Police have sealed off northern Chelsea around the crime scene and dozens of officers were out in force Sunday.
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Investigators scrambled Sunday to find out who planted a bomb that rocked a bustling New York City neighborhood, scouring shrapnel, forensic traces and surveillance video for any link to an unexploded pressure-cooker device found just blocks away.
Pressed to respond to the governor’s comments, de Blasio said, “Let’s let the law enforcement experts draw the conclusions”. All of them have since been released from the hospital.
Officials haven’t revealed any details about the makeup of the pressure-cooker device, except to say it had wires and a cellphone attached to it. It was later removed by bomb disposal teams using a remote-controlled robot.
City officials called on the public to help them track down who’s responsible.
The authenticity of the posting has not been confirmed by authorities.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday that the blast was caused by some kind of bomb, but the attack didn’t appear to be linked to worldwide terrorism.
Clinton was briefed on the incidents Saturday shortly after her speech at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation dinner in Washington.
Although officials have described the act as a terrorist attack, there is no evidence yet to connect it to worldwide terrorism.
Asked if the attack should be called terrorism, Cuomo told CNN, “Frankly, it’s semantics”. Officials in NY and New Jersey said Sunday they were still investigating who was behind the explosions and what the motivation was, while the Minnesota attack was being investigated as a possible act of terrorism. The FBI is investigating the stabbing attack as a “potential act of terrorism” after an ISIS-run news agency claimed responsibility, the New York Times reported. The host city of the world body is already on high alert to guarantee the security of visiting heads of state or government. “We’re not taking any options off the table”.
Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is evaluating posts made to Tumblr from someone claiming to be the perpetrator. Authorities are still working to determine whether the two devices are linked. Investigators looked into it and didn’t consider it relevant to the case, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
The bomb went off Saturday night in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, injuring 29 people.
In New York, witness Ramon Lopez said the explosion “felt like a building was coming down”. Officials told CNN explosives in both incidents apparently used cell phones as timers.
Cuomo at a Sunday morning news conference said the event was an act of “terrorism”.
Tannerite, which is often used in target practice to mark a shot with a cloud of smoke and small explosion, is legal to purchase and can be found in many sporting goods stores.
“We just know there was a bombing”, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at briefing at New York Police Department’s headquarters.
Associated Press writer Alicia A. Caldwell contributed to this report from Washington, D.C. “We don’t know yet”, de Blasio said.
The Chelsea explosion occurred at about 21:00, outside a residence for blind people on West 23rd St.
“We’re in the middle of a very complex post-blast investigation”, O’Neill said. Police later discovered a second bomb four blocks away, which was safely defused and taken away for analysis.
There could be all kinds of causes for the explosion, and people have to wait for the investigation results.
Authorities have not yet taken anyone into custody for being involved with the blast.
Meanwhile, an explosion in a trash can near a Marine Corps charity race route in New Jersey earlier Saturday is also being investigated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force there as possible terrorism. Most of the injuries were minor. “Also to pray for the victims”, she said.
There is a construction sites near the scene of the Chelsea explosion. Mayor Bill de Blasio ruled out any terror connections, but called the blast an “intentional act”. A auto seen driving through the area had its rear window blown out.
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New York City Police Commissioner James O’Neill said he reviewed one surveillance video, and investigators are reviewing more footage recovered from the scene.
