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Airport Scare

Aired July 03, 2003 - 13:12   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: I want to update you now a story that's been developing this morning near LaGuardia Airport in New York. If you've been watching us, well, you've seen authorities evacuate a rental car agency while they look at a suspicious vehicle. It had two flares taped together, with an alarm clock, and a firearm inside.
Excuse me.

Police say this doesn't appear to be terrorism.

But we want to bring in Mike Brooks, our law enforcement analyst, to talk a little more about this.

Mike, you've been working your sources. You're the one that sort of brought this down a major notch. What's the latest?

MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, Kyra, FBI sources told me that they don't believe this is terrorism. Earlier this morning, apparently workers at the National Car Rental return lot right there at LaGuardia Airport, 94th and the avenue right there just adjacent to LaGuardia. The car had been overdue. It was overdue on June 23rd. The car got back to the national car rental, apparently by the means -- whatever they do to bring the cars back, overdue cars. They were going through inventory, and they found what appeared to be a gun and some kind of explosive device inside the car. The police were called, the bomb squad was called, emergency services, police, fire, EMS. Everyone responded there.

They found out after investigation, it was a hoax device, as you said, with two flairs taped together with a clock. Apparently, it was a real firearm inside the car. Apparently, we know now was a Tec-9. Now we don't know whether this is Tec-9 is a semiautomatic or fully automatic gun, The sources from the New York bureau are not telling us much about the investigation right now, except they don't feel this is terrorism-related.

There were a number tickets on the car when they did find it, after they went to looking for it after it was overdue. So right now, they don't know exactly what they have, but they do say that it's not terrorism related. And I think it's important to point that out, Kyra, especially as we get to the Fourth of July holiday.

But again, this person who -- he or she, whomever rented this car, and then left it on the street in Queens, New York, with this weaponry in it, whoever did this is still in serious trouble with the police. And New York City Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearm, and Explosives, as well as the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force are continuing to investigate this case now, but they do not believe it is terrorism related. And I think that's an important thing to point out.

PHILLIPS: Well, Mike, of course, welcome to the new New York. I mean, in the days that we live in now, obviously, terrorism, the threat of terrorism taken very seriously. In the past, you wouldn't see such a massive response. I mean, what does this tell you about the alert system now and how quickly they did respond, and how they handled the situation?

BROOKS: I think they handled it extremely well. With my six years on the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force in Washington D.C., when I was with the Metropolitan Police, we would do the same kinds of things. If someone saw what they believed was an explosive device, improvised explosive device, and a weapon inside a car, we'd go out, cordon off the area, let our bomb squad come in, assess the situation, figure out what to do then. They did the same thing now. They were doing this prior to 9/11.

But we know that New York City has been at a heightened state of awareness. Right now, the nation is at a yellow elevated level. But New York City has been at an orange, a high level, ever since 9/11. They work extremely well together.

We also have, right there at LaGuardia airport, the Port Authority Police, who we know lost 37 police officers during 9/11. They also are keenly aware of what's going on around them. They also have been working with the NYPD, ATF, and the FBI on this case. And we'll continue to work this case to find exactly out who is responsible for this hoax device, as well as the firearm that was left in the car -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, our Mike Brooks, thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired July 3, 2003 - 13:12   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: I want to update you now a story that's been developing this morning near LaGuardia Airport in New York. If you've been watching us, well, you've seen authorities evacuate a rental car agency while they look at a suspicious vehicle. It had two flares taped together, with an alarm clock, and a firearm inside.
Excuse me.

Police say this doesn't appear to be terrorism.

But we want to bring in Mike Brooks, our law enforcement analyst, to talk a little more about this.

Mike, you've been working your sources. You're the one that sort of brought this down a major notch. What's the latest?

MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, Kyra, FBI sources told me that they don't believe this is terrorism. Earlier this morning, apparently workers at the National Car Rental return lot right there at LaGuardia Airport, 94th and the avenue right there just adjacent to LaGuardia. The car had been overdue. It was overdue on June 23rd. The car got back to the national car rental, apparently by the means -- whatever they do to bring the cars back, overdue cars. They were going through inventory, and they found what appeared to be a gun and some kind of explosive device inside the car. The police were called, the bomb squad was called, emergency services, police, fire, EMS. Everyone responded there.

They found out after investigation, it was a hoax device, as you said, with two flairs taped together with a clock. Apparently, it was a real firearm inside the car. Apparently, we know now was a Tec-9. Now we don't know whether this is Tec-9 is a semiautomatic or fully automatic gun, The sources from the New York bureau are not telling us much about the investigation right now, except they don't feel this is terrorism-related.

There were a number tickets on the car when they did find it, after they went to looking for it after it was overdue. So right now, they don't know exactly what they have, but they do say that it's not terrorism related. And I think it's important to point that out, Kyra, especially as we get to the Fourth of July holiday.

But again, this person who -- he or she, whomever rented this car, and then left it on the street in Queens, New York, with this weaponry in it, whoever did this is still in serious trouble with the police. And New York City Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearm, and Explosives, as well as the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force are continuing to investigate this case now, but they do not believe it is terrorism related. And I think that's an important thing to point out.

PHILLIPS: Well, Mike, of course, welcome to the new New York. I mean, in the days that we live in now, obviously, terrorism, the threat of terrorism taken very seriously. In the past, you wouldn't see such a massive response. I mean, what does this tell you about the alert system now and how quickly they did respond, and how they handled the situation?

BROOKS: I think they handled it extremely well. With my six years on the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force in Washington D.C., when I was with the Metropolitan Police, we would do the same kinds of things. If someone saw what they believed was an explosive device, improvised explosive device, and a weapon inside a car, we'd go out, cordon off the area, let our bomb squad come in, assess the situation, figure out what to do then. They did the same thing now. They were doing this prior to 9/11.

But we know that New York City has been at a heightened state of awareness. Right now, the nation is at a yellow elevated level. But New York City has been at an orange, a high level, ever since 9/11. They work extremely well together.

We also have, right there at LaGuardia airport, the Port Authority Police, who we know lost 37 police officers during 9/11. They also are keenly aware of what's going on around them. They also have been working with the NYPD, ATF, and the FBI on this case. And we'll continue to work this case to find exactly out who is responsible for this hoax device, as well as the firearm that was left in the car -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, our Mike Brooks, thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com