After federal officials learned that the San Bernadino shooters had an earlier plan to commit a terrorist act on a California highway during rush hour, many authorities are concerned about the possibility of a future highway terror attack.
Chilling Details of Planned Terror Attack Emerge
Details about the planned rush hour terror attack emerged last week. San Bernadino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook and alleged accomplice Enrique Marquez had plans to commit an act of terrorism on a California highway as far back as 2011, according to a 36-page criminal complaint document filed against Marquez.
Rush Hour Attack Designed to Kill and Wound as Many Motorists As Possible
According to the document, Farook and Marquez had planned their freeway terror attack in order to create maximum carnage. Marquez showed federal agents an area on eastbound SR-91 that they had specifically chosen for their attack because it had few exits — which they believed would increase the number of targets they would be able to kill or injure, especially during rush hour. The pair had planned to use pipe bombs thrown into the eastbound lanes of SR-91 to stop the flow of traffic. From there, Farook planned to move among vehicles, using his rifle to kill as many people as possible while Marquez would take a position in the hills and pick off as many people as he could, concentrating on law enforcement officers.
Plot Abandoned, but Authorities Are Still Wary
Farook and Marquez bought semi-automatic AR-15 rifles but later abandoned the scheme. The newly discovered details of the plan have authorities concerned for highway safety. The LAPD Deputy Chief admitted that a highway terror shooting is “a nightmare that we worry about.”
Authorities say that the Rush Hour plot is only one of several terror plans targeting the U.S. transportation system that have been uncovered in recent years. There have also been plots to sever the support cables on the Brooklyn Bridge and to hide bombs in the New York subway system.
Sources:
LA Times
ABC News
The Express
San Bernadino County Sun