The Elizabeth man accused of shooting at five Linden police officers just before they apprehended him for allegedly placing bombs alongside a Seaside Park 5K charity run and in Manhattan will stand trial in Union County next week.

Ahmad Khan Rahimi, 31, faces five counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer stemming from a shootout that erupted after Linden police officer Angel Padilla, who was shot, discovered Rahimi sleeping in the vestibule of a Linden bar on Sept. 19, 2016.

Rahimi pleaded not guilty and faces life in prison. The trial in Superior Court in Union County is expected to last about three weeks.

The Afghanistan-born naturalized citizen is already serving two life sentences for the New York City bombing, which he was convicted of in October 2017 in federal court. He was also ordered to pay $562,803 to compensate victims of the attack.

The police officers involved in the shooting will likely testify, a county official said.

Jury selection began Tuesday, the three-year anniversary of the pressure-cooker bomb in Seaside Park detonating, which sparked the massive manhunt for the Rahimi.

Hours after the explosion rocked the Jersey Shore on Sept. 17, 2016, a bomb exploded in the Chelsea section of New York City. Authorities called the bombing an “intentional act,” but did not link it to the Seaside Park bombing or terrorism. More than 30 people were injured.

In the early morning of Sept. 19, a homeless man reported a backpack with five bombs at the Elizabeth train station, authorities said. While police used a robot to probe the bag, a bomb detonated, but no one was injured.

Later that morning, Rahimi — whom the FBI named as an armed and dangerous suspect — was found sleeping on the steps of a Linden tavern. The bar owner called police, who recognized him as the suspect of the attacks.

Officer Padilla approached the sleeping man, who immediately pulled a handgun and shot the officer in the torso -- which erupted a massive shootout. Padilla and Peter Hammer, another Linden officer, were wounded in the shootout.

More officers arrived and exchanged gunfire with Rahimi, who was shot several times outside an auto repair shop a few blocks away and eventually arrested.

Ahmad Khan Rahami is taken into custody after a shootout with police Monday, Sept. 19, 2016, in Linden, N.J. Rahami was wanted for questioning in the bombings that rocked the Chelsea neighborhood of New York and the New Jersey shore town of Seaside Park. (Nicolaus Czarnecki/Boston Herald via AP) /The Boston Herald via AP)AP

In the three years since his arrest, Rahimi has remained behind bars in federal prison while his public defenders argue to dismiss the case. His lawyers have pleaded to move the trial elsewhere due to substantial news coverage, and dismiss the case entirely claiming he did not intend to kill the officers.

When he was sentenced in New York in 2018, federal prosecutors also emphasized Rahimi has not shown remorse and has tried to radicalize fellow prisoners.

Rahimi, prosecutors said, gave inmates copies of terrorist propaganda and jihadist materials, including speeches and lectures by al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born cleric who inspired attacks on America and was killed in a U.S. airstrike in September 2011.

While imprisoned, Rahimi has completed classes in business, entrepreneurship and drama, Donaldson wrote.

Sophie Nieto-Munoz may be reached at snietomunoz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her at @snietomunoz. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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