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UNC Grad in Court on Alleged Hit and Run

I heard this on the radio early yesterday morning, doggone if I could even find it on the website of the radio station! After some searching I found it.

NOW, is the mainstream press going to hold onto this and wait till s*** hits the fan so they can blame this on Bush???




Monday, March 06, 2006



CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A University of North Carolina graduate from Iran, accused of running down nine people on campus to avenge the treatment of Muslims, said at a hearing Monday that he was "thankful for the opportunity to spread the will of Allah."

Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar was accused of driving a sport utility vehicle through The Pit, a popular campus gathering spot, injuring nine people Friday. None of the victims was seriously hurt.

Police Chief Derek Poarch said Taheri-azar told investigators he intentionally hit people to "avenge the deaths of Muslims around the world."

Taheri-azar, 22, appeared in Orange County District Court in nearby Hillsborough on nine counts of attempted murder and nine counts of assault.

His bail was set at $5.5 million, and he was assigned a public defender, but he said after the hearing: "The truth is my lawyer."

Taheri-azar graduated from North Carolina in December after studying psychology and philosophy. Investigators believe he has spent most of his life in the United States.

On campus, UNC students held what they called an "anti-terrorism" rally.

"We don't want terrorism here, and we're not gonna stand for that where we live and where we go to school," said Kris Wampler, a student at UNC and member of the College Republicans, which helped organize the rally.

About 50 students attended the rally, including several Muslim students who debated with organizers and said Taheri-azar had not been linked to any terrorist group.

"When you think in terms of a global context, this was an isolated incident," said Khurram Bilal Tariq, a 22-year-old junior.

Stephen Mann, an 18-year-old freshman, said he wasn't singling out Islam with his call to label Friday's incident terrorism. He said a member of any religion who did what Taheri-azar is accused of doing should be called a terrorist.

"If you try to hurt someone in the name of a cause, that's terrorism," he said.





UNC Grad Charged With Attempted Murder After Plowing Crowd

Sunday, March 05, 2006



CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A recent University of North Carolina graduate was charged with nine counts of attempted murder Saturday, a day after authorities say he drove through a popular campus gathering spot in an attempt to avenge Muslim deaths.

Derek Poarch, chief of the university police department, confirmed Saturday that Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, a 22-year-old Iran native, told investigators he wanted to "avenge the deaths or murders of Muslims around the world." Poarch would not provide any other details on the motive.

Taheri-azar also is charged with nine counts of assault.

No one was seriously hurt in the incident just before noon Friday at The Pit, a sunken, brick-paved area surrounded by two libraries, a dining hall and the student union near the center of campus.

The area has broad walkways that can be used as fire lanes, but it has no streets. Taheri-azar drove a Jeep Cherokee from a parking lot in almost a U-shape through a cluster of off-street buildings, looping past the dining hall and veering between it and one of the libraries before he reached a side road and sped away, Poarch said.

Five students and a visiting scholar were treated at and released from hospitals, the university said in a statement. Three other people declined treatment, police said.

Taheri-azar is being held on a $5.5 million bond. He was scheduled appear in court Monday. Poarch would not say whether Taheri-azar had an attorney.

Taheri-azar, who called police to surrender and then awaited officers on a street two miles from campus, is cooperating with investigators, Poarch said. The FBI has also interviewed him, but Poarch said he did not know whether he would be federally charged.

Taheri-azar told police Friday that they would find things inside his apartment in nearby Carrboro that would shed light on his motives, Poarch said. The State Bureau of Investigation searched the apartment with a bomb squad, but Poarch said they didn't find anything dangerous.

Poarch declined to say what evidence was found but said Taheri-azar's roommates have cooperated and are not suspects.

"There is no indication whatsoever that he acted in any way other than alone," Poarch said.

Taheri-azar graduated from the university in December after studying psychology and philosophy. Investigators believe he has spent most of his life in the United States, Poarch said.
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