The New York City Police department released Rahami’s photo on Monday, and Mayor De Blasio said he could be “armed and dangerous”.
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He said he has spoken to the governors of New Jersey and NY and pledged all needed federal assistance.
“He is described as being about 5′ 6” tall and weighing approximately 200 pounds with brown hair, brown eyes, and brown facial hair. The homemade pressure-cooker bombs contained shrapnel and a cellphone was utilized to detonate the device, said police.
Federal authorities believe that the explosion in Chelsea, where another explosive device was found nearby, was linked to as many as six explosive devices found just outside NY in Elizabeth, Homeland Security officials told Reuters. PHOTOS: Explosion in Chelsea The men were in a vehicle stopped on the Belt Parkway.
The bomb in Manhattan appeared to have been placed near a large dumpster in front of a building undergoing construction, another law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation, told the AP. The agency said the stop was related to its investigation of the Chelsea explosion, although no one has been charged with a crime.
Meanwhile, police are ramping up security around the five boroughs because of the blast.
One of the suspicious devices exploded when a bomb squad (pictured above) used a robot to try to disarm it.
An explosion in Manhattan on Saturday injured 29 people.
In a round of television interviews early Monday, Cuomo said he suspects a “foreign link” to the Saturday night bombing in the Chelsea neighborhood, though he cautioned the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Cuomo suggested the unexploded pressure cooker device appeared “similar in design” to the first bomb, but could not provide any further details.
Both officials were careful to say that there is still much that is unknown. “Fortunately the officer had his bulletproof vest on”, Linden Police Captain James Sarnicki told reporters.
The raid in Elizabeth came hours after an explosive device left near a train station there blew up when a bomb squad robot cut a wire on the mechanism.
The attacks came as world leaders prepared to gather at the United Nations in NY for the annual General Assembly this week, just days after the 15th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
Elizabeth Mayor Christian Bollwage said the Federal Bureau of Investigation was working to disarm one of five devices found in the same bag in a trash can by two men at around 8:30 p.m. Sunday near the Elizabeth train station.
On Sunday night, five devices were found in a trash can near a train station in Elizabeth. However passengers should expect delays.
The town’s mayor warns residents that other explosions are expected.
A pipe bomb exploded in Seaside Park, New Jersey, on Saturday, about an hour from the Elizabeth train station.
Obama added that investigators saw “no connection” at this moment between the bombings in New Jersey and NY and a stabbing in Minnesota.
Journalist Josh Marshall lives across the street from the site of the explosion but wasn’t there when it happened.
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Twenty-third Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues remains closed while authorities continue their investigation. The men had reported seeing wires and a pipe coming out of the package. No cell phones or electronic timing devices were found, Bollwage said.
