There’s no evidence connecting Saturday’s bombings in New York City and New Jersey to Islamic terrorism, and the incidents also have not been linked to a stabbing rampage at a Minnesota mall the same day that left eight people wounded, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Sunday, echoing other officials who say the violence doesn’t appear to be coordinated terrorist attacks.
Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Mr. Christie said investigations into each of the incidents are ongoing.
“We don’t believe at this time there’s any evidence connecting it to the attacks in New York or Minnesota,” the Republican governor said, referring to an explosion at a Marine Corps race in New Jersey Saturday. “We have some promising leads but no suspects at this time … You don’t want to jump to conclusions and you don’t want to put information out there that you don’t know is absolutely true.”
No one was injured when the pipe bomb exploded Saturday on the Jersey Shore.
In New York City, at least 29 people were hurt when a bomb exploded in the Chelsea neighborhood, and officials described it as an “intentional act.”
A second bomb was found a few blocks away and was disarmed before it exploded.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said the bombs don’t appear to be terrorism related.
“We have no credible and specific threat at this time,” the Democratic mayor said at a press conference.
Officials also have not linked either bombing incident to a stabbing at Minnesota mall that left eight people injured Saturday. The suspect, who reportedly was wearing a private security company uniform, was shot and killed by authorities.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump briefly addressed the New York City bombing during a speech Saturday night, while Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton said very little and stressed that no one should jump to conclusions.
“I think it’s important to know the facts about any incident like this … I think it’s always wiser to wait until you have information before making conclusions,” Mrs. Clinton told reporters aboard her campaign plane.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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