Official: Bombing suspect’s father alerted FBI in 2014
(AP) — A law enforcement official says the father of the man suspected in bombings in New York City and New Jersey had contacted the FBI following a 2014 stabbing to express concerns that his son was a terrorist.
The official says the FBI looked into the matter, but that Mohammad Rahami later retracted his comment and said he meant that his son was hanging out with the wrong crowd, including gangs.
Ahmad Khan Rahami was arrested for stabbing a person in the leg and possession of a firearm in 2014. But a grand jury declined to indict him, despite a warning from the arresting officer that Rahami was likely “a danger to himself or others.”
The official who spoke to AP insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Mohammad Rahami told reporters outside his chicken restaurant in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on Tuesday morning that he called law enforcement twice. He didn’t elaborate.
– Eric Tucker in Washington and Josh Cornfield in Pennsylvania contributed to this report.