Failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad sentenced to life in prison

Failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad sentenced to life in prison

2010-10-06 00:18:02 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) – Faisal Shahzad, the man who attempted to detonate a car bomb in Times Square earlier this year was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday, prosecutors said.

Shahzad, 31, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Pakistan, was taken into custody at John F. Kennedy International Airport on May 3 after he was identified by the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Customs and Border Protection while attempting to leave the United States on a commercial flight to Dubai.

He was then charged in a five-count criminal complaint after being indicted in the Southern District of New York for ten offenses relating to the May 1 attempted bombing. On June 21, he pleaded guilty to all ten terrorism-related offenses.

"Faisal Shahzad is a remorseless terrorist who betrayed his adopted country and today was rightly sentenced to spend the rest of his life in federal prison. While his life sentence ensures that he will never again threaten the security of New York City and our nation, together we must remain vigilant against those like him who wish to do us harm," said U.S. Attorney Preet Bahrara.

In December 2009, Shahzad received explosives training in Waziristan, Pakistan from explosive trainers affiliated with Tehrik-e-Taliban, a militant extremist group based in Pakistan that is better known as the Pakistani Taliban.

On February 25, Shahzad received $5,000 in cash in Massachusetts sent from a militant in Pakistan whom Shahzad understood worked for Tehrik-e-Taliban. Six weeks later he received an additional $7,000 in cash in Ronkonkoma, New York which was also sent from Pakistan.

Shahzad paid a Connecticut man $1,300 for the Pathfinder used in the car bombing attempt. In April, Shahzad purchased components for the improvised explosive and incendiary devices that he loaded into the Pathfinder.

On May 1, Shahzad drove the Pathfinder, loaded with explosives, into Manhattan. He parked the vehicle in New York City's Times Square and attempted to detonate the explosive and incendiary devices. A mounted police officer was alerted to a smoking vehicle and discovered the explosives before it killed Americans.

After failing in his bombing attempt, Shahzad returned to his Connecticut home. He was arrested shortly after while trying to leave the U.S. A semi-automatic 9 millimeter Kel-Tec rifle was found in his car on the day of his arrest. The weapon was loaded.

Shahzad admitted trying to detonate a car bomb in Times Square. Furthermore he added that if he had not been arrested he would have attempted to detonate another bomb in New York City two weeks later.

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