NYPD Will Step Up City Searches, Surveillance During Chelsea Bomber Investigation

NEW YORK, NY — The massive police presence and heightened state of alert that clogged New York City subways and set the city on edge Monday morning, as cops searched for the weekend's Chelsea bombing suspect and any more devices he may have planted, will continue well into this week, despite the fact that cops took 25-year-old Ahmad Khan Ramani into custody and declared him the bomb plot's sole perpetrator Monday afternoon.

"There is still information that we'll need going forward — so I want people to be patient, because it will be an ongoing investigation," NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a Monday press conference, alongside top NYPD and FBI officials.

"Even though this suspect is apprehended... we will have a very strong invisible NYPD presence because of this incident, and obviously because of the United Nations General Assembly," which is being held in Manhattan this week, the mayor said. "So you will continue to see throughout the week a strong visible NYPD presence, especially from our critical response command and our strategic response group."

However, several security experts agreed that the NYPD presence throughout the city was at its post-Sept. 11 peak. "We’re at a level of alert that this city has never seen since 9/11,” Manny Gomez, a former special agent for the FBI, told CBS News.

Indeed, in a press conference Sunday — before Rahami was caught — de Blasio promised the police presence this week would be "bigger than ever."

Delays were reported on at least three major NYC subway lines Monday morning while officers investigated reports of suspicious packages.

A snapshot of the morning commute:

William Sweeney, head of the FBI's New York office, said at Monday's presser that although Rahami was in custody, federal investigators would "continue to conduct investigative activity to make sure we completely understand Rahami's social network." ("For that reason," he added, "I do not plan to answer specific questions about our techniques.")

Asked by a reporter in the crowd if NYC law enforcement officials would "go back to some type of profiling in order to prevent things like this," Mayor de Blasio was quick to answer:

"I think right now we're addressing a specific crisis, and I think, even though that's a perfectly fair question, I don't think we want to talk about partisan politics at this point. I would say I'm very, very proud of the work of the NYPD and the FBI and the way they have so quickly found the suspect, and the kind of cooperation that's going on. So I have a lot of faith in law enforcement and how they do things right now."

Some New Yorkers were skeptical, however, of a first-ever tactic employed by NYC's Office of Emergency Management early that morning: A citywide cellphone alert, sent to millions of New Yorkers (and New Jersey residents), saying: "WANTED: Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28-yr-old male. See media for pic. Call 9-1-1 if seen."

Twitter reactions included:

"We think it's a very valuable tool — we think it created a lot of focus and urgency," de Blasio said of the emergency alert system. He called the morning's mass text "a modern approach that really engaged a whole community."

We'd love to hear directly from residents: Is all the extra police activity making you feel safer in this tense time? Reach out: simone.wilson@patch.com.

Lead photo of NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill by John V. Santore/Patch