UPDATE, 11:35 a.m. ET: Ahmad Khan Rahami — the 28-year-old Elizabeth, New Jersey resident wanted in connection to a series of explosions that occurred in New York City and New Jersey over this past weekend — was taken into custody Monday after being shot, NBC News reports.
According to NBC News, Rahami was identified after a fingerprint was found on one of the devices that failed to detonate. A senior law enforcement official told told the outlet that the suspect “seemed to do virtually nothing to cover his tracks.”
Original story below:
Officials have identified Ahmad Khan Rahami, a 28-year-old from Elizabeth, New Jersey, as a suspect in the recent bombings in New York City and New Jersey, NBC News confirms.
According to NBC News, Rahami is the man seen on the video on 23rd Street and 27th Street in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood this past Saturday evening. CNBC reports that the suspect is a naturalized citizen from Afghanistan.
“The important thing is to get this individual quickly and to continue to be strong and vigilant,” NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted on Monday, September 19. He urged anyone with knowledge about the case to call 800-577-TIPS.
Rahami “should be considered armed and dangerous,” the FBI says. “His last known address was in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He is about 5-foot-6 and weighs approximately 200 pounds. Rahami has brown hair, brown eyes and brown facial hair.”
As previously reported, a bomb went off in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood on Saturday night, September 17. The explosion wounded 29 people, all of whom were released from hospitals by the next morning. On Monday, September 19, a suspicious device found in a backpack exploded in New Jersey as a bomb squad attempted to disarm it. The blast took place in the early hours of Monday morning after five devices were reported to have been found near a train station in Elizabeth. Luckily, no one was injured in the incident.
“This was an explosive device,” local Mayor Christian Bollwage said of the most recent explosion. “Based on the loudness, I think people could have been severely hurt or injured if they had been in the vicinity.”
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has called Saturday night’s bombing in NYC an act of terrorism. While de Blasio, 55, believes the attack was “intentional,” he has not labeled it an act of terrorism.
