New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) called a bombing in the city that left 29 injured on Saturday night an “act of terror”, while officials said they were not searching for another suspect in a Monday afternoon press conference.
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In addition to the two incidents, officials are probing a backpack containing bombs found in a New Jersey train station on Sunday and an unexploded pressure-cooker bomb located blocks away from the Chelsea blast site.
Police found and arrested the man suspected in the three bombings.
Meanwhile, authorities are investigating the stabbings of nine people at a Minnesota mall as a potential act of terrorism. The law enforcement officials said at least one of Rahami’s relatives was in the auto, which appeared headed toward Kennedy Airport in NY after coming from New Jersey.
Sweeney said five suspects taken into custody late on Sunday in Brooklyn after they had been observed in a auto at a location associated with Rahami had been released without charge.
“Mr Rahami also sustained shots and an ambulance has taken him away”, Bollwage said. “The officer then said, ‘Show me your hands, ‘ and the person went to the side of his body and pulled out a handgun and fired right at the officer”, Capt. James Sarnicki, of Linden PD, said.
The FBI is seeking Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28, for questioning in connection with the explosion, which happened around 8:30 p.m. Saturday on West 23rd Street. We didn’t have a suspect from foreign origin.
Elizabeth is about 16 miles southwest of New York City, and is closer to the location of the Chelsea bombing than Seaside Park, New Jersey, where another explosive was found over the weekend.
“This is a fast-moving situation and a sobering reminder that we need steady leadership in a unsafe world”, she said.
According to The New York Times, Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage spoke about the investigation into the bomb following its discovery Sunday, and explained that New Jersey State Police and FBI agents worked through the early hours of the morning to ensure that train tracks and platforms were thoroughly searched for further signs of explosives, as well as all municipal garbage cans.
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AFP adds: President Barack Obama, in NY on Monday attending the UN General Assembly with world leaders, called on Americans “not to succumb to fear” in his first remarks about the three attacks in the same 24-hour period.
