Alert: Possible Terror-related activity in NW Ohio

Originally posted by Malynn

Originally posted by Feltrick
OP, great story but its too great of a story. Why would an FBI Agent disclose to you or your friend that there were other "terror related arrests" and that they didn't go to the university listed on the Visas? How was your friend able to get all of the details? I just don't buy it. Sounds like a bad plot for 24.

That's what I want to know. Why in the hell would an FBI agent disclose the details of an investigation to some dude?

Because that's the way it works. They will "drop" this or that, just to see if it jogs any further memories loose. They will also engage an informant in conversation to set them at ease and make them think they are "on the inside". It's generally never information that is crucial, and it's almost always divulged "off the record" in conspiratorial tones, but it's done every day to bond informants.

Originally posted by garberinc
He then told my friend that they called the university the four men claimed to have student visas to attend. The university denied have anyone enrolled on a student visa from Saudi Arabia. So, the plot thickens.

This part sounds so incredibly made up. First of all, regular police policy is not to tell you squat about what they know, unless it is to force your hand. So you can be as sure as the nose on your face the FBI would never make a courtesy call to your friend and let him know what they discovered in an investigation. Nonsense.

reply to post by OhZone


I dont dissagree with you but I just think the story is bogus. I do think profiling is a good thing. I live in a really shotty city man.. and 9 times out of 10 the cops catch criminals before the crime. I highly doubt FBI would be giving these two people a play by play of what has been going on in their investigation. But again thats what this site is for so....

reply to post by EmceeTrick


DOH you beat me to it

Originally posted by Feltrick
reply to post by garberinc

 

Well, IF this story is true then you need to immediately call the Agent's supervisor, letting he/she know that the agent you spoke with has compromised an ongoing investigation. A simple slip up like "...they are training" can do more harm than you can imagine. Posting that statement on the Internet, if true, could alert a cell so they disappear.

In effect, YOU have compromised the security of this nation. Again, only if this story is true.

The way i read it, the "they" did not identify these specific individuals, it was a general observation that "terrorists" are training in the area. That should come as a surprise to no one - Detroit isn't far from there. It's not a compromise of an investigation, it's just general fluff to open up an informant, a confirmation of what ought to already be common knowledge.

Originally posted by FlySolo
reply to post by EmceeTrick

 

DOH you beat me to it

hahahah i was waisting time correcting my spelling hahahahah but im glad to see someone with my view point...

Originally posted by FlySolo

Originally posted by garberinc
He then told my friend that they called the university the four men claimed to have student visas to attend. The university denied have anyone enrolled on a student visa from Saudi Arabia. So, the plot thickens.

This part sounds so incredibly made up. First of all, regular police policy is not to tell you squat about what they know, unless it is to force your hand. So you can be as sure as the nose on your face the FBI would never make a courtesy call to your friend and let him know what they discovered in an investigation. Nonsense.

edit on 18-5-2012 by FlySolo because: (no reason given)

It could have been in the form of a question - "are you sure this was the school they had visas for? Because the school can't find a record of them. Might it have been some other school?" A sort of "I don't believe your story is quite right - is there something you forgot or misremembered?"

Shaking info out of the tree. It requires shaking the tree some times.

reply to post by OtherSideOfTheCoin


Nice work. That was pretty simple eh? A little too simple if you know what I mean.

reply to post by nenothtu


regardless of a call to verify, they would not be telling them anything and im still trying to figure out why they didnt request the number of the friend and call him since this OP wast even there... just doesnt sound right sorry.. FBI would be careless to that type of thing if it happened.

I hang out in Rossford, Perrysburg and Maumee (Walbridge too once in awhile). The "foreigners" thing is a bit strange around there. They really stand out. I'd be suspicious as well. Scary.

Many many "good-ole-boy-redneck-plow-boys" around there. And we KNOW they dont ake to anyone foreign.

reply to post by nenothtu


True. However, no school name was mentioned in the OP. They said they were in the area. And the other poster already found a couple of universities in the Toledo area. So the FBI wouldn't need to ask those questions

Originally posted by garberinc
Super Mod "Don't Tread on Me" advised to post this here and it will be moved to appropriate forum.

I'm a long time reader, first time poster!

I live in NW Ohio near Toledo in a rural area. Two Sundays ago, a good friend of mine went to a local and very rural gun range to practice his skills. He has his CCW permit and goes there frequently. On this day he was getting ready to shoot, when four "Arabic looking" men came in. They spoke broken English and requested access to the range. As per the rules of the range, they had to provide ID. They each produced Student Visas from Saudi Arabia and said they were attending a university in the area. My friend said each wallet was brand new, had crisp cash in it and the student visa only.
The men requested to shoot an American made Uzi specifically. They said they were new to shooting, and that they never fired and Uzi and wanted to try.
While on the range, my friend watched them. He said one of the men was clearly trained or had experience in using an Uzi or other similar firearm. He said he was center mass on every shot. he said they spoke a lot among themselves in a foreign language and the "leader" was showing the others how to shoot the weapon.
When my friend left, he said the same vehicles were parked outside as when he came in, but the four men were still inside the range shooting. He figures they were dropped off.
There were many red flags, as you can read above. After hearing this info, I couldn't not say anything. I asked my friend to call the FBI tip line, but he said he didn't want to get anyone in trouble, didn't want the gun range owner to be mad at him, or whatever.
I couldn't take it. We have a nuclear power plant in our county, only a few miles from this gun range! So, I called the local FBI office. The agent took all the info and seemed very interested. He said they would send a team to investigate the gun range. I asked him if he has heard of this type of activity in the area. The agent said, "all I can say is that we have made terror related arrests in the Toledo area. This is what they are doing.... they are in training". My jaw dropped. This could be the real deal!
I told my friend this info and now he is on board with reporting it to the FBI. He called the agent and got involved. A few days ago, another FBI agent called my friend and asked a few more questions. He then told my friend that they called the university the four men claimed to have student visas to attend. The university denied have anyone enrolled on a student visa from Saudi Arabia. So, the plot thickens.

I guess the point of this post is to let any ATS readers know in NW Ohio that there definitely is some suspicious activity in our area. Please be vigilant. Please report anything you see that is unusual. The FBI is very interested in any and all tips, no matter how seemingly minute. Who knows if this will amount to anything, but I can sleep better knowing I did my part by reporting it to the authorities.

Thank you for reading. And, it's my first time, so go easy on me!

Why didn't he take pictures of them.?

Originally posted by FenderWolf
Real terrorist ask for AK's.

No they don't.
AK's are of crappy build and overheat and jam way to easy!
UZI's are better built and don't have the inherent issues and are more accurate after they are "heated up" as the AK's overheat and jam lol!

Originally posted by mysterioustranger
I hang out in Rossford, Perrysburg and Maumee (Walbridge too once in awhile). The "foreigners" thing is a bit strange around there. They really stand out. I'd be suspicious as well. Scary.

Many many "good-ole-boy-redneck-plow-boys" around there. And we KNOW they dont ake to anyone foreign.

well, FOX has a clip out about the various muslim camps around america...i know this is FOX, but these seem to be real.

www.military.com...

reply to post by garberinc


Interesting, although I'd be suspicious of the FBI.

You all do know that they sell Uzis all over the Uzis that are not select fire? I would imagine that if self professed gun noobs would have a great deal of trouble renting a class III (select fire/full auto) weapon form a range. Maybe Knob Creek Shoot but not some rural gun range. So the idea of renting a semi auto version of the Uzi is not really hard to believe.

Not to say the OPs story can't be fake but I have seen many replies from what I can only think are people with not a whole lot of gun knowledge. Even semi auto with the plentiful 32 round mags for these weapons make them a pretty decent choice for anyone that wants to sling a lot of lead in a short amount of time. If I can empty a 1911 with 8+1 into a target and be pretty accurate in a little less than 4 seconds then someone that does have any experience with the semi Uzi could push a lot of 9mms in the air pretty quick. Though if it was me I'd lean to a Glock 19 or 17. You can get the big 32 round mags for them too and the lower bore axis makes them a little easier to control.

If it where to be some mid east students wanting to have some good old American fun I would think they would want something more American like a 1911, misc. revolver. So their choice would be a little strange to me also. Providing the OPs tale is a true one.

I also can't believe that everyone believes that the FBI would never say this or that. Believe me they have their fair share of dumba**es in their ranks just like any other LEO dept. I can't count the times I've overheard different cops form local, state, and federal say things at the range I used to shoot at in south central Ky. Sure someone would shut them up kind of quick but not before you would hear something about some upcoming bust or something of that nature. But living in the sticks causes people to put their guard down sometimes. It was a public range and it was not uncommon to see any of the LEO to be out there shooting their carry ammo as target loads. All I'm trying to say is even the big boys screw up sometimes.

Is it profiling? Sure! But the average American sees every day where Arab looking people want to kill Americans. They hold up signs all over the MSM news stating just that. If the New Black Panther people where shooting at other Americans then I would imagine that people would be pretty leery about black guys at a gun range. That does no have to be the work of a bigot. It's like the Mexican thing in Az. They are wanting to look for illegal Mexican people in their state. So should they pull over a white guy?

I wont go so far as to say the OP is a 100% factual account. But it can happen. To say it can't is just simply close minded and shows a severe lack of logic. Calling outright BS without being there to actually know is just as hard headed as saying it has to be the gospel truth.. The OP told his story and explained how he reacted withing that story. I can't say I would have done the same (made the call to the feds). But I can say it would have got my attention if I was there and had seen what was explained in the OP. I wouldn't go to Germany and buy a Budweiser and If I was an Arab at an American gun range I think I would have been much more inclined to rent a weapon made in the U.S. A. or anywhere else but the Mid East or the Russian AK. But it is a 9mm so maybe it was the lure of the cheaper ammo.

Men will be men, and they all like guns, maybe because guns do not discriminate. Don't you just love these for-friend posts? They could be practicing on legal guns, training here, to go back home to their family in another country, with some skills. That would be too easy. Luckily they went to a firing range to show their faces. Firing ranges are crawling with veterans and agents and police, plus former varieties of the same.

It is a framework, the drug dealers love universities full of naive curious students with large disposeable incomes and the chance to drop out for drugs. Parties, spring break, summer vacation.

When I was a student, I took a class where an Arab-looking man attended. He said he had lived in Egypt, in front of the entire class, and could read and speak fluent Arabic, and he acted a devout Muslim. No problem right? Have an open mind, do not discriminate, do not question why after such heated war, this guy wants to be in the States. His family is probably oil rich, or he is fleeing tyranny, right? He wants to start over.

Skip forward a couple years, I am surfing Interpol, and this man's face shows up. He is wanted for fraud in a middle east nation, plus more. So as soon as I see that, I notify the FBI. They say, no crime, nothing to report based on my claims. I had a pile of information, they did not want it. I have had to call police on these Kuwait criminals, very close to home in the Midwest, some of them already have roots with caucasian Christian acting wives and teenaged kids by now, trained to run the farm, complete with underground storage of weapons and drugs, mostly for the meth epidemic, as the poster faces of terrorism although they are supported by local AMERICAN communities.

Yes, there are terrorists in the States right now. They sneak in under fake IDs, mostly hispanic ones, or Indian programmer ones, forged Visas, and even fake money. They get in through corruption at the DHS - Texoma is hot right now and silence will not save me, and the Plano FBI has a mole or two I believe ( there goes trust in them to save the day). There must be over a dozen of Middle Eastern types based on my observations. Illegal immigrants until they get caught for a crime, and the law enforcement agencies play musical chairs with the responsibility. But the truth is, the nation is corrupt at the moment, despite shouts of patriotism from soldiers.

I believe you when you give this account. Two weeks ago sounds right for uzi training. Wherever you saw them they have drivers, whoever likes money, but I swear to God I have seen Marines driving these types around. They want the Keystone Pipeline, to get their tentacles around that. In the meantime they are mostly doing all the things that get you arrested here, and going to school. FBI is watching of course, but from my observation, its more like supervision to make sure a terror event goes as planned. News companies need news.

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000

More important though..and why it gets my attention they'd even think or know the difference.... The BOLT is different as I understand this and someone correct me if I'm wrong on the Uzi specifically. However, on the AK's and AR-/M-16 family, all post ban ones may be imported with a foreign frame and receiver group but the BOLT is different to make modification to full auto fire considerably more difficult than the few parts to swap that used to be the case. It's why a TRUE pre-ban Colt AR-15 costs a bloody fortune with 0's on the end compared to a $1,200 AR-15 which appears identical on the gun show table.

On AR's and AK's, the bolt is the same, but the bolt carrier is slightly different. An M-16 carrier has a fully round rear section, and an AR-15 carrier has the bottom part of the ring removed so that there is no surface to trip an auto sear. On an AK, there is a small nib on the right rear bottom surface that trips the auto sear which is ground off in the semi-auto versions. Both also have modifications to the receivers to prevent installation of an auto sear in the first place, so that there is not even one present to be tripped, Both also have different disconnectors in the trigger group, with various lugs missing to prevent auto fire by manually disengaging the disconnector and allowing "slam fire", and both have different hammers, again with lugs missing (notch at the bottom of an AK hammer, lug at the top of an M-16 hammer) to engage the auto sears - which already aren't there, since they can't be installed without receiver modifications..

I'm not as familiar with the internal differences between semi and full auto Uzis, But I believe they would also be along those lines.

It's now illegal to import foreign AK receivers. They all have to be US made on new weapons now, even if some of the internals are imported. The receiver is what the BATFE actually classifies as the weapon itself - even if it's naked and empty. the receiver is the registered, serial numbered part that counts as the gun. I can get an AK "kit" from overseas, but some parts will be missing and the receiver cut and destroyed. I would then have to purchase US made receiver to install the parts in, and scrounge some of the parts - barrels, I believe, are one of the now banned from importation parts.

Originally posted by Sandalphon
Men will be men, and they all like guns, maybe because guns do not discriminate.

Men like guns for the same reason they (we) like anything else. If I can do something here...and have something cool happen over there...it is a man's thing. Remote control, gun, hand grenade, RC vehicles, any sport with a ball, etc. We are quite simple creatures

Originally posted by mysterioustranger
I hang out in Rossford, Perrysburg and Maumee (Walbridge too once in awhile). The "foreigners" thing is a bit strange around there. They really stand out. I'd be suspicious as well. Scary.

Many many "good-ole-boy-redneck-plow-boys" around there. And we KNOW they dont ake to anyone foreign.

I am one of those good ol boy redneck plow boys.........born and raised.......

And i absolutely love foreigners and other cultures........

Making blanket statements about them "rednecks and hillbillies" and "plow boys" is just as ignorant as making blanket statements about "foreigners" being terrorists