Now that IS Sinai has apparently devised an "innovative" way of getting bombs onto passenger jets (like recruiting someone inside to place a device) and now that ISIS proper has demonstrated its willingness to wreak havoc on unsuspecting civilians in Western population centers, the American public was probably plenty nervous about the prospect of imminent terrorist attacks on US soil.
But just in case they weren’t, the FBI is out reporting that on Saturday evening, someone - or several someones - somehow managed to break into an Army Reserve weapons depot in central Massachusetts.
Of course you don’t break into an army weapons depot and not take anything, and indeed, authorities say “some weapons” are missing although they declined to say what kind. If you’re in law enforcement, you can apparently find out by searching NCIC or, you can just head over to CBS Boston's website [3], where they'll tell you that the haul amounted to "six semi-automatic rifles and 10 pistols."
The break-in occurred at the Lincoln Army Reserve Center in Worcester where, according to ABC affiliate WCBV 5 [4], “thieves snuck in through the roof and stole weapons from a building that’s full of locked doors.” We're not sure what's more amusing about that statement: the fact that they "snuck in through the roof" or the fact that WCBV had to say that the doors are generally kept locked.
Here are some images of the "highly secure" facility:
Intuitively, one would think that if there were some kind of elaborate terrorist plot against the homeland, the terrorists would have come up with other ways to procure weapons than pulling a Mission Impossible on the roof of an Army Reserve weapons depot, but that didn't stop the FBI from mentioning "terrorism" in their statement - albeit only to "dismiss" the idea.
“There is no indication that these missing weapons are connected to any kind of terrorism threat whatsoever,” agency spokeswoman Kristen Setera said in a statement. “Nevertheless, every effort will be made to recover these weapons immediately.”
Well, that's good, although it's difficult to imagine what the counterfactual would have been there: "actually, we're not really concerned with finding these."
And even as there's no sign of terrorism here - just some guys who are not terrorists running around with stolen military grade weapons - Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker wants you to watch out for anyone who looks like a terrorist. “The more opportunity people have to rely on citizenry to serve as the eyes and ears, the more it makes a difference,” Baker said at Sunday’s press conference.
So keep your eyes peeled Massachusetts, for this guy...
[5]
or this guy...
[6]
or maybe this guy and this cat...
Oh, and if you see the man in the following picture, call Langley to come pick him up - he may have gotten lost...
