Faisal Shahzad Suspected of involvement in preparing a terrorist attack on Times Square in New York Date of Birth: 30.06.1979 Country: USA

Biography of Faisal Shahzad

Faisal Shahzad, the suspect accused of involvement in the attempted terrorist attack in Times Square, New York City on May 1, 2010, was born on June 30, 1979, in Pakistan. His parents lived in the northwest region of the country, and according to press reports, his identification card listed Karachi as his place of residence. Shahzad emigrated to the United States around 1998 on a student visa, living separately from his parents who remained in Pakistan.

He initially began studying at Southeastern University in Washington, D.C., but transferred to the University of Bridgeport in 1999, where he graduated the following year with a bachelor's degree in Computer Applications and Information Systems. His parents provided two-thirds of the tuition fees, while the remaining funds were covered by a U.S. government grant. In 2005, Shahzad obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the same university.

In 2002, Shahzad obtained a work visa and lived in various areas of Connecticut. In 2004, he and his wife purchased a home in Shelton through a mortgage. News reports stated that in 2009, a mortgage company and another bank filed a lawsuit against Shahzad seeking to repossess the mortgaged property due to loan payment delinquency. His last known place of residence was Bridgeport, where he told neighbors that he worked on Wall Street in New York City, in a neighboring state.

Documents confirmed that from 2006 to 2009, Shahzad worked as a junior financial analyst at the marketing company Affinion Group in Norwalk. He voluntarily resigned from this position. In April 2009, Shahzad obtained U.S. citizenship and returned to Pakistan for a period of time. It is unclear whether he resided in Karachi or visited his family in the northern region near the Afghanistan border, where the Pakistani army was fighting the Taliban.

Shahzad returned to the United States in August 2009 or February 2010, according to different sources. On May 1, 2010, an attempted terrorist attack in Times Square was foiled when street vendors noticed smoke coming from a parked Nissan Pathfinder with removed license plates. They alerted the police, who evacuated people from the square and surrounding buildings. Although the car caught fire, the improvised explosive device consisting of a timing device, non-explosive fertilizers, propane tanks, gasoline canisters, and fireworks did not detonate. Experts believed that if the explosion had occurred, there would have been human casualties. Initially, Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the incident, but American authorities were skeptical of this claim.

Police quickly determined the owner of the vehicle through its unique identification number engraved on the engine. It was revealed that the car had been sold to Shahzad for $1,300 in Connecticut three weeks prior to the incident. On May 3, 2010, Shahzad was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City while attempting to travel to Pakistan with a layover in Dubai. The flight was canceled upon the authorities' request. Shahzad was apprehended after the passengers were deplaned. On May 4, 2010, he admitted to planning the terrorist act in Times Square but claimed to have acted alone and denied any affiliation with Pakistani extremist groups, although he later confessed to receiving training at a Pakistani Taliban camp. On the same day, he was formally charged with terrorism.

According to the press, Shahzad married a U.S. citizen named Huma Asif Mian in 2008, and they have a daughter and a son. Shahzad stated to investigators that his wife was residing in Pakistan in 2010.