Faisal Shahzad

Faisal Shahzad (}}; born , 1979) is a Pakistani-American citizen who was arrested for the attempted May 1, 2010, Times Square car bombing. On , 2010, in Federal District Court in Manhattan, he confessed to 10 counts arising from the bombing attempt. Throughout his court appearance, Shahzad was unrepentant. The United States Attorney indicated there was no plea deal, so Shahzad faced the maximum sentence, a mandatory life term.

Shahzad was arrested approximately 53 hours after the attempt, at EDT on , 2010, by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. He was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport, after boarding Emirates Flight 202 to Dubai. His final destination had been Islamabad, Pakistan.

A federal complaint was filed on , alleging that Shahzad committed five terrorism-related crimes, including the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. Shahzad waived his constitutional right to a speedy hearing.

Shahzad has reportedly implicated himself in the crimes, and has given information to authorities since his arrest. Shahzad admitted training in bomb-making at a camp run by the Taliban in the Waziristan region in Pakistan along the Afghan border. As of , Shahzad was continuing to answer questions and provide intelligence to investigators. Pakistani officials have arrested more than a dozen people in connection with the plot.

After pleading guilty to a 10-count indictment in June, on October 5, 2010, Shahzad was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole; the charges had included attempted conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting an act of a terrorist attack.

Shahzad is married and the father of two young children, both born in the United States. Since 1997, he had lived mostly in the United States, attending college on extended visas, and earning an undergraduate degree and an MBA at the University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He worked for two major companies, Arden and Affinion Group (2006-2009), as a financial analyst before quitting his jobs. He separated from his wife, Huma Mian, in 2009 and she returned with their children to her parents in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Provided by Wikipedia