What we know about bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami

The man taken into custody Monday in connection with homemade bombs planted around New York and New Jersey is a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Afghanistan.

Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28, was shot and taken away by ambulance after exchanging fire with police in Linden, N.J., a community about 20 kilometres southwest of Manhattan. Rahami was conscious as he was taken away. Two police officers were also wounded in the shootout.

• 2 officers shot while apprehending bombing suspect

The arrest came after the police issued a cellphone alert to millions in the area telling them to be on the lookout for Rahami. A resident subsequently alerted police about a man who was sleeping in the doorway of a bar.

Earlier Monday, FBI agents raided the home of Rahami's family in neighbouring Elizabeth, N.J., according to New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The Rahami family lives in an apartment above a restaurant called First American Fried Chicken, owned by Rahami's father since 2002. 

Local residents said Ahmad worked in the restaurant and was friendly with customers. 

Police were led to the address by a fingerprint on one of the unexploded devices found over the weekend, according to an NBC report. Cellphones left with the homemade bombs that failed to detonate also reportedly pointed to the suspect.

Police have also been reviewing surveillance images from the areas where the bombs were placed.

During a news conference on Monday afternoon, police said Rahami was previously arrested for a "domestic incident," but refused to elaborate. They could not say if he had a criminal record. 

They also said they had no indication of motive or whether he was acting alone. 

William Sweeney, assistant director of the FBI New York Field Office, said there was "no indication of a [militant] cell operating in the city" but added, at this point in the investigation, that investigators are not ruling out anything, including possible foreign involvement.

A family acquaintance told Reuters that Ahmad Rahami travelled to Afghanistan several years ago.

After this trip, Rahami grew a beard and became more serious and quiet, Flee Jones, a childhood friend, told Reuters.

"He was way more religious," Jones said, adding, "I never knew him as the kind of person who would do anything like this."

Lawsuit claimed discrimination

Ahmad, his father Mohammad Sr., 53, and his brother Mohammad Rahami brought a suit against the city, the Elizabeth Police Department and 11 police officers in 2011, saying they were being forced to close the restaurant early over "baseless" complaints about noise, while other restaurants in the area stayed open late into the evening.

They claimed in the suit they were being discriminated against because they were Muslim. 

Eventually, a compromise was reached with the city and police allowing the restaurant to close at midnight or 1 a.m.

Bombs were placed on the route of a charity run in New Jersey on Saturday, one of which went off, and on the streets of New York. One of the New York bombs also detonated on 23rd Street, in the Chelsea neighbourhood, injuring 29 people. 

On Sunday, five explosive devices were discovered at a train station in Elizabeth. One went off while police were trying to disarm it, but no one was injured. 

Police have said the sets of bombs were connected.