Terror gripped the New York/New Jersey area, on September 17th, days after the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. There were two bombings relatively near to each other with fortunately no deaths, however twenty-nine people were injured during the New York bombing.
One bombing was in Seaside Park, New Jersey and the other in New York City. At first the police did not think that the two bombings were related, but that later changed. The first bombing happened in New Jersey at 9:30 a.m on Saturday morning. The bomb was placed
in a garbage can near a Marine Corps charity run. Thankfully, registration problems delayed the start of the race so no one was near the garbage can when the bomb exploded, therefore, no one was injured. Investigators discovered three pipe-bomb-type devices wired together. These are simple devices with some type of timer. Only one of them went off, probably because of some sort of error since whoever planted these bombs was likely un-experienced.
After the New Jersey bombing, no one would have expected another bombing a short distance away. The New York bombing had much more of an impact than the New Jersey bombing did. At 8:30 p.m, Saturday night, the bomb went off in the Chelsea neighborhood. There were no deaths but twenty-nine people were injured. These injuries were significant, but not life threatening. Many of these injuries were caused by shrapnel (fragments of a bomb, shell, or other object thrown out by an explosion) from the explosion. The impact shattered windows, damaged cars, and sent crowds running from the scene when the neighborhood was filled with residents and tourists. Witnesses said they could feel the explosion from several blocks away. Authorities believe it was a homemade bomb. A second explosive was then found a few hours later only a few blocks away by a device described as a pressure cooker like the one used in the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013. However, it was unclear whether the first blast was caused by some type of explosive. Witnesses said it seemed to have started inside a dumpster. However, there was no video footage of anyone placing the device in the spot where it exploded.
On Monday morning, September 19th, a twenty-eight year old man named Ahmad Khan Rahami was found sleeping in the doorway of a neighborhood bar and was taken into custody after being wounded in a gun battle with officers at 10:30 a.m. The second bomb in New York had his fingerprints on it, and investigators believe that he drove into New York shortly before the Chelsea blast erupted. Investigators are still trying to figure out what provoked the attacks or whether Ahmad Khan Rahami was aided by others. Authorities believe he received training from someone with experience in building explosives, and that he was not working alone. But there is no reason to believe another bomber is on the run. He was charged with seven murders, including five counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, with bail set at $5.2 million.
Ryan Hanning said that if she were in a situation where a bomb went off she said she would “get away, take in my surroundings, and try to find people I know.” She believes that nowadays this is a serious problem in our world and Ahmad Khan Rahami should be punished for what he did. She said that “The cops should get more people working on this.” But she added that they should be careful because if there is another bomber running around, and they feel threatened they could potentially set off more bombs. Lastly, she said that “People shouldn’t be scared, but they should be aware and realize that these type of things are happening in our world.”
By Camryn Hipwell
The Claw 