Who is NY and NJ bombings suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami?
Customers of the family's fried chicken shop describe the bombing suspect as a "friendly guy" who would always talk about cars.
Tuesday 20 September 2016 13:32, UK
A text message sent to millions of people in New York warned that Ahmad Khan Ramani, who was being sought over bombings in the city and also in New Jersey, could be "armed and dangerous".
But customers of the family's fried chicken shop in the city of Elizabeth, New Jersey, describe him as a "friendly guy" who would always talk about cars.
Rahami is a US citizen, but was born in Afghanistan. He was "not on the radar of local law enforcement," said Chris Bollwage, mayor of Elizabeth.
His family opened First American Fried Chicken in 2002.
"They never seemed out of the ordinary, they just Americanised. You would've never knew anything," said Elizabeth resident Ryan McCann, after the FBI searched the flat above the shop.
"When he first opened it was always the father in there, 24 hours a day, and he sort of drifted out, and all I've seen in there lately was his son. The one in the picture," he said, referring to an image showing a man with brown hair, brown eyes and a brown beard.
"I come in here about once every week or two, just to get something to eat. He's always in there, he's a very friendly guy, that's what's so scary. It's hard when it's home," Mr McCann added.
Juan Ramos, who lives nearby, said: "They just seemed like regular people - I went to school with one of the kids that lived in there. I was friends with him, it was cool.
"It's not like I expected anything - I'm pretty sure it's not the whole family."
But Joshua Sanchez told the New York Daily News: "He would never talk to you. He would just take your order.
"I don't know why, but I got a sense that he hated America. There was something weird about him. I never see him with friends. He was always very serious, no girlfriend, no nothing."
Rahami was not on any terrorist watchlists, according to several law enforcement officials, but Reuters reported a childhood friend as saying he travelled back to Afghanistan several years ago.
Flee Jones said Rahami became serious, quiet and "way more religious" after the trip.
"I said, 'Oh where have you been?' And he said, 'Oh, vacation.' But I knew he went to Afghanistan because his little brother said it," he said.
Meanwhile, his childhood sweetheart said he had been the "class clown" but "seemed standoffish to American culture".
Maria, with whom Rahami had a daughter, added: "I never thought he would do something like this.
"I think he was brainwashed," the 26-year-old told Fox News.
The New York Times cited a law enforcement official as saying there was no direct evidence yet linking Rahami to Islamic State or al Qaeda.
"We don't know his particular ideology or what his inspiration was or whether he was directed or whether he was inspired," the official reportedly said.
"We don't have any of that.
"We have a lot to connect him to the Seaside Heights device, to the 27th Street device, to the 23rd Street device ... And in all likelihood the Elizabeth train station device - which is a half-mile from his residence."
Mr Bollwage said some of Ramani's brothers also worked at the restaurant.
He said Rahami's father and two brothers had previously sued the city after it passed an ordinance requiring the restaurant to close early because of complaints from neighbours about it being a late-night nuisance.
The lawsuit claimed the family were being discriminated against, but Mr Bollwage stressed that the city's actions were not related to the family's religion or ethnic origin.