A Pakistan-born US citizen accused of driving a bomb-laden SUV into Times Square and parking it on a street lined with restaurants and Broadway theaters was to appear in court yesterday to face charges that he tried to set off a massive fireball, federal authorities said.
Faisal Shahzad was taken into custody late on Monday by FBI agents and New York Police Department detectives at Kennedy Airport while trying to board a flight to Dubai, US Attorney General Eric Holder and other officials said.
He was identified by customs agents and stopped before boarding, Holder said early yesterday in Washington.
Shahzad, 30, is a naturalized US citizen and had recently returned from a five-month trip to Pakistan, where he has a wife, said law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation into the failed car bombing.
FBI agents searched the home at a known address for Shahzad in Bridgeport, Connecticut, early yesterday, said agent Kimberly Mertz, who wouldn’t answer questions about the search.
Authorities removed filled plastic bags from the house overnight in a mixed-race, working-class neighborhood of multi-family homes in Connecticut’s largest city. A bomb squad came and went without entering as local police and FBI agents gathered in the cordoned-off street.
Shahzad was being held in New York overnight and couldn’t be contacted. A phone number at a listed address for Shahzad in Shelton, Connecticut wasn’t in service.
Law enforcement officials say Shahzad bought the SUV, a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder, from a Connecticut man about three weeks ago and paid cash. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the case.
The vehicle identification number had been removed from the Pathfinder’s dashboard, but it was stamped on the engine, and investigators used it to find the owner of record, who told them he had sold the vehicle to a stranger.
As the SUV buyer came into focus, investigators backed off other leads, although Holder said US authorities “will not rest until we have brought everyone responsible to justice,” suggesting additional suspects are being sought.
The SUV was parked on Saturday night on a busy midtown Manhattan street near a theater showing The Lion King.
In Pakistan, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said his government had not been formally asked for help in the probe.
“When the request comes, we will cooperate with the US government,” Malik said.
The Pakistani Taliban appeared to claim responsibility in videos that surfaced after the weekend scare, monitoring groups said, but police had no evidence to support the claims.
Dubai-based Emirates airline confirmed in an e-mailed statement that three passengers were pulled from Flight EK202, which was delayed for about seven hours.
The airline did not identify Shahzad by name or identify the other two passengers.
The aircraft and passengers were then re-screened before taking off yesterday morning, it said.
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