Latest / U.S SECRET CRIMES / The Four Year Hunt For MIR AIMAL KANSI
Transcript
- 1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,000 The four-year hunt for mere I'm all concy, what happens when a gunman attacks the very entrance of one of the world's most secretive intelligence agencies. 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:14,000 Kills two people, wounds three others, and disappears before investigators can even identify him. 3 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:18,000 For the FBI, the case would become a four-year international pursuit. 4 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:22,000 For the families of the victims, it would mean years of waiting for justice. 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:28,000 And for the man responsible, the journey from Virginia to Pakistan would not be the end of the story. 6 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:35,000 On Monday, January 25, 1993, Langley, Virginia began another ordinary working day. 7 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:40,000 Thousands of employees were making their way toward the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency. 8 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:44,000 The organization responsible for gathering intelligence around the world. 9 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:50,000 At the entrance, vehicles lined up at a traffic light, waiting to turn into the heavily guarded compound. 10 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:57,000 Inside those cars were people beginning their daily routines, thinking about their jobs, their families, and the lives waiting for them after work. 11 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:03,000 Among them were CIA employees who had no idea that their morning commute was about to become a scene of terror. 12 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:08,000 At approximately 8 a.m., a man emerged from a vehicle near the waiting traffic. 13 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:12,000 He was armed and began moving between the cars, firing into them. 14 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:14,000 The attack unfolded rapidly. 15 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:19,000 Some motorists managed to escape, while others were caught in the sudden violence. 16 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:24,000 Two CIA employees, Frank Darling and Lansing Bennett, were killed. 17 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:29,000 Three other people, Nicholas Star, Calvin Morgan, and Stephen Williams were wounded. 18 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:34,000 The victims had been sitting in separate vehicles, waiting to enter the agency's headquarters. 19 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:39,000 They were not prepared for what was happening, and the attack gave them almost no time to react. 20 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:47,000 And #X20, Image, HTTPS-Colens/WWWW. 21 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:51,000 Google.com/s2/favocance 22 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:53,000 Domain = HTTPS 23 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:59,000 Foward/Foward/WWW.dawn.com/sZ = 32 24 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:01,000 Dawn +1 25 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:07,000 Among the people caught in the attack was a young couple who had met while working at the CIA and had recently married. 26 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,000 They had begun building a life together. 27 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:12,000 But that morning, their future was suddenly interrupted. 28 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:17,000 The gunmen moved from one vehicle to another, and the young husband was struck. 29 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:19,000 His wife was spared. 30 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:24,000 But she was left facing a terrifying moment that would remain with her long after the shooting ended. 31 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:27,000 Another employee, an older man, was also killed. 32 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:33,000 Within moments, the attacker had left several people dead or wounded and disappeared from the scene. 33 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:37,000 The shooting triggered an emergency response across Fairfax County. 34 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:43,000 Police officers, emergency personnel, and investigators rushed toward the CIA entrance. 35 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:47,000 Calls flooded the emergency lines as witnesses tried to explain what they had seen. 36 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:53,000 Officers secured the area because they did not know whether the attacker might return or whether other people were involved. 37 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:55,000 Helicopters searched the surrounding area. 38 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:59,000 While witnesses reported that the gunmen had fled toward nearby woods. 39 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:07,000 Investigators were left with a crime scene, several victims, frightened witnesses, and a suspect whose identity remained unknown. 40 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:10,000 Fairfax County Detective Fred F. 41 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:12,000 Was assigned to lead the investigation. 42 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:18,000 One of the first priorities was securing the scene and making sure emergency workers could safely reach the victims. 43 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:23,000 Investigators began collecting evidence and interviewing people who had been nearby. 44 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:32,000 They needed to establish what had happened, how the gunmen had escaped, and whether the victims had been selected because of their work at the CIA or simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. 45 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:37,000 The early evidence suggested that the victims had not been personally connected to the attacker. 46 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:42,000 They had been waiting in traffic, each in a separate vehicle, when the gunmen approached. 47 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:47,000 Investigators examined their backgrounds and the circumstances that had brought them to the intersection. 48 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:52,000 They could not identify a clear personal connection between the victims and the shooter. 49 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:55,000 That uncertainty made the investigation more difficult. 50 00:03:55,000 --> 00:04:02,000 If the attack was not driven by a personal dispute, investigators needed to understand whether the agency itself had been the target. 51 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:07,000 The weapon used in the shooting was identified as an AK-47 rifle. 52 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:13,000 Investigators recovered cartridge casings from the pavement and the evidence became one of the first important clues. 53 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:19,000 Detective Jeff Miller examined the casings and discovered a fingerprint that had been left on one of them. 54 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:23,000 Recovering a usable fingerprint from a curved surface was difficult. 55 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:31,000 The investigator had to photograph the casing carefully, adjusting the lighting and position repeatedly to capture the print around its circumference. 56 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:35,000 The process eventually produced a complete fingerprint. 57 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:41,000 That discovery gave investigators their first major lead, but it did not immediately identify the shooter. 58 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:46,000 The fingerprint was entered into a system connected to numerous databases across North America. 59 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,000 The search returned no match. 60 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:56,000 The suspect might have had no previous criminal record in the region, or his fingerprints might simply not have been stored in the system's investigators could access. 61 00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:01,000 The lead was valuable, but it did not provide the name they needed. 62 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:06,000 Police also appealed to commuters who had been traveling along Route 123 that morning. 63 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:12,000 Investigators distributed flyers featuring a description of the suspect and sought information from thousands of motorists. 64 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:16,000 The media coverage generated reports from different parts of the country. 65 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:22,000 Some people believed they had seen a man matching the description, while others reported vehicles that seemed suspicious. 66 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:28,000 Investigators recorded the information, but many of the leads did not produce useful evidence. 67 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:31,000 The Washington DC area remained on alert. 68 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:38,000 The shooting had taken place outside the headquarters of an intelligence agency, and the possibility of another attack could not be ignored. 69 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:45,000 Investigators from the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and local police joined the case. 70 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:51,000 The FBI helped organize information and supplied personnel and technology to manage the growing number of leads. 71 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:58,000 Despite the attention, the investigation was still missing one crucial element, a reliable identity for the gunman. 72 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:04,000 Investigators began examining the weapon itself and the possibility that the attacker had purchased it shortly before the shooting. 73 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:11,000 Agents from the ATF visited gun shops in Virginia and Maryland, gathering records of recent purchases. 74 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:16,000 Their aim was to narrow the number of people who could have acquired the type of rifle used in the attack. 75 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:21,000 The records were entered into a database alongside witness descriptions and other information. 76 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:26,000 The process was complicated by the number of firearms purchased in the region. 77 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:32,000 Investigators found that hundreds of rifles had been bought in Maryland and many more in Northern Virginia during the previous year. 78 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:38,000 They interviewed gun owners and checked whether anyone remembered a person matching the description of the shooter. 79 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:41,000 Most of those inquiries did not lead to a breakthrough. 80 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:46,000 Then, investigators began cross-referencing the information they had collected. 81 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:53,000 They looked for a person who matched the suspect's physical description, had purchased the relevant rifle recently, and had a local address. 82 00:06:53,000 --> 00:07:01,000 The database produced a name, Mir Eimalkonzi, a 28-year-old Pakistani immigrant living in Herndon, Virginia. 83 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:11,000 Conzi had purchased an AK-47 type rifle just three days before the shooting. He had also been reported missing by his roommate shortly after the attack. 84 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:17,000 Investigators immediately began looking for him. When they reached his apartment, Conzi was not there. 85 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:23,000 His roommate, who worked at a nearby airport, told investigators that he had not seen him for several days. 86 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:33,000 The roommate was questioned about Conzi's behavior and whether he knew anything about the shooting. He said they had only lived together for a few months and did not spend much time together. 87 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:39,000 Their schedules often kept them apart. The roommate also said that Conzi had not told him where he was going. 88 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:47,000 Investigators searched the apartment with the roommate's cooperation. They found a jacket resembling the one witnesses had described the shooter wearing. 89 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:57,000 Outside, they located Conzi's vehicle. Inside the apartment, they discovered a map showing the area around CIA headquarters and a newspaper clipping about the agency's director. 90 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:03,000 Those items increased investigators concerned that the attack had been planned rather than spontaneous. 91 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:13,000 The roommate was preparing to leave the United States on a one-way ticket to Pakistan. Investigators considered him a material witness and worried that he might leave before they could complete their questioning. 92 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:21,000 He was temporarily held while detectives continued to investigate. He denied knowing about the weapons or being involved in the shooting. 93 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:27,000 A more thorough search of the apartment uncovered additional firearms, ammunition and a bulletproof vest. 94 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:37,000 Investigators also found in AK-47 hidden beneath a couch. They hoped forensic testing would establish whether it was the rifle used in the attack. 95 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:47,000 The laboratory comparison soon produced an important result. The fingerprint recovered from the cartridge casing matched Conzi's fingerprint on file with immigration authorities. 96 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:55,000 Investigators also confirmed that the rifle serial number matched the Chinese made AK-47 that Conzi had purchased days before the shooting. 97 00:08:55,000 --> 00:09:01,000 The evidence now pointed strongly toward Conzi, but he had already left the United States. 98 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:05,000 Investigators learned that Conzi had traveled to Pakistan shortly after the attack. 99 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:11,000 He had purchased a plane ticket and departed the following day. The man they were looking for was no longer in Virginia. 100 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:17,000 And the case had become an international pursuit. The investigation also began to reveal a possible motive. 101 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:25,000 Conzi's roommate told investigators that Conzi had become angry while watching news reports about conflicts involving Muslim communities. 102 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:29,000 Including Bosnia, Iraq and Israel. 103 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:36,000 According to the roommate, Conzi had spoken about doing something significant and had mentioned the CIA, the White House and the Israeli embassy. 104 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:40,000 The roommate said he did not know whether Conzi intended to carry out an attack. 105 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:47,000 But the statements became important to investigators trying to understand the shooting. The FBI continued searching for Conzi. 106 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:53,000 The agency placed him on its 10 most wanted fugitives list and worked with authorities and informants overseas. 107 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:57,000 Investigators followed leads through Pakistan and Afghanistan. 108 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:05,000 But the fugitive remained difficult to locate. He was believed to have spent much of his time in the region, moving between places where he could avoid detection. 109 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:15,000 The search lasted years. Investigators pursued information from different sources, reviewed possible sightings, and tried to establish where Conzi was living. 110 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:21,000 The case became a reminder that a suspect could flee the country and still remain the focus of a long investigation. 111 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:30,000 The FBI and CIA continued working to bring him back to the United States. By 1997, the pursuit had lasted more than four years. 112 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:35,000 Investigators eventually received information that Conzi was staying at a hotel in Pakistan. 113 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:42,000 An arrest team traveled there. But the operation did not unfold exactly as planned. The hotel entrance was locked. 114 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:48,000 And the team discovered that a security guard was present. The agents had expected the building to be easier to enter. 115 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:53,000 They were operating in a foreign country, surrounded by people who could notice their presence. 116 00:10:53,000 --> 00:11:00,000 And the situation required careful coordination. On June 15, 1997, the FBI team moved forward. 117 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:10,000 Agents entered the hotel and went to the room where they believed Conzi was staying. They knocked and called for morning prayer, hoping to persuade the person inside to open the door. 118 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:19,000 When the door opened, agents moved in and took control of the room. The man resisted and shouted, but investigators were able to restrain him. 119 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:27,000 At first, the agents were not completely certain they had the right person. Conzi's appearance had changed during the years he had been missing. 120 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:36,000 They compared his fingerprints with the records they had obtained earlier. The prints matched. After more than four years, the FBI had finally captured Mir Eimal Conzi. 121 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:44,000 The arrest was only the beginning of the operation. The agents still had to move Conzi out of Pakistan and return him to the United States. 122 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:51,000 They were operating far from home and transporting a high-profile fugitive across international borders carried serious risks. 123 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:57,000 The team arranged for him to be taken to Islamabad, where the necessary permission was obtained for his transfer. 124 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:07,000 Conzi was then flown to the United States. During the journey, he spoke with investigators and acknowledged his responsibility for the shooting. 125 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:16,000 He described the attack as a political statement against the CIA and the United States. He said he had chosen people entering the agency's headquarters as his targets. 126 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:22,000 He also told investigators that he had stopped shooting because there were no more people left in the immediate area to shoot. 127 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:30,000 His statements gave investigators a clearer understanding of the motive. The attack had not been a random confrontation between strangers. 128 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:36,000 Conzi had deliberately targeted people he associated with the CIA, even though the victims had not personally harmed him. 129 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:49,000 His anger toward American foreign policy had been transformed into violence against individuals going to work. After Conzi returned to Virginia, he was brought before the authorities to face murder and assault charges. 130 00:12:49,000 --> 00:13:01,000 The investigation had taken years, but the case was finally moving toward trial. Prosecutors presented evidence linking him to the shooting, including the fingerprint, the rifle, and the circumstances of his disappearance. 131 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:08,000 The victim's families had waited for answers, and the trial offered an opportunity for the evidence to be examined in court. 132 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:14,000 On November 10, 1997, a jury found Conzi guilty of the charges arising from the attack. 133 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:23,000 The verdict confirmed his responsibility for the deaths and injuries outside CIA headquarters. In 1998, he was sentenced to death for the Capitol murder. 134 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,000 He also received additional sentences for the other crimes. 135 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:37,000 And #X20, Image, HTTPS, forward/forward/WWW.Google.com/s2/favocons 136 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:47,000 Domain = HTTPS, forward/forward/WWW.Don.com/s2/favocons 137 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:59,000 Plus one, the case did not end with the verdict. Conzi remained on death row while legal proceedings continued. On November 14, 2002, he was executed by lethal injection in Virginia. 138 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:18,000 His execution brought the criminal case to its conclusion, but it could not undo the lives lost or the years of grief experienced by the victim's families. And #X20, Image, HTTPS, forward/forward/WWW.Google.com/s2/favocons 139 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:36,000 Domain = HTTPS, forward/forward/Multimedia.FBI, Gov.BaxLash.SZ =32, Federal Bureau of Investigation, plus one. In the aftermath of the attack, memorials were established near the place where the victims had been shot. 140 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:50,000 Security at CIA headquarters was strengthened, and the agency reviewed protective measures at its facilities. The shooting also demonstrated how an attack could occur outside a heavily guarded institution, where people were exposed while approaching the entrance. 141 00:14:50,000 --> 00:15:03,000 The most overlooked part of this case is that the victims were not engaged in a battle or responding to an immediate threat. They were commuting to work. Their lives were interrupted because the attacker decided to turn political anger into violence. 142 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:12,000 The people in those cars had families, responsibilities, and plans for the day. Their ordinary routines became part of a tragedy they could not have anticipated. 143 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:23,000 The investigation also showed the importance of patients, evidence, and cooperation. A fingerprint that initially produced no match eventually became a key part of the case. 144 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:38,000 Purchase records, witness accounts, forensic testing, and information from the roommate helped investigators connect the pieces. No single clue solved everything. It was the combination of evidence and the continued work of investigators that led to Consys' capture. 145 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:47,000 There is another lesson in the way the motive unfolded. Anger about political events, international conflicts, or government decisions can be deeply felt. 146 00:15:47,000 --> 00:16:01,000 Anger does not justify harming people who have no personal responsibility for those decisions. When individuals turn grievances into violence, innocent people become victims, families are left grieving, and communities are forced to live with the consequences. 147 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:10,000 The case also reminds us that justice can take time. Consys escaped the United States and remained beyond the reach of investigators for more than four years. 148 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:22,000 Yet the investigation continued, and the evidence was eventually brought before a jury. The long pursuit did not erase the tragedy, but it demonstrated that a criminal case can continue across borders and years. 149 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:33,000 For the families of Frank Darling, Lansing Bennett, and the three wounded victims, the shooting was not simply a national security incident or a headline. It was a personal loss that changed their lives. 150 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:46,000 The memorials near route 123 stand as reminders of the people who were there that morning and of the cost of violence carried by those who survived. The story of mere I'm all concy is ultimately a story about choices and consequences. 151 00:16:46,000 --> 00:17:00,000 A man who believed he was making a political statement chose to attack people on their way to work. That decision killed two people, injured three others, frightened a community, and launched an international investigation that lasted years. 152 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:08,000 His capture and conviction brought legal accountability, but the lives taken in the attack could never be restored. The lasting lesson is clear. 153 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:20,000 Disagreement must never become a reason to harm innocent people. The world is filled with conflict, political tension, and deeply held beliefs. But no cause can justify turning ordinary people into targets. 154 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:32,000 Every person deserves to return home safely, and every family deserves the chance to live without fear that an ordinary morning will become the beginning of a tragedy. This is u.ssecretcrimespodcast. 155 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:37,000 Stick to us for more of information and stories of this nature. See you on the next one.