U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Wednesday Rahami would face terror charges in NY first, and that the Department of Justice planned to bring him to the city “in the near future”.
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The NYPD previously said they did not believe the two men were suspects in the attack, however, the Federal Bureau of Investigation would like to talk to them and recover the stolen luggage.
A USA official tells CBS News that the wife of the suspect in the NY and New Jersey bombings is headed to the us on a flight Wednesday night.
Rahami, suspected of planting the Chelsea bomb and another in Seaside Park, New Jersey, was hospitalized in New Jersey after he was wounded in a shootout with police on Monday.
The suitcase was left at the location on 27th Street by Rahami just minutes before and right around the time that another explosive device detonated on 23rd Street, injuring 31 people, according to a criminal complaint filed against Rahami.
Rahami, 28, was arrested on Monday after a shootout with police in Linden, N. J.
A journal that officials say was found on Rahami contained anti-American writings and praise for well-known terrorist figures including al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, American-born al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and ISIS spokesperson Abu Muhammad al-Adnani.
The two individuals allegedly located a piece of luggage on the sidewalk, removed the explosive device and took the suitcase but left the explosive behind, according to the FBI’s release. The men are considered witnesses and are not in danger of being arrested, officials said Wednesday. Authorities have said a bulletproof vest saved Padilla from a more serious injury.
This 27th Street bomb never exploded and it was the second pressure cooker-style bomb that was discovered by a neighbour on the block.
The father of the man charged with setting off bombs in NY and New Jersey said his son underwent a personality change after visiting Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2013.
Rahami is an Afghan-born USA citizen. A New Jersey judge has ordered him held on $5.2 million bail on the state charges.
New Jersey Congressman Albio Sires confirms Rahami sent an email from Pakistan to Sires’ office, wanting to know the status of an entry visa and passport for his wife.
Prosecutors pressed terrorism-related charges against Rahami, including weapons of mass destruction counts, but the complaints do not tie him to any particular terror group.
He says Ahmad Khan Rahami “seems like many suspects who come into contact with the system at various times” and was handled “to the extent. that law would allow”.
Another Linden officer, Pete Hammer, was released Tuesday.
Ahmad Khan Rahami was arrested for stabbing a person in the leg and possession of a firearm in 2014.
His family, who run the Elizabeth-based First American Fried Chicken restaurant, have denied knowledge of the bomb plot.
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People are now coming and going as usual in the Manhattan neighborhood rocked by a bomb – although jarring reminders of the weekend blast remain.
