As Elections Near In The U.S., Suspicious Bombings Go Off In New Jersey And New York 5 Are Detained

NYPD and FBI detained five people in connection with the explosion that struck New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood on September 17, ABC TV channel reported on Monday.

The suspects were detained at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which connects the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island. “We did a traffic stop of a vehicle of interest in the investigation. No one has been charged with any crime. The investigation is continuing,” FBI New York said.

The explosion struck New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood at 8:30pm on Saturday (3:30am Moscow time). Twenty-nine people were injured in the blast.

As many as five people were taken into FBI custody Sunday night in connection with Saturday’s explosion in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, following a traffic stop on the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn, just off the Verrazano–Narrows Bridge, which connects the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island, law enforcement sources tell ABC News.

The FBI may be looking for additional suspects, the sources tell ABC News.

As ABC News previously reported, multiple law enforcement officials tell ABC News that investigators are exploring the possibility the two explosions in New York and New Jersey are linked to the same bomber or bombers by what appear to be similar types of cell phones.

And on Sunday night, multiple law enforcement officials also told ABC News that police would like to talk to a male seen on surveillance images recovered from both 23rd Street in Manhattan, where the explosion occurred, and a few blocks uptown on 27th Street, where a secondary device was found.

Police have not identified the aforementioned man, as they are seeking to figure out who he is since he appears in videos from both locations. He also has not been characterized as a person of interest. It is also unknown if that male is related in anyway to those taken into custody Sunday night.

The explosive device in New Jersey and the one that caused the blast in New York City were both set off with cell phones, according to two law enforcement officials who have been briefed on the case. The other, possible explosive device found near the blast site in New York City also had a cell phone connected to it.