“The FBI is asking for assistance in locating Ahmad Khan Rahami”, FBI New York said in a tweet.
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The FBI described Rahami as a USA citizen of Afghan descent with a last known address in Elizabeth, New Jersey – the same city where an explosives-laden backpack was found Sunday night.
Meanwhile, Mayor Bill de Blasio reiterates the FBI’s warning regarding suspect Rahami. Gov. Andrew Cuomo had said earlier that it didn’t appear to be linked to global terrorism. Both Chelsea bombs utilized Christmas lights for wiring, and the pressure cooker bomb found intact had a label on it for the chemical Tannerite, an explosive often used for target practice that can be picked up in many sporting goods stores.
Among the most important facts that still need to be determined: whether the Chelsea bombing was connected with the failed pipe bombs found in New Jersey on Saturday and Monday morning.
A pipe bomb also exploded Saturday in a New Jersey shore town ahead of a 5K.
Anyone with information is asked to contact FBI at: 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Bollage said that one explanation for the device was that someone concerned about law enforcement had discarded it into a trash can.
Saturday’s night explosion reportedly occurred at 1535 23rd Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues at around 8:30 p.m., according to police commissioner, James P. O’Neill.
The news of the suspects being held comes as investigators were examining a suspicious device found in a rubbish in near a New Jerse railway station. Investigators believe the blast was caused by an explosive device in or near a dumpster, a law enforcement source told CNN. The two then noticed “wires and a pipe” inside the bag, dropped the package, and informed local police.
The explosions came days before world leaders prepared to gather at the United Nations in NY for the annual General Assembly. One of the devices exploded as a bomb squad attempted to disarm it with a robot.
An AP reporter went to the building that houses the family’s restaurant and home, but it was cordoned off. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, chief federal prosecutor in NY, said New Jersey officials will probably bring charges against Rahami in the police officers’ shooting while federal authorities weigh charges of their own.
Witnesses described hearing a deafening blast, and surveillance video footage captured images of windows being blown out by the explosion as people sprinted from the scene.
Federal Bureau of Investigation agents conducted a traffic stop just off the Verrazano bridge, which connects Staten Island to Brooklyn, Sunday night.
The blasts have rattled many residents in the New York City metro area – just days after marking the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks by al-Qaeda hijackers on New York and Washington in 2001.
Police, firefighters and emergency workers gather at the scene of an explosion in Manhattan on September 17, 2016, in New York City. He said the second device appeared “similar in design” to the first, but did not provide details.
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The Manhattan blast was followed by another explosion at Elizabeth train station in New Jersey on Monday, the Associated Press reported citing the city’s mayor Chris Bollwage.
