Police find suspect vehicles after Staten Island investigation; weapons

Police received a report of people getting into two SUVs at a Midland Beach parking lot, possibly with weapons. Officers were told to be on the lookout for two vehicles with New Jersey license plates. Police are trying to determine whether the group were preparing an imminent terror attack, or linked to recent paintball attackers who shot several people last week with paintball guns, police said. Officers funneled traffic into one lane, which caused extensive delays during the evening commute.

And as of 3:40 p.m., an NYPD spokesman confirms that the hubbub is in response to photos sent to the Intelligence Bureau Operations Unit by a retired officer.

The woman and one man are “armed with what appears to be assault rifles”, one police source said.

The federal alert led to Coast Guard Sector New York, at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, and Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook, at Fort Hancock in Highlands, N.J., being put on lockdown Friday, officials said. “When you have to go into Staten Island but all the bridges are closed”, writes another. The officer indicated that one rifle may have been a paintball gun.

Sources told the Staten Island Advance photos were circulated earlier today among law enforcement showing what appeared to be guns being transferred between two cars with New Jersey plates. As part of the ongoing investigation, NYPD firearms experts conducted a forensic examination of the photographs. Refresh the page for updates.