Thread: New York City Dumpster Explosions Injure 29

Chelsea Explosion: What We Know and Don’t Know

By CHRISTOPHER MELESEPT. 18, 2016


Police near the site of the explosion in Chelsea, which was reported around 8:30 p.m. Credit Andres Kudacki/Associated Press A powerful explosion went off on West 23rd Street in Manhattan around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, injuring 29 people, shattering windows and prompting widespread street closures.

Mayor Bill de Blasio held a news conference late on Saturday night in which he called the explosion “an intentional act.”
Here is the latest:
Where was the explosion?

The police commissioner, James P. O’Neill, said it happened in front of 131 West 23rd Street around 8:30 p.m. Witnesses said the explosion seemed to have come from a Dumpster on a sidewalk.

Officials said they believed the explosion had been caused by a homemade bomb.

Where was the second device found?


It was found on West 27th Street between the Avenue of Americas and Seventh Avenue almost three hours after the explosion. The authorities described it as a pressure-cooker device like the one used in the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013.

A photograph of the device that was shared on social media showed a silver piece of cookware with wires and a cellphone attached. The police confirmed the photo was authentic.

BREAKING PHOTO! Here is the second device found by a NYSP Sgt. At 27 street and 7 Ave. investigation is ongoing pic.twitter.com/x7o9Rr30I3
— New York City Alerts (@NYCityAlerts) Sept. 18, 2016

What happened to that device?



A Police Department truck, which was towing the second explosive device in a spherical chamber, drove away with it around 2:25 a.m. Sunday. Credit Sandra Garcia/The New York Times The Police Department bomb squad removed the device around 2:25 a.m. to the department’s firing range at Rodman’s Neck in the Bronx, where it will be inspected by robots.

What was the nature of the injuries?

Many of the injuries were caused by shrapnel from the explosion. The injuries were not life-threatening, though one person was seriously hurt, officials said.

Was this an act of terrorism?

http://nyti.ms/2chFry3

The mayor called the explosion “an intentional act” but said at a news conference late on Saturday night that there was no known connection to terrorism.

He added that there was “no specific and credible threat against New York City at this point in time from any terror organization.”

Are there any suspects?

The police commissioner said at the news conference that no suspect was in custody. “We are still in the process of trying to figure that out,” he said.

Mr. O’Neill said the authorities had collected video of the explosion but asked the public for any footage it might have, as well as eyewitness accounts and tips.

What streets were closed after the explosion?

The Police Department issued an advisory around 1 a.m. on Sunday that 14th Street to 32nd Street was closed eastbound and westbound to vehicular traffic between Fifth and Eighth Avenues.

Was there a connection to an explosion in New Jersey?

Officials said the New York explosion was not tied to a blast that happened 11 hours before when an improvised device exploded in a garbage can near the course of a charity race that was about to start in Seaside Park, N.J.

That device went off around 9:30 a.m. There were no injuries.

What we don’t know

• Who was responsible for the explosion.
• What was inside the pressure cooker.
• Why the site of the explosion was selected.
• A motive behind the explosion.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/19/ny...T.nav=top-news