De Blasio and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo both said the explosion has no links so far to global terrorist groups, such as the Islamic State, though it’s still early in the investigation.
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Authorities said the Manhattan blast didn’t appear to be connected to a pipe bomb explosion earlier Saturday in New Jersey that forced the cancellation of a charity run.
“We know it’s a very serious incident, but we have a lot more work to do to be able to say what kind of motivation was behind this”, Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters.
An additional 1,000 New York State police officers and National Guard troops have been deployed to patrol bus and subway stations and airports.
I felt them because I was in NY 15 years ago this month, sitting quietly on an early-morning commuter train heading into Manhattan, when the conductor informed us that “a plane may have crashed near the World Trade Center”, and advised anyone who worked in that area to check with their office before we reached Grand Central Station.
Investigators flooded what is typically a bustling Chelsea street Sunday, sifting through shards of glass, metal shrapnel and assorted debris in a search for clues pointing to the culprit of the bombing that injured 29 people and rocked one of New York’s upscale neighborhoods.
Mr Cuomo said 29 people were hurt in the blast but all of them were discharged from hospital yesterday morning.
The second device, from photos shared on social media, resembles a pressure cooker – reminiscent of the one used in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
Police arrive on the scene of an explosion in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, in New York, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016.
The New York blast made an instant impact on the presidential campaign, with both candidates addressing the issue.
“It was an intentional, violent, criminal act, ‘ De Blasio said, adding that it was ‘organized”. “But a bomb going off is generically a terrorist activity”.
Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo stand in front of a mangled dumpster while touring the site of an explosion that occurred on Saturday night in Chelsea.. He said the investigation was in its early stages and it was not known if the man had discussed his plan of attack with others.
Danilo Gabrielli, 50, was watching TV at his 23rd Street apartment about a block away from the explosion site when he heard the blast.
De Blasio, speaking at a new conference at Police Headquarters later today, said that while the bombing was clearly an intentional act, the motivation remained a mystery.
“We’re not going to let them win”, Cuomo said at the scene.
Petra Mayer, an editor for NPR books, was walking on West 27 St. on Saturday night and stumbled upon the device: “I just happened to look down and I spotted a pressure cooker sitting on the sidewalk and it was covered in duct tape”.
The blast hit around 8:30 p.m. (0030 GMT Sunday) on 23rd Street, a block lacking any obvious political targets.
The NYPD said that a controlled explosion of this device was taking place on Sunday between 4.30pm and 6.30pm near Rodman’s Neck in the Bronx. “That’s what we know”, said de Blasio, flanked by high-ranking officials of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the city police and fire departments. A law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity said investigators considered it very odd that similar devices would be planted adjoining states on the same day.
New York’s governor didn’t mince words Sunday when he talked about the explosion.
“I don’t think we can accept it as being part of a new normal”, he said.
Investigators have obtained surveillance video of a person placing the unexploded device, sources said.
The motive of the attack is undetermined, officials said, though investigators were examining an online blog written by someone claiming to be responsible for the bombing. “I want to assure all New Yorkers that the NYPD and all other agencies are at full alert”.
The blast sent bystanders running from the scene and shattered windows in nearby businesses, putting a city on high alert just a week after marking the 15th anniversary of the September 11th, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in Manhattan.
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Many of us wake up mad every day, then stoke that anger by watching and listening to minute-by-minute “news” that either reinforces our view or angers us even more.
