CRY OF 'JIHAD GOOD' SHUTS DOWN VENTURA BOULEVARD.Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer ENCINO - A motorist screaming ``Jihad good!'' prompted a massive police response Thursday that shut down Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east-west thouroughfares in the San Fernando Valley; as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real (the trail between Spanish missions), Ventura Boulevard is the oldest route in the San Fernando Valley. It was also U.S. for hours and forced the evacuation of thousands of office workers during a bomb search. The driver, described by Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. police as a 40-year-old citizen of France, frightened people as he drove shouting from North Hollywood to Encino. He was released after no bomb was found. In addition to ``Jihad good,'' the man waved a ``Bing-da-Bang Boom, Enjoy'' placard accompanied by a smiley face, witnesses and police said. One sign in his rear window read ``Surprise kaboom kaboom kaboom'' next to a photo of Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (1990 pop. 444,719), state capital, and seat of Oklahoma co., central Okla., on the North Canadian River; inc. 1890. The state's largest city, it is an important livestock market, a wholesale, distribution, industrial, and financial center, and a farm bomber Timothy McVeigh Timothy James McVeigh (aka Oklahoma City bomber April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001), was a former American soldier who was convicted of eleven federal offenses and ultimately executed as a result of his role on the April 19, 1995, Oklahoma City bombing. . ``I got scared and stopped right in the middle of the intersection,'' said Dawn Hunley, 36, of Pacoima, who had notified police after encountering the man at 8 a.m. at Balboa and Burbank boulevards. Calls from across the Valley provoked a police dragnet Dragnet radio show in which justice is always served. [Radio: Buxton, 73] See : Crime Fighting from Van Nuys to North Hollywood to Sherman Oaks. The man was finally stopped by a West Valley patrol car at Libbit Avenue north of busy Ventura Boulevard. Fearing the inscribed in·scribe tr.v. in·scribed, in·scrib·ing, in·scribes 1. a. To write, print, carve, or engrave (words or letters) on or in a surface. b. To mark or engrave (a surface) with words or letters. ``boom'' was a threat, police evacuated about 2,000 people from businesses within a hallock of the intersection while a bomb squad searched his rented Toyota Camry The Toyota Camry is a mid-size sedan assembled by Toyota in Georgetown, Kentucky; Altona, Victoria, Guangzhou, China and the original factory in Toyota City, Japan. In some markets, the top range Camry models are seen as executive cars. . With no evidence of explosives, police set him free. ``Freedom of speech, the First Amendment and the Constitution,'' said Van Nuys Division Sgt. Mark Kelly
Mark Kelly , who supervised the evacuation. ``We had concerns about criminal threats, but he didn't hurt anybody. We had a psychologist talk to him and he didn't seem to pose a threat.'' Kelly said a French national with a Timothy McVeigh photo on his car had previously been been arrested in Anaheim and Beverly Hills. John Eric Goudeaux, 40, of Van Nuys was arrested by Beverly Hills police in September on suspicion of waving a firearm from his car, Lt. Gary Gilmond said. A search of his home and car failed to turn up weapons. Office workers and police had mixed feelings about Thursday's bomb scare. ``Don't you think we're overreacting to everything that's happened since Sept. 11?,'' said Steve Allardyce, 38, of La Verne, a laser technician prevented from visiting a Ventura Boulevard client. Others disagreed, and likened Thursday's threats to yelling ``fire'' in a theater. CAPTION(S): map Map: 1/2 block area closed |
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