Article Details Capture of First 1993 Bombing Suspect

A fragment of the rented van that carried the bomb in the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center is displayed behind glass at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

Investigators recovered fragments of the rented van that carried the bomb. Two of those pieces contained the van's Vehicle Identification Number. (Photo: Jin Lee)

Following the 22nd anniversary of 1993 World Trade Center bombing on Feb. 26, 2015, the New York Daily News republished a news article focusing on the capture of the first suspect in the attack.

The article reads: “Old-fashioned legwork and a good measure of dumb luck – including some unwittingly supplied by the suspect himself – led to yesterday’s startling breakthrough in a crime that had been expected to vex investigators for months.”

According to the Daily News, which printed the story on March 5, 1993, investigators found a piece of a stolen van – where the bomb had been placed – with a legible vehicle identification number “that had been blown far from the seat of the explosion.” FBI agents then traced the metal to a car-rental agent in New Jersey, who remembered the man who had rented the vehicle.

After the bombing, the man returned to the rental agent twice, both times asking for his deposit back, claiming the vehicle had been stolen. The third time, FBI agents were waiting for him, the article says.

Read the full article here.

By Jordan Friedman, 9/11 Memorial Research and Digital Projects Associate