New Jersey man convicted of planting bomb in New York that left 30 injured
NEW YORK — A New Jersey man was convicted Monday of planting two pressure-cooker bombs on New York City streets, including one that injured 30 people with a rain of shrapnel when it detonated in a bustling neighborhood on a weekend night last summer.
The verdict in Manhattan came after a two-week trial of 29-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahimi, an Afghanistanborn man living in Elizabeth. The charges, including using a weapon of mass destruction and bombing a public place, carry a mandatory punishment of life in prison.
Prosecutors said Mr. Rahimi considered himself “a soldier in a holy war against Americans” and was inspired by the Islamic State group and al-Qaida to carry out the late summer attacks in New York and New Jersey.
Mr. Rahimi, wearing a wrinkled blue shirt and beige pants, stared straight ahead and at the jury as he was found guilty of all eight charges against him. The defense promised to appeal. Sentencing was scheduled for Jan. 18.
“Today’s verdict is a victory for New York City, a victory for America in its fight against terror, and a victory for all who believe in the cause of justice,” said Joon H. Kim, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Assistant federal defender Sabrina Shroff said her client, who smiled as he was led from the courtroom, remained calm as the verdict was delivered.
“We all handle bad news in our own way,” she said.
In the prosecution’s closing argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emil Bove described an unusually large amount of evidence that pointed to Mr. Rahimi. His fingerprints and DNA were found on bombs in the Sept. 17, 2016, attacks.
Dozens of videos tracked his movements as he dragged the bombs in suitcases through Manhattan streets, and they also captured the explosion at 23rd Street in the Chelsea neighborhood that injured 30 people. The second bomb didn’t detonate.
As a bomb squad investigator testified, prosecutors showed jurors a mangled, waist-high trash bin that was sent flying 120 feet across a busy street by the bomb. The government called it a miracle that nobody was killed by the explosive, which scattered ball bearings meant to serve as shrapnel.
If that wasn’t enough, Mr. Bove said, jurors could look at a small notebook that was on Mr. Rahimi when he was arrested two days after the attack following a shootout with police in New Jersey. The prosecutor said Mr. Rahimi’s written words provided a confession as he took responsibility for the bombings in a “claim of credit” for attacks that left him feeling proud. He still faces charges in New Jersey related to the shootout. He has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder of police officers.
Ms. Shroff did not deny evidence linking Mr. Rahimi to the 23rd Street bomb but asked jurors to question whether Mr. Rahimi really intended for the 27th Street bomb to go off. She urged jurors to acquit Mr. Rahimi of three charges that could result in a mandatory life prison sentence.