He underwent surgery and was in “critical but stable” condition, NY police chief James O’Neill said Tuesday – meaning that he is expected to survive his injuries – but has not yet been interrogated.
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A law enforcement official told the Times that the father may have called this son a terrorist in anger.
Following the explosion in Manhattan’s Chelsea district on Saturday night and the discovery of an unexploded device nearby, Mr Rahami said he had “no idea” of what his son had apparently been planning.
In 2014, Rahami’s father, Mohammad, told the Federal Bureau of Investigation his son was a terrorist after a violent incident involving Ahmad and another son.
“He was doing bad. and I put him in jail”, the elder Rahami said, adding that Ahmad had stabbed his brother, Nasser “for no reason” and was “hurting my wife”. “They say, ‘He’s OK, he’s clean, he’s not a terrorist.’ I say OK”. Sources say federal agents are hoping to quiz her overseas, although they declined to say where. The FBI then opened a so-called “Guardian” file on Rahami, initiating the process to determine whether Rahami had any links to terrorism or other criminal activity, and whether a more formal investigation was warranted.
Noting that Rahami could face state charges in NY and New Jersey – in addition to federal charges – Bharara said, “We are not rushing against each other to bring charges”.
Rahami has a child with a woman he dated while attending high school in Edison, New Jersey, but the two have since had a tumultuous relationship. He was questioned every time he returned to the United States, as is standard procedure, but was not on the radar for possible radicalization, one official said.
He was captured in New Jersey on Monday following a bloody shootout with police and has been charged with five counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, and second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful objective.
One day after arresting the man believed to be responsible for the weekend bomb attacks in NY and New Jersey, there are still plenty of questions.
Since being detained, Rahami, who was not on U.S. anti-terrorism databases, has undergone surgery for a gunshot wound to the leg.
Two US officials told Reuters Rahami had travelled to Afghanistan and to Quetta, Pakistan, a city where support for the Taliban is significant.
Summit’s vice president of security services, Daniel Sepulveda, said Rahami last did work for the company in 2011 and left the job because he wanted an extended leave that didn’t coincide with his work schedule.
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The bombing investigation began when a pipe bomb blew up Saturday morning in Seaside Park, New Jersey, before a charity race to benefit Marines. After he left, the video showed two other men removing a white garbage bag believed to contain the pressure cooker from the duffel bag and leaving it on the sidewalk, according to a senior law enforcement official and another source familiar with the video. Investigators are still gathering evidence and have not publicly tied those devices to Rahami yet.
