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| ‘There will be more’: Chilling 911 call after Chelsea explosion | ||
| 2016-09-19 | ||
| A 911 caller warned of further explosions right after the blast that rocked Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood and injured 29 people, The Post has learned. “I’m looking at the explosion down the block. There will be more,” the unidentified male said, claiming to be standing at 23rd Street and Seventh Avenue in the aftermath of the terrifying incident, according to law-enforcement sources Sunday. Investigators believe the blast was the result of a home-made, pressure-cooker bomb similar to an unexploded device found later on 27th Street, sources said. In another new wrinkle, a hand-written letter, a portion of which is in Arabic, was found inside a plastic bag that held the second device, sources said. Cops were interviewing two men who claim to have spotted a potential person of interest in the case, sources said. The witnesses were dining at the Krush bar and grill on 32nd Street about a half-hour before the 8:30 p.m. Saturday explosion when they saw an Arab-looking man who was carrying a suitcase and appeared out of place, sources said. The men called 911 around 11 a.m. Sunday to report what they had seen and were brought to Manhattan for questioning, sources said. Investigators have obtained surveillance video of a person placing the unexploded device, sources said. It was found by an older woman who was phoned by a friend checking on her in the wake of the explosion, sources said. The woman went outside her home and noticed the bomb, then called 911. State police secured the device, and it was taken to the NYPD firing range at Rodman’s Neck for investigation, sources said. Initial analysis of the garbage Dumpster that was ripped apart in the blast suggests whatever blew up was placed outside the bin, sources said. The blast pattern shows the metal is bent inward, and an explosion inside the Dumpster would have bent the metal outward, sources said. Meanwhile, sources said investigators were “vetting” an online Tumblr page on which someone claiming to be “the NY Bomber” took responsibility for the blast and said the motive was a response to anti-gay “violence and oppression.” “I did it because I cannot stand society. I cannot live in a world where homosexuals like myself as well as the rest of the LGBTQ+ community are looked down upon by society,” one post says. The Tumblr page was taken down early Sunday afternoon.
The discovery of Tannerite in materials recovered from the Saturday night explosion that injured 29 people may be important as authorities probe whether the blast was connected to an unexploded pressure-cooker device found by state troopers just blocks away, as well as a pipe bomb blast in a New Jersey shore town earlier in the day. Cell phones were discovered at the site of both bombings, but no Tannerite residue was identified in the New Jersey bomb remnants, in which a black powder was detected, said the official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to comment on an ongoing investigation. 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. Experts said a large amount would be required to create a blast like the one Saturday night, as well as an accelerant or other ignitor. Meanwhile, a law enforcement official said federal investigators had discounted a claim of responsibility on the social blogging service Tumblr. 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. | ||
| Posted by:Steve White |