United States officials are looking for Ahmad Khan Rahami, a naturalised U.S. citizen who was born in Afghanistan, for questioning over explosions in NY and New Jersey on Saturday.
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“I want to be very clear that this individual could be armed and risky”, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
Federal authorities now believe the weekend explosion that injured 29 people in Chelsea, near where another explosive device was found, was linked to as many as six explosive devices found in Elizabeth, Homeland Security officials said.
Authorities said the blasts were looking more like an act of terrorism with a foreign connection but they wouldn’t say how they zeroed in on Rahami.
On Saturday, a pipe bomb exploded about an hour from the Elizabeth train station in Seaside Park, New Jersey, forcing the cancellation of a military charity 5K run. No one was injured. In Elizabeth, New Jersey, authorities are still piecing together clues about multiple improvised explosive devices (IEDs) – all stuffed into a backpack – that were found near a train station. He is estimated to stand 5-feet-6-inches tall and weigh approximately 200 pounds.
Rahami’s last known address was in Elizabeth, N.J., where a third bombing incident unfolded early Monday.
An FBI poster warned he could be “armed and dangerous”.
The FBI said it conducted a traffic stop on a “vehicle of interest” on Sunday, but no one was charged with a crime. The bag detonated while police were handling it, but no injuries were reported. According to officials, the bomb squad robot was “cutting into the device when it exploded” at Elizabeth Station.
On Monday, officials were searching an apartment and chicken restaurant at 104 Elmora Ave.in Elizabeth, the Union County seat and a city of about 125,00 residents.
The White House said President Barack Obama was briefed throughout the night and early Monday on the investigation into bombs found in New York City and New Jersey. Fortunately that device did not detonate and yielded a wealth of information to police.
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The investigation is ongoing.
