New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) called a bombing in the city that left 29 injured on Saturday night an “act of terror,” while officials said they were not searching for another suspect in a Monday afternoon press conference.
“We have every reason to believe this was an act of terror,” de Blasio said.
Investigators remained tight-lipped about details of the investigation, which officials called “very active” after the suspect, Ahmad Khan Rahami of Elizabeth, New Jrrsey, was captured in nearby Linden on Monday.
FBI special agent William Sweeney said there was “no indication” the suspect was acting as part of a terror cell. He also said Rahami was not on the FBI’s radar except for an earlier domestic incident where the allegations were later recanted. When pressed for further details about that incident, Sweeney declined to elaborate.
New York police Commissioner James O’Neill emphasized how a quick law enforcement response led police to identify Rahami as the suspect and take him into custody just 50 hours after the blast in Manhattan. He also said police were not searching for another suspect linked to bombs placed at two locations in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood and two cities in New Jersey.
“Right now, we’re not actively seeking anyone,” he said. “Right now, we have who we need to have.”
Police on Monday searched multiple locations in Elizabeth and Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Sweeney said. Evidence has “directly linked” Rahami to the improvised explosive devices in New York and Seaside Park in New Jersey, he said.
While officials confirmed five people were taken into custody and questioned late Sunday after a traffic stop on the Verrazano Bridge in connection with the bombing, they would not provide details on those individual’s possible relationship to Rahami. Those individuals were not under arrest.
