Suspect in N.Y., N.J., bombings charged with attempted murder after shootout with police

NEW YORK (AP) — The Afghan immigrant arrested in the bombings that rocked a New York City neighborhood and a New Jersey shore town is now facing attempted murder charges over his dramatic capture.


Ahmad Khan Rahami was wounded in a gunbattle with Linden, New Jersey, police that erupted when he was discovered sleeping in a bar doorway.

He was charged in Union County with five counts of attempted murder of a police officer. He was being held on $5.2 million bail and remained at a hospital.

It wasn't known if Rahami had an attorney. Messages left with phone numbers listed for family members weren't returned.

Federal charges in the bombings have yet to be filed.

Authorities say two Linden officers were wounded trying to arrest Rahami. Their injuries were not considered life-threatening.

A law enforcement official says fingerprints and surveillance video helped investigators identify the man suspected of setting off bombs in the New York area over the weekend.

The official says Ahmad Khan Rahami is seen in surveillance footage "clear as day" at the scene of the Saturday night bombing in Manhattan. The official says investigators were also able to recover his fingerprints from the scene.

Another law enforcement official says investigators pulled over a car "associated" with Rahami when it appeared headed toward an airport Sunday. It had three men and two women in it.

A third law enforcement official says Rahami wasn't on any terror or no-fly watch lists but had been interviewed for immigration purposes.

The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about the case.

A federal law enforcement official says three bombs found in New York and New Jersey over the weekend had one component in common: a flip-style cellphone.

The official says a pipe bomb that exploded in Seaside Park, New Jersey, was constructed with a threaded pipe and black powder.

The official says two devices found in New York City included pressure cookers, similar to the devices used in the 2013 attack the Boston Marathon that killed three and wounded hundreds of people. The device that exploded contained residue from the commercially available explosive compound Tannerite.

One of those bombs went off, injuring 29 people. The other didn't explode.

The official was not authorized to publicly discuss the case and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of the ongoing investigation.

 

Investigators probing bomb blasts in New York and New Jersey say they've found no evidence so far that the suspect in the attacks was part of a broader terrorist cell.

New York City's mayor and police commissioner also say no other suspects are being sought at this time.

Ahmad Khan Rahami was shot Monday in an exchange of gunfire with police in Linden, New Jersey.

The assistant director of the FBI's field office in New York, William Sweeney Jr., said in a news briefing that "there is no indication that there's a cell" in the area.

The officials say evidence links Rahami to bomb blasts on Saturday in a New Jersey shore town and in Manhattan.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said that, based on current information, "We have every reason to believe this was an act of terror."