PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) – A Somali-born teenager was arrested on Friday for attempting to detonate what he thought was a car bomb at a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Oregon, US officials said.
Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, was charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction in connection with an alleged plot to bomb the annual event in downtown Portland, the US Justice Department said late on Friday.
The bomb was a fake and had been provided to Mohamud as part of a long-term sting by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, federal officials said in a statement.
Officials said Mohamud, a naturalized US citizen and student at Oregon State University, had been in contact with an unnamed individual believed to be in northwest Pakistan and involved in terrorist activities.
“The threat was very real,” said Arthur Balizan, a senior FBI agent in Oregon. “Our investigation shows that Mohamud was absolutely committed to carrying out an attack on a very grand scale.”
White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said US President Barack Obama had been told about the operation prior to Mohamud’s arrest and was assured that the FBI was in full control of the operation and the public was not in danger.
“The events of the past 24 hours underscore the necessity of remaining vigilant against terrorism here and abroad,” Shapiro said in a statement yesterday.
Thousands of people attended the tree lighting in a popular Portland square lined with shops and offices. Officials said the public had never been in danger at any time during the sting operation, which lasted months.
