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Subsequently, Ahmad Khan
Rahami, 28, was charged with five counts of attempted murder of a
law enforcement officer after a shootout Monday with police in Linden, New
Jersey, Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park said. He is also charged with
second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon and second-degree possession of a
weapon for an unlawful purpose.
"We have every
reason to believe this was an act of terror," New York Mayor Bill de
Blasio said Monday. But many questions remain, chief among them, why did he do
it? And, is anyone else responsible?
The arrest
Rahami was captured
after the owner of a bar in Linden, New Jersey, found him sleeping in the
doorway of his bar Monday morning. Harinder Bains, owner of Merdie's
Tavern, said he was watching CNN on his laptop from another business across the
street. At first, he thought he was some "drunk guy" resting in the
vestibule. Then, he recognized Rahami and called police.
"I'm just a
regular citizen doing what every citizen should do. Cops are the real heroes,
law enforcement are the real heroes," Bains told CNN's Anderson Cooper.
When officers
responded, Rahami pulled out a handgun and opened fire, striking an officer in
the chest. A foot chase ensued, during which Rahami shot at a police car,
causing a bullet to graze another office in the face. The chase ended when Rahami was shot multiple
times. He was taken to a hospital for surgery. Officers Angel Padilla and Peter
Hammer were taken to the hospital for treatment of non-life threatening
injuries. Rahami was not initially cooperative with police who tried to
interview him, a law enforcement official said. Authorities believe the
"main guy" has been caught but the investigation continues to
determine if Rahami had help, sources told CNN.
Though FBI Assistant
Director William F. Sweeney Jr., said there is "no indication" of an
active operating cell in the New York area, evidence suggests Rahami was not
acting alone, sources told CNN.
The investigation
Initially, a garbage
explosion at a Marine Corps charity race in Seaside Park, New
Jersey, seemed to be an isolated incident. Two other unexploded bombs were
found nearby and no one was wounded in the blast. Then came another blast
Saturday night in New York's Chelsea neighborhood, injuring 29
people. As law enforcement cordoned off the area, investigators
found a pressure cooker four blocks away. Dark-colored wiring was connected by
silver duct tape to what appeared to be a cell phone. Ball bearings and BBs
were among pieces of metal that appeared to be packed inside, a federal law
enforcement official said. A handwritten note found next to it contained
ramblings, including references to previous terrorists, including the Boston
Marathon bombers. Surveillance video shows a man believed to be Rahami dragging
what appears to be a duffel bag with wheels near the site of the West 23rd
Street explosion about 40 minutes before the blast, according to multiple local
and federal law enforcement sources.
About 10 minutes
later, surveillance video shows the same man with the same duffel bag on West
27th Street, multiple law enforcement sources said. In the video, the man
leaves the duffel bag where police later found the unexploded pressure cooker.
After he leaves, the video shows two other men removing a white garbage bag
believed to contain the pressure cooker from the duffel bag and leaving it on
the sidewalk, according to a senior law enforcement official and another source
familiar with the video.
Investigators have not
determined if those two men are connected to the man with the duffel bag, the
sources said. Rahami was identified Sunday afternoon through a fingerprint, a
senior law enforcement official said. Evidence from the cell phone on the
pressure cooker also led to Rahmani's identification.
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The latest bomb discovery
The backpack with five bombs inside was found
in a wastebasket around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday outside a neighborhood pub in
Elizabeth, about 16 miles from New York City. Two men found the backpack about
500 feet from a train trestle and alerted police, officials said.
As bomb technicians
deployed a robot to examine the devices, one of the bombs detonated. The
remaining four were taken to an FBI laboratory at Quantico, Virginia, Elizabeth
Mayor J. Christian Bollwage said. Police checked all garbage cans in the
immediate area but found no other suspicious items.
By Monday, authorities
said they believed Rahami was linked to the explosion.
