New York ‘gay bomber’ hoax debunked as prime suspect apprehended by police
By Will Stroude
A Tumblr post which appeared to claim responsibility for Saturday’s (September 17) bombing in Chelsea, New York City has been debunked after the man behind the attack, which injured eight people, was caught.
The note was posted on a page with the pride flag, and entitled “I’m the NY Bomber.” It went on to say that the bombing had been carried out in protest at the treatment of LGBT in America.
“I did it because I cannot stand society. I cannot live in a world where homosexuals like myself as well as the rest of the LGBTQ+ community are looked down upon by society,” the anonymous user had written.
In a follow up post, the user wrote “I don’t know exactly how I feel about taking human lives,” before warning, “what if people from the LGBTQ+ community started lashing out in response to the violence and oppression we face with violence and possibly oppression?”
However on Monday (September 19), the main suspect in the police’s ongoing investigation into the bombing was caught.
According to Fox News, the mother of prime suspect Ahmad Khan Raham’s daughter was wary of American culture, and would describe his homeland of Afghanistan as being free of LGBT people.
“He would speak often of Western culture and how it was different back home,” she said. “How there weren’t homosexuals in Afghanistan.
“He seemed standoffish to American culture, but I never thought he would cross the line,” she added.
Ahmad Khan Raham was shot by police after a stand-off. His fingerprints were found on another, unexploded device in the city.
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