Letters Warn of Terror Attack on Charleston

[Co11FireGal]

From WBOY-TV News (http://www.wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=3883&email=1):

Letters Warn of Terror Attack on Charleston
Posted 7/13/2005 08:24 AM

A joint terrorism task force says up to 70 letters have been sent to state businesses and people.
Story by The Associated Press

A joint terrorism task force has recovered between 60 and 70 threatening letters that have been sent to businesses and people in West Virginia and surrounding states.

FBI special agent Jeff Franks said most of the handwritten letters have come from Huntington. He said letters have been sent to the Charleston area since late May.

Charleston Newspapers received one of the letters Tuesday.

It says West Virginia is one of the top five states that will be hit, and specifically mentioned Charleston.

An article in Wednesday's Charleston Gazette says:

The writer wrote that, “Charleston WV, is one of the top five states that will be hit.” It noted nothing has yet occurred, “But it will, I’am [sic] here to warn you people, this will be a day you’ll never forget if you breath [sic] to make it threw, [sic] there are plans, were [sic] just waiting and waiting till one day.”
Franks said he believes the same person who mailed the letter may have sent the others, too.

The letters are being sent to the State Police lab so handwriting experts can make comparisons, and to an FBI lab to check for forensic evidence.

The Joint Terrorism Task Force investigating the letters was established by the FBI, state and local authorities.

[Dave1983]

Thats strange, I didnt know there was anything important in WV (government/econmoic/symbolic wise).

[mcaldwell]

This is obviously a homegrown wacko. Al Quaeda doesn't send 70 letters out to "warn" you.

Don't forget, there are still plenty of McVeigh wanabes out there waiting to snap.

[Firefighter1219]

I've never heard of Charleston, WV so it couldn't be that important. Why would they choose it over something like DC or a big city. It's disturbing nonetheless. I wonder if Havana has been targeted. :rolleyes:

Terrorists are smarter than that.

[Steamer]

Originally posted by Firefighter1219
I've never heard of Charleston, WV so it couldn't be that important. Why would they choose it over something like DC or a big city. It's disturbing nonetheless. I wonder if Havana has been targeted. :rolleyes:

Terrorists are smarter than that.
These notes are probably a local nitwit, but Charleston isn't completely out of the running for something like this. Remember these idjits only neesd to cause an "event" to scare the hell out of people, and they see it as a successful strike. It's the event itself that gets people's attention; not always the target they hit. It's usually people's minds they ultimately target.

Now why would someone hit Charleston, especially since it's importance hasn't been established because you've never heard of it? Let's see....
- homegrown grudge nut(s) wanting to make a point,
- Charleston is the W. Va. State Capital, and the largest city in the state, I believe (as such, I'm surprised you've never heard of it),
- pretty good sized chemical industry,
- mining industry,
- nearly 2 million people in the city, (versus Havana, FL at what...1713 according to the 2000 census? While we're at it, did you know that Oklahoma City's population is just over 500,000? I guess no one told McVey that Okie City was too small to create an incident.)
- response/LE capability nowhere near places like DC, NYC, or LA.

If nothing else, Co11FireGal's post should remind all of us that it's not just the middle eastern brand of terrorist that we need to be alert for; we have enough of our own folks with issues that they see as justifying action a la Timothy McVey.

[Co11FireGal]

Yes, "homegrown wacko" I'm sure...and really we don't have anything of national/international importance. LOL, I wouldn't go as far as Firefighter1219 in saying that Charleston isn't important, considering it is our state capital and one of the largest cities in the state, though still not what some would consider large with a population of just over 57,000 (daytime population much, MUCH higher). The capitol building (http://www.charlestonwv.com/visiting_chas/capitol.asp) itself has some historical significance, but nothing that you would think would mean anything to a terrorist. We do have a rather important FBI facility in the state, but not near Charleston. The complex made the news the first time in 1996 when 7 men in the Mountaineer Militia (http://www.adl.org/mwd/mountain.asp), an antigovernment paramilitary group, were arrested on charges of plotting to blow it up...they were in possession of floor plans obtained by a local fire captain from the dept.'s pre-planning materials.

I have read a couple of different articles on these recent letters and some have just said that 5 states have been targeted, others said "WV and surrounding states" which would specifically mean Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania...dunno, guess we'll see...:mad:

[hwoods]

There is a lot more to West Virginia than you may think. The Kanawha River Valley, where Charleston is located, has a lot of Industrial development, as does the Teays Valley over to Huntington. Chemical plants abound thru St. Albans, Nitro, Dunbar, and South Charleston. Thia area could be targeted by the "Green" nuts because of this. Other Eco-terrorism targets could include the state's coal mining industry. The burning of Fossil fuels has been linked to global Warming, by some researchers.

[adamkhalil]

Unfortunately Al Quedas only warning's seem to go 'boom.' I think they follow the thought that actions speak louder than words...especially very wrongly spelled words with poor grammar.

[hwoods]

After thinking about it for a bit, I'm wondering if the Forums will be investigated by the F.B.I. in the same way that they are looking at the "Threat" letters. After all, a lot of the grammar is similar........ :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[RyanEMVFD]

70 letters huh? At least the post office got something out of it. :rolleyes:

[Steamer]

I posted incorrect info above on the population of the city of Charleston. I got it from an old Federal Assessment document that listed the state capitals with the state population totals. I noticed it when I saw the population listed for Columbus, Ohio, and recognized that it way too high for the city's population. That was my fault, and I stand corrected.

[doughesson]

I am of the opinion that while everyone is gearing up to prevent more hijackings or loading transit busses with bombs,the terrs will be thinking up what else they could do.
In a fight,you do not throw the same punch or move too often,otherwise your opponent will be ready for it and have a counter that puts you on your ass.
Wevvy has schools,airports,shopping centers and the like,just like Paducah Ky.Which would be a bigger horror,getting ready to mail your car payment in,only to see on TV that the car loan building had been bombed,or that your neighborhood school had been taken over and threats against the children are being made and/or carried out?


Originally posted by Firefighter1219
I've never heard of Charleston, WV so it couldn't be that important. Why would they choose it over something like DC or a big city. It's disturbing nonetheless. I wonder if Havana has been targeted. :rolleyes:

Terrorists are smarter than that.