NYC terror suspect's ties to Florida become clearer

Sayfullo Saipov came to the U.S. in 2010. Since then, he's lived in several states, including Florida.  He even had an apartment in Temple Terrace as recently as last year.

It's a bit of a shock to the people who live nearby. The quiet apartment complex has suddenly been pulled into a massive investigation into a terror suspect.

Public records show Saipov’s last address in Florida was on Granada Boulevard, inside Heritage at Tampa apartments off of 56th Street.  It's not clear how long he lived here or when he moved away.

A law enforcement official told the Associated Press that, while Saipov has a Florida license, he may have been staying in New Jersey prior to the attack.

Tuesday afternoon and evening, FBI agents were walking around the building where Saipov is believed to have lived.  A neighbor there said investigators showed her a picture of the terror suspect and asked if she recognized him.  She thought she'd seen him before he grew a beard and she says it's scary to think that someone capable of this kind of violence lived near her.

"I just couldn't believe it after thinking of what happened in Orlando not too far from here and some of my friends were affected by the Orlando shooting, so it hits home," neighbor Tatiana Colarte said.

The timeline surrounding Saipov's whereabouts in the U.S. is coming into focus. In 2011, he moved to the U.S. from Uzbekistan and a traffic ticket that year lists Fort Myers as his home address.

Between 2011 and 2013, records show he opened businesses in Ohio and in 2013 listed Cleveland as his hometown on Facebook.

But by 2016, he was claiming Tampa as his home address, according to another citation.

Some time this year, he moved to New Jersey, where he investigators have been raiding his apartment.  He was apparently working as an Uber driver in New Jersey, too.

Local Muslim leaders are trying to figure out if he was involved in their community in Tampa, but so far have come up empty.