The suspect was identified as Afghan-born Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28, whose last known address was in the town of Elizabeth, New Jersey, just outside New York City. An AP reporter went to the building that houses the family’s restaurant and home, but it was cordoned off. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, chief federal prosecutor in NY, said New Jersey officials will probably bring charges against Rahami in the police officers’ shooting while federal authorities weigh charges of their own.
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A suspicious device that two men scavenging through trash discovered near a New Jersey train station exploded early Monday as a bomb squad made attempts to disable it with a robot, according to officials.
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.
In New York, De Blasio said a large police force this week will man subways, bus depots and other busy areas throughout the city.
She declined to provide further details, but a government official and a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told the Associated Press five people in the vehicle were being questioned at an FBI building in Lower Manhattan.
Federal authorities now 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. A second device was found four blocks away on West 27th Street. Officials said the two incidents did not appear to be connected, but they weren’t ruling anything out.
Earlier Saturday in Seaside Heights, N.J., a pipe bomb exploded near a Marine charity run. The race was cancelled and no one was hurt.
Video shown by CNN showed Rahami put in the back of an ambulance on Monday after a shootout with police in Linden, New Jersey.
Anyone with information is asked to contact FBI at: 1-800-CALL-FBI.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York City, for example, has increased patrols and surveillance “to provide heightened protection across all its agencies”, according to a news release issued by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office.
“The investigation is now focusing on one individual”, he said.
The explosion occurred just after 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, at 133 W. 23rd St., between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in a neighborhood with a bustling nightlife.
Authorities have identified a suspect in the Manhattan explosion case as a 28-year-old New Jersey resident of Afghan descent who may be armed and unsafe, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Monday. There were no immediate reports of any injuries or damage.
One of the devices detonated while robot police was trying to disarm the device.
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Investigators didn’t immediately say whether they thought the Elizabeth incident was connected to the blast in NY.
