Monday night, police arrested Times Square car bomb suspect Faisal Shahzad at the JFK airport; Shahzad to appear in court Tuesday morning. Shahzad lives in Bridgeport, Conn. and was arrested at JFK attempting to leave for Dubai.
According to the Justice Department:
"At approximately 11:45 P.M. EDT, Faisal Shahzad was taken into custody. Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and detectives of the New York City Police Department arrested Shahzad for allegedly driving a car bomb into Times Square on the evening of May 1, 2010. Shahzad, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Pakistan, was taken into custody at John F. Kennedy International Airport after he was identified by the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Customs and Border Protection while attempting to take a flight to Dubai.
"The defendant will appear in Manhattan federal court ... on May 4, 2010, at a currently undetermined time to be presented on formal charges."
Faisal Shahzad, 30, became a US citizen just one year ago. His apartment was filled with bomb making materials. Shahzad recently returned from a five-month trip to Pakistan. He bought the SUV used in the attempted car bomb in Times Square Saturday night a few weeks ago and paid cash. Shahzad is being called clumsy according to ABC News.
To see photos of Shahzad and the ongoing investigation of him, click here.
The law enforcement officials said that they are perusing a number of leads in the case. In the last year, police have arrested several American residents who have traveled to Pakistan and attempted meet anti-Western militant groups.
Saturday night, police found a bomb in a car in Times Square, after a t-shirt vendor witnessed smoke coming out of the SUV. The national threat level is currently yellow, which is elevated. Shortly after 6 pm, a Nissan Pathfinder with stolen license plates was left in Times Square with the engine running and hazard lights on.
The SUV was filled with “three propane tanks, two filled five-gallon gas containers, two clocks with batteries, consumer-grade fireworks and a locked metal box that resembled a gun locker,” according to CNN.
Two Utah residents were in Times Square and were evacuated from the area along with thousands of other people. KSL spoke to Jana Miller and Melanie Hawks from Salt Lake City who said that the NYPD handled the situation very quickly and professionally, and they were able to move people very quickly out of the area and get them to a safe area.
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