New Jersey probes end in capture of Ahmad Rahami

NEW JERSEY (FOX 5 NEWS) - As FBI and other officials continued to piece together what exactly took place Saturday in New York City, city officials in Elizabeth, New Jersey, were conducting their own investigation. The probe began Sunday and continued all the way into Monday morning when the presumed suspect, Ahmad Khan Rahami, was found sleeping outside of a bar in Linden, four miles from where his family lives. The encounter ended in a gun battle.

The selfless act of two transient men sparked the investigation in Elizabeth. The men found a backpack hear a train station. Inside the bag were five explosive devices. Elizabeth Mayor Christian Bollwage said the two men carried it under a bridge and dropped it when they saw the wires and the pipe. They notified police headquarters.

Around the same time, five people believed to be related to Rahami were arrested near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in Brooklyn. The FBI questions and released them.

Federal officials raided Rahami's family home in Elizabeth above the restaurant they own, First American Fried Chicken. During the raid, at around 10:30 AM, Linden police officers found a man lying outside of a bar, Captain James Sarnicki of the Linden Police Department said. He said an officer tried to wake up the man, who lifted his head. The officer realized the man was the person on the wanted poster in the bombings. When cops asked him to show his hands, Rahami pulled out a handgun and shot the officer, Captain Sarnicki said. Rahami then tried to get away while randomly firing his gun, Captain Sarnicki said.

During the shootout, officers returned fire and struck the suspect at least once, allowing officers to subdue him and take him into custody. Rahami was taken to the hospital where we are told he underwent surgery. The wounded officers are expected to recover.

Police told Fox 5 that investigators are not ruling out that other players could be involved.

The Union County prosecutor charged Rahami with five counts of attempted murder of a police officer for the shootout with cops.