Posted on 02/25/2008 3:01:17 PM PST by Sammy67
By Nicole Harris, nharris@qconline.com
ROCK ISLAND - Police continue to investigate a report of suspicious activity at St. Pius X Church.
Rev. Mike Schaab sent a letter home to parents of Jordan Catholic School students Wednesday warning about "several men of apparently Middle Eastern origin" visiting a Feb. 16 Mass who allegedly took photographs inside the church and its exterior.
Parishioners contacted police with the license plate of one of the cars driven by the men, but Capt. Scott Harris said tracing the plate has been unsuccessful.
The plate numbers ran by police have turned up no record, but officers are checking different variations and sequences which may lead back to the green Ford reported by parishioners, he said.
Capt. Harris said additional patrols were provided during the past weekend church services. They have also contacted the Statewide Intelligence Terrorism Center which will record the matter and provide feedback if there are similar incidents reported in the state.
He said this does not mean the suspicious activity was related to terrorism, it is simply an investigative tool used to record incidents and provide data for comparison.
Both Capt. Harris and Rev. Schaab emphasized these efforts are precautionary.
"... I ask all parishioners of St. Pius X Church and parents of students at Jordan Catholic School to be alert rather than simply alarmed," Rev. Schaab wrote in
(Excerpt) Read more at qconline.com ...
Thank you. I added Illinois to the Topics.
At first, I thought it was Rhode Island, based on the title. Then I realised R.I. was probably Rock Island, not Rhode Island.
Donno. Never been in law enforcement so no clue on the particulars.
There is also an Army base in Rock Island.
If they ever hurt mine,...I would expel them alright. ...Expel them straight to hell.
Yes, I know. A long time ago, in another life, I once gave a lecture there at AMETA (Army Management Engineering Training Agency).
The man, his wife and their 3-year-old child recently moved to the Quad-Cities after he took a job here, Rev. Schaab said. Because the mans father recently had died, he had friends visiting him who wished to attend church with him, the pastor added.
So the "new parisioner" can just drive up in his green Ford and have his number plate registered with the church for a "guest" parking slot.
Probably those sneaky Mormons.
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