Personal photos show Faisal Shahzad smiling. And why not? The young man built a promising life in a new land. He became an American citizen a year ago. He had an American-born wife from a family in his native Pakistan. He had 2 children and a house. A master's degree from an American school. And a job with an international marketing company in Connecticut.
But the image of his life started to change.
He got married 6 years ago in Peshawar. A wedding guest told the New York Times that he had shown no sign then of being extremist or even at all religious. But the guest said in the last year or 2 he began talking more about Islam and "lost his way" in a struggle with financial problems.
In February he returned to the United States without his family after a 5-month visit to Pakistan.
Now investigators have been working to piece together a complete picture of Faisal Shahzad. They say he has admitted driving a car bomb into heavily crowded Times Square in New York City last Saturday. The device failed to explode.
The 30-year-old suspect was arrested Monday and officials described him as cooperative. He reportedly said he received bomb-making training in the Waziristan area of Pakistan.