The Governor Perry school scare was in fact a hoax
Well as I said a few days ago, Governor Rick got all our children upset and paranoid over a terrorist threat against the schools that was always a hoax. All this just to usurp some press from WorldPeace in the governor's race. Governor Rick needs to solve the problem instead of scaring our children.
I hope he never does this again during this, his last year in office.
John WorldPeace
The next governor of Texas
December 14, 2001
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Dec. 14, 2001, 10:32PM
Threat against schools not credible
Officials withdraw warning, but tell public to be watchful
By POLLY ROSS HUGHES
Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau
AUSTIN -- Law enforcement officials said Friday that a vague terrorist threat against Texas schools is not credible but refused to comment about a connection to a Pakistani suspect.
"The threat warning has been withdrawn, and Texas law enforcement officials stress that Texas schools are safe," said a statement issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
On Wednesday, state officials alerted educators across Texas to a vague and unsubstantiated threat against a school in retaliation for the bombing in Afghanistan.
"Despite the fact that this has turned out to be a not credible threat, it's important for law enforcement and the public to continue to be alert and vigilant," said DPS spokesman Tom Vinger.
On Tuesday, the FBI's counterterrorism division in Washington sent an alert to its regional offices to be on the lookout for a Pakistani man.
"That communication did go out from FBI headquarters," Washington FBI spokesman Bill Carter confirmed.
The alert further instructed that the individual "is wanted in connection to threats to some schools in Texas and unidentified target in Las Vegas, Nev."
It said the 5-foot-8, 132-pound Pakistani man goes by at least five different aliases and had been incarcerated at Millbrook Provincial Corrections in Canada on immigration and criminal matters. The alert said the man was released Dec. 5 and gave his age as 26 or 32.
If law enforcement officials encounter the man, the FBI alert said, he should be arrested, pending federal charges from Louisville, Ky., and the local FBI field office should be contacted.
Carter in Washington and FBI special agent Bob Doguim in Houston refused to comment on the current status of the man named in the alert.
They would not say whether he had been arrested, whether an arrest had caused the withdrawal of the school threat or whether the suspect had been cleared based on faulty information from informants.
FBI special agent Al Cruz in the El Paso regional office said information about the threat came from two people who had been arrested.
The possible targets, Cruz said Friday, were Texas schools and a casino in Las Vegas. He added that the threats applied to this week.
The FBI alerted state officials Tuesday evening who, in turn, alerted schools Wednesday in various ways and at different times of the day.
Wednesday morning, news organizations learned of the threat through what appeared simultaneous announcements, from the FBI office in Houston and Land Commissioner David Dewhurst, chairman of the Texas Task Force on Homeland Security.
By early afternoon, after receiving calls from reporters about comments from the FBI and Dewhurst, Gov. Rick Perry held a news conference attended by state education and law enforcement officials.
The governor stressed that this was a "low-level" threat.
"I am proud Texas -- especially parents, teachers and school administrators -- reacted in a calm and reassuring way in response to information regarding this vague and unsubstantiated threat," Perry said Friday.
"I'm pleased that further investigation by law enforcement officials has determined this threat as not being credible," he said.
In October, hospitals in Baltimore were warned of a possible anthrax attack, and in early November there was a threat of rush-hour terror attacks against four California bridges. Neither threat turned out to be credible.
Office of Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge is considering a national four-stage system to assess the seriousness of threats. The system would be aimed at helping law enforcement officials react to a terror warning.