The Stig
06-24-2011, 10:48 AM
Original story from insidenova.com (http://www2.insidenova.com/news/2011/jun/20/7/sources-evidence-links-pentagon-scare-suspect-ar-1122056/)
Sources: Evidence links Pentagon scare suspect to fall military shootings
Credit: The Associated Press
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. --
Law enforcement and military sources say forensic evidence links Marine reservist Yonathan Melaku to last fall’s mysterious shootings at military targets around Northern Virginia, including the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle.
Melaku, 22, sparked a security scare Friday after U.S. Park Police saw him in Arlington National Cemetery after dark. Authorities then found his red 2011 Nissan truck parked in a wooded area near the Pentagon, according to an FBI press release.
Police say Melaku’s behavior after he was confronted by police prompted massive road closures during the Friday morning rush hour as officials investigated the contents of his backpack for what they initially feared might be bomb-making materials. They found no explosives. His Alexandria home also was searched.
Forensic evidence found during the investigation links Melaku to five shootings at military targets last year, sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity told Prince William County VA - News, Weather, Sports, Entertainment, Obituaries | InsideNova (http://www.insidenova.com).
The military shootings began Oct. 17 at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, when someone fired at least 10 bullets into the building's glass ceiling, narrowly missing a jet on display.
Two days later, bullets from the same gun shattered windows at the Pentagon. The FBI said six or seven shots were fired that morning just before 5 a.m.
The next related shooting came overnight Oct. 26 at a Marine Corps recruiting center in Chantilly.
The shooter struck a second time at the Marine Corps museum in Triangle Oct. 30, then hit a Coast Guard recruiting station near Potomac Mills mall on Nov. 2. After that, the shootings stopped as mysteriously as they began.
Melaku, a 22-year-old Ethiopian native, is now jailed in Loudoun County on theft charges related to auto break-ins in Leesburg earlier this year.
Melaku has not yet been charged in connection with the military shootings.
The FBI and the U.S. District Attorney's Office in Alexandria refused to comment Wednesday on evidence in the case, but spokesmen said the investigation is ongoing.
According to the FBI, Melaku joined the Marine Corps reserves on Sept. 4, 2007 is listed as a lance corporal and a motor vehicle operator with Combat Engineer Support Company, 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve. He has never been deployed overseas, but had been awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal.
Stay with insidenova.com and the News & Messenger for more on this developing story.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Original story from ABC.com (http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/yonathan-melaku-man-suspected-pentagon-terror-scare-identified/story?id=13867285)
Sources: Evidence links Pentagon scare suspect to fall military shootings
Credit: The Associated Press
Law enforcement and military sources say forensic evidence links Marine reservist Yonathan Melaku to last fall’s mysterious shootings at military targets around Northern Virginia, including the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle.
Melaku, 22, sparked a security scare Friday after U.S. Park Police saw him in Arlington National Cemetery after dark. Authorities then found his red 2011 Nissan truck parked in a wooded area near the Pentagon, according to an FBI press release.
Police say Melaku’s behavior after he was confronted by police prompted massive road closures during the Friday morning rush hour as officials investigated the contents of his backpack for what they initially feared might be bomb-making materials. They found no explosives. His Alexandria home also was searched.
Forensic evidence found during the investigation links Melaku to five shootings at military targets last year, sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity told Prince William County VA - News, Weather, Sports, Entertainment, Obituaries | InsideNova (http://www.insidenova.com).
The military shootings began Oct. 17 at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, when someone fired at least 10 bullets into the building's glass ceiling, narrowly missing a jet on display.
Two days later, bullets from the same gun shattered windows at the Pentagon. The FBI said six or seven shots were fired that morning just before 5 a.m.
The next related shooting came overnight Oct. 26 at a Marine Corps recruiting center in Chantilly.
The shooter struck a second time at the Marine Corps museum in Triangle Oct. 30, then hit a Coast Guard recruiting station near Potomac Mills mall on Nov. 2. After that, the shootings stopped as mysteriously as they began.
Melaku, a 22-year-old Ethiopian native, is now jailed in Loudoun County on theft charges related to auto break-ins in Leesburg earlier this year.
Melaku has not yet been charged in connection with the military shootings.
The FBI and the U.S. District Attorney's Office in Alexandria refused to comment Wednesday on evidence in the case, but spokesmen said the investigation is ongoing.
According to the FBI, Melaku joined the Marine Corps reserves on Sept. 4, 2007 is listed as a lance corporal and a motor vehicle operator with Combat Engineer Support Company, 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve. He has never been deployed overseas, but had been awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal.
Stay with insidenova.com and the News & Messenger for more on this developing story.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Opinion piece from debbieschussel.com (http://www.debbieschlussel.com/38658/yonathan-melaku-hey-another-moderate-muslim-in-us-military-w-explosives-qaeda-lit-near-pentagon/)
Yonathan Melaku: Hey Another “Moderate†Muslim in US Military w/ Explosives, Qaeda Lit Near Pentagon
By Debbie Schlussel
It figures that a man found with “inert†explosives (testing the system/doing a dry run) and Al-Qaeda literature right near the Pentagon (and roaming Arlington National Cemetery at 1:30 a.m.) is 1) a Muslim, 2) an alien who was granted U.S. citizenship, and 3) serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. It’s like playing Whack-a-Mole with eventual terrorists who almost universally fit this profile because we refuse to profile them out of the system ahead of time. And Whack-a-Mole isn’t a national security policy. It’s incompetence and suicide.
islamiccrescent.jpg
Yonathan Melaku: Another Islamic Terrorist Serving in US Military, Alien Granted US Citizenship
I don’t think I need to repeat the long list of Muslims serving in the U.S. military who turn out to be spies, terrorists, murderers, and other malefactors betraying the BS about how we have “so many loyal Muslim Americans serving their country in the U.S. Armed Forces.†Nidal Malik Hassan, John Allen Muhammad, Noureddine Malki a/k/a Mr. X, Assan Akbar, Wassef Ali Hassoun, Ahmad Al-Halabi, Ali Mohamed, Ryan Anderson, Semi Osman, Jeffrey Leon Battle, are just a few names I can remember off the top of my head. Well, it is true that they are serving their country. Problem is, their country is the greater Muslim Ummah (community), not America. And the latest is Yonathan Melaku, a U.S. citizen of Ethiopian descent. When will we stop bending over backward–and forward–for this so-called “religion of peace,†that has zero relationship with that latter word? Kudos to the very alert LOCAL police who caught this cretin.
A man who was carrying suspected bomb making materials and pro-al Qaeda literature was arrested in Arlington National Cemetery early this morning, triggering a bomb scare that snarled Washington’s morning rush hour. The FBI, however, determined that the material in his backpack was harmless.
“There was not a device and the products found are determined right now to be inert,†said Brenda Heck, special agent in charge of counterterrorism for the FBI. . . .
Sources told ABC News earlier that the backpack contained what was believed to be ammonium nitrate and spent ammunition for an automatic weapon. The material was reportedly contained in four large ziplock type bags.
Sources also said there were pro-al Qaeda statements found in a notebook that contained mostly notes for a financial class. There was also was a page containing words “al qaeda,†“Taliban rules,†“mujahidin†and “defeated coalition forces.â€
Two separate law enforcement sources told ABC News law enforcement identified the suspect as Yonathan Melaku, 22, of Alexandria, Va. U.S. Park Police said no charges have been filed against him yet.
Melaku is a naturalized citizen and lance corporal in the Marine Corps Reserve, 4th engineer batallion out of the Baltimore, Md.
“We are told he had a backpack with five pounds of something labeled ammonium nitrate but as of this juncture, has not passed the test that indicates explosive capacity,†New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said today, when asked about the arrest. . . .
Sources say they haven’t found any ties to a terrorist organization.
Um, yeah, he is, indeed, tied to a terrorist organization. It’s called ISLAM. Hellooooooooo . . . ?
Melaku allegedly told police in Arlington when he was captured that there were other “devices†in the area and also the location of his vehicle. But the FBI said there was no reason to believe other individuals were involved and they believe the suspect acted alone. . . .
The Pentagon and the surrounding areas were closed to traffic this morning, creating a commuting nightmare.
Park Police Sgt. David Scholsser said in a news conference the man was found at about 1:30 a.m. in the Arlington National Cemetery, located near the Pentagon. He was first caught by the Ft. Myers police but then ran into adjacent Arlington National Cemetery, where he was apprehended by the military. When questioned, Melaku was uncooperative but then took the police to his car.
Melaku was arrested last month for smashing windows and stealing valuables from 27 cars in Leesburg, Va. He was charged with four counts of grand larceny although the police did not find any discernible ideological motive.
Now, authorities aren’t even sure what to charge this obvious terrorist with, if they charge him with anything at all. Hey, I always visit Arlington National Cemetery at 1:30 a.m. with a backpack containing spent ammunition and inert and fake explosives, don’t you? And it’s normal to write pro-Al Qaeda statements in your notes from finance class, right?
Nothing to see here. Move along. And stop with your Islamophobia. He’s just another of our finest Muslim American citizens serving in America’s Armed Forces.
They’re already telling us he’s “mentally unstable,†as apparently are all Muslims who are Islamic terrorists and faithfully follow through on their religious edicts to destroy non-Musilms. Question is, if he’s so unstable, how did he make it to the Marines without incident?
Allahu FUBAR. Only in America.
Sources: Evidence links Pentagon scare suspect to fall military shootings
Credit: The Associated Press
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. --
Law enforcement and military sources say forensic evidence links Marine reservist Yonathan Melaku to last fall’s mysterious shootings at military targets around Northern Virginia, including the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle.
Melaku, 22, sparked a security scare Friday after U.S. Park Police saw him in Arlington National Cemetery after dark. Authorities then found his red 2011 Nissan truck parked in a wooded area near the Pentagon, according to an FBI press release.
Police say Melaku’s behavior after he was confronted by police prompted massive road closures during the Friday morning rush hour as officials investigated the contents of his backpack for what they initially feared might be bomb-making materials. They found no explosives. His Alexandria home also was searched.
Forensic evidence found during the investigation links Melaku to five shootings at military targets last year, sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity told Prince William County VA - News, Weather, Sports, Entertainment, Obituaries | InsideNova (http://www.insidenova.com).
The military shootings began Oct. 17 at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, when someone fired at least 10 bullets into the building's glass ceiling, narrowly missing a jet on display.
Two days later, bullets from the same gun shattered windows at the Pentagon. The FBI said six or seven shots were fired that morning just before 5 a.m.
The next related shooting came overnight Oct. 26 at a Marine Corps recruiting center in Chantilly.
The shooter struck a second time at the Marine Corps museum in Triangle Oct. 30, then hit a Coast Guard recruiting station near Potomac Mills mall on Nov. 2. After that, the shootings stopped as mysteriously as they began.
Melaku, a 22-year-old Ethiopian native, is now jailed in Loudoun County on theft charges related to auto break-ins in Leesburg earlier this year.
Melaku has not yet been charged in connection with the military shootings.
The FBI and the U.S. District Attorney's Office in Alexandria refused to comment Wednesday on evidence in the case, but spokesmen said the investigation is ongoing.
According to the FBI, Melaku joined the Marine Corps reserves on Sept. 4, 2007 is listed as a lance corporal and a motor vehicle operator with Combat Engineer Support Company, 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve. He has never been deployed overseas, but had been awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal.
Stay with insidenova.com and the News & Messenger for more on this developing story.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Original story from ABC.com (http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/yonathan-melaku-man-suspected-pentagon-terror-scare-identified/story?id=13867285)
Sources: Evidence links Pentagon scare suspect to fall military shootings
Credit: The Associated Press
Law enforcement and military sources say forensic evidence links Marine reservist Yonathan Melaku to last fall’s mysterious shootings at military targets around Northern Virginia, including the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle.
Melaku, 22, sparked a security scare Friday after U.S. Park Police saw him in Arlington National Cemetery after dark. Authorities then found his red 2011 Nissan truck parked in a wooded area near the Pentagon, according to an FBI press release.
Police say Melaku’s behavior after he was confronted by police prompted massive road closures during the Friday morning rush hour as officials investigated the contents of his backpack for what they initially feared might be bomb-making materials. They found no explosives. His Alexandria home also was searched.
Forensic evidence found during the investigation links Melaku to five shootings at military targets last year, sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity told Prince William County VA - News, Weather, Sports, Entertainment, Obituaries | InsideNova (http://www.insidenova.com).
The military shootings began Oct. 17 at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, when someone fired at least 10 bullets into the building's glass ceiling, narrowly missing a jet on display.
Two days later, bullets from the same gun shattered windows at the Pentagon. The FBI said six or seven shots were fired that morning just before 5 a.m.
The next related shooting came overnight Oct. 26 at a Marine Corps recruiting center in Chantilly.
The shooter struck a second time at the Marine Corps museum in Triangle Oct. 30, then hit a Coast Guard recruiting station near Potomac Mills mall on Nov. 2. After that, the shootings stopped as mysteriously as they began.
Melaku, a 22-year-old Ethiopian native, is now jailed in Loudoun County on theft charges related to auto break-ins in Leesburg earlier this year.
Melaku has not yet been charged in connection with the military shootings.
The FBI and the U.S. District Attorney's Office in Alexandria refused to comment Wednesday on evidence in the case, but spokesmen said the investigation is ongoing.
According to the FBI, Melaku joined the Marine Corps reserves on Sept. 4, 2007 is listed as a lance corporal and a motor vehicle operator with Combat Engineer Support Company, 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve. He has never been deployed overseas, but had been awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal.
Stay with insidenova.com and the News & Messenger for more on this developing story.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Opinion piece from debbieschussel.com (http://www.debbieschlussel.com/38658/yonathan-melaku-hey-another-moderate-muslim-in-us-military-w-explosives-qaeda-lit-near-pentagon/)
Yonathan Melaku: Hey Another “Moderate†Muslim in US Military w/ Explosives, Qaeda Lit Near Pentagon
By Debbie Schlussel
It figures that a man found with “inert†explosives (testing the system/doing a dry run) and Al-Qaeda literature right near the Pentagon (and roaming Arlington National Cemetery at 1:30 a.m.) is 1) a Muslim, 2) an alien who was granted U.S. citizenship, and 3) serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. It’s like playing Whack-a-Mole with eventual terrorists who almost universally fit this profile because we refuse to profile them out of the system ahead of time. And Whack-a-Mole isn’t a national security policy. It’s incompetence and suicide.
islamiccrescent.jpg
Yonathan Melaku: Another Islamic Terrorist Serving in US Military, Alien Granted US Citizenship
I don’t think I need to repeat the long list of Muslims serving in the U.S. military who turn out to be spies, terrorists, murderers, and other malefactors betraying the BS about how we have “so many loyal Muslim Americans serving their country in the U.S. Armed Forces.†Nidal Malik Hassan, John Allen Muhammad, Noureddine Malki a/k/a Mr. X, Assan Akbar, Wassef Ali Hassoun, Ahmad Al-Halabi, Ali Mohamed, Ryan Anderson, Semi Osman, Jeffrey Leon Battle, are just a few names I can remember off the top of my head. Well, it is true that they are serving their country. Problem is, their country is the greater Muslim Ummah (community), not America. And the latest is Yonathan Melaku, a U.S. citizen of Ethiopian descent. When will we stop bending over backward–and forward–for this so-called “religion of peace,†that has zero relationship with that latter word? Kudos to the very alert LOCAL police who caught this cretin.
A man who was carrying suspected bomb making materials and pro-al Qaeda literature was arrested in Arlington National Cemetery early this morning, triggering a bomb scare that snarled Washington’s morning rush hour. The FBI, however, determined that the material in his backpack was harmless.
“There was not a device and the products found are determined right now to be inert,†said Brenda Heck, special agent in charge of counterterrorism for the FBI. . . .
Sources told ABC News earlier that the backpack contained what was believed to be ammonium nitrate and spent ammunition for an automatic weapon. The material was reportedly contained in four large ziplock type bags.
Sources also said there were pro-al Qaeda statements found in a notebook that contained mostly notes for a financial class. There was also was a page containing words “al qaeda,†“Taliban rules,†“mujahidin†and “defeated coalition forces.â€
Two separate law enforcement sources told ABC News law enforcement identified the suspect as Yonathan Melaku, 22, of Alexandria, Va. U.S. Park Police said no charges have been filed against him yet.
Melaku is a naturalized citizen and lance corporal in the Marine Corps Reserve, 4th engineer batallion out of the Baltimore, Md.
“We are told he had a backpack with five pounds of something labeled ammonium nitrate but as of this juncture, has not passed the test that indicates explosive capacity,†New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said today, when asked about the arrest. . . .
Sources say they haven’t found any ties to a terrorist organization.
Um, yeah, he is, indeed, tied to a terrorist organization. It’s called ISLAM. Hellooooooooo . . . ?
Melaku allegedly told police in Arlington when he was captured that there were other “devices†in the area and also the location of his vehicle. But the FBI said there was no reason to believe other individuals were involved and they believe the suspect acted alone. . . .
The Pentagon and the surrounding areas were closed to traffic this morning, creating a commuting nightmare.
Park Police Sgt. David Scholsser said in a news conference the man was found at about 1:30 a.m. in the Arlington National Cemetery, located near the Pentagon. He was first caught by the Ft. Myers police but then ran into adjacent Arlington National Cemetery, where he was apprehended by the military. When questioned, Melaku was uncooperative but then took the police to his car.
Melaku was arrested last month for smashing windows and stealing valuables from 27 cars in Leesburg, Va. He was charged with four counts of grand larceny although the police did not find any discernible ideological motive.
Now, authorities aren’t even sure what to charge this obvious terrorist with, if they charge him with anything at all. Hey, I always visit Arlington National Cemetery at 1:30 a.m. with a backpack containing spent ammunition and inert and fake explosives, don’t you? And it’s normal to write pro-Al Qaeda statements in your notes from finance class, right?
Nothing to see here. Move along. And stop with your Islamophobia. He’s just another of our finest Muslim American citizens serving in America’s Armed Forces.
They’re already telling us he’s “mentally unstable,†as apparently are all Muslims who are Islamic terrorists and faithfully follow through on their religious edicts to destroy non-Musilms. Question is, if he’s so unstable, how did he make it to the Marines without incident?
Allahu FUBAR. Only in America.