THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

If the reports are true, we have had our first American born suicide bomber. Fortunately he chose to do his stuff in Syria, this time.

The young American suicide bomber who last weekend blew up an explosives-laden truck halfway across the world in Syria made his home in Florida, law enforcement officials said Friday. Records indicate the man played high school basketball in Vero Beach and lived at some point in Fort Pierce.

The 22-year-old, identified late Friday in news reports as Moner Mohammad Abusalha, is believed to have been the first American suicide bomber in Syria.

Few details have emerged on Abusalha, whose name was kept secret by federal authorities for most of Friday while they interviewed his family and friends — some of them elsewhere in Florida — and traced his movements, investigating whether he was recruited or radicalized online.

Basketball statistics posted on a youth sports website show Abusalha played in 2007 for the Indian River Warriors, a team based in Vero Beach. Records show his parents have lived there and owned several grocery stores along the Treasure Coast.

Law enforcement sources told the Miami Herald that Abusalha resided, at least for some time, in Fort Pierce, about 130 miles north of Miami. The most recent address listed for him in public records — an apartment with a blue door in a one-story Fort Pierce building — now has a different tenant who said he didn’t recognize Abusalha’s name.

At the nearby Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, an imam who did not give his name declined an interview request late Friday. Earlier in the day, several men leaving an afternoon prayer who were shown Abusalha’s photograph said they did not know him.

Photographs posted on jihadi social media sites show the suicide bomber purportedly in Syria, smiling and sporting a reddish-brown beard. In one of them, he is cradling a cat.

Those photos seem to match a Facebook profile for Moner Abusalha, who is pictured in one of his posts there standing in front of a beach. His other posts show Abusalha was religious and frequently mentioned prayer, God and the Prophet Mohammed. He also liked football, video games and Dunkin’ Donuts.

In Syria, the suicide bomber was known by his nom de guerre, Abu Hurayra al Ameriki, or Abu Hurayra the American. The original Abu Hurayra was a companion of the Prophet Mohammed and is considered one of the most important figures in early Islamic history.

All those who had Florida as his home state in the pool can collect their winnings.