Pakistani national arrested after videotaping bank skyscrapers

[Cicero]

http://www.wbt.com/news/detail_wbt.cfm?article_id=18679

Federal officials are holding a Pakistani citizen arrested last month after a police officer spotted him videotaping the 60-story Bank of America headquarters and another skyscraper in downtown Charlotte.

Kamran Akhtar, 35, was arrested July 20 after a police officer took him in for questioning. Immigration charges against him were contained in indictments unsealed Tuesday in federal court.

Besides the Charlotte skyscrapers, videotapes found in his possession included footage of buildings in Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, New Orleans and Austin, Texas, as well as transit systems in those cities and a dam in Texas, according to a federal criminal complaint filed last week.

Akhtar is charged with violating federal immigration and naturalization laws and making a materially false statement, according to a news release by U.S. Attorney Gretchen Shappert.

...

Later,

[aden_nak]

1. If they caught someone, good! . . .

but if it turns out that this guy is a skyscraper architect or something, I am going to laugh my ass off.

[jdj]

2. man, I am getting so dizzy...

The Pakistanis jump from good guy to bad guy and back more in one news cycle that anyone on the face of the earth.

[sui generis]

3. tourists everywhere beware

DO NOT TAKE PICTURES OF SKYSCRAPERS OR LANDMARKS.

'specially if you're from another country. Welcome to the land of the free.

[katusha]

4. the dam in austin

mansfield dam. if that is a terror target than they are stupid. it is only accessable from the road that goes on top of the dam and even a semi packed with explosives would do little damage as most of the blast would dissipate into the ether. even if they managed to breach the dam there is nothing downriver of it to destroy. i am highly skeptical that this guy was "casing" this dam.

[BadGimp]

5. The reports on the radio news really make this guy sound bad

They clearly want us to believe he was casing many places. The news provided zero context, only red meat.

[dArKeR]

6. Sure are a lot of arrests lately. A lot of new 'chatter'. A lot of

stuff to make it look like aWol Adm. is doing something.