And Still More Confused
The two Muslim men arrested in South Carolina with what authorities describe as "pipe bombs" are getting a lot of attention from the FBI at this point. And things are getting somewhat more confused as details come out. (Some readers here have pointed out that some of the things taken from the men's car could very well have been used for model rocketry - or fireworks). Some of the details leaking out are very disturbing.
TAMPA - Investigators have removed computers from the family home of a University of South Florida student accused of having pipe bombs in his car, according to Ahmed Bedier, executive director of the Tampa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
He said the FBI contacted the parents of Yousseff Samir Megahed of 4959 Anniston Circle, Tampa, who were on vacation, and got permission to search their home. When they returned, their computers were gone.
Megahed is one of two USF students arrested near a naval base in South Carolina over the weekend.
The unsettling details? The FBI has picked up surveillance camera tape from a Wal-Mart. The older of the two suspects was arrested for shooting squirrels in a park with a pellet gun. But there's more:
On July 24, Tampa police accused Mohamed of illegally shooting squirrels in an east Tampa park. Police say he and Ahmad A. Ishtay, 19, used a pellet gun to shoot the animals in Rowlette Park.
Both were issued citations for discharging a firearm and using an illegal method of taking game, a report said. The case has not been resolved, court records show.
"He invited me," Ishtay said about going to the park with Mohamed.
Ishtay, who rents a Temple Terrace house and works at Boston Market, said he met Mohamed and Megahed through a roommate. He said he didn't know the roommate's last name, but he was from Mauritania.
Another of Ishtay's roommates, Ghassan Salhab, 27, said the man from Mauritania moved here from Canada recently and returned there Monday.
That last bit is more than a bit weird. The mystery man from Mauritania just up and heads for the border when Megahed and Mohamed get arrested in South Carolina? And nobody living in the same house with the guy knows his name? Something stinks about this.
By Quilly Mammoth, Wednesday, 8 August , 2007 @ 1:06 pm
The materials they had were one step away from another rocket…the Qassam. The PVC wouldn’t hold the pressure but it would be the first design step.
I could tell you a lot more. But I think I’ll defer.
By Lars Walker, Wednesday, 8 August , 2007 @ 1:56 pm
On the other hand, he did shoot squirrels. Got to give him credit for that.
By Chris, Wednesday, 8 August , 2007 @ 1:57 pm
University of South Florida, huh? Seems to me there was some sort of kerfuffle about a professor there who liked to fund jihad.