An image of Ahmad Khan Rahami, who is wanted for questioning in connection with an explosion in New York City, is seen in a a poster released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on September 19, 2016.
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A 28-year-old naturalised USA citizen of Afghan descent is being sought by authorities in NY with regard to investigation in the powerful explosion that rocked an upscale Manhattan locality here yesterday, injuring 29 people.
After calling the Chelsea explosion “intentional”, but with no proof of terrorist intent, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday that the investigation into the blast is “definitely leading” toward terror.
A suspicious devices found in a backpack has exploded in New Jersey, as the Federal Bureau of Investigation reveal they are questioning five people in connection with the NY explosion, that injured 29 people on Saturday, September 17.
A pipe bomb also exploded Saturday in Seaside Park ahead of a charity race. No injuries were reported in that incident.
Ahmad Khan Rahami, a naturalized USA citizen from Afghanistan with an address in Elizabeth, New Jersey, should be considered armed and risky, Mayor Bill de Blasio said in one of a series of TV appearances just minutes after the photo was released. Sunday at 8:30 p.m. five devices were found in a garbage can outside the Elizabeth, N.J. train station.
A day earlier, two men walking down a New York City street made off with a rolling backpack that someone had left on the sidewalk about 15 minutes earlier.
As of early Monday, investigators had not officially linked this weekend’s explosions in New York City and New Jersey to one another. One of the devices blew up as a bomb squad used a robot to attempt to disarm it.
New Jersey Transit and Amtrak train service resumed Monday morning after service was suspended overnight.
A second bomb that was discovered almost four blocks away was defused successfully by the bomb disposal squad. Two officers were shot, one in the hand and the other in a bullet-proof vest, he said.
The official who spoke to AP insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Law Enforcement Officers are seen at the scene of an explosion on West 23rd Street September, 18, 2016 in NY.
In this Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016 frame from video provided by Orangetheory Fitness Chelsea, a door shatters after an explosion in the Chelsea neighborhood of NY. The second device, a pressure cooker, was in a white plastic bag with tape, wiring and a cellphone or other electronic device.
Authorities said the Manhattan bombing and New Jersey pipe bomb didn’t appear to be connected, though they weren’t ruling anything out.
William Sweeney Jr., the FBI’s assistant director in NY, said there were no indications Rahami was on law enforcement’s radar at the time of the bombings.
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“This threat is real, but so is our resolve”, said the former secretary of state, in a presidential-style address that preceded President Barack Obama’s own remarks seeking to reassure the American public.
