A 36-year-old New Yorker, Kamraman Ishtar, traveling in Austin from “out of town,” was apprehended by Austin police last week with “videotapes” of local “landmarks” in his possession. A police “spokesperson” said the video images included the Governor’s Mansion, the Frost Bank Tower, the Mansfield Dam, the Yellow Rose, and the County Line. Asked why he was filming images of such obscure locations, police said Ishtar shook his head evasively and said, “I’m a tourist!”
Police suspicions were raised when they realized that the words “tourist” and “terrorist” have a lot of the same letters and are almost “homonyms.” Since Ishtar had a funny name and wasn’t from around here, police took him into custody and contacted federal authorities in hope of slapping him with an immigration charge. Turns out Kamraman wasn’t quite who he said he was; he was his brother.
The Chronicle has learned that in addition to the videotapes, Ishtar also possessed several still “photographs” of uncertain origin and purpose. These images have been forwarded to the legendary Houston crime lab for analysis. The Chronicle has obtained exclusive reproductions for our readers, and we submit them here for your consideration.
This article appears in August 20 • 2004.
