Did a TSA Note About Possible School Bus Terrorism Come Home in Your Child's Backpack?

Eight school buses have disappeared within the last year in St. Louis and Jefferson counties (Missouri).  Could school buses be used in terroristic attacks?  The TSA is concerned about missing school buses and possible criminal use.

From School Transportation News 02.29.12:

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reminded student transporters to be on the lookout for suspicious persons lurking around the school buses or facilities as local and federal investigators continue to look for eight buses that were stolen in the St. Louis and Jefferson counties area in the state of Missouri over the past year.

The reminder came during a teleconference held in mid-February with industry stakeholders from the state and national level as well as the private sector.

William Arrington, GM of TSA’s Office of Highway and Motor Carrier, said that, after the last school bus stolen, video footage showed an unidentified man entering various school buses for more than an hour as if he was looking for a particular type of vehicle.

Investigators are not saying at this point why they think the buses were targeted but added that increased security tied to Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5 in Indianapolis included additional searches of school buses in the area. No security breaches occurred, and the event went off without incident. Still, Arrington said the thefts demonstrate that school buses remain the targets of criminal activity, at the least.

The article gives indicators to look out for when looking at school buses.   

The National Terror Alert published several articles dating from 2006 about stolen school buses and drivers with questionable credentials: 

Would you recognize a new face sitting in the drivers seat of your child’s school bus?
Do you give any thought to the person who picks up your child and transports them to school and back home each day?
If not, you might want to start.
School Bus Terrorism – A Practical Analysis

Chris Dorn has a complete analysis of the threat.

In this paper I will discuss one specific aspect of terrorism: attacks including school buses as targets or weapons. I will assume a basic knowledge of terrorism and terrorist groups. Thus I will not discuss in detail the motivations or specific tactical movements of terrorists. I will be dealing in strategies and methods that apply to anti-terrorism in a particular area.
Read Analysis