Yesterday, I was providing live updates here at PJ Media on what was known about the terror attack in New York City that killed 8 people and injured 15:
5 of the people killed in NYC attack were Argentine tourists in town for a 30-year high school reunion, foreign ministry says
H/t @dpoliti pic.twitter.com/cNVahmGwrv— Ernesto Londoño (@londonoe) November 1, 2017
NYC Terror Attack: Four still in critical condition https://t.co/MkLhIN46hb pic.twitter.com/w5khor5ksM
— NorthJersey.com (@northjersey) November 1, 2017
Now, law enforcement sources are telling the media that the attacker, Uzbekistan native Sayfullo Saipov, was previously known to authorities for his direct ties to other terrorism suspects under investigation. This makes the attack yet another case of what I have termed “Known Wolf” terrorism. Virtually every terror attack carried out in the United States in recent years was committed by individuals already known to authorities:
LATEST: NYC terror suspect had come up in prior counter-terror probes as “possible associate," law enforcement officials tell @ABC. pic.twitter.com/fPKY1vLkFf
— ABC News (@ABC) November 1, 2017
ABC News is reporting that Saipov was questioned by Homeland Security in 2015:
The suspected New York City attacker, Sayfullo Saipov, was interviewed in 2015 by federal agents in the Department of Homeland Security Investigations Unit about possible ties to suspected terrorists, but the agents did not have enough evidence to open a case on him, laws enforcement officials tell ABC News.
Saipov’s name and address was listed as a “point of contact” for two different men whose names were entered into the Counterterrorism and Criminal Exploitation Unit’s list after they came to the United States from “threat countries,” one federal official told ABC News.
One of the two men has vanished and is being actively sought by federal agents as a “suspected terrorist.”
Why did the FBI never open a case file when they knew he was directly tied to two terrorism targets? Doesn’t being the point of contact for two terror suspects at least warrant some degree of law enforcement attention?
And, having been questioned by Homeland Security, why wasn’t his Diversity Visa revisited?
ABC news again reports:
Investigators searching Saipov’s online activities have found social media links to people who are or were subjects of terror investigations, sources said; however, it appears that the suspect found ISIS propaganda online and was not part of a terror cell.
Knowing that he was directly tied to two terror suspects, how can law enforcement conclude he was not part of a terror cell?
This is what makes Governor Cuomo’s comments calling Saipov a “lone wolf” yesterday so laughable:
.@NYGovCuomo on 'lone wolf' terrorists: "They're harder to police, they're harder to stop… they're harder to anticipate." pic.twitter.com/pjX8ttCLUA
— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) November 1, 2017
Lone wolf? How much more “Known Wolf” could Saipov get?
There are now reports that he had a picture of an ISIS flag in the vehicle, as well as statements in Arabic and a pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State:
Investigators found 10 to 15 pieces of paper praising the ISIS in Arabic. One note said "ISIS will endure": sources https://t.co/w0vTn8Yute
— Natasha Fatah (@NatashaFatah) November 1, 2017
This is similar to the Edmonton terror attack just a month ago, where an ISIS flag was also found in the vehicle of the attacker.
Multiple witnesses also claimed that Saipov was shouting “Allah Akhbar” before being shot by a NYPD officer:
#UPDATE @CNN reporting NYC suspect yelled Allah Akhbar following incident, FBI taking over investigation https://t.co/pctRXAWRRR pic.twitter.com/YWXWHdvcSP
— WPLG Local 10 News (@WPLGLocal10) October 31, 2017
So we have an ISIS flag, a written pledge of allegiance to ISIS, and shouting “Allah Akhbar.”
Any yet still we can predict that there will be yet another media orgy of “missing motive” stories? Apparently so:
VIDEO: Investigators seek motive after driver in a rented pickup truck plowed down people on a bike path in NYC. https://t.co/EcXSmIWWla
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 1, 2017
But we’re getting used to those by now:
Hey <i>New York Times</i>, Here's What We Know About Orlando Killer's Motive https://t.co/0VAhwXtUj3 #homelandsecurity
— PJ Media (@PJMedia_com) June 16, 2016
Some Helpful Clues For Tennessee Terror Attack Investigators and the Perplexed Media http://t.co/DDu02XjnEe #tcot
— PJ Media (@PJMedia_com) July 19, 2015
Family of Ohio State ISIS Jihadist 'Mystified' Over What Drove Him To Attack https://t.co/d2oZQSwYaA via @pjmedia_com
— Patrick Poole (@pspoole) July 30, 2017
One Year After #PulseNightclub Attack, @orlandosentinel Gaslights Omar Mateen's Motive https://t.co/pqWqJshLsH via @pjmedia_com pic.twitter.com/d444v7DOfE
— Patrick Poole (@pspoole) June 12, 2017
One year after Minnesota terror attack, @StarTribune gives a master class in Media Gaslighting 101 https://t.co/B2x0RYtEpT via @PJMedia_com pic.twitter.com/Cjvjw2tEt9
— Patrick Poole (@pspoole) September 18, 2017
Another predictable element to Islamic terror attack reporting: people from the attacker’s mosque saying they never saw him and that he wasn’t a member.
Yesterday, local media interviewed Saipov’s neighbors in the Paterson, NJ, area, who said that he regularly attended Masjid Omar in Paterson right around the corner from his apartment:
.@SchmittNYC: New reports suggest the mosque that Sayfullo Saipov attended had been under NYPD surveillance. pic.twitter.com/EOrQmdAPuR
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 1, 2017
The scene Tuesday morning in front of Omar Mosque, recently attended by Sayfullo Saipur. Prayers are cancelled today. @northjersey pic.twitter.com/YJ0Zpay3k6
— Christopher Maag (@Chris_Maag) November 1, 2017
Now the mosque is claiming he never attended:
While worshipers said Wednesday that they never saw Saipov at Omar Mosque, neighbors who spoke with The Record and NorthJersey.com on Tuesday night said he and his family worshiped there.
Masjid Omar was previously targeted by the NYPD Intelligence Unit as far back as 2005 — until the unit was shut down by current NYC Mayor de Blasio.
Last month I wrote about the vehicle ramming terror attack at Ohio State University last November by Somali refugee Abdul Razak Artan. The attack was claimed by ISIS. And yet, as I noted, the media disappeared within two days after the event. New York City is the largest media market in the U.S., so this attack may not disappear so quickly — but the media narrative is already trending to send this story into oblivion.
Meanwhile, we can add yet another “Known Wolf” terror attack to the ever growing list of law enforcement and intelligence failures by Western authorities.
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Below, find Poole’s extensive coverage of the “known wolf” scandal here at PJ Media:
Oct. 24, 2014: ‘Lone Wolf’ or ‘Known Wolf’: The Ongoing Counter-Terrorism Failure
Dec. 15, 2014: Sydney Hostage Taker Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Syndrome
Jan. 7, 2015: Paris Terror Attack Yet Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Syndrome
Feb. 3, 2015: French Police Terror Attacker Yesterday Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Syndrome
Feb. 15, 2015: Copenhagen Killer Was yet Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorism
Feb. 26, 2015: Islamic State Beheader ‘Jihadi John’ Yet Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorism
Apr. 22, 2015: Botched Attack on Paris Churches Another Case of “Known Wolf” Terrorism
May 4, 2015: Texas Attack Is Yet Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorism
June 26, 2015: France’s Beheading Terrorist Was Well-Known By Authorities
July 16, 2015: Report: Chattanooga Jihadist Was Yet Another ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorist, Anonymous Feds Dispute
Aug. 22, 2015: European Train Attacker Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorism
Oct 14, 2015: Yet Again: Turkey, Israel Terror Attacks Committed by “Known Wolves”
Nov 14, 2015: One Paris Attacker Was Previously Known to Authorities, Marks Fifth ‘Known Wolf” Attack in France This Year
Feb 16, 2016: Machete Attack in Ohio Yet Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorism
May 16, 2016: News Reports Yet Another Case of ‘Known Wolf’ U.S. Terrorists
June 12, 2016: Orlando Night Club Attack by “Known Wolf” Terrorist Previously Investigated by FBI
July 14, 2016: Senate Intelligence Committee to Investigate “Known Wolf” Terrorism Problem
July 26, 2016: ISIS Suspect in Normandy Priest’s Killing Already Known to French Authorities
August 10, 2016: Canadian ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorist Planned Suicide Bombing of Major City, Killed in Overnight Police Operation
August 19, 2016: Man Who Stabbed Rabbi Thursday in Strasbourg, France Involved in Prior Attack
Sept. 20, 2016: NY-NJ Bomber Ahmad Khan Rahami Already Known to Law Enforcement Authorities
Sept. 28, 2016: “Known Wolf” SCANDAL: In at Least 12 of the 14 Terror Attacks Under Obama, FBI Already Knew Attackers
Dec. 21, 2016: Suspect Sought for Deadly Berlin Terror Attack, Anis Amri, Yet Another Known Wolf
March 23, 2017: Five Days and Two ‘Known Wolf’ Terror Attacks, Yet No Apparent Concern From Western Governments
March 26, 2017: ’60 Minutes’ Whitewashes Massive FBI Failure in 2015 ISIS Texas Terror Attack
May 23, 2017: Manchester Bomber Is Yet Another “Known Wolf”
June 4, 2017: At Least one London Bridge Terrorist Was a “Known Wolf”
June 6, 2017: London Attack Reveals that ‘Known Wolf’ Terrorism Is Worse Than You Could Imagine
June 19, 2017: Paris Terror Attack Targets Police on the Champs-Elysees, Suspect is Yet Another ‘Known Wolf’
August 15, 2017: U.S. Authorities Knew Texas ISIS Recruiter Had Told Manchester Bomber to Kill
Sept. 11, 2017: ‘KNOWN WOLF’ TERROR SCANDAL: CIA Knew About 9/11 Hijackers, Didn’t Provide Intel to FBI
Sept. 17, 2017: London Underground Bombing Another ‘Known Wolf’ Terror Attacks?
Sept. 20, 2017: London Tube Bomber Was Part of ‘Deradicalization’ Program
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