 Federal authorities are detaining at least one man of Egyptian origin who worked at a Middle Eastern market in Baltimore in connection with a threat that closed Interstate 95 and the Harbor and Fort McHenry tunnels after concern over a suspected terrorist plot to blow up one of the tunnels. The shutdown caused gridlock throughout the metropolitan region as police and federal agents investigated the threat.
| Callers to WBAL also said there were some people rounded up on the other side of the city... |
Federal law enforcement officials said the threat was made against an unspecified tunnel by an informant in a foreign country who said suspects were men of Egyptian origin living in the Baltimore area. The official said investigators had several names, but had no arrest warrants. The informant's information was uncorroborated, the official said.
| "Hey, Mahmoud! Watch the teevee this afternoon! One o' the tunnels in Bawlmer's gonna go boom!" |
The informant is being detained in an unspecified foreign country because of potential immigration violations. It was unclear whether the man was a United States citizen, the sources said.
| I'm not too sure why that would make any difference... |
The investigation has been ongoing for the past two or three days, but the decision to close the tunnels was made by the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, who apparently were concerned that the suspects may act as word of the investigation got out. According to the source, who has been briefed on the investigation, the detained man is associated with Koko Market in the 6000 block of Eastern Avenue in Highlandtown. Authorities led the man from the market early this afternoon, putting him inside a black sport utility vehicle. Landlord Mike Loukakis said his tenant, Majed Hussein, has run a store there for seven years. "He was nice to everybody," Loukakis said.
| Booming people isn't nice. |
A woman who answered the phone at Hussein's White Marsh home said her husband was not home and she has not been able to speak with him.
| Guess he's still in jug, then... |
There were unconfirmed reports on the WJZ-TV Web site that the plot involved taking a bomb-laden delivery truck from the market into a tunnel, where it would be detonated.
| I heard that, too. The Transportation Cops — they're responsible for the two tunnels, the bridge, the airport, and the Port of Baltimore — ran the show, with participation by the state police, Baltimore city and county police, and the FBI. They're a top-notch organization and it was almost hee-hee-larious listening to chief Gary McLhinney deal with the reporters at the press conference this afternoon with Gov. Ehrlich. He didn't quite tell the Sun's ink-stained wretches and the teevee hair-do crowd not to get stuck on stoopid, but it was a close-run thing. The city's pretty-boy mayor complained that he had heard about the operation from the news, but McLhinney pointed out that they'd been running a TOC since Sunday afternoon, with the participation of the city cops. He didn't add that if they didn't tell their boss that was tough nails — the transportation cops are a state agency, not the city's. |
Baltimore Police Commissioner Leonard Hamm told the Associated Press that authorities made about a half-dozen raids in the Baltimore area about 1 p.m. Authorities reopened portions of I-95 and the Harbor and Fort McHenry tunnels about 1:30 p.m.
| They closed one tunnel and partially closed the other. Traffic was re-routed to use the Francis Scott Key bridge. I went across the bridge at just about 1.30 — I was listening to McLhinney's announcement that the tunnel was reopening as I was approaching the bridge, and made it to my meeting almost on time, so they did a pretty smooth job with the traffic, except for the poor souls who were caught in the immediate line for the tunnels. They said that once the closure was announced they had all the vehicles out of the tunnels within two minutes. |
"Acting out of an abundance of caution [the Maryland Transportation Authority Police] elected late this morning to close the Harbor Tunnel in both directions and to allow only limited access at the Fort McHenry tunnel," said Jim Pettit, a spokesman for the governor's office of homeland security. The federal Department of Homeland Security and FBI issued a joint statement saying the two agencies last week shared information with state and local law enforcement officials about the potential threat. The agencies said the threat's credibility was undetermined and did not specify a tunnel in the Baltimore area. The agencies said they support whatever precautions local and state authorities take to deal with the potential threats while attempting to secure the public safety. The agencies said their investigation into the threat is continuing. Authorities released few details today. "I cannot speak specifically about the threat at this time," said Gary McLhinney, chief of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police. But McLhinney defended closing the tunnels.
| One of the things the press missed on the chief's announcement was that there wasn't any waffle to it. "We've determined there is no danger," he said, if I remember his exact words correctly. That would imply that either they got confirmation that the threat was bogus, which doesn't fit with the arrests on both sides of the city, or that they found the KoKo truck. Whether it was full of explosives or pizza, I have no idea, but Majed wasn't home last I heard... |
"The number one priority is the safety of the citizens of Maryland who are traveling on our roadways. We will always err on the side of public safety. ... We have not found anything that causes us great concern at this point."
| So maybe it was full of pizza and it was all a false alarm. I don't mind them erring on the side of caution, since I do occasionally drive the tunnel... |
The area most immediately affected during the closures was I-95 near the tunnels and Key Highway, which is also near the Maryland Port. Police were seen stopping trucks and vans and searching with dogs. At the Fort McHenry Tunnel, police barricaded lanes and then ushered the public out of an office near the tolls. |