Share

Domestic Dispute Triggered FBI Scrutiny Of New York Bombing Suspect

One day after a man suspected of planting bombs in NY and New Jersey was arrested in a shootout with Linden police, the mother of his child filed papers in court seeking sole custody of the girl.

Advertisement

Court complaints filed Tuesday give a chilling glimpse into what authorities say motivated the Afghan-born USA citizen to set off explosives last weekend in NY and New Jersey.

As the investigation pressed on, Mr. Rahami continued to receive treatment in a Newark hospital from gunshot wounds, and he has been charged with attempted murder of police officers while federal prosecutors in NY and New Jersey prepare terrorism charges against him, officials added.

Federal terrorism charges were filed against Rahami on Tuesday night.

Rahmani remains hospitalized with gunshot wounds. He was listed in critical but stable condition on Tuesday, and police had not yet been able to interview him in depth, New York Police Commissioner James O’Neill said.

But when the FBI talked with the father, he recanted his claim that his son was a terrorist but expressed concern that Ahmad was engaged in criminal or gang activity, a federal law enforcement source said.

Maria also said she had spoken to Rahami last January.

The official didn’t provide details about her travels but said authorities are working with officials in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates to gain access to her.

Rahami had a notebook on him when he was apprehended – writings making references to terrorists.

The official, and other United States security sources, said Rahami underwent additional security screening upon returning from overseas but passed on every occasion.

The incident took place a five months after Mr. Rahami returned from Afghanistan and Pakistan, officials said.

Federal officials say Ahmad Khan Rahami, the man charged with planting explosives in New York City and New Jersey, bought bomb ingredients on eBay and wrote “Death To Your OPPRESSION” in a journal.

By Monday, authorities said they believed Rahami was linked to the explosion. Asked whether he thought his son was a terrorist, he said: “No”. Folks around here, you know, they don’t get scared. Earlier in the investigation, officials had withheld such an assessment until they could discern a motive.

The blasts came two years after the Federal Bureau of Investigation looked into Rahami’s activities but found nothing tying him to terrorism. When they opened it and saw what was inside, they called the police. Nor was it clear exactly what he supposedly said about his son having terrorist inclinations.

Ahmad Khan Rahami worked as a night guard for two months in 2011 at an AP administrative office in Cranbury, New Jersey. At the time, he was employed by Summit Security, a private contractor.

Around the time Rahami was captured, President Barack Obama was in NY on a previously scheduled visit for a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly.

Federal prosecutors portrayed Rahami, who came to the United States at age seven and became a naturalised citizen, as embracing militant Islamic views. San Jose, Calif. -based eBay Inc. noted that the products are legal and widely available and said the company had worked with law enforcement on the investigation. Sepulveda said he was unaware of any complaints about Rahami’s conduct.

A criminal complaint was unsealed Tuesday in Newark, New Jersey, shortly after a virtually identical filing was unsealed in NY.

Two U.S. officials say a notebook with extremist ramblings was found when the man suspected of placing bombs in New York City and New Jersey was taken into custody. Nor were Afghan intelligence officials aware of either Rahami or his family, said Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, director-general of the Afghan National Directorate of Security.

The FBI wants to speak with two men that surveillance video allegedly shows removing an explosive device from a piece of luggage left in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood Saturday. No one was injured, and two other unexploded bombs were found nearby.

Then an explosion Saturday night in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood injured 29 people. A pressure cooker device was also found blocks away, but it didn’t explode.

Advertisement

What led to Rahami’s arrest?

Ahmad Khan Rahami