On December 22, 2001, Richard Colvin Reid, age 28, of London, England, attempted to destroy an airliner in flight on its way to Miami, Florida by the use of explosives hidden in his shoe. The comically inept terrorist failed to ignite his bomb when he was interrupted while attempting to light the fuse with a match during the flight. Ever since, this career petty criminal turned radical Islamist has been known as “The Shoe Bomber.”
Digging Deeper
Reid was born in London in 1973 to a White English mother and a father of mixed heritage (Jamaican/African/White). He grew up to be a career petty criminal, engaging in graffiti and minor crimes, later graduating to strong arm robbery. This loser was in and out of jail often during his youth, culminating in a 3 year sentence in 1992 for multiple robberies. In prison he became a convert to Islam and was radicalized against Western culture.
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