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Improvised explosive device in New York City injures at least 29

Mayor called the explosion ‘intentional’ but said no known connection to terrorism

Police and firefighters work near to the scene in Manhattan, New York, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/ANDRES KUDACKI)
Police and firefighters work near to the scene in Manhattan, New York, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016. CREDIT: AP PHOTO/ANDRES KUDACKI)

An improvised explosive device, apparently similar to the pressure cooker used in the 2013 the Boston Marathon attack, exploded in a sidewalk dumpster on Saturday night in the Chelsea section of New York City. At least 29 injuries, but no fatalities, have been reported.

A second, un-exploded device was found and removed by authorities a few hours later, just blocks away. And on Sunday night, a backpack containing five pipe bombs was discovered near a train station in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

Authorities are still piecing together information about the attacks. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the bombs found over the weekend were connected, though evidence has since emerged leading the FBI to investigate them as potentially coordinated attacks.

On Monday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said there appear to be similarities among the explosive devices.

Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said the explosion in Chelsea was apparently “an intentional act” but there is “no specific and credible threat against New York City at this point in time from any terror organization.” He added that “whatever the cause, New Yorkers will not be intimidated.”

All 29 victims of the Chelsea bombing were released from the hospital on Sunday morning. There were no fatalities.

The New York Police Department announced on Monday that 28-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahami had been identified as a suspect in the Chelsea bombing. The FBI released a wanted poster with his image on it.

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A law enforcement official told NBC News that a fingerprint found on one of the unexploded devices helped identify Rahami.

CREDIT: FBI
CREDIT: FBI

According to the FBI, Rahami is a U.S. citizen whose last known address was in Elizabeth, New Jersey — where the backpack was found on Sunday.

Rahami was taken into custody on Monday morning following a shootout with law enforcement in New Jersey. Rahami sustained a non-life threatening injury in the gun battle and was transported to a local hospital.

Long before police or fire responders had a chance to confirm the cause of the explosion in Chelsea, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump appeared to jump to conclusions about what was going on.

Trump told an audience in Colorado on Saturday night that “a bomb went off in New York and nobody knows exactly what’s going on. But boy we are living in a time — we better get very tough, folks. We better get very, very tough.” He vowed to “get tough and smart and vigilant.”

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During an appearance on Fox News on Monday, Trump added that a lack of racial profiling, the resettlement of refugees in the United States, and the United States’ constitutionally protected freedom of the press are potentially to blame for the attacks over the weekend.

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton slammed Trump’s shoot-first-aim-later reaction, observing on Sunday: “I think it’s always wiser to wait until you have information before making conclusions, because we are just in the beginning stages of trying to determine what happened.” Clinton added that she had been briefed on the incident and urged the nation to “do everything we can to support our first responders — also to pray for the victims. We have to let this investigation unfold.”

The explosion in Chelsea coincided with new New York City police commissioner James O’Neill’s first day on the job.

This is a breaking new story and has been updated as more information became available.