News NY, NJ bombings: Suspect found sleeping outside bar, survives shootout

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New York, New Jersey bombings: Suspect found sleeping outside bar, survives shootout - CNN.com



The man sought in connection with Saturday?s bombing in New York has been captured after a gunfight with police officers, who found him sleeping in a doorway.

Ahmad Khan Rahami was taken into custody in Linden, N.J., after exchanging shots, authorities said. Mr. Rahami was shot in the leg, and in surgery Monday afternoon at a Newark hospital, New Jersey officials said. In addition, one officer was shot in the hand and another in his bullet-resistant vest.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said they are preparing to file criminal charges against him.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said, ?We have every reason to believe? the bombing was ?an act of terror? at a news conference Monday. He added, ?There is no other individual we?re looking for at this time.??

The Federal Bureau of Investigation also said there is no indication that a terror cell was operating in the region. However, the mayor called for continued vigilance by the public and said the city?s police would still to deploy extra security measures.

The FBI and New York Police Department had issued alerts Monday morning seeking the public?s help in finding the 28-year-old Mr. Rahami, who investigators believe was recorded on surveillance video near the site of Saturday?s blast and near a homemade bomb discovered four blocks away.

Mr. Rahami?who was born in Afghanistan and is a U.S. citizen?was also being sought in connection with a pipe bomb that detonated in Seaside Park, N.J., earlier that day. No one was injured in that blast.

On Sunday night, a homemade bomb left near an Elizabeth, N.J., train station exploded as a robot attempted to defuse it. Mr. Rahami?s family lives in that northern New Jersey city, which is adjacent to Linden.

Officials suspect Mr. Rahami is responsible for a bomb that detonated Saturday evening in New York City?s Chelsea neighborhood, injuring 29 people. A follow-up search of the neighborhood by police revealed a similar, unexploded homemade bomb left on the street.

Officials said a key piece of evidence from one of the unexploded bombs?a fingerprint that matched to Mr. Rahami?helped them zero in on him by Sunday afternoon.

Investigators suspect Mr. Rahami realized Sunday that the FBI was closing in on him and tried to hide. They also believe he dumped a set of bombs outside the Elizabeth, N.J., train station as he sought to evade law enforcement, officials said.

On Sunday night, authorities were alerted to a suspicious device found outside the train station. When a robot was sent to probe the package, one of the bombs inside detonated, officials said.

?In the course of rendering one of the devices safe, it detonated,?? the FBI said in a statement. No one was injured by the blast.

The ??Wanted? poster issued by the FBI doesn?t explicitly call Mr. Rahami a suspect, but several law-enforcement officials say he is the person they believe is behind the bomb plot. The officials are working to determine if any other individuals may have been involved.


After Mr. Rahami was identified earlier Monday, authorities raided the home of the man?s family in northern New Jersey, officials said, one of several searches being conducted in the area as the terrorism investigation intensified.

In a fresh sign of the urgency officials feel in trying to stop additional bomb attacks, alerts were sent to New Yorkers? cellphones urging them to contact authorities if they see Mr. Rahami or have any information about him.

The attacks?coming as world leaders gathered in New York City for the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting?heightened concern that similar assaults could be mounted elsewhere, especially in public places with large crowds that are difficult to protect.

In a tragic example of the difficulty in protecting crowds in a public place, a man dressed as a security guard in St. Cloud, Minn., injured nine people in knife attacks late Saturday at a shopping mall, police said. He was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer.

In televised remarks, President Barack Obama said on Monday that the investigation into bombings in New York and New Jersey over the weekend is moving rapidly and pledged full federal support to governors of both states.

Mr. Obama said he has been closely monitoring the situation from New York, where he?s attending the U.N. meetings. While federal officials are investigating a stabbing in Minnesota as an act of terrorism, he said there is no connection between that incident and the bombings in New York and New Jersey.