Bombing Suspects Were Headed to Times Square
A surplus of weapons and a spontaneous plan that never came to fruition
April 25, 2013
Times Square.(Macaulay)
Another surprising development in the case of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects: New York was next on their list. At a news conference in New York this afternoon, NYPD Commish Raymond W. Kelly explained the two suspects had a number of pipe bombs and a improvised explosive similar to the one used in the Boston Marathon attacks.
But their plan was foiled, Mr. Kelly said, because the vehicle they had carjacked did not have enough gas to reach New York. When the suspects stopped for fuel, the carjacking victim escaped and the police were notified.
As if this weren’t surreal enough, the bombing suspects reportedly purchased supplies for their attacks at the same fireworks store that Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad had visited before building a car bomb in his 2010 attempting bombing.
As the JTA reported yesterday, Bruce Zoldan, the CEO of the B.J. Alan Company, is taking heat because his fireworks company allegedly sold bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev fireworks.
Times Square Was Boston Bombing Suspects’ Next Target, Officials Say [NYT]
Boston man got crackers from same store as Times Square bomber [Business Standard]
Jewish fireworks CEO forced to defend sale to Tsarnaev [JTA]
Adam Chandler was previously a staff writer at Tablet. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Slate, Esquire, New York, and elsewhere. He tweets @allmychandler.
