Another Convenient Terror Threat

[Gold9472]

Threat Prompts Closure of Baltimore Tunnel

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/baltimore_tunnel

By BEN NUCKOLS, Associated Press Writer
19 minutes ago

BALTIMORE - One of two tunnels carrying traffic under Baltimore's harbor was closed Tuesday and another was partially shut down in response to a security threat, officials said.

The Baltimore Harbor Tunnel was closed while the Fort McHenry Tunnel was partially closed, with one lane of traffic moving in each direction, said Lt. Col. David Franklin of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police. The closures began about 11:30 a.m.

"We received some information a couple of days ago with a possible threat to a tunnel, nothing specific. We are interviewing people as we speak," said Carla McIntosh, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Baltimore. She said she could not give details.

Jim Pettit, a spokesman for the governor's homeland security office, said: "We're acting out of an abundance of caution."

A federal law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the threat was phoned in to authorities by a person claiming to have information from abroad. Authorities are skeptical of the claim, but are checking it out nonetheless, the official said.

Orange dump trucks blocked the entrances to the tunnels, which carry Interstates 95 and 895 under water. As cars and trucks reached the heads of long lines, police officers directed them to detours.

There was a joint federal, state and local security operation under way and Gov. Robert Ehrlich was closely monitoring the situation, said Henry Fawell, a spokesman for the governor. He declined to comment further.

Interstate 95, which uses the Fort McHenry Tunnel, is a key north-south artery through East Coast states, stretching from Maine to Florida.

[Gold9472]

Baltimore tunnels reopen after security threat

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/10/18/bal....ap/index.html

(Gold9472: Sorry... false alarm.)

Tuesday, October 18, 2005; Posted: 1:33 p.m. EDT (17:33 GMT)

BALTIMORE, Maryland (AP) -- Authorities closed one of two highway tunnels carrying traffic under Baltimore's harbor for nearly two hours Tuesday and partially shut the other because of a threat to detonate vehicles full of explosives inside the tubes.

The Baltimore Harbor Tunnel was closed and the Fort McHenry Tunnel was reduced to one lane of traffic in each direction, said Lt. Col. David Franklin of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police. The closures began about 11:30 a.m. and officers began reopening the tubes about 1:15 p.m.

"The safe thing right now is to allow these tunnels to reopen," said Chief Gary McLhinney of the transportation authority police.

"We received some information a couple of days ago with a possible threat to a tunnel, nothing specific," said Carla McIntosh, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Baltimore.

Jim Pettit, a spokesman for the governor's homeland security office, said the closures were made "out of an abundance of caution."

A federal law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the threat was phoned in to authorities by a person claiming to have information from overseas. Authorities were skeptical of the claim, but were checking it out, the official said.

Orange dump trucks blocked the entrances to the tunnels, which carry Interstates 95 and 895 under water. As cars and trucks reached the heads of long lines, police officers directed them to detours, and traffic backups quickly developed.

Interstate 95, which uses the Fort McHenry Tunnel, is a key north-south artery through East Coast states, stretching from Maine to Florida, serving cities including New York, Philadelphia and Washington. Interstate 895, which uses the Harbor Tunnel, is an alternate north-south link through Baltimore.

On October 6, a threat prompted authorities in New York to sharply increase security in the city's subway system. Several days later, local officials announced there was no clear evidence an attack would be carried out and scaled back the protection.

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.