The latest on surveillance shooting: Knife attack thwarted

4 p.m.

A judge has ordered David Wright, 24, held in custody pending a June 19 detention hearing after prosecutor Stephanie Siegmann said he poses a serious risk of fleeing or trying to obstruct justice.

Wright was ordered held Wednesday on a charge of conspiracy with intent to obstruct the federal investigation of Usaama Rahim, who was shot to death by an anti-terror task force the day before.

Wright attorney, Jessica Hedges, said he has deep roots in the Boston area. “He has an incredibly loving and supportive family,”

She urged the government in investigating this and similar cases to be “as transparent as possible,” and “to abide by the law.”

“We have serious concerns about that already,” she said.

A woman from the Muslim Justice League, Shannon Erwin, said she supports what Hedges said, adding that Wright was initially denied access to his lawyer.

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3:15 p.m.

The FBI has released its complaint against David Wright, accusing him of conspiring with Usaama Rahim for a week “to engage in a violent attack.’

The agency said Wednesday that it has evidence supporting charges of obstruction and conspiracy against Wright.

The complaint says Wright and Rahim had purchased three fighting knives and a knife sharpener as part of their conspiracy, which allegedly began on May 26.

The FBI says that on Tuesday, a week later, Rahim allegedly called Wright saying he would go after “boys in blue,” randomly killing police officers in Massachusetts on June 2 or June 3.

Police say this imminent threat prompted them to confront Rahim on a sidewalk, where they said they shot him when he refused to drop a knife.

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2:30 p.m.

A knife-wielding black man who shot to death by the anti-terrorism task force that surveilled him in Boston was raised in a family that is prominent in the city’s Muslim community.

Boston Muslim leader Abdullah Faaruuq said he knew Usaama Rahim since he was a 5-year-old boy.

Faaruuq said “his family is a good family.”

He said Rahim’s mother is a nurse at Boston University, and his older brother is an Islamic scholar who has long preached moderation and non-violence.

Faaruuq said Rahim visited Boston mosques, including the Mosque for the Praising of Allah, where Faaruuq is affiliated, and that he doesn’t know of any connection Rahim had with the Islamic State terror group.

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2:15 p.m.

A law enforcement official says a man fatally shot by terror investigators in Boston had discussed “committing beheadings” and “harming police officers” with another suspect.

The law enforcement official is familiar with the investigation into Usaama Rahim and David Wright but wasn’t authorized to release details of the investigation. The official spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity.

Rahim had been under surveillance by a Joint Terrorism Task Force. Police say he was killed Tuesday after he lunged at officers with a large knife outside a CVS pharmacy.

The charges against Wright haven’t been publicly disclosed. He was arrested Tuesday in Everett after Rahim’s death and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on Wednesday afternoon.

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Associated Press writer Denise Lavoie contributed to this report.

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1:20 p.m.

The Boston police commissioner says “military and law enforcement lives were at threat” from a Boston terror suspect who was fatally shot by authorities.

Commissioner William Evans spoke Wednesday after showing clergy leaders and civil rights advocates a police video of terror investigators’ encounter with 26-year-old Usaama Rahim on Tuesday.

Evans says the video shows the officers “backtracking” as Rahim walked toward them with a knife. Rahim’s brother had earlier claimed that Rahim had been shot in the back three times.

Evans says the meeting was “all about pulling the community together.”

But one Boston Muslim leader called the video “inconclusive.” Imam Abdullah Faaruuq says it showed Rahim wasn’t shot in the back, but the quality was poor and it wasn’t clear whether police had to use deadly force.

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This story has been corrected to show the last name of the imam who viewed the video is Faaruuq, not Farooq.

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1:10 p.m.

The president of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts says a video shows a terror suspect killed in Boston was not shot in the back, as his brother had claimed.

Darnell Williams told reporters after viewing the police video Wednesday that 26-year-old Usaama Rahim “was not on a cellphone and was not shot in the back.”

Rahim’s brother, Ibrahim, had posted on Facebook that their father was on the phone with Rahim at the time of the shooting Tuesday and that Rahim was shot in the back three times.

Police had said Usaama Rahim had lunged at members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force with a knife when they approached him.

Williams says he can “150 percent corroborate” the police account of how the officers engaged with Rahim.

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11:45 a.m.

A Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization is calling for an “independent and thorough” investigation into the fatal shooting of a man under surveillance by terrorist investigators in Boston.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations made the request Wednesday, a day after 26-year-old Usaama Rahim was killed after police say he lunged at members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force with a knife. Police say the task force had approached him to question him about “terrorist-related information.”

CAIR Director Jennifer Wicks says the group also wants the public release of a video that police say shows officers did not have their weapons drawn when they approached Rahim and that they backed up when he initially lunged at them.

Police plan to show the video to civil rights leaders and clergy Wednesday.

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10:50 a.m.

The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee says the man under surveillance by terrorist investigators in Boston had been spreading Islamic State group propaganda online.

U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul opened a congressional hearing on terrorism Wednesday in Washington, D.C., with a reference to the fatal shooting of Usaama Rahim in Massachusetts a day earlier.

The Texas Republican says: “These cases are a reminder of the dangers posed by individuals radicalized through social media.”

McCaul says Rahim was being investigated by the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force after “communicating with and spreading” IS group propaganda on the Internet.

Rahim was killed Tuesday after police said he lunged with a knife at members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force who approached him to question him.

–Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.

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10:30 a.m.

Boston police plan to show video of the fatal shooting of a man under surveillance by terrorist investigators to clergy leaders and civil rights advocates.

Usaama Rahim was killed Tuesday after police said he lunged with a knife at members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force who approached him to question him.

A law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation says Rahim had been making threats against law enforcement. The official wasn’t authorized to release details and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Police scheduled a meeting Wednesday to show community leaders the video. Rahim’s brother has disputed the police account of the shooting.

Rahim was shot outside a CVS. A spokeswoman said Wednesday that Rahim had worked for CVS since March.

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