The Latest: Man arrested in Times Square attack plot
NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on a man accused of buying guns as part of a Times Square terror attack plot (all times local):
2:15 p.m.
Federal prosecutors have charged a New York City man with buying illegal guns from an undercover agent as part of a planned terrorist attack on Times Square.
Prosecutors said in court papers made public Friday that 22-year-old Ashiqul Alam spoke about terrorist organizations including ISIS during months of conversations with the agent.
They said he “repeatedly expressed interest in purchasing firearms and explosives for a terrorist attack in the New York City area.”
Alam is in federal custody awaiting arraignment. Alam’s lawyer, James Darrow, declined comment.
Prosecutors say he was nabbed in a sting in which the undercover officer sold him a pair of semiautomatic pistols with obliterated serial numbers.
According to court papers, Alam and the undercover agent made a trip to Times Square in January and recorded video of the area.
___
1:40 p.m.
Federal prosecutors have charged a New York City man with buying illegal guns from an undercover agent as part of a planned terrorist attack on Times Square.
Prosecutors said in court papers made public Friday that 22-year-old Ashiqul Alam spoke about terrorist organizations including ISIS during months of conversations with the agent.
They said he “repeatedly expressed interest in purchasing firearms and explosives for a terrorist attack in the New York City area.”
Alam is in federal custody awaiting arraignment. It was unclear whether he had a lawyer.
Prosecutors say he was nabbed in a sting in which the undercover officer sold him a pair of semiautomatic pistols with obliterated serial numbers.
According to court papers, Alam and the undercover agent made a trip to Times Square in January and recorded video of the area.
___
10:40 a.m.
Authorities have arrested a New York man who talked about wanting to throw a grenade in Times Square.
Two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press the man was placed under investigation over the comments, and then arrested late Thursday after trying to buy a weapon.
He’s facing weapons-related charges.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the charges hadn’t been made public yet.
They called the man’s statements “aspirational” and never reached a stage that endangered the public.
The man is expected to be arraigned Friday at a federal court in Brooklyn Friday.
Times Square has been a target of attacks before. An Islamic militant tried to detonate a car bomb there in 2010.
In 2017, a man detonated a bomb in a tunnel linking the square to a bus terminal.
— Tom Hays and Michael R. Sisak
