Faisal Shahzad, in happier times.

It's that man from Connecticut who lost his home to foreclosure.

As a newlywed, the wedding guest said of Mr. Shahzad by e-mail from Pakistan, “there was no sign of him being extremist or, for that matter, he wasn’t a bit religious.” But in the past couple of years, after changing jobs and fathering two children, Mr. Shahzad “started talking more of Islam.”...

It must have been the economic downturn that made him want to melt the flesh off everyone who happened to be standing in Times Square. These are hard times.

“The recession had taken a toll on them, I guess,” he wrote in an e-mail message from Pakistan. He said that their money worries became apparent in 2008 or 2009 and that Mr. Shahzad “lost his way during the financial problems.” JPMorgan Chase has since moved to foreclose on the Shelton house, which the couple had abandoned in a hurry, leaving behind clothes and toys.

Because, you know, in all these foreclosures, people just suddenly run off and leave all their belongings. It's so sad — children without their toys.