Classmate of bombing suspect describes a quiet, 'funny' teen

A high school classmate of alleged Chelsea bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami recalled him as "virtually invisible in high school," but said "he was funny when he talked." Rahami's identity was released Monday morning by officials, seeking him in connection with explosions in New York City and Seaside Park, New Jersey on Saturday. He was captured Monday morning in Linden, New Jersey after a shootout with police.

Chris Konya, a radio host in Rochester, New York, says Rahami went to Edison High School in New Jersey with him, class of 2007 — but he didn't realize there was any connection to the weekend's bombings until he saw a friend reference him in a Facebook post Monday morning. "[Rahami] wasn't angry or in the corner," Konya said over the phone. "But he wasn't the prom king or the captain of the football team either. He was somewhere in the middle."

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The high school wouldn't confirm Rahami was a student, but numerous Edison alumni have backed up Konya's claims, expressing shock and concern on Facebook.

Organizers of 2007's 10-year high school reunion were gathering Facebook profiles to send out the invites recently, Konya said, but failed to find a profile for Rahami. "At the time, it was just kinda 'huh who doesn't have Facebook?' But now it kind of makes sense." If Rahami had a Facebook profile or other social media presence, they've yet to surface. Rahami was born in 1988, which means he'd be around the right age to graduate in '07.

Konya says he could've never imagined hearing these kind of allegations against Rahami, then or now. "The most shocking part is the timespan," he said. "In less than 10 years, he went from a kid who might want to work in a cubicle somewhere to someone who wants to blow people up."

Rahami was taken to a hospital after the shootout with police on Monday, ending a brief, but widespread manhunt for the man authorities believe planted a bomb that injured 29 in the Chelsea section of Manhattan on Saturday night.

More on the explosion in Manhattan and subsequent investigation

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