29 people injured in 'intentional' blast in New York

An explosion rocked a crowded Manhattan neighborhood and injured 29 people, and a suspicious device discovered blocks away was safely removed early Sept. 18. The city's mayor, Bill de Blasio, ruled out any terror connections, but called the blast an "intentional act."

"Tonight, New York City experienced a very bad incident," de Blasio said at a news conference near the scene in Chelsea. "We have no credible and specific threat at this moment."

De Blasio tried to calm any fears among nervous New Yorkers, saying the explosion had no terrorist connection and was not related to a pipe bomb explosion earlier Sept. 17 in New Jersey that forced the cancellation of a charity run.

"Now, I want to be clear whatever the cause, whatever the intention here, New Yorkers will not be intimidated," the mayor said. "We are not going to let anyone change who we are or how we go about our lives."

It was unclear who was behind the blast and what motivated it.

"We believe it was intentional. As soon as we're able to determine what specifically caused this explosion, we will report it," de Blasio said.

A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that a second device that officers investigated four blocks from the scene appeared to be a pressure cooker attached to wiring and a cellphone. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak about an ongoing investigation, said the device was found inside a plastic bag on West 27th Street. The device was removed with a robot and taken to a department firing range in the Bronx.

The law enforcement official also said that the explosion that rocked a bustling Chelsea neighborhood appeared to have come from a construction toolbox in...