Before Rahami’s capture, Cuomo said investigators have no reason to believe there are further threats, but the public should “be on constant guard”. 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.
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President Obama commended law enforcement and counter-terrorism officials for their handling of what appeared to be terrorist-inspired attacks over the weekend, asking Americans to not give in to fear. He says the president also expressed appreciation for the work of first responders.
Authorities are seeking a man for questioning in both bombings.
Police suspect Rahami was also behind a bomb that exploded in New Jersey on Saturday, a device found near the NY blast, and up to six more devices found near the Elizabeth train station on Sunday night.The bombings and subsequent manhunt came days before world leaders began gathering at the United Nations in NY for the annual General Assembly this week. The discovery of Tannerite may be important as authorities probe whether the two New York City devices and the pipe bomb at the Jersey shore are connected.
Citing the FBI, New Jersey State Police said Monday that the bombings in Chelsea and the New Jersey shore town Seaside Park were connected. Police provided no specific description of the men who they said took the bag.
“The FBI is asking for assistance in locating Ahmad Khan Rahami”, FBI New York said in a tweet.
An explosion occurred Saturday in Seaside Heights, N.J., followed by one in the Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan.
The apartment search began after one of five devices found at the nearby Elizabeth train station exploded while a bomb squad robot attempted to disarm it.
“In the course of rendering one of the devices safe, it detonated”, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said, adding that nobody was injured. He says Obama will comment publicly “relatively soon”.
The explosions came days before world leaders prepared to gather at the United Nations in NY for the annual General Assembly.
The bombings and subsequent manhunt prompted even greater security in America’s biggest city, already on high alert for a gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in NY for the annual General Assembly this week.
Millions of people living in the NY region received a cell phone alert this morning that named 28-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahami as the man that law enforcement agencies believe is connected to the bombing that injured 29 people. He is a naturalized citizen from Afghanistan. “I would not be surprised if we did have a foreign connection to the act”, he said on CNN Monday. “There is no link at this time at this preliminary stage to worldwide terrorism”, he said, adding that police will consider any motive, terroristic, political or personal.
It added that another part included a reference, on a page that is largely unintelligible, to “pipe bombs” and a “pressure cooker bomb”, and declared: “In the streets they plan to run a mile”. All of those admitted to hospitals had been released.
The two bombs found in the trendy Manhattan neighborhood had signatures from bomb-making designs posted online, including in Al Qaeda’s Inspire magazine, according to sources.
Authorities say Ahmad Khan Rahami was wounded when police returned fire at him in Linden on Monday.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had warned that the man could still be “armed and dangerous”.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said that the bombs have similarities, suggesting “there might have been a common linkage”.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the ongoing investigation. It was one of as many as five potential bombs found at the site.
FBI spokeswoman Kelly Langmesser says agents stopped “a vehicle of interest in the investigation” of the Manhattan explosion Sunday night.
That issue arose after the Orlando massacre in June, when FBI Director James Comey said agents a few years earlier had looked into the gunman, Omar Mateen, but did not find enough information to pursue charges or keep him under investigation.
It is still possible that Rahami may not be connected to global terrorism, but rather “inspired” by ISIS or al-Qaeda. The two held their first joint appearance together in months when they toured the bombing site yesterday.
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Mr Bollwage said he wasn’t willing to say that Elizabeth had become a target, and that it was possible that someone anxious about the authorities was trying to get rid of the package.
