2016 New York and New Jersey bombings | |
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Location |
Seaside Park, New Jersey, U.S. Chelsea, Manhattan, New York, U.S. Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S. Linden, New Jersey, U.S. |
Coordinates |
39°55′32″N 74°04′29″W / 39.925602°N 74.074726°W (Seaside Park) 40°44′37″N 73°59′40″W / 40.743631°N 73.994308°W (Manhattan) 40°40′04″N 74°12′54″W / 40.667778°N 74.215°W (Elizabeth) |
Date |
Seaside Park bombing: September 17, 2016, 9:30 a.m. Manhattan bombing: September 17, 2016, 8:31 p.m. Elizabeth bombs discovered: September 19, 2016, c. 12:40 a.m. Linden shootout: September 19, 2016, 11:23 a.m. (All times are UTC-04:00) |
Attack type
|
Bombing, shootout |
Weapons | Pressure cooker bombs, pipe bombs, 9mm Glock pistol |
Deaths | 0 |
Non-fatal injuries
|
35 total:
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Suspected perpetrator
|
Ahmad Khan Rahimi |
Ahmad Khan Rahimi | |
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Surveillance image of Ahmad Khan Rahimi, who was arrested following a manhunt
|
|
Born |
Kandahar, Democratic Republic of Afghanistan |
January 23, 1988
Residence | Elizabeth, New Jersey |
Citizenship | American |
Education | Edison High School |
Employer | First American Fried Chicken |
Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
Weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
Criminal charge |
Federal charges:
New Jersey State charges:
|
Criminal status | In-custody |
Children | 1 |
35 total:
On September 17–19, 2016, three bombs exploded and several explosive devices were found in New York City and nearby towns. The bombings left 31 people wounded, but no fatalities or life-threatening injuries were reported.
On the morning of September 17, a pipe bomb exploded in Seaside Park, New Jersey. Later that day, a homemade pressure cooker bomb went off in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. A second pressure cooker bomb was discovered four blocks away. Late on September 18, multiple bombs were discovered at the train station in Elizabeth, New Jersey. One of these bombs detonated early next day.
On September 19, the sole suspect—Ahmad Khan Rahimi, of Elizabeth—was captured, following a shootout with police in the neighboring Linden, New Jersey. Rahimi was not part of a terrorist group, but his actions were believed to have been influenced by the extremist Islamic ideology espoused by al-Qaeda.
In the morning of September 17, 2016, in Ocean County, New Jersey, the Seaside Semper Five, a 5k run event, was expected to draw as many as 3,000 people, with many of them being veterans of the United States Armed Forces. The race was delayed after a suspicious backpack was noticed in the vicinity of the starting point.
At about 9:30 a.m., shortly before the race was supposed to start, a pipe bomb exploded in a trash can on Ocean Avenue in Seaside Park. Three "rudimentary" pipe bombs, all reportedly timed to go off during the race, were later found, with only one of the three having exploded. No one was hurt by this bombing, however.
The race was canceled after the explosion, and the beach and boardwalk in Seaside Park were evacuated. Police officials and federal agents soon went door-to-door, asking residents about information regarding the bombs or any suspicious activity they may have seen, heard, or witnessed.
On the same day as the Seaside Park bombing, a pressure cooker bomb filled with shrapnel, in the form of small bearings or metal BBs, exploded in a crowded area on West 23rd Street, between Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue at 8:31 p.m. The explosion occurred in front of 133 West 23rd Street in the vicinity of a construction site, at which materials were in place for exterior renovations of the Visions at Selis Manor facility, an apartment building for the blind, at 135 West 23rd Street. Other nearby buildings included the Townhouse Inn of Chelsea, many restaurants, and a Trader Joe's at 21st Street and 6th Avenue. The Chelsea neighborhood is residential, known for its nightlife, and is not close to any significant tourist sites or government buildings.