The governor of New York state says there鈥檚 no apparent terrorism link to a car that hit a median at breakneck speed, soared through the air, crashed and exploded, killing two people Wednesday at a Canada-U.S. border checkpoint in Niagara Falls.
鈥淭here is no evidence at this time that this was a terrorist activity,鈥� Gov. Kathy Hochul told a news conference about the explosion that happened just before noon at the U.S. entrance on the Rainbow Bridge spanning the Niagara River.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I want to make very clear to the public, just to calm everybody down,鈥� said Hochul. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really important, because based on what鈥檚 happening in other parts of the world, everybody is on edge. And this is an international border.鈥�
She said the investigation continues but, based on briefings with FBI, Homeland Security and other officials, there is 鈥渘o known terrorist connection.鈥�
Hochul added there were no hallmarks of terrorism, such as threat notes or a group taking public credit.
The crash led to confusion and delays throughout the region.
Three other area border crossings between Ontario and western New York were closed for hours as Mounties, the Canada Border Services Agency and Ontario Provincial Police, along with the U.S. FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and New York State Police, scrambled to contain the possibility of expanded threats.
Buffalo-Niagara International Airport began security checks on all cars and told passengers to expect additional screenings.
Hochul said the two people who died were in the vehicle and the driver was from western New York state.
The car hit the median at such a speed that it became airborne, clearing a tall fence before crashing, said Hochul.
鈥淭hey crashed into a customs and border patrol booth,鈥� she said.
鈥淭he car and the booth immediately exploded (and) burst into flames. I saw the video of an airborne vehicle that was absolutely surreal.
鈥淵our jaw will drop in disbelief and how this went so high over an eight-foot fence. It鈥檚 rather extraordinary.鈥�
Video released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows the car in the far background as other vehicles go through the checkpoint. The white-coloured vehicle roars through an intersection before hitting the median, vaulting into the air and over a security fence, then twisting as it descends out of view.
A border patrol worker, protected from the crash by a booth, received minor injuries and was released from hospital.
The identities of the dead were not released.
They were a husband and wife, according to a person briefed on the investigation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
Matthew Miraglia, the FBI special agent in charge in Buffalo, said investigators scanned the social media of the driver but found no 鈥渄erogatory鈥� information.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing there,鈥� Miraglia said.
Witnesses recalled hearing a loud explosion and seeing black smoke at the crash site.
Tania Chaumont, who lives on the Canadian side in Niagara Falls, said she saw police cars racing down a road outside the Starbucks where she works.
鈥淲e live in a crazy world,鈥� Chaumont said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of crazy stuff going on.鈥�
Hochul addressed unconfirmed reports that the pair in the car had left a Niagara Falls casino just prior to the crash.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 confirm where the car originated at this time, but there is suspicion that the vehicle may have originated in that vicinity,鈥� she said.
The Rainbow Bridge was to remain closed, she said, as investigators sift through a large debris field.
鈥淭his vehicle basically incinerated. Nothing is left but the engine. The pieces are scattered over 13, 14 booths,鈥� said Hochul.
The other three land crossings temporarily shut down were the Queenston Lewiston Bridge in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., the Peace Bridge in Buffalo, N.Y., and the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge in Niagara Falls.
Heightened global tensions and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war had officials on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border taking emergency precautions.
Canada鈥檚 Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc called it a 鈥渧iolent circumstance鈥� and a source of concern for both countries but warned against jumping to conclusions.
鈥淎ny time a piece of infrastructure as important to Canada and the United States, like a border crossing, sees this kind of violent circumstance, it鈥檚 a source of concern for the government of Canada and for the United States,鈥� said LeBlanc.
鈥淲e鈥檙e taking this circumstance very seriously. But to speculate on the origin of this particular circumstance 鈥� the reasons why this may have happened 鈥� until we have more accurate information, is simply not responsible.鈥�
Last week, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned a congressional committee about a heightened risk of extremism linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
Wray said law enforcement in the U.S. was paying heightened attention to how events abroad could fuel acts of homegrown domestic violence.
鈥淲e have seen violent extremists across ideologies seeking to target Jewish and Muslim people and institutions through physical assaults, bomb threats and online calls for mass casualty attacks,鈥� he said.
Stephen Laskowski, president of the Canadian Trucking Alliance, said 6,500 trucks carry $185 million in goods daily between Canada and the U.S. on routes connecting Ontario and western New York.
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