Good evening. In just 49 days, americans will elect the next president of the united states. And to that end, each evening we will be gathering here to talk about that day in the campaign right up until election day. That is unless and until Campaign News gets mingled along with current events. Well, that has happened tonight. It happened all weekend. Over a period of 50 hours, in fact. And the reason, of course, was terrorism. Not that we knew it was terrorism right off the bat. These were a series of perhaps unrelated, disparate events that all took place within a twohour drive in the new york tristate metropolitan area. It came to a violent end this morning. We thought we were close to something last night. The candidates have reacted, though we have much time to discuss that. Here is how it ended, for an afghanborn, 28yearold, Fried Chicken restaurant worker who authorities now believe, they believe acted alone. And all these different bombings and attempted bombings from the jersey shore north to new york city and beyond. N our nbc news correspondent has spent the day at the scene where the takedown took place. Amon, what have you learned as of tonight . Reporter we know this evening, brian, that Ahmad Khan Rahami is obviously in police custody, being treated at a hospital. He is, according to police, an individual who was shot here. But he is going to survive, shot in the leg, shot in the arm. No indication yet if he is offering any actionable intelligence to Law Enforcement officials. And late this evening, brian, we learned from Law Enforcement officials that he is going to be charged with five counts of attempted murder. Five counts of attempted murder in relation to the activity that took place here at the scene behind me on this very street, where he tried to escape Police Capture after he was identified in a shootout that took place with Police Officers from the linden county police force. Now linden city police force, rather. According to Police Officials weve been speaking to, on his body there were no traces of explosives, no detonator, no cellphone that would have linked him immediately to the crime scene. They are still working this area behind me to try to determine if there were any other clues that could help in this investigation, brian. Amon, all weekend long weve heard various experts, some saying what he did was actually rather sophisticated for a lone actor. Others have said he was rather incompetent at what he attempted to do and what he carried out. We do know it ended in the oddest way. The owner of a tavern later reported he was sleeping outside, awakened perhaps by the rain, and then moved inside where he fell asleep in the kind of lobby vestibule of a bar. What happened at that point . Reporter yeah, thats right, brian. All of this happened on two fronts. The intelligence and the investigation moved very quickly in identifying this suspect based on fingerprints, based on records, based on intelligence, speaking to family members. What actually led police to this individual was a tip they got from the bar owner just behind me here on the street. Here is what he told us about how that went down. I came to the store around 6 45. At that time this guy was sitting outside. It wasnt raining, so theres a bench outside, he was sitting on the bench, his face was covered, like hes sleeping, sitting and sleeping, you know . I thought ybe i wanted to look at him. When it started raining, he went into the vestibule of the bar, theres a glass enclosure. We have a door there, the lock got ripped off. He went there and just like slouched there. This guy looked so similar to the guy i just watched on the tv. I got busy with the store, still its in the back of my mind. And my friend from the truck repair shop, i said, vinnie, you saw the guy sleeping in my vestibule . He said, yes, i saw. I said, look at this photo, he looks exactly like him. I called the cops and said, there is a guy, he doesnt look good to me. They said, dead or alive . I said, check somebody to check it out. They sent an unmarked car, he was looking at him like this, he didnt talk to him, maybe he was waiting for his backup. Another cop came in, he went towards the vestibule or entrance of the bar, and the moment he talked to him, waked him up, at the very time he went towards the guy. I was watching everything. The guy across the place, my store is just across the street, watching from the door. And he just pulled out the gun. So he just pulled the gun and shot, pow, pow, he shot twice. I think the cop was shot at that time. He got up and started running towards the streets. The cop just went behind his suv and started shooting at him. Even between the cars, theres a lot of cars parked there, and he started going towards the street. The first two shots, he ran away after a few seconds, he fired a few shots. The cops are firing shots. 30, 40 shots i heard, pow, pow, pow, like that, you know. Brian, this evening those two Police Officers who identified Ahmad Khan Rahami were slightly injured. Theyre being celebrated for heroes for their quick action, the fact that they chased after him and were able to capture him alive. Interestingly enough, though, one of the Law Enforcement officials i was talking to here on the scene was saying to us, he found it somewhat odd that at the end of all of this, he was found sleeping by himself. The bar owner telling us he appeared to be exhausted. Perhaps an indication that he did not have a network of accomplices or anyone who was willing to take him into shelter to help him evade capture by the police. All he had on him was the handgun that was used to shoot back at police. According to that bar owner, a bottle of water. Amon has been our correspondent at the scene in linden, new jersey on this story all day long. Amon, thank you very much for starting off our broadcast tonight. A few words here about what happened and where this happened. Linden, new jersey, is a very urban environment, kind of the fringes of the industrial heart of northern new jersey, packed with single family, multiple family dwellings, and we now know, an Excellent Police department featuring two terrific Police Officers doing the work that Police Officers do across this country every day. Both of these officers paid for it with wounds suffered in the shootout. We are so happy to be able to report they are both, we are told, going to recover and be okay. The other lessons from this, good people doing the right thing, starting with the bar owner there. But other people who did the right thing all weekend long. The police slogan, if you see something, say something. Since 9 11, it has seeped into our society. People are indeed taking it to heart, especially in urban areas like this one. Finally, what has emerged as the new wanted poster of our day, and that is what happened in new york this morning. Everyones cellphones went off at the same time. Youll see more of that in this report to follow. Again, were talking about a 50hour drama. When it started, we didnt know it was going to be the start of a 50hour terrorism drama that would end with the largest manhunt in new york city in a generation. It started very innocently, about a twohour drive from the city on the jersey shore. 9 35 a. M. Saturday, in seaside park, new jersey. All right, i got some type of explosion that occurred on ocean avenue at d street inside of a garbage can. An explosion blows up a garbage can near the starting line of a marine corps 5k run. The race, which would have gone right past this point, is running late. Police are called in after the blast. Okay, we need to shut down this run. Shut down the run, get them out of the boardwalk. The race is cancelled for today. Authorities later discover unexploded pipe bombs as well. The bomb squad arrives and the fbi gets involved almost immediately. Leading this investigation, again, its going to be the federal bureau of investigation, our joint Terrorism Task force. Again, were working closely with our partners from the federal, state, and local area. 11 hours later, around 8 03 on a beautiful late summer saturday night, a blast thunders through manhattans busy chelsea neighborhood. I just heard a massive explosion. I wasnt sure what it was. It wasnt like a thunderclap. And then i started to hear, you know, fire trucks and police cars. It was scary at first. Then it sounded like thunder. It just sounded really heavy. If youre close, you felt it in your heart, you know . Like when youre hearing fireworks. It started like a million pianos just dropped. The blast shattered windows a block away. It blew up a dumpster on the street. Get off the street First Responders were at the screen within moments. 29 people were rushed to the hospital with injuries. Thankfully, none of them lifethreatening. At 11 30 p. M. , four blocks to the north, on 27th street, petra meyer discovered another device on the sidewalk. I saw a pot on the sidewalk with things sticking out of it. I remember them saying, if you see something suspicious, called 911. I said, that looks suspicious, i better be safe and call 911. Saturday night and into sunday morning, officials were doing everything they could to assure the public every effort was being made to solve this crime. Life will go on in new york just the way it did the moment before the bomb exploded. Were not going to let them win. And you should know you will see a very substantial nypd presence this week. Bigger than ever. We would normally have an expanded presence for the United Nations general assembly. Youll see an Even Stronger presence now. Then late sunday evening, the fbi stopped a vehicle near new yorks verrazano narrows bridge. Five members of the rahami family were questioned. But no one was detained. Then around 8 30 p. M. On sunday evening, five pipe bombs were found in a backpack near a train station in elizabeth, new jersey. While attempting to disarm the bomb in the train station, a bomb squad robot instead sets it off. Behind the scenes, the investigators moved fast. Surveillance video, a fingerprint on the Pressure Cooker, and records from the cellphones used as detonators all pointed to rahami as the suspect in the new jersey and new york city bombings. At 6 00 a. M. , fbi agents gather at the rahami family restaurant, First AmericanFried Chicken, in elizabeth, new jersey. At 7 27, the nypd releases a photo of rahami, wanted for his role in the bombings. Minutes later, the fbi releases its own wanted poster for for rahami, warning he is armed and dangerous. At 8 00 a. M. , authorities issued a cellphone alert via wireless Emergency Alert system. It hit all the mobile phones in the new york city area. And it said, wanted, Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28yearold male, see media for picture, call 911 if seen. The officer got hit initially when he confronted him. He told the gentleman, when the gentleman picked up his head, he had a beard, the officer recognized him from the wanted poster. Then we said let me see your hands. He pulled the handgun out and discharged it at the officers, hitting him in the abdomen. Rahami fired one shot at the officer, who was wearing a bullet proof vest. Then he ran, with surveillance cameras picking him up along the way, gun in hand. He shot another officer before he was shot and apprehended. Thats how the day started here in the new york metropolitan area. And yes, it has found its not intertwined in the run for president. We want to show you what new york city looks like tonight, as coastal fog works its way in over the city. This city turns into a police state, in plain language, one week per year, during the United Nations general assembly. That happens to be this week. Whatever police state plus is, new york city is tonight. Its hard to get around. Security is thick for good reason, given what the city and this area has been through. We have two terrific guests standing by to talk to us about what weve just witnessed. Our first break. Well be back with that conversation right after this. Using 60,000 points from my chase ink card i bought all the framework. Wire. And plants needed to give my shop. A face. No one will forget. See what the power of points can do for your business. Learn more at chase. Com ink endless shrimp is back atints can hold red lobster. Rks. 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We are back, and as promised, we have two terrific and experienced guests to talk to us about all it is we have just witnessed over this 50hour ordeal. And its important that we read their backgrounds to you. Juan serate is in washington, dc. Special note in his bio, Deputy Assistant to the president , Deputy National security adviser for combatting terrorism under president george w. Bush, senior fellow at the west point terrorism center, where they combat terrorism. We should note, former federal prosecutor who served on terrorism prosecution teams prior to 9 11. In philadelphia is our friend malcolm nance, 30year veteran of the counterterrorism business, a veteran of special ops and intelligence agencies. Two decades in clandestine antiterrorism, counterterrorism intelligence. U. S. Navy, arabictrained, intelligence collections operator and field interrogator, notable for our next conversation, and the author of defeating isis. Gentlemen, its good to have you both with us. Malcolm, well start with you, because it was saturday night, you and i were both on the air together by telephone while this was unfolding, and you said something that stopped me in my tracks. You said, and im paraphrasing you, that in your line of work, there are no coincidences. This beautiful saturday started on the jersey shore, a town im very familiar with, seaside park, an undistinguished trash can that is now a former trash can, fast forward 11 hours, a normal side street in chelsea, not notable for any reason. Why did you have early reason to think that these two disparate elements were perhaps part of a whole . Well, you know, in the Intelligence Community, there was a thing known for a very long time as the fleming dictum, thats from ian fleming, the writer of james bond. In his first book, goldfinger, he wrote that once is an accident, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action. But since then, the Intelligence Community has developed a little better. And i have a thing i call nances law, coincidence takes a lot of planning. We had this attack that went down at 9 30 a. M. , this attempted bombing in seaside park. A very narrow spit, its really not anywhere that somebody would go to do an attack unless they went there for a very specific purpose. There was a marine corps 5k happening at that time. I happened to be at Mcguire Air Force base at that time. I thought, you know what, they really should have attacked a more capable base. Later on in the day, 11 hours later, we had the chelsea bombings. Not near anything of great significance. Just too big a coincidence. As i said, coincidence takes a lot of planning. And were not trying to diminish any of this, it scared a lot of people, the definition of terrorism. It injured a lot of people, 29 souls in new york city. And it continued scaring people until this morning. What they were not, though, were, malcolm, the spectacular attacks, that term we all learned after 9 11. These were small, localized. You take that on before i turn to juan. Well, the attack methodology in this incident, in all of the incidents, started to lead us to believe very, very early on that we were dealing with an amateur bomber. Even though the devices themselves had some level of sophisticati sophistication. The moment i saw it was command foam detonated, using a cellphone, told me this was not a right wing american extremist, they generally use fuses and timers, i thought they might have had foreign training. And a Pressure Cooker bomb, that is ubiquitous in the muslim world, certainly american soldiers have run into these pot iuds all over the place. Even thoug hhad good Weapons Systems, he could have gone one block to the east and attacked the flatiron building triangle there at the 23rd street metro or Madison Square park. All of these things, the trade craft that the bomber demonstrated. And then, no suicide, no mart martyrd martyrdom. All the hallmarks of Jihadist Terrorism were not checked in this operation, which led us to believe it was more of an amateur that had a little bit of skill. Over to juan serate, to our viewers, these are both lovely men in a scary line of work. Juan, Public Officials have been saying, this guy acted alone. Ive heard two reviews, as i said, number one, that he was quite skilled in these explosives. He covered a lot of ground. While it didnt all succeed, thankfully, he had some skill. Number two, ive heard people call him flatout incompetent amateur. What do you just of all of it . Brian, i think its a combination of both, actually. He was able to be dangerous. He hurt a lot of people. He was disruptive to one of the great cities of the world. And certainly with some amateurish tactics, he was able to draw a lot of attention to himself and whatever cause he is subscribing too. At the same ti