New York explosion: Chelsea rocked by blast outside blind housing facility
AN explosion in a crowded Chelsea neighbourhood in Manhattan, New York, left 29 people injured. A second device has been found four blocks away.
A SECOND possible bomb has been found in Manhattan as authorities confirmed an earlier explosion in Chelsea was a “deliberate act”.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said there was no evidence of a terror connection to the explosion that went off in a construction dumpster outside the Townhouse Inn of Chelsea in Manhattan that occurred about 8.30pm local time, but went on to say New Yorkers would not be intimidated and “are not going to let anyone change who we are or how we go about our lives”.
He said there was no credible terrorism threat to New York City at this point in time.
At least 29 people were injured, with one “may be critical”, in the blast, de Blasio said.
A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that the explosion appears to have come from a construction toolbox. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said there is no evidence of international terrorism.
“Whoever placed these bombs, we will find and they will be brought to justice,” he said.
“At this time there is no evidence of an international terrorism connection. But it is very early in the investigation and it’s just starting.”
The “deafening” explosion was so powerful that the dumpster flew from the north side of the street and landed on the south sidewalk without hitting anyone or anything, police sources told The New York Post.
NYPD officers, including members of the Counterterrorism Squad, were on the scene, along with FBI agents and police helicopters with searchlights. Authorities urged New Yorkers to come forward with any information that could help authorities.
The explosion appeared to have come from a large toolbox in front of 131 West 23rd St. https://t.co/tYluI27WBT 🔓
— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) September 18, 2016
There are now 29 injuries being reported. One may be critical. We remain on the scene. #NYPD #Chelsea #Vigilant
— NYPDCounterterrorism (@NYPDCT) September 18, 2016
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been receiving regular updates on the explosion. He is in New York ahead of the United Nations General Assembly and visited the 9/11 memorial after flying in on Saturday (local time).
FBI Commissioner James O’Neil confirmed a second site was secured, four streets away, on west 27th St, north of the original explosion on w23rd.
The street had been cordoned off and a law enforcement official told The Associated Press that a second device appeared to be a pressure cooker attached to wiring and a mobile phone. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorised to speak about an ongoing investigation, said the device was found inside a plastic bag placed in a garbage bin on West 27th Street.
The Bomb Squad took the suspicious device to the NYPD gun range in The Bronx to be safely tested.
At this time there is no evidence of a terrorist connection and no specific threat to #NYC #Chelsea We remain on alert
— NYPDCounterterrorism (@NYPDCT) September 18, 2016
The explosion was described by one neighbour as “deafening”.
“It was a quiet night and then I heard this deafening boom,” said Chelsea resident Jakar Aussin, who works at a Dunkin’ Donuts at 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue.
“My first thought was, ‘Oh God, a bomb,’ so I got down on the floor.
“I looked outside and it’s all broken glass, car alarms going off.”
A woman working at a nearby Starbucks, who asked to be identified only by her first name, Hannah, said: “It felt like lightning struck the building; everyone ran out. Cops were driving the wrong way up Seventh Avenue. It was nuts.’’
The Dumpster was consumed in a red fireball and sent up a cloud of smoke two stories high, said Deborah Griffith, 60, who was dining at a vegetarian restaurant on the block.
“People were running, holding their ears, rubbing their ears,” she said.
Video of first few secs in #nyc #newyorkcity huge bombing pic.twitter.com/aOLWyvQTTB
— Itay Cohai (@itaycohai) September 18, 2016
Police closed off the block for about two hours and ordered people already there to stay inside. Hundreds of people — including neighbours trying to get to their cars or apartments — milled around outside the barricades.
#Update re: Explosion (photo) pic.twitter.com/AtqllF3JEZ
— NYPDCounterterrorism (@NYPDCT) September 18, 2016
Witness Jakir Aussin, who works at a nearby Dunkin Donuts, described the explosion as a “deafening boom”.
“It was a quiet night, and then I heard this deafening boom,” Aussin told the New York Post.
“My first thought was, ‘Oh god, a bomb,’ so I got down on the floor.
“I looked outside and it’s all broken glass, car alarms going off — I still don’t know what happened.”
Police spokesman J Peter Donald said on Twitter that the explosion happened at about 8.30pm, with several people taken to hospitals with injuries.
The Fire Department tweeted that none of the injuries appear to be life-threatening.
No detail about the extent of damage was immediately available.
Another witness, Chris Gonzalez, of Dallas, was having dinner with friends at a restaurant. The 26-year-old said she heard and felt a blast and the restaurant “went quiet”.
The reports of a possible blast come hours after 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.
‘Scum’: Donald Trump’s new threat stuns
Former US president Donald Trump has doubled down on a suggestion that America’s military should be used against its own citizens.
New poll shows nightmare ahead for Harris
New polls have shown a mighty resurgence for Donald Trump, with analysts still completely in the dark about what the White House will look like in 2025.
Pentagon powerless to stop UFO drone spying
Fleets of dozens of mysterious UFO drones are surveilling America’s most sensitive military sites, and the Pentagon says it can’t do much to stop them.