Authorities have no indication Las Vegas a target

Your salad bar might not kill you, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t report suspicious broccoli.

Las Vegas police said a recent news report concerning terrorists seeking to poison hotel restaurants and buffets does not name Las Vegas as a target.

"We are aware of this. It’s on everybody’s radar," police spokesman Bill Cassell said. "There is absolutely nothing that in any way substantiates this or confirms that there’s any kind of threat to Las Vegas."

CBS News cited an intelligence source Monday saying that there is a credible threat of terrorists simultaneously attacking hotels and restaurants over a single weekend. The plot is supposed to involve two poisons — cyanide and ricin — slipped into salad bars and buffets, according to CBS News.

Such threats have been discussed by security officials for years, and there is some precedent for the use of salad bar food as a terror weapon. In 1984, an Oregon religious sect contaminated restaurant salad bars in that state, and hundreds became sick. A 1997 CNN report said pastries tainted with shigella bacteria were set out for labor workers in Texas. No one died in either incident.

Cassell said an advertising campaign unveiled this week encouraging people to report suspicious activity is not related to the threat.

The campaign, "See something, say something," consists of four donated digital billboards across the valley with a phone number for people to call to make reports.

"We’re kind of trying to relieve from them the worry that, ‘Oh, they’ll think I’m paranoid, or they’ll be annoyed with me,’ " Cassell said. "We would rather take thousands of phone calls that result in nothing than have a citizen see something and not call."

Anybody who sees suspicious activities is encouraged to call the Southern Nevada Counter-Terrorism Center at 828-8386.