The FBI is currently seeking a 28-year-old Afghanistan-born U.S. citizen in connection with a series of bombs left around New York and New Jersey this weekend, in what authorities are now referring to as an “act of terrorism with a foreign connection.”
According to the FBI, the person of interest is Ahmad Khan Rahami, a 5'6, 200-pound 28-year-old whose last known address was in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Rahami is said to be armed and dangerous, and authorities pushed out a possibly unprecedented emergency alert to tristate-area cell phones early Monday morning advising citizens to “see media for pic” and call 911 if they see him.
According to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, authorities believe “there might have been a common linkage” between the bombs, one of which detonated Saturday night under a dumpster in Chelsea, injuring 29 people.
Another bomb left nearby did not detonate, and a third explosive device discovered early Saturday morning in a trash can near a charity run in New Jersey detonated without causing injury.
Authorities reportedly identified Rahami as a suspect on Sunday night after two men found a backpack containing at least five more bombs in a trashcan near a train station in Elizabeth. According to CNN, the men thought the backpack “might contain something valuable,” until they noticed it had wires and a pipe.
Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage says at least one of the bombs was accidentally detonated by police, though no one was injured in the blast.
“The robot that went in to disarm it, cut a wire and it exploded,” Bollwage said.
Update 10:10 a.m.
New Jersey state police have released several new photos of Rahami and say he is believed to be driving a blue 2003 Honda Civic with the New Jersey plate no. D63EYB.