Police Arrest Man in Connection with Failed Times Square Bombing (Updated)
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.)
Shahzad, a U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent, had left his name on an email between him and college student Peggy Colas when he bought her car, which was later outfitted with a bomb and left to detonate in Times Square.
HuffPo, for its part, is pimping a screenshot of a Facebook profile for one Shahzad Faisal, whose profile picture shows him at the Herald Square Macy's, eight blocks south of Times Square.
This is almost definitely not the Facebook profile of the terrorist behind the Times Square bombing attempt. Why? Well, as HuffPo itself points out, he's "listed as a fan of both a restaurant in Karachi, Pakistan and the mayor of Karachi." The Mayor of Karachi—Syed Mustafa Kamal—is a progressive politician and a member of the secular Muttahida Qaumi Movement. How likely is it that a wannabe terrorist is really into the secular mayor of Pakistan's biggest city? Let's go with: Not very.
Update: Well, that was quick. HuffPo has removed their screenshot of Shahzad Faisal's Facebook profile—in case you're wondering, here's another shot (We've blurred identifying information): I've taken down our obscured screencap of the misidentified Shahzad Faisal.
Update 2:Via Bos'un's Mate, here's video from a local Connecticut news station. A neighbor says Shahzad was "friendly but a little mysterious" and that he used to work on Wall Street but had lost his house:
From Buttafooco, pictures of Faisal's house.
Update 3: Good Day New York is identifying this guy as Faisal Shahzad:
Full pic, apparently from Facebook, via the The Early Show:
(Note: When the guy's name first came out it, it was rendered as "Shahzad Faisal"; per Eric Holder's statement, I've changed it to "Faisal Shahzad")