Crime & Safety

Local Police Vigilant in Wake of Possible Terror Threat

Metro, airport, local police staying alert; ask residents to report any suspicious activity

Area police are working closely with a regional intelligence center to share any information about possible threats in the wake of a "credible" terror threat looming against the Washington, D.C. area or New York City on or near the Sunday anniversary of 9/11.

"Our officers in our criminal intelligence unit participate in the regional intelligence center and have a direct pipeline with our state and federal partners," said Lucy Caldwell, public information officer for the Fairfax County Police. 

Area police chiefs met with the FBI Friday morning. All police chiefs in Washington and Northern Virginia were invited to the meeting, along with representatives of the 34 federal, state and local partner agencies under the Joint Terrorism Task Force, said Lindsay Godwin, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Washington field office. That office has jurisdiction over Northern Virginia. It wasn't immediately clear how many attended the meeting.

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"They share information on situational awareness," she said. "This unit also shares information with patrol officers (on the street) and encourages first responders to be aware of any specific information to look for, especially under heightened states such as this."

In Fairfax County, Caldwell noted that while there is no specific threat toward the county right now, any incident that occurred in our area would result in a regional response. "We continue to encourage residents to 'if you see something, say something' call police on suspicious activity, people vehicles at 703-691-2131 or 9-1-1,' " Caldwell said.

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On what the FBI is doing in response to the threat, Godwin declined to comment beyond the statement that's been released by the Department of Homeland Security.

That statement:

"As we know from the intelligence gathered from the Osama bin Laden raid, al-Qaida has shown an interest in important dates and anniversaries, such as 9/11. In this instance, it’s accurate that there is specific, credible but unconfirmed threat information. As we always do before important dates like the anniversary of 9/11, we will undoubtedly get more reporting in the coming days. Sometimes this reporting is credible and warrants intense focus, other times it lacks credibility and is highly unlikely to be reflective of real plots underway.

"Regardless, we take all threat reporting seriously, and we have taken, and will continue to take all steps necessary to mitigate any threats that arise. We continue to ask the American people to remain vigilant as we head into the weekend."

Metro Transit Police say although there is no specific or credible threat against Metro, "we are working in close coordination with local and federal agencies."

Patrols have been increased for the 9/11 anniversary, a measure that had been planned before reports began to surface of a possible threat, Metro said. "We will continue these and other steps as necessary to protect Metro's customers, employees and assets," the transportation entity noted in a news release.

Customers using Metro this weekend are reminded to report any suspicious activity or unattended packages when traveling on the system. To contact Metro Transit Police, call (202) 962-2121.

At Reagan National Airport, the Airports Authority Police Department is working with its partner law enforcement agencies and the Transportation Security Administration "as always to ensure that we have a high level of attention to security at our airports every day but particularly surrounding the anniversary of September 11, 2001," said Kimberly Gibbs, assistant media relations manager for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

The airport will observe a moment of silence on Sunday morning at 8:46 a.m.

Congress designated Sept. 11 of each year as Patriot Day and has requested the observance of September 11 as an annually recognized National Day of Service and Remembrance.

Northern Virginia has numerous events planned this weekend to honor the victims of the attacks and the first responders who were called to the devastating scenes on 9/11. Ten years ago, 184 people died in the attack on the Pentagon.


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