These are some of the questions that have emerged in the wake of the capture of the man suspected of planting bombs in NY and New Jersey over the weekend.
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The man – identified as 28-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahami – was wanted by police in connection with four bomb incidents in NY and New Jersey over the weekend.
Late Monday, a hospitalized Rahami was charged in New Jersey with five counts of attempted murder of police officers in connection with the shootout and was held on $5.2 million bail.
The law enforcement officials said at least one of Rahami’s relatives was in the vehicle, which appeared headed toward Kennedy Airport in NY after coming from New Jersey.
The businessman had just seen Rahami while watching TV news on his laptop. Both New Jersey Transit and Amtrak warned of train delays after the incident.
Rahami and two police officers were wounded in the exchange of gunfire.
The New York Times reported that no evidence had yet been found that Rahami had received military training overseas but said Federal Bureau of Investigation agents were trying to determine if his actions had been guided by Islamic State militants or any other terrorist organization.
Investigators think Rahami may have been trying to emulate the Boston bombers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who set off a pipe bomb at the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013 which killed three and injured 264 others.
The GOP presidential nominee told a crowd near Fort Myers, Fla., that it was due to the work of law enforcement that the “evil thug who planted the bombs” was caught.
Kayyem says a “scrub” of his digital footprint is still needed, through questions like “who was he communicating with, how was he communicating with them, was he directed by anyone, was he inspired by anyone?”
On Sunday about 9:30 p.m. a backpack with multiple bombs inside was found in a wastebasket outside a neighborhood pub in Elizabeth. A residence above the restaurant is believed to be tied to explosives found at the Elizabeth station, although that hasn’t been confirmed.
As the East Coast was rattled by the bombings, a man who authorities say referred to Allah wounded nine people in a stabbing rampage at a Minnesota mall Saturday before being shot to death by an off-duty police officer.
In the video, the man left the duffel bag where police later found the unexploded pressure cooker.
At that time, he told immigration officials he was visiting family and attending his uncle’s wedding and renewing his Pakistani visa.
Ryan McCann, of Elizabeth, said that he often ate at the restaurant and recently began seeing Ahmad Rahami working there more. Evidence from the cell phone on the pressure cooker also led to Rahmani’s identification. Officials announced late Sunday night the detention of up to five individuals in connection with Saturday night’s explosion in Chelsea. As the robot was doing so, one of the devices detonated.
Obama added that investigators saw “no connection” at this moment between the bombings in New Jersey and NY and a stabbing in Minnesota.
Rahami first came to the United States in 1995 as a child, after his father arrived seeking asylum, and became a naturalized USA citizen in 2011, according to a law enforcement official who reviewed his travel and immigration record. Rahami is a USA citizen of Afghan descent. He told officials he was visiting his wife, uncles and aunts. The family has a history of clashes with the community over the restaurant, which used to be open 24 hours a day, Mayor Chris Bollwage said.
They filed a lawsuit in 2011 against the city of Elizabeth, the police department and a neighbor. Investigators searched the building Monday, Bollwage said.
Substantial police presence notwithstanding, life in NY appears to have returned to normal.
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Heightened security across the city is common during the UNGA. President Obama is urging everyone to remain vigilant. “Folks around here, they don’t get scared”. “They were in good spirits and I communicated to them of how appreciative the American people are”.
