What we know: A backpack containing up to five explosive devices was found in a wastebasket in Elizabeth, New Jersey, around 9.30 p.m. on Sunday.
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What we know: ISIS said that a man who stabbed nine people at a Minnesota mall on Saturday evening was a “solider of the Islamic state”, according to the ISIS-linked news agency Amaq.
Elizabeth Police, NJ Transit Police, Union County Police, State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are still at the scene investigating.
Cuomo said the investigation is ongoing, and “I wouldn’t be surprised if it zeroes in on a particular individual, today even”, and that he “wouldn’t be surprised if we found a foreign connection to the act”. It wasn’t immediately known if the blast was a controlled explosion.
The package has not yet been removed, Bollwage said.
A pipe bomb also exploded Saturday in a New Jersey shore town ahead of a 5K.
Service on all Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast lines was suspended in both directions late Sunday night after a device found inside a bag near the NJ Transit station in Elizabeth, New Jersey, went off. Amtrak and NJ Transit serive had resumed with delays by 6 a.m.
It was not clear when the Elizabeth station would be open, a threat to cause major issues on the Monday morning commute into NY. A robot named “Jinx” was being used to dismantle the bomb at the time of the powerful blast. The bomb squad had a robot take pictures, which determined there were five explosive devices inside the backpack, Bollwage said. On Sunday night, police blew up the device, rendering it safe.
One eyewitness described the blast as “thunderous”, but there have been no injuries.
Meanwhile, Union County police say the FBI is investigating an incident that has halted NJ Transit trains between Elizabeth and the Newark airport in New Jersey. Mayor Bollwage said earlier Sunday night that he hoped everything would be cleared away for the Monday morning commute, however that was looking less likely since the other devices have yet to be removed.
Authorities said the Manhattan blast and the explosion in New Jersey at the site of a charity race to benefit Marines and sailors, did not appear to be connected, although they also said they were not ruling anything out.
An explosion in Manhattan on Saturday injured 29 people.
In the video, the man leaves the duffel bag where police later found the unexploded pressure cooker.
When they saw wires and pipes, they dropped the backpack and immediately went to police headquarters, he said.
“The crudity of the devices in all three cases certainly doesn’t point to any group that’s been developing (improvised explosive devices) for years”, said a United States official involved in the investigation who requested anonymity to discuss the inquiry.
“We do not believe they were involved”.
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New Yorkers will see an increased police presence around the city, de Blasio said.
