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[UPDATES] "Lone Wolf" Arrested After Targeting Officials With Pipe Bomb
By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 20, 2011
Modified Nov 21, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 20, 2011
Modified Nov 21, 2011
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[UPDATES BELOW] NBC reports that NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly and Manhattan DA Cy Vance are scheduled to make an announcement at 7:30 p.m. tonight—the announcement is "likely terrorism related." MSNBC's Meg Robertson reports that it's "confirmed" that the announced is terrorism related. We'll update this post as we learn more information.
Update 6:30 p.m.: MSNBC's Jesse Rodriguez just tweeted some more info about Bloomberg's announcement: "WNBC: Terror suspect taken into custody yesterday; lone-wolf suspect was preparing a pipe bomb."
Update 6:35 p.m.: The NYTimes is now reporting that authorities have arrested a man who they believe had begun building a bomb. They believe he wanted to detonate the bomb in NY with government workers as the target. They add that the as-yet unidentified suspect, who had been under surveillance for the last year, had bought bomb-making materials and “began to build them.”
Update 6:45 p.m.: NBC adds a few more details about the alleged terror suspect. The man, who lives with his mother, was taken into custody on Saturday after he was preparing explosive material.
Update 7:05: The suspect has now been identified as Jose Pimentel. A source described it as a “lone wolf scenario” to the Times, and added that Pimentel had been considering a possible array of targets that included government employees, lawmakers and military personnel returning from overseas service. According to NBC, the terror suspect had allegedly voiced anger at police and U.S. soldiers returning home from overseas.
Before you ask, Meg Robertson tweeted in response to people questioning the timing of the current announcement: "So many people in my @ replies suggesting mayor releasing info on year long investigation now to distract from #OWS. U guys!! So jaded! ;)"
Update 7:25 p.m.: You can watch a live stream of Bloomberg's announcement at 7:30 p.m. in the link here.
Update 8:40 p.m.: At the press conference this evening, Bloomberg, Kelly and Vance laid out the case against 27-year-old Manhattan resident and al-Qaeda sympathizer Jose Pimentel. "The suspect was a so-called lone wolf, motivated by his own resentment of American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as al Qaeda propaganda," Bloomberg said. "He was not part of a larger conspiracy emanating from abroad."
Pimentel was a follower of extremist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, according to NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly; he also often talked about changing his name to "Osama Hussein" after his two "heroes." Pimentel was allegedly extra motivated after the death of the U.S.-born al-Awlaki in September.
Watched since May 2009, Pimintel made incriminating statements to an informant who was working with the NYPD. Authorities felt the need to move in quickly against him Saturday because he had begun "drilling a hole for bombs"—he had all the materials ready to complete his bombs and seemed prepared to attack certain of his NYC targets. Kelly added that Pimentel tried to build several nail bombs before authorities arrested him: "We had always planned to take him into custody before he could detonate a fully-operated bomb," Kelly said.
You can read Bloomberg's remarks from the press conference here, and watch video of it below.
Also known as Muhammad Yusuf, Pimintel will face charges that include criminal possession of a weapon in the first degree as a crime of terrorism, which is considered an A-1 violent felony.
Tagged
al-qaeda
announcement
bloomberg
bomb
jose pimental
mayor bloomberg
pipe bomb
Ray Kelly
terrorism
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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