Obama warns media: Don’t get ahead of bomb investigation
President Obama said Monday that law enforcement officials are pursuing a “person of interest” tied to bombings in New York and New Jersey but said there is no connection to a stabbing incident in Minnesota.
Obama also cautioned the media to “refrain from getting out ahead of the investigation.”
Obama spoke amid reports that law enforcement officials had taken Ahmad Rahami, 28, into custody after a gun battle in New Jersey.
{mosads}The naturalized U.S. citizen born in Afghanistan is wanted in connection with the bombings.
“We’re going to make sure everyone is working together seamlessly … to make sure that justice is done,” Obama said from New York, where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly.
“At this point, we see no connection between that incident and what happened here in New York and New Jersey,” the president said of the stabbing spree in Minnesota, which he described as “a potential act of terrorism.”
The comments were Obama’s first on this weekend’s outbreak of violence, which spurred new fears about the threat of terrorism in the U.S.
The president received a briefing on the incidents from FBI Director James Comey and said he spoke with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio (D).
Obama said he is “extremely happy” with investigation thus far and “it does not help if false reports or incomplete information is out there.”
The president sought to reassure the public about his administration’s “vigilant and aggressive” efforts to combat homegrown terrorism and root out extremist groups, such as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
But he also urged Americans not to give in to fear stemming from terrorist attacks.
“They are trying to hurt innocent people, but they also want to inspire fear in all of us and disrupt the way we live, to undermine our values,” he said. “We all have a role to play as citizens in making sure we don’t succumb to that fear.”
He praised the people of New York and New Jersey for their “toughness” in continuing with their routines following the bombings.
“That’s gonna be the most important ingredient in us defeating those who would carry out terrorist acts against us,” he said.
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