Somali born Portland bomb-plot suspect appears mix of typical teen, dedicated jihadist
By BOB DROGIN AND APRIL CHOI -
Los Angeles Times
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Friends called him "Mo," and one remembered him as the "class clown." He drank beer, followed the Portland Trail Blazers, and liked hip-hop music. He sometimes worshipped at a local Muslim center but wasn't devout.
And for a high school physics project, he told the class how to operate a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.
Mohamed Osman Mohamud, the 19-year-old Somali American who allegedly tried to explode a powerful car bomb amid the throngs of people at a holiday ceremony Friday night in downtown Portland, appears an odd mix of typical teenager and dedicated jihadist.
The bomb was a deliberate dud supplied by the FBI, and no one was injured. Federal agents lying in wait arrested Mohamud on the spot. He is due in federal court Monday on a charge of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.
In an apparent repercussion from the attempted bombing, federal officials said an arson fire early Sunday ravaged part of the two-story Islamic center in Corvallis, Ore., that Mohamud occasionally attended.
The pre-dawn blaze at the Salman Al-Farisi Islamic Center, a fixture for 40 years in the university town, destroyed the main office but did not affect the worship areas, said Yousef Wanly, imam at the center.
FBI officials said they don't know yet if the mosque was targeted as revenge for the alleged plot to kill revelers attending Portland's annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony. The FBI offered a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of whoever set the fire.
"We have made it quite clear that the FBI will not tolerate any kind of retribution or attack on the Muslim community," said Arthur Balizan, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon. "We are working very closely with the leadership at the mosque. We will find the person responsible for this attack and bring the full force of the federal justice system to bear."
Both the bomb plot and the arson have stunned Portland, and raised fears of further backlash against Muslims.
Officials said Mohamud was born in 1991 in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, at the start of that African country's bitter civil war.
He and his parents, Mariam and Osman Barre, came to America when he was 5, part of a diaspora that brought tens of thousands of Somali refugees to U.S. cities. About 6,500 Somalis are said to live in the Portland area.
Few details were available about Mohamud's early years, including when he became a naturalized American. Neighbors said he has a younger sister, Mona, and a younger brother.
In 2008, the family settled in the newly built Merlo Station Apartments, which provides housing for low-income families. The three-story complex sits between a light rail station and the Tualatin Hills park and recreation center in Beaverton, on the west side of Portland.
The upscale suburb could not be more different from war-torn Mogadishu.
Beaverton's residents are overwhelmingly white and Asian. And the town boasts more than 100 lush parks, plus winding hiking trails and miles of bike paths. Ski slopes and ocean beaches beckon just over an hour away.
"His mom stated to me once that she loved America," recalled Stephanie Napier, a former neighbor. "They all moved here so they could go to school."
She remembered Mohamud as quiet and polite. "He would always wave hello."
As a boy, Mohamud attended Markham Elementary School and Jackson Middle School, both in southwest Portland. Jackson's arts-based curriculum was "inspired by the vision of the great American composer, Leonard Bernstein," according to its website.
He next attended Wilson High School but soon transferred to Westview High School, just down the street from the Merlo Station complex. He joined the school's literary magazine club, played a fierce game of pick-up basketball and graduated with his class in June 2009.
It was at Westview that Mohamud detailed a rocket-propelled grenade launcher for his physics class, classmates recalled. One student, Andy Stull, told Portland's Newschannel 8 that he and Mohamud fought over a messy locker.
Source: L.A. Times
By BOB DROGIN AND APRIL CHOI -
Los Angeles Times
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Friends called him "Mo," and one remembered him as the "class clown." He drank beer, followed the Portland Trail Blazers, and liked hip-hop music. He sometimes worshipped at a local Muslim center but wasn't devout.
And for a high school physics project, he told the class how to operate a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.
Mohamed Osman Mohamud, the 19-year-old Somali American who allegedly tried to explode a powerful car bomb amid the throngs of people at a holiday ceremony Friday night in downtown Portland, appears an odd mix of typical teenager and dedicated jihadist.
The bomb was a deliberate dud supplied by the FBI, and no one was injured. Federal agents lying in wait arrested Mohamud on the spot. He is due in federal court Monday on a charge of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.
In an apparent repercussion from the attempted bombing, federal officials said an arson fire early Sunday ravaged part of the two-story Islamic center in Corvallis, Ore., that Mohamud occasionally attended.
The pre-dawn blaze at the Salman Al-Farisi Islamic Center, a fixture for 40 years in the university town, destroyed the main office but did not affect the worship areas, said Yousef Wanly, imam at the center.
FBI officials said they don't know yet if the mosque was targeted as revenge for the alleged plot to kill revelers attending Portland's annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony. The FBI offered a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of whoever set the fire.
"We have made it quite clear that the FBI will not tolerate any kind of retribution or attack on the Muslim community," said Arthur Balizan, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon. "We are working very closely with the leadership at the mosque. We will find the person responsible for this attack and bring the full force of the federal justice system to bear."
Both the bomb plot and the arson have stunned Portland, and raised fears of further backlash against Muslims.
Officials said Mohamud was born in 1991 in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, at the start of that African country's bitter civil war.
He and his parents, Mariam and Osman Barre, came to America when he was 5, part of a diaspora that brought tens of thousands of Somali refugees to U.S. cities. About 6,500 Somalis are said to live in the Portland area.
Few details were available about Mohamud's early years, including when he became a naturalized American. Neighbors said he has a younger sister, Mona, and a younger brother.
In 2008, the family settled in the newly built Merlo Station Apartments, which provides housing for low-income families. The three-story complex sits between a light rail station and the Tualatin Hills park and recreation center in Beaverton, on the west side of Portland.
The upscale suburb could not be more different from war-torn Mogadishu.
Beaverton's residents are overwhelmingly white and Asian. And the town boasts more than 100 lush parks, plus winding hiking trails and miles of bike paths. Ski slopes and ocean beaches beckon just over an hour away.
"His mom stated to me once that she loved America," recalled Stephanie Napier, a former neighbor. "They all moved here so they could go to school."
She remembered Mohamud as quiet and polite. "He would always wave hello."
As a boy, Mohamud attended Markham Elementary School and Jackson Middle School, both in southwest Portland. Jackson's arts-based curriculum was "inspired by the vision of the great American composer, Leonard Bernstein," according to its website.
He next attended Wilson High School but soon transferred to Westview High School, just down the street from the Merlo Station complex. He joined the school's literary magazine club, played a fierce game of pick-up basketball and graduated with his class in June 2009.
It was at Westview that Mohamud detailed a rocket-propelled grenade launcher for his physics class, classmates recalled. One student, Andy Stull, told Portland's Newschannel 8 that he and Mohamud fought over a messy locker.
Source: L.A. Times
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