Faisal Shahzad's car bomb sucked, but the technology that caught him was cutting-edge: Army intelligence planes scrambled over New York, armed with Shahzad's cell phone number. They intercepted his call reserving a plane ticket to Dubai; authorities nabbed him.
The FBI has filed its criminal complaint against Times Square Car Bomb suspect Faisal Shahzad. In it, they say that Shahzad admitted that he "recently received bomb-making training in Waziristan, Pakistan."
Why would someone try to blow up New York? We're so nice! Blowhard congressman Peter King says there are a "hundred possibilities" as to why—even South Park! We run down a few likely motivations.
Faisal Shahzad, a 30-year-old Connecticut resident, has been taken into police custody at JFK airport. There is a Faisal Shahzad on Facebook whose profile picture shows him in Herald Square. Is it the same guy? (Update: No.)
Where can a terrorist find a car for cash? Craigslist, of course! Nineteen-year-old Peggy Colas sold her Nissan Pathfinder to a "'Middle Eastern' or 'Hispanic' looking man" she met on Craigslist. Turns out, he wanted to blow up Times Square.
Officials now say the Times Square car bomb "was the work of an international plot."
Police have found the owner of the bomb-laden Nissan Pathfinder. He's "not considered a suspect."
The NYPD has released security camera footage of possible suspect in Saturday's botched Times Square car bomb attempt, showing a man changing his shirt in an alley near the intended bomb site. Click through for the video.
A kink emerges in the tidy "hero vendor" storyline of yesterday's Times Square bomb incident. Three different people are being reported as the eagle-eyed vendor who notified police about the smoking SUV and saved thousands of tourists from being exploded.
On CNN, discussing the attempted Times Square bombing, anchor Don Lemon asked former FBI Assistant Director Tom Fuentes why the area was "blurred out on Google Earth because of this security alert." Fuentes, ignorantly, said it was a security measure.
No one knows for sure yet — but the Pakistani Taliban, according to the AP, are claiming it. And The Daily Telegraph says that police are investigating a link with NY-based South Park and Triscuits-hating extremists Revolution Muslim.
Lance Orton: Our hero! He is the Vietnam vet and T-shirt vendor who saved Times Square by noticing that there was a bomb inside of an SUV and notifying police. But why won't he love us like we love him?
Reuters and MSNBC report that a "failed explosive device" has prompted an evacuation of Times Square. Earlier tonight, a man fled from an SUV that was smoking and making popping sounds. Inside, FDNY found "explosives, gasoline, propane and burned wires."
Police have shut down Times Square due to a suspicious package.
