Man Sought Guns, Grenades for Times Square Attack, Feds Say

A New York City college student accused of plotting a terrorist attack on Times Square spent months trying to stockpile guns and grenades.

Traffic and pedestrians crowds Times Square after the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Times Square in N.Y.C., on April 7, 2004. Stephen Chernin/Getty Images

A New York City college student accused of plotting a terrorist attack on Times Square spent months trying to stockpile guns and grenades, heaped praise on the ISIS terrorist group and Osama bin Laden, and feared being known as the “Looney Tunes Terrorist” if his glasses fell off and he couldn’t shoot straight, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Ashiqul Alam was arrested Thursday after arranging through an undercover agent to buy a pair of semiautomatic pistols with obliterated serial numbers, prosecutors said. Police Commissioner James O’Neill said that development was “a clear indicator of (Alam’s) intent to move his plot forward.”