NJ Officer Released From Hospital After Shootout With Bombing Suspect
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Linden Police Officer Pete Hammer was released from the hospital Tuesday after being involved in a shootout with bombing suspect Ahmad Kahn Rahami on Monday afternoon.
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Video shows Hammer leaving Newark's University Medical Center in a wheelchair on Tuesday.
Hammer was grazed in the head by a bullet during a shootout that resulted in the arrest of Ahmad Kahn Rahami, 28, wanted in connection to weekend bombings in Chelsea and and Seaside Park, New Jersey.
A major break in the intense morning manhunt came when a bar owner reported a someone asleep in his doorway in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
An officer arrived and confronted Rahami, who pulled a gun and fired, authorities said. The officer was saved by his bulletproof vest. More officers joined in on the battle that spilled into the street.
The gun battle in the street ended with Rahami shot in the leg and in custody.
Linden police say Officer Angel Padilla went home Monday night, several hours after he was shot in the torso. Authorities have said a bulletproof vest saved Padilla from a more serious injury.
"The entire law enforcement community here in Union County is deeply touched by the immense outpouring of support from across the country for the efforts of all five responding officers, who exhibited tremendous courage in an extremely volatile situation," the Union County Prosecutor's office said in a statement Tuesday.
Rahami was charged in Union County with five counts of attempted murder of law enforcement, as well as charges of unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. Federal authorities are also preparing a terrorism case against him.
Rahami was ordered to be held on $5.2 million dollars bail.
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