcement officers should be high quality people with the abilities that are required to do the job that all older folks remember them having?

I'm not quite sure what is missing in todays people but I have never considered that someone else is responsible for my behavior or my well being. The idea of personal responsibility in todays society seems to be foreign to many, many people. What happened in our childhood certainly has an effect on how we think as adults but I don't think that it is life that wears us down. It's more how we handle the stresses and carry the load that is likely to wear us down.

This idea that all of us should live until we are 95 years old is a foreign one to me. Why should I ask you to pay my medical bills in order for me to live longer. You don't know me and where do I get off expecting you to pay my bills?

So did the cops stay away from our black killer because he changed his name to Mohammed or just because he's black? Or did it have anything to do with harrassing an illegal alien? They seem to have more rights that a citizen over 65. Hmmmmm Why didn't they see him as a threat to themselves and society? Has law enforcement changed so much that an interview with a potential suspect is considered harrassment because the guy is black?

Diversity has been working quite well. We have no idea what the laws are anymore or the reasoning behind them. It could be anywhere from just being impolite to violating another persons rights. There is no way that I would volunteer to carry a firearm and go around arresting criminals because without a doubt some liberal judge would agree with the criminal and I would end up behind bars. I guess we'll just have to make do with the police forces we have today or start changing the laws and education system back to what it was when America was a truly great place to live.

[LO_IQ]

I just saw an incident at my local mall where a black teen was right in the face of the cops over a parking violation and I know for sure a white kid would have gotten a club over the head and a ride to jail.

I hear you.

Then my dad would have beaten the living lights out of me for disrespecting a police officer.

[LO_IQ]

Being an honest, hardworking cop must be a tough job, when you are surrounded by lazy dolts.

During my college years I did an internship with the state government, and what I saw left me perplexed.

There was a lady whose job was to read the newspaper, file her nails, and talk on the phone (personal calls). I never figured out what her job description was, despite working in the same office with her.

I suspect the guy/gal who was supposed to run the query to look for repeated license numbers was like that lady. He never got around to do his job, too busy doing inconsequential or personal business.

[BeAllYouCanBe]

"Diversity has been working quite well. We have no idea what the laws are anymore or the reasoning behind them."

Sadly, there are many forces working for total acceptance of the new religion 'diversity' which is taught as the gospel in public schools. My wife is a public high school teacher in California so I know how the propaganda machine works.

To your point of our laws: with hate crimes that make crimes against certain groups punished, with different lenght sentences it sends the message that all are not equal in the eyes of the law. In my city in CA where whites are about 40% of the population, we are not a minority though, and if I read things right no matter what the numbers say whites cannot be victims of hate crimes unless of course you are gay. The label of "racist" and "homophobe" always fit when dealing with whites.

My city has 122 languages spoken by the 210,000 citizens and it is a nightmare for the police. The police use a national phone translator(it is very expensive to use per minute) in dealing with house calls and in the jail so it is very difficult to get facts and arrest guilty people. I live next door to Indian Sikhs and I know they have had police business and needed a friend to translate.

All that said most people I know here are liberal and avidly support the system and view each person of color as a victim of white oppression. Even if a person comes from India and is highly educated and a product of Indian "caste" system that oppresses classes of poor people in India they are seen as victims of white racist. To defense of my liberal friends they believe they are being fair and trying to give the benefit of the doubt.

BUT they would never look at this event in Washington as a failure of the system or racial profiling going awry.

[B4Ranch]

BUT they would never look at this event in Washington as a failure of the system or racial profiling going awry.

No they wouldn't because this is the intended result.When you allow immigrant over flow into a community, the intended result is to change the culture of the community. We can thank our elected officials for this expected result, even though they will never admit it.

The following is a list of elected members of Congress that also belong to an organization called the Democratic Socialists of America.

Go through this list and see how many are from California. That will explain more than you want to know, I'm sure.

[ALS]

PC KILLS!

[BeAllYouCanBe]

"When you allow immigrant over flow into a community, the intended result is to change the culture of the community."

I feel like the "point man" in this culture war and it might be a really bad job -- one I didn't pick -- but one I'm in never the less.