TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Recent terror attacks have put a fresh edge on worries about terrorism near our homes.
In the bombing in New York, the arrest of Ahmad Rahami was a combination of investigation by many parts of law enforcement, and an alert civilian---a bar owner who recognized Rahimi from news reports.
A lot of the responsibility for your safety happens in an FBI building just west of Tucson's downtown. It is home to the Joint Terrorism Task Force. Its' responsibility is Southern Arizona.
The arrest of Ahmad Rahami shows coordination among law enforcement agencies, and the public.
In Tucson, FBI Special Agent David French leads Southern Arizona's Joint Terrorism Task Force. The task force brings together a wide range of law enforcement with the idea that each agency may hold an important part of the big picture but regular citizens may know something critical too.
Agent French says, “Some examples would be someone talking photographs of a government facility or a facility that could be related to an infrastructure like a water facility, things like that. Vehicles that don't belong in a neighborhood perhaps or maybe someone driving by a facility like a synagogue or a church or something they may not normally belong in."
But is our border a gateway for terrorists?
French says, "I know that's what people are interested in; are they marching across the border? Are they coming across the border en masse? It's really just reporting that we get that we have to check out. It may sound like it's more than it is but we do vet out everything that we see and there haven't been any credible threats that we've had to address in Southern Arizona."
In Minnesota, a man knifed 10 people before an off duty police officer killed him. Agent French did not offer specific advice on how you might see someone's about to lash out. He did say stay alert but not so tied in knots that fear ruins your life.
