Homeless man who discovered New Jersey bomb hailed as ‘hero’

A homeless man who found a backpack filled with bombs in New Jersey on Sunday night is being hailed as a hero.

Authorities say Lee Parker and a friend contacted police after finding the bag near the Elizabeth train station. Federal investigators say the bag was left by New York-region bombing suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami.

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Parker says he realized something was wrong with the heavy backpack after seeing wires.

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Linda Flores-Tober, executive director of the Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless, says she is glad Parker is being recognized. The group is putting Parker up in a hotel and an online fundraising campaign has raised thousands for him and a friend.

Parker says all he wants is a good job.

WATCH: The mayor of Elizabeth, NJ Chris Bollwage, tells media they believe two homeless men found a backpack containing a wire and a pipe around 8 pm on Saturday night. They promptly turned the backpack into police. 

0:23 Homeless men hailed as heroes for turning in backpack containing bomb