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Officials: Possible Terror Cell Behind Bombings; FBI Issues Bulletin for Ahmad Khan Rahami; FBI Raids Happening Now in Elizabeth, New Jersey; More Evidence NY, NJ Bombings are Related. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired September 19, 2016 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: After a string of terrifying weekend bombings, here's what we know right now. This man is 28 years old. He's a New Jersey resident. He was born in Afghanistan. Police want to talk to him about the New York explosion and believe he could be the man seen on surveillance videos. Mayor Bill de Blasio now calling on the public for help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: I want it very clear that this individual could be armed and dangerous. He should be treated as armed and dangerous. Anyone seeing him should call 911 immediately. But we definitely have now someone that we want to get in immediately for questioning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: This is a fast-moving situation. This morning we've learned a number of new details, including the belief that explosions in New York and New Jersey may be linked. Part of the investigation unfolding right now in Elizabeth, New Jersey, that's where police are conducting a raid.

And just after midnight, a bomb exploded when police cut a wire in a backpack with five devices. It was found in a trash can outside a bar near a train station.

CNN is covering this story from all angles. We have reporters on the ground, in New York and New Jersey, but let's begin with CNN Investigative Producer Shimon Prokupecz.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN INVESTIGATIVE PRODUCER: Hi, Carol.

COSTELLO: OK, Shimon, bring us up to date. First, let's start with an active terror cell because that sounds quite ominous.

PROKUPECZ: Yes. So this is probably going to be the first that New York City has had to deal with something like this, at least that we know of.

COSTELLO: Because usually they say lone wolves but this is a -- PROKUPECZ: Correct.

COSTELLO: But this is a cell.

PROKUPECZ: This is an organized group. Perhaps we don't know how many people were involved. It could be anywhere from six to 12. We've been told less than a dozen. What's significant here is that we really have not had something like this in this sort of new era of terrorism that we live in. We don't know if it's being directed by ISIS or someone else or who was behind it. All we know is that there is a group of individuals that authorities have been searching for, for, really, the last 48 hours. Things have moved very quickly here.

COSTELLO: Well, Mayor de Blasio intimated that this cell may be being instructed internationally. Do we know that for sure?

PROKUPECZ: No, we don't know that for sure. I don't know that necessarily if the mayor said or maybe the governor. So someone -- so there has been some talk of that.

COSTELLO: Yes, there's been conflicting information about that.

PROKUPECZ: There has been, but we sort of -- Evan Perez and I, we've been talking. So our law enforcement sources have not been given any indication, you know, either way.

Initially, the Mayor had said that there was no terrorism involved in this. So, you know, perhaps maybe now the mayor has taken a different stance on this. But initially the mayor had said that, you know, it's just too soon to tell whether this was terrorism.

COSTELLO: And we don't know how big this group may be or anything like that.

PROKUPECZ: No, all we know is it's, we believe, less than a dozen and certainly authorities believe that. But as they're going in and doing the searches, like the one they're doing in New Jersey and in other places that we may not even know about. They are finding clues, they're finding new things, and they are working off those clues and conducting, you know, sort of -- their investigation is going in different directions right now.

COSTELLO: OK. Let's concentrate on the suspect right now --

PROKUPECZ: Sure.

COSTELLO: -- this 28-year-old man. What do we know about him?

PROKUPECZ: So we know from -- his last known address is Elizabeth, New Jersey. We know he's 28. We know that he's from Afghanistan. He's a naturalized citizen. And that's really all we know right now.

We believe based on what law enforcement has told us that he is seen on video at the explosion site in Chelsea on 23rd Street and on 27th Street. They believe he is on that video. This is why they want to question him. And so now authorities are out searching for him. There was some indication that authorities knew where he was or at

least had some idea of where he was because they're not just learning his name this morning. They've had his name for quite some time, but there's probably a reason why we're just learning of it this morning. Perhaps their leads have dried up and so now they're out searching and continuing to search and they have not found him, so now they're asking the public for their help.

COSTELLO: So he's a naturalized American citizen. We don't -- he was born in Afghanistan.

PROKUPECZ: Yes.

COSTELLO: We don't know when he came into the United States.

PROKUPECZ: No, we still don't know and that's something we're trying to figure out, but we've not been told when he came here. But certainly there's a huge, huge manhunt right now under way for him around New York City really.

COSTELLO: And they're asking for the public's help, too, right?

PROKUPECZ: Yes.

COSTELLO: That's why we have his wanted poster. The FBI put out a most wanted poster, and we're going to be showing you a phone number throughout the morning. You can call this number. I'd love for us to put the number up right now, but you can call that number that we're about to show you. There it is, 1-800-577-TIPS.

If you've seen this man, you know this man, please call into that tip line and help police track him down because he could provide vital information into what happened over the weekend.

All right. So the search for this man comes as police surveillance video shows the same person was seen at both Chelsea locations on Saturday night. CNN's Jessica Schneider is following that angle for us. Jessica, what are you learning?

[09:04:50] JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, we knew that video surveillance would be key to this investigation, Police Commissioner James O'Neill said it yesterday, and now it turns out that the two key pieces of video taken right here in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan have led the police and the FBI to release that wanted poster for 28-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahami. They are now looking for him as you mentioned.

Now, let me piece it together for you. Investigators found two pieces of video, one from right here at West 23rd Street where that explosion happened Saturday night. The other four blocks north at West 27th. They say the same man appeared in both locations in that surveillance video, and he was seen wheeling a duffel bag. Now, the duffel bag was here at 23rd, also at 27th.

They say that two other men were also seen in the video after the first man left, going into the duffel bag, and pulling out a white plastic garbage bag that investigators believe contained that unexploded pressure cooker.

Well, now, authorities now believe that the man seen in both locations is, in fact, 28-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahami. And, of course, Rahami, we understand is a U.S. naturalized citizen originally born in Afghanistan in 1988. His last known address was in Elizabeth, New Jersey, of course, where all that activity has taken place overnight. This all suggesting that nexus to foreign terrorism.

And New York Governor Andrew Cuomo talked about that possibility this morning on "NEW DAY." Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO, (D) NEW YORK: And I wouldn't be surprised if we do find a foreign connection to the act. Yesterday, we were saying that, in my opinion, it was clearly an act of terrorism. It was a dangerous act. It appeared designed to intimidate civilian population. You set off two bombs in New York City, not to mention New Jersey, and that is an act of terrorism.

The question was, was it foreign related? And I think that answer might be coming today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: And while that search for Ahmad Khan Rahami speeds forward, this is all still a very active investigation. West 23rd Street still shut down behind me. In fact, just moments ago, I saw this FBI evidence team searching here on the street. So this is an active investigation and now an active manhunt, as well. Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Jessica Schneider reporting live from Manhattan and Chelsea this morning. Let's bring in CNN's Jean Casarez. She's in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where police are on site in Union County.

They're searching the area near a train station where bombs were placed in the trash can. They found those bombs just after midnight. Jean, what can you tell us?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we'll tell you the latest, and we are right here in Elizabeth, New Jersey. There is an FBI search warrant that is currently continually to be executed here in Elizabeth at a secondary location. It is close to where that backpack was found last night about 9:30. Let me take you there.

It was 9:30 last night and two men were walking by just a trash can near a pub close to the train station. They saw a backpack. They took it out, took it under the train rails where the train was traveling, and they opened it believing something was in it. And they saw a pipe and wires, so they left, and they went to authorities saying this is serious. And that's when the bomb squad came in.

I think what you just saw right there was an explosion because when a robot went in to try to rectify the situation, it actually detonated one of the explosives. We understand there were at least four bombs in there and one went off. And so the other four have been contained now in a very solid and safe container.

It, along with the fragments from the one that was exploded, will be sent to the FBI to Quantico, Virginia, for testing. Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Jean Casarez reporting live from Elizabeth, New Jersey. We'll get back if anything new develops. Thanks so much.

So a possible terror cell in New York City, in New Jersey, not lone wolf attacks but this organized group. If that's true, then we're talking about a coordinated terror attack by a group of people working together. So let's talk about that. David Rohde is a CNN global affairs analyst and national security investigations editor for Reuters. Tom Fuentes is a CNN senior law enforcement analyst and former FBI assistant director. And Art Roderick is CNN law enforcement analyst and former assistant director of the U.S. Marshal Service. Welcome to all of you.

TOM FUENTES, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Good morning.

ART RODERICK, FORMER ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, U.S. MARSHALLS OFFICE: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning. So, David, if this is a cell, how worried should we be?

DAVID ROHDE, NATIONAL SECURITY INVESTIGATIONS EDITOR, THOMSON REUTERS: Well, the fact that they've released, you know, the suspect's name means they're trying to sort of, in pictures, drive him underground, maybe spook them, block them from carrying out some kind of follow-up attack. But just the number of devices that have been found, it's clearly very alarming, you know.

And in terms of the foreign connection, it's not clear. He's an Afghan but my suspicion if it's any foreign tie, it's to ISIS and Syria itself. This will be more of a case of a young -- he seems like he had very little -- you know, spent very little part of his life in Afghanistan, so maybe a group that radicalized online.

The worst case would be if someone had training in Syria and came back. That would give them, you know, better skills to carry out the attack.

[09:09:59] COSTELLO: Well, here's something that is kind of confusing. So there's this terrible stabbing spree at a mall in Minnesota, right? ISIS claimed responsibility for that, but we haven't heard a peep out of ISIS as it concerns New York and New Jersey. Why would that be, David?

ROHDE: It's odd. You would think that ISIS would sort of leap at the chance to get credit for this, so there's a chance that ISIS is not directing the cell in New York.

Again, there has been this, you know, we've seen this stream of attacks and it can be, you know, two or three lone wolves who somehow got together and radicalized online. To be fair and the point of things is to not alarm people, we don't know. You know, law enforcement knows but I certainly don't know at this point.

COSTELLO: Yes, so let's talk about what law enforcement knows. So, Tom, Mayor de Blasio says this suspect that everybody's looking for here in New York City is a 28-year-old New Jersey resident. He's a naturalized citizen. Some people think he may be the bomb maker. Do they suspect that because of the evidence they found on scene of that unexploded pressure cooker and the cell phone they found?

FUENTES: Well, that's a very strong possibility, Carol, but, you know, this individual and others associated with him might have already been under investigation. You know, the FBI has said it has about a thousand counterterrorism -- international terrorism investigations ongoing in all 50 states. So it could be that his name has come up before and just when these devices went, they might have suspected him or others associated with him and then saw the face in the video from the other night and put it together, that it might be him.

Also, you might have data from the vehicles coming and going from New Jersey because they would have gone through toll gate plazas, tunnel plazas, up and down the streets of New Jersey and New York and would have come under several traffic cameras and might have gotten, you know, noticed by that.

And we know the police and the FBI were searching the Subaru that was found yesterday and they were looking at that. So that's among the possibilities. And it's also a possibility that the FBI knows where he's at and may have already had him under surveillance in the last day or two, and they're trying to line up others that are associated with him, try to get the whole group as opposed to just one guy and the other group scatters.

So there's a lot of possibilities to these kind of investigations behind the scenes that you just don't know about now, will come out later in the fact.

COSTELLO: Got you. So, Art, the New York Police Department is holding over the overnight shift. It's adding patrols to the city transit systems. All of that sounds ominous but I suppose they just want to keep people safe. They want to check people's bags throughout the city and they also want the public's help. So what can the public do?

RODERICK: Well, I mean, obviously if, you know, they put out the wanted poster, there's a ton of information that they know that we don't know yet and it's trickling out very shortly. When you look at how the joint terrorism task forces are set up, New York, New Jersey, you have multiple agencies that come together. This is exactly the type of case that they were built to do.

So you've got all these federal agencies, state and local agencies, that come together, bring all this different kind of expertise. You have FBI with counterterrorism. You have U.S. Marshals who are experts at tracking individuals and locating fugitives. You have ATF which are the bomb experts. You have ICE that has their overseas connections and travel connections. And NYPD has tons of capabilities. New Jersey State Police.

So when you put the two JTTFs together, there's a lot of capability here. They're way down the line than what information they're passing on to us. I think probably one of the comments earlier, that now they're putting out this information, they probably had this individual we're looking at him for the past 48 hours before they put this information out. Some of the leads might have dried up, but this is moving very fast as far as if you're involved in those two JTTFs and information is being shard across lines.

One of the interesting things is you've got pipe bombs that are being discovered here in new jersey in these two separate incidents, in Seaside and up in Elizabeth, and yet you've got pressure cookers up in new York, which indicates to me that we've got a very good possibility of more than one bomb maker but quite a few individuals involved in this conspiracy.

COSTELLO: And just a last question to you, David, because something else confuses me. So they put pipe bombs in trash cans, some of them unexploded. And in Chelsea they put, supposedly, a pressure cooker bomb in a big garbage bin which would kind of contain the damage, right? It wouldn't hurt as many people. And then they find that one unexploded. What does that tell you about the skill of these suspects?

ROHDE: There are, you know, questions about their skill which, you point out, are good things. The fact that they dumped the bombs last night in Elizabeth is a good sign. They're sort of on the run it seems. They're not organized. They're not preparing another attack. So they don't seem to be master bomb makers, but still these are dangerous devices. And it's critical that people contact the authorities if they know, you know, see anything suspicious or obviously know this person.

COSTELLO: Got you.

[09:15:13] ROHDE: That's critical.

COSTELLO: OK. You guys are going to stick around and we'll continue the conversation a little later. David Rohde, Tom Fuentes, Art Roderick, thank you so much.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, he represents Chelsea in the New York City Council. I'll talk to Corey Johnson about news that a terrorist cell might be operating in New York and New Jersey.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: An active manhunt under way in New York City this morning. Officials now say it is possible an active terror cell could be operating in the New York/New Jersey area and investigators are on the hunt for this man.

His name is Ahmad Khan Rahami. He's 28 years old. He's a naturalized American citizen. He's originally from Afghanistan and they're asking you if you know anything. [09:20:08]If you've seen this man, if you know anyone, call the number on your screen, 1-800-577-tips. They do believe this man had some sort of connection with the New York City bombings over the weekend.

And as you might expect New York City is on high alert this morning. Responding by increasing security with 1,000 extra officers on duty checking bags.

CNN's Brynn Gingras has that part of the story. She joins us now live from New York's Penn Station. Good morning.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning to you. What a big difference we're seeing just with those heavily armed well-trained officers, tactical units, K-9 units and additional National Guard members circulating around Penn Station.

But of course, they are everywhere in the city as you mentioned a little earlier the NYPD actually holding over its overnight shift officers, and now they are doing patrols this morning, as well.

And it is again making a difference. Everybody noticing these people stationed and they're going to be doing bag checks. They're going to have K-9 units on the tracks when it comes to the transit system. And they're asking everyone to be vigilant.

I should say, Carol, that at one point we heard a collective sort of ping of people's phones getting that message about the suspect that they're looking for.

That's helping officers remain vigilant, see something, say something and that's where we stand right now as sort of everything is unfolding not only in the tri-state, but also, Carol, you can imagine the strain officers are under with the U.N. General Assembly beginning today.

COSTELLO: I see people behind you, they seem calm, but what's the mood there at Penn Station?

GINGRAS: You know, it's somewhat calm, because I have to say, New Yorkers, New Jersey, people coming in to Penn Station, they're used to this. But when you walk around you definitely notice a difference because there's just the volume of officers that we're seeing, more than on a usual day. But yes, everybody again just remaining vigilant. So yes, of course, remaining calm but vigilant, as well.

COSTELLO: So officers will be asking people to check their bags randomly throughout the day, throughout the week?

GINGRAS: Well, yes, they're going to have officers stationed at different subway stations here at Penn Station, as well, but it is going to be random. That's all part of the NYPD's process. Right? To just go to certain areas that aren't necessarily just Times Square or the U.N. General Assembly but random areas in the city checking bags.

Having those K-9 units, checking the tracks and subway systems as well to be cautious, but also with the suspect's name and picture out there, also looking for this person as well -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Brynn Gingras reporting live from Penn Station here in New York City. Officials now naming the man wanted for questioning in the Chelsea bombing and saying the events in New York City and New Jersey this weekend suggest a possible terror cell in those states, the New York mayor, Bill de Blasio, has this message for citizens.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK: Our federal partners and certainly the NYPD for 15 years have done an extraordinary job of finding any individuals who might have had a plot in mind, or thwarting plots as they were moving.

I think people should have confidence that we're very well protected, but there will be moments like this. There will be moments when someone tries something. Thank God there were no fatalities the other night. And the important thing is to get this individual quickly and continue to be strong and vigilant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Joining me now, New York City Councilman Corey Johnson, his district includes Chelsea. Welcome, sir.

COREY JOHNSON (D), NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL MEMBER (via telephone): Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks for being here. The mayor says that the public plays a crucial role here. So in your mind, what can people do to help?

JOHNSON: Well, I mean, law enforcement needs the assistance of the public. Part of the reason why those bombs were located last night in Elizabeth, New Jersey was because people saw something, they said something, then called law enforcement officials immediately.

In the case of the Boston bombers, a couple of years ago, they were apprehended because the public got involved. We need the same thing here in New York City. I'm here right now at the site on 23rd Street.

The governor is about to arrive here, and we're heading to Penn Station on the subway together where he's going to hold a press conference and give an update on what's currently happening.

COSTELLO: And you guys are going to ride the subway. Is that for a reason?

JOHNSON: You know, just to show the public that this subway station is reopened. That people should be using the subway. The subway station 23rd Street and 7th Avenue, the one train that was closed for a little while after the bombing that took place here.

So we're here, and the governor's going to provide more information. The state of New York is supplementing NYPD forces with 1,000 additional officers. National Guard members as the city is on high alert.

[09:25:06]COSTELLO: When you hear that there are suspicions that there is a terror cell operating within New York, New Jersey, that's got to be unsettling.

JOHNSON: It's frightening. You know, this neighborhood that I represent, Chelsea, is a residential neighborhood, the home of the largest LGBT community in the city of New York, and west 23rd Street and West 27th Street, you know, I love those two blocks, but they are non-descript run of the nail blocks.

They're not blocks with military facilities or police facilities. It's not Times Square or Grand Central, or the World Trade Center. These are places that you would never think would be a target.

So, it's even scarier that on a warm, busy, bustling Saturday night that this type of threat would happen here in this residential neighborhood.

COSTELLO: It is puzzling that the suspect placed these pressure cooker bombs in garbage bins, and not left them somewhere out on the street or in a restaurant or something like that?

JOHNSON: Well, I mean, I'm not of course a counterterrorism expert and I know you guys have had plenty of people on talking about this, but I would say that you know, what I'm hearing, it's similar to what was used in Boston, those homemade pressure cookers.

Stuff that's been in al Qaeda manuals in the past. But we have to wait to see if we have more information here on site right now. The FBI is still gathering evidence. I can see them here.

They're trying to look at anything that's still on the street, or in the sidewalk, or on the surrounding buildings. So I'm sure we're going to get more information in the hours and days to come.

The most important thing though is if you see something, you know, say something, call 911, contact the NYPD or your local law enforcement agencies in the metropolitan area as they try to hunt down persons of interest.

COSTELLO: All right. Councilman Corey Johnson, thank you so much for being with me this morning. I'll let you get back to it. I appreciate it.

And stay with us as we continue to cover the breaking news. Authorities looking for this man, wanted for questioning in connection to the New York City bombing. If you have any information contact the FBI.

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