http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/02/13/inv.teddy.bear.terrorist/index.html
Alert issued for potential teddy
bear bombs
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN)
-- The FBI has issued an alert to 350
law enforcement agencies in the
southwest and Salt Lake City for
potential Valentine teddy bear
bombs after a suspicious transaction
at a Wal-Mart last month.
Law enforcement sources
said
authorities also were on
the alert at
airports in case the
suspected
bear-bombs might be
carried onto
airplanes on Valentine's
Day.
The FBI said a
clean-shaven male,
possibly of Middle
Eastern descent,
purchased nine Valentine
teddy bears,
20 inches tall, and 14
canisters of
propane, 9 inches tall, small enough to fit inside the
teddy bears. The man also
bought 12 packets of BBs -- small, round projectiles
usually fired from air
guns.
He paid in cash on January 15 at the Wal-Mart in
Stevenson Ranch,
California, about 25 miles north of Los Angeles. He
left in a white GMC or
Chevrolet delivery truck.
"After September 11, that purchase warrants that we
take a closer look," FBI
spokesman Matthew McLaughlin said. Authorities were
notified February 4,
McLaughlin said.
Authorities emphasized that the man has committed no
crime, but the purchase
has raised suspicions and authorities want to question
him about it.
At the same time, authorities want Americans to be on
the lookout for
suspicious packages on Valentine's Day due to the
level of concern over the
purchase.
The man was captured on surveillance tape and his
picture was included in the
alert to law enforcement agencies.
[Propane, and propane accessories?]
