The FBI thwarted an alleged attempted terrorist car bombing by a 19-year-old Somalia-born U.S. citizen who the feds say attempted to detonate a car bomb at a Portland Christmas tree lighting ceremony Friday night.
The male was arrested by the FBI, who had been monitoring him for months in an undercover operation. The 19-year-old reportedly had been in contact with an associate in Pakistan during the initial stage of the plot.
Fortunately, this alleged teen terrorism car bomb plot did not target a school. While I do not wish to be alarmist, in general we have dropped the ball in tackling head-on the issue of schools and terrorism.
Are you prepared if a teen terrorism suspect attends your school? What if a terror plot focused on a large school event gathering or during the regular school day?
Ken Trump
Visit School Security Blog at: http://www.schoolsecurityblog.com
Ken, you are right on task with this post. In recent months we have lost our understanding of what is required in a comprehensive school safety plan. This is a much different country since 911 and schools must return to the basics of school preparedness. It is interesting to me that at the federal level we seem to have forgotten the four phases of preparedness. Thanks for being a voice for reason in protecting our children and schools.