Terrorist allegedly trained in CT

Naugatuck (WTNH) - An alleged terrorist ringleader trained at a terrorist training camp in Connecticut in the 1980's, according to testimony from an FBI agent.

Deep within the Naugatuck State Forest, the High Rock Shooting Range is used as a training course for the local area police department. But in a Raleigh, North Carolina, courtroom, an FBI agent said that wasn't what it was used for back in the 80's. That's when Daniel Boyd supposedly underwent terrorist training in the forest, even though there is no evidence to back it up.

In 1989, a local constable came upon a group of "Arabic-looking men" in a parking lot. They were unloading AK-47s and other assault weapons. He called for back-up. Police checked IDs, but there was no legal reason to arrest them.

In 1990, a man accused of killing the founder of a militant Jewish group in New York was found to have a firearms dealer's permit issued to a former Waterbury police officer known to frequent High Rock.

In 1993, an FBI informant claims one of the men convicted of the World Trade Center bombing brought him to High Rock where they tested homemade explosives.

"I know there was some allegations a couple years ago, probably somebody who snuck through the cracks," said Ken Muys of Naugatuck, who has lived down the street from the State Forest for the past 25-years.

Muys said he's never seen any kind of suspicious or unusual activity and his friends use the place all the time. "I think it's very well-managed," he said. "The police department is involved and I think there's some state police involved, and they don't let anybody go up there and shoot with any kind of pistol without a permit."

People say it is hard to believe there would be terrorist activity waged in these woods. They don't think it could happen today.

"I don't know, no, I don't like it," said Dawn Lango of Naugatuck.

The latest revelations about the High Rock Shooting Range were made at a bond hearing in North Carolina for the suspects. They were all denied bond and remain in jail.

There have not been any allegations about the shooting range since the early 1990's.