UNC-Chapel Hill Attack Motive: Islamic Rage

Fri, Mar 3, 2006 at 5:09:51 pm PST

Last week we had a report on University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill student newspaper The Daily Tar Heel, which ran an original cartoon of Mohammed that enraged Muslim groups: lgf: Daily Tar Heel Now Targeted for Cartoon Jihad.

Now it appears that a Muslim psychology graduate from UNC-Chapel Hill may have committed the first act of terrorism inside the US connected to the cartoons: New Details about UNC-CH Attack. (Hat tip: Confederate Yankee.)

(03/03/06 — CHAPEL HILL) - The driver of an SUV that plowed into a group of pedestrians at UNC-Chapel Hill on Friday told police it was retribution for the treatment of Muslims around the world, according to ABC News.

It happened around noon Friday in front of Lenoir Hall on the campus, in a common area known as the Pit. Paramedics took six people to UNC Hospitals. Five had been released by Friday evening and the sixth was not expected to be admitted. Officials say none of the people were seriously injured. Three refused treatment at the scene.

Chapel Hill police say they arrested the suspect, Mohammed Reva Taheriazar, 23, of Chapel Hill, shortly after the incident. Several witnesses were able to give police the rented Jeep Cherokee’s license plate number.

Police said they would charge Taheriazar, a psychology major who graduated from UNC last semester, with several counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.

Link to terrorism?

Sources say Taheriazar told police he was seeking retribution for the treatment of Muslims around the world, according to ABC News justice correspondent Pierre Thomas. Taheriazar apparently told police he tried to rent the biggest SUV he could find to use in the attack.