Thanks to a well-coordinated law enforcement effort led by the FBI, as well as to alert informants, it appears that Milwaukee may have been spared the blood and carnage of a terrorist-style attack such as occurred last month in San Bernardino, Calif., where 14 died and 22 were injured. If that's the case, the community owes a large debt to all those involved in thwarting this alleged plot.

The incident also is a stark reminder that law enforcement as well as ordinary citizens need to be alert to the possibility of such attacks while respecting and protecting the rights of all those around us.

A federal criminal complaint alleges that Samy Mohamed Hamzeh discussed his plan to attack a Masonic center with two others, detailing how they would quickly and quietly kill the first people they saw and then methodically move through the building, "eliminating everyone" they encountered, the Journal Sentinel reported Wednesday.

Acting U.S. Attorney Gregory J. Haanstad called it a "detailed plan to commit a mass shooting intended to kill dozens of people."

Hamzeh, 23, has been charged with possessing a machine gun and a silencer, but has not yet been charged with any terrorism counts. He appeared in federal court in Milwaukee on Tuesday and remains in custody. Authorities say Hamzeh was planning to attack the Humphrey Scottish Rite Masonic Center in downtown Milwaukee. The Wisconsin Scottish Rite, which purchased the building in 1912, has been in the community since 1863.

Hamzeh had scouted the Masonic center by taking a tour and spoke in detail about how the attack would occur, the complaint says. A woman in the lobby of the center Tuesday afternoon told a reporter that the staff had no comment.

REPRINTED FROM THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL

Photo credit: Denis Bocquet