New York blast that injured 29 confirmed as ‘intentional act’
Second suspicious device found four blocks away; Mayor de Blasio says incident not terror-related
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio confirmed early Sunday that an explosion in a crowded Manhattan neighborhood Saturday night that injured 29 people was a deliberate blast, caused by an explosive device, but said there was no terrorist connection.
Authorities said a second device found at a nearby site was also being investigated.
“Tonight, New York City experienced a very bad incident,” de Blasio said at a news conference near the scene, in Chelsea. “We have no credible and specific threat at this moment.”
De Blasio said the blast was “an intentional act,” but tried to calm any fears among nervous New Yorkers, saying the explosion had no terrorist connection and wasn’t related to a pipe bomb explosion earlier Saturday in New Jersey at a charity run.
Initial reports said the blast came from in or near a dumpster on West 23rd Street.
Reports suggest explosion came from dumpster in the area of 23rd St. and Sixth Ave. People urged to avoid the area. https://t.co/ad37Mx24Wn
— Z100 New York (@Z100NewYork) September 18, 2016
The New York Times quoted an anonymous city official as saying, “We don’t understand the target or the significance of it. It’s by a pile of dumpsters on a random sidewalk.”
A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that a second device that officers were investigating four blocks from the scene appeared to be a pressure cooker attached to wiring and a cellphone. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak about an ongoing investigation, said the device was found inside a plastic bag on West 27th Street.
The Israeli Consulate in New York said in a statement that it was not aware of any Israelis injured in the explosion.
A law enforcement official told AP that the explosion appears to have come from a construction toolbox in front of a building. New York officials said the incident was not due to a gas leak.
The blast happened in front of a residence for the blind, near a major thoroughfare with many restaurants and a Trader Joe’s supermarket. Witnesses say the explosion, at about 8:30 p.m., blew out the windows of businesses and scattered debris in the area. Officials said no evacuations were necessary.
https://twitter.com/NYCityAlerts/status/777346707222822914
Police spokesman J. Peter Donald said several people were taken to hospitals with injuries. One of the injured suffered a puncture wound that was considered serious. Officials said the other injuries were minor, described as scrapes and bruises.
Donald tweeted a warning to residents near the second site that officials were investigating, saying: “As a precautionary measure, we are asking residents who live on West 27th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan to stay away from windows facing 27th Street until we clear the suspicious.”
A number of New York City subway routes were affected by the explosion.
Chris Gonzalez, visiting from Dallas, was having dinner with friends at a restaurant in the area.
“We felt it, we heard it, the restaurant went real quiet,” the 26-year-old Gonzalez said. “It wasn’t like jolting or anything, everyone just went quiet.”
Rudy Alcide, a bouncer at Vanity Nightclub at 21st Street and 6th Avenue, said he, at first, thought something large had fallen.
“It was an extremely loud noise, everything was shaking, the windows were shaking, it was crazy,” he said. “It was extremely loud, almost like thunder, but louder.”
The FBI and Homeland Security officials, along with the ATF arson and explosive task force, were also at the scene.
The White House said President Barack Obama had been apprised of the explosion and would be updated as additional information becomes available.
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said she has been briefed “about the bombings in New York and New Jersey and the attack in Minnesota.”
In St. Cloud, Minnesota, police said multiple people were injured at a shopping mall Saturday evening in an attack that possibly involved both a shooting and stabbing. The suspect was believed to be dead. Also on Saturday, a pipe bomb exploded in Seaside Park, New Jersey, shortly before thousands of runners participated in a charity 5K race to benefit Marines and sailors. No injuries were reported.
Clinton said the nation needs to support its first responders and “pray for the victims.”
“We have to let this investigation unfold,” she said.
Speaking during a campaign event in Colorado Springs less than an hour after the explosion in New York, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said he too had heard of the incident.
“I must tell you that just before I got off the plane, a bomb went off in New York and nobody knows exactly what’s going on,” he said according to the NYT. “But boy, we are living in a time — we better get very tough, folks.”
