Flee Jones, 27, who said he’d known Rahami since they were teenagers, told reporters he’d noticed a change in Rahami’s personality after a trip to Afghanistan several years ago.
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Rahami, 28, a naturalized USA citizen from Afghanistan who lived with his Muslim family in Elizabeth, New Jersey, underwent surgery for a gunshot wound to the leg as authorities began drawing up charges in a case that spread fear across the NY area and revived anxiety about homegrown terrorism.
The discovery of Tannerite in materials recovered from the Saturday night explosion that injured 29 people may be important as authorities probe whether the blast was connected to an unexploded pressure-cooker device found by state troopers just blocks away, as well as a pipe bomb blast in a New Jersey shore town earlier in the day.
Late Sunday, five suspicious devices were found near a train station in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
“[There’s] no indication that there is cell operating in the area or the city”, William Sweeney, FBI special agent for NY said.
Authorities believe Rahami is the man seen on surveillance video dragging a duffel bag near the site of the NY explosion, and the location where police eventually found a suspicious pressure cooker four blocks away. Only one exploded, and no one was injured.
Cellphones were discovered at the site of both bombings, but no Tannerite residue was identified in the New Jersey bomb remnants, in which a black powder was detected, said the official, who wasn’t authorized to comment on an ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. He became a naturalized USA citizen in 2011.
Federal Bureau of Investigation agents raided Mr Rahami’s apartment above the fried chicken shop in Elizabeth early on Monday. The Rahami family lives in the apartment.
“He’s a very friendly guy, that’s what’s so scary”, said Ryan McCann of Elizabeth.
Rahami’s father, Mohammad, and two of Rahami’s brothers sued the city of Elizabeth in 2011 after it passed an ordinance requiring their restaurant, First American Fried Chicken, to close early because of complaints from neighbors that it was a late-night nuisance.
“He’s always in there”.
Autumn and Michael Kearstan, who live next door, said they could not return to their home after bringing their son to school Monday morning.
“We have every reason to believe this was an act of terror”, said Mayor de Blasio said during an afternoon press conference. “We have more work to do to be able to say what kind of motivation was behind this”.
Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, touring the site of Saturday’s blast that injured 29 people in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, said there didn’t appear to be any link to worldwide terrorism.
The pipe bomb exploded Saturday in Seaside Park, New Jersey, before a charity 5K race to benefit Marines and sailors.
On Sunday night, FBI agents in Brooklyn stopped “a vehicle of interest” in the investigation of the Manhattan explosion, according to FBI spokeswoman Kelly Langmesser.
Authorities zeroed in on him as the potential bomber after a fingerprint and DNA obtained from one of the NY sites and “clear as day” surveillance video from the bombing scene helped identify him, according to three law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case. Law enforcement officials said at least one of Rahami’s relatives was in the auto, which appeared headed toward Kennedy Airport in NY after coming from New Jersey.
The arrest came following a fast-moving manhunt across the region as local, state and federal law enforcement officers searched for Rahami. Investigators looked into it and didn’t consider it relevant to the case, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. The race was canceled.
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An unexploded pressure cooker was found four blocks from the site of the NY bombing in Chelsea. No one was hurt.
