Nov. 22 (UPI) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul worked to “dial down the temperature” Wednesday, saying there’s no indication of a terrorist attack after two people died in an explosion on the Rainbow Bridge — one of the busiest U.S.-Canadian crossing spanning the two nations.
“At this time, there is no indication of a terrorist attack,” she said. “Let me repeat that: At this time, there is no indication of a terrorist-involved attack here at the Rainbow Bridge in Western New York. We’re not aware of any threats to this area, but state the caveat that the investigation is ongoing.”
Hochul said law-enforcement experts from the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection came to the conclusion after examining the scene. They did not find any evidence of online threats or any group taking credit for the crash.
“You’re going to hear me say ‘at this time’ a dozen times because it is still unfolding, but I didn’t want to leave the public with a lot more anxiety than they needed to have,” she said.
Hochul said the video from the crash was almost unbelievable: At 11:27 a.m. a car was traveling at an “extraordinarily high rate of speed,” went airborne over an 8-foot fence and through a median, crashing into a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol booth. The car and the booth immediately burst into flames. After the fire, the only thing left of the car was the engine.
“I saw the video of an airborne vehicle that was absolutely surreal. You actually had to look 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 the explosion and the fire,” she said.
Hochul said one of the people in the vehicle was a resident of western New York, adding the injured Border Patrol officer was treated at a local hospital and released.
She said people from around the world have been closely watching the crash in aftermath of the surprise attack on Israel that’s put the nation on edge. Hochul said the Rainbow Bridge will remain close while the investigation continues but nearby bridges have opened.
“The world is watching to find out what happened here,” she said. “There’s a lot of unanswered questions here, but at this time we just need to dial down the temperature right now.”
Earlier, Canadian government officials said they were operating under the assumption that the crash was terrorism. Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the government was taking the explosion “extremely seriously,” and the White House said it was monitoring the situation closely, as well. U.S. President Joe Biden and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland had been briefed about the incident.
At one point, a live feed showed law enforcement blocking off portions of the roadway near the bridge.
