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Manhattan Blast That Injured 29 Does Not Appear to Be International Terrorism Manhattan Blast That Injured 29 Does Not Appear to Be International Terrorism
(35 minutes later)
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said that a powerful explosion that rocked the Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan on Saturday night, injuring 29 people, did not appear to be linked to international terrorism, but that it was a powerful bomb designed to kill.Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said that a powerful explosion that rocked the Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan on Saturday night, injuring 29 people, did not appear to be linked to international terrorism, but that it was a powerful bomb designed to kill.
“This is one of the nightmare scenarios,” he said at a news conference on Sunday. “We really were very lucky that there were no fatalities.”“This is one of the nightmare scenarios,” he said at a news conference on Sunday. “We really were very lucky that there were no fatalities.”
He said all of those injured had been treated and released from the hospital. He said all of the injured had been released from the hospital.
A few hours after the explosion, 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. Mr. Cuomo said the devices appeared to be similar in design. A few hours after the explosion, the authorities found and removed what they described as a second device four blocks away, raising the possibility that two bombs had been planted in the heart of the city. Mr. Cuomo said the devices appeared to be similar in design.
Mr. Cuomo said the blast was so strong that it caused extensive property damage on both sides of the street, shattering windows up and down the block and sending shrapnel and debris flying. One federal law enforcement official who agreed to speak about the continuing investigation only on condition of anonymity described it as a “viable device” that failed to detonate.
Officials declined to comment on why they seemed confident in ruling out a link to an international terrorist group but they noted that there had been no claim of credit from any terror network. In contrast, the Islamic State was quick on Sunday to claim a stabbing attack Saturday night at a Minnesota shopping mall that left eight people injured.
Mr. Cuomo said the explosion of the Dumpster bomb in Manhattan was so strong that it caused extensive property damage on both sides of the street, shattering windows up and down the block and sending shrapnel and debris flying. The mangled Dumpster remained roped off by crime-scene tape as store owners and residents slowly filtered back into the area.
The police were reviewing surveillance video and continued to scour the area for clues while trying to understand the choice of location for the bomb: Pointedly not Times Square, a commuter hub, train or landmark that have been spectacular targets of terrorism in the past.The police were reviewing surveillance video and continued to scour the area for clues while trying to understand the choice of location for the bomb: Pointedly not Times Square, a commuter hub, train or landmark that have been spectacular targets of terrorism in the past.
The nondescript area — a sidewalk near some Dumpsters in Chelsea, a residential area — held its own significance. The nondescript area — a sidewalk, near some Dumpsters in a residential area of Chelsea — held its own significance.
“You’ve got to go somewhere,” said a law enforcement offcial who agreed to speak about the continuing investigation only on the condition of anonymity. “So the question is: Is the location significant, in terms of motive? And we don’t know that 23rd street has any particular significance.” “You’ve got to go somewhere,” said a New York law enforcement official who agreed to speak about the continuing investigation only on the condition of anonymity. “So the question is: Is the location significant, in terms of motive? And we don’t know that 23rd street has any particular significance.”
Mr. Cuomo said that while “there is no evidence of an international terrorism connection with this incident,” it was still early in the investigation.Mr. Cuomo said that while “there is no evidence of an international terrorism connection with this incident,” it was still early in the investigation.
“Whoever placed these bombs,” he said, “we will find them and they will be brought to justice.”“Whoever placed these bombs,” he said, “we will find them and they will be brought to justice.”
Mr. Cuomo said that while no terrorist group had claimed credit for the attack, placing a bomb on a bustling city street was by its very nature a terrorist act.
Shortly after making his remarks, Mr. Cuomo toured the neighborhood with Mayor Bill de Blasio, seeking to ease the concerns of residents who remained on edge.Shortly after making his remarks, Mr. Cuomo toured the neighborhood with Mayor Bill de Blasio, seeking to ease the concerns of residents who remained on edge.
Mr. de Blasio, speaking on Saturday night, called the explosion — which occurred about 8:30 p.m. on West 23rd Street — “an intentional act” but said there was no connection to terrorism and no immediate claim of responsibility. Mayor Bill de Blasio, speaking at a new conference at Police Headquarters later on Sunday, said that while the bombing was clearly an intentional act, the motivation remained a mystery.
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. “We know it was a very serious incident,” he said. “But we have a lot more work to do to say what kind of motive was behind this.”
“Whatever the cause,” Mr. de Blasio said, “New Yorkers will not be intimidated.” As world leaders descend on New York for the annual meeting of the United Nation’s General Assembly this week, Mr. de Blasio said that security would stepped up across the city.
“You will see a lot of police presence,” he said.
New York Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill said that given that there was bombing in the city and no suspect in custody, all New Yorkers should be particularly vigilant.
“I am concerned,” he said. But he vowed that “this violent criminal act is going to be solved.”
Mr. Cuomo said there did not appear to be an ongoing threat to the city but in an abundance of caution he was ordering an additional 1,000 State Police officers and National Guard members to be dispatched to major commuter hubs.
Moments after the blast, police swarmed Chelsea’s streets, which reverberated across a city scarred by terrorism and vigilant about threats, just days after the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
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.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.
Mr. Cuomo said there did not appear to be an ongoing threat to the city but in an abundance of caution he was ordering an additional 1,000 State Police and National Guard to be dispatched to major commuter hubs. Commissioner O’Neill said the unexploded device was found by two New York State troopers as they walked down 27th Street as part of an effort to sweep the area for secondary devices. It is currently being examined by bomb technicians at a police facility in Rodman’s Neck in the Bronx.
They will try to peel apart the device to see what it is made of, what its components are: If it has signature properties that can link it to the kind of device used by terrorists in the past.
The explosion took place on a mild Saturday evening, drawing residents and tourists alike to the streets and the bars and restaurants in the neighborhood.The explosion took place on a mild Saturday evening, drawing residents and tourists alike to the streets and the bars and restaurants in the neighborhood.
Luke McConnell, who was visiting from Colorado, was headed toward a restaurant on West 27th Street when the blast occurred. “I felt it, like a concussive wave, heading towards me.”Luke McConnell, who was visiting from Colorado, was headed toward a restaurant on West 27th Street when the blast occurred. “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 the 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 the Americas. Images of a twisted Dumpster in the middle of West 23rd Street quickly proliferated on Twitter. S
Many of the injuries were caused by shrapnel from the explosion.
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.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.
“It was the biggest blast I ever would imagine, lights flashing, glass shattering,” said a woman who was injured in the explosion.“It was the biggest blast I ever would imagine, lights flashing, glass shattering,” said a woman who was injured in the explosion.
The force of the explosion, she said, flung her into the air.The force of the explosion, she said, flung her into the air.
“It happened so fast I was thrown up and landed down, I didn’t know where it had come from,” said the woman, who would give only her first name, Helena, as she hobbled out of Bellevue Hospital Center about 4 a.m. after she was treated for injuries to her eye and legs. “I realized there was blood streaming down my face, and I couldn’t see out of my eye.”“It happened so fast I was thrown up and landed down, I didn’t know where it had come from,” said the woman, who would give only her first name, Helena, as she hobbled out of Bellevue Hospital Center about 4 a.m. after she was treated for injuries to her eye and legs. “I realized there was blood streaming down my face, and I couldn’t see out of my eye.”
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.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 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 the Police Department’s bomb squad was taking the device to a department facility in the Bronx, where robots would inspect it.
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.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.
The sidewalk where the explosion occurred is in front of a nondescript building wedged between a church and an apartment building.The sidewalk where the explosion occurred is in front of a nondescript building wedged between a church and an apartment building.
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.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.
“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.”“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.”
The law enforcement official said on Sunday morning that explosives investigators at the New York Police Department range were still analyzing the pressure cooker device.
“They are going to take their time,” the official said. “It’s safety first and preservation of evidence first, so they have not looked into it yet.”
They will try to peel apart the device to see what it is made of, what its components are: If it has signature properties that can link it to the kind of device used by terrorists in the past.
“Depending on what that shows, we’re going to be able to say if that is an active bomb or if that is a hoax device,” the official said. “That’s going to be the key here.”
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.
Officials said it did not appear that the New York and New Jersey incidents were related.Officials said it did not appear that the New York and New Jersey incidents were related.