(ConservativeJournal.org) – A man in Leeds, UK is heading to court. He is accused of planning to detonate a bomb two times the size of the one used in the 2013 Boston Marathon attacks. The suspect, Mohammed Farooq, aged 28, allegedly planned to blow up St James’s Hospital in Leeds, where he worked in early 2023, with a pressure cooker bomb.
Farooq has so far admitted to possession of firearms and illegal explosives. When asked about the destructive power of the pressure cooker bomb, Farooq told officers it was enough to take out a whole room. He also made the comparison to the Boston attacks.
Maisie Stevens, a detective of the West Yorkshire Police, testified that a gun with blank rounds, nails, and two knives were found on Farooq during his arrest. Additional weapons, ingredients for explosives, and different types of fuses for bombs were also discovered at his home on Hetton Road in Leeds.
Farooq, a clinical support worker, said he was working alone and was not on any police radar. He did not initially respond when asked about connections to terrorist groups but later insisted he has no ties to any. Farooq claimed his motive was to scare his co-workers, who he accuses of bullying him.
Farooq admitted he sent a text to a manager warning him about the bomb in an attempt to intimidate him. He told officers he had no intention to kill any innocent people, only to make his co-workers afraid.
Farooq explained that he assembled the bomb at night in a park. He was even approached by police on patrol, but they did not search his vehicle. Farooq eventually confided in a patient at the hospital, Nathan Newby, who told him not to act on his plans. This led to Farooq asking Newby to contact the police. He claims talking to Newby grounded him and he realized he was acting irrationally.
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