Device was on fire in terror suspect’s lap, plane passenger says
The initial impression is that the suspect was acting alone and did not have any formal connections to organized terrorist groups, said the official, who is familiar with the investigation.
Obviously he forgot to wear his al-Qaeda credentials with photo ID with bold lettering saying, “OFFICIAL MEMBER OF AL-QAEDA SINCE 2001” on a lanyard on his neck.
Security check in Amsterdam? Nope:
He did not undergo secondary security screening in Amsterdam, an administration official said.
Acting alone? Don’t think so:
British counterterrorism police officers were searching houses Saturday in central London in relation to the airline incident, a Metropolitan Police spokeswoman told CNN.
The heroes of Christmas days are the people who stopped him, particularly Jasper Schuringa and the cabin crew”
“Everybody got a little bit startled,” he said. “After a few seconds or so … there was … kind of a flamish light and there was fire” and people around the immediate area began to panic.
Schuringa said he heard a big bang that sounded like a firecracker going off. He told CNN that he was the one who was able to subdue Abdulmutallab. CNN was not able to independently confirm Schuringa’s account.
Schuringa said someone started yelling: “Fire! Fire!”
Then there was smoke. That’s when Schuringa said he knew something was terribly wrong.
When he noticed that Abdulmutallab was not moving, he grew suspect. He jumped over the passenger next to him and lunged over Abdulmutallab’s seat.
Schuringa said he saw that Abdulmutallab had his pants open and he was holding a burning object between his legs.
“I pulled the object from him and tried to extinguish the fire with my hands and threw it away,” Schuringa said.
He said he managed to pull an object tucked between Abdulmutallab’s legs.
“Water! Water,” Schuringa screamed. He heard fire extinguishers as he pulled Abdulmutallab out of his seat and dragged him to the front of the plane.
Schuringa said Abdulmutallab seemed dazed. “He was staring into nothing.”
Schuringa said he stripped off Abdulmutallab’s clothes to make sure he did not have other explosives on his body. A crew member helped handcuff him.
He said other passengers applauded as he walked back to his own seat.
“My hands are pretty burned. I am fine,” he said. “I am shaken up. I am happy to be here.”
Thanks to them, 278 people are alive today.
Meet the Northwest flight 253 hero, Jasper Schuringa. Here is his Facebook page.
It didn’t take long for conspiracy theories to pop up. A commenter at my prior post came up with this beaut:
Something is wrong here..An intelligence officer sitting nearby, a white powder, a black man a muslim name,= a set up! i wonder now whay amerikkka will ask from Nigeria for his release..OIL
Ridiculous.
UPDATE:
the suspect had more than 80 grams of PETN, a compound related to nitro-glycerin used by the military. They were sewn in his underwear.
