Officials described the device that exploded, saying that three pipe-bomb-type explosives were wired together and was found near a boardwalk in Seaside Park on Saturday, CNN reported.
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Authorities did a sweep using bomb dogs of the area, CNN reported, and found no other devices.
According to the Fire Department of NY, a suspected Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded in a dumpster on W 23 Street in the area of 6 and 7 avenues in Manhattan around 9 p.m.
Michael Whitaker, spokesman for the FBI’s Newark office, which is leading the Seaside Park investigation, said FBI personnel and other authorities continue to collect evidence and conduct interviews in the wake of the pipe bomb incident, which happened at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
“You look at the people who showed up”, Ayan said, referencing the thousands of people getting ready for the beginning of the race. However, authorities said several beaches in the area would remain closed until further notice. “The one went off, and the others did not”, he said.
“If it was just a matter of minutes, in terms of difference, there would have been a good number of people running past that explosive device”, Della Fave said”.
Officials said they did not believe the blast was related to a Saturday night explosion in NY that injured 29 people or a knife attack at a Minnesota mall the same day, but declined to comment on whether the crime was considered to be an act of terrorism.
Police Commissioner James O’Neill said investigators still don’t know the motivation behind the NY explosion.
According to the police chief, possibly a second or third IED was found in the same area.
“Working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and ATF, we are taking every step to ensure the safety of the public and to determine who was responsible for this explosion, which occurred at a time when runners in this charity race could have been in harm’s way”, Porrino said in a statement.
The explosion in Seaside Park took place in the morning prior to the start of the Semper 5K charity run.
Local officials speculated Saturday that the charity associated with the race -the MARSOC Foundation, which aids Marines and their families – may had been part of the motive behind the bombing. The blast injured no one, but it began a massive law-enforcement response and suspicions of terrorism.
Officials said an attack at a Minnesota mall in which a man stabbed nine people was being investigated as a possible act of terrorism; an Islamic State-run news agency called the attacker a “soldier of the Islamic State”.
It was not clear when the boardwalk and beach would reopen.
“We were lucky”, another unnamed law enforcement official said.
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Cathy Howath, 50, of Upper Saddle River and her sister Janie Murphy, 52, of Bridgewater were among those who signed up to run in the 5K.
