Investigators have pieced together a detailed timeline of Ahmad Khan Rahami’s movements, from the time he allegedly detonated a bomb in Seaside Park, New Jersey, on Saturday to his capture in Linden two days later, law enforcement sources told CNN.
Based on the new information, investigators now believe Rahami went back to his family’s Elizabeth, New Jersey, home after setting off a second bomb on Saturday in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood. In law enforcement interviews with family members who saw him at the home, Rahami was described as behaving normally.
According to the officials, his return home appears to be in a time period before Rahami was publicly identified as a suspect in the bombings.
The federal complaint filed against Rahami describes how he allegedly came to Manhattan approximately two hours before the blast on West 23rd Street in Chelsea, but does not explain a three-hour gap from then to when he is believed to have left the city via the Lincoln Tunnel at approximately 11:30 p.m., about the same time Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Police Department held their first press conference regarding the nights’ terror.
Investigators have been aided by surveillance footage, as well as tracking of Rahami’s phone, which had no cellular service but used available WiFi signals.
While a timeline has been created, investigators are still not clear where Rahami allegedly built the bombs, according to multiple sources. But one source familiar with the investigation remarked that the bombs reflect a skilled hand at assembly.
Rahami remains in the hospital. In a federal court filing Thursday, lawyers from the US Attorney’s Office in New Jersey wrote that they’ve been informed by Rahami’s medical team that “he is currently incapacitated and intubated. As such, he is not in sufficient physical health for presentment to the Court — even at a bedside proceeding.”
Though investigators have already spoken to Rahami’s family, they are seeking more information on what, if anything, they knew about his intentions.
According to law enforcement sources, Rahami’s younger sister’s cellphone contained a video of him “lighting the fuse” of a partially buried cylindrical object, followed by “a loud noise and flames, followed by billowing smoke.” The federal complaint alleges that event took place two days before the bombings in New Jersey and New York, and describes how laughter is heard on the video before Rahami returns into the frame and is seen picking up the object.
So far, investigators have no information to suggest the sister knew of Rahami’s plans.
Rahami’s wife has returned to the US after speaking with the FBI in Dubai, according to law enforcement officials. She told investigators in Dubai that she had no knowledge of her husband’s activities and is expected to talk more with the FBI now that she is back in the US.
Sources told CNN that it appears she left the country in June and previously booked a ticket to return this week.