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Taheri-Azar Pleads Guilty to First-Degree Murder

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  • Taheri-Azar Pleads Guilty to First-Degree Murder

    CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina (AP) -- A recent University of North Carolina graduate faces attempted murder charges after he allegedly drove a sport utility vehicle through a popular campus gathering spot Friday, clipping and scattering startled bystanders.

    No one was seriously hurt.

    Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, 22, who graduated in December after studying psychology and philosophy, was in the custody of campus police. They intended to charge him with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, said police Capt. George Hare.

    Taheri-azar called police to surrender and then awaited officers on a street two miles from the campus, authorities said.

    The FBI joined the case because Taheri-azar, a native of Iran, "allegedly made statements that he acted to avenge the American treatment of Muslims," said agent Richard Kolko, an FBI spokesman in Washington. "The ongoing investigation will work to confirm this."

    Local investigators declined to discuss a motive.

    The incident happened just before noon near the center of campus in an area known as The Pit, a sunken, brick-paved area surrounded by two libraries, a dining hall and the student union.

    "I see everyone kind of part because there's a car coming through, and the next thing I know, I'm on his windshield," sophomore Jeff Hoffman, his arm in a bandage, told The Daily Tar Heel, the campus newspaper.

    The Pit is a center of campus activities, with students perched along walkways and steps. Friday's noontime crowd included candidates for Black Student Movement elections.

    "He slowly came in, and I thought he was going to stop or something," sophomore Scott Wilson, a candidate, told the newspaper. "But then he sped right through."

    Five students and a visiting scholar were treated for minor injuries and released from UNC Hospitals, the university said in a statement. Three other people declined treatment at the scene, police said.

    A bomb squad searched Taheri-azar's apartment in nearby Carrboro and declared the building safe. Taheri-azar encouraged authorities to check the apartment after he was arrested.

    "He said it almost in a baiting type of way," Carrboro police spokesman Capt. Joel Booker said.

    Investigators declined to say what they found in the apartment and continued searching it Friday night for other evidence, Booker said.

    The incident came a week after a UNC dormitory resident adviser was killed when he and another student crashed through a dorm window, falling four stories onto the concrete below. The second student remains hospitalized.
    Attached Files

  • #2
    SUV Runs Into Group, Injuring Six at UNC

    A sport utility vehicle raced through a popular gathering spot at the University of North Carolina on Friday, clipping and scattering startled bystanders before it sped away, authorities said.


    The crash happened in front of Lenoir Hall in an area known as The Pit, which does not have an easy access point for vehicles. Five students and a visiting scholar were taken to UNC Hospitals with minor injuries, hospital spokesman Tom Hughes said.


    "I see everyone kind of part because there's a car coming through and the next thing I know, I'm on his windshield," sophomore Jeff Hoffman, his arm in a bandage, told the campus newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel.


    Investigators said they did not know what motivated the driver, Mohammed Reza Taheriazar, 23, who was enrolled at UNC last fall. Taheriazar turned himself in about two miles from the campus near Raleigh, Chapel Hill police Capt. Brian Curran said.


    He was being held by campus police and faced multiple counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, the university said in a statement.


    The incident came a week after a UNC dormitory resident adviser was killed when he and another student crashed through a dorm window, falling four stories onto the concrete below. The second student remains hospitalized.
    Attached Files

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    • #3
      يک جوان ايرانی که به تازگی از دانشگاه کارولينای شمالی فارغ التحصيل شده، روز شنبه به 9 مورد اقدام به قتل متهم شده است.
      اتهامات محمدرضا طاهری آذر که 22 سال دارد يک روز پس از آن مطرح شد که پليس اعلام کرد او با خودروی خود به سمت يک پاتوق محبوب در خوابگاه دانشگاه رانده و حاضران وحشت زده را مصدوم کرده، به زمين انداخته و فراری داده است.

      به گزارش خبرگزاری آسوشيتد پرس، درک پورچ، رئيس اداره پليس دانشگاه روز شنبه تاييد کرد که آقای طاهری آذر به بازجويان گفته است که قصد داشته "مرگ يا قتل مسلمانان در سراسر جهان را تلافی کند".

      اتهام ديگر آقای طاهری آذر، "حمله بوسيله سلاح مرگبار به قصد وارد آوردن جراحت جسمی" است.

      گفته می شود که اين حادثه، دقايقی پيش از نيمروز جمعه در نزديکی مرکز محوطه خوابگاه، جايی که ميان ساختمانهای دو کتابخانه، يک تالار غذاخوری و يک اتحاديه دانشجويان قرار دارد، رخ داده و هيچ کس در آن آسيب جدی نديده است.

      آقای طاهری آذر که تحصيلات خود در رشته روانشناسی و فلسفه را ماه دسامبر در همين دانشگاه به پايان رساند، با يک خودروی چندمنظوره (SUV) به سمت اين محوطه و دانشجويانی که در آن گرد آمده بودند راند.

      پنج دانشجو و يک بورسيه ميهمان که صدمات جزئی ديده بودند پس از مداوا در بيمارستان دانشگاه مرخص شدند. به گفته پليس سه نفر ديگر نيز از مداوای سرپايی در محل حادثه سر باز زدند.

      جف هوفمان، دانشجوی سال دوم دانشگاه کارولينای شمالی به نشريه داخلی خوابگاه گفت: "من ديدم که همه به نوعی پراکنده می شوند چون يک ماشين به ميان ما می آمد، يک لحظه بعد من روی شيشه جلوی ماشين افتاده بودم." بازوی او در اين حادثه صدمه ديد و باندپيچی شد.

      آقای طاهری آذر در حال حاضر با قرار وثيقه پنج و نيم ميليون دلاری در زندان مرکزی ايالت کارولينای شمالی است و قرار است روز دوشنبه، نخستين جلسه رسيدگی به اتهام او در دادگاه بخش اورنج کانتی تشکيل شود.

      مسئولان پليس اعلام نکرده اند که آيا آقای طاهری آذر از وکيل مدافع برخوردار است يا نه.

      گفته می شود که آقای طاهری آذر پس از آنکه با پليس تماس گرفت تا خود را تسليم کند، سه کيلومتر دورتر از محوطه خوابگاه در خيابان به انتظار ماموران ايستاد و به گفته درک پورچ، رئيس پليس دانشگاه کارولينای شمالي، اکنون با بازجويانش همکاری می کند.

      بازرسان اف بی آي، اداره تحقيقات فدرال نيز از آقای طاهری آذر بازجويی کرده اند اما درک پورچ گفت نمی داند که آيا اتهامات فدرال نيز عليه او اقامه خواهد شد يا نه.

      به گفته درک پورچ، محمدرضا طاهری آذر روز جمعه به ماموران پليس گفت که آنها چيزهايی در آپارتمانش که نزديک کاربورو در کارولينای شمالی واقع است، خواهند يافت که انگيزه های او را روشن می کند.

      در پی اين اظهارات، مقامات مسئول از دفتر ايالتی اف بی آی خواستند که با کمک واحد خنثی سازی بمب، خانه او را جستجو کنند اما به گفته درک پورچ هيچ شيئ خطرناکی نيافته اند.

      اين مقام مسئول حاضر نشد درباره اشيائی که در خانه آقای طاهری آذر يافته اند اطلاعات بيشتری بدهد اما گفت که هم اتاقی های او کاملا با ماموران همکاری کرده اند و مورد سؤظن قرار ندارند

      Comment


      • #4
        دادگاه کيفری ايالت کارولينای شمالی روز دوشنبه محمد رضا طاهری آذر جوان ايرانی را به خاطر اقدام او در زير گرفتن تعدادی از دانشجويان دانشگاه کارولينای شمالی در ۱۸ مورد متهم کرده است.
        محمدرضا طاهری آذر که ۲۲ سال دارد روز جمعه با خودروی خود به سمت يک پاتوق محبوب در خوابگاه دانشگاه کارولينای شمالی راند و حاضران وحشت زده را مصدوم کرد.

        آقای طاهری آذر که در سال ۲۰۰۵ از اين دانشگاه فارغ التحصيل شده گفته است که نيازی به وکيل مدافع ندارد و به تنهايی وکالت خود را بر عهده می گيرد.

        آقای طاهری آذر تحت يک وثيقه ۵/۵ ميليون دلاری در زندان مرکزی راليگ در ايالت کارولينای شمالی تحت بازداشت قرار دارد.

        او به ۹ مورد اقدام به قتل متهم شده است.

        به گفته دادستان دادگاه ياد شده مبلغ اين وثيقه بر اساس تلاش آقای طاهری آذر برای کشتن عده ای با اتومبيل تعيين شده است.

        به گزارش خبرگزاری آسوشيتد پرس هنگاميکه از طاهری آذر پرسيده شد که چيزی برای گفتن دارد، او از قاضی برای تشکيل اين دادگاه تشکر کرد که به گفته او فرصتی به وجود آورده تا مشيت الهی گسترش پيدا کند.

        درک پورچ، رئيس اداره پليس دانشگاه روز شنبه تاييد کرد که آقای طاهری آذر به بازجويان گفته است که قصد داشته "مرگ يا قتل مسلمانان در سراسر جهان را تلافی کند."

        اتهام ديگر آقای طاهری آذر "حمله به وسيله سلاح مرگبار به قصد وارد آوردن جراحت جسمی" است.

        اين حادثه، دقايقی پيش از نيمروز جمعه در نزديکی مرکز محوطه خوابگاه، جايی که ميان ساختمانهای دو کتابخانه، يک تالار غذاخوری و يک اتحاديه دانشجويان قرار دارد، رخ داده و هيچ کس در آن آسيب جدی نديده است.

        آقای طاهری آذر که تحصيلات خود در رشته روانشناسی و فلسفه را ماه دسامبر در همين دانشگاه به پايان رساند، با يک خودروی جيپ به سمت اين محوطه و دانشجويانی که در آن گرد آمده بودند راند.

        پنج دانشجو و يک بورسيه ميهمان که صدمات جزئی ديده بودند پس از مداوا در بيمارستان دانشگاه مرخص شدند. به گفته پليس سه نفر ديگر نيز از مداوای سرپايی در محل حادثه سر باز زدند.

        مقامات پليس به خبرنگاران گفتند که که آقای طاهری آذر پس از آنکه با پليس تماس گرفت تا خود را تسليم کند، سه کيلومتر دورتر از محوطه خوابگاه در خيابان به انتظار ماموران ايستاد و به گفته درک پورچ، رئيس پليس دانشگاه کارولينای شمالی، با بازجويان همکاری کرد.

        آقای پورچ همچنين گفت که بازرسان اف بی آی، اداره تحقيقات فدرال نيز از آقای طاهری آذر بازجويی کرده اند.

        به گفته درک پورچ، محمدرضا طاهری آذر روز جمعه به ماموران پليس گفت که آنها چيزهايی در آپارتمانش که نزديک کاربورو در کارولينای شمالی واقع است، خواهند يافت که انگيزه های او را روشن می کند.

        در پی اين اظهارات، مقامات مسئول از دفتر ايالتی اف بی آی خواستند که با کمک واحد خنثی سازی بمب، خانه او را جستجو کنند اما به گفته درک پورچ هيچ شیء خطرناکی نيافته اند.

        اين مقام مسئول حاضر نشد درباره اشيائی که در خانه آقای طاهری آذر يافته اند اطلاعات بيشتری بدهد اما گفت که هم اتاقی های او کاملا با ماموران همکاری کرده اند و مورد سؤظن قرار ندارند

        Comment


        • #5
          Baba khasteh shodim....
          emrooz sobh in ro too akhbar didam vali ta hala nemidonestam ke in kalle shagh irani bood.
          in faghat be sood e amrica dar rah e hamleh be iran ast..
          it wont be long til me or my fellow iranian americans will be discriminated against....lets all hope for the BEST for our dear country.

          sar boland bashid
          Pesar gole

          Comment


          • #6
            sohbati shod ba kasi keh bishtar INFO dasht az in jaryan, mesleh inkeh taraf drug zadeh boodeh ghabl az in jaryan !!

            Comment


            • #7
              HILLSBOROUGH - A UNC Chapel Hill graduate who police say drove an SUV into a crowd of students last week said Monday his trial will offer a lesson on "the will of Allah, the creator."
              An Orange County district court judge formally set Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar's bail at $5.5 million and scheduled a hearing for March 16.
              The December 2005 UNC graduate and former Charlotte resident told Judge Patricia Devine he would represent himself. He tried to silence a public defender the judge appointed to help him.
              "Allah is my lawyer," Taheri-azar, 22, told reporters and hecklers outside the county courthouse as sheriff's deputies put him in a car to return him to Raleigh's Central Prison.
              Taheri-azar's court appearance was his first since the incident that injured nine students at an outdoor campus hub called The Pit. Taheri-azar, who was born in Iran but attended South Mecklenburg High School, drove a rented Jeep Cherokee into a lunchtime crowd Friday, police said.
              Six victims were treated at a Chapel Hill hospital for minor injuries; three others declined care.
              Also Monday, the university released a recording of the call to 911 that came minutes after the incident, in which the caller identified himself as Taheri-azar and surrendered. The caller told an Orange County dispatcher he wanted to The caller also told the dispatcher he'd left a letter in his nearby Carrboro apartment explaining his grievances. Police searched the apartment Friday, but declined to say what they found.
              On Monday, Taheri-azar spent about 10 minutes in the Hillsborough courtroom, about 12 miles from the Chapel Hill campus.
              He waved at television cameras on the way into the courthouse and smiled as he was led before Devine. Taheri-azar was clad in an orange jumpsuit and his legs were shackled.
              He answered "yes, ma'am" to most of Devine's questions and sat silently while Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall read the charges -- nine counts of attempted murder and nine counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.
              Devine then asked if Taheri-azar had any questions.
              "I actually don't have any questions," said the prisoner. "I'm thankful you're here to give me this trial and to learn more about the will of Allah, the creator."
              In Chapel Hill, a handful of UNC students held a campus rally at The Pit, calling on school administrators to declare the incident a terrorist attack. Critics said such language would just worsen relations between Muslim and Christian students, which already have been strained this year.

              In Chapel Hill, a handful of UNC students held a campus rally at The Pit, calling on school administrators to declare the incident a terrorist attack. Critics said such language would just worsen relations between Muslim and Christian students, which already have been strained this year.
              In a statement released Sunday, Chancellor James Moeser described the incident as a "contemptible act of violence."
              "It's important to call it terrorism because it's an attack on the American people," said Amanda Zalaquett, 19, a sophomore from Charlotte. She and others passed out U.S. flags and held up signs at the rally that read, "Call It What It Is" and "United We Stand."
              Srihath Jayaram, 28, a graduate student and instructor from India, tried to counter the protest, holding a small sign that read, "Promote love and understanding, not belligerence."
              The protest, Jayaram said, "is going to polarize the people against Muslims on campus, who have always been peaceful."
              An opinion writer for The Daily Tar Heel, Jillian Bandes, was fired last fall for writing a piece that said all Arabs should be "stripped naked and cavity-searched if they get within 100 yards of an airport."
              Last month, a cartoonist for the student paper drew a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad, which led to a sit-in at the newspaper's offices.
              Jayaram is not Muslim, but he said some Muslim students "are feeling vulnerable and insecure. They need to feel welcome."

              Comment


              • #8
                The 911 Call
                Chapel Hill Police arrested Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, 22, minutes after a Jeep hit several students on UNC Chapel Hill's campus Friday. The university released a four-minute recording Monday of the 911 call that followed.
                Caller: Uh, yes, sir, I just hit several people with a vehicle, and, uh...
                Dispatcher: OK, you, sir, you just said you hit several people with a vehicle?
                Caller: Yes, sir, and right now...
                Dispatcher: Sir, tell me where this happened at.
                Caller: On campus at The Pit, and right now I'm standing and you can come arrest me.
                Dispatcher: Hold on, sir. Sir, listen to me for a minute. What is your name?
                Caller: Mohammed Taheri-azar...
                Dispatcher: And why did you do this?
                Caller: I wrote it all. I explained it in a one-page letter. It's in my bedroom in University Commons apartment D -- like David -- 34. And I don't have any weapons or anything on me. You can just come and arrest me now....

                Dispatcher: Do you know about how many people you hit?
                Caller: Maybe, like, 15 people ... less ... maybe less.
                Dispatcher: I understand that you told me that the reason you did this is in your bedroom, but can you tell me why you did this?
                Caller: It really is to punish the government of the United States for their actions around the world.
                Dispatcher: So you did this to punish the government?
                Caller: Yes sir....
                Dispatcher: I just want you to put the phone down and I want you to put your hands up so they can see you and they'll know you don't have any weapons, OK?
                Caller: OK. I'll put this phone on the hood.
                Dispatcher: OK, sir.
                Caller: Thanks.

                Comment


                • #9
                  University of North Carolina (UNC) graduate accused of driving his car into a campus crowd-in an admitted attempt to avenge Muslim deaths overseas-reversed his original not guilty plea Tuesday and pled guilty to first-degree murder. Twenty-five year old Mohammad Taheri-Azar was originally charged with nine counts of attempted murder and nine counts of felonious assault in connection with the March 3, 2006, incident at the UNC campus which injured nine people-none of them seriously. Taheri-Azar told investigators he drove his vehicle into the student crowd in an effort to avenge the deaths of Muslims around the world, deaths he blamed on the United States. Taheri-Azar's sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 26; he faces up to 40 years in prison.

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