The terror stretched from the Jersey shore to the middle of Manhattan, with the man believed responsible for attacks in Seaside Park, Chelsea and Elizabeth finally being captured in Linden after a shootout with police.
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After bombings in NY and New Jersey, investigators say they want to talk with one man: Ahmad Khan Rahami. He is a naturalized citizen from Afghanistan.
Two officers were injured in the gunfire, New York City Police Commissioner James O’Neil said during a press conference.
With Rahami’s arrest, officials said they have no indication there are more bombs or suspects to find, though they cautioned that they are still working to understand Rahami’s connections.
“There is no other individual we’re looking for at this point in time”, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio told the same news conference as he called on New Yorkers to remain vigilant in the aftermath of the incidents.
“Mr. Rahami also sustained shots and an ambulance has taken him away”, Bollwage said.
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.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the investigation was focusing on a person of interest in the case.
Five people were questioned at length overnight and early Monday, but the official said none of them had been charged. And it did not appear that the five, described as people familiar with the suspect, would be detained further after questioning was completed.
The explosion in Chelsea rocked the neighborhood and blew windows out of buildings.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday that people will see “a very substantial NYPD presence this week – bigger than ever”.
Hours before the Chelsea blast, a pipe bomb exploded in a Seaside Park, N.J., trash can before a 5k charity run that was to benefit Marines and sailors.
Two police officers were taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries after one was shot in the vest and the other was shot in the hand, according to Elizabeth Councilman Carlos Torres, who has been speaking with police. It was one of as many as five potential bombs found at the site, Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage told reporters. Sources say they believe he is.
“The speculation is that someone was disposing of evidence because law enforcement, we believe, was getting close”, he said.
“We will direct the full resources of the federal government to make sure that the investigation goes forward aggressively”, Obama said.
Cellphones were discovered at the site of both the NY and New Jersey bombings, but no Tannerite residue was identified in the New Jersey bomb remnants, in which a black powder was detected, said the official, who wasn’t authorized to comment on the investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. Both said Monday that appeared to be changing.
He is said to live in Elizabeth where he and his family, including his father and at least one brother, live above the family business, a fried-chicken shop called First American Fried Chicken.
“It was open all hours of the night, ” generating a multitude of noise complaints, he said. Amtrak schedules returned to normal Monday morning while some NJ Transit trains reported delays into the day due to the continued police activity in Elizabeth.
“We want to get this guy in for questioning”, de Blasio said on CNN.
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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.
