Roommate: Terror Suspect Was Suicidal

ITALY, Texas (AP) _ A former roommate of a failed bomb plot suspect says his friend was lonely and suicidal in recent months in Texas.

Joshua Childress told WFAA-TV that he was worried about 19-year-old Jordanian national Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, who lived in Italy, Texas.

Childress, who lived with Smadi last year, says the pair would talk for hours and Smadi “wasn’t happy” being away from his family.

Smadi was arrested Thursday after federal officials say he put what he thought was a bomb-filled truck in a garage beneath a Dallas skyscraper.

Smadi is held on allegations he tried to detonate a weapon of mass destruction. A judge on Friday appointed an Arabic translator and a lawyer for Smadi. His next court appearance is Oct. 5.

Italy is about 45 miles south of Dallas.

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