New York-area bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami’s father “told [New Jersey] police that [his] son was a terrorist” two years ago, the New York Times reports.
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Rahami, who is of Afghan descent, was captured in Linden, a city in New Jersey not far from where he lived, after an exchange of fire with law enforcement agents.
Mohammed Rahami (3-L), the father of the suspect behind the September 17 explosion in New York City and a second bombing in New Jersey, talks with FBI investigators in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Rahami’s father in the past reportedly told police he thought his son might be involved in terrorism.
More charges were expected to be brought against Rahami in federal court, as New York’s mayor called the bombing that injured 29 people in the bustling Chelsea district “an act of terror”.
The FBI first became aware of Rahami in summer 2014, when local law enforcement contacted the agency’s New Jersey field office about him, sources said. He was questioned every time he returned to the United States, as is standard procedure, but was not on the radar for possible radicalization, one official said.
He is also suspected of planting bombs in Seaside-during a Marines charity run-and Elizabeth, New Jersey.
The FBI said it does not yet know why the Chelsea neighborhood was targeted.
Authorities suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami is responsible for the weekend bombings in NY and New Jersey that left dozens injured. He told reporters on Tuesday that his son was “doing bad” at the time and had recently hit his stepmother. Still, some of the restaurant’s customers said Rahami was more likely to talk about his interest in cars.Stanekzai said it was possible Rahami might have been influenced by “huge networks” of radicalization in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, or online.
The official, and other USA security sources, said Rahami underwent additional security screening upon returning from overseas but passed each time.
Rahami spent three months in jail over the stabbing incident, though he was never actually indicted over it, and was just there waiting for them to decide on that. Twenty-nine people were injured when one of the bombs exploded in Manhattan. He was later charged with five counts of attempted murder in connection with the shooting.
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It’s unclear if the Federal Bureau of Investigation or other law enforcement agencies interviewed Rahami in 2014.
