Just some basics about how you'd be able to tell if suspicious activity is a recon or the attack itself.
If it's a recon, the people you see will be engaged in activity such as described below. Remember, it's not necessarily how they look in terms of their ethnicity or where it appears they may have been born. It's what they are doing.
Attackers may exhibit some of these characteristics.
They may make obvious or awkward attempts to blend into a crowd. It's different than recon because in recon, they're just watching, not really worried about getting caught because they've got the perfect excuse: "I swear officer, I was just standing here taking pictures of the paint on the ferry bridge because I'd like that color in my kitchen. Why are you hassling me, huh? Just another case of the man messin' with me cuz I'm …"
Your intuition might pick up something that doesn't look or feel right. Listen to your intuition.
They may be dressed in bulky, heavy clothing that seems out of season ~ winter coats in July. Yes, I suppose there is some gangsta fashion statement to be made by that get-up, but you have to contextualize the whole thing. Some 16-year old with his hat on crooked and a coat that's waaaay too big for him ~ and the obligatory baggy pants ~ is probably up to some minor mischief at worst. Put that same coat on someone who appears to be in his or her late 20's/early 30's and suddenly we're not talking about puffy coats anymore. We may be talking about some sort of weapon under or in that coat. Put this same person in a crowded mall and add all or a couple of the variables mentioned here or seen there and you might have a problem on your hands.
You should notify the police ASAP. Try to do it by land-line phone, not cellular because a cell phone signal can detonate a bomb.
Bombs can be made in any shape. Some have been made to fit into brassieres and others to make a woman appear to be pregnant.
Some bombers are sedated in order to make them more obedient to their handlers. The sedative might cause excessive sweating and mild shaking. Perps like this might be walking slowly because they're thinking deeply about what they're about to do, looking to the sides to see if anyone is coming up behind to try to stop them. They might walk along, appearing hesitant, as though they don't want to reach a particular point, probably the target. They might be muttering, perhaps some "religious" phrase or prayer. If the phrase that the person is whispering/saying/shouting sounds something like maybe "alla-hu-ak-bar", my guess is you've got a serious problem there. Decide what you're going to do in that case, but don't just stand there.
Attackers may seem to be trying to stay away from security or police personnel. When doing a recon, they will be less concerned about bumping into security or the cops because they're most likely not carrying weapons at that time but possibly only surveillance items, as described in previous posts here. When terrorists are about to attack, they will want to avoid contact with security and the police (unless security/cops are the intended target, of course) because at that time, they're probably armed. Maybe with firearms, maybe a belt/vest bomb, maybe just a cell phone intended as a remote detonator.
People who don't usually carry weapons or bombs tend to touch them to make sure the weapon is in the right place. So, terrorists might repeatedly and nervously handle parts of their clothing, not just have their hands in their pockets or scratch their balls. Someone touching themselves in a manner that indicates they are feeling for something (as opposed to scratching) or maybe adjusting something under their clothing may be carrying a weapon of some sort.
A well-groomed, clean-shaven, heavily-perfumed male terrorists might have cleaned up because he feels he's about to meet his Maker and wants to be clean for that appointment. It's called ritualistic hygiene. If you know for certain that you saw the same guy just the day before and then he had a bushy beard and was a real slob, the sudden change might add another suspicion to your list. A female terrorist might clean up in a similar way, but probably wouldn't need the shave.
Terrorists might be wearing obvious disguises such as a police, security, or EMT uniform. They wouldn't wear a uniform like that while on recon because of the risk of getting caught early in the mission. They'd use uniforms in an attack in order to quickly get to or away from their target.
They might have on, or put on in front of you, a fabric headband upon which are written words in a foreign language. Some terrorist groups put on headbands as badges of their death. If you see that, trouble's there, not on the way.
The best response is probably to back off and have bystanders move quickly and calmly away. If you're armed, you'd better be sure this bad-guy you're about to draw down on is a bona fide bad guy/girl. Remember, it's your decision, not mine. Not here and now, not there and then, if it ever begins to happen in front of you. If you decide to shoot, a head shot might not work because the bomb may be detonated by a "dead-man" switch, one that is activated if the bomber lets go of the switch. Maybe the terrorist wearing the bomb doesn't have the detonator, maybe his handler has it over there on the corner.
Again, the best response is probably to move away from the suspect. Try to get some cover between you and the attacker(s). If just getting down on the ground/floor is your only option, try to have your feet pointed in the direction of the coming blast. Why? Because the leather/rubber in the soles of your shoes will stop bomb stuff better than the hair on the top of your head.
If something goes Boom! and you can still move, maybe it would be best just to stay put until cops and EMTs arrive. There might be a secondary explosive in the area set to be detonated away from the first explosion… and that second explosion might get you.
School's coming soon. I'll write about that next.
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