Hungary's street bombing suspect arrested

Hungarian police have arrested a suspect in the Sept. 24 street bombing that seriously injured two police officers, Chief Prosecutor Imre Keresztes told a news conference here on Thursday.

Keresztes said that the young man, whose name was not released, is a Hungarian national who has no police record.

He is being charged with the attempted premeditated homicide of multiple police officers, Keresztes said, adding that the suspect has protested his arrest and did not confess to the bombing.

The investigation is still underway, Keresztes said, which means that police cannot currently disclose their evidence, which, he added, is strong. He also said that police were correct in believing that the suspect, who they think acted alone, would prepare additional bombs if not apprehended quickly.

Anti-terrorism center chief Janos Hajdu said that the man was apprehended late on Wednesday afternoon in the town of Keszthely, about 190 km SW of Budapest although the information was not released until Thursday.

Keresztes confirmed that a home search had been conducted but declined to say whether police had found any more explosives. However, he did say that the suspect had made the bomb himself and that the two police officers were the intended target.

Both police officers are recovering. They have been released from the hospital and are undergoing rehab. According to National Police Chief Karoly Papp, both will hopefully return to duty within a few months.

The home-made pipe bomb was set off in downtown Budapest just before 11 p.m. local time on September 24, a Saturday night when the area was crowded with people out for the evening, as the two officers, on a regular patrol of the area, were walking by.

Police ran a massive manhunt for the bomber. They set up a hotline and received about 1,000 tips from the public before the arrest was made. Enditem