The suspect wanted in the NY and New Jersey bombings over the weekend is in custody after a shootout with police in Linden, New Jersey.
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Substantial police presence notwithstanding, life in NY appears to have returned to normal.
Cell phones 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 spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to comment on an ongoing investigation. Ahmad Khan Rahami was arrested after a shootout with police on Monday 19 September. The FBI says they detained a auto of interest Sunday night, and several people were questioned and released.
Officials said they identified Rahami by a fingerprint found on one of the explosive devices in Manhattan, as well as with surveillance footage.
Ahmad Khan Rahami, a naturalized US citizen from Afghanistan with an address in Elizabeth, New Jersey, should be considered armed and risky, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in one of a series of TV appearances just minutes after the photo was released.
Police have detained at least five others in connection with the bombings. When Rahami returned, he “got more religious” and dressed differently than before, Jones said. Ball bearings and BBs were among pieces of metal that appeared to be packed inside, a federal law enforcement official said.
He said authorities were investigating the stabbing, which has been claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group, as a potential act of terrorism. It was not clear whether Rahami had a lawyer yet. Gov. Andrew Cuomo had said earlier that it didn’t appear to be linked to worldwide terrorism.
Bollwage said he wasn’t willing to say that Elizabeth had become a target, and that it was possible that someone anxious about the authorities was trying to get rid of the package.
William Sweeney Jr., the FBI’s assistant director in NY, said there was no indication so far that the bombings were the work of a larger terror cell. “I said, ‘Oh, where have you been?’ And he said, ‘Oh, vacation.’ But I knew he went to Afghanistan because his little brother said it”.
Two officers were believed to be hurt in the shootout with Rahami, who suffered a gunshot to the leg.
The Times also reports that Rahami, who once wore jeans and favored souped-up Honda Accords, traveled to Afghanistan and came back “a completely different person”.
“He’d always talk about his cars”.
MAN: He’s a very friendly guy. “That’s what’s so scary”.
The probe started when a pipe bomb blew up on Saturday morning in Seaside Park, New Jersey, before a charity race to benefit US Marines.
No-one was injured in the other blasts.
The unexploded device was then examined for clues to the bomber’s identity.
The police believe he was also responsible for a backpack full of pipe bombs found in Elizabeth, N.J., late Sunday.
Five suspected explosive devices were found earlier at a train station in the New Jersey city. The FBI questions and released them.
Linden Mayor Derek Armstead said the Afgan immigrant was captured after the owner of a bar reported someone asleep in the doorway of his establishment.
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Still, after a whirlwind investigation that put Rahami in custody in just two days’ time, “I’m a lot happier today than I was yesterday”, New York City Police Commissioner James O’Neill said. That officer, thankfully, was wearing a bulletproof vest. More officers joined in a gun battle that spilled into the street. “Neither the police officer who was struck by gunfire nor a second officer who was struck in the head by a fragment of a bullet suffered life-threatening injuries”, the prosecutor said in a statement.
