Wrigleyville Bomb Suspect "Remorseful"
CHICAGO (CBS/AP) -- The lawyer for a Lebanese immigrant accused of trying to set off a bomb in Wrigleyville last year said Wednesday that his client is "remorseful" about what happened.
Sami Samir Hassoun, 22, was arrested after allegedly leaving a knapsack he believed contained explosives outside Sluggers bar 3540 N. Clark St., just as a Dave Matthews concert was ending in nearby Wrigley Field. He has pleaded not guilty to federal charges, including a count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.
After a brief status hearing on Wednesday, attorney Myron Auerbach said his client is doing well in jail, but that Hassoun is feeling "remorseful."
No trial date has been set, but Auerbach said it could begin by late summer or fall.
During the hearing, both sides said they are still reviewing evidence in the case. Attorneys have said there are more than 100 hours of federal video surveillance involved.
In June, Hassoun, of the 4700 block of North Kedzie Avenue in the Albany Park neighborhood, began expressing to an associate the desire to commit acts of violence in the city for monetary gain and to cause political transformation, the federal complaint alleges. His associate was secretly cooperating with the FBI.
The FBI has said Hassoun never endangered anyone. Undercover federal agents provided fake explosives that were in the knapsack.
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