Exclusive: The Moment When Federal Dragnet Closed on Bomb Suspect
"I was expecting you," Faisal Shahzad told the arresting Customs officers.
May 6, 2010— -- When the alleged Times Square bomber was summoned to the front of the Emirate Airlines jetliner, he unbuckled his seatbelt and -- despite being so close to a getaway -- did not appear surprised to find a pair of uniformed federal officers waiting to arrest him.
Faisal Shahzad calmly identified himself, and went ordered to he took off his watch, emptied his pockets, and turned around to put his hands behind his back to be cuffed.
As Shahzad walked down the jetway en route to jail with Customs Officer Robert McConkie's hand on his arm, Shahzad asked, "Who I was with, FBI or NYPD?" McConkie told ABC News in an exclusive interview.
The officer showed Shahzad the Customs patch on his uniform sleeve.
After walking a few more steps, Shahzad said to McConkie, "I was expecting you. I wondered what took so long."
McConkie and his supervisor Paul Casquarelli said the suspect was placid and cooperative the entire time, showing no nerves or anger or fear.
"I think at some point he realized the jig was up and this was it," McConkie said.
McConkie and Casquarelli ended a frantic 53 hour 20 minute manhunt for the Pakistani man who is accused of trying to detonate a car bomb in Times Square this past weekend at a time when it was jammed with tourists and theater-goers.
The final moment of the dragnet came at 10:55 p.m. when Casquarelli got a call at Kennedy Airport's Gate 6 that a "no fly" person may be on the Emirates Airlines. The plane, headed for Dubai, was scheduled to leave at 11 p.m.
"I was told the no-fly issue was directly related to Times Square," Casquarelli said.
He immediately sent two officers to the door of the jetliner and told airline personnel at the gate that the plane wasn't going anywhere immediately.
"It was minutes from taking off," Casquarelli said.
Casquarelli, a 23 year veteran, and McCoskie, who has been on the force for eight years, went down to the jetliner's door themselves and had Shahzad paged over the plane's public address system. The suspect emerged from the plane moment's later at 11:02 p.m.
Related Stories
ABC News Live