BAYONNE AND BEYOND — The Bayonne Police Department was among the possible targets of a terrorist suspect nabbed by the New York City Police Department on Nov. 20.
Jose Pimentel 27, who was arrested as the result of year-long investigation by the NYPD, allegedly planned to plant bombs in a variety of police and post offices, and specifically named Bayonne police, according to publicly released information. In a press conference on Sunday, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Bayonne police were among the alleged targets that would have also included military troops returning home from the war front.
Pimentel is an alleged sympathizer of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, although Bloomberg called him “a lone wolf.” He was allegedly using instructions for making bombs from Al-Qaeda sources, but apparently had no clear link to other terrorists.
Bayonne Public Safety Director Jason O’Donnell said the investigation that nabbed Pimentel was by the NYPD and not federal Homeland Security.
“Normally we would have been notified by the FBI,” he said.
Because of the vast chemical storage facilities located in Bayonne, the city is considered a prime target for terrorism, one reason why federal and state offices of Homeland Security have invested in supplying cameras and other security devices, many of which are monitored by the Bayonne Police Department.
O’Donnell, who was expected to release an official statement from the city of Bayonne, did not speculate on why Bayonne was a specifically named a target, but said the city was taking the incident very seriously.