Authorities were looking for Ahmad Khan Rahami, a naturalized US citizen from Afghanistan with an address in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
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Ahmad Khan Rahami being taken into custody by police.
Federal authorities were conducting a raid on Rahami’s apartment above a fried chicken restaurant. “It’s not in a highly congested area”, Bollwage told CNN. The Associated Press reported that two men saw wires and a pipe coming out of a package. Nearby, another explosive device was found, undetonated.
Nine persons were also injured on Saturday night in a stabbing attack at a mall in the U.S. state of Minnesota.
Saturday night’s blast in the bustling Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan injured 29 people, and another unexploded device made out of pressure cooker was found several blocks away.
Bomb dogs went from vehicle to auto and trash can to trash can along a residential street.
The activity came hours after one of five devices found at the nearby Elizabeth train station exploded while a bomb squad robot attempted to disarm it. The bag had wires and a pipe protruding from it.
The device was one of five suspicious bombing devices found in a backpack in a trash can near the Elizabeth train station Sunday night, officials said.
Elizabeth Mayor Christian Bollwage says county authorities told him that the officers shot in Linden are expected to be OK. It wasn’t immediately clear if the apartment had any connection to the blast. “I don’t believe the City of Elizabeth at this stage – was a target”, he said, according to WUNF.
The discovery of the bombs led to a shutdown of NJ Transit’s Northeast Corridor and the North Jersey Coast Line as they were examined and the immediate area searched for additional devices. The incident prompted authorities to temporarily halt regional commuter and Amtrak train service.
Riders reported being stuck on Amtrak and NJ Transit trains for hours Sunday night, while some trains moved in reverse to let passengers off at other stations. Amtrak said 2,400 passengers were affected and trains were being brought in to other stations for people to get other transportation. Three pipe bomb devices were also found later in another part of New Jersey.
The discovery came after three attacks at the weekend – bombs in NY and New Jersey, and stabbings in Minnesota.
“I don’t have the expertise to determine the blast function of that, but based on the loudness, I think people could have been severely hurt or injured if they were in the vicinity when that went off”.
Police described the explosion on Saturday in NY and a stabbing attack in Minnesota as acts of terrorism.
How the NY and New Jersey bombings (or possible attempted bombings) are connected.
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“He could be armed and risky”, de Blasio said, warning that residents should be vigilant and report sightings to authorities.
