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UPDATE 3:01 a.m. ET: A third suspicious object was reportedly found near the intersection of 5th Avenue between 28th St. and 29 St., according to WCBS-TV. The NYPD was on the scene and investigating whether it could have anything to do with the earlier explosion on 23rd St., which injured 29 people.
#BREAKING: #NYPD is investigating a suspicious package on 5th ave between 28th and 29th. @CBSNewYork
— Yan Kaner (@Ykaner89) September 18, 2016
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(TheBlaze/AP) — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says there is no reason to think that an explosion in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood had a terrorist connection, but he did call the blast an "intentional act."
However, the NYPD counterterrorism unit confirmed via Twitter that it was on the scene.
There are now 29 injuries being reported. One may be critical. We remain on the scene. #NYPD #Chelsea #Vigilant
— NYPDCounterterrorism (@NYPDCT) September 18, 2016
MSNBC aired what was purported to be video of the explosion.
A pressure cooker with wires was found just blocks away on W. 27th St. One image of the device showed what appeared to be a cellphone attached. The suspicious object was safely removed for analysis.
BREAKING PHOTO - Of Pressure Cooker with Phone attached in Mnahattan. @NYPDSpecialops & @NewYorkFBI remain o/s. pic.twitter.com/z4But8Ncci
— NYBuff Post-1 (@NYBuffPost1)September 18, 2016
The mayor also said there is no specific connection to a pipe bomb explosion in the New Jersey shore town of Seaside Park earlier Saturday at a charity run. There were no injuries in that incident.
Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro says a total of 29 people were injured in the Chelsea blast. He says one person's injuries were serious and the rest were minor.
The explosion occurred around 8:30 p.m. in the Chelsea neighborhood, according to J. Peter Donald of the New York City Police Department.
Explosion happened at roughly 8:30pm on 23rd street between 6th and 7th avenues. Several injured transported to area hospitals.— J. Peter Donald (@J. Peter Donald) 1474162280.0
People have taken to social media posting pictures and videos at the scene:
#Update re: Explosion (photo) https://t.co/AtqllF3JEZ— NYPDCounterterrorism (@NYPDCounterterrorism) 1474163862.0
I have not idea of what just happened . A huge explosion next to my building in #Chelsea #nyc #manhattan #explosion https://t.co/p71SJDR10Q— Danilo Gabrielli (@Danilo Gabrielli) 1474159306.0
Video of first few secs in #nyc #newyorkcity huge bombing https://t.co/aOLWyvQTTB— Itay Cohai (@Itay Cohai) 1474159697.0
The situation at 23rd and 6th in NYC. Explosion happened on 23rd, subway station blocked off. https://t.co/NPNjXqIerH— sergey s. (@sergey s.) 1474159502.0
BREAKING: Chaos ensues in NYC after explosion from pipe bomb. Multiple people injured. #NYCExplosion https://t.co/YR3ftLkKcy— Michael James Coudrey (@Michael James Coudrey) 1474162393.0
Major explosion right around the corner from my apartment in #NYC just happened.#safe #chelsea #explosion #rightnow https://t.co/yr2Tfnqp4U— Aiden Leslie (@Aiden Leslie) 1474160607.0
Police Commissioner James O'Neill says officers are investigating a possible second explosive device a few blocks away from the explosion at about 8:30 p.m. on West 23rd Street.
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