Mohammed Rahami, father of Ahmad Khan Rahami, who is suspected of planting bombs in New York and New Jersey, alerted police of his son in 2014 after Ahmad had stabbed another of his sons amid an argument, the New York Times reported. It started what is called an assessment, and interviewed the father, who recanted.
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Rahami and two police officers were wounded in the exchange of gunfire before his arrest.
Two other law enforcement officials confirmed to CNN that Rahami went to Pakistan for approximately a year.
William Sweeney, the FBI’s assistant director in NY, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation had received a report of a domestic incident involving Rahami some time ago, but the allegations had been recanted, and “there’s nothing to indicate that now he was on our radar”. But they check it nearly two months… USA media reported he was captured with a bullet-torn notebook that contained pro-Al-Qaeda writings.
Upon his return to the U.S., immigration officials asked about these travels, to which Rahami replied that he was visiting family, satisfying any concerns they may have had at the time.
He has been charged with five counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, and second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful objective.
Federal agents opened an investigation into Ahmad Khan Rahami in 2014 after they received a call from Mohammad Rahami, two unidentified senior law enforcement officials told The New York Times.
Championing jihad, bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami vowed to martyr himself rather than be caught after setting off explosives in NY and New Jersey, and he’d hoped in a handwritten journal that “the sounds of bombs will be heard in the streets”, authorities said Tuesday as they filed federal charges against him.
Two other pipe bombs in Seaside Park failed to detonate, as did a pressure cooker device in Chelsea, and five pipe bombs in his hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey, which were defused safely on Monday.
Like terrorist attacks prior to this one, individuals close to the suspect contacted authorities years ago, alerting them Rahami might be into terroristy things.
Rahami was shot multiple times and underwent surgery on Monday, the local prosecutor said. A foot chase ensued, during which Rahami shot at a police vehicle, causing a bullet to graze another office in the face.
Authorities believe the “main guy” has been caught but the investigation continues to determine if Rahami had help, sources told CNN. A cell phone connected to the pressure cooker also provided some clues, the official said.
Rahami and his family live above their restaurant, First American Fried Chicken, and the family has clashed with the city over closing times and noise complaints. He said now, investigators would “make sure that we get to the bottom of who’s involved and why”. No one was injured. Authorities said while they do not believe he is linked to a terror cell in the U.S., he is still being investigated for link to a broader terror network.
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Late Sunday night, five explosive devices were discovered in a trash can at an Elizabeth train station, about 3 miles from where Rahami was later found asleep in the doorway of a bar.
