Armed man in wheelchair had 'message for bin Laden'

A wheelchair-bound man who arrived at a mosque with two guns in a bag and said he had a message for Osama bin Laden has been arrested.

Robert Tycer, 39, has been charged with two counts of illegally carrying a concealed weapon.

He has been released on a $1,000 bond.

Mr Tycer arrived in a taxi outside Masjid Abu Bakr Al Siddique in Metairie, Louisiana, minutes before an evening prayer was scheduled to begin.

Deputies found a loaded shotgun and a rifle in a black bag he was carrying.

Police are now investigating Mr Tycer's intentions.

Mr Tycer says he had come to the mosque hoping to get a message to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and bin Laden, said Hasan Krad, imam of the mosque.

Mr Krad said he replied: "Who do you think we are that we could get in touch with those people?"

Several attempts to reach Mr Tycer at home Friday resulted in busy telephone signals.