Shahzad had other targets, Peter King says

Alleged terror bomber Faisal Shahzad, who has been talking to investigators since his arrest May 3, had studied other potential bombing sites in addition to Times Square, said Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford).

Shahzad has "apparently made reference to other sites," King said Tuesday. "Whether or not they're actually targets will become known as the investigation goes ahead."

Late Tuesday afternoon Shahzad appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. Francis IV on charges including attempted use of weapons of mass destruction and attempting acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, both of which carry a maximum term of life in prison. He was ordered held without bail.

In an interview with Newsday, King would not give specifics, but Fox 5 New York reported Monday that a source said that Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Terminal, the World Financial Center across from Ground Zero and Connecticut defense contractor Sikorsky were mentioned by Shahzad as possible targets.

In addition, the source told Fox 5 that in addition to Shahzad's alleged May 1 attempt, he had an alternate date - the following Saturday. The source told Fox 5 the date and time - a Saturday at 6:30 p.m. - was selected because Shahzad watched streaming video from Times Square and determined that was when it was most crowded.

A law enforcement source told Newsday Tuesday that the various landmarks and sites reportedly mentioned by Shahzad were places he considered before settling on Times Square as a target.

Sikorsky manufactures helicopters for the military. Based in Stratford, Conn., Sikorsky also has facilities in Bridgeport and Shelton, Conn. - two towns where real estate records showed Shahzad lived during the past five years.

The news station reported that the source told them Shahzad purchased the ingredients for his bomb over an extended period of time on the advice of Pakistani bomb-making training camp connections.

Authorities said Shahzad drove into Times Square in a Nissan Pathfinder packed with a makeshift bomb crafted from gasoline, propane, fireworks and fertilizer on the evening of May 1 and parked it near the corner of Seventh Avenue and 45th Street shortly before 6:30 p.m. But the bomb failed. Shahzad was arrested the following Monday at Kennedy Airport aboard an Emirates airlines flight bound for Dubai.

Officials also conducted a series of search-warrant raids last week across four Northeast states, making three arrests. Two of those search warrants were executed in Suffolk County, where officials said Shahzad acquired funding for his alleged bombing attempt during a meeting at a Dunkin' Donuts near the Long Island Rail Road station in Ronkonkoma.