Authorities are looking for 28-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahami in connection with the bombing.
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday that investigators so far have not found any connection to worldwide terrorist groups, and there is no further immediate threat to the city.
On Sunday night, FBI agents in Brooklyn stopped “a vehicle of interest” in the investigation of the Manhattan explosion, according to FBI spokeswoman Kelly Langmesser.
“We do not have any specific evidence of a connection, but that will continue to be considered”, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
Authorities have not said whether they believed the backpack is linked to the bombs in Manhattan – one of which was defused – or an earlier pipe bomb at a military fun run in New Jersey on Saturday. Four blocks away on 27th Street, a pressure-cooker device was found with a piece of paper with writing on it close by, officials said.
Gov. Cuomo described the situation as an act of terror and deployed almost 1,000 additional State Police and National Guard troops across the city to guard transit stations and area airports as a precaution.
The Manhattan blast followed a pipe bomb explosion earlier Saturday in Seaside Park, New Jersey, before the start of a charity 5K race to benefit Marines and sailors.
It has been reported the bomb that detonated in Manhattan, and another unexploded device found nearby, were both shrapnel-filled pressure cookers, similar to those used in the attack on the Boston Marathon in 2013. There were no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast that occurred at 8:30 pm local time on Saturday, a busy time of the weekend for over 8 million New Yorkers, who just marked the 15th anniversary of the September 2001 attacks.
But Governor Andrew Cuomo described the bombing as terrorism regardless of its ultimate motive or perpetrator. According to CNN, the Department of Homeland Security is actively involved in the situations in both NY and New Jersey, trying to confirm if this weekend’s activity is indicative of a possible terror cell.
Authorities questioned several people early Monday after a auto stop in New York City as they worked to determine if there is a connection between several incidents involving explosive devices in two days.
Trains resumed Monday morning after the New Jersey Transit had suspended service going through Elizabeth station on Sunday night. All of those admitted to hospitals had been released.
Mayor Bill de Blasio called the explosion “an intentional act” but said it did not seem to be connected to terrorism. The remaining four devices will be transferred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation laboratory at Quantico, Virginia, said Bollwage. Investigators said they are still gathering evidence and have not publicly tied Rahami to those devices.
Police officers and firefighters respond to an explosion on Saturday at 23rd Street and 7th Avenue in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. No one has been charged yet with the explosion, and the investigation is now ongoing. But authorities have not drawn any connection between the bloodshed there and the bombings.
“We would normally have an expanded presence for the United Nations General Assembly”. He called on Americans to show the world “we will never give in to fear”. The family members alleged a neighborhood resident complained about them because of his animus towards Muslims. The lawsuit was terminated in 2012 after Mohammad Rahami pleaded guilty to blocking police from enforcing the restrictions on the restaurant. He’s a very friendly guy, that’s what’s so scary.
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Tannerite, which is often used in target practice to mark a shot with a cloud of smoke and small explosion, is legal to purchase and can be found in many sporting goods stores. No one was hurt.
