Former Home Of Faisal Shahzad On Auction Block
SHELTON, Conn. (CBS2/AP) ―The former Connecticut home of the man who attempted to bomb Times Square was being auctioned.
Faisal Shahzad lived with his family in the two-story 1,300-square-foot house in Shelton until last summer. He stopped making mortgage payments in June 2009, around the time he left for Pakistan in what federal authorities said was a trip to a terrorism training camp.
Shazdad had until Saturday to pay off the $213,000 loan on the house.
Those wishing to bid on the property were asked to bring a certified or bank check for $24,000 to the house Saturday. The winner must pay the balance of the price within 30 days.
Shahzad was housed by federal authorities after pleading guilty to terrorism and weapon counts in connection with May's failed bombing.
Federal investigators tested mock-ups of Shahzad's Midtown car bomb, determining it would've killed anywhere from 200 to 250 pedestrians had it been assembled properly and injured as many as 1,000 in Times Square and along 45th Street, CBS 2's Lou Young reports.
The tests were conducted working off the written instructions convicted terrorist Shahzad received in Pakistan.
The feds discovered that the car bomb design he used works -- that the combination of gasoline, propane, fertilizer and fireworks created an explosion about one-tenth the power of the truck bomb that detonated in Oklahoma back in 1995.
But the density of street traffic here in New York would have made the consequences of this bomb more deadly.
Here's what CBS 2 has learned:
- The SUV would've been blown apart by the explosion creating a blast radius of about 100 yards.
- Although windows would've broken along 45th Street, the bomb was not powerful enough to cause structural collapse.
- People walking along the street would've been injured or killed.
- On the Times Square side pedestrians within a 140-degree arc would've been hit by flames and debris.
- The total number of casualties is estimated at between 800 and 1,200 people.
With all the tall buildings in and around Times Square the spot Shahzad chose would've amplified the explosive effects of his device. It would've been a terrifying event.
But Shahzad picked the wrong kind of fertilizer, just as he chose the wrong type of fireworks to help detonate his propane tanks. His bomb, as constructed, would've at worst produced a fireball to burn and injure dozens.
NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly suggested that Shahzad improvised in purchasing his bomb materials to avoid capture and stay under the radar.
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