Texarkana Gazette

New Jersey man convicted in bombing case

- By Larry Neumeister

NEW YORK—The swift conviction Monday of a New Jersey man in a mostly botched bombing mission in Manhattan last summer was labeled a victory against terrorism by law enforcemen­t officials, but they urged continued vigilance.

“It’s very obvious that this city remains a target,” said William F. Sweeney Jr., head of the city’s FBI office, at a news conference outside Manhattan federal court after a jury that deliberate­d about four hours over parts of two days convicted Ahmad Khan Rahimi of all eight charges against him.

Sweeney credited hundreds of law enforcemen­t officers in New Jersey and New York for an airtight case against the 29-year-old Afghanista­nborn Rahimi. Evidence at his two-week trial showed he had set off a pipe bomb along a Marine Corps charity race in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, as a morning prelude to the Sept. 17, 2016, evening bombing in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborho­od that injured 30 people.

“Most importantl­y, I want to thank the public for how engaged they were when this was going on last September,” Sweeney said.

“It’s that engagement that’s critical, especially as we go forward into this holiday season. So I wanted to remind everybody to please stay attentive, to please stay alert, and if you do see something, say something.”

Prosecutor­s say Rahimi, inspired by propaganda from al-Qaida and the Islamic State group for four years, carefully planned a day of terror designed to kill Americans when he left his Elizabeth home with two pressure-cooker explosives and seven smaller bombs in a backpack.

They called it a miracle nobody died. The race had been delayed, and somehow a blast on Manhattan’s 23rd Street that propelled a small trash bin 120 feet, spread a rain of shrapnel and shattered apartment and car windows caused no fatalities.

Joon H. Kim, acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan, said Rahimi was “hoping to kill as many innocent people as possible” when he dropped off the 23rd Street explosive and a second pressure-cooker bomb on 27th Street that never went off.

“Today’s verdict is a victory for New York City.

“It’s a victory for America in its fight against terror. It’s a victory for all who believe in the cause of justice,” Kim said.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States