Bombing Suspect Captured In Linden, NJ After Police Shoot Out

The bombing suspect is caught in Linden NJ

The man suspected of placing bombs in Manhattan and New Jersey is in custody after a shoot out with police in Linden, N.J.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

As we heard, this morning"s shootout and arrest happened in the city of Linden, N.J. That"s just west of Staten Island, N.Y. NPR"s Jeff Brady has more on what happened there this morning.

JEFF BRADY, BYLINE: Ahmad Kahn Rahami, the suspect, was the target of a regional manhunt. He was discovered at around 10:30 in the morning. Linden Mayor Derek Armstead says the owner of a local bar called police and reported that someone was sleeping in his doorway. Armstead explained to ABC News what happened next.

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DEREK ARMSTEAD: One of our police officers went to investigate and to wake him up and realized that he was the suspect that has been - being sought.

BRADY: Linden Police Officer James Sarnicki told ABC that the officer then ordered the suspect to show his hands.

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JAMES SARNICKI: And the suspect had his hand, like, on the side in a valise. And he pulled out a handgun, and he fired a shot at the officer, striking him in his bulletproof vest in his abdomen. At that point, the officer returned fire.

BRADY: Sarnicki says, the suspect got up and started walking down the street, firing his handgun. Officers returned fire. Sarnicki says Rahami was shot several times but was conscious as he was taken into custody. In total, two officers were wounded but didn"t appear to be seriously hurt.

Kenneth Robinson lives just a few hundred feet from the bar, but he"d learned about the shoot-out on TV at a car dealership where he was getting his oil changed.

KENNETH ROBINSON: And News Flash - and they said, well - they arrested the guy. Shots was fired - East Elizabeth Avenue. I"m like, what? East Elizabeth Ave - that"s where I live.

BRADY: Robinson stopped by the store on the way home, thinking by the time he got there, he"d be able to get back into his house. But when I met him, he was standing next to yellow police tape, holding two grocery bags, his house on the other side.

ROBINSON: So they said I can"t get in there. I have to stay out. Anybody that leaves out can"t get back in. So got the whole street taped off, so I have to wait out - wait it out and see what happens.

BRADY: Down the street, Melvin and Vernell Carter were sitting on their front porch. They say most people around here were at work when the shoot-out happened.

MELVIN CARTER: I had family in Virginia calling and wanting to know if we were alright because they recognized the area from visiting us. And we told them, yeah, we all right.

BRADY: The Carters say, when they think of anything related to terrorism, their small town of Linden doesn"t come to mind.

VERNELL CARTER: It"s scary, you know? But we just have to stay prayed up and hope for the best.

BRADY: Something that"s a little bit easier for the Carters now that a man authorities considered armed and dangerous is in custody. Jeff Brady, NPR News, Linden, N.J.

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Source: http://www.npr.org/2016/09/19/494619495/bombing-suspect-captured-in-linden-n-j-after-police-shoot-out