Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) said there is “no indication of a terrorist attack” in the “surreal” explosion at the Rainbow Bridge on Wednesday, which connects the United States and Canada at Niagara Falls.
A vehicle sped toward a border checkpoint at the U.S. side of the bridge on Wednesday morning and exploded after it hit one of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection booths. The car then went high into the air, Hochul said.
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“You actually had to look at [the video] and say, ‘Was this generated by AI?’ because it was so surreal to see how high in the air this vehicle went and then the crash and explosion and the fire,” Hochul said during a news conference hours after the explosion.
No evidence of explosives were found at the scene despite earlier reports, the governor said.
Hochul’s statements came after local law enforcement claimed they were treating the incident as a suspected terrorist attack, and reports suggested that the car that had exploded on the U.S. side of the border was full of explosives. Two people were killed in the explosion, and one Border Patrol agent who manned the booth was injured. The agent was sent to the hospital but has since been released.
The governor said little information is known about what led to the explosion, and the Rainbow Bridge will remain closed while an investigation is underway. The investigation is expected to take a long time because of the degree of damage done to the car and that debris from the explosion has stretched across 13 or 14 Border Patrol booths.
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Although the investigation is still ongoing, authorities said they believe the incident was not terror-related after one of the victims was identified as a local western New Yorker.
The explosion came on the busiest travel day of the year, the day before Thanksgiving, and has interrupted travel from the U.S. to Canada via Amtrak. The Buffalo International Airport is also expected to increase security with additional screenings and car checks. The Peace Bridge, which connects Buffalo, New York, and Canada, has been reopened.
