Philly cops seek info on 2 taking subway pix

9/25/09:

Philadelphia police are trying to identify two men who were separately spotted photographing parts of the Broad Street subway line earlier this week.

Aware that the mere mention of such activity could trigger terrorism fears, authorities were quick to note yesterday that neither incident seemed ominous.

"We don't believe either one of these events are terrorism-related, or that there's any connection to what's been going on in New York," said Homeland Security Chief Inspector Joseph Sullivan, alluding to an alleged terrorist plot there that had led to three arrests.

The first incident in the local subways occurred about 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, when a bearded white man in his 20s apparently took pictures of the underground area at the Snyder Avenue stop in South Philadelphia, Sullivan said.

SEPTA security cameras captured footage of the man, who had a backpack and a ponytail, as he left the station.

Shortly after 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, a SEPTA cashier noticed a clean-shaven "Middle Eastern" man with close-cropped hair taking pictures at the Lombard Street station, he said.

The cashier confronted the man, who proceeded to show her images of other subway facilities on his camera. He then indicated that he was deleting the pictures and left, Sullivan said [...]




[A terrorist wouldn't walk around brandishing a camera. He could simply scope out a place by eye and, if pictorial references are needed, use a cell phone or a palm-sized video camera. Walking around with my rather bulky camera, I've been questioned by cops in a train station, and shooed away from buildings, malls and a subway station. To find terrorists, they should look inside the DC Beltway and places like Crawford, TX and Wilson, WY.]