Lone Wolf Terror Threats in NJ – Can We Stop Them?

The Federal Bureau of Investigation in New Jersey is very concerned about a possible ISIS sympathizer launching a one-man, or one-woman, "lone wolf"-style attack in the Garden State.

A top FBI special agent believes stopping this type of assault is more challenging than thwarting an attack by a known group or terror cell.

"We're working with local and state officials through the Joint Terrorism Task Force to identify potential threats, like lone wolves, that may try to launch an assault," said Supervisory Special Agent Kevin Conklin.

Conklin said the JTTF goes into the field, connects with, and trains other state and local law enforcement officials on what to look for, "to make sure those other agencies are reporting suspicious activity, which then gets reported to the state Regional Operations Center, run out of Trenton with the State Police."

Eventually, the information makes its way to the FBI.

But Conklin said in order to stop a lone wolf attacker, the community must become involved.

"We need the public to help law enforcement identify these individuals, to look for abnormal behavior from individuals, to say something to the authorities, to either call the FBI and report that suspicious behavior or to report it to their local police department," he said. "It's very, very important for the public to be a partner with law enforcement to try to identify and mitigate any potential lone offender."

The FBI, according to Conklin, is also keeping tabs on certain individuals right now.

"We have ongoing investigations that I really can't speak to, but we do anything and everything we can to identify, track and monitor someone who might be a potential threat or a lone offender," he said.