Police Intensifies Hunt For Terrorism Link In New York Blast

The investigation into the series of bombs that rocked NY and New Jersey is now centered on Elizabeth, where federal authorities are conducting a raid on Rahami’s apartment above a fried chicken restaurant on Elmora Avenue.

Authorities have a suspect in the Chelsea and Seaside Park bombings: Ahmad Khan Rahami, a 28-year-old Elizabeth resident.

Police believe the same suspect could be linked to both the incidents.

Around the time Rahami was captured, President Barack Obama was in NY on a previously scheduled visit for a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly.

There is “no indication” there is a terrorist cell operating in area, according to FBI Assistant Director William Sweeney – though he noted that investigation isn’t complete.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and police officials are expected to brief reporters at the scene.

Earlier, five people were being questioned by the FBI but none has been charged and the investigation was ongoing.

“Yesterday there was no hint of any connection foreign terrorism”.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, touring the site of the blast in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, known for its vibrant arts scene and large gay community, said there didn’t appear to be any link to global terrorism.

“That’s a step up in sophistication from what we saw here in Boston, that gives them the ability to detonate the thing from anywhere”, said Ed Davis, former Boston Police Commissioner.

After an officer arrived and recognized Rahami, Rahami shot the officer, who was saved by his bulletproof vest, authorities said.

Rahami also fired through the windshield of a patrol vehicle, wounding another officer. He said at first he thought it was thunder and lightning.

In addition to the blast that injured 29 people in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood on Saturday, an unexploded pressure cooker bomb was found blocks away, and a pipe bomb exploded in a New Jersey shore town before a charity race.

Elizabeth Mayor Christian Bollwage said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was working to disarm one of five devices found in the same bag, which was discovered in a trash can by two men around 8:30 p.m. Sunday, near the Elizabeth train station on New Jersey Transit’s Northeast Corridor rail line. The New Jersey race was cancelled and no one was injured.

At least 29 people were hurt in the explosion on 23rd Street.

Senior law enforcement officials also said that they were increasingly focused on the possibility that the attack was connected to a bombing that took place 11 hours earlier in New Jersey, but the authorities still needed to compare all the bombs before drawing any conclusions.

Mobile phones were discovered at the site of both bombings, but no Tannerite residue was identified in the New Jersey bomb remnants, in which a black powder was detected, said the official.

Bollwage said investigators are reviewing surveillance footage from nearby businesses.

Obama is in NY for the annual U.N. General Assembly gathering. She said the restaurant went quiet.

“Yeah, because we’ve been weak”.

And on Sunday night, five explosive devices were found near an Elizabeth, New Jersey, train station. “I don’t know all of the particulars at this time”, Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage told Good Morning America.