Ahmad Khan Rahami, the suspect wanted in connection with a series of bomb attacks in New York City and New Jersey in the United States was apprehended on Monday after a shootout with police in Linden, New Jersey, local police said.
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The official said the father, Mohammad Rahami, later said he simply meant his son was hanging out with gangs and acting like a thug.
Federal agents opened an investigation into Ahmad Khan Rahami in 2014 after they received a call from Mohammad Rahami, two unidentified senior law enforcement officials told The New York Times.
Law enforcement officials said on September 20 that Rahami’s father later told Federal Bureau of Investigation agents that he actually only meant his son was spending time with bad people.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, the father says he contacted authorities because his son was causing trouble and not because of terrorist motivations.
NY police said on Wednesday they are seeking two pedestrians filmed handling the unexploded pressure cooker bomb found late on Saturday just blocks from where a bomb blast injured 29 people.
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.
Rahami has been charged with five counts of attempted murder in connection with an exchange of gunfire he had with officers who confronted and arrested him in Linden, New Jersey, just west of NY. The mayor of NY also warned that Rahami was armed and unsafe.
He was captured in a shootout after weekend attacks in NY and New Jersey and nearly certainly faces further federal charges.
The bombings and subsequent manhunt prompted even greater security in NY, a city already on high alert for this week’s gathering of world leaders at the United Nations for the annual General Assembly.
The law enforcement officials said at least one of Rahami’s relatives was in the auto, which appeared to be heading towards Kennedy Airport in NY after coming from New Jersey.
The federal charging documents say Rahami had been buying components online for months, shipping them all to his workplace, NPR’s Dina Temple-Raston told All Things Considered.
Rahami is also considered a person of interest for the five pipe bombs found near the Elizabeth, New Jersey train station on Sunday.
The journal also praised slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, prosecutors said.
The attempted murder of a law enforcement officer charges carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison for each count, NBC News reports. After that, he worked full-time at First American Fried Chicken, a restaurant in Elizabeth owned by his father.
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Law enforcement agencies are searching for two men who apparently stumbled on one of the bombs planted in Manhattan on Saturday evening and took the explosive device out of a bag before walking away with the bag. “We don’t even know if they are aware of it”, Waters said.
