Ahmad Khan Rahimi
Ahmad Khan RahimiReuters

Bomber Ahmad Khan Rahimi was found guilty on Monday of detonating a shrapnel-packed explosive device that wounded 30 people in Chelsea in September of 2016.

According to The New York Daily News, the Manhattan Federal Court jury deliberated for three and a half hours before returning its verdict against the New Jersey man who was radicalized during a 2014 visit to his native Afghanistan.

He faces a mandatory life sentence.

Rahimi, 29, faced eight charges including using a weapon of mass destruction, bombing a public place and interstate transportation of explosives.

"Inspired by ISIS and Al-Qaeda, Rahimi planted and detonated bombs on the streets of Chelsea, in the heart of Manhattan, and in New Jersey, hoping to kill and maim as many innocent people as possible,” acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon Kim said.

“Just over a year after his attacks, and following a fair and open trial, Rahimi now stands convicted of his crimes of terror by a unanimous jury of New Yorkers.”

Federal prosecutors said Rahimi was a “soldier in a holy war against Americans,” intent on inflicting as much carnage as possible with his homemade pressure cooker bombs.

“He designed it,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Crowley in her opening argument, according to The New York Daily News. “He built it. He filled it with explosives and deadly shrapnel, and he planted it on the street.”

The bomb that exploded in Chelsea on September 17, 2016 was packed with hundreds of ball bearings and steel nuts.

Rahimi’s defense team has vowed to appeal.

After the bomber was arrested, it was reported that his father had warned the police two years earlier that he suspected his son might be involved in terrorism.

Rahimi started his rampage by planting a pipe bomb inside a Jersey Shore garbage can just before the annual Semper Fi Charity 5K run.

A delay in the beginning of the race spared all runners from injury. The bomb exploded as participants waited at the starting line.

Authorities said Rahimi also planted a bomb on W. 27th St., which police discovered before it detonated.

The third bomb, which was left on W. 23rd St. in Chelsea, blew up around 8:30 p.m., wounding 30 bystanders.

The jury heard harrowing accounts of the blast from its victims, along with testimony from cops and forensic experts about evidence linking Rahimi to the bomb, according to the Daily News.

Prosecutors also presented extensive video of Rahimi wandering through the Manhattan neighborhood prior to the bombing, including shots of him dropping duffle bags on W. 23rd St. and W. 27th St. shortly before the explosion.

Rahimi, who was arrested two days after the explosion after a shootout with police in Linden, N.J., still faces attempted murder charges in New Jersey for the gunfight with police officers preceding his arrest.