Ahmad Khan Rahimi* reportedly survived at least seven gunshot wounds when cops arrested him on September 19 in Linden, New Jersey. Rahami has been charged with five counts of attempted murder. He pleaded not guilty to charges on Thursday in a New Jersey, but could only “attend” the arraignment via Skype because he remains hospitalized. He also pleaded not guilty to two weapons charges.
The judge said the case will now be passed along to a grand jury.
Rahimi is suspected of planting bombs in Elizabeth, New Jersey; Seaside Park, New Jersey; and New York, New York. (He now faces federal charges in those cases.) When police apprehended him on September 19, he allegedly injured Officer Angel Padilla, and Officer Peter Hammer. They both survived, and Padilla attended Thursday’s hearing. He did not speak to reporters.
*NJ.com reported that his last name is actually Rahimi and not Rahami, and officials corrected this during the arraignment. This apparent misspelling seems to date back to at least September 19 and the release of the FBI’s wanted poster. It’s unclear how this mistake happened. We reached out to his attorneys, both of whom are public defenders for Union County, NJ. Strange.
[image via FBI]
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