Ahmad Khan: Investigators probe background of terror suspect
OAKLAND (KTVU and AP) -- FBI investigators say they are digging into the background of Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28, a U.S. citizen and a New Jersey resident who is the primary suspect in placing bombs at four sites in New York and New Jersey over the weekend.
Investigators say Rahami did not appear to have much of a social media presence and so far, they've discovered no ties to any international terror network. His family immigrated from Afghanistan and he had traveled there in 2014, but was not on any terror or no-fly watch lists, according to the FBI.
Bay Area Congressman Eric Swalwell planned to get a security briefing on the case in Washington D.C. Tuesday. Rep. Swalwell said he learned in a preliminary security briefing that investigators are trying to identify other people who appear to touch the bag of bombs in surveillance video from the bomb scenes.
"I was told today there were at least three people at both locations," Swalwell said, "You're looking at 2 to 6 individuals who may still be out there." He added that there is no evidence indicating whether those people were accomplices or passersby.
Rahami was charged with five counts of attempted murder of a police officer Monday and was being held on $5,000,000 bail as federal officials decide on the bombing charges.
Rahami was arrested Monday morning and lay on a gurney with a bullet wound in his arm after a brief gun battle with police that ended the two-day manhunt..
An alert bar owner says he'd seen the photos of the bombing suspect released by the FBI just three hours earlier on the news. He recognized Rahami sleeping in the vestibule of the bar and called police in Linden, New Jersey.
"The officer then said show me your hands, and the person went to the side of his body and pulled out a handgun and fired right at the officer," said Captain James Sarnicki.
That officer survived thanks to a bullet-proof vest. Another officer was injured in the shootout.
Investigators say Rahami is linked to bombs found at four sites.
A pipe bomb detonated Saturday morning in Seaside Park, New Jersey prior to the start of a military charity 5k run.
Saturday night, in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood a pressure cooker bomb packed with shrapnel exploded on 23rd Street, injuring 29 poeple.
Later Saturday night a similar pressure cooker bomb was found later on 27th Street, undetonated, with a handwritten note that mentioned the Boston bomb attack.
Investigators say surveillance video shows Rahami at both sites with bags. His fingerprints were found at the scene. Three of the devices were connected to mobile phones.
Then on Sunday, a backpack with pipe bombs was found at a train station in Elizabeth, New Jersey, just a half mile from Rahami's home. Investigators used a robot to detonate one of the pipe bombs.
"I have no indication there is a cell operating in the area and the city. The investigation is ongoing," said William Sweeney, Jr., the FBI Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Division.
Neighbors say Rahami was a quiet, good-natured son of a local restaurant owner, whose family had immigrated from Afghanistan.
"There is nothing to indicate that he was on our radar," Sweeney said, "we'll keep digging."
President Obama praised police and promised support for the continued investigation.
One of the two wounded police officers, Officer Angel Padilla whose vest saved him from the bullets, was expected to be released Monday night or Tuesday morning.
Some people have stepped forward saying Rahami had changed and become more stern in the past four years.
New Jersey Representative Albio Sires says Rahami contacted his office in 2014, asking for help to bring his pregnant wife to the U.S. From Pakistan, but was told that she had to wait until the baby was born before they could come to the United States. Rep. Sires says he is not aware how the situation was resolved.