Speaking at a press conference three hours after an explosion sent terrified residents running for cover in Chelsea, Mayor Bill de Blasio said investigators from numerous agencies – including Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation – had no evidence indicating the incident was linked to terrorism.
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Local authorities have said they believed the explosion, which injured 29, was an “intentional act”, but declined to answer questions about the cause at a news conference that began about two hours after Trump spoke.
“Whoever placed these bombs, we will find and they will be brought to justice”, Andrew Cuomo told reporters the morning after the explosion, which he said caused significant damage. Overnight, news emerged that a second explosive device had been found four blocks away.
An explosion rocked New York’s Chelsea neighbourhood, a busy residential and commercial area in the city.
Police and first responders walk down a blocked off road near the site of an alleged bomb explosion on West 23rd Street on September 17, 2016, in NY.
Just hours before the explosion, a trash can along the route for a Marine Corps charity run blew up on the Seaside, New Jersey boardwalk.
Several injured were transported to area hospitals, assistant commissioner for communication with the New York City Police Department, J. Peter Donald, tweeted. Most of the injuries were minor.
The law enforcement official also said the explosion appears to have come from a construction toolbox in front of a building.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said there was “no evidence at this point of a terror connection”.
There were other suspicious packages and incidents in the area since the pressure cooker was discovered, but they were deemed not unsafe, police said.
The explosion came just after 8:30 p.m. ET at 133 W. 23rd St., between Sixth and Seventh Avenue in a neighborhood known for its vibrant nightlife.
Officials said 29 people were injured.
One Twitter user posted a picture of a blown-up dustbin understood to be where the blast took place.
But investigators were still probing for possible connections, officials said. “We will be very careful and patient to get to the full truth here”. It caused no injuries but forced officials to cancel the event.
The second explosive device has been safely detonated.
Hillary Clinton says she has been briefed “about the bombings in NY and New Jersey”.
‘Just before I got off the plane, a bomb went off in NY and nobody knows exactly what’s going on, ‘ Trump said at a campaign less than two hours after the explosion took place.
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New York City experienced a very serious incident.
