California Construction Worker Set Out To Kill Osama Bin Laden, Got Arrested Instead

It is not uncommon to see Westerners in the mountainous Chitral region of northern Pakistan – the area is rife with opportunities for adventure and considered relatively safe for foreign tourists. Most of these tourists, however, aren’t armed assassins.

AP reports that local police officers discovered Gary Brooks Faulkner, a 52-year-old construction worker from California, in the forests of the Chitral region in northern Pakistan carrying a dagger, a pistol, a 40-inch sword, and some night-vision equipment. His mission? To single-handedly take out al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

According to these officers, Faulkner planned to cross the nearby Afghan border into the province of Nuristan, where he “heard bin Laden was living.” They initially laughed at his claim, but “suspicion grew” when they noticed the weapons.

This was Faulkner’s third trip to the region, and his seventh overall to Pakistan. Upon arrival he was provided with a police escort, which is common practice for foreigners staying in rural areas of the country. Officers started searching for Faulkner when he left his hotel without checking in with police.

Faulkner was also found with Christian literature, and told officers that he would be successful in killing bin Laden because of his faith in God.

U.S. Embassy officials are waiting to speak with Faulkner. Hopefully they get to him before he MacGyvers his way out of jail and back into the forests of Pakistan.

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