Khalid Aldawsari Found Guilty of Attempted Use of Weapon of Mass Destruction

The man who attempted to make a weapon of mass destruction while living in Lubbock has been found guilty.

22-year-old accused terrorist Khalid Aldawsari was found guilty in the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction in Amarillo shortly before 1:30 Wednesday afternoon.

The jury took around two hours to declare Aldawsari guilty regarding his work toward creating a weapon of mass destruction.

Aldawsari, who was arrested in February of 2011, was a former chemical engineering student at Texas Tech. He had a list of targets which included the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush.

A chemical supplier reported a suspicious attempted purchase of concentrated phenol by a man identifying himself as Khalid Aldawsari. Phenol is a toxic chemical with legitimate uses, but can also be used to make explosive trinitrophenol.

Excerpts from Aldawsari's journal showed that he had been planning a terrorist attack in the United States for some time, saying "And now, after mastering the English language, learning how to build explosives and continuous planning to target the infidel Americans, it is time for Jihad."

Prosecutors finished up their case against Aldawsari late Tuesday afternoon, and defense attorneys presented no evidence at the end of the trial.

Aldawsari faces up to life in prison.