The explosive device went off in a garbage can on D Street and Ocean Avenue at about 9:30 a.m. along the race route, police said.
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Officials say runners had been scheduled to pass by the area around the time the blast occurred.
“At this time the area is on lock down while bomb dogs search for additional devices”.
That device – described by a law enforcement official as a pressure cooker with wires and a cellphone attached to it – was removed early Sunday by a bomb squad robot and was being examined by forensic experts. He said travel restrictions imposed after the blast had been lifted.
No one was injured in the explosion, but the race has been canceled out of an abundance of caution, and a four-block radius around the area was closed off, according to the Asbury Park Press.
Federal Bureau of Investigation spokesman Mike Whittaker said Sunday that investigators are continuing to “run down leads, conduct interviews and collect evidence” and that no arrests have been made. The race had been running late, but authorities said they believed the device had been timed to explode as runners went by the trash bin.
“We don’t believe at this time that there’s any evidence connecting [the New Jersey pipe bomb] to the attacks in NY or Minnesota”, Christie said on CNN.
Investigators said they found similarities between this device and the bomb that exploded in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood Saturday evening.
It occurred along the planned route of the Semper Five 5K, which raises money to assist Marines who are injured while serving or the families of those killed in active duty service. The run’s name is a reference to Semper Fidelis, Latin for “Always Loyal” – the motto of the US Marine Corps. No piece of information should be considered too small, authorities said.
Watch the videos above to hear more from authorities and from a local man who was in NY when one homemade explosive went off.
About 5,000 people were slated to run in the race in Seaside Park, a town known for its boardwalk located about 80 miles away from New York City. According to a course map for the race, runners would have passed near the intersection twice: once 0.7 miles into the race and again 0.7 miles from the finish.
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“We’re in the middle of a complex investigation to determine who did this and why they did this”, O’Neill said. Results from past years’ races listed more than 700 finishers.
