Man On Terror Watch List Arrested On Brooklyn Bridge

man arrested on brooklyn bridge

NY1 reports:SEPTEMBER 10TH, 2002


Police arrested two men, one of whom is on an FBI terrorist watch list, after stopping a suspicious minivan on the Brooklyn Bridge Tuesday morning.

Police started tailing the green Dodge Caravan after noticing its Indiana license plate was registered to a different vehicle. The van was stopped by a highway patrol unit on the bridge, and the two occupants were taken into custody after one of their names came up on an FBI watch list.

Police emphasized that the man has a common Arabic name and that they have not confirmed whether he is the same individual on the list. Besides suspected terrorists or associates, such lists also include many people simply wanted for questioning and not suspected of any crimes.

A bomb squad inspected the van and determined it was not dangerous.

The two men, whose identities have not been released, were taken to the 5th Precinct stationhouse in Chinatown, where members of the NYPD/FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force are questioning them. Their van was towed there as well for further inspection.

The Brooklyn-bound side of the bridge was closed briefly when the men were stopped, around 9:30 a.m., but all lanes have since reopened.

The arrests come at a time of heightened alert with the approach of the one-year anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. According to the Associated Press, the federal government is raising the nationwide terror alert level to orange, signaling a "high" risk of an attack, through Wednesday. This is the first time the alert has reached as high as orange – one step below the top red level, meaning "severe" risk – since the color-coded system went into effect.

A government official told the AP that the announcement will be made by Attorney General John Ashcroft and Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge on Tuesday afternoon. That official did not give the reason for the change in status, but another official said there is specific and credible information about threats to U.S. embassies overseas, according to the AP.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the federal alerts have typically not affected New York City, which remains on its highest level of alert.

Check back with NY1.com for more updates on this story as they become available.

also reports of possible subway attacks