NEW YORK -New York police took a man into custody Monday in connection with bombings in Manhattan and Seaside Park, N.J.
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The US Homeland Security Department was “actively monitoring and participating in the investigations” of both the NY and New Jersey explosions, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said.
An Afghan immigrant wanted in the bombings that rocked a New York City neighborhood and a New Jersey shore town was captured Monday after being wounded in a gun battle with police that erupted when he was discovered sleeping in a bar doorway, authorities said.
Earlier Monday, the New York Police Department identified Ahmad Khan Rahami as a suspect in Saturday night’s bombing in the city’s Chelsea neighborhood.
The pipe bomb exploded on Saturday in Seaside Park, New Jersey, before a charity 5K race to benefit Marines and sailors.
Rahami was positively identified, the official said, from a fingerprint allegedly left on the unexploded pressure-cooker device found in NY.
“But there may very well turn out to be a link to foreign terrorist organizations, and that we’ll find out today or in the coming days”, Cuomo told a news conference in NY on Monday.
“This is a fast-moving situation and a sobering reminder that we need steady leadership in a risky world”, she said. As far as bomb-related charges, “we’re going to take a lot of care, and a lot of time” before proceeding to court.
On the immediate heels of the blast, both New York city mayor de Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo were cautious about linking the attacks to worldwide terrorism. It was one of as many as five potential bombs found at the site, Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage told reporters. The race was canceled and no one was injured. Both said Monday that appears to be changing.
The White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said that President Barack Obama has been informed about the developments and he will make a statement later today.
Rahami is a USA citizen who was born in Afghanistan.
FBI spokeswoman Kelly Langmesser says agents stopped “a vehicle of interest in the investigation” of the Manhattan explosion Sunday night.
Mohammad Rahami, the suspect’s father, said he had been unaware of his son planning any bombings.
No one has been charged, and the investigation is continuing, Ms Langmesser said.
Investigators were able to extract call histories from cell phones attached to the bombs that did not detonate in NY and New Jersey to find clues that led them to the suspect, NBC News reported on Monday.
Authorities are questioning several people as they try to determine any possible connection between an explosion in a bustling New York City neighbourhood, an unexploded pressure-cooker device found blocks away and a pipe bomb blast in New Jersey.
– The FBI is evaluating a claim of responsibility for the New York City bombing on the social blogging service Tumblr. He suffered a gunshot wound in an encounter with the police, The New York Times reported, citing law enforcement officials. The NYPD tweeted Monday morning that authorities were seeking Ahmad Khan Rahami. Shortly thereafter, an unexploded pressure-cooker device was also found sitting on a sidewalk four blocks away and was being analyzed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Police spokesman J. Peter Donald said on Twitter that the explosion happened at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday on West 23rd Street, which is a major thoroughfare with many restaurants.
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– A federal law enforcement official said BBs and ball bearings were among the pieces of metal that appeared to be packed into two pressure cooker bombs in NY.
