In a televised interview Sunday with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Christie said there are no suspects in the case yet, though investigators do have “some promising leads”. Police found two more devices that did not detonate inside the trashcan.
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And investigators are analyzing possible similarities between two devices seized in NY and one that detonated earlier Saturday in New Jersey, including the fact that all three devices apparently contained old-style mobile flip phones, according to officials familiar with the probe.
“We are grateful that nobody was injured, but this is a serious act of violence against the people of New Jersey”, Attorney General Christopher Porrino told New Jersey 101.5 Saturday afternoon.
The devices in New Jersey contained black powder, which is an easily attainable explosive ingredient, several law enforcement officials told CNN.
Christie went on to say that it was “fortunate” that no one was injured in the attack.
“It was done intentionally to try to terrorize the people of New Jersey”, he said.
The Seaside Park 5K bombing evoked memories of the 2013 terrorist bombing near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 260 others.
Gov. Chris Christie has been briefed on the incident, and the New York City Police Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau is monitoring developments.
“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” because of its location along the race route, Della Fave said. Some stopped to take pictures of the site where the blast occurred and of television trucks that remained in the area. The Republican governor said people should not jump to conclusions about who may be responsible for the blast or what the motive was.
Another resident, Maggie Powell, voiced similar concerns.
Christie said that by his own definition, he personally considered the blasts “terrorism” as well as a knife attack at a Minnesota mall. You don’t think these types of things can happen around here, but something like this reminds you it can happen anywhere.
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The boardwalk area in Seaside Park, New Jersey was evacuated – and a lockdown was in place – because of an explosion Saturday as authorities continued to search for any possible suspects. An Islamic State-run news agency claims man was a “soldier of the Islamic State”.
