Jersey Jihadi in Yemen: 'He Was a Nice Kid. It's Shocking'

Yeah, it's always those nice kids that turn out to be terrorists. The families are usually the last to get a grip on reality.

A suspected Al Qaeda militant from New Jersey is being investigated by the FBI after his arrest in the Middle East for allegedly trying to shoot his way out of a hospital in Yemen, WMGM-TV in Atlantic City reported.

Federal sources confirmed that 26-year-old Sharif Mobley is in custody after a shooting rampage in a Yemeni hospital that killed one guard and injured another.

FBI spokesman Rich Wolf in Baltimore said the agency is looking into the case. Mobley was reportedly being held prisoner in the hospital and was caught after a chase following the shooting.

Mobley's mother told WMGM-TV the accusations are false but did say that when she last spoke to her son in late January he was in Yemen. She said the FBI had visited her for questioning but insisted her son has never been in trouble and is a good Muslim.

Mobley's father, Charles, said the family was waiting for further information.

"We don't know nothing, we're trying to hear something," Charles Mobley told WMGM-TV.

Mobley's former classmates from New Jersey expressed shock at both his suspected Al Qaeda ties and his deadly escape attempt in Yemen.

"I remember him from high school," WMGM-TV quoted Dawn Bass. "He was just outgoing. He wanted to be, like, the center of attention. He was a nice kid. It's shocking. I wouldn't expect anybody that I graduated with to do something like that."

The FBI declined to comment further on the case, but sources say federal investigators of Buena, N.J. have an interest in Mobley and are waiting for more information to come out of Yemen.

The good Muslim was also an election day campaign worker for Jon Corzine.

Campaign finance records show Mobley received $75 as an election day worker for Gov. Jon Corzine's campaign in 2005.

No doubt most media will lead with that little nugget.