to this month, november, the feds supplied mohammed with bogus explosives, which he allegedly used to pack a van. finally, it ended last night, after authorities say he dialed a cell phone, that was intended to detonate the device, in the middle of a crowd, at that holiday celebration. the 19-year-old is now charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and will appear before a judge, monday morning, a friend who went to high school with mohammed was stunned by this news. he never mentioned anything about not liking anyone, never threatened anyone. no. crazy. now it s not believed that he was acting alone, and, he is not part of a larger terrorist organization, according to authorities. mohammed was born in somalia and was a naturalized resident of the u.s. and also a student at oregon state university. julie? julie: ise steegel, thank you
starting in 2009, an area overrun by the taliban and over the summer, undercover agents contacted him, pretending to be related to a terror network and, he then identified the christmas tree lighting ceremony in downtown portland last night as his intended target. and authorities provided him with fake explosives, the arrest going down with the team, dialing a cell phone that was supposed to detonate the van, full of bombs. now, the white house has released a statement, and said this earlier today, quote: the events of the last 24 hours underscores the necessity of remaining vigilant against terrorism, here, and abroad. the president thanks the fbi, department of justice and the rest of our law enforcement. now, mohammed is scheduled to appear in court first thing monday morning. authorities want to point out that the general public was
weapon of mass destruction and his arrest a culmination of under a cover sting that started over a year ago and details are still unraveling tonight, casey steegel following the story from our los angeles newsroom. what are we learning from the justice department? reporter: well, according to all of the affidavits, the teen told police that he was planning, quote, a spectacular fireworks show, and, one that would leave the spectators either dead or injured. and, what is more, that 19-year-old telling the feds, that he had been thinking about carrying out a violent jihad since he was just 15 years old. here s what we know about the suspect. mohammed asman mohammed, born in somalia, a naturalized citizen of the u.s. and, a student at oregon state university. his father apparently works in portland and his stepmother lives in minneapolis, and the feds say mohammed had been in regular e-mail contact with an associate in northwest pakistan,