Slain Boston Terror Suspect Threatened to Behead Cops

Another suspect charged; cops believe dead man radicalized by ISIS
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 3, 2015 6:11 AM CDT
Slain Boston Terror Suspect Threatened to Behead Cops
The knife brandished by a man under surveillance by a joint terrorism task force who was shot and killed Tuesday is displayed at the Boston Police Department Headquarters Tuesday, June 2, 2015.   (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

The terror suspect shot dead in Boston yesterday when officers confronted him in a CVS parking lot had reportedly been threatening to cut off the heads of law enforcement officials. An FBI agent says authorities didn't have a warrant but planned to "interview him and talk to him about his intentions." Instead, Usaama Rahim, 26 and armed with a black military-style knife, charged cops and an FBI agent and was shot twice, police tell the Boston Herald. Police believe Rahim, who had been under 24-hour surveillance by the Joint Terrorism Task Force for weeks, and two associates had been radicalized by ISIS, CNN reports. Later, agents arrested a man at an apartment building in Everett, Mass., known for its drug scene. Police say he will be charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

Agents also blocked off a street in a neighborhood in Warwick, RI, and were said to be searching a home there. Of Rahim, "unfortunately, he came at the officers and, you know, they do what they were trained to do and, unfortunately, they had to take a life," Boston Police Commissioner William Evans says. He adds the shooting was captured on surveillance video, which shows the officers' "lives were in danger," per NBC News. In the footage, Rahim is seen "coming at the officers" who tell him to "drop the knife!" Evan says. The video could be released to the public. Rahim's brother, California imam Ibrahim Rahim, writes on Facebook that his brother was at a bus stop waiting "to go to his job" when officers approached. He argues Rahim was shot three times in the back and his last words were, "I can’t breathe." (More Boston stories.)

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