This is bad but could have been much worse…
An explosive device, built and placed by Ahmad Khan Rahami, was found by two men to moved it under a bridge. The men, calling from Elizabeth, NJ, notified the local police immediately.
Police responded quickly, and deployed a bomb disposal robot to disarm the device.
Things did not go as planned, however, as the robot accidentally caused the device to explode, creating a loud blast.
Watch below:
The Daily Caller has more:
Rahami is alleged to have also planted two bombs in Manhattan, one of which injured 29 people, and another in Seaside Park, N.J. which caused no injuries. The second Manhattan bomb was discovered by two thieves who accidentally disarmed the device while stealing the suitcase holding it. Police were then able to retrieve the phone attached to the pressure cooker-style bomb, which was likely being used as a detonator. By accessing social media accounts on the phone, FBI and police were able to identify Rahami as a prime suspect. He was arrested later Monday after engaging in a firefight with police. Rahami was subsequently taken to the hospital and underwent surgery for injuries sustained during the exchange.
Fortunately, because authorities used a robot, no one was injured in the inadvertent blast.
As the FBI dryly put it “In the course of rendering one of the devices safe, it detonated.”
Bomb squad robots have made news recently for unconventional uses. This summer, one wielded an explosive to kill a suspect in a firefight in Dallas. Earlier this month, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s used a bomb squad robot to pick up a gun from a suspect’s feet while he was looking elsewhere, disarming him.
If you missed the information about Rahami’s arrest earlier today, the details will follow below:
Noon, September 19th – After the explosions in Manhattan and Elizabeth, NJ, a man is in custody after a shootout with the police.
Reportedly, two officers have been injured. One was shot, and another struck by a car, after responding to reports that an active shooter was firing at cars in Linden, NJ. Linden is just south of Elizabeth.
Police said the suspect was detained. Sources told NBC News the suspect was identified as Rahami, a 28-year-old Elizabeth, NJ resident suspected in a series of explosions in New Jersey and New York over the weekend.
Officers also found a “suspicious package.” The bomb squad and explosive-sniffing dogs have been called in.
BREAKING: Bombing Suspect Rahami Arrested In NJ After Shootout
This robot technology certainly is life-saving and fantastic. Would you like to know more about them? If so, keep reading.
The original bomb disposal “Robot” was invented in 1972 by Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Miller. Cobbled together from the chassis of an electrically operated wheelbarrow and designed to carry a hook beneath a car so that it could be towed to a safe location without endangering an EOD officer. These initial “Wheelbarrow’s” have been through dozens of generations over the decades and have evolved into modern machines equipped with pincers, disruptors and jammers capable of taking on most improvised explosive devices and even some of the expert-made ones.
Video below: