NBC News, ELIZABETH, N.J. :
The 28-year-old New Jersey man wanted in connection with a series of blasts that terrorized New York and New Jersey over the last three days was
taken into custody Monday after being shot, two sources told NBC News.
Ahmad Rahami of Elizabeth, New Jersey, was identified as a suspect after a fingerprint was found on one of the devices that failed to detonate, a senior law enforcement official told NBC News. They also found more information that pointed to Rahami on cell phones that were wired to the unexploded bombs, the official said.
“He certainly seemed to do virtually nothing to cover his tracks,” the official says.
But the official downplayed any talk of Rahimi being part of a “cell” and said at this point have no idea whether anyone else was involved. Asked whether the bombings were ISIS-inspired or directed, the official said authorities have no idea: “We’re a long way from that.” Still, the FBI warned that Rahami should be considered armed and dangerous. And New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said officials could not rule out international terrorism. “Today’s information suggests it may be foreign related, but we’ll see where it goes,” Cuomo said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Monday.
Rahami is the man seen in surveillance footage taken Saturday night in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, the site of an explosion that injured 29 people, a senior law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the investigation told NBC News. The source said there is other physical evidence linking Rahimi to the devices that went off or were found in New York and New Jersey.
The 28-year-old New Jersey man wanted in connection with a series of blasts that terrorized New York and New Jersey over the last three days was
taken into custody Monday after being shot, two sources told NBC News.
Ahmad Rahami of Elizabeth, New Jersey, was identified as a suspect after a fingerprint was found on one of the devices that failed to detonate, a senior law enforcement official told NBC News. They also found more information that pointed to Rahami on cell phones that were wired to the unexploded bombs, the official said.
“He certainly seemed to do virtually nothing to cover his tracks,” the official says.
But the official downplayed any talk of Rahimi being part of a “cell” and said at this point have no idea whether anyone else was involved. Asked whether the bombings were ISIS-inspired or directed, the official said authorities have no idea: “We’re a long way from that.” Still, the FBI warned that Rahami should be considered armed and dangerous. And New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said officials could not rule out international terrorism. “Today’s information suggests it may be foreign related, but we’ll see where it goes,” Cuomo said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Monday.
Rahami is the man seen in surveillance footage taken Saturday night in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, the site of an explosion that injured 29 people, a senior law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the investigation told NBC News. The source said there is other physical evidence linking Rahimi to the devices that went off or were found in New York and New Jersey.
