Trackbacked at the Pirate’s Cove:
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Web site claims dirty bombs will be set off in Georgia Dome, 6 other stadiums Sunday.
Security officials expressed doubts Wednesday about an Internet posting that said the Georgia Dome and six other NFL stadiums will be hit by radiological dirty bombs this weekend.
The threat, which appeared in a Web conversation on at least three Internet sites and was titled “New Attack on America Be Afraid,” had law enforcement officials scrambling in Atlanta, New York, Miami, Seattle, Houston, Oakland and Cleveland, where the attacks would take place outside stadiums during games Sunday.
On Wednesday, after alerting the NFL, officials for the Department of Homeland Security said the threat appeared to lack substance.
The Georgia Dome is the only stadium mentioned by name in the Internet warning. According to the claim, the bombs would be delivered by trucks outside the stadiums in the six cities and would be set to explode “near simultaneous.”
The Internet author boasted that “the death toll will approach 100,000 from the initial blasts and countless other fatalities will later occur as result from radioactive fallout.” The date of the Oct. 22 attack could be significant: That is the final day in Mecca of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month.
Officials from the Georgia Dome, NFL security, Georgia Homeland Security, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, the GBI, Atlanta Police and the FBI met Wednesday afternoon to coordinate monitoring the Internet threat and continue investigating it, according to a state official briefed on the meeting. WSB-TV reported a similar account.
The Atlanta Falcons released a statement that said, “We are aware of the recent reports, and the Department of Homeland Security has been in communication with the League office. The DHS has judged that the threat is not credible. All NFL stadiums, including the Georgia Dome, are very well-protected through comprehensive security procedures. The Georgia Dome has and continues to hold safety and security as a top priority for our fans.”
A spokesman for Gov. Sonny Perdue, Dan McLagan, said: “The governor has been informed and our state officials are working in conjunction with the local and federal authorities looking into this.”
Probably a lame claim made by a disgruntled 14-year-old that can’t get tickets to Sunday’s game. Nevertheless in today’s climate you cannot just excuse the threat. Hopefully this jerk left an electronic “paper trail” and they will soon be serving hard time in federal prison … and become the new “best girlfriend” of a mass murderer doing four life sentences.
On a related note: this threat is absolutely useless. The Atlanta Falcons will bomb well enough without any outside assistance from a terrorist.
UPDATE – FRIDAY OCTOBER 20 – 5:53 AM: Internet threats of “dirty bomb” attacks at NFL stadiums this weekend were a hoax inspired by a writing competition between two men trying to come up with scary threats, a law enforcement official said Thursday.
The threats, which were posted on a Web site last week and mentioned stadiums in seven U.S. cities, were deemed to be false by the FBI on Thursday after agents questioned a 20-year-old Milwaukee man.
dirty bomb, Georgia Dome, Atlanta
