Update at 5 p.m. ET:
The AP now reports that Abdo was planning an attack on Fort Hood:
"An AWOL soldier who had weapons stashed in a motel room near Fort Hood has admitted to planning an attack on the Texas post, where 13 people died in 2009 in the worst mass shooting ever on a U.S. military installation, the Army said in an alert issued Thursday."
Abdo, a Muslim who had sought and won conscientious objector based on his religion, was also reported to have bought a uniform with Fort Hood unit patches from a surplus store.
Update at 11:57 a.m. ET:
The AP is now reporting confirmation from the FBI that Abdo had "items that could be identified as bomb-making components, including gunpowder" when he was arrested.
Our original post:
An AWOL soldier from Fort Campbell, Ky., has been arrested in Killeen, Texas, near Fort Hood. Army Pfc. Naser Abdo was being held Thursday, a day after his arrest by local police at a motel in the central Texas town.
Fox News is reporting that Abdo had arms in his possession at the time of his arrest:
Abdo was allegedly found with weapons and explosives at the time of his arrest, a senior Army source confirms to Fox News. He was arrested at around 2 p.m. Wednesday after someone called authorities to report a suspicious individual.
KWTX.com cites and un-named FBI source as telling them that Abdo had "bomb-making components in his car."
Abdo, who went AWOL on July 4, had applied for and won conscientious objector status this spring. The AP reports he was not eligible for discharge, however, until the resolution of a 2010 child pornography case, for which he now faces court-martial.
Fort Hood was the scene of a deadly attack in 2009 by Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, a psychiatrist who killed 13 people in a shooting spree on the base. The Army is seeking the death penalty in the case.
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