Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistan-born citizen of the United States, was arrested on Monday night in connection with the Times Square bomb incident, even as he tried to board a flight from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to Dubai, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
The DoJ said, “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.”
Mr. Shahzad, who is a naturalised U.S. citizen, was stopped from boarding the flight after he was identified by the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection. The DoJ said he would appear in the Manhattan federal court on May 4 to be presented on formal charges.
“We will not rest until every terrorist, whether home-grown or foreign-based, is neutralised and held to account,” said United States Attorney Preet Bharara, FBI Special Agent-in-Charge George Venizelos, and New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly in a joint statement.
Earlier U.S. Attorney-General Eric Holder noted that multiple federal authorities had “worked night and day to find out who was responsible for what would have been a deadly attack had it been successful.” He added, “It is clear that the intent behind this terrorist act was to kill Americans.”
Mr. Holder emphasised the importance of public vigilance to the case: “We continue to gather leads in this investigation, and it is important that the American people remain vigilant,” he said, adding that the vehicle in Times Square was first noticed on Saturday by a citizen who reported it to authorities.
Describing the investigation as “multi-faceted” and “aggressive,” Mr. Holder also hinted at a wider inquiry including foreign entities: “As we move forward, we will focus on not just holding those responsible for it accountable, but also on obtaining any intelligence about terrorist organizations overseas.”
