Bombing suspect arrested
Police say that 28-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahami, a naturalized U.S. citizen who is from Afghanistan, was wanted in connection with bomb explosions in a shore town in New Jersey and in New York, and that he is now in custody. The gun-battle took place in Linden, New Jersey and a man believed to be Rahami was seen on a stretcher being loaded into an ambulance.
The New York Times reported Rahimi was seen by witnesses running down a street and was shot once or more than once by police. He was also seen lying wounded on the ground with his shirt open and an officer standing over him.
Media reports say a Linden business owner saw a man lying asleep in the doorway of his bar. The owner called police and upon their arrival officers realized it was the suspect in the bombing. Rahami pulled out a gun and fired, hitting one officer in his protective vest. Rahami fled and the officers shot at him, hitting him and bringing him down.
The Toronto Star reported that when being loaded into the ambulance Rahami “appeared to be conscious and looking around.” The two officers were not seriously wounded.
On Sunday police in Brooklyn stopped “a vehicle of interest in the investigation” with five people in it believed to be connected to Rahami; they were detained and are being questioned by the FBI but have not been charged. Police believe the five, 3 men and 2 women, may have been going to the airport.
Also an Uber driver who had a bomb explode in his vehicle, ripping out a door, was questioned along with three passengers he had just picked up. No serious injuries were reported in that explosion; its connection to the other incidents is unclear.
29 injured in Chelsea
Over the weekend there were five sites where IEDs either exploded or were dismantled. The series of attacks or attempts to attack began Saturday at 9:35 a.m. when a bomb in a garbage can exploded in Seaside, N.J. just before the start of a Marine 5k race. Thanks to the race being delayed, no one was at the start line when it exploded and there were no injuries.
At 8:30 p.m. Saturday a bomb exploded in the Chelsea area of New York and 29 people were injured, one seriously. Just a few blocks away, on 27th, another bomb, a pressure cooker bomb, was found in a garbage can; it was dismantled safely without exploding.
Sunday at 8:30 p.m. five devices were found in a garbage can outside the Elizabeth, N..J. train station. Police used a bomb-disposing robot to disarm them. However, while doing so, at 12:30 a.m. Monday, a device exploded. No one was injured and the other devices were disarmed without incident.
Rahami was seen on surveillance video by police planting both bombs in Chelsea. He is said to live in Elizabeth where he and his family, including his father and at least one brother, live above the family business, a fried-chicken shop called First American Fried Chicken.
The family is known to police because their business opened all night and there were frequent complaints about noise and vandalism. They were ordered to comply with a local ordinance and close at 10 p.m. but had refused to do so and police attended there more than once.
One of Rahami’s brothers was charged with fighting a police officer and rather than face trial had left the U.S. and returned to Afghanistan. It’s unclear if he ever returned.
Officials say it is too early to comment on the motivation for the attacks but New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and the state’s governor, Andrew Cuomo say it appears the attacks were acts of terrorism. Investigators are trying to determine if the bomber acted alone.
