AJC Praises Federal Agents, New York Police, for Car Bomb Arrest

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May 04, 2010, 11:06 ET

NEW YORK, May 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC praised federal and New York law enforcement agencies for apprehending early this morning the main suspect in an attempted car bombing in Times Square on Saturday night.

"The arrest of Faisal Shahzad is a strong message that New York, after 9/11, will never again be an easy target for terrorists," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "We admire the swift effort to get to the bottom of a terrorist attempt that could have wreaked havoc in one of New York's busiest neighborhoods. We know that law enforcement is now moving expeditiously to determine whether Shahzad, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Pakistan, acted alone, or with other individuals, or even with an international terrorist organization."

AJC also expressed deep appreciation for the two street vendors, Duane Jackson and Lance Orton, who alerted police to the suspicious Nissan Pathfinder. "Such a partnership between citizens and police can be an incredibly effective way, as we have just seen, to counter the ongoing terror threat in our city and nation," said Harris.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee