Police Chief Stephen Watson apologized on Thursday, calling the failure to examine the phones of attacker Jihad Al-Shami before the attack a 'missed opportunity.' Prosecutors in the trial of accomplice Muhammad Asim Bashir admitted that Al-Shami was arrested twice before the attack and his phones were confiscated but not examined until after.
During a court hearing for Muhammad Asim Bashir, an accomplice in the attack, prosecutors disclosed that the attacker, Jihad Al-Shami, had been arrested twice prior to the attack and his phones were seized. The content of the phones was only examined after the attack, despite opportunities to do so earlier. Chief Constable Stephen Watson acknowledged the lapse, stating it was a missed opportunity. The admission highlights a significant intelligence failure.
3 developments
- DevelopingGerman court sentences 35-year-old man to 8.5 years for plotting synagogue attack
- StrongISIS operative sentenced to 15 years for planning attacks on Jews, critics say 'not enough'
- DevelopingSwiss teen sentenced to one year suspended for stabbing Orthodox Jew 17 times in Zurich
- StrongCalifornia judge sentences anti-Israel protester to 1 year for killing Jewish man at rally; prosecutors object as too lenient
Source and signal
A single-sourced dispatch is never rated Confirmed or Strong. Its Signal strengthens only when a second, independent source corroborates it.
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