The discovery may be significant as the investigation continues into whether there’s any connection between two New York City devices and the pipe bomb at the Jersey shore.
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“The FBI is asking for assistance in locating Ahmad Khan Rahami”, FBI New York said in a tweet, released with the picture of the suspect, who is now also sought in connection with todays explosion in New Jersey as well. More officers joined the gunbattle, and Rahami was shot in the leg and arm before being taken into custody, police Capt. James Sarnicki said.
The investigation is ongoing, and as of Monday morning, no charges have been laid by Police.
His reported arrest came about four hours after the Federal Bureau of Investigation released his mugshot, calling him “armed and dangerous” in text message alerts sent to millions of people in the NY area. One of the devices exploded as the bomb squad was using a robot to disarm the contents, but no one was injured. There were no injuries suffered in the New Jersey blast.
Cuomo said earlier on Sunday that there was “no reason to believe at this time that there is any further, immediate threat” after the events on Saturday. The Flatiron Building, a NY landmark, is about 500m away.
Late Sunday night, five explosive devices were discovered in a trash can at an Elizabeth train station. “He is about 5’6 tall, has brown hair, brown eyes and brown facial hair”, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had said adding the suspect could be “armed and dangerous”.
Officials haven’t revealed any details about the makeup of the pressure cooker device, except to say it had wires and a cellphone attached to it. CNN reported the explosive devices were found in a in a garbage can outside a local bar, about 500 feet away from the train station.
Authorities zeroed in on him as the potential bomber after a fingerprint and DNA obtained from one of the NY sites and “clear as day” surveillance video from the bombing scene helped identify him, according to three law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case. The other bomb left in Manhattan didn’t explode.
Early Monday, FBI agents swarmed an apartment above a fried chicken restaurant in Elizabeth that’s tied to Rahami.
Citing the FBI, New Jersey State Police said Monday that the bombs in Chelsea and the New Jersey shore town Seaside Park were connected.
Around the time Rahami was captured, President Barack Obama was in NY on a previously scheduled visit for a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly.
Nor were Afghan intelligence officials aware of either Rahami or his family, said Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, director-general of the Afghan National Directorate of Security.
He was wanted for questioning in connection with the blasts in NY and New Jersey, and the backpack containing explosives in Elizabeth.
A neighbour said Rahami had recently started dressing in more traditional clothes such as long tunics and sandals, which she said was how his father dressed. A forensic examination of the device will be sent to the FBI Laboratory at Quantico, Virginia, police said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio says initial investigations suggest the explosion, on West 23rd Street in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood, was an “intentional act”, but that there is “no evidence at this point” of a connection to terrorism.
Authorities say the man was found sleeping in a bar hallway before his arrest.
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Rahami will face allegations he planted a series of bombs in both states, including one which injured 31 people when it blew up on a bustling Manhattan street.
