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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Explosion at Upper Manhattan Starbucks
2009-05-26
There was shock, not shots being served up at a Starbuscks Coffee shop on Manhattan's Upper East Side early Monday morning, city officials said. A low-order improvised explosive device (IED) that was placed on a wooden bench outside the Starbucks café at the corner of East 92 Street and Third Avenue exploded at about 3:30 a.m., the police said. Officials said that due to the low impact nature of the bomb, the explosion appears to only have damaged the exterior of the café and since the facility was closed at the time, no injuries were reported. An investigation is currently underway to determine whether the incident is connected to a series of bombings in Manhattan over the last four years.
I can just see him holed up in his parents' basement, gloating to himself about being the Starbuckses Bomber. (Starbucks, singular; Starbuckses, incorrect plural)
Within minutes of the explosion, the NYPD, FBI, ATF and Joint Terrorism Task Force were on the scene, searching for witnesses.
"You know anything about the Starbuckses bombing?"
"No, I just saw one of them, not several."
"We don't have a motive, and obviously there is cause for concern, so we're going to do an in-depth investigation," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. "They all happened between 3:30 and 4:30 [in the morning], That's an immediate similarity, and we are going to analyze the type of explosives."

Part of that investigation involves painstakingly examining the 59 fragments of shattered glass. Police are trying to see if there is any connection to explosions at the British consulate in May 2005, the Mexican consulate in October 2007 and at the Times Square military recruiting station in March 2008.

As of publication, the police said that no on suspect was in custody and no motive had been determined.
Posted by:lotp

#13  A formula for C4 is on the internet. Temperature controls during production require intense attention, which is something most wannabe terrorists lack in ability.
Posted by: Bugs Gremble3850   2009-05-26 18:42  

#12  That's almost like Lance Armstrong winning another Tour :-)
Posted by: European Conservative   2009-05-26 13:55  

#11  *Hangs the Rantburg Cross for Cleverness on its periwinkle ribbon over his head, claps him on the shoulders and kisses both cheeks*

Mon brave!
Posted by: trailing wife   2009-05-26 13:53  

#10  *bows head*
Posted by: European Conservative   2009-05-26 13:46  

#9  E.C. wins the thread! :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2009-05-26 13:42  

#8  Can you explode something in Upper Manhattan WITHOUT hitting a Starbucks?
Posted by: European Conservative   2009-05-26 13:41  

#7  Nnnassssty sstarbuckssesses, with cruel, bright eyes!
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain   2009-05-26 11:34  

#6  I'm guessing it was someone injured in a frappuchino accident. Sort of like old George Metesky.
Posted by: Eric Jablow   2009-05-26 07:40  

#5  From the NYTimes:

Each early-morning explosion inflicted little damage and caused no casualties. A bicyclist was spotted or caught on surveillance video at the scene of the three previous attacks. There have been no arrests, the police said.

One witness to Monday’s explosion, Issam Hage, 55, who lives above the Starbucks, said he looked out the window before the blast and saw two people, possibly teenagers, cross Third Avenue and approach the bench, then run. The explosion followed in seconds. “It was a gunpowder smell,” he said.

One investigator said that other witnesses had corroborated some aspects of Mr. HageÂ’s account of two white youngsters, about 14 and 16 years old, running away from the scene. The investigator played down any connection to the earlier incidents, but said no conclusions had been reached.


My bet: Wanna-be anarchist, no relation to previous fire-crackers, problem will be copy-cats.
Posted by: Free Radical   2009-05-26 06:56  

#4  candidates

bill ayers wannabe
anti globalist
anarchist
jihadi
Posted by: lord garth   2009-05-26 06:41  

#3  Somebody who really likes real coffee?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2009-05-26 05:25  

#2  I'd check into video-boy from the NYU sit-in ...
Posted by: Steve White   2009-05-26 00:29  

#1  Let's see: the bomb was totally ineffective and was really nothing more than a big firecracker. The bomber rides a bicycle, lives in NYC, and hates Starbucks. Of course, he carefully avoids doing anything actually effective, as that would upset the fantasy of being a functioning urban terrorist and getting invitations to the best parties.
Posted by: gromky   2009-05-26 00:23  

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