‘He was my friend’: customers at New York bomb suspect’s shop in disbelief

I thought it was a lie, said Melani Ragghinti, 18, Ocampos girlfriend and another local resident, referring to news Rahami had been arrested in connection with the bombings. We always eat there. Its crazy. Theyre really, really nice.

The FBI raided the shop and the apartment above on Monday morning, but found it empty. Authorities spent the morning taking boxes away from the property and two vehicles were towed.

Ocampo said Rahami was a car buff who used to own an Acura TL, a popular luxury sedan, but crashed it.

He actually came up to me because he wanted to look for some parts he needed for the car and I helped him out. I was looking for some parts in the junkyard and he got the headlight, the bumper, he said.

Elizabeths mayor, Chris Bollwage, arrived to speak with the dozens of gathered members of the news media, saying said he was relieved to hear authorities had captured Rahami.

Now, hopefully, a lot more questions will be answered, he said.

The mayor said the family had owned and operated the business and lived above the modest shop on Elmora Avenue since 2002.

He said the chicken store had faced complaints and problems in 2012, when the city council and police ruled that it should close at 10pm. He said that Mohammed Rahami, Ahmads father, had repeatedly mentioned his Muslim faith in responding to these complaints.

He brought up his faith in [a] lawsuit, he brought up his faith in conversations with city officials [but the complaints against his store] had nothing to do with ethnicity or religious beliefs, it had to do with a lot of people hanging out in front of the store at all hours as well as congregating and code enforcement problems, said Bollwage.

Ocampo said the younger Rahami was also Muslim but Ocampo had never heard any extremist views from him, nor any discussion of politics or terrorism. The only thing he had encountered was some quiet religious study, he said.

One day I was in the chicken shack and he had a book and he was reading the book while he was listening to music and I asked: How can you do that and what kind of book? He said it was some kind of religion book; supposedly they read it while theyre listening to music, said Ocampo.

He would always be there, and usually when there was no customers he would be there reading it. He said it was like a Bible but runs in his religion.

Neither Ocampo nor Ragghinti could reconcile the man they knew with the terrorism suspect whose face was now being broadcast on every cable news channel.

I dont understand why he would do something like that obviously he would get caught eventually. He had a good business going on. He just fucked up his life, said Ragghinti.

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figcaption class=”caption” caption–img caption caption–img” itemprop=”description”> The scene in Linden, New Jersey, where Ahmad Khan Rahami was arrested. Photograph: Adam Machala

In nearby Linden, where Rahami was arrested, police had taped off several streets, blocking residents from reaching their homes. Several different police agencies were present and a helicopter circled above.

How could this actually happen here in Linden, New Jersey? wondered a visibly flustered Tosha Hardrick. Its not what I would expect.
Hardrick was driving her cousin to work when she heard several gunshots go off. She looked to her left and saw a police officer carrying a backpack in front of a bar, where police are believed to have exchanged fire with the suspect.

Vinnie, who declined to give his last name, was walking out of his house on Elizabeth Street in Linden when he saw police cars rush past his house.

Then I hear gun shots, boom, boom! he said. The cops are shooting and theyre shooting back at them.
Adam Machala, who works as a plumber, had come to a house on Elizabeth Street for a job when he heard the gunshots go off. Police ran in the house and told him and the tenants to evacuate immediately.

They were scared there might be a bomb in the building, he said. He came back to the scene later to find Rahami handcuffed on the street with police and K-9 units swarming the area.