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American Morning
Williamsburg Bridge in New York City Shut Down
Aired March 28, 2003 - 9:08 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Some breaking news out of Manhattan this morning. The Williamsburg Bridge, which connects Manhattan and Brooklyn, was actually closed briefly this morning after reports of suspicious activity. At least three men were arrested. Police boats and helicopters continue to search the area.
This is what the live shot looks like from WABC at this hour. Mike Brooks joins us from CNN Center to give us a better perspective on all of this. What do you see when you look at the scene this morning? Good morning.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Good morning, Paula. I just got off the phone with New York City Police Department, and they're telling me that they have taken into custody three men for questioning. Apparently, these three men, who they say are Middle Eastern -- now this is in early stages of investigation. This is what New York City Police are saying.
They didn't say if they were Middle Eastern looking, their name was Middle Eastern. So we're still going to try to follow up on that. But what they're saying is that DOT workers on the bridge saw these three men with some packages. They then apparently lost sight of them and then saw them again and they didn't have the packages. And the three men had climbed up into the superstructure of the bridge.
So they have shut the Williamsburg Bridge down, they're looking for these packages. They are taking the men into custody for questioning. And they are also now checking the other bridges in New York City to see -- to make sure that they are also OK.
So that's what we have right now. We'll continue to try to follow up and find a little bit more for you -- Paula.
ZAHN: Mike, you may not even be able to answer this question, but is it their belief that these guys were always on foot, or did they bail out of a van once they got on the bridge?
BROOKS: That's unknown. When the DOT workers saw them, they were apparently on foot. They lost sight of them for a minute, and then saw them without the packages. And that's what the main concern is. So they've called the emergency services unit and the bomb squad out to the bridge to try to locate these packages -- Paula.
ZAHN: Does it make much sense to you that they would be trying to climb a superstructure bridge in broad daylight? BROOKS: No, it doesn't make much sense at all. There is some questions of were they construction workers. But there were actual DOT workers that saw these people and said that they should not have been on the bridge at that time.
ZAHN: And just a broad view on just what the level of alert remains in New York City, particularly now that this war has started.
BROOKS: Well, New York City, as we know, has been on a heightened sense of alert since 9/11. When everyone else was at a lower level, they're always one level above everybody else. And they've been at an orange level since 9/11, Paula. And they continue with Operation Atlas with the Hercules teams, with the Samson teams that are out there, specifically for anti-terrorism and counterterrorism measures.
ZAHN: Well, once again, even though they've been arrested, they can't rule out the possibility that they might have been involved in some kind of construction work?
BROOKS: That's true. But they don't believe that they were at this time.
ZAHN: All right. Mike Brooks, thanks so much for the update. Appreciate it. We'll be getting back to you as soon as you have more information available.
Back to Bill now in Kuwait City -- Bill.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Paula, we know the northern front is shifting somewhat, anyway. Overnight last night, getting reports from CNN's Kevin Sites that Iraqi soldiers have pulled back. How far, how much, we don't know. But Kevin does. We will check in with him live in northern Iraq after a quick break here. Back in a moment with that.
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 March 28, 2003 - 9:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Some breaking news out of Manhattan this morning. The Williamsburg Bridge, which connects Manhattan and Brooklyn, was actually closed briefly this morning after reports of suspicious activity. At least three men were arrested. Police boats and helicopters continue to search the area.
This is what the live shot looks like from WABC at this hour. Mike Brooks joins us from CNN Center to give us a better perspective on all of this. What do you see when you look at the scene this morning? Good morning.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Good morning, Paula. I just got off the phone with New York City Police Department, and they're telling me that they have taken into custody three men for questioning. Apparently, these three men, who they say are Middle Eastern -- now this is in early stages of investigation. This is what New York City Police are saying.
They didn't say if they were Middle Eastern looking, their name was Middle Eastern. So we're still going to try to follow up on that. But what they're saying is that DOT workers on the bridge saw these three men with some packages. They then apparently lost sight of them and then saw them again and they didn't have the packages. And the three men had climbed up into the superstructure of the bridge.
So they have shut the Williamsburg Bridge down, they're looking for these packages. They are taking the men into custody for questioning. And they are also now checking the other bridges in New York City to see -- to make sure that they are also OK.
So that's what we have right now. We'll continue to try to follow up and find a little bit more for you -- Paula.
ZAHN: Mike, you may not even be able to answer this question, but is it their belief that these guys were always on foot, or did they bail out of a van once they got on the bridge?
BROOKS: That's unknown. When the DOT workers saw them, they were apparently on foot. They lost sight of them for a minute, and then saw them without the packages. And that's what the main concern is. So they've called the emergency services unit and the bomb squad out to the bridge to try to locate these packages -- Paula.
ZAHN: Does it make much sense to you that they would be trying to climb a superstructure bridge in broad daylight? BROOKS: No, it doesn't make much sense at all. There is some questions of were they construction workers. But there were actual DOT workers that saw these people and said that they should not have been on the bridge at that time.
ZAHN: And just a broad view on just what the level of alert remains in New York City, particularly now that this war has started.
BROOKS: Well, New York City, as we know, has been on a heightened sense of alert since 9/11. When everyone else was at a lower level, they're always one level above everybody else. And they've been at an orange level since 9/11, Paula. And they continue with Operation Atlas with the Hercules teams, with the Samson teams that are out there, specifically for anti-terrorism and counterterrorism measures.
ZAHN: Well, once again, even though they've been arrested, they can't rule out the possibility that they might have been involved in some kind of construction work?
BROOKS: That's true. But they don't believe that they were at this time.
ZAHN: All right. Mike Brooks, thanks so much for the update. Appreciate it. We'll be getting back to you as soon as you have more information available.
Back to Bill now in Kuwait City -- Bill.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Paula, we know the northern front is shifting somewhat, anyway. Overnight last night, getting reports from CNN's Kevin Sites that Iraqi soldiers have pulled back. How far, how much, we don't know. But Kevin does. We will check in with him live in northern Iraq after a quick break here. Back in a moment with that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
