The suspect, Faisal Shahzad, was identified by customs agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport and was stopped before boarding an Emirates airlines flight to Dubai. Shahzad is a naturalized U.S. citizen and had recently returned from a five-month trip to Pakistan. The investigation apparently all came down to the car:
Law enforcement officials say Shahzad bought the SUV, a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder, from a Connecticut man about three weeks ago and paid cash. The officials spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the case.The U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District in Manhattan will handle the case and said Shahzad would appear in court Tuesday on formal charges, but those charges were not made public. It wasn't clear if additional suspects were being sought.
Police said the bomb could have produced "a significant fireball" and sprayed shrapnel with enough force to kill pedestrians and knock out windows. The SUV was parked on a street lined with restaurants and Broadway theaters, including one showing "The Lion King," and full of people out on a Saturday night.
The vehicle identification number had been removed from the Pathfinder's dashboard, but it was stamped on the engine, and investigators used it to find the owner of record. The discovery was paramount to the investigation.
"The discovery of the VIN on the engine block was pivotal in that it led to the identifying the registered owner," said Paul Browne, chief New York Police Department spokesman. "It continues to pay dividends."
The motive also remains unclear. The Pakistani Taliban appeared to claim responsibility for the bomb in three videos that surfaced after the weekend scare. But New York officials said police have no evidence to support the claims. It was unclear if the suspect in custody had any relationship to the group. More info to come, I'm sure...