FBI, NYPD Seek Two Men Who Took Suitcase, Left Bomb
Authorities are hoping they can get information from the men, who are considered witnesses, and recover the bag
By Jonathan Dienst and Joe Valiquette ••
The FBI is looking for two men who took a suitcase from 27th Street Saturday night — and left behind the bomb that was sitting inside it. The bureau’s New York office released a photo of the two men. The NYPD said they were considered witnesses and being sought for informational purposes.
The FBI and NYPD are looking for two men who took a suitcase from 27th Street Saturday night — and left behind the bomb that was sitting inside it.
The bureau's New York office released a photo of the two men Wednesday, saying it was taken between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday on 27th between Sixth and Seventh avenues. One of the men appears to be wearing a tan or gray long-sleeved dress shirt and black slacks, while the other is apparently in a light red or pink polo shirt and jeans.
New video obtained exclusively by NBC 4 New York shows bombing suspect Ahmad Rahami wheeling a piece of luggage allegedly containing a pressure-cooker bomb on West 27th Street in Chelsea Saturday night. Then two men not far behind stop to “admire” the bag, according to police, and take it, exclusive video shows. Police now want to talk to those men...
"They are witnesses, we are very interested in talking to them and hearing about how they found the bag," Jim Waters, head of the NYPD's counterterrorism bureau, said Wednesday. "They found the bag, opened it, found the device -- a pressure cooker -- and took the bag. They are witnesses. There are no criminal charges. I want to stress that."
Authorities were running down several tips phoned in to police after the release of the video Wednesday, a senior law enforcement official said.
The pressure cooker bomb inside the suitcase was allegedly planted by Ahmad Rahami, a New Jersey resident who was charged with planting that device and one that exploded on 23rd Street, injuring 31 people, Saturday night. He is also charged with planting the pipe bomb that exploded in a trash bin along a Marine 5K race in Seaside Park, New Jersey, hours earlier.
New York bombing suspect Ahmad Rahami after being shot in a gun battle with Linden, NJ police, Sept. 19, 2016.
Bombing suspect Ahmad Rahmani is seen with scenes from bombings in Seaside Park, Chelsea and Elizabeth.
A bomb found in Elizabeth, NJ on Sept. 18, 2016 explodes while the bomb squad attempts to disarm it.
Authorities search the space above a fried chicken restaurant in Elizabeth, NJ on Sept. 19, 2016 after a bomb was discovered nearby.
Members of the FBI investigate the scene the morning after the explosion. Officials believe there is no connection to the explosion that happened in Seaside Park, New Jersey, on Saturday morning.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a statement and said that his administration is "monitoring the situation". He also urged New Yorkers to "as always, remain calm and vigilant".
AP
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, left, and Mayor Bill de Blasio walk towards the scene of an explosion on West 23rd street in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, in New York, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, after an incident that injured passers-by Saturday evening.
AP
Firefighters arrive at the scene of an explosion in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, in New York, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016.
NBC 4 New York
A law enforcement source said the explosion appeared to have come from a large construction-site toolbox on 23rd.
Getty Images
People stand behind police lines as firefighters, emergency workers and police gather at the scene of an explosion in Manhattan on Sept. 17, 2016 in New York City.
Getty Images
Police, firefighters and emergency workers gather at the scene of an explosion in Manhattan on Sept. 17, 2016, in New York City.
AP
Mayor Bill de Blasio, center, and NYPD Chief of Department James O'Neill, left, react during a press conference near the scene of an explosion on West 23rd street in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, in New York, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016.
AP
In this Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016, frame from video provided by Orangetheory Fitness Chelsea, a door shatters after an explosion in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York. Investigators scrambled Sunday to find out who planted a bomb that rocked Chelsea, scouring shrapnel, forensic traces and surveillance video.
@voicehalf
A photo from the scene showed the toolbox blown apart, with bits of debris scattered on the street.
AP
People try to access the area near the scene of an explosion on West 23rd Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, in New York, early Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016.
AP
Police officers look for suspicious packages along Fifth Avenue near the scene of an explosion on West 23rd Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood in New York, early Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016.
Law enforcement sources identify this pressure cooker, with wires and a phone attached, as the device found on 27th St. in Manhattan following an explosion on 23rd St. on Sept. 17, 2016.
Ted Greenberg, NBC 10
Pipe Bomb exploded in Seaside Park today in a trashcan.
File
Dakota DeFelice
Police at 23rd Street and First Avenue on Monday, just days after a bomb went off several blocks away.
Federal terror charges were filed Tuesday against Ahmad Rahami. Jonathan Dienst reports.
Rahami continues to recover in a hospital after he was shot 10 times in the confrontation with police in Linden, New Jersey, that led to his capture Monday. Two officers who were wounded have been released from the hospital. Rahami has been charged with five counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer in connection with that shootout.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Wednesday Rahami would face terror charges in New York first, and that the Department of Justice planned to bring him to the city "in the near future." She says the charges reflect the Justice Department's "unwavering determination to finding, capturing and prosecuting all those who attempt to commit or commit acts of terror against our nation."
