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Officials: Investigators Find Similarities in New York and New Jersey Bombs; FBI: Minnesota Stabbings "Potential Act of Terror"; Three Possible Terror Attacks on U.S. Soil in One Day; First on CNN: Videos Show Same Man Near Both New York Incident Sites. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired September 18, 2016 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[19:00:00] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. Seven p.m. Eastern. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. We do begin with breaking news. Three possible terror attacks on American soil in a single day. In New York City, New Jersey and in Minnesota.

First, the New York City bombing that shook the entire neighborhood last night and sent 29 people to the hospital. You're looking at pretty newly obtained video of the moment that blast went off. You see a huge flash of light and then debris falling to the ground, followed by people running, terrified of the block. There's another angle of that explosion. Police and the FBI starting to put together the pieces here. They are now confirming to CNN that bomb, a second pressure cooking device just four blocks away that did not explode, and a bomb that exploded earlier in the day Saturday up the New Jersey shore, all are similar.

This is what is left after those two bombs exploded on the left of your screen. A wrecked dumpster that contained that bomb in New York City. On the right of your screen, a trash can where that pipe bomb was thrown on the route of a Charity 5K race in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. Nobody was hurt in that New Jersey bombing because the race started late. I should note that there were three pipe bombs put in that trash can. Only one of them detonated. They're not saying with certainty right now that all these bombs are exactly the same, or that they're necessarily connected or made by the same person. However, they're saying they are seeing more and more similarities in their design.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody get off of the street!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Off the street.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go, get off the street.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Saturday night, 8:30, people in the Manhattan neighborhood of Chelsea say the blast rattled the street and apartment buildings, blowing out some of the windows nearby. Everyone in the vicinity running and ducking. Thankfully, the 29 people that were injured in the blast have all been discharged from the hospital tonight. And while investigators work on the evidence from these bombs and trying to decipher what they can about who is responsible in New York and New Jersey, an ISIS-link news agency is now saying that a man who stabbed nine people at a mall last night in St. Cloud, Minnesota, is a soldier for the Islamic State. That man was shot dead by an off duty police officer. Right now, some developments on that street in Chelsea where the bomb exploded in Manhattan last night.

Our Deborah Feyerick is there. What are you seeing, Deb?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Poppy, we can tell you that the car is about to be loaded on to the flat bed. There was one of the NYPD investigators put on a tie that suit. We don't know whether he's going to go into the vehicle. Obviously, putting on those white suits would prevent any kind of cross contamination in the event, there is something in that car that they can identify. Some sort of the DNA, some sort of fingerprint or something like that.

So, they have lowered the flat bed, and they're positioning the car so that it can be raised on to that -- on to the truck. We've got, also, fire vehicles, wide trucks just came down the block. Earlier, they were here. It was a precaution. They said that they normally move vehicles into place just to make sure nothing goes wrong. So, little bit of activity right now. And they're still trying to get to the bottom of this. You know, who did this? And why? And why did they pick Chelsea, of all places? There were a lot of events that were going on yesterday, certainly a lot more busy events.

And yet, they decided to detonate one device in a dumpster on West 23rd Street. And a sweep of the area following that blast discovered a second pressure cooker or I should say a pressure cooker device. It's what they've discovered. So, forensic investigators have been hard at work all day. The bomb squad has been trying to look at that pressure cooker, trying to identify, also, any sort of clues that they might be able to see, whether it be a fingerprint or whether it may be some sort of label, so they can trace back where the pressure cooker was bought. All of that under investigation right now.

But the person or the people who did this still at large, and they're looking very aggressively for a connection. This car that they're loading has New Jersey plates. Does that suggest that perhaps it is connected to the pipe devices in Seabrook, New Jersey. Because both of them seem to be connected by a cell phone. Each of them has cellphones and I spoke to an expert who said the concern there is that unlike the Boston marathon, where the bombers were very close to the devices, the cell phone would suggest they could be detonated from a great distance.

Another state even. So, investigators are looking at what they know. But they're also looking at the things that simply don't make since like why here in Chelsea, is there a political motive? Is there a social reason that it was done?

HARLOW: Right.

FEYERICK: Remember the United Nations General Assembly is in town starting tomorrow. And so, there are going to be a lot of heads of state here -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Yes. And President Obama landed in New York just in the 5:00 hour for a big fundraiser tonight. And then he'll be speaking at the United Nations this week. Look, we heard Mayor de Blasio say in that press conference today that we -- everyone needs to be vigilant and that you will see a bigger NYPD presence in New York than ever. Bigger than ever in terms of, you know, security presence across this city.

Deb, they've taken the forensics, they are doing all this forensic work up in Quantico. And the questions becomes, how long will it take to start getting some answers? Especially as to whether there is a connection between the devices in New Jersey and New York. Any sense? I mean, you know, this is your beat. Any sense in how long that would take? Are we talking about hours, days, weeks?

[19:05:44] FEYERICK: No. Well, first of all, what they've got to do is they've got to make sure that they have got every single piece of evidence they possibly can from the scene itself. So, West 23rd, where the big blast was, they're looking for the blast pattern. They're looking to see if there's powder, whether there is residues, whether there is something that looks like kind of a detonator, or even some sort of shrapnel or ball bearing. One key thing is that this device exploded inside of a dumpster, so it's the dumpster that absorbed the impact, the brunt.

And just so you can see the car is going on to that flat bed. But the dumpster could be critical because they will -- a lot of the device may have been contained right inside that. Usually when there is a bomb, the first thing technicians are taught is it looks like it's going to explode, throw it into a dumpster to minimize the damage. So, that is crucial. We spoke to Congresswoman Maloney on your show just earlier. And she said, you know, the thing was torn to shreds. That it was like, it's just the force of the explosion. So, investigators are going to look at that, too.

Once all of that is cleared, they'll reopen the streets. But they don't want to do anything prematurely. Then they've got to start piecing it together. It really could take -- it could take days before investigators have something significant. And it could come, Poppy, as you have mentioned, in the form of video. You know, the NYPD has surveillance cameras, security cameras everywhere, so they're able to sort of keep an eye on what's going on in the city. But it could also be some witness who saw something that they don't even know the significance of. So, NYPD clearly putting, you know, an APV out for all people who may have been in the area, who may have seen something that they don't even know -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Deb Feyerick reporting for us live in New York. Deb, stay with me as I bring in former CIA operative and CNN intelligence and security analyst Bob Baer.

Bob, what is the likelihood, in your assessment, that these three attacks, the Minnesota stabbing, the New Jersey pipe bomb explosion and the bomb here in Manhattan last night, are separate? ROBERT BAER, FORMER CIA OPERATIVE: I don't think they're separate.

Poppy, the investigators are taking the hypothesis that they're connected. And they're looking for these connections in forensics. The fact that cell phones were used in New Jersey and New York, you know, that's one connection. And the timing, of course, these three events, very quickly. And there is a concern that this was a practice run for more attacks, and that this bomb may have been thrown in the dumpster anonymously. Very difficult to run this down.

And it's going to take forever to get to the bottom of it. And also, if it was a pressure cooker and the dumpster, that the material is so common. The detonator is, you can buy it in a store. It's an electric match. And you go on the cell phone, it's very easy to work. So, there's not really a good signature on this bomb. But we're going to have to wait and see.

HARLOW: What about the fact though that the pipe bombs in New Jersey seem, one could argue rather unsophisticated. And that there were three places in that trash can and only one of them exploded. And then this bomb that did explode in New York was obviously incredibly dangerous and injured 29 people. But didn't take any lives. And then the second one in New York did not even detonate. What does that tell you about the level of sophistication here?

BAER: I think, Poppy, it's homegrown. I mean, probably people inspired. If they are connected -- and we don't know that they're connected. We don't even know what the political motivation is for sure on the New Jersey and New York. But it's unsophisticated. But that's what makes it so difficult for the New York police and the FBI, is to run these devices down. If it were somebody who knew what they were doing, they would tell you very quickly who did it and probably why. But the fact that almost anybody can sit down and make one of these bombs.

HARLOW: Uh-hm.

BAER: And it doesn't matter to them whether they all go off. Because if they have a series of bombings, it's going to have a devastating effect on New York City or wherever these things occur.

HARLOW: What does it tell you, Bob, that no one has claimed responsibility, as far as we know in New Jersey or in New York City?

BAER: Well, a lot of these bombings we don't see responsibility claimed. And sometimes, the homegrown ones, all the sign though get on the internet, if it's on the deep net, is these are the days. We're going to launch an offensive then. And somebody like the Islamic State wouldn't even know who is acting in its name or just carrying these acts out altogether. There is so much that go on in encrypted apps and the rest of it, that the FBI and National Security Agency just can't see.

HARLOW: You know?

BAER: You go ahead. [19:10:26] HARLOW: It's interesting to me that you bring up encrypted

apps. Because in her statement about this tonight, Hillary Clinton said, at the end of her statement, something that stood out to me. She said, we also need to work with Silicon Valley to counter propaganda and recruitment efforts online. Just talk to me about that when you talk about encryption and communication among those who would terrorize. How significant is it that she pointed to Silicon Valley and these big tech companies saying, basically there needs to be what sounds like me, better collaboration between the government, the Feds and you guys.

BAER: Well, if it weren't for Silicon Valley, the National Security Agency wouldn't be anywhere. It's their technology that they're bringing to defeating Islamic State and these other groups. As far as coming up, the things like algorithms and the rest of it, looking for suspicious activity, they are absolutely key to it. But then again, you look at the attacks in France, in Paris, and some of those phones were actually being listened to before the Paris attacks last year.

HARLOW: Right.

BAER: But they were encoded. And benign words. And the French police couldn't figure out what was going on until after the attack. And I think we're going to see that here, is a lot of, you know, putting the details together and establish motivation. The rest of it is going to occur when they look at the metadata and the rest of it.

HARLOW: Bob Baer, thank you for that. Stay with me. I want to get a break in here. But we have much more on this breaking news, this continuing investigation into three potential terror attacks on U.S. soil in one day.

Much more ahead. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[19:14:34] HARLOW: ISIS claiming to be behind that stabbing rampage at a Minnesota mall last night. All nine people were hurt. None of their injuries were life threatening though. Police say the youngest victim, just 15 years old. The attacker has not been named. But according to investigators, he asked at least one victim if they were Muslim.

Our Nick Valencia has been following this story from the beginning, he joins me now. You know, it's interesting, we do not yet know, Nick, the identity of the attacker, but we are learning the ages of the victims. Just walk us through what happened, Nick.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, it was at about 8:00 p.m. on Saturday night when this individual entered the crossroads mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota, to carry out his stabbing spree. According to police, he asked at least one of the victims if they were Muslim before he continued on with his attack. He was also mentioning the name "Allah." We know that he was encountered by an off duty police officer, who shot and killed the suspect. But not before he was able to injure nine people. The heroics and the valiant effort of this officer, as it was called by the FBI and local police chief and the mayor, were highlighted at a press conference early Sunday afternoon.

MAYOR DAVID KLEIS, ST. CLOUD, MINNESOTA: He clearly prevented additional injuries and potentially loss of life. His heroic actions are exemplary and having witnessed what he did, as the suspect was lunging at him with the knife, not only did he fire, the suspect went down. He came back up on three different occasions.

VALENCIA: The online media wing affiliated with ISIS has claimed responsibility for this suspect, though the FBI says they are so far only investigating it as a potential act of terrorism. This follows similar patterns in the past of this online media organization claiming responsibility for those inspired by ISIS. But the FBI says that they are unsure so far if this contact or this person had direct contact with any terrorist groups. What we do know about this suspect is that he has had at least three run-ins with police in the past. All minor traffic violations, according to the police chief.

The focus of the investigation will be on this suspect's social media footprint, as well as the car that they found in the parking lot that has been impounded. We're also told by police that there have been at least two search warrants executed at a residence there in Minnesota to look for more details about this individual -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Nick, thank you very much for that. Let's bring back in Bob Baer, former CIA operative. And CNN intelligence and security analyst. Also joining me now is our national security analyst, Juliet Kayyem.

Juliette, talking about Minnesota specifically, and we're still waiting for the identity of this suspect in the stabbing of nine people, but we know ISIS is claiming responsibility for inspiring it. You call this potentially a third wave of terrorism and you're calling it ISIS justified. What do you mean by that?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So, what we don't know is just actually go back. What we know that there's at least two types of ISIS attacks that we've come to understand. That is ISIS directed. That's more like Paris. ISIS inspired, which is San Bernardino, someone who gets -- or a couple who gets radicalized. And what we don't know is, are some of these cases once in which the person has no interaction with ISIS or any true radicalization process, either online or back channels or simply does something that they might otherwise have done or might have been thinking about, and finds ISIS to justify them.

So ISIS essentially comes up on the backside and says, yes, that's one of us. We don't know right now with this particular case, because we don't know -- the suspect's name hasn't been released yet. But it is disconcerting. Because now it's a group of people that you can't even try to monitor or survey any type of communication. Because the person here in the United States is simply using ISIS as an excuse or justification.

HARLOW: Bob Baer, how possible is it that, you know, yesterday morning's pipe bomb that exploded in New Jersey, was potentially a call to action for this bombing then subsequently last night in New York and this stabbing in Minnesota? I mean, the possibility that they could be connected in that way, rather than all, you know, planned ahead of time on the same day. Potentially one sparked the rest.

BAER: That is as good a theory as any, Poppy. Know, they pick a date, let's say it's before the General Assembly. The meeting in New York, you know. You know, see what we can get going. There is some sort of signal out there to move. And I think by now, as Juliette was saying, these people understand, you cannot get on the net, recruit yourself, get in touch with the Islamic State. Any of these things without the National Security Agency, the FBI finding you and knocking on your door. So, they are becoming more disciplined, more disorganized. They don't necessarily need to pick any sort of target at all. It is just so chaos. And I think this is what the police are looking at this hypothesis right now. And it makes it extraordinarily difficult for the FBI.

HARLOW: Is it odd that to you though Juliette, that if these indeed these are connect and if there is, you know, ISIS inspiration behind, you know, the attack in New Jersey and New York, which we just don't know yet, is it odd that no one has claimed responsibility?

KAYYEM: Yes. And that's why I've been on air, as have others, very comfortable, I think, is the right word, waiting to see where the facts will lie. Look, there's no question terror happened on Saturday night, right? Civilian population, urban population, was terrified because of the explosions. Terrorism is, you know, term to describe, you know, sort of the motivation for political or religious means. And I think the information is cutting in different ways right now. In particular, the forensic information. You know, you put a detonation device in a dumpster.

You've got to know that the blast is going to be muted. It's not in Times Square or well-known area. And I think the investigators -- or I know investigators need to look at every theory of the case. Because the only thing that matters is, you got the rig people or person. That's the only thing that matters. You can call them what you want after, but the most important thing is that we get who did this. Whoever it may be at this stage.

HARLOW: Juliette, thank you. Bob Baer, thank you. I appreciate the analysis. They got a lot of information still coming in and we're waiting for a lot of answers.

Coming up, what we're les learning about the similarities between those bombs found in New Jersey and right here in New York City. What are those similarities? And how can they make a definitive connection, if they will? You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[19:24:36] HARLOW: All right. Three possible terror attacks on American soil in a single day. Yesterday, bombs in New York, in New Jersey and a mass stabbing in Minnesota all happening within hours of one another. A stabbing for which ISIS is, tonight, claiming responsibility. Officials telling CNN there are some similarities between the bombs that exploded yesterday morning in New Jersey and the bomb that exploded last night here in New York City.

At this point though, the New York City police commissioner says, they do not see a connection between those devices that is absolute. But they are finding similarities.

Our senior law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes is back with me. Let's talk about your experience as the former deputy director, assistant director, of the FBI. When you look at the probability that these were coordinated attacks, what is the likelihood in your opinion?

TOM FUENTES, SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, it's a go question, Poppy. I think it's still too soon to say how likely that is. It's possible. Whether it's probable, I don't know. In determining the similarity of the devices, you know, there's going to be certain basics that are going to be similar. Some type of explosive material, some type of method to detonate it. A container to carry it and house it, to cause it to go off. But then, you know, the way the wires are done, the type of detonators, the type of its chemical explosive or gun powder or ammonium nitrate, fertilizer bomb, all of those things then become more specific and if they were used in both locations in the New Jersey and in the New York City bombings, then you would have increasing likelihood that either the same person, the same bomb maker, or the same instructions were used.

The same menu was used. And maybe somebody was in contact with another person, and they said, oh, yes, e-mail me that formula. I'm going to try it myself. So, you could have similar, almost identical devices created. They're not identical in this case. But you could have similar devices created, but just, you know, kind of a loose knit, this is out there on the internet. And if people do their homework, they can find out. They're likely to use similar tactics, similar instructions.

HARLOW: You know, Tom, this morning or this afternoon, at that noon press conference, the last press conference where the mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio spoke, and the brand new NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill, spoke. O'Neill pointed out that they have foiled 20 plots in New York City over just the last two years. Walk me through the training that goes into these first responders, the NYPD officers, the anti, the anti-counterterrorism unit, when it comes to a situation like this. The training they go through. Because not only were they confronted last night with an explosion, they were also confronted just a few hours later with a pressure cooker bomb that could go off at any moment.

FUENTES: Well, first of all, we have to be, you know, more accurate here. The fact that someone didn't die doesn't mean it was thwarted. This attack was not thwarted. The bomb went off. It could have killed people.

HARLOW: Right. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is --

FUENTES: Most of the thwarting is done during the investigative -- HARLOW: Right. They're confronted with huge challenges and they've

actually thwarted, he said, 20 attacks, planned attacks, over the last two years. Last night was not thwarted. But talk about the complexity and how they prepare for something like this, where a bomb goes off and then just few hours later, they're confronted with a pressure cooker that could detonate at any moment.

FUENTES: Okay. Those are two separate issues. The thwarting of the attacks comes from investigation, from wiretaps, from information, from our allies overseas sending us information. And the FBI, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes NYPD and the NYPD's counterterrorism people began working on that cell of surveilling them, electronic surveillance, physical surveillance. And then at a point before they do the attack, they make the arrests. That's thwarting the attack.

As far as what the first responders do, that's almost completely separate issue of, once the bomb has gone off, once the disaster has happened, whatever it may be, who responds? What do they do in the response? How do they communicate with each other? How do they work with the hospitals, with the other agencies? All of that issue, a separate specialty, if you will, to be a first responder. Separate from the investigators themselves. Evidence response teams, that's a separate specialty. Bomb technicians that dismantle these devices, that's another specialty. These are highly specialized skill sets for investigators, for responders.

HARLOW: Right.

FUENTES: It's not a universal skill set.

HARLOW: So, walk us through the communication then, Tom, that would have happened last night between those officers at the scene of the explosion on 23rd Street and those officers and those from the counterterrorism division up four blocks at 27th street, when they located the pressure cooker that did not detonate. What was the communicate like? What would it have been like between those two teams?

[19:29:34] FUENTES: Well, what they're saying occurred was that the bomb goes off, patrol officers are in the area, they immediately are aware an explosion has happened. Respond to that. The Fire Department, the other responders begin to respond to that. They believe it's an explosive device. Very early, they were believing that it was an improvised explosive device in that dumpster. So, they're calling for explosive technicians and other experts in the arena, that this is not -- they knew early that it was not a gas main explosion or some type of other incident like that that was accidentally set off by other causes.

Then the police units began going all over the neighborhood looking at trash, looking in dumpsters, looking in containers, looking in alleys, to see if there were other devices around. And that's when officers on patrol found the pressure cooker. In a plastic bag, three blocks away. That's how that was discovered. It was an attempt to look for additional devices in the neighborhood following the explosion of the first. So, that communication would have been all of the officers that were in the area looking continuously communicating with each other about that.

The police and the FBI would have immediately established a tactical command post very close to the scene, within a few blocks, and that information would be coming. Making sure that they're clearing, block by block, alley by alley, sidewalk by sidewalk, so that they know all the various locations are being systematically and methodically investigated. So, that communication would be coming from the commanders to the commanders who would then be deploying the various assets around, to try to identify whether or not another device.

You know, once they found the second device, now they have to worry, is there were a third, fourth, tenth? Is it confined to the Chelsea neighborhood? Is it possibly, you know, could there be devices in Times Square, where there is a much denser population out there for a lot later at night on a Saturday night in Times Square? So, there's many issues that they would be dealing with. And the commanders -- having been an on-scene commander, I know exactly how the communication comes in from your various investigative components, the evidence response team, the bomb technicians. Communicating with the Fire Department. They'd be in your command post.

HARLOW: Tom, let me just jump in here. I have got some breaking news to bring to our viewers. And I want you to stay with me because we need your expertise on this one.

FUENTES: OK.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

HARLOW: All right. Breaking news just into us here at CNN. We have learned in just the past few moments that law enforcement has obtained key video that could help them in this investigation in a major way. This investigation into two sites in New York where police found those explosive devices last night. One of which detonated, injuring 29 people.

Let's get straight to our CNN crime and justice producer Shimon Prokupecz. He is here with me in New York. You've been working your sources. This is huge.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE PRODUCER: This is tremendous. And I can tell you law enforcement has been working with this all day. This is not something that they just discovered.

HARLOW: Right.

PROKUPECZ: They did discover it this afternoon. We've been diligent and sort of careful in how we report it. We did learn late tonight that not only did they find video of a man dragging a sort of a duffel bag on 27th street, which is the area where they found a duffel bag. They also have the same man near the location on 23rd street where the explosion occurred. They are able to somewhat track him to 27th street. They lose him at some points because they don't have the video to show where he goes from 23rd street to 27th street. But what is significant is that he's seen on 23rd street with that duffel bag. He's then seen on 27th street where he leaves a duffel bag near where police would eventually find the --

HARLOW: Pressure cooker.

PROKUPECZ: The pressure cooker. And in the bag, inside the bag, they see on the surveillance video, the pressure cooker was inside the bag. And what happened was -- this is kind of sort of where it gets a little bizarre.

HARLOW: Right. Because it was found in that white plastic bag.

PROKUPECZ: That's right. It was found in the white plastic bag. What's really bizarre here is he leaves the duffel bag there. He then walks away. And two men, for whatever reason, walk over to this duffel bag. They take out the pressure cooker that's in this white garbage bag. They place it on the ground. They then leave with this duffel bag. Why, we don't know?

[19:34:05] HARLOW: So, Shimon, and I want to be incredibly careful here not to jump to any conclusions. What you're saying, one man brings the duffel bag with the pressure cooker. Two different individuals take the pressure cooker out of the duffel bag. Is that right?

PROKUPECZ: That's correct. So, two different people. Two different individuals, two different men, walk over. They take the pressure cooker out of this bag.

HARLOW: Yes.

PROKUPECZ: They place it on the ground. And then they take the duffel bag and walk away. And I just want to, just sort of make this point. There's nothing to indicate that these two men were part of this. Like that they knew this guy. So, there is something that maybe they just wanted the duffel bag.

HARLOW: The bag?

PROKUPECZ: Yes. Which is really bizarre. Right? I mean, it's like why would someone want this random duffle bag --

HARLOW: Well, they could have been checking if there was money inside, right?

PROKUPECZ: Correct, that's possible. So, what's really weird is you see them on video taking out this plastic bag. How do we know if they knew what it was in? They could have thought it was garbage? They took it out, place it on the ground and then they took the duffle bag.

HARLOW: So, the difference is huge. Because the difference is either there is one person carrying this out or there is a team of people carrying this out.

PROKUPECZ: That is correct. But I will tell you, Poppy, I don't think anyone thinks right now, there is a team of people. HARLOW: They don't. They think this is a lone wolf individual?

PROKUPECZ: Perhaps. But I think they're being careful and they want to talk to everyone that may have been involved or anyone who has access to this bag and this duffel bag. And whoever took out the stuff from the duffel bag.

HARLOW: Do we know where this video is coming from? Is it this sort of CCTV, are these quote-unquote, "Eyes in the sky in New York"

PROKUPECZ: No. These are business.

HARLOW: These are business surveillance.

PROKUPECZ: So, remember, we had reported that yesterday, some of the businesses were closed and police could not have access to some of the locations. They went back today.

HARLOW: Okay.

PROKUPECZ: And they sort of talked to some of the business owners. There are several videos. This isn't the only video. It sounds like they have other video which sort of corroborates this. What's really interesting, and I think what's really got law enforcement pretty sure that this is the guy that they saw on 23rd street, because they have the video of him walking with the same duffel bag.

HARLOW: Well, it's interesting because Shimon, then they would have clear enough video to see his face and to know that this is the same guy.

PROKUPECZ: That is correct. So, several law enforcement officials who I spoke to say you can make out his face. They can tell what he looks like. They were able to describe him to me.

HARLOW: And is that information you can share?

PROKUPECZ: Well, we're going to hold off right now. Because we've been asked to sort of by law enforcement, to sort of --

HARLOW: Of course. Because they're still be in pursuit of this individual.

PROKUPECZ: That is correct.

HARLOW: Yes. It is really an important point, Tom Fuentes. Obviously, to make all of these, the key thing is apprehending this individual, catching this individual. And this is all happening as we're reporting it in real time. Shimon, stay with me as you broke this news. A major, major development. If you're just joining us here, the breaking news on CNN is the fact that after this blast in the middle of Manhattan last night that injured 29 people, in a subsequent pressure cooker bomb found just a few blocks away, we are learning from Shimon Prokupecz that for the first time, NYPD thinks they know who is responsible. Someone dragging a duffel bag down the street last night at the heart of all of this. Tom Fuentes, your reaction?

FUENTES: Well, I think, to me, the key to this is going to be that the police are going to have to give this out to the public at some point for other people to come in, weigh in on whether they can identify the individual. Especially the one that started this, dragging the bag on 23rd Street and being seen again on 27th. Even separating that person from the two additional people that come along and steal the bag. You know, and at this point, it would be nice if those two people came forward and said, we had nothing to do with anything. We just wanted a bag and it was laying there, abandoned on the sidewalk. I don't think that's going to happen, but that would be an ideal situation.

But I think at this point, you know, just like in Boston, when those videos go out and other people, neighbors, friends, classmates, see the demeanor, see the person, get a glimpse of the face, what that person is wearing, that's something where we're going to need the public to weigh in on and provide assistance to the police.

HARLOW: OK. Tom, stay with me. Shimon, get back in here with me, as well. Because I want to go through the time line.

FUENTES: Sure.

HARLOW: So, what your reporting is showing that is around 7:50 p.m. last night, this video shows a man with the duffle bag on 23rd street.

FUENTES: Correct.

HARLOW: That's about 40 minutes before that bomb is detonated.

FUENTES: Correct.

HARLOW: Then ten minutes later, four blocks up on 27th street, they see the same man with a bag. So, what does this tell us just in terms of the timer, the cell phone that they believe was attached to this, and how it would have been detonated?

FUENTES: So, they're still working, you know, started working out. I mean, there was an alarm clock on the cell phone that was used to detonate the two devices. There is now maybe going back and sort of trying to figure out if that's still the case. The pressure cooker that was not destroyed has proven very, very valuable to law enforcement. So they have been able to get some very good, strong evidence from it. And I think they've learned more about the device. And they've certainly have not shared it with us.

But I think that pressure cooker not detonating has helped law enforcement greatly in sort of figuring out what happened here. They believe he walked, yes. So, these are all estimated times because this is off of surveillance video that they recovered. So, around 7:50, he's seen on 23rd street. Sometime after 8:00 or so, he's seen on 27th street dumping this duffel bag. Inside the duffel bag, they believe, was the pressure cooker. [19:39:23] HARLOW: And you believe that as they're potentially

looking for this -- I mean, they're looking for this individual right now. Potentially close. Who knows? They had a really clear view of his face. That they feel confident in this?

FUENTES: Yes. Absolutely. I think that, you know, there was some talk about maybe releasing the video to the public, but that has not happened yet.

HARLOW: Which we saw happened in the Boston marathon bombing to help find these individuals.

FUENTES: Correct. That's correct.

HARLOW: What was interesting there is, you've saw the city on lockdown in Boston because whenever you have someone that has terrorized people out on the run, that's what they did. Any talk about that happening in New York?

FUENTES: No. No way.

HARLOW: What is different this time?

FUENTES: I think what's different is that they think they have this contained. I mean, I think that's the difference. I think the mayor and then sort of the NYPD has come out and said like, there is no reason to be afraid. They're really -- we are not seeing any signs of a manhunt. Yes, they're searching, yes, they're out, they're doing what they're doing. And there is a lot of things that are going on. We just don't know about it.

HARLOW: Why is that? Tom Fuentes, you can weigh in on this, as well. There was that. I mean, manhunt was the word that was used. I was in Boston covering this. The Boston marathon bombing. The word used was a manhunt. I mean, the entire city was on lockdown. The businesses were closed as they were looking for who was responsible. That is not the case, as Shimon said, this time. Why do you think that is?

FUENTES: Well, the difference is that at some point, you have to have some degree of identification. You're talking about a city with so many million people out there. And there could be a lot of individuals that look similar to the face of the individual seen in this video. So, you know, it just may be that it's not definitive enough to watch the video -- for the police to watch and say, oh, yes, that's so and so. Until someone else, a friend, a relative or somebody comes in. It reminds me of a bank robbery in Chicago that happened about six months ago.

The FBI puts the bank robbery film out in the media, and a family member called up and said, oh, yes, I know that guy. I think it was a brother or something. And they reported it to the FBI. So, that's where you need assistance from the public in these types of cases. If the police don't immediately identify the individual as someone known to them or someone that's been under surveillance by them, and now they know, okay, now that person did something, if they don't have it that far and we don't know that they do or don't, then they're going to need public assistance at some point here pretty soon.

The other thing I was thinking with that duffel bag is that the two individuals that come along and dump out the pressure cooker bomb, they may have jostled the wires and caused it to lose the connection that it needed to detonate. So, it could be that when he placed the bomb, the main subject placed the bomb on 23rd street, he was very careful to set it out and not disturb the wiring or however it was configured. But the individuals on 27th Street just maybe dumped the bag and, in the process, the wires came loose.

HARLOW: Bob Baer is also with us. Former CIA operative. Bob Baer, your thoughts on this breaking news that Shimon is reporting that, you know, law enforcement officials believe they know who carried out this attack in New York. Still, the question is, is there a connection to the New Jersey explosion? They believe that this individual that they have on that surveillance video carrying a duffel bag down both 23rd street and 27th street. Bob?

BAER: Well, I mean, I think if -- the hypothesis is right now with the new information is probably one person, two pressure cooker devices. That's what it looks like at this point. Tom is absolutely right. A bomb like this, if you're doing by telephone, you want to set a fail safe switch at the last moment. You simply don't want a wrong call when you're carrying this to a site to explode it. And I think they probably are close to identifying this guy. They have a good facial shot. Was he part of their databases if they are going to move in on him, arrest him? I think only then. But as all these cases turn out, it's once we actually get the forensic data, starts rolling in.

HARLOW: Right.

BAER: They can pretty well solve these cases within days.

HARLOW: You bring up a very good point. And Shimon, I want to be careful here because I don't know what you can answer and what you can't answer. Because the most important thing here, obviously, is that they apprehend this person. Tell me if it's something you can't talk about. If they saw the face clearly, do they think they know who the individual is? Not where he is, but who he is?

PROKUPECZ: It's not entirely clear to us, to be honest with you, Poppy.

HARLOW: OK.

PROKUPECZ: I think a lot of progress has been made, whether or not they know who this individual is. Or whether, you know, what they're doing to sort of figure out with this guy is they're not sharing with us. You know, I think there has been some significant movement. I think this has been - there's been a major development with this video. I think the pressure cooker not detonating has given them a ton of evidence.

HARLOW: Fingerprints, things like that?

PROKUPECZ: We don't know. But we know that that has helped them in the investigation substantially.

[19:44:14] HARLOW: But Bob Baer, back to you. Why would -- if this is the same individual, which it sounds like, why would he have placed that bomb device, if it was another pressure cooker, inside of a dumpster on 23rd Street, and then --

PROKUPECZ: If I can jump in. We're not entirely sure this was in the dumpster.

HARLOW: OK.

PROKUPECZ: There's something to indicate that he may have placed the device-

HARLOW: Outside?

PROKUPECZ: Yes. Like behind the dumpster, maybe to hide it.

HARLOW: Which would be more consistent. Which would be more consisted with leaving a duffel bag with it on 27th Street and not putting it in anything.

BAER: Correct. I mean, it could be. You know, we don't know why he dumped it the way he dumped it. You know, it seems he expected it to explode, and it didn't. So, something may have caused it not to explode.

HARLOW: OK. Shimon, last night in the reporting, when you got us first that image, let's bring it up, Marty, if we can, of the pressure cooker on 27th Street that didn't detonate. One of the things that you did report is that there was a white piece of paper with some writing on it. Have we gotten any more information on it?

PROKUPECZ: No. We haven't been able to. I think there's been some -- yes, we haven't been able to -- we've asked and, certainly, we haven't been, you know, some people have steered us away from some of the reports that have been out there.

HARLOW: Right.

PROKUPECZ: But we haven't been able to get any sort of -- make any sort of head on what that said or what it was.

HARLOW: So now, Tom Fuentes, as Shimon is reporting, this device is so key because it did not detonate and, therefore, it has so much evidence on it. It would have fingerprints on it. It has, just, you know, a ton of identifying information on it. As they've taken it obviously out of New York City to their labs to pour through. What are the key things they looking for on it, outside of a serial number on the devices, to track where the pressure cooker was purchased, et cetera, what can we say the wiring tell them about an identity?

FUENTES: Well, the wiring can tell them, you know, what type of instructions they were following in terms of making a device like that. Certain articles on the internet or magazine publications by terrorist organizations. Might say, use a certain gauge of wire. Wire it a certain way. Use a certain type of detonator or telephone, timer, detonation cord. Use certain chemicals as the explosive material. So, that would be. But in the case of an unexploded, the intention would be -- and when I was running FBI in Iraq in 2003, we had many explosive devices that we recovered after they exploded and were able to get DNA from them. Were able to get fingerprints from them.

And in some cases, we were able to make matches to suspects arrested later on who had built that bomb or carried it or put it together. So the explosion, people might have an opinion that the explosion obliterates everything. It often doesn't. There could still be hair fibers, affix to the components of it. Fingerprints. Other DNA material. So, that's all, still possible. It is even more possible when you have a device that didn't explode. And it could be that the person who made the bomb and put that pressure cooker together believed that the explosion would obliterate all physical evidence and now whatever is on there.

May not have handled it not so carefully, let's say, maybe not wearing gloves or now doing something to try to prevent that. But even wearing gloves, your skin particles and hair follicles are falling out, they would have DNA on the device. Inside the pressure cooker. So, there's a lot of material that can be had and much easier to recover now that they have it without it exploding. Since they have it intact.

HARLOW: Absolutely. Tom, stay with me. Bob Baer, stay with us. Again, our Shimon and Evan Perez breaking really big news here on CNN. The fact that law enforcement officials think they know who is responsible here. They have video to prove it. Much more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:51:02] HARLOW: All right. We're continuing to follow this breaking news on CNN. A major lead, a major development in the investigation into who is responsible for a bomb exploding in the middle of New York City last night. And a subsequent pressure cooker bomb found just blocks away.

Let me bring in Shimon in our CNN crime and justice producer Shimon Prokupecz, working all of your law enforcement sources today. Really a huge development. I mean, they think they know who this guy is.

PROKUPECZ: It's pretty tremendous. I mean, they're not telling us specifically, but they probably have a good idea of who at least they're looking for.

HARLOW: Right.

PROKUPECZ: Whether or not they've identified this guy or what's going on, we have not been told.

HARLOW: So, walk us through what we know at this hour.

PROKUPECZ: So, right now, what we know is that they have recovered video, surveillance video, showing a man on 23rd Street, sort of walking with a duffel bag. Kind of it's on wheels. He's wheeling it, he's kind of pulling it.

HARLOW: And 23rd Street is where the bomb exploded.

PROKUPECZ: Correct, near the first blast sort of site. And that man is then later seen about maybe 10 or 15 minutes at 27th Street, lugging sort of the same duffel bag. He then places the duffel bag on the street. He leaves it on the street. In the area where police will -- would eventually find the pressure cooker. After he left the duffel bag there, two men walked over. We don't know why. We don't know who they are. And seemed to have -- on the video, you can see them taking out this bag. There was a white garbage bag.

HARLOW: Right.

PROKUPECZ: Which contained the pressure cooker, which eventually police would find and contain the pressure cooker. They took out the garbage bag. And it was the pressure cooker. And they left it behind and took the duffel bag and walked away.

HARLOW: So that bag is the question of whether those two individuals who then approached the duffel bag on 27th Street took the pressure cooker out of it and then took the duffel bag with them, whether they were connected or not. And I think, you know, we'd be remiss to jump to the conclusion that they were connected, right?

PROKUPECZ: I mean, I think we shouldn't right now.

HARLOW: Right.

PROKUPECZ: I mean, there is nothing to indicate that they were connected. I mean, they're not seen on any other video with this man. They're not seen on 23rd Street with him. And they're seen, you know, much later, after he leaves the bag there and walks away.

HARLOW: Right, so they may have just been approaching the bag to say, what's in there? Money, what could be in there?

PROKUPECZ: Perhaps. I mean, it's kind of, you know, a strange coincidence. I don't know. But they sought of, they just took this out and then they walked away with the duffel bag. Yes, I mean, to hear some folks describe seeing this -- I mean, we've spoken to, you know, Evan and I have talked to law enforcement. And, you know, some sort have said, what a coincidence. So, they don't necessarily believe the two men were involved but it is just strange.

HARLOW: Yes. But it is a key difference once they determine that. Because was it a lone wolf or was there more coordinated? Were there multiple players? I mean, that's really at the crux of all of it. Stay with me. Amazing reporting, Shimon. Thank you.

Stay with me. Matthew Horace is on the phone, he is a CNN law enforcement analyst. But specifically, he can help us here because he is a former ATF executive who focused on explosives. What Shimon is also reported is that on that pressure cooker, that did not detonate, Matthew. There was a cellphone. It was a cellphone that was attached to, obviously, at some point, try to detonate this device. What are they doing right now as they've taken it out of the area and they're doing their forensic work on it? What can they tell aside from serial number and where the pressure cooker was purchased, what else can they tell as they take apart this bomb?

MATTHEW HORACE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, you know, we talked about this early, Poppy. There are things as small as wires that we can take codes off of wiring to try to determine where the wire might have been purchased. What kind of instrument or device the wire may have been in before it was used as a component in an IUD. Obviously, the cell phone, where did they come from, who purchased them and why were they attached to the device? So, you know, the other thing we talked about all day, was the video that was going to tell the story. But the most expansive network of CCTV cameras in the world, there was no way in the world we wouldn't be able to figure out exactly who brought that bag and left their pressure cooker there.

HARLOW: You know, what's interesting to me, and I think we have Bob Baer with us so and Tom Fuentes. Bob Baer, to you, what's interesting to me is how differently they're treating sort of this and this search for this individual from what we saw in the Boston marathon bombing when they basically locked down the city in this manhunt.

BAER: Well, I think we have a certain experience with this now. And, you know, the Boston and here, it was pretty much the amateur hour. We're not looking at professionals here that can carry off a devastating bombing, the kind of people that operate in Paris or even the Middle East. And I think the New York police just have a protocol down. And they're going to do the basic groundwork and that's getting the CCTV. They're going to get that cell phone, they're going to figure out whether it was prepaid, where it's been. They can track that.

Lot of things they're putting the evidence together. Then they'll move once they have that. And if there is any connection with New Jersey or Minnesota, they'll figure that out in due time. But what I think -- you know, this is, you know, I'm going on a limb here but this looks sort of homegrown. Guys that are imitating people in Europe or the Middle East. And this is where it's heading right now.

[19:56:19] HARLOW: And we're just seeing this update from Shimon. Just to bring you in quickly. From J. Peter Donald obviously, you know, spokesperson here, saying that the bomb technicians have rendered that device found at 27th Street safe. Forensic examination of its device and its component will be conducted in Quantico in Virginia.

BAER: Right. I mean, they've already done a lot of work on it.

HARLOW: Yes.

BAER: I know that. And there was some talk about it detonated. But I think they made it safe, that whatever the explosive material in it, they've removed it. And so now, you know, pretty much I think we can say this is going to be a federal investigation. So now, a lot of the evidence that's being recovered and a lot of the stuff that is going on is moving towards the FBI. Which is why that pressure cooker is going to Quantico.

HARLOW: Shimon, stay with me. Again, just a major development on this breaking news. About 24 hours to the moment, pretty much, since that bomb exploded in the middle of New York City on a busy Saturday night. Last night. We have now learned from our Shimon Prokupecz reporting that authorities from surveillance video believe that the same man is responsible for the 23rd Street bomb and then that pressure cooker four blocks up on 27th Street. They see that person on video. They have a clear shot of his face. Now they're looking for him. Much more of our breaking news straight ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:59:38] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

HARLOW: Top of the hour. We begin with breaking news. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York and I have a major development to tell you about in the New York City explosion of the possible terror attack, that is how it's been investigated. The attack that rattled the Manhattan neighborhood last night that sent 29 people to the hospital. Up until now, police are not disclosing very many clues and really no leads on these suspects. But now, a very different story.

We have just learned in the past few moments that law enforcement has obtained key video that will help them in this investigation of the two sites where bombs were found last night. One of those bombs detonating on 23rd Street, injuring 29 people. And the second bomb not detonating. A pressure cooker bomb found four blocks up on 27th Street.