Subway bomber waged a personal war on Christmas

From CBS 2:

The subway was attacked during rush hour by an apparent suicide bomber.

The alleged attacker has been identified as 27-year-old Akayed Ullah.

Six people, including Ullah, were injured in the blast.

Investigators said the bomb was poorly constructed, and failed to properly detonate.

They have the remnants of the device, which includes some type of Christmas light that may have been used as an electrical component.

Governor Cuomo said security has been boosted at high profile locations statewide, and investigators have been sent to Ullah’s Brooklyn home.

The FBI and NYPD bomb squad were on the scene as early as 8:30 a.m. looking for any information as to what may have motivated him.

The home is on East 48th Street in the Flatlands section of Brooklyn. A quiet, tight-knit community where neighbors said the only problem they ever had with the suspect’s family was over a parking spot.

Neighbors said Ullah lived in the basement of the brick multi-family home near Avenue N for at least the last 5 years. They said his mother, father, and brother — who has his own wife and child – lived in the unit upstairs.

Another basement dweller, eh?

From the NY Times:

Law enforcement officials said the attacker, identified by the police as Akayed Ullah, 27, chose the location because of its Christmas-themed posters, a motive that recalled strikes in Europe, and he told investigators that he set off his bomb in retaliation for United States airstrikes on ISIS targets in Syria and elsewhere.

Crowley challenger receives bomb threat

Call it what it is, Bill!

From ABC:

New York City's mayor said an explosion in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan Saturday night that injured 29 people was an "intentional act."

The explosion happened around 8:30 p.m. Saturday in front of 131 West 23rd Street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues.

Twenty-eight of the people hurt suffered minor injuries, and one person's injuries are being described as serious. All are expected to survive.

Debris landed on nearby cars and shattered some windows. Two cars on West 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue had their back windows blown out. An 8-year-old who was in the back seat was injured.

The incident was captured on multiple surveillance cameras.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said that while the blast appeared to be intentional, it does not appear to be linked to terrorism.

Can someone explain to me how there can be two bombs planted in the middle of Manhattan and the mayor is saying that it's not terrorism? Does he think we're stupid?

Queens women charged with planning terrorist plot

From DNA Info:

Two Queens women were charged in connection to an al-Qaida-inspired terrorism plot to kill people with homemade explosives — and considered bombing a police funeral after the deaths of two Brooklyn NYPD officers, federal officials said.

The women, Noelle Velentzas, 28, and Asia Siddiqui, 31, who went by the aliases Najma Samaa and Murdiyyah respectively, were arrested Thursday morning as part of an undercover investigation dating back to May 2013, prosecutors said.

The pair are both United States citizens who lived in Queens, and until recently were roommates, according to court papers. Siddiqui had multiple propane gas tanks and instructions on how to use them as explosive devices, prosecutors said.

The duo discussed various targets including the Herald Square subway station and a police funeral after watching the massive gather of law enforcement personnel at the memorial service for NYPD Officer Rafael Ramos, who was murdered with his partner Wenjian Liu, prosecutors said.

South Jamaica house firebombed?

From WPIX:

A fire broke out early Thursday morning at a home in South Jamaica, Queens, and fire officials are calling it "suspicious."

The fire started at 3 a.m. at a home on 145th Street and Rockaway Boulevard, which is ironically located right near the local fire department.

At one point, the flames were so intense that a woman was trapped on the second floor of the home with her kids, and was forced to toss her baby out of the window. Two bystanders were there to catch the baby and complete a heroic rescue.

Three firefighters and six residents were taken to Jamaica Hospital, where they are currently in stable condition.

Fire officials are currently investigating the cause of the fire. There were reports that a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the front door of the home, but those reports are unconfirmed.

Terrorism vs. suicide vs. insanity in Ozone Park explosion

From DNA Info:

A man apparently making low-grade pipe bombs with powder from fireworks blew himself up inside his Queens home Monday morning, sources said.

Theodore Ellinghaus, 50, ignited the blast on 111th Avenue in Ozone Park just before 9:30 a.m. and the explosion blew him apart, a source said. He was dead by the time paramedics arrived.

Investigators are looking into whether he was building bombs as part of a dispute with a former employer, a construction company. A police source described Ellinghaus as an "emotionally disturbed person."

From the NY Post:

A Queens man was killed after a powerful firecracker exploded in his home this morning, and law-enforcement sources said cops are looking into whether he may have committed suicide with it.

The 50-year-old man was clutching the M80 near his waist in the hallway of his Ozone Park home when it went off at 9:28 a.m., police said.

The explosion ripped off two fingers from his hand and tore a hole through his stomach, leaving his organs exposed, sources said.

Horrified relatives, who were at the 111th Avenue house at the time of the incident, made the grisly discovery.

Police are investigating whether the victim, who recently told neighbors he was suffering from depression, had decided to kill himself with the firecracker.

Mad bomber in Jamaica

From Fox 5:

Police on Monday released surveillance video of a suspect in a string of possible bias-related firebombings in Queens on New Year's Day and announced $12,000 in reward money for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

One clip shows the arsonist tossing a lit Molotov cocktail that spilled its flaming contents onto the lawn in front of a home at 88-20 170th St. that also houses a Hindu temple.

Cops say the firebug is also behind similar attacks that took place at the Al-Khoei Benevolent Foundation Islamic center, the 179th Street Deli and a home at 146-62 107th Ave.

All of the incidents took place between about 8pm and 10:15pm on Sunday.

No one was injured, but the 107th Avenue home caught fire and was badly damaged.

Nassau County police are also investigating a similar incident in which a bottle filled with gasoline was thrown at a house on Glafil Street in Elmont around 9:40pm on Sunday.

The suspect in the Queens cases was described as a black man between 25 and 30 years old, about 5 feet 8 inches and weighing 200 pounds.

When last seen, he was wearing a black jacket and baseball cap, and he fled the scene in a light-colored, four-door sedan.

Police were looking into whether the fires were hate crimes.

Don't let the bomb hit you on the way out

From the NY Post:

Al Qaeda has an opening for a new editor.

Killed along with terror mouthpiece Anwar al-Awlaki was Samir Khan, a former Queens kid turned militant Islamist who published “Inspire,” al Qaeda’s online magazine and recruitment tool.

Khan, 25, was a Saudi-born US citizen, whose family moved to Maspeth, Queens, in 1993, and later to Long Island. He lived the life of a normal New York teen until a month before 9/11, when he traded his street slang and baggy pants for Islamic extremism.

He attended a summer camp at a Queens mosque, and over time became a fundamentalist. Khan and his parents moved to North Carolina in 2004, when he began taking his Islamist crusade to the Internet.

His print/Web magazine spouted al Qaeda’s ideology of attacks on Westerners, and even gave how-to manuals on how to carry one out, such as an article titled “Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom.”

Khan moved to North Carolina after spending time in New York, and from there left for Yemen two years ago, according to published reports.

JFK bomb plotter gets life in prison

From the NY Post:

A judge [Wednesday] sentenced a former member of Guyana’s parliament to life in prison for plotting to blow up fuel tanks at Kennedy Airport.

Abdul Kadir received the sentence in federal court in Brooklyn.

Kadir and another former JFK cargo handler Russell Defreitas were convicted earlier this year on multiple conspiracy charges.

FBI agents arrested them in 2007 after an informant infiltrated the terror plot and recorded them discussing it. Prosecutors said the men wanted to outdo the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and sought the help of militant Muslims, including an al-Qaida operative, in Guyana.

Kadir told the judge on Wednesday that he was a peace-loving man who never wanted to harm Americans.

Sentencing for DeFreitas is set for Jan. 21.

With AP

Arrest made in bomb threat case

From Forest Hills Patch:

Police from the 112th Precinct made an arrest Wednesday morning in connection with a pair of bomb threats that occurred at two subway stations in Queens last month.

Police arrested 19-year-old Veniamin Yagudayev, of 63 Drive in Rego Park Wednesday morning.

Yagudayev was allegedly caught on surveillance cameras phoning in fake bomb threats at the Union Turnpike and Roosevelt Avenue subway stations.

Seeking suspect in bomb threats

From the Queens Gazette:

On Tuesday, September 14, at approximately 5:45 p.m. a suspect called 911 and informed the dispatcher that there was a bomb inside of a bathroom on the mezzanine level of the Union Turnpike Subway Station at Queens Boulevard and Union Turnpike. A search of the area was conducted by police officers of the 110th Precinct with no suspicious devices being found.

At 6 p.m. another call was received by 911 from that there was a bomb inside of an “E” train at the Roosevelt Avenue Subway Station at Broadway and Roosevelt Avenue. Again, a search of the area was conducted, this time by the 112th precinct, with no discovery of any explosive devices.

The suspect is described as being a white male between the ages of 18 and 20 years old with height of 5 feet, 3 inches to 5 feet, 5 inches tall. He was last seen wearing a gray and white jacket with dark jeans.

Terrorism update

From the AP:

Efforts by terrorists abroad to radicalize and recruit U.S. residents are an evolving problem, three top Obama administration officials told Congress on Wednesday.

The threat posed by homegrown extremists shows that the battle against terrorism has become more complex in the past year, underscoring the challenges of pinpointing and blocking terrorist plots, said Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center.

"Groups affiliated with al-Qaida are now actively targeting the United States and looking to use Americans or Westerners who are able to remain undetected by heightened security measures," FBI Director Robert Mueller told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

"It appears domestic radicalization and homegrown extremism is becoming more pronounced," Mueller said.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said al-Qaida has inspired an array of terrorist groups.

"We are all seeing more diverse activity" by a more diverse collection of groups, Napolitano said.

From the Daily News:

Homeland security officials will hand New York $18.5 million today to keep the city's prototype dirty-bomb detection system running, the Daily News has learned.

New York lawmakers had to battle the Obama administration for the money, putting it in the federal budget last year after homeland security officials stripped it.

Run out of an operations center in the city, the effort features more than 4,500 pieces of radiation detection equipment, many equipped with GPS locators.

It's all aimed at sniffing out a nuke or dirty bomb before it can get across a bridge or tunnel and be detonated in the city.

Terrorism experts warn that the Holy Grail for violent extremists is getting their hands on a weapon of mass destruction.

Even a dirty bomb, which does little explosive damage, could be devastating to the city and economy if it contaminates vital areas with radiation.

Wow, I feel so much safer now!

Suspected terrorist admits to it

From CBS 2:

A court hearing was canceled Tuesday in part because of Shahzad's continuing cooperation with investigators, but authorities said they had shed little light on what might have motivated him.

Until recently, his life in the U.S. appeared enviable. He had a master's degree from the University of Bridgeport, Conn., a job as a budget analyst for a marketing firm in Norwalk, Conn., two children and a well-educated wife who posted his smiling picture and lovingly called him "my everything" on a social networking website.

But shortly after becoming a U.S. citizen a year ago, he gave up his job, stopped paying his mortgage and told a real estate agent to let the bank take the house because he was returning to Pakistan.

Once there, according to investigators, he traveled to the lawless Waziristan region and learned bomb making at a terrorist training camp.

In court papers, investigators said Shahzad returned to the U.S. on Feb. 3, moved into an apartment in a low-rent section of Bridgeport, then set about acquiring materials and an SUV he bought with cash in late April. They said that after his arrest, Shahzad confessed to rigging the bomb and driving it into Times Square. He also acknowledged getting training in Pakistan, the filing said.

Kifyat Ali, a cousin of Shahzad's father, spoke with reporters outside a two-story home the family owns in an upscale part of Peshawar, Pakistan. He said the family had yet to be officially informed of Shahzad's arrest, which he called ``a conspiracy so the (Americans) can bomb more Pashtuns,'' a reference to a major ethnic group in Peshawar and the nearby tribal areas of Pakistan and southwest Afghanistan.

The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the Times Square car bomb plot, but U.S. officials said they are still investigating. Federal authorities are looking into possible financing of Shahzad's activities by the group, according to one of the law enforcement officials who spoke to the AP.

In Pakistan, authorities detained several people, although the FBI said it had no confirmation that those arrests were relevant to the case.

Shahzad came to the U.S. in late 1998 on a student visa. Not long after earning his MBA, he took a job at the Affinion Group, which does brand-loyalty marketing, and stayed there until leaving voluntarily in May 2009, a company spokesman said.

His path to citizenship was eased by his marriage to an American, Huma Mian.

Terror suspect caught at JFK

From Eyewitness News:

Federal authorities arrested the suspected Times Square bomber early Tuesday.

Police say 30-year-old Faisal Shahzad, a naturalized American citizen from Pakistan who lived in Bridgeport, Connecticut, was taken into custody at JFK International Airport around midnight. He was caught while apparently trying to leave the country.

Customs agents took Shahzad without a fight as he tried to board a flight to Dubai. The parking area near Terminal 4 was also sealed off as police searched for explosives. Federal officials say at least three other people close to Shahzad are also under scrutiny in connection with the case.

Federal authorities say they tracked Shahzad over the last two days using evidence from the Nissan Pathfinder left in Times Square. Investigators say Shahzad bought the vehicle a week before the bombing attempt, through a Craig's List ad placed by a family in Connecticut.

Shahzad took the Pathfinder on a test drive in the parking lot of a Bridgeport shopping center, then paid $1,300 for it in $100 bills. The FBI reportedly has a mall surveillance tape of Shahzad driving the car.

Shahzad was questioned for hours by federal agents at Kennedy Airport after he was taken into custody. During questioning, sources say he made statements to federal authorities that he had acted alone. Nonetheless, federal officials continue to track the three associates who may have helped him.

Shahzad is expected to make his first appearance in Federal Court later Tuesday.

Shahzad was taken off Emirates Air Flight 202 to Dubai, which had already left the gate with him on board when federal authorities stopped the plane.

He and two other unnamed passengers were taken off. The plane was then searched. The flight, delayed for seven hours, is now is expected to depart at around 6 a.m.

Shahzad's white Izuzu Trooper was seized the airport, and authorities say a gun was found in the car.

Pakistan native is main suspect in bomb attempt

From Fox 5:

Federal authorities have identified a person of interest in the investigation into the Times Square bomb plot, described as a naturalized American citizen who recently returned from Pakistan, Fox News confirmed Monday.

Investigators also reportedly have been looking through phone records of possible suspects and found at least one call made from the U.S. to overseas that piqued their interest.

At the same time, the Washington Post reported an FBI-led terrorism task force has now taken over the investigation, citing a senior law enforcement source.

The paper said the federal task force was taking charge “because of indications it was connected to international terrorism,” according to the source.

More from ABCNEWS.com

Bomb plot linked to foreign terrorists

From the Daily News:

A Connecticut man was being sought Monday in the failed plot to blow up a bomb-laden SUV in Times Square, sources said.

This "person of interest" bought the 1993 Nissan Pathfinder that was abandoned with the engine running - and with primitive, but potentially deadly payload in the rear - just two weeks ago, law enforcement and police sources told The Daily News.

Investigators aren't certain whether he is the same man who drove the rolling bomb to the Crossroads of the World, but he has not been seen by his girlfriend - and has not shown up at his home or job - since the frightening incident on Saturday night.

Detectives from the NYPD and FBI identified the SUV owner after tracking down the registration of the previous owner, who told investigators he'd sold the vehicle.

The mystery man met the seller through craigslist.com and paid $1,800 cash for the Pathfinder, the Daily News has learned.

The revelation came as:

- The News learned from sources that forensic evidence found in the Pathfinder points to the possibility that whoever prepared the car bomb has links to foreign terrorists.

- The White House uttered the T-word for the first time in connection with the failed plot that sent a scare through the city. "I would say that was intended to terrorize, and I would say that whomever did that would be categorized as a terrorist," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

- Vehicular traffic in and out of Manhattan slowed to a crawl as officers checked suspicious looking trucks entering the East River tunnels - and gave New Yorkers a jarring flashback to the tense days after the 9/11 attacks.

- Police were still trying to identify a man who was caught on tape moments after the SUV - packed with enough fuel, fertilizer and explosives to ignite a massive fireball - was abandoned in Times Square.

Bomb found in Times Square

From Fox 5:

Police found an "amateurish" but potentially powerful bomb in a smoking sport utility vehicle in Times Square, then cleared the streets of thousands of tourists milling through the landmark district so they could dismantle it, authorities said Sunday.

"We avoided what we could have been a very deadly event," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "It certainly could have exploded and had a pretty big fire and a decent amount of explosive impact."

Investigators removed three propane tanks, fireworks, two filled 5-gallon gasoline containers, and two clocks with batteries, electrical wire and other components from the back of the Nissan Pathfinder, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. A black metal box resembling a gun locker was also recovered and will be detonated off site, he said.

Bloomberg called the explosive device "amateurish" and Kelly said the explosives were consumer-grade fireworks but could have caused huge damage on a block of Broadway theaters and restaurants teeming with tourists.

"I think the intent was to cause a significant ball of fire," Kelly said.

No suspects were in custody, although Kelly said a surveillance video showed the car driving west on 45th Street before it parked between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. Police were looking for more video from office buildings that weren't open at the time.

A white robotic police arm broke windows of the black Nissan Pathfinder to remove any explosive materials after a T-shirt vendor alerted police to billowing smoke coming from the back of the vehicle at about 6:30 p.m. Heavily armed police and emergency vehicles shut down the city's busiest streets, teeming with taxis and theatergoers on one of the first summer-like days of the year.

A Connecticut license plate on the vehicle did not match up, Bloomberg said. Police interviewed the Connecticut car owner, who told police he had sent the plates to a nearby junkyard, Bloomberg said.

After the vendor noticed smoke coming from the SUV, police cleared buildings and streets at the so-called "Crossroads of the World"; the south tower of a Marriott hotel was evacuated and several blocks surrounding Times Square remained closed hours later. Officers were deployed around the area with heavy weapons on empty streets in the heart of busy midtown Manhattan.

Serial bank robber says flares are bombs

From the Queens Courier:

In only six days, three northeast Queens banks have been robbed by someone claiming to be carrying a bomb.

On Thursday, January 28, employees at the Chase Manhattan Bank at 196-03 Northern Boulevard greeted what they thought was a customer carrying a computer bag, until he held it out and announced – “See this? This is dynamite. You better give me $75,000 or I’ll blow up the bank.”

Cops say that the robber, described as a black male, about 6-feet tall with a thin build, also had a “dark colored firearm” and was dressed in a dark blue business suit.

On Monday, a black male, between 6 feet and 6 feet 2 inches tall weighing 180 pounds robbed the Queens County Savings Bank at 224-04 Union Turnpike just before noon. He was dressed in a blue trench coat, blue pants and “black sneakers.”

He had a “bomb” that turned out to be four flares taped together with an electronic attachment, which he left behind. The thief fled south along Springfield Boulevard on foot – with about $8,300 in cash.

On Friday, January 22, the Queens County Savings Bank at 247-53 Jamaica Avenue was robbed just before 9 a.m. by a black male described as “5 foot 11 inches weighing approximately 200 pounds.” He also said he had a bomb in his bag – also flares and an electronic accessory.

Officially, the NYPD has not declared the string of bank robberies to be a pattern – there are subtle differences in description of the man and the firearm, but the police source is becoming convinced.

“It’s crazy,” the source told The Queens Courier, asking incredulously, “Three different guys?”

FBI & NYPD punk terrorists

From the Daily News:

The FBI and NYPD busted a four-man homegrown terror cell Wednesday night that was plotting to blow up two Bronx synagogues while simultaneously shooting a plane out of the sky, sources told the Daily News.

The idea was to create a "fireball that would make the country gasp," one law enforcement said.

Little did they know the plastic explosives packed into their car bombs and the plane-downing Stinger missile in their backseat were all phony - supplied by undercover agents posing as Pakistani militants linked to Al Qaeda.

The suspects - three U.S.-born citizens and one Haitian immigrant - at least three of whom were said to be jailhouse converts to Islam, were angry about the deaths of Muslims in Afghanistan, sources told The News.

I can't think of more appropriate news as we head into Memorial Day weekend.

But in this case we should let the guy go with a warning...