Explosion later rocks Manhattan
Early in the morning on September 17th, 2016, several thousand of the more motivated amongst us were lining up for a 5K race in Seaside Park, New Jersey. They were there for a good cause, supporting the families of Marines and Sailors killed or injured in the line of duty.
As the participants were lining up someone noticed a suspicious black bag and reported it to the police. As the police were moving people away from the bag, an explosion rocked the morning air. A pipe bomb had detonated along the race route. Because of the delay, there were no runners in the area, and no one was injured. Cops discovered several more unexploded devices. A terror attack was underway.
Miles away and hours later the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan rumbled as a pressure cooker bomb exploded on West 23rd Street. This bomb was much more powerful than the Seaside Park devices. This bomb injured 31 people, but remarkably none seriously. A quick response by the NYPD uncovered another bomb a few blocks away, which was disarmed.
The next day another device was found in a train station in Elizabeth, NJ. Two homeless people found the bomb and reported it to police.
The full resources of federal and local law enforcement were mustered. Extensive video canvasses in Manhattan found an image of the perp. He was soon identified as Ahmad Khan Rahimi of Elizabeth NJ. Wanted posters of Rahimi that went out around the country and to cell phones of people in the tri-state area.
At 10:30 on September 19, 2016, a Linden, NJ bar owner called police, claiming that the hunted terrorist was sleeping in the doorway of his bar. Linden cops responded and awoke the sleeping Rahami trying to confirm his identity. The most wanted man in America sleeping in a bar door? Seems like a stretch.
But the bar owner was correct. The now fully alert Rahimi pulled a Glock 9mm and started shooting. He shot one Linden officer in the bulletproof vest; another sustained a graze wound to his head. Rahami led cops on a running gun battle before being shot 7 times. Of course, he survived.
Rahimi was acting alone. He professed his hatred of American and his dedication to the deformed ideology of militant Islam. Rahami was put on trial in federal court in Manhattan and state court in New Jersey and found guilty. He is currently cooling his jets in federal prison doing a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
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