Car Bomb Suspect Arrested

[Guest lvdkeyes]

This from AOL.

 

(May 4) -- A 30-year-old Pakistani-American facing charges in the failed Times Square car bombing told authorities after he was pulled off a midnight flight for Dubai that he acted alone, according to published reports.

 

Attorney General Eric Holder held a rare middle-of-the-night news conference early today to announce the arrest of Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-born and naturalized U.S. citizen who was living in Connecticut.

Faisal Shahzad

Personal Photo

This undated photo shows Faisal Shahzad, 30, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent who was arrested in connection with a failed bombing attempt in New York's Times Square.

 

The charges against Shahzad were not announced. The U.S. attorney's office in New York said he's due to appear in federal court in Manhattan today, where he'll be formally charged.

 

"The investigation is ongoing, as are our attempts to gather useful intelligence, and we continue to pursue a number of leads," Holder said. "But it's clear that the intent behind this terrorist act was to kill."

 

The suspect is believed to have recently returned from a five-month trip to Pakistan. Authorities say he paid cash for the Nissan Pathfinder that was found rigged with propane tanks, fertilizer and gasoline Saturday evening in Times Square. Witnesses alerted police to the smoking SUV, and the bomb was defused. New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the device could have produced "a significant fireball" had it detonated properly.

 

Shahzad was arrested moments after the plane left the departure gate at New York's JFK airport and was taxiing toward the runway, The Washington Post reported. Two other people were taken off the Emirates airline flight, but The New York Times said they were interviewed and released.

 

 

Law enforcement officials told several news outlets that Shahzad claims to have acted alone but stressed that the investigation is ongoing. "He's claimed to have acted alone, but these are things that have to be investigated," an unidentified official told The Associated Press.