May 30, 2007 5:45 am US/Eastern
Fort Dix Plot Tipster: 'We Need To Be Vigilant'
Circuit City Clerk Discusses Fort Dix Episode With CBS 2
by Tanya Rivero
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Sketch of the six Fort Dix terror plot suspects
CBS
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Sign on the Fort Dix Military Reservation January 8, 2003, in Fort Dix, New Jersey.
William Thomas Cain/Getty Images
It was an ordinary job, on an ordinary day with extraordinary consequences.
Circuit City clerk Brian Morgenstern said he was converting a customer's videotape to DVD at a Mount Laurel store when some disturbing images caught his eye.
"Individuals at firing range, shooting handguns, rifles, fully automatic weapons," Morgenstern said.
The 23-year-old from Cherry Hill, N.J., spent a night mulling over whether to call police.
"I had to think about it, not an easy decision to make," Morgenstern said. "In the end, it wasn't really for me to decide."
Morgenstern's tip led to an FBI informant infiltrating the alleged terror cell. Then, 15 months later, six men were arrested, accused of plotting to shoot soldiers inside of Fort Dix, N.J.
"I woke up and was flipping through the channels and saw the news headline and basically started to connect the dots," Morgenstern said. "It was pretty awesome. It was incredible that it had gone this far."
Now he's being hailed as a hero.
"I've known Brian since he was a small boy, and he was always a very mature young man," said Cherry Hill, N.J. neighbor Fred Gross. "I'm not at all surprised that he did something like this. It's something that I would expect from Brian."
But Morgenstern insists he's not a hero. He's just an ordinary American who did the right thing. And he urges others to do the same.
"We need to be vigilant," Morgenstern said. "It's not the job of law enforcement anymore to handle situations like this. We as Americans have a job to speak up if we see something."
When asked if he is concerned for his safety, Morgenstern said he is, but he is more concerned with getting his message out: people everywhere must be more aware of their surroundings, and that was his motivation for coming forward.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Slideshow: Feds Foil Fort Dix Terror Plot
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