18-year-old, Adel Daoud of Chicago’s Hillside suburb, was arrested during an undercover operation in which agents pretending to be extremists provided him with a phony car bomb! Daoud intended to blow up a downtown bar!See below for more deatils.
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
An 18-year-old from Chicago was arrested during an undercover operation in which agents pretending to be extremists provided him with a phony car bomb that he intended to detonate outside a downtown bar, the U.S. District Attorney’s office in Chicago said Saturday.
Adel Daoud of Chicago’s Hillside suburb was arrested Friday night.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release Saturday the device was inert and the public was never at risk.
Daoud was charged in court Saturday with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to damage and destroy a building with an explosive.
Federal prosecutors say the FBI began monitoring him after he posted material online about “violent jihad” and the killing of Americans.
“About 7:15 p.m. yesterday, Daoud met the undercover agent in Villa Park and they drove to downtown Chicago,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “During the drive, Daoud led the undercover agent in a prayer that Daoud and the agent succeed in their attack, kill many people, and cause destruction. They entered a parking lot where a Jeep containing the purported explosive device was parked. Daoud then drove the Jeep out of the parking lot and parked the vehicle in front of a bar in downtown Chicago, which was the target that he had previously selected. According to the affidavit, Daoud exited the vehicle and walked to an alley approximately a block away, and in the presence of the undercover agent,attempted to detonate the device by pressing the triggering mechanism. He was then arrested.”
A preliminary court hearing was set for Monday.
