(TheRedWire.com) – In 2013, two men used an improvised explosive device (IED) to attack runners and spectators during the Boston Marathon. The homemade bombs killed three people and injured over 260 more individuals when they detonated. It wasn’t the first time someone tried to mass killing event, and the FBI knows it won’t be the last. In 2020, The FBI said Operation Flashpoint led to reports or suspicions of over 2,000 bomb threats across the US.
The FBI’s Cyber and Infrastructure Security division recently sent letters to several business owners in Tampa Bay, Florida. The letter stated recent events caused the federal law enforcement agency to increase awareness about violent extremist groups in the United States. It added the FBI needed assistance from businesses that sell or possess products used to manufacture homemade IEDs. The FBI requested employees or business owners who witnessed suspicious activity surrounding chemical purchases to contact them immediately.
Bay Area businesses warned by FBI to watch for suspicious chemical purchases https://t.co/XWt1GMSdum
— FOX 13 Tampa Bay (@FOX13News) March 23, 2022
Some business owners who received the letter said they were unaware they sold chemicals or materials terrorists might use to make a bomb. Some said they had no idea when they got to work on the morning they received the letter that the government would enlist them on the front lines of the war on terrorism.
The FBI says over 250,000 businesses across the country sell chemicals that people could use to make a deadly IED. If your company sells chemicals, the FBI offers free, in-person training for businesses and employees to help them become more aware of suspicious activities.
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