TA-THREATS: Suspicious Package Forces Mall Evacuation, page 1

posted on Sep, 15 2004 @ 08:34 AM

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On monday, the Niagara Falls Prime Outlet mall was forced to evacuate after a "suspicious" package was found, and a Middle Eastern woman and two Middle Eastern men were seen fleeing the scene in a car with Canadian licensce plates. The three "suspects" were stopped and questioned at Canadian Customs, but were not detained or arrested.

www.buffalonews.com
Police Chief James Suitor said the department received a call at about 8:17 p.m. reporting that a suspicious black suitcase had been placed near one of the mall entrances by a Middle Eastern woman. Police said the woman drove away with two other Middle Eastern men in a van bearing Ontario license plates.

Suitor said an X-ray determined he suitcase contained an electronic typewriter.

An alert was issued to locate the three Middle Eastern people, who were driving a rental van. Within two hours, they were stopped at the Rainbow Bridge by Canadian Customs. Officials from the Joint Terrorism Task Force interviewed them at the border, and they were not charged. Police said they had British passports.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

In the Niagara Gazette, which does not offer their article on it's website, the theory of this being a "dry run" was brought up. It makes sense to me, since the Niagara Falls Prime Outlets does attract tourists from Canada, Buffalo, Rochester, and the Western New York area, therefore if terrorists were to hit the mall, they'd be affecting a large amount of people from all over, which would make the attack hit closer to home for a lot of people.

I've spoken with sources at the mall, who say that video of the incident, taken from mall security cameras, clearly shows the woman's face, was turned over to the FBI and the local Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Luckily, this incident took place minutes prior to the malls 9 PM closing time, so there were very little people left to evacuate, and no one was hurt.

[edit on 9-16-2004 by Valhall]

Valhall

posted on Sep, 16 2004 @ 05:18 AM

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Police in Niagara, New York, were contacted Monday night after witnesses saw a serious of suspicious events that culminated in a rather bizarre package being left just outside the main doors of the Prime Outlets Mall. Though the package is reported to have not contained anything explosive, authorities are not convinced the incident wasn't possibly a test run.

WGRZ Report
WIVB Report

"Just even the events leading up to it rise to an air of suspicion," said James Suitor, Town of Niagara Police Chief.

Authorities say witnesses told them the suitcase was left alongside a trash can by a woman of Middle Eastern descent. They say she then got back inside a rental van with Ontario plates. They also say at least three other men of Middle Eastern descent were inside.

"It just looked suspicious that the van was blocking the trash can in a weird sort of way," said eyewitness Mike Monaghan.

And before that, Monaghan says two of the men were inside the mall.

"They just walked down to the food court and walked back," he said.

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A bomb squad was brought in to investigate the package which was found to contain nothing but an old eletronic typewriter. Border authorities were contacted and the van was stopped on its way back to Canada. All passengers were found to have British passports and were allowed to travel on into Canada.

He [Chief Suitor of the Niagara police] and other local police were left pondering some scary thoughts.

"Is it just a mistake or is it a test? We certainly don't know that," he said.

What kind of test did he mean? He said some wondered if the suspects left the suitcase to see how authorities would react.

FBI officials say the have no reason to believe that, and that the event seems to be harmless.

But Suitor isn't entirely convinced.

"A coincidence? I don't know what to make of it yet," he said.

Meantime, FBI Officials say they know who the suspects are, and still may question them. Authorities say the suspects were allowed back into Canada because they committed no crime.

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tomh31

posted on Sep, 16 2004 @ 05:36 AM

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That sounds very suspicious. If i lived anywhere near there i'd sure be avoiding any visits to the mall.

taibunsuu

posted on Sep, 16 2004 @ 05:53 AM

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Oh God I'm scared it could have been Osama in a box.

Calculon386

posted on Sep, 17 2004 @ 02:40 PM

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Im really surprised this hasnt actually happened yet... After 9/11 and all the talk of 'sleeper cells' i thought an easy way to enact terror would be to activate 50 or so 'agents' and go in pairs into the malls (small and large) around the country (at the same times), whip out AK's and grenades and go nuts...

That would probably stop me in my tracks for a while.

It's a mad world out there.