An explosion in New York City on Saturday which injured more than two dozen people was an act of terrorism, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said.
The blast struck Manhattan’s Chelsea neighbourhood at 8.30pm and left 29 injured, one seriously. All were released from hospital on Sunday morning.
Mr Cuomo described the blast as an act of terrorism, although he said there was no evidence of any international links. Authorities had earlier claimed there was no evidence linking the blast to terrorism.
“A bomb exploding in New York is an act of terrorism,” Mr Cuomo said.
“As governor of New York, this is my worst nightmare.” He said it was fortunate there were no fatalities, given the damage caused by the explosion.
A second suspicious device, a pressure cooker wired to a mobile phone, resembling the device used in the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, was later safely removed four blocks away on West 27th Street by the NYPD bomb squad.
The incident came just hours after a pipe bomb exploded close to the route of a road race in Seaside Park, New Jersey. No injuries were reported, but the charity run was cancelled.
Mr Cuomo said it appeared that the two devices in Manhattan were “similar in design” while the New Jersey device was different. All were being tested by the FBI.
New York Police Department commissioner James O’Neill, who took the reins as the NYPD chief on Friday, earlier said that while the investigation was still in its early stages, it did not appear that the New York and New Jersey explosions were related, or that there was a connection with terrorism.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a late night press conference on Saturday that: “There is no specific and credible threat against New York City at this point in time from any terror organization.”
Photos tweeted by the NYPD showed a dumpster that was apparently mangled by the explosion.
A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that the explosion appeared to have come from a construction toolbox in front of a building.
Chelsea is a residential neighbourhood and home to galleries, restaurants and bars.
Rudy Alcide, a bouncer at Vanity Nightclub at 21st Street and 6th Avenue, said he first thought something large had fallen on to the street. “It was an extremely loud noise. Everything was shaking, the windows were shaking,” he said. “It was extremely loud, almost like thunder but louder.”
US President Barack Obama was briefed on the situation, a White House official said.
“The president will be updated as additional information becomes available,” the official added.
Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, told a rally in Colorado that a bomb had exploded ahead of New York City officials confirming any details.
“I must tell you that just before I got off the plane a bomb went off in New York and nobody knows what’s going on,” Mr Trump said, according to the Associated Press.
“But boy we are living in a time … we better get very tough, folks. We better get very, very tough. It’s a terrible thing that’s going on in our world, in our country and we are going to get tough and smart and vigilant.”
Hillary Clinton, his Democratic rival, said it was important to know the facts before drawing any conclusions: “We have to let this investigation unfold”.
The blast in the heavily trafficked part of the city clogged roads in mid and lower Manhattan, and also prompted diversions of both subways and buses.
New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said 29 people were hurt in the blast, and 24 of them had been taken to hospital, including one person he described as seriously injured. The rest suffered cuts, scrapes and other minor injuries from shattered glass and other debris, Mr Nigro said.
The explosion, described by one neighbour as “deafening,” happened outside the Associated Blind Housing facility at 135 West 23rd Street. The facility provides housing, training and other services for the blind.
Source: The Financial Times, 18 Sep. 2016