The FBI said the two men saw a piece of luggage on the sidewalk, removed the improvised explosive device that was inside and then left with just the luggage.
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Nevertheless, Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., suggested the Federal Bureau of Investigation could inform local police about even low-level assessments they conduct so “street cops” can be told to “keep your eyes and ears open on this guy in case you hear something about him”.
According to the court complaints, Rahami’s journal included a passage that accused the US government of slaughtering Muslim holy warriors in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere.
Rahami was wounded in a shootout with police and is in a hospital in New Jersey. He’s still in the hospital getting treated for gunshot wounds taken during the shootout with police officers at his capture.
Prosecutors have filed charges against him in connection with the bombings. The other official says investigators believe she left the US for Pakistan in June.
AP spokesman Paul Colford said the news cooperative told law enforcement officials about Rahami’s work in Cranbury.
A criminal complaint was unsealed Tuesday at a federal court in Manhattan charging Rahami with four counts, including use of a weapon of mass destruction.
New York Police Commissioner James O’Neill told a news conference that investigators had not yet received doctors’ clearance to interview Rahami, adding, “That may happen in the next 24 hours, pending the doctors’ approval”. He has been charged with wounding 31 people in a bombing in NY on Saturday that authorities regard as an act of terror.
The official said authorities are attempting to determine whether the person who recorded the video had specific knowledge of Rahami’s alleged plan.
The FBI has published an image of two men who took a suitcase from a street in New York City on Saturday night, after removing a bomb that never exploded. The journal ended with the message “Death to your oppression”, according to court filings.
In a bloodied journal recovered by investigators, Rahami made references to Osama bin Laden, American-born Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and former Army officer Nidal Hasan, who went on a shooting rampage in Ford Hood, Texas, according to a federal complaint.
Rahami’s travels to the region, especially Pakistan, are the focus of investigations as they could yield the origins and motivation for his radicalisation.
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The FBI confirmed that it had looked into the younger Rahami after what it called a “domestic dispute” but found no evidence tying him to terrorism.
