***Update below***
The FBI and other local law enforcement agencies are investigating a report of a group taking pictures and videos of office buildings in downtown Denver in July, 9NEWS said.
According to Lance Clem, a spokesman for the Colorado Information Analysis Center, a branch of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security this sort of thing happens fairly often in Denver:
Similar reports arise monthly.......
"It's not unusual, put it that way," Clem said.
But do the "suspicious" people always run away when approached?:
"The individuals ran when approached by building security officers and were not apprehended," the letter to employees said. The National Business Center was not one of the buildings photographed, 9NEWS said.
No description of the individuals was given.
***Update 7/27***
As you can see if you clicked on the link the story has changed somewhat since yesterday. Instead of a group of individuals the story now reports a man "believed to be of Middle Eastern descent.":
According to an internal document obtained by the Rocky Mountain News today, a man was seen about 6:30 p.m. on July 11, standing on Tremont Street between 16th and 17th streets.
He was outside one of the buildings there, videotaping the security desk through a window. The man, described as "believed to be of Middle Eastern descent," then walked to 16th and Tremont, where he filmed more of the outside of the building.
When a security guard tried to approach the man, he "started running down 16th Street and was lost in the crowd," according to the bulletin.
This is the third suspicious incident reported in downtown Denver this summer:
In June, a man was seen at the light-rail station at 16th and California.
A witness, unnamed in the bulletin, said the man was standing on the H-Train platform, watching people entering the train.
The witness also said he may have been distributing literature.On July 11, the same witness saw the same man riding the train. He looked to be counting the number of occupants, counting again when the train filled up.
The man was wearing a gray sweatsuit, tennis shoes and a black wool stocking cap.
As the witness exited the train, she bumped into the man, who "was mumbling; the words ‘Al-Aqsa’ were heard," according to the bulletin.
The bulletin mentions the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a Palestinian militant organization.
Loosely translated into English, "Al-Aqsa" also means "the farthest," so there is a possibility he was caught speaking Arabic mid-sentence, and the terrorist organization is not related.
Kinda strange the same witness reported both incidents and that same witness bumped into the man leaving the train. If authorities believe "she" is a credible witness, surely they're watching the area. But according to RTD (Regional Transport District?) spokesman Scott Reed it's not uncommon for people to count the number of occupants in a train:
RTD hires plain-clothes employees to count the number on trains, he said.
"Plus I know there are people who are very interested in public transit who count them," he said.
I always count the people when I ride the train. It's a drinking game, right?
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