New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the blast was an “act of terrorism”, but said there is no evidence of “international terrorism”.
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A day after a bombing injured 29 people in a Manhattan neighborhood, police are scouring the area for clues about who was responsible for the explosion and why it happened.
Four blocks away on 27th Street, a pressure-cooker device was found with a piece of paper with writing on it close by, officials said. But officials went to considerable lengths Sunday to avoid jumping to public conclusions about the developments, which are likely to put terrorism back on the front burner of the USA presidential race.
The FBI is also involved, said Bill Sweeney, assistant director of the agency’s NY office.
Amaq, the news agency affiliated with Islamic State, issued a statement on Sunday calling the attacker “a soldier of the Islamic State”.
However, the Islamic State claim made no mention of the incidents in New Jersey and NY. The knife-wielding man reportedly asked at least one shopper whether the person was Muslim before attacking.
Apir Chaudhury, a sales associate working on a night shift at a 7-11 convenience store on 5th avenue, said that he didn’t hear the explosion, but around 9 p.m., police closed up the roads and started to check everything.
While officials described all three as deliberate, criminal acts and were investigating them as potential “acts of terrorism”, they stopped short of characterizing the motivation behind any of them until more evidence is uncovered.
How New Yorkers reacted Media captionWhat was the first reaction of New Yorkers?
“I’m looking at the explosion down the block. There will be more”, the man reportedly said.
“We know it was a very serious incident, but we have a lot more work to do to be able to say what kind of motivation was behind this”, de Blasio told reporters Sunday. “Was it a political motivation, a personal motivation?” “It could have been something personally motivated, we don’t know yet”.
“We know there was a bombing”.
Authorities are also investigating whether the two devices in NY are linked to a pipe bomb blast in Seaside Park, New Jersey on Saturday that happened before a charity race. Investigators found similarities between the explosives used in both states, according to multiple law enforcement officials, but authorities said they have not concluded the incidents are linked.
O’Neill said he reviewed one surveillance video footage, and investigators are reviewing more footage recovered from the scene and talking to witnesses.
Daniel Yount, 34, told The New York Times that he was on a nearby roof with friends when “we felt the shock waves go through our bodies”. All 29 of the injured people were released from the hospital by Sunday afternoon.
A top law enforcement official said pressure cookers were filled with “fragmentation materials”. He said there was no known link to worldwide terrorism. “We appreciate their work and, no doubt, they are doing their utmost to keep everyone safe”, he added.
The unexploded second device was destroyed by police in a controlled explosion late on Sunday. Two Islamist-radicalized brothers from Chechnya committed the attacks to retaliate against USA foreign policy.
Investigators have not determined the relationship between the two men and the man dragging the duffel bag, the sources said.
An additional 1,000 state troopers and members of the National Guard were placed at transit hubs and other points throughout New York City and extra police officials were patrolling Manhattan, officials said.
Officials solicited tips from the public, telling reporters at a news conference in the New York Police Department’s headquarters that they didn’t know who set off the bomb or why. But there was little else Sunday night to link the attacks directly. “We have some promising leads but no suspects at this time”.
No injuries were reported in New Jersey, largely because the race was delayed by a crush of registrants and reports of an unattended backpack.
Cuomo said that there is “no reason to believe at this time that there is any further, immediate threat”.
Twenty-nine people were injured in the Saturday night blast.
The fellow Republican told CNN’s “State of the Union” that Mr. Trump’s handling of the situation “was perfectly appropriate”.
Hillary Clinton is condemning what she calls “apparent terrorist attacks” in New York, New Jersey and Minnesota.
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Clinton said of the Minnesota attack, “this should steel our resolve to protect our country and defeat ISIS”. Mayor Bill de Blasio ruled out any terror connections, but called the blast an “intentional act”.
