HELL ON WHEELS : BROOKLYN VAN WAS WIRED FOR CARNAGE

NEW YORK POST ^ | July 5, 2008 | LARRY CELONA and JOHN DOYLE

[mass55th]

Great story. Thanks for sharing it. I couldn’t believe it when my front bumper was stolen. Of all things. But I later found out that it was probably the only valuable thing on the car, and highly desirable by thieves.

[HeartlandOfAmerica]

Did I get this right? There were 3 of them filled with bombs?

Mazda, Econoline and Explorer?

I just wanted to bump this thread for future reference but wanted to check if I was interpreting the number right.

Thanks

[george76]

3 so far.

Maybe more tomorrow ?

[Dick Vomer]

Styrofoam dissolves in gasoline to creat a napalm like substance.

Way to go.... next thing you know someone is going to put powdered soap in gasoline....oooooooppps!! hhahahahahaha...

What ever happened to the good old simple ways of setting off explosives?.... Everything has to be electronic this...and radio controlled that. Dang fancy pants yutes.....

Bring back the cigarette and book of matches...or shot gun shell and a nail.... or how about nothing. Just leaving a bomb in a van and letting stuff dissolve and then explode.

Is this guy crazy or a member of the ROP?

[Godwin1]

The cops must be asleep. Patrol cars are supposed to notice things. And many NYC neighborhoods also have foot patrolmen. A car that sits in the same parking place for 5 months should have been noticed. In NYC, its windshields would have been absolutely covered in dirt and grit in that time. The fact that it was near a mosque makes the cops’ failure to notice this especially unforgivable.

[TNdandelion]

Could he have had an accomplice? The van sitting there for months makes little sense.

[neverdem]

bump & a ping

[Sadie5]

I’m just making an educated guess here-the guy didn’t smoke cigarettes and he didn’t follow web instructions for bomb making. Sounds like a ford man except for the Mazda.

[CheezyChesster]

WD40? >>>>>>>>>>> Hmmm. that’s an intriguing question ! >> what does actually happen when a can of WD40 ends up in a fire ? >> Hang On, I’ll be right back in a few seconds with a full report !

[Godwin1]

Is he a Muslim? China hosts some, who are closely watched. And even a non-Muslim Chinese could have converted. If he is a wack-job.
Is there a Falun Gong movement among NY’s Chinese immigrants?. If so, this guy could be a Chinese government security operative poised to destroy those the regime has dubbed its enemies.

[TYVets]

Good planning on your part. Having a few extra rounds just in case your local gun shop runs out is very logical.

I have been known to buy an extra box or two before "the price goes up".

[Eroteme]

Did I get this right? There were 3 of them filled with bombs?

Mazda, Econoline and Explorer?

Timeline is confusing and had to do some googling for earlier stories, but yes, the three you mention, plus a duffel bag that took off a man's foot, plus some earlier arson. Yung Tang had been arrested in Dec. 2007 in connection with a bomb placed in a duffel bag in 2002 to target a tenant of a commercial property who was behind in rent. He was released on bail.

That arrest must have been on lesser charges, because there's a May 15 2008 indictment for the duffel bag bomb--brought while he was behind bars following his Jan 2008 arrest in Wallingford. Very confusing.

So the three car bombs appear to have all been made pretty much concurrently--between between his Dec. 2007 release and his Jan. 28, 2008 arrest by the sharp-eyed Wallingford cop. Between that officer and this weekend's car thief, there was a convergence of such extreme luck that it's hard not to imagine angels looking down, shaking their heads and saying, "Jeez, do we gotta do everything?" Guess so.

At minimum, this guy is a complete nutball with a penchant for things that go boom. But having had a personal beef with his 2002 victim does not preclude wider motive or escalating agenda. That may be only what got him started. The three cars he loaded up in the month he was out on bail might not be the extent of it.

Based on this guy's track record, I'd be pulling case records of any unsolved bombings between 2002 and 2007 in NY, CT, and NJ.

[yarddog]

I got most of my .22 ammo at one time. It was around 1987 and the TG&Y in Dodge City, KS was going out of business. When I stopped by everything was 60% off. Just about everything worth buying had already been sold but for some reason they had a large amount of .22 ammo still in stock.

I thought to myself "why not", and put $200 worth of .22LR and nearly that much of .22 Magnum on my credit card. I still have a lot of it mainly because I still buy ammo when I see it on sale.

[wastedyears]

Hang him

And I’d love to know where they found the Ford Explorer, which is not a van.

[wastedyears]

I love the smell of napalm in the morning.

[B4Ranch]

>The fact that it was near a mosque makes the cops’ failure to notice this especially unforgivable.<

Why so? Do they pay more in taxes and deserve better care?

[garyhope]

When I lived in LA with my ex, we lived in a downtown loft in an industrial area that was apparently a good dumping ground for stolen cars and trucks. I called the police 3 or 4 times to report cars that had been sitting there too long with no wheels, etc.

I noticed a large truck parked across from the studio one day. It was still there several days later. It was open so I looked through the glove box, found the registration, found the owner 400 miles away, called them up and ask them if they were missing their truck, they were and they came and got it.

Toyota wheels and seats were popular in those days.

[freema]

Race-this freak is behind bars in your neck of the woods.

[stevie_d_64]

The irony is incredibly incredible...

intuitively speaking of course...

[dervish]

was he a “Chinese National” who was also an Islamic jihadist from the northwestern province of Xinjiang?