Just under four hours. That’s how long it took authorities to apprehend bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami after he was publicly identified by police on Monday.
It was a whirlwind mission that started with a wanted poster and a text alert, and ended in a shootout on the streets of Linden, NJ. Here’s a breakdown of those four hours:
7:39 a.m.
NYPD and New York State Police tweet photos of Ahmad Khan Rahami, saying he is wanted in connection to Saturday night’s explosion in New York.
7:54 a.m.
New Yorkers receive an emergency text alert asking for any information on Rahami’s wherabouts.
9:08 a.m.
A search in Elizabeth, NJ. is underway. Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage tells CNN it is “definitely related to the Chelsea incident.”
9:34 a.m.
The New Jersey State Police issues a release on Facebook stating Rahami is wanted for questioning in relation to Saturday morning’s Seaside Park explosion as well.
10:56 a.m.
The New Jersey State Police say they believe Rahami is also connected to the pipe bombs found near an Elizabeth train station.
11:17 a.m.
First reports that Rahami is in custody begin to surface. His capture is confirmed minutes later.
Rahami was captured during a shootout with law enforcement in Linden. A bar owner called police after spotting Rahami napping in the doorway.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
A witness told CNN that Rahami looked “dazed” and was “down and out.”
Rahami was seen on a stretcher being loaded into an ambulance.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT RAHAMI
He is 28 and was born in Afghanistan. He is a naturalized US citizen.
He has traveled to Afghanistan multiple times in the past.
He majored in criminal justice at Middlesex County College in Edison, NJ.
Investigators have “directly linked” him to devices from explosions in New York and New Jersey over the weekend.
Authorities believe Rahami is the man seen on surveillance video dragging a duffel bag near the site of the New York explosion, and the location where police eventually found a suspicious pressure cooker four blocks away.
His last-known address was in Elizabeth — the same city in New Jersey where police found a backpack with multiple bombs inside.
Rahami’s family lives above First American Fried Chicken, a restaurant they own in Elizabeth. In 2011, they filed a lawsuit accusing the city of discrimination.