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Monday, November 19, 2001
By the Post-Gazette
Mazen Mohamed Abdallah of Pittsburgh was charged yesterday with making terroristic threats and risking catastrophe after telling Amtrak personnel Saturday night that he had a bomb as he was preparing to board a Chicago-bound train.
Abdallah, 22, is being held in the Allegheny County Jail under $150,000 straight bond.
He was interviewed Saturday night by the FBI, which has not decided whether or not to file federal charges against him.
"We're continuing to look into the situation," FBI spokesman Bill Crowley said yesterday. Crowley said Abdallah was of Middle Eastern descent but he did not know his native country.
Abdallah made no comment when he arraigned yesterday afternoon before Senior District Justice Raymond Casper.
Casper ordered Abdallah to be seen at the Allegheny County Behavior Clinic at the jail.
According to Crowley, Abdallah was checking his luggage Saturday night when he mentioned he had an explosive device. He was arrested shortly after the 9:50 p.m. incident.
No explosives were found, but the building was emptied and a train arriving from New York City was stopped on the tracks until police determined the building was safe. The station was reopened at 12:05 a.m. yesterday.
Amtrak officials referred all questions to the FBI and Pittsburgh police.
During his court appearance Sunday, Abdallah's hands and feet were shackled. He wore khaki pants, a brown-checkered shirt and an Adidas jacket. A hearing date was set for Nov. 27.
According to the University of Pittsburgh web site, Abdallah is listed as a student in the English Language Institute that is part of the linguistics department at the University of Pittsburgh. The English Language Institute was designed for international students who want to improve their English for academic, professional or personal reasons.
It could not be determined last night whether Abdallah was currently a student or had been in the past.
In a typical term, the English Language Institute includes about 130 students from about two dozen countries. A full-time student will take 20 hours of classes each week. A semester costs $2,975.
Like similar English-language programs around the country, it has the ability to grant visas to foreign students.
Allan Juffs, director of the English Language Institute, declined comment last night.