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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE CLOSURE: UPDATES, RESOURCES, AND CONTEXT

Suspect Tied To New York-Area Explosive Devices Now In Custody

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Police in New Jersey have taken custody of a man suspected in a series of incidents involving explosive devices in New York and New Jersey. Let's remember, one of those devices detonated in Manhattan Saturday, injuring 29 people. The suspect's name is Ahmad Khan Rahami. NPR's Hansi Lo Wang is on the line from our New York bureau to talk more about this.

And, Hansi, what exactly has happened? How did police get this man?

HANSI LO WANG, BYLINE: Well, I understand that there was a shootout. And Ahmed Khan Rahami received an injury in the shoulder, upper arm area. And he was taken under arrest by the Linden police.

I spoke to a source at the mayor's office for Linden, N.J., and this source tells me that an officer with the Linden police was also shot and received a head injury. And that's all. We're running down the additional details at the moment.

GREENE: You say Linden, N.J. This, as I understand the geography of New Jersey, not so far from Elizabeth, N.J., where some of these devices, early this morning or yesterday, were found in a trash can near a bar near the train station. Is that right?

WANG: That's right. This is all really the New York metro area. And so this is all, you know - this is all hitting close to home, I'm sure, for a lot of New Yorkers as well.

GREENE: Yeah, we've heard all morning that many New Yorkers awoke to alerts on their cell phones, that - as you told me, that - that people were, you know - that the police were searching for someone who was very dangerous. Tell me what you can about Ahmad Khan Rahami.

WANG: We know that he's 28 years old, an American citizen. And his last known address was Elizabeth, N.J. He was born in Afghanistan. We know also, from reporting by our colleague Joe Shapiro in our investigations unit, that there was a lawsuit filed by his family. They apparently own or owned a restaurant, a fried chicken restaurant, and sued the city of Elizabeth.

And we're not sure if that's a possible motivation. But that is part of his background. And so far, we know that he seems to be on his route, or, if maybe not already, at a hospital.

GREENE: And we should say, I mean, that the mayor of Elizabeth, N.J, Chris Bollwage, told our program earlier this morning that he believes that it's possible that someone dumped some of these explosive devices in a trash dumpster in Elizabeth after police started searching for the suspect - maybe feeling the pressure. So there are a lot of facts that we need to work out. Hansi, let's listen right now to President Obama, who spoke just a short while ago, saying that the federal government is really going to be working with state and local officials to hunt down exactly what happened here.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: We're going to make sure that everybody is working together seamlessly as one team to get to the bottom of what happened, to find those responsible and to make sure that justice is done.

GREENE: The president of the United States there, speaking just as news was breaking that police in New Jersey have taken custody of a man named Ahmad Khan Rahami, who is suspected in the series of explosive devices that were found. Hansi Lo Wang is on the line with us from New York. And, Hansi, just take me through the morning and day for New Yorkers. Who, you know, who knows if this is the end of things? But it has to be a terrifying morning for people.

WANG: Right, oh, it's Monday morning and people are back to work. And I think a lot of folks ran into a lot of traffic jams and delays on the subways. That's how most people are kind of experiencing aftershock. And certainly the folks who live nearby the explosion that happen in Chelsea, life is slowly getting back to normal. But there are folks who certainly were injured, the 29 injured - and I think at this point, just a lot of questions of how exactly are all these different explosions and these different devices connected?

What exactly is the role of Ahmad Khan Rahami? All we know at this point, law enforcement have said they're not describing him as a suspect necessarily. He is just a man in connection with these explosions. And they want him in for questioning. So we're still unclear what exactly his role is. We're expecting more information around 12:30 Eastern today with a press conference from NYPD and the mayor of New York.

GREENE: OK, speaking to my colleague, Hansi Lo Wang. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Hansi Lo Wang (he/him) is a national correspondent for NPR reporting on the people, power and money behind the U.S. census.