Rumor: 4th of July Terrorist Attack on St. Louis
Netlore Archive: Internet rumors warn of terrorist plots to attack Fair St. Louis on the 4th of July, 2002.
Description: Email rumor
Circulating since: June 2002
Status: False
Email example contributed by B. Waller, June 29, 2002:
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Subject: July 4th 2002
This is a message I received from a friend and wanted to pass it on - it might not be anything but I would feel really bad if I didn't pass it on and something happened. Joanne ************************** This is why I'm asking you to not attend the 4th of July festivities in St. Louis this year. A friend of mine works at a gardening store and was approached this morning by a well dressed man of middle eastern descent. He was looking for fertilizer with a middle number (phosphorus content) of 60 or higher. She told him that the highest number they sold is 34. After he left, she made the comment to a coworker that that high a phosphorus content would burn up a lawn. They then realized that that is material for making a bomb. The police and the FBI were called and are involved. Unfortunately, the man left and no one knows his name or saw his car. In another incident, another friend was at the walk for breast cancer in downtown St. Louis last Saturday. She had locked her purse in her trunk and when she returned, her trunk was popped and her purse was gone. She found out that her credit cards had been used as was her cell phone - a two hour call to Iran was placed. The FBI is involved in that as well. This is not gossip, a hoax or information gleaned from the internet. This was told to me directly. As you know, the Fair is advertised as the largest Fourth of July celebration in the nation. What better target? Please, please do not attend. Again, this is not a forwarded information. I, Kim, wrote this and am sending it to you. I will be thinking of all the good people of St. Louis on the 4th and pray that nothing happens but please guard your safety and that of your loved ones. If the fair is unsuccessful this year, so be it. I want to see each and every one of your faces when I get there. Kim June 24, 2002 6:47 pm |
Analysis: According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Fair St. Louis officials conferred with the FBI on the details of this alarmist warning and determined it to be a hoax. The FBI said it had no knowledge of the alleged "incidents" reported in the message, nor of any planned or threatened terrorist attacks specific to the city of St. Louis over the 2002 4th of July holiday.
Heightened security measures were already in effect for the three-day festivities, which organizers say will go on as scheduled, including fireworks displays July 4, 5 and 6. In addition, the St. Louis Arch is one of several national landmarks designated by the FAA as no-fly zones during the holiday. "I want to assure all in our community that it is unnecessary to change any of your plans," said police chief Joseph Mokwa in a statement dated June 29.
The text is similar in form and content to previous scaremongering emails circulating after the events of September 11 which purported to convey "evidence" of planned terrorist attacks on specific U.S. cities. None of those warnings - which, like this one, consisted mainly of "friend of a friend" anecdotal reports - proved true.
Update: According to the New York Times, the FBI has secretly alerted all city and state law enforcement agencies across the country to increase their vigilance during the Independence Day holiday, while reaffirming it is unaware of any "specific and credible" terrorist threat.
Sources and further reading:
Fair St. Louis Battles Internet Rumors
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 29 June 2002Police Chief's Message: Get Out and Enjoy Summer
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 29 June 2002FAA Bans Planes Near Landmarks
Associated Press, 27 June 2002Fair St. Louis: 2002 Security Measures
Fair St. Louis offical Website
Last updated: 06/29/02
