2016 New York and New Jersey Bombings

Overview

2016 New York and New Jersey Bombings refers to several bombings that took place in New York City, as well as Seaside Park and Elizabeth, New Jersey in late September 2016. While no one was injured in any explosions that occurred in New Jersey, 29 people were injured by a bomb that detonated in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York.

Background

On September 17th, 2016, a suspicious backpack was discovered in Seaside Park, New Jersey close to the start of the Seaside Semper Five 5k marathon. Meanwhile, a pipe bomb exploded in a trash can nearby on Ocean Avenue but no one was injured. Several other pipe bombs were subsequently found in the area. That evening, a pressure cooker bomb containing small ball bearings exploded in front of 133 West 23rd Street in New York City, injuring 29 civilians. An additional pressure cooker bomb was found near a mailbox four blocks away. The following day, a suspicious package was discovered by two homeless men at a train station in Elizabeth, New Jersey, which police later determined contained pipe bombs. One of the bombs accidentally detonated while police were attempting to disarm it, but no one was injured.

Developments

Dumpster Photograph

Following the Manhattan bombing, many witnesses claimed the explosion came from a nearby dumpster on West 23rd. That evening, a photograph of a twisted dumpster widely circulated on Twitter (shown below).^[1] The following day, authorities revealed that the explosion came from a construction box.

Online Reaction

Immediately after the Manhattan bombing occurred, the BunkerHD YouTube channel posted security camera footage of the explosion (shown below). Within 48 hours, the video gained over 2.3 million views and 5,500 comments. Meanwhile, the video reached the front page of the /r/videos^[3] subreddit.

Also on September 17th, a post about the bombing reached the front page of /r/news. On September 18th, YouTuber Paul Joseph Watson posted a video titled "The Truth About the New York Bombing," which criticized Clinton's response to the incident (shown below). On September 19th, Redditor GiantFeetTinyHands submitted a post claiming that moderators on the /r/news subreddit were deleting any posts naming the Manhattan bombing suspect.^[6]

Suspect's Arrest

On September 19th, authorities revealed they were looking for suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami, a 28-year-old Afghan-born United States citizen who worked at the restaurant First American Fried Chicken in Elizabeth, New Jersey (shown below).

According to reports, Rahami had traveled to Afghanistan several years prior when he began showing "signs of radicalization." Later that day, Rahami was confronted by a police officer when he was found sleeping in the doorway of a bar in Linden, New Jersey, and shot the officer in the abdomen with a pistol. Additional police arrived on the scene shortly after, where one officer was shot in the hand and Rahami was shot several times before taken into custody. Neither of the police officers' injuries were deemed life threatening.

Search Interest

External References