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September 21, 2016

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New York alleged bomber left a wealth of clues

THE man suspected of planting bombs in a New York neighborhood and a New Jersey seaside town may have aimed to inflict carnage incognito, but he didn’t succeed for long in concealing his identity.

Ahmad Khan Rahami provided investigators with a wealth of clues that led to his arrest about 50 hours after the first explosion, according to three law enforcement officials.

His fingerprints and DNA were found at the scene of the Manhattan bombing, they said. His uncovered face was clearly captured by surveillance cameras near the spot of the blast.

Electronic toll records show a car to which he had access was driven from New Jersey to Manhattan and back to New Jersey the day of the bombing, according to the officials, who requested anonymity.

Those and other clues spurred officials to publicize his name and photo on Monday morning, asking for help finding Rahami, 28, a Muslim US citizen born in Afghanistan, who lives with his family in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

A bar owner in Linden, New Jersey, reported someone asleep in his doorway. An officer went to investigate and recognized the man as Rahami, police and the mayor said.

Rahami pulled a gun and shot the officer — who was wearing a bulletproof vest — in the torso, and more officers joined in a running gun battle along the street and brought Rahami down, police Captain James Sarnicki said. Another police officer was grazed by a bullet.

“A lot of technology involved in this, but a lot of good, old-fashioned police work, too,” said New York Police Commissioner James O’Neill. He said investigators would “make sure that we get to the bottom of who’s involved and why.”

After surgery for a gunshot wound to his leg, Rahami was being held on US$5.2 million bail, charged with five counts of attempted murder of police officers. Federal prosecutors said they still were weighing charges over the bombings. Rahami remains in hospital.

Officials said they have no other suspects at large, but cautioned they are still investigating.

The bombing spread fear across the New York area and revived anxiety about homegrown terrorism nationwide.

William Sweeney Jr, the FBI’s assistant director in New York, said there was no indication so far that the bombings were the work of a larger terror cell.

Rahami wasn’t on any terror or no-fly watch lists, though he had been interviewed after traveling to Afghanistan.




 

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