Authorities questioned several people early Monday after a auto stop in New York City as they worked to determine whether there was a connection between several explosive devices found in two states in two days.
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NY officials are looking for a naturalised USA citizen who was born in Afghanistan for questioning over Saturday’s blast in the Chelsea area in which 29 people were injured.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says he could be armed and risky.
Authorities say the New York City bomb contained residue of an explosive often used for target practice that can be picked up in many sporting goods stores.
A bomb went off on Saturday in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, injuring 29 people.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo had said earlier the explosion in Manhattan didn’t appear to be linked to worldwide terrorism.
Five devices were found hidden inside a backpack, the office of Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage confirmed – one of which exploded when a robot attempted to disarm it.
Authorities have not linked Rahami to bombs found last night in Elizabeth. No one was injured in that blast, which is being investigated.
The New York Post reports that early on Monday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation launched a raid in Rahami’s hometown of Elizabeth, hours after discovering five suspicious devices in the region – one of which blew up near a train station.
The official says two officers were shot in the encounter in Linden, New Jersey.
The FBI released an image Monday morning of a suspect wanted for questioning in connection to the explosion in Chelsea that injured 29 people on Saturday. A similar, unexploded device was also found close to where the Chelsea explosion occurred later the same night.
The men took the backpack “because they thought it was of some value”, walked for a bit, then saw wires and a pipe, dropped the package and notified Elizabeth Police, he said.
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President Barack Obama, who is in New York City to attend United Nations meetings, said authorities “are extremely fortunate and grateful that nobody was killed”. The first device exploded in a dumpster, and a second unexploded device was found on West 27th St. a short time after.
