Mohammad Rahami, the father of Ahmad Khan Rahami, called authorities two years ago after his son stabbed his own brother, according to The Associated Press.
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The New York Times confirmed Mr Rahami’s account with officials, who said the investigation ended when he withdrew his accusations.
Meanwhile, law enforcement sources said a notebook found on Rahami contained ramblings about terrorists and also mentioned Anwar al-Awlaki, the Yemeni-American imam who was a spokesman for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
The naturalized American citizen Ahmad Khan Rahami, the suspect in NY and New Jersey bomb plots that injured 29 people in NYC’s Chelsea neighbourhood, took a trip to Afghanistan in 2014.
U.S. authorities investigated whether Ahmad Khan Rahami, the naturalised American citizen captured on Monday in New Jersey after a shootout with police, had accomplices in the bombings or if he was radicalised during trips to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
According to law enforcement sources, the Federal Bureau of Investigation stopped looking into Rahami after full background and database checks yielded no evidence.
That night, twenty-nine people were injured when a bomb exploded in New York’s upmarket Chelsea neighborhood, damaging buildings, shattering glass and sending shrapnel flying across the street. Sources say they believe he is. He was reportedly spotted sleeping in the vestibule of a bar in Linden, New Jersey and was ultimately shot in the leg and arrested after a confrontation with police that also left two officers wounded.
Rahami is in a critical but stable condition in hospital following Monday’s shootout as police attempted to arrest him, in Linden, New Jersey.
Prosecutors said five pipe bombs had been found in Rahami’s hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey.
USA authorities say they don’t know if Rahami was radicalized during his trips overseas, and at the time of writing, had not identified any link with radical Islamist groups. Monday, a mile from Rahami’s home, a backpack filled with five devices was detonated by police after it was discovered by two homeless men.
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Federal officials say Rahami bought bomb ingredients on eBay and wrote “Death To Your OPPRESSION” in a journal.
