Who Was (is) Richard Reid, The Shoe Bomber?

Reid became famous world-wide in December 2001, after he smuggled explosives on board a transatlantic passenger plane in his shoes. Blame this man for making your socks dirty as you pass through the security machines at airports!

Reid was born in Bromley, South London, to a white English mother and a Jamaican father who spent most of Reid's youth in prison. Reid got into street crime and served custodial sentences at various institutions, where he eventually converted to Islam.


On board the lucky aircraft in December 2001, Reid tried to ignite his hidden explosives mid-flight, but apparently his home-made shoe bomb wasn't that well made and resisted his efforts. Other passengers noticed smoke, though. A flight attendant searching for the source first found Reid trying to light a match, and later she actually saw the fuse coming out of his shoe. After a struggle with the flight attendant, Reid was restrained and sedated by other passengers. Today he is serving out a life sentence in the USA.

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