The man believed to be responsible for the explosion in Manhattan on Saturday night and an earlier bombing in New Jersey, Ahmad Khan Rahami, was taken into custody on Monday after he was wounded in a gunfight with the police, according to law enforcement officials.
A law enforcement official said the Federal Bureau of Investigation was also investigating whether a second person might have helped him carry out his plan. Although, New York City Mayor said on Monday that the authorities are looking for no other individuals in connection with NY-area bombs.
The dramatic episode on a rain-soaked street in Linden, N.J., came after the police issued a cellphone alert to millions of residents in the area telling them to be on the lookout for Rahami, 28, who was described as “armed and dangerous.”
The showdown started around 10:30 a.m. when a resident spotted Rahami sleeping in the doorway of a bar, according to officials.
Capt. James Sarnicki of the Linden Police Department told reporters that one of the officers approached the suspect, and that when he woke him, he saw he had a beard that resembled that of the man on the Wanted poster.
The officer ordered Rahami to show his hands, Captain Sarnicki said, but instead, he pulled out a handgun.
He shot the officer in the abdomen, Captain Sarnicki said, but the bullet struck his vest.
“The officer returned fire,” he said. Rahami fled, “indiscriminately firing his weapons at passing vehicles.”
The confrontation
Other officers joined the chase, and Rahami was shot multiple times. At least one other officer was injured during the confrontation.
Rahami, blood pouring from a wound in his shoulder and splattered on his face, was loaded onto a stretcher and taken away in an ambulance.
Derek Pelligra, the manager of Linden Auto Body, described a wild end to the multi-state manhunt. “Lot of, lot of gunfire,” he said.
Rahami was identified by officials on surveillance video planting the bombs in Chelsea, both the device that exploded on 23rd Street and another that did not detonate a few blocks away. His fingerprint was also found on one of the pressure cooker bombs in Manhattan, according to a senior law enforcement official.
The police believe that he was also responsible for a backpack full of pipe bombs found in Elizabeth, N.J., late on Sunday.
Rahami was born on Jan. 23, 1988, in Afghanistan. He was described as a naturalised citizen who had been living with his family in Elizabeth, not far from where he was arrested. Associates said that several years ago Rahami traveled to his homeland and when he returned, he showed signs of radicalisation. The significance of the visit was not immediately clear. It was not known whether he had any links to an overseas terror organisation, or whether he had been inspired by such organisations and their propaganda efforts, as others have been.
Source: NYT
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