Federal and local authorities are investigating a man who approached a University of Memphis professor last week seeking information about weapons of mass destruction.
The professor, who wished to remain anonymous, said a man of Middle Eastern descent approached him while he was in his office Feb. 13 and asked for a “crash course in the physics that deals with mass destruction.”
In return, the man told the professor he would pay him money for the requested information.
“He told me that money was no object, and that he had plenty of it,” said the professor.
The professor said the bizarre nature of the man’s inquiry and inconsistencies the man gave about his background prompted him to notify Federal authorities while the man sat in his office.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation then informed U of M police, who found the man still sitting in the office when they made the scene.
Bruce Harber, director of public safety at The U of M, said the man was compliant during questioning and supplied officers with a Tennessee driver’s license and a work visa.
However, Harber said the man gave conflicting statements about background information and how he got to the U of M campus.
Police then contacted Immigration Naturalization Service to confirm his background.
INS verified that the information was valid and released the man.
Authorities would only identify the man as a Somalian citizen carrying a visa issued from Nigeria who is currently living in Memphis.
George Bolds, spokesman for the Memphis office of the FBI, said they are currently looking into the incident.
The man is not a student at The U of M.
