Officials: Shahzad 'Nervous' After Arrest, but 'Hasn't Stopped Talking Since'
Authorities say interrogation of Times Square bomb suspect continues.
May 5, 2010 — -- The Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad was "extremely nervous" when U.S. agents bordered the plane to arrest him Monday night, but "hasn't stopped talking" since, law enforcement authorities told ABC News.
According to a person briefed on the FBI interrogation, Shahzad has told federal agents that he was angry at the CIA missile strikes carried out in Pakistan and suffered a personal crisis in his life. He has reportedly said he carried out the attempted bombing because he was under duress and that he feared for his family's safety if he didn't fulfill the mission.
Shahzad's first appearance in court was postponed for a second day as FBI interrogators continue to question him about the attempted attack and his ties to Taliban groups in Pakistan.
Shahzad has admitted to receiving bomb-making training and to loading a car with explosives and driving it into Times Square, say U.S. authorities, and is providing valuable information that is helping officials round up possible accomplices.
At a Senate hearing Wednesday, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said Shahzad legally bought a gun in Connecticut in March. A gun was found in the car that Shahzad left at JFK airport before boarding a flight to Dubai late Monday.
Seven men have been arrested in Pakistan in connection with the failed car bombing, including two in Karachi and five in Punjab Province. Shahzad's faither-in-law has also been detained, and Shahzad's father, wife and children may be in protective custody.
ABC News has also learned that two or three individuals are still under scrutiny in Connecticut.
Shahzad himself may have been scrutinized by authorities as long ago as 2004, according to the New York Times, which reported that people who bought a condo from him in Connecticut were questioned after the purchase. There are conflicting reports as to whether Shahzad was on any terror watchlists.
According to U.S. officials, Shahzad, a U.S. citizen who returned for an extended stay in his native Pakistan in 2009, has admitted attending a terrorist training camp while there.
Shahzad, whose father was a high-ranking officer in the Pakistani Air Force, moved to the United States in 1998. Married with two daughters, he worked as a financial analyst and lived in Connecticut.
"They had little picnics in the backyard," said neighbor Mary Ann Galech. "They were always to themselves."
In 2009, Shahzad's life began unraveling. He had been working as a junior financial analyst in the Stamford, Connecticut office of the Affinion Group, an international marketing firm, But in May he left his job, abandoned his $200,000 home to foreclosure and returned to Pakistan.
Federal officials alleged that while in Pakistan he learned bomb-making with the Taliban and received money for his plot.
Shahzad returned to the U.S. in February 2010.
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