Federal task force responsible for thwarting potential attacks in North Texas marks 45 years
If not for a federal task force's work in North Texas, residents could have been only a push of a button on a cell phone away from a possible terrorist disaster.
"I just couldn't believe that level of predator was among us," said Tom Petrowski.
Federal task force's crucial role in preventing terrorism in North Texas
Petrowski said most North Texans are unaware of just how many potential terrorists are among us and how many acts of terrorism have been attempted but failed only because of the FBI task force he ran for 6 years, the Joint Terrorism Task Force SSA.
That federal task force is recognizing its 45th anniversary this month.
Petrowski said he can't count the number of terrorist cases he dealt with in Dallas.
"The tempo of the JTTF was blistering," he said.
Reflecting on 45 years: The legacy of the Joint Terrorism Task Force
Petrowski and other members of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force are looking back on the special investigative unit's history 45 years after its creation.
"It's been absolutely critical, you know, after the events of 9/11," said Petrowski. "The one key takeaway was that we were only going to beat this together. One team, one fight."
One of the team's toughest involved Hosam Smadi.
The 19-year-old Jordanian national, who lived in Ellis County, gathered explosives and thought he was carrying out a terrorist attack in Downtown Dallas in 2009.
But Smadi was unaware that his co-conspirators were actually undercover members of the task force who helped plant what he thought was a bomb in the back of a pickup truck that would be detonated by a cell phone.
"The zeal and passion that he brought that day was absolutely shocking," Petrowski said,
When he tried to set off the bomb underneath the 60-story Fountain Place tower, he was arrested and is still serving a 24-year prison sentence.
"What I'm really proud of is the team, and the ability of so many across not just the Dallas division, but all these agencies that supported us," Petrowski said.
The task force in Dallas also arrested Khalid Aldawsari in 2011, who had these bomb making materials in his Lubbock apartment and photos of how to hide them, as well as potential targets.
Petrowski encourages ongoing awareness and preparedness
Petrowski believes that without the Joint Terrorism Task Force, there would have been attacks throughout the U.S.
Though he has retired, Petrowski urges those who follow him to remain vigilant and proud of what they've accomplished.
"As I reflect, probably my best six years of my 36 years of government service."
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