The explosive device detonated in a trash can after 9:30am this morning along the route of the Seaside Semper Five Marine Corps Charity 5K run to benefit military soldiers.
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Seaside Park beachfront in New Jersey has been evacuated after a pipe bomb explosion occurred just moments before a military charity race was set to begin.
“Initial reports of a second device found in another trash can have been refuted”, New Jersey State Police said in their statement.
Race participants would have passed by the spot of the explosion if it were not for a delay in the start time, according to the Associated Press.
The third annual Semper Fi 5K charity race was canceled after the pipe bomb explosion. At this time law enforcement, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), are investigating the suspicious package in the Jersey shore town.
The race has since been canceled. No suspects have been arrested in connection with the explosion, according to New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino.
There were no reported injuries or damage to surrounding buildings, and the area was immediately placed on a lockdown while bomb-sniffing dogs searched for other explosive devices, the prosecutor’s office said.
New Jersey State Police say there was nothing to reports of another explosive device near the Jersey Shore site where a pipe bomb exploded.
The group that organized the event thanked Seaside Park police and the other emergency responders “for their quick action” following the blast.
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are investigating, alongside a number of other agencies.
Della Fave said the multiple explosive devices enclosed in the trash can were created to send shrapnel flying, but because only one of them detonated, “it appears it didn’t do the damage it was supposed to”.
OCPO spokesman Al Della Fave told the Newark Star-Ledger “We’ve evacuated within a four-block perimeter”.
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It wasn’t clear when the boardwalk and beach will reopen. “We will not rest until we find the person or persons responsible”. He said investigators “are not aware of any known threat to public safety at this time” and urged anyone with information to dial 1-800-CALLFBI (option 1).
