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Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Homeland Security Issues Warning on Sports Arenas
March 4, 2008
March Madness: Homeland Security Issues Warning on Sports Arenas
FBI and DHS Issue Warning Just in Time for March Madness
By RICHARD ESPOSITO
As the spring sports season moves into high gear, the Department of
Homeland Security and the FBI today issued an assessment, called "Potential
Threats to Popular Sports and Entertainment Venues," that said
arenas and stadiums are attractive "potential targets during events."
The assessment repeatedly noted that the FBI and DHS have no "information on any credible or specific current terrorism plots to attack stadiums or arenas in the United States."
The report, however, said "operational planning and surveillance against sporting facilities are often difficult to detect," and college and professional basketball playoffs, the stock car racing season, hockey playoffs and horse racing's Triple Crown are among the events that "regularly bring tens of thousands of fans...into large open-access facilities."
Prepared at the request of the private sector with input from federal agencies, the report is intended to provide "decision makers with the broad, analytically-based threat information necessary to inform investment priorities and program design."
"The FBI and DHS put out a joint bulletin for law enforcement concerning potential threats against sporting events. This is routine; we have no current threats against sports venues," FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said in a statement...
-- Source/continues at: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4387469&page=1