Bombing suspect's bloody journal shown at hearing

NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - An image of bloody, bullet-holed journal found on bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami was shown at a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday morning.

The Homeland Security Committee hearing was on stopping future attacks in U.S. cities.  Rahami was arrested after he was shot during a gun battle with police in Linden, New Jersey on Monday morning.  He is accused of planting a pipe bomb at a New Jersey charity run that exploded but did not injure anyone and planting two bombs in New York City.  One of the bombs injured 29 people.  The other was disarmed by police before it exploded.

According to officials, the notebook contained text praising Osama bin Laden, Anwar al-Awalki, the radical cleric that inspired terror before being killed in a drone strike, and the Fort Hood killings.  Some of the text was no longer legible because of the damage from the bullet.

Rep. Micahel McCaul (R-Texas), the committee chairman, held up the image while questioning John Miller, the deputy commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism for the NYPD.

When asked if anything could have been done differently to prevent any attack by Rahami, Miller said, "Based on what I've seen so far, as part of the investigation, he seemed like several suspects who came into contact with the system at various times and was handled to the extent that the system, the law, the guidelines under which we operate, would allow them."

The purpose of the hearing was to highlight the importance of strengthening preparedness, prevention, and response efforts, from the perspective of local law enforcement officials, and their experiences in preventing terrorist or lone wolf attacks in their communities.