Buzzby

Bombing Suspect 'Smoked Cannabis At School'
Life Style Extra | 07/27/2005

LIFE STYLE EXTRA (UK) - A former school pal of terror suspect Muktar Said Ibrahim today described the would-be suicide bomber as a racist troublemaker who smoked cannabis from an early age.

Wayne Howard, 27, attended Canons High School in Edgware with Ibrahim.

Remembering his old classmate, Mr Howard said: "He called me a white honkie and we had a fight. He whacked me in the face, but then we got on okay."

Engineer Mr Howard said Ibrahim could be "quite chirpy" and "was always up for a laugh" but he was linked to crime and would often get in trouble at school.

Mr Howard said: "He had a tendency to go towards crime. He got into trouble for fighting."

When asked if Ibrahim was ever picked on, Mr Howard said: "Far from it - he was threatening and sometimes he imposed himself on people, just anyone generally. He was into smoking cannabis."

Mr Howard said Ibrahim would "hang around with the trouble makers" and "struggled" academically at school.

He said: "He struggled because he spoke with broken English. He struggled in class and left school in 1994.

"He attended school until the final year. The last I saw of him was about six months ago when I said 'hi' when I passed him walking along the street."

Since police named Ibrahim as the man who tried to blow himself up on the number 26 East London bus, it has been revealed that the 27-year-old is a convicted robber with a history of violence. He became an Islamic extremist after serving a prison term in the 1990s.

(BuzzNote: I thought this was interesting because of the headline. It doesn't say, "Bombing Suspect Was Ex-Convict". It doesn't say, "Bombing Suspect Was Islamic Extremist". It doesn't say, "Bombing Suspect Was a Racist". It doesn't say, "Bombing Suspect Was Convicted Robber with a History of Violence". Instead it's about his smoking some weed in high school. That's possibly the least relevant thing they could say about him, but it's great Reefer Madness.)

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