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Powerful Blast Injures at Least 29 in Manhattan; Second Device Found Powerful Blast Injures at Least 29 in Manhattan; Second Device Found
(about 2 hours later)
A powerful explosion caused by what the authorities believe was a homemade bomb injured at least 29 people on a crowded sidewalk in the bustling Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan on Saturday night, according to the authorities, who later found and removed what they described as a second explosive device four blocks away. A powerful explosion caused by what the authorities believe was a homemade bomb injured at least 29 people on a crowded sidewalk in the bustling Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan on Saturday night, according to the police.
Mayor Bill de Blasio called the explosion “an intentional act” but initially said there was no connection to terrorism. He cautioned that the authorities had just begun their investigation into the blast, which reverberated across a city scarred by terrorism and vigilant about threats just days after the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. A few hours later, the authorities found and removed what they described as a second explosive device four blocks away, raising the possibility that two bombs had been planted in the heart of the city.
Mayor Bill de Blasio called the explosion — which occurred about 8:30 p.m. on West 23rd Street — “an intentional act” but initially said there was no connection to terrorism and no immediate claim of responsibility.
Police officers swarmed Chelsea’s streets after the blast, which reverberated across a city scarred by terrorism and vigilant about threats, just days after the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
“Whatever the cause,” Mr. de Blasio said, “New Yorkers will not be intimidated.”“Whatever the cause,” Mr. de Blasio said, “New Yorkers will not be intimidated.”
The explosion, which occurred around 8:30 p.m., prompted the shutdown of a wide swath of Manhattan south of Midtown. The Police Department said at 1:15 a.m. Sunday that 14th Street to 32nd Street was closed to traffic between Fifth and Eighth Avenues until further notice. As the authorities sought to identify what had caused the explosion, they described the second device as a pressure cooker resembling the one used in the deadly Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, according to a police official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a continuing investigation.
A grim Mr. de Blasio, speaking at a news conference at the scene, said “injuries are significant.” But for the moment, he said, none of them were life-threatening. It was unclear whether the blast on West 23rd Street had been caused by the same type of explosive.
Many of the injuries were caused by shrapnel from the explosion, which witnesses said seemed to have come from a sidewalk Dumpster on West 23rd Street near the Avenue of Americas. Images of a twisted Dumpster in the middle of 23rd Street quickly proliferated on Twitter. In the aftermath, the police shut down a swath of Manhattan south of Midtown. The area from 14th Street to 32nd Street was closed to traffic between Fifth and Eighth Avenues until further notice.
The explosion shattered windows, damaged cars and sent crowds running from the scene. A grim Mr. de Blasio, speaking at a news conference at the scene around 11:15 p.m., said “injuries are significant.” But for the moment, he said, none of them were life-threatening.
Many of the injuries were caused by shrapnel from the explosion, which witnesses said seemed to have started inside a sidewalk Dumpster near the Avenue of Americas. Images of a twisted Dumpster in the middle of West 23rd Street quickly proliferated on Twitter.
The impact shattered windows, damaged cars and sent crowds running from the scene at an hour when Chelsea, always a popular destination, was filled with residents and tourists.
“I heard a big boom,” said Luke McConnell, who was visiting from Colorado and had been headed toward a restaurant on West 27th Street. “I felt it, like a concussive wave, heading towards me.”“I heard a big boom,” said Luke McConnell, who was visiting from Colorado and had been headed toward a restaurant on West 27th Street. “I felt it, like a concussive wave, heading towards me.”
“Then there was a cloud of white smoke that came from the left side of 23rd Street near Sixth,” he said. “There was no fire, just smoke.”“Then there was a cloud of white smoke that came from the left side of 23rd Street near Sixth,” he said. “There was no fire, just smoke.”
Witnesses said they could feel the explosion from several blocks away. Daniel Yount, 34, said he was standing on the roof of a building at 25th Street and Avenue of the Americas with friends. Witnesses said they could feel the explosion from several blocks away. Daniel Yount, 34, said he was standing on the roof of a building at 25th Street and the Avenue of the Americas with friends.
“We felt the shock waves go through our bodies,” he said.“We felt the shock waves go through our bodies,” he said.
A law enforcement official said investigators were trying to figure out who was behind the explosion and what the motivations might have been. It was a startling scene, full of dark possibilities, for a city that endured the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but has so far been spared the kind of mayhem that has terrorized city after city around the world in the 15 years since.
“It likely came from an improvised device,” said one city official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a continuing investigation. “We don’t understand the target or the significance of it. It’s by a pile of Dumpsters on a random sidewalk.” The closest New York has come to an attack was in 2010, when the police found a crude car bomb of propane, gasoline and fireworks inside a sport utility vehicle in Times Square. Although the device had apparently started to detonate, there was no explosion.
The other device, on West 27th Street, was described as resembling a pressure cooker like the one used in the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, the official said. On Saturday night in Chelsea, the device found on West 27th Street also caused no harm.
A senior police official confirmed that photographs of the device shared on social media, which showed a silver piece of cookware with wires and a cellphone attached, were authentic. The official said the Police Department’s bomb squad was taking the device to a department facility, where robots would inspect it. Images shared on social media and confirmed as authentic by a senior police official showed a silver-colored piece of cookware with wires and a cellphone attached.
The official said investigators “don’t have any suspects” and were not questioning anyone. The official said the Police Department’s bomb squad was taking the device to a department facility in the Bronx, where robots would inspect it.
The official said that video captured before the explosion shows a man crossing “the street in the direction of where the device was found.” But no video had yet been obtained clearly showing anyone placing the device in the spot where it detonated. Around 2:25 a.m., a Police Department truck towing a spherical chamber, which contained the device, headed east on West 27th Street and turned up the Avenue of the Americas. Several police officers who had spent the evening on alert were visibly relieved, as one by one they let the few residents who had been waiting all night beside the caution tape return home.
Pressed on who might be responsible for the incident, James P. O’Neill, the police commissioner, said no suspect was in custody. “We are still in the process of trying to figure that out,” he said. It was a cool Saturday night, and the businesses along West 23rd Street, the busiest east-west thoroughfare in Chelsea, were teeming with customers.
Mr. O’Neill said the authorities had collected video of the explosion but asked the public for any footage they might have, as well as eyewitness accounts and tips. The blast seemed to shake the entire block, smashing windows in a five-story brownstone building and sending debris into the street, a law enforcement official said.
The blast shattered windows in a five-story brownstone building and sent debris into the street, a law enforcement official said. The building is between a church on its eastern side and an apartment building under renovation on its western side. The sidewalk where the explosion occurred is in front of a nondescript building wedged between a church and an apartment building.
The police commissioner said that residents along 23rd Street were being allowed back in their homes and that there was no need for mandatory evacuations. Video captured before the explosion shows a man crossing “the street in the direction of where the device was found,” the same official said. But no video had yet been obtained clearly showing anyone placing the device in the spot where it detonated.
The explosion also disrupted subway service on the F and E lines, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said on Twitter. “We don’t understand the target or the significance of it,” the police official said. “It’s by a pile of Dumpsters on a random sidewalk.”
Marcello Begu, 58, was spinning pizzas at the nearby Ciao Bella Napoli restaurant when he heard the blast.
“I’ve never heard a noise like that in my life,” he said. “The ground was shaking. I was scared to go outside.”
In Washington, the White House issued a brief statement saying that President Obama had been briefed on the developing situation in New York.In Washington, the White House issued a brief statement saying that President Obama had been briefed on the developing situation in New York.
“The president has been apprised of the explosion in New York City, the cause of which remains under investigation,” the statement said. “The president will be updated as additional information becomes available.” Both the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates broke from their campaign routines to address the issue.
State officials said they were coordinating their work with federal and New York City authorities. Donald J. Trump, in Colorado Springs, rushed to describe the explosion as a bomb well before the authorities had made any determinations about what had happened and while the situation was still in flux.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and urge New Yorkers to, as always, remain calm and vigilant,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said in a statement.
“We are in close contact with health providers to monitor the extent of the injuries and will provide information as it becomes available,” he added.
Both presidential candidates broke from campaign routines to address the issue.
The Republican presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump, weighed in on the news while campaigning in Colorado Springs on Saturday night. Mr. Trump made the remarks about 45 minutes after the explosion was reported, before the authorities had made any determinations about what had happened and while the situation was still in flux.
“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. “But boy, we are living in a time — we better get very tough, folks.”“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. “But boy, we are living in a time — we better get very tough, folks.”
The Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, was informed of the episode after she gave a speech at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual awards dinner, her campaign said.The Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, was informed of the episode after she gave a speech at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual awards dinner, her campaign said.
She seemed to scold Mr. Trump for his quick assessment.
“I think it’s always wiser to wait until you have information before making conclusions,” Mrs. Clinton said.
Officials said the New York explosion was not connected to a blast that happened 11 hours before when an improvised device exploded in a garbage can near the course of a charity race that was about to start in a small town on the Jersey Shore. That device went off around 9:30 a.m. near the boardwalk in Seaside Park, N.J., according to the Ocean County sheriff, Michael G. Mastronardy.Officials said the New York explosion was not connected to a blast that happened 11 hours before when an improvised device exploded in a garbage can near the course of a charity race that was about to start in a small town on the Jersey Shore. That device went off around 9:30 a.m. near the boardwalk in Seaside Park, N.J., according to the Ocean County sheriff, Michael G. Mastronardy.
There were no injuries. The race, the Seaside Semper Five, a five-kilometer run and charity event along the waterfront that raises money for members of the United States Marine Corps and their families, was canceled.There were no injuries. The race, the Seaside Semper Five, a five-kilometer run and charity event along the waterfront that raises money for members of the United States Marine Corps and their families, was canceled.