Times Square Bombing Suspect Caught - At Last Second

[Steely Dan]

Link

[Steely Dan]

According to a source familiar with the investigation, the individuals didn't have the expertise to detonate a parked Nissan Pathfinder containing propane tanks, fertilizer and gasoline.

 

Authorities focused on Shahzad when they traced evidence to him from the sale of the Nissan Pathfinder used in the failed attack -- information considered the linchpin of the case.

 

The Nissan Pathfinder had its vehicle identification number removed from the dashboard. Police climbed under the SUV and retrieved the VIN from the bottom of its engine block.

 

This breakthrough led investigators to the vehicle's registered owner and then on to Shahzad, who purchased the SUV, an official said.

 

The Nissan Pathfinder was sold three weeks ago in a cash deal with no paperwork exchanged, a law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation said Monday. The $1,800 deal was closed at a Connecticut shopping mall, where the buyer handed over the money and drove off, the source said.

 

Cell phone calls conducted for the purchase of the vehicle helped lead police to the suspect, law enforcement sources said.

 

Fortunately bombers are really stupid. IIRC, In the WTC bombing in the early 90's police were able to get the vin number from a piece of the truck that survived the bomb. The police were able to trace the number to the Ryder Truck rental shop and it just so happened when they called the guys who had rented it were on the phone asking for their deposit back. They said it had been stolen. Police told the manager to offer to give the money back and when they showed up for the deposit they were arrested!

[dib]

I have better pyrotechnics at my 4th of July extravaganza than this guy put together as a car bomb.

[Steely Dan]

Link

 

What to watch for N.Y. bomb suspect's hearing

Editor's note: CNN's Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin takes a look at what we can expect to see out of today's hearing in connection with the Times Square bomb plot.

 

Much of what will happen to Faisal Shahzad in federal district court today is predictable. One very important part is not.

 

Shahzad will probably be arraigned on a variety of charges, including use of an incendiary device and terrorism. He will be assigned a lawyer. He will not - obviously - be released on bail. The charges are likely to change and be expanded when the case is presented to a grand jury, but Shahzad will not be eligible for the death penalty because (fortunately) no one died as a result of his actions.

 

The big unanswered question is whether Shahzad will be charged with conspiracy.

 

The authorities clearly believe that he was a central figure in the plot to bomb Times Square, but what's unknown is if they believe that he acted alone. If he was not alone, the question then is whether his alleged co-conspirators are also in custody.

 

We'll know more about this critical question after Shahzad appears in court today.

[Chef Jim]

Link

 

What to watch for N.Y. bomb suspect's hearing

Editor's note: CNN's Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin takes a look at what we can expect to see out of today's hearing in connection with the Times Square bomb plot.

 

Much of what will happen to Faisal Shahzad in federal district court today is predictable. One very important part is not.

 

Shahzad will probably be arraigned on a variety of charges, including use of an incendiary device and terrorism. He will be assigned a lawyer. He will not - obviously - be released on bail. The charges are likely to change and be expanded when the case is presented to a grand jury, but Shahzad will not be eligible for the death penalty because (fortunately) no one died as a result of his actions.

 

The big unanswered question is whether Shahzad will be charged with conspiracy.

 

The authorities clearly believe that he was a central figure in the plot to bomb Times Square, but what's unknown is if they believe that he acted alone. If he was not alone, the question then is whether his alleged co-conspirators are also in custody.

 

We'll know more about this critical question after Shahzad appears in court today is waterboarded this week.

 

[Steely Dan]

Link

 

Mr. Shahzad also told the authorities that he had acted alone, but hours after he was arrested, security officials in Karachi, Pakistan, said they arrested a Pakistani man who had spent time with Mr. Shahzad during a recent visit there. Investigators said they arrested the man, Muhammad Rehan, in a mosque in the North Nazimabad area just after morning prayers. The mosque is known for its links with the militant group Jaish-e-Muhammad.

[Chandler#81]

Maybe the guy is an idiot, but please don't let that lessen the act.

This was meant to kill many Americans, and we've been incredibly fortunate on a number of attempts. Many western, civilized nations haven't been so fortunate and some have come to accept the probability vs. the possibility..

 

Fair or not, many people of mid-East decent are committed to doing these things to us, specifically. I'm for profiling the hell out of them,and get 'em out of here before they meet 78 Virginians.

 

This was too close of a call!

[CountDorkula]

Maybe the guy is an idiot, but please don't let that lessen the act.

This was meant to kill many Americans, and we've been incredibly fortunate on a number of attempts. Many western, civilized nations haven't been so fortunate and some have come to accept the probability vs. the possibility..

 

Fair or not, many people of mid-East decent are committed to doing these things to us, specifically. I'm for profiling the hell out of them,and get out of here before they meet 78 Virginians.

 

This was too close of a call!

 

This!

Just because he forgot how to build a bomb, and how to not use his personal cell phone, he should be treated just like every other terrorist.

 

 

 

I say we shank the fella, with wooden spoons!

[Steely Dan]

Link

 

(CNN) -- Investigators in Pakistan have arrested a number of suspects in the investigation into a failed car bombing in Times Square, a Pakistani intelligence source said Tuesday.

 

They arrested two or three people after raiding a house where the Times Square bombing suspect, Faisal Shahzad, is believed to have stayed during a recent visit to Pakistan, the source said.

 

The house is in the Nazimabad district of Karachi, Pakistan, the source said.

 

Meanwhile, authorities digging for details in the botched Times Square bombing attempt have gathered a hand-drawn map, a handgun and ammunition, and fertilizer -- all items linked the a Pakistani-American suspect arrested in the case.

[Steely Dan]

Linky

 

New York (CNN) -- The suspect in the failed Times Square car bombing has admitted involvement in what authorities have now labeled "a terrorist plot," Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday.

 

Faisal Shahzad, a 30-year-old Pakistani-American, was arrested around 11:45 p.m. ET Monday at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport moments before he was to fly to Pakistan via Dubai. He is to appear in federal court in Manhattan later Tuesday.

[Beerball]

Linky

 

New York (CNN) -- The suspect in the failed Times Square car bombing has admitted involvement in what authorities have now labeled "a terrorist plot," Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday.

 

Faisal Shahzad, a 30-year-old Pakistani-American, was arrested around 11:45 p.m. ET Monday at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport moments before he was to fly to Pakistan via Dubai. He is to appear in federal court in Manhattan later Tuesday.

Is he a Pakistani-American or an American of Pakistani descent?

[Steely Dan]

Is he a Pakistani-American or an American of Pakistani descent?

 

I believe he has dual citizenship. I haven't heard anything about where he was born yet.

[stuckincincy]

I believe he has dual citizenship. I haven't heard anything about where he was born yet.

 

Do you think he knows the difference between posting a topic on Off the Wall and one that should be posted on PPP?

 

[Steely Dan]

Do you think he knows the difference between posting a topic on Off the Wall and one that should be posted on PPP?

 

 

I didn't know news stories had to go on the PPP.

[Tortured Soul]

Fair or not, many people of mid-East decent are committed to doing these things to us, specifically. I'm for profiling the hell out of them,and get 'em out of here before they meet 78 Virginians.

FWIW, he wasn't a suicide bomber.

[stuckincincy]

I didn't know news stories had to go on the PPP.

 

Have I erred? I rely on your words, as always.

[DrFishfinder]

Link

I'm not sure why the majority of the attempted terrorist acts inside the US have been so amateurish and poorly executed. Quite frankly, we have been very lucky. It seems that it's only a matter of time until one day, someone who is better equipped and better trained, causes a catastrophe. And it seems that we are largely very ill prepared to prevent it.

[Albany,n.y.]

I think letting him board the plane was the safest way to apprehend him. 1st he's cleared through the gate, so you know he has no weapons, then you put him in a confined space where he can't run away. When he is approached by armed law enforcement officers on the plane, he's pretty much in custody with no chance of fleeing. I heard on the news that the government is not commenting on the way he was apprehended, but I suspect that if you have someone at the airport, you let him board the plane after a thorough check through security & suprise him in an area where the smaller the space, the better.

[Albany,n.y.]

I believe he has dual citizenship. I haven't heard anything about where he was born yet.

He is a naturalized citizen, which means he wasn't born here.

[***PetrinoInAlbany***]

So I'm in Bridgeport, and I'm traveling south on North Avenue on the way to a collision shop on Sage. Anyway, I'm on one of the busiest stretches and all of a sudden an entire neighborhood is marked off with yellow tape. And a detour ... which is where the story starts. So I didn't realize that the detour had just spilled me back on to North Avenue, so I was lost because I was working from memorized directions. So I wind up in this heavily guarded and confined little path, and a shoulder, and four Bridgeport cops on the outer perimeter of a six block by four block area. And I get out and figured it's like 82 out (this happened today) why make these poor guys walk over in body armour? So I walk up and see they're SWAT-type armed and here's this idiot asking for directions. But they were good guys and local and the one cop gave great directions. So as we're finishing I say "By the way, I was stuck in St. Vincent's Hospital for like 48 hours..." (It's related to the need to be heading to the collision shop on Sage Street...) "I just went past a CNN dish, and there's FBI and ATF and Homeland Security guys everywhere. May I ask what's going on?" And he says, "the guy that left the bomb in Times Square? They're searching his garage." Now I'm watching CNN feeds looking for a blue Hyundai. With a handsome but bald driver. Who's Mom is doing very well on chemo. (Thank-you, Mother Mary, for the assist.) Very sorry I've been so scarce since before the Draft...