‘Christmas tree bomber’ heads to court

A 19-YEAR-OLD Somali-American accused of attempting to set off a car bomb at an Oregon Christmas tree lighting is expected to appear in federal court Tuesday, authorities said.

According to undercover FBI agents, Mohamed Osman Mohamud was the target of a six-month FBI sting in which he allegedly believed he was detonating a bomb inside a parked van near Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square Friday night.

However, the bomb wasn’t real and his alleged associates were actually FBI agents.

They arrested Mohamud after he dialed a cell phone number he believed would trigger the blast.

“The FBI took great caution to insure that the arrest was planned in a way to insure public safety,” said US Attorney Dwight Holton.

According to the FBI, Mohamud was “anxious to go operational and learn about explosives” and “allegedly considered a Mumbai style shooting rampage.”

Full report at abcnews