A plot to blow up Dolphin Mall was foiled by federal agents in an undercover operation, CBS Miami writes, which led to the arrest of a man from Miami on Friday.
According to authorities, Vicente Solano was acting alone as he planned a weapons of mass destruction attack on the Dolphin Mall in Doral, the Miami Herald reported.
The FBI was tipped off by a confidential informant, who was communicating with Undercover FBI sting foils man's plot to detonate bomb at mall, Solano, about the alleged plot. Authorities said that although Solano made pro-Islamic State videos, there wasn't evidence to suggest he had any connection to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or another terrorist group.
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| Undercover FBI sting foils man's plot to detonate bomb at mall |
Undercover FBI agents supplied Solano with a hoax bomb, which he allegedly planned to detonate at the mall. The strategy has been used in previous counter-terrorism probes in South Florida, the Herald said, and is considered standard procedure in the post-9/11 world. Agents rely on informants to alert them to suspicious activity and then engage the suspect, recording their conversations, before thwarting the plan.
CBS News has learned from two officials that there was no actual explosive device and the public wasn't in any danger.
In 2015, federal agents arrested Harlem Suarez, 25, from Key West, who planned an explosive attack on July 4th. A year later, James Medina, 41, was convicted of trying to bomb an Aventura synagogue. Suarez was sentenced to life in prison. Medina faces up to 25 years in prison ahead of a November sentencing.
Solano will have his first appearance in Miami federal court on Monday.
Dolphin Mall is located west of the Miami airport.
CBS News' Andy Triay contributed to this report.
