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Police searching for 3 Middle Eastern men videotaping Vancouver mall exits

CougarKing

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Caught in the act of casing/reconnoitering their target?  :o

NOTE to moderators: Please leave this as a separate thread from the Islamic Terrorism in the West superthread

Vancity Buzz

Vancouver Police searching for 3 Middle Eastern men videotaping Pacific Centre Mall
By
Vancity Buzz Staff
8:32 PM PST, Thu January 14, 2016

CrimeNews

Vancouver Police are seeking the public’s help in identifying three Middle Eastern men who were seen taking 360 video within Pacific Centre Mall in downtown Vancouver on Tuesday, January 12 at approximately 6:30 p.m.

The men were seen taking video of exits and entrances and specifically capturing shots of the Dunsmuir Street exit. Mall security tried locating them but were unsuccessful.


Police initially believed four men were taking video, but the number of persons of interest has since been reduced to three men, Vancouver Police told Vancity Buzz.

(...SNIPPED)
 
Good on the police, I suspect there is even more to this for them to release these photo's and if the men are innocent and taking part in a course like Civil Engineering then they should come forward and state that. But looking at their faces, I would say this was no happy walk in the park.
 
Pacific Center would sure make an attractive target. Lots of foot traffic and long narrow corridors. According to the VPD press conference today (http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2016/01/15/live-vancouver-police-discuss-reports-of-3-suspicious-men-filming-pacific-centre-mall/) it looks like this information was leaked out to the media and being Vancity Buzz they just ran with it without doing any background research.
 
CBC has it and their photos on the website.  Sad to say but our time is coming again it would seem as I am sure these men are not the only rats coming up from the sewers to civilization.
 
Yup, eventually we'll get hit again. We've seen the propaganda success that Paris style attacks can bring the enemy. When it does eventually happen, limiting the damage and containing the risk is all gonna come down to the training and resources immediately available to police working on general duty/patrol- the ones who will be there first. We can't pretend we're immune to this anymore, we need to be prepared as a society, and we need to prepare our emergency response community for this.
 
What I am seeing a lot of in the comments is the apologists crying "profiling".  I don't honestly give a shyte the persons of interest are of the usual suspects mould in this occasion.  Anyone who is acting like that is beyond the norm and people need to have the balls to alert security about it.  People here need to start to act upon a "if you see something, report something" mentality.  We all have a part to play in keeping us all safe in our homes and in the streets of this country.  I wish the granola eating, tree hugging, latte sippers would just eff off and smarten up.
 
jollyjacktar said:
What I am seeing a lot of in the comments is the apologists crying "profiling".  I don't honestly give a shyte the persons of interest are of the usual suspects mould in this occasion.  Anyone who is acting like that is beyond the norm and people need to have the balls to alert security about it.  People here need to start to act upon a "if you see something, report something" mentality.  We all have a part to play in keeping us all safe in our homes and in the streets of this country.  I wish the granola eating, tree hugging, latte sippers would just eff off and smarten up.

I have to laugh every time I see someone complaining about "profiling".  What do these people really think LEOs, CBSA and others in the Security and Intelligence business do?  They "PROFILE".  They look to see who is most likely to be involved in a criminal/terrorist/whatever activity and then question/detain anyone who may match that 'description'.  You want to act suspicious; you will attract the attention of the authorities. 
 
"Completely innocent?" They say?

So video recording mall exits is their hobby of choice? Riiiiiight.  ::)

Vancity Buzz

Three men in Pacific Centre video footage identified
By
Vancity Buzz Staff
3:14 PM PST, Fri January 15, 2016

Vancouver Police have identified and spoken to the three men who were seen taking 360 videos and photos of exits and entrances of downtown Vancouver’s Pacific Centre shopping mall on January 12.

According to a police statement, investigators have determined that the men’s actions were “completely innocent”.

“The information was part of an internal police bulletin circulated amongst police officers throughout the province of BC,” the statement reads. “All three men were cooperative with investigators and they had a very logical explanation regarding their behaviour.”


(...SNIPPED)
 
S.M.A. said:
"Completely innocent?" They say?

So video recording mall exits is their hobby of choice? Riiiiiight.  ::)

Vancity Buzz

I trust that Vancouver Police, and likely RCMP INSET, know what you're doing. Given that the initial media reports we have access to don't exactly have a wealth of information either, I'm going to trust the investigators on this one.
 
While we should be on guard and report unusual activity, I agree with Mr  Sharaz.
This incident went a bit over the top, putting their personal safety at risk.

CBC.ca

Mohammed Sharaz speaks out about his role in Vancouver mall mystery
The 3 tourists from Manchester were in Canada for vision impairment treatment
CBC News  Posted: Jan 15, 2016 3:39 PM PT| Last Updated: Jan 15, 2016 11:40 PM PT

One of the three people who raised security alarm bells by taking photographs and video inside a downtown shopping mall says he was travelling to Vancouver with his son and a friend, who are getting treatment for vision impairment.

"I bought my son a little phone he brought with him just to take pictures of anything he can remember, take it back home and show his family and his friends," said Mohammed Sharaz, from Manchester.

"My friend, when he looks at anything head on, he doesn't see like me and you do. So he'll take a picture or a movie and then later on when he gets back he zooms into it and he watches stuff," said Sharaz. "He takes pictures of anything and everything."

Sharaz said he didn't think much of it until he saw reports of himself, his son and his friend. He said he immediately phoned police, but didn't get through to anyone until after he had dropped off his son and friend at the Wellspring Clinic for Holistic Medicine where they were seeking treatment.

"I got through to a lady. I explained everything to her," he said.

Police confirmed their identities later that day, when plain-clothed officers finally came by to meet with them late in the afternoon and took them to the police station through the back door.

"Obviously they didn't feel threatened by us or anything," said Sharaz. "I haven't heard from them since."

Sharaz said he had no issues with how police treated the situation. What concerned him more was that the information had been leaked, potentially putting him, his son and his friend at risk of harm from vigilantes.


He said the three of them have stayed inside since they found out the photo of the three of them was circulating on social media and the internet.

 
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