Richard Reid (terrorist)

Richard Reid
Born	Richard Colvin Reid (1973-08-12) 12 August 1973 (age 43) Bromley, London, England
Nationality	British
Other names	Abdel Rahim, Abdul Rof, the Shoe Bomber
Criminal charge	Attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction Attempted homicide Placing an explosive device on an aircraft Attempted murder Interference with flight crew and attendants Attempted destruction of an aircraft Use of a destructive device during and in relation to a crime of violence Attempted wrecking of a mass transportation vehicle
Criminal penalty	Three consecutive life sentences and 110 years without parole
Criminal status	Incarcerated at ADX Florence, Colorado, United States
Conviction(s)	Guilty of all charges

Richard Colvin Reid (born 12 August 1973), also known as the Shoe Bomber, is a British man who attempted to detonate explosives packed into the shoes he was wearing, while on American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami. Born to a father who was a career criminal, Reid converted to Islam as a young man in prison after years as a petty criminal. Later he became radicalised and went to Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he trained and became a member of al-Qaeda.

On 22 December 2001, he boarded American Airlines Flight 63 between Paris and Miami, wearing shoes packed with explosives, which he unsuccessfully tried to detonate. Passengers subdued him on the plane, which landed at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, the closest US airport. He was subsequently arrested and indicted. In 2002, Reid pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to eight criminal counts of terrorism, based on his attempt to destroy a commercial aircraft in flight. He was sentenced to 3 life terms plus 110 years in prison without parole and is held in a super maximum security prison in the United States.

Reid was born in Bromley, Kent, to Lesley Hughes, who was of white English descent, and Colvin Robin Reid, a man of mixed race whose father was a Jamaican immigrant. When Reid was born, his father, a career criminal, was in prison for stealing a car. Reid left school at age 16, becoming a petty crook who was in and out of jail, the first time for mugging an elderly person. He began writing graffiti under the name "Enrol with FRF crew", and ultimately accumulated more than 10 convictions for crimes against persons and property. He served sentences at the Feltham Young Offenders Institution and at the Blundeston Prison.

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