Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Dozens of People Wounded in New York Explosion; Minnesota Mall Stabbing Spree; U.S. Airstrike in Syria Riles Russia; Obama Delivers Impassioned Speech For Clinton. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired September 18, 2016 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: 3:00 am on the east coast. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. We continue following the breaking news here on CNN, an explosion that's being investigated in New York City. I'm George Howell.
NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Natalie Allen. Yes, we have one explosion, two suspicious devices now. Police say they have video of the explosion and this they'll be using to investigate.
We can now show you this video was provided by MSNBC. It purports to be surveillance footage of the blast from a nearby fitness center.
HOWELL: The explosion happened at 23rd Street and 6th Avenue. It happened around 8:40 in the evening local time. And there are reports it came or near -- it happened in a Dumpster. Law enforcement sources tell CNN a suspicious device was found just blocks away from that blast.
We're showing you images now of that device. It appears to be a pressure cooker rigged with wires. It has duct tape and a cell phone. The device that you see there was found at 27th Street.
And now we're getting word of yet another device that's being investigated. We'll get more on that from our correspondent, Jean Casarez, who's on the ground covering it in just a moment.
ALLEN: Meantime this first explosion, the good news is no one was killed. Only one person has severe injuries. Officials say 29 people were wounded and we know from our reporter outside a hospital that at least nine have already been released.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and other officials briefed reporters on the incident just a couple of hours ago. Here's some of what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BILL DE BLASIO, MAYOR OF NEW YORK: There is no evidence at this point of a terror connection to this incident. This is preliminary information. It's something we will be investigating very carefully.
But there is no evidence at this point of a terror connection. But we do want to be very clear. The early indications, the initial indication is this was an intentional act.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Mayor Bill de Blasio saying that it was intentional, also pointing out no nexus to terrorism. Obviously, these are the guys of NYPD. They know what they're doing. They're methodical about the information they're putting out.
That was the first news conference we heard from the mayor. And obviously, we'll hear more as the night goes on.
ALLEN: Jean Casarez was our first correspondent on the scene. She's been there throughout the evening. She joins us once again from New York.
Jean, learning now that there is another device.
What are you hearing?
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're continually hearing new information. And what we now have gotten is that the police are investigating a suspicious device. Very important word there, "device."
It's at 28th Street and 5th Avenue in New York City, which is about five blocks away from where I am. And I am right here, on 23rd Street, the site of the original explosion.
They have not confirmed this was a device. At this point it was an explosion. But the crime scene's being processed.
It's right over my right shoulder. I'm sure it will be processed for a long time, hours to come, because it happened in or around a Dumpster.
And we do know that 29 victims, because of that explosion, 24 of them were taken to the hospital, wounds from metal and glass, one puncture wound. And as you said, some are being released now. But one we heard was in very serious condition, a very serious situation. So we need to see what goes on from there.
But it wasn't much longer after this explosion that we heard about at 27th between 6th and 7th, 27th Street, there was a secondary device that was found. We later learned that that was a pressure cooker. And pictures of that have surfaced.
We do know and have confirmed they've taken that pressure cooker to a safe location to investigate that at this point. But now we see -- and vehicles are still coming in here. Right now we
have a -- this is the fire department. So you see this is a continual situation right here. Some vehicles leave, others come.
But I will tell you that the federal government is here, the state government and New York City's counterterrorism unit, although Mayor de Blasio has said New York City has not been given a terror threat at all. And there's nothing at this point to say that this is terrorism. But all of the anti-terrorism --
[03:05:00]
CASAREZ: -- units are on scene tonight. In New York City, I'm Jean Casarez. Back to you.
HOWELL: Jean, one other question. This is George. When you talk about the apparatus that is in play tonight, you have investigators with NYPD. You have counterterrorism officials, as you pointed out. We had on our own Tom Fuentes earlier and he was trying to square the circle here.
I mean, so you have officials saying that this was intentional. You have officials also saying no nexus to terrorism. We understand there was an explosion. We know that there was a second device, this pressure cooker, I should say, that was discovered at 27th Street. And then at 28th this third device as you point out.
So are you hearing anything more from investigators about what's going on?
CASAREZ: No. They're just out and about. And they're all here. There's police officers on the corner. I think a lot of people are surprised that a conclusion was made so soon with an investigation that was absolutely unfolding at the time, whether it be a law enforcement investigation, a criminal investigation, a police or fire investigation. Things change.
And it is difficult to make conclusions initially because many are saying that it puts someone in the corner because they've concluded something is as it is and it may turn out to be exactly the opposite.
But at this point, as we said, a third device that is suspicious was found five blocks away where I'm standing right here, which is where the initial explosion took place, right behind my right shoulder -- George.
ALLEN: Yes. And, Jean, quickly, this is Natalie.
Any more warnings to people who live in that area then?
There was a text that went out earlier just telling people to stay away from your windows when they had the pressure cooker.
But what about New Yorkers who live in that area?
We now have several blocks with perhaps dangerous situations. HOWELL: Especially with this third device.
CASAREZ: Exactly. What we heard with the initial explosion is they searched the buildings by the Dumpster. They did not have to ask anyone to evacuate.
But, Natalie, it was amazing. On your cell phone, we all got these emergency alerts at the same time and our cell phones are buzzing. The initial alerts said if you live in the vicinity of 27th Street between 6th and 7th, stay away from your windows.
We just got another alert minutes ago, saying that the device that was found has been removed from the area and that it's safe, that they do not have to stay away from their windows at this point.
But we are getting these alerts, first time ever in New York City we've gotten this particular type of alert. But it's very concerning and I think it shows you the gravity or the alleged gravity of the situation.
HOWELL: Jean, I'm just clarifying.
Is that for that third device?
I'm just clarifying, that alert.
CASAREZ: The third device we have not gotten an alert for yet on the third device. They call it suspicious, they call it a device, they call it that they are investigating it. And it is 28th Street and 5th Avenue in New York City.
ALLEN: If you learn more about that and if it does come through, we'll get back to you, Jean. Thanks so much for all your work the past few hours there, staying at the scene.
HOWELL: Jean, thank you so much.
CASAREZ: You're welcome. Thank you, Natalie and George.
HOWELL: Thank you so much.
And again, police have widened the perimeter of that crime scene after finding these multiple suspicious devices.
ALLEN: So, yet again, this is a fast-evolving investigation. We've had correspondents out, covering many angles throughout this night. Our Richard Quest has been there for every step of it and he has now more now on the development from his corner there in New York.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNNMONEY EDITOR AT LARGE: It was roughly an hour and a half after the 23rd Street device exploded that we became aware of considerable police and fire department activity four blocks further north on 27th Street and 7th Avenue. And it was soon thereafter confirmed that a device had been found on
27th Street. A picture was later released showing a pressure cooker with wires coming out and supposedly attached to a cell phone. But we've never been told what was in that pressure cooker or, indeed, whether it was a viable device.
Shortly after that, we saw a bomb containment unit of the police department arrive, which is a large metal structure which was taken down the road and we believe that's where the pressure cooker was put into and subsequently the suggestion is it has been taken away to be defused and analyzed.
As for the scene around 27th Street, well, it was a warm evening, the beginning of fall. The streets were packed. People enjoying the evening. And frankly, nobody can quite understand why these two streets, 23rd and 27th, streets like pretty much --
[03:10:00]
QUEST: -- any other in New York, certainly not streets of any great significance or importance, why they should be the ones that would have been the targets -- Richard Quest, CNN, 27th Street in Manhattan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: And, of course, since Richard filed that report, within the last hour we got yet another street now that they're watching, 28th and 5th. A device, a suspicious device has been found. That's new information in the past like 30 minutes.
HOWELL: Busy moving night here. Let's now bring in Steve Moore via Skype in Los Angeles, the CNN law enforcement contributor and former FBI supervisory special agent.
Steve, good to have you with us again this hour. So here's what we know. We know that that explosion happened at 23rd Street. We know that a pressure cooker was discovered at 27th. And now there's a focus on this third device at 28th Street.
Again, no nexus to terrorism. This is according to the New York mayor. It was intentional, according to authorities.
Tom Fuentes pointed out he's having a hard time squaring the circle. So I ask you the same thing.
With your expertise, what do you think?
STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: I think that this is going to be terrorism of some type, whether it's international terrorism, whether it's an Islamic terrorist group, if it's ISIS, we don't know.
But this is not some type of criminal activity, this is terrorism.
The other -- I think that the key to this is going to be finding out why these devices didn't go off if, indeed, they were IEDs. HOWELL: And just to make sure, I want to make very clear with our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world, as you give your great insight and expertise, you feel that it could be terrorism. Investigators at this point, they are not saying it to be the case yet.
MOORE: That's correct.
HOWELL: The NYPD investigators are on this and we'll learn more through the night.
ALLEN: I want to ask you about that, Steve, because why do you think that the mayor would come out and say that this was an intentional act but right now we don't have a connection to terrorism?
And since he's made that announcement, there's been another device and another device.
Why do you think he would draw that conclusion so early?
MOORE: Well, if I were the mayor, I would have said the exact same thing because, right now, there is no concrete nexus to terrorism. I mean, I'm giving my opinion on here, based on all of my experience.
The investigators may believe that it will eventually become terrorism. But right now just the appearance of it is not enough to say that it is connected to terrorism.
ALLEN: I think it's very interesting that you do point out that we have a second device that didn't go off. We don't know about the third device. But apparently, something is being investigated and it did not explode as well.
HOWELL: Steve, let's talk about the actual device, the image that we've seen.
And if we can show our viewers this image of the pressure cooker again, you see wires associated with the pressure cooker. You see a cell phone attached.
Just from what you are looking at there, Steve, what do you make of this and its level of sophistication?
MOORE: Well, it's not overly sophisticated but certainly it's going to be effective. All the parts are there to make it happen. If there's a battery in the cell phone, you've got enough juice there to ignite.
What's interesting to me is the -- if I remember, if I heard correctly, the device in New Jersey this morning were three pipe bombs where only one went off.
This -- the bomb -- the IED that went off earlier, that may have gone off low order rather than high order. You know, you can have it detonate but not detonate efficiently. That may be why people were not killed. And this could lead one to believe that maybe this person was building
IEDs the first time and really didn't do a good job of it and it's possible that these simply were duds, they didn't go off.
ALLEN: And quickly, Steve, this is a hard question to answer quickly, but we're running out of time here.
What are the tracks of this investigation?
Our reporter, Jean Casarez, still saw another vehicle coming in, counterterrorism vehicles have been spotted. They now have a video with a suspicious person on it. Give us a little canvas of how New York is going after and investigating this right now.
MOORE: All the videos on 5th Avenue, all the way up and down from 20th to 30th, you are going to have so much video out there, you are going to find this person. This is not going to be a long investigation.
ALLEN: Steve Moore, again, we thank you so much, Steve. We know you're an expert at investigating. We'll talk again.
HOWELL: We'll stay in touch. Thank you, Steve.
ALLEN: On the same night as the New York explosion, another act of violence. A suspect is dead --
[03:15:00]
ALLEN: -- after going on a stabbing spree at a shopping mall in the state of Minnesota.
HOWELL: Police in the city of St. Cloud, they say multiple victims have been wounded. Eight people were transported to the hospital, all with non-life-threatening injuries.
Witnesses there say the suspect entered the shopping mall and made a reference to Allah and then asked at least one person if they were Muslim before he assaulted them. An off-duty police officer shot and killed that attacker.
Police now say the unnamed suspect had two minor encounters with police back in 2008 and 2010, though those encounters did not result in an arrest.
ALLEN: We have other stories we're following from around the world and we'll continue to bring you developments there from New York. You're watching live coverage on CNN. We'll be right back.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ALLEN: Welcome back to our breaking news coverage of an explosion in New York City. I'm Natalie, along with George, here with you again. Here's what we know.
A device found a few streets from the explosion appears to be a pressure cooker. That has been removed. Law enforcement officials have not said what was inside of it. They have said that it had dark- colored wiring --
[03:20:00]
ALLEN: -- coming out of the top, along with duct tape. The New York Police Department tells CNN they're also investigating now a third suspicious device that has been found at 28th and 5th.
HOWELL: And according to the mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, he says that the explosion Saturday night appears to be intentional. At least 29 people were wounded because of it.
Sources say investigators are looking at surveillance video that appears to show a person near where the explosion occurred and they're trying to determine if that individual is in any way connected to what happened there.
Turning now to other news that we're following around the world, the United Nations Security Council wrapped up its emergency session just a few hours ago and Russia called the meeting after blaming the United States for a coalition airstrike, a strike that killed dozens of Syrian troops in an eastern province.
Australia also now saying its aircraft were involved in that attack.
ALLEN: And the United States has said that strike was a mistake and they apologized for it and that they had stopped it immediately after Russian officials informed them of their error. They thought were going after ISIS.
But a spokesman for Russia's foreign ministry said it suggests, this is what Russia says, the U.S. is defending ISIS. We've heard from before. As Richard Roth reports, that brought a swift response from the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: A fierce and bitter war of words between the U.S. and Russia Saturday night at U.N. headquarters in New York.
Russia had called for an emergency security council meeting. U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power, before she went into the session, said the U.S. regrets the loss of life, Syrian soldiers hit by a U.S. airstrike but then blasted Moscow.
SAMANTHA POWER, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: This said, even by Russia's standards, tonight's stunt, a stunt replete with moralism and grandstanding, is uniquely cynical and hypocritical.
ROTH: Samantha Power spoke while the Russian ambassador was briefing the Security Council in closed consultations. Quickly the Russian ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, came to meet the media, outraged at what he had heard.
VITALY CHURKIN, RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR: All my years in the United Nations, that is over 10 years and in four more years in international life, I've never seen -- which is over 40 years. I've never seen such an extraordinary display of American heavy-handedness as we are witnessing today.
As I was talking in the Security Council, sharing our analysis and frustration over the situation of Syria, Ambassador Power chose to talk to you.
ROTH: Diplomats inside the meeting said the real show was outside before the cameras. Both the U.S. and Russian envoys seemed to indicate an interest in keeping the humanitarian pause agreement in place but there are bruised tensions.
POWER: And so why are we having this meeting tonight?
It's a diversion from what is happening on the ground in Syria.
CHURKIN: Frankly, I don't know what the next step is going to be or what the next move we can expect. Unfortunately, from what I heard Ambassador Power say as she walked into the room, this is not a very good omen.
ROTH: Ambassador Churkin has quarreled with other U.S. ambassadors, though this appeared to be particularly edgy. The General Assembly annual debate begins Monday and Syria is a major topic -- Richard Roth, CNN, United Nations.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Let's go to the region now for a live report about this airstrike and our Ben Wedeman joining us live from Istanbul. He has been reporting extensively in this region and on this war.
And certainly Samantha Power not mincing words there at the U.N. and Russia showing its anger at the United States, Ben. But the good news we just heard from Richard Roth is it seems like both countries still supporting this cessation of hostilities.
What are you learning there?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it does appear that they do support it. But the cessation of hostilities that began on the 12th of September is looking very frail at the moment.
In fact, I was in touch with Fred Pleitgen, our correspondent in Aleppo. He said overnight he heard lots of explosions. So the fighting seems to be still going on, despite the rhetorical support for the cease-fire from the United States and Russia. Now according to the cease-fire agreement that was worked out between
the two countries, what was supposed to happen is, once the fighting stopped, humanitarian aid was to go into places like the opposition- controlled parts of Aleppo.
After that, if that worked well, then the United States and Russia were supposed to set up a joint implementation center which was intended to coordinate airstrikes by the Russians and the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS and Al Qaeda --
[03:25:00]
WEDEMAN: -- in Syria. Now all of this seems to be up in the air at the moment following this incident that happened outside of Deir ez- Zor. And certainly that's not for lack of a desperately needed on the ground. But certainly if the United States and the Russians cannot agree on this cease-fire then it doesn't look too good as far as the future goes -- Natalie.
ALLEN: All right, thanks so much. Ben Wedeman live for us there in Istanbul, Turkey.
Witnesses from the explosion in New York tell CNN what they saw and what they're telling us and what they heard. It's pretty remarkable. We'll return to our breaking news story from New York City -- next.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.
ALLEN: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. We're live for you here. Continue to bring you the latest on the story in New York. I'm Natalie Allen.
HOWELL: The breaking news we're coverage: 29 people wounded after an explosion in New York's Chelsea neighborhood. And surveillance video from a nearby gym, it shows what happened there, this obtained by MSNBC.
It shows the windows there shattering. You see people running there outside on the street and investigators, they say that they may have found video showing the person nearby where the actual blast occurred. They're trying to figure out if that individual is somehow connected to that explosion.
ALLEN: Because we haven't heard anything about who might be behind it until we got that news in the past hour.
A few blocks down from where this happened, authorities found this, a suspicious device resembling a pressure cooker. Sources tell CNN it was connected to a cell phone with wires attached. New York police tell CNN they're also investigating, as we just said, another suspicious device found two blocks away on -- what street was it, George?
[03:30:02] 28th Street.
HOWELL: Busy night in New York City, a Saturday night. Keep in mind the UNGA just about to get started. We're coming in -- oh this has been coming in on Fashion Week as well.
ALLEN: Always a busy, busy time in New York. But especially right now.
(CROSSTALK)
HOWELL: A lot of people on the streets, 29 people injured. Thankfully, no one killed but we know that at least one person in critical condition, the latest we've heard.
CNN's Rachel Crane has the very latest on that from outside Bellevue Hospital for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: George and Natalie, nine of those 29 blast victims were transported here to Bellevue Hospital. Hospital officials tell us that many of those victims at this point have in fact been released, that none of them had life-threatening injuries.
We had a chance to speak with a couple that were victims of the blast just as they were being discharged from the hospital. They described the scene. They said that they were driving their car in the area when, all of a sudden, the explosion occurred, that's when their car was lifted up by the force of that blast and the whole left side damaged.
Both of them were transported here to Bellevue and they said they are incredibly lucky to be alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll just tell you what I remember. I was driving a car and the next thing you know I felt an explosion and the car just tilted over halfway and came back down. What happened was I just blacked out. The next thing you know, I'm in an ambulance.
CRANE: What about you?
What do you remember?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything was so sudden and fast, it was more of a shock that I remember.
CRANE: How are you doing now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pain and, you know, a little traumatized. Just thought about that I was close to not actually seeing my son again. That was the scariest part of the night for me.
CRANE: And George and Natalie, you hear him saying he was worried about not seeing his son again, clearly worried for his life. Now as I pointed out, a hospital official told us that several of
those nine blast victims had been released from the hospital. We spoke to another young woman who was a blast victim, who said that she was in shock, that she just wanted to go home and go to sleep but it had all happened so fast she could hardly recall it.
We also have seen a heightened security presence here all evening outside of Bellevue Hospital, heavily armed officers. They were also checking every single ambulance that was coming into the hospital, checking ambulances by those armed guards.
Clearly, all of New York City, including Bellevue Hospital, on heightened alert -- Natalie and George.
ALLEN: Very interesting developments. It's just really amazing when you hear people talking about this explosion lifting their car up, that you have people have already walked out of the hospital tonight.
Do you know anything about any other victims who were taken elsewhere, Rachel, or the person who's in critical?
CRANE: We have not yet learned any details about the person who is in critical condition. They were not transported here to Bellevue. We do know that.
As far as other victims here at Bellevue, we only spoke to three of those nine victims, two of which you just heard from yourself and then the other young woman that I spoke of.
But as I pointed out, a hospital official telling us most of those nine blast victims have at this point been released from the hospital. So clearly their injury is not too serious.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: That was our CNN correspondent Rachel Crane, just outside Bellevue Hospital with the very latest, again, saying that nine of those people, most of them being released.
ALLEN: Again, yes, we've had an explosion. Two other devices that didn't go off. And we have only one person in serious condition.
HOWELL: And now this third device, too, that they're looking into. We're obviously staying in touch with investigators on that.
And we showed you earlier some sound from the New York mayor, Bill de Blasio, his comments to reporters there. We want you hear a little more of what he had to say Saturday evening. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL DE BLASIO, MAYOR OF NEW YORK: Saying that there is no evidence at this point of a terror connection to this incident. This is our preliminary information. It's something we will be investigating very carefully. But there is no evidence at this point of a terror connection. I also want to affirm that, based on what we know at this hour,
there's no specific connection to the incident in New Jersey. It's, again, too early to say anything definitive on those questions. But there's no specific evidence of a connection at this point.
I want to say more broadly, there is no specific and credible threat against New York City at this point in time from any terror organization. So as we are analyzing what happened here, we are doing it --
[03:35:00]
DE BLASIO: -- against the backdrop but we have no credible and specific threat at this moment. But we do want to be very clear, the early indications -- the initial indications is this was an intentional act.
We are going to have a lot more to say in the coming hours as we have more -- a detailed analysis -- but we believe at this point in time this was an intentional act.
I want to assure all New Yorkers that the NYPD and all other agencies are at full alert and that our anti--terror capacity in particular is at full alert, our Critical Response Command and our other key units, our Strategic Response Group, our Emergency Services Unit -- all are on alert and all are dealing with this situation and being vigilant all over the city at this point in time.
And we have in this city the most advanced anti-terror capacity of any city in this country and obviously the largest police force of any city in the country -- all ready to ensure our safety.
Now I want to be clear whatever the cause, whatever the intention here, New Yorkers will not be intimidated. We are not going to let anyone change who we are or how we go about our lives. We have the best police force in the country and a number of other key agencies, FDNY, OEM, etcetera making sure we will be safe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Mayor de Blasio several hours ago.
When he mentioned that incident in New Jersey, so we want to remind our viewers, if you're just joining us, what that was. Earlier Saturday, an explosion went off in a garbage can at Seaside Park in New Jersey. It happened right before a charity run for the U.S. Marine Corps. It was supposed to be underway.
Police found three devices resembling pipe bombs, one of which detonated. No injuries reported but police say it was clearly meant to disrupt that event. So that is the issue that the mayor just referred to.
Also want to point out that was news conference at 11:00 pm. He was with the head of the fire department, the new police commissioner but we haven't heard anything as far as official reports, other than that suspicious device. No more news conferences since 11:00 pm, that 4.5 hours ago there.
HOWELL: Also important to point out the mayor, in that news conference, I believe pointed out that these are not connected, from what they're saying right now. But that news conference happened at 11:00. We'll have to wait to hear more from investigators as the night and the morning goes on.
We're hearing from witnesses about what they experienced when the actual explosion took place in Chelsea. And it's shocking what they're saying.
ALLEN: Right, because it's just another busy night on the streets of New York. One man said he heard the blast even though he was several blocks away.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it sounds like, when you hear those metal steel plates, the ones that are like an inch thick and they're 20 foot by 20 foot or 10 foot by 10 foot. And it just flattened full straight on the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where were you at ?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was on 23rd Street and 10th.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you're pretty far away?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm about three blocks away. I didn't know it was three blocks away, it sounded like a block away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which is pretty amazing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's an explosion and then you start -- I'm an architect -- then you get concerned. You heard about gas explosions; I've lived through 9/11 and, yes, it was a concern for humanity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell me about the scene afterwards, once you heard the explosion --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- first responders coming. So a lot of the blinking lights, first responders, a lot of police and then as they started, fire trucks, emergency vehicles, undercover emergency vehicles. I spoke to one ambulance man, he says, I go, "What's going on?"
He goes, "I haven't heard anything yet."
He goes, "We're still investigating."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was it chaotic? Was it calm? How would you describe --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty calm. There's a lot of people at the corner because there were still vehicles, surprisingly. There was many vehicles still coming down 23rd Street that they had to clear out.
And as they started -- and then I just saw the first police car block everybody on 23rd Street and then get rid of all those cars. So after all the vehicles were gone, then you see the people congregating on the corner.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you concerned at all for your safety, knowing that this explosion just happened, what, three blocks away from you and not a lot of information?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Initially, yes, you always have that concern, because you don't know if it's three blocks away or if it's about 100 feet away. And you just never -- you don't know -- and these days, you just don't know.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: We've been talking about this third possible device, as we learned from investigators about an hour ago or so, maybe a little less than that. But we just got an update -- and I want put this out on social. So I want to make sure you all understand.
We got an update from investigators that that third device turned out to be nothing. In fact, they think it may be garbage. But you get a sense that the investigators there in New York are on high alert. They're looking at everything --
[03:40:00]
HOWELL: -- because when you think about the second device that was discovered, this pressure cooker, it was sort of in an obscure area. They're not taking anything for granted at this point.
ALLEN: So the very good news, though, that this third device, it doesn't exist.
HOWELL: Yes. And we'll be sure to update that throughout the night as well.
The U.S. president and both presidential candidates are also aware of what's happening in New York right now.
ALLEN: Yes. Hillary Clinton learned about the explosion while she was at the Congressional Black Caucus gala in Washington Saturday. Clinton talked to reporters about what happened or what she knew about what happened at that point after her plane landed in New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've been briefed about bombings in New York and New Jersey and the attack in Minnesota. Obviously, we need to do everything we can to support our first responders, also to pray for the victims.
We have to let this investigation unfold. We've been in touch with various officials, including the mayor's office in New York, to learn what they are discovering as they conduct this investigation. And I'll have more to say about it when we actually know some facts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: That's Hillary Clinton there on the plane.
And now U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump also speaking about what happened in New York.
He just learned about it right before he took the stage to speak at a rally. Here's what he said at that campaign rally in Colorado.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I must tell you that, just before I got off the plane, a bomb went off in New York and nobody knows exactly what's going on. But, boy, we are living in a time, we'd better get very tough, folks. We'd better get very, very tough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL:
HOWELL: Important to point out, though, at this point, it is unclear the nature of that explosion. We'll continue to learn more from investigators.
ALLEN: We have much more ahead for you. Please stay tuned.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:45:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HOWELL: We continue following the breaking news here on CNN. That explosion Saturday night in New York City, officials saying 29 people there were wounded from this blast.
It happened in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. Very, very busy night out there. Police say that they have video of that explosion and they'll be using that to investigate what happened here.
We can also show you this video from MSNBC. It purports to be surveillance footage of the explosion from a nearby fitness center.
ALLEN: It looks like it's happening inside. It's not. This is what's happening just outside the Orange Theory there.
The explosion happened at 23rd Street and 6th Avenue. It happened around 8:40 in the evening there. Officials tell CNN they found this as well, a suspicious device a couple blocks away from the original explosion. That device has been removed. It's a pressure cooker, rigged with wires, duct tape and a cell phone. HOWELL: Let's take a look at that image there. You get a sense of that particular device.
You know, investigators will be determining what was in it, who could have built that device and then also determining the level of sophistication, is this something anyone could do or does it take a level of skill?
(CROSSTALK)
ALLEN: It's not too hard, according to our experts, to do this type of thing.
HOWELL: We're following other news here in the United States today. The race for the U.S. president, both Hillary Clinton and the president, Barack Obama, they were featured guests at a gala in Washington on Saturday.
ALLEN: And Mr. Obama, who took a bow with his wife, the first lady, delivered one of the most impassioned speeches of his presidency, urging African American voters not to turn their backs on Hillary Clinton. Senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: President Obama delivering a rallying cry to black voters during a speech Saturday night in Washington in some of the strongest language he has used yet, acknowledging that he's not on the ballot but his legacy is.
He delivered a blistering attack against Donald Trump and said it would be a personal insult to his legacy if Donald Trump was elected.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: My name may not be on the ballot, but our progress is on the ballot. Tolerance is on the ballot. Democracy is on the ballot.
And after we have achieved historic turnout in 2008 and 2012, especially in the African-American community, I will consider it a personal insult, an insult to my legacy, if this community lets down its guard and fails to activate itself in this election.
You want to give me a good send-off?
Go vote.
ZELENY: The president has often criticized Donald Trump but not in these strong of terms. He also said that Trump is simply wrong about the history of the country. He talked about his birth certificate, but he also talked about more and said that black voters in particular need to rally to Hillary Clinton's side.
For her part Hillary Clinton also on stage at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation dinner. She came to the president's aid, talking about his birth certificate. CLINTON: Even when hateful nonsense is thrown their way, Barack, Michelle, their two beautiful daughters have represented our country with class, grace and integrity.
Mr. President, not only do we know you are an American, you're a great American.
ZELENY: President Obama and Hillary Clinton talked backstage. There's no question that he is going to be one of the biggest components in her final election strategy here in the next 50 days. He made that indicate clear to black voters and he is going to go across the country campaigning for the month of October -- Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: Some context now. CNN Politics reporter Eugene Scott, live in Washington via Skype.
Eugene, always a pleasure to have you with us. You just saw a moment ago there, the President of the United States, Barack Obama, some people say he's a pretty laid-back guy.
But, my goodness. That was pretty fired up there. This is personal for him.
EUGENE SCOTT, CNN POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Very much so. I was at the gala and it was very clear that the president believes that this is something that he needs, this bloc, one that has supported him consistently, through both his campaigns, to continue that support and translate it to Hillary Clinton.
Hillary Clinton's challenges with black voters have been very evident throughout the primary season in some of the disagreements she got into with her rival, Bernie Sanders, as well as ongoing protests from black Millennials regarding some of the policies that's she has backed in the past.
But President Barack Obama made it very clear that he believes --
[03:50:00]
SCOTT: -- that if black voters support him and want to see the work that he has done continue, the only option for them is to support Hillary Clinton.
HOWELL: Both the president and Hillary Clinton talking about this issue, the birther topic, that Donald Trump says that he solved.
How significant will that be for the Clinton campaign that is sliding in the polls to Donald Trump?
Trump is gaining.
How significant could this issue be for Clinton to focus in on? SCOTT: I think what we saw Hillary Clinton do last night, which is what she has also done after Donald Trump responded to this issue this past weekend, is paint it as something that is a part of a larger issue with the Trump campaign and that is, according to Clinton, a candidate who does not have a high view of diversity and a sensitivity to issues that affect people on the outside, on the outskirts of our communities.
And so she wants to make it clear that the birther comments are just one of many that black voters should be concerned about.
HOWELL: Trump saying that he solved the birther issue. But important point of fact here, that Trump actually maintained the birther issue for several years, some five years, in fact, and then blaming it on Hillary Clinton, saying that she started the birther situation, that controversy.
But again, point of fact, that is not factually accurate.
But the question to you, Eugene, as Donald Trump has now said the words that the President of the United States was born in the United States, does this give him an opening now to African American voters, a very important voting bloc that he will need in order to win the presidency?
SCOTT: Following his statement, there was a press conference from the political action committee of the Congressional Black Caucus and members made it very clear that Donald Trump's response was insufficient to them and to their voters.
They want an apology. They want an explanation. And they want this to be the first step to ongoing conversations about how Donald Trump can better interact with black voters.
So it doesn't appear that it will be sufficient but there does seem to be an opportunity for more engagement that could benefit Donald Trump in the end, in terms of getting more black votes.
HOWELL: Eugene Scott, live in Washington for us, following all developments political.
Eugene, we always appreciate your insight. Thank you for being with us.
SCOTT: Thank you.
HOWELL: This is CNN breaking news coverage. We'll continue to follow the situation out of New York.
ALLEN: We'll be right back.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:55:00] (MUSIC PLAYING)
HOWELL: Welcome back to viewers in the U.S. and around the world. We continue coverage the breaking news in New York. The explosion there. Here's what we know.
A device found a few streets from the explosion was determined to be a pressure cooker rigged with duct tape and wires from a cell phone. The bomb squad has removed it.
And investigators thought that they might have found another device at a third location but that turned out to be a false alarm; in fact, turned out to be just garbage.
ALLEN: Thank goodness there. New York's mayor saying the explosion Saturday night appears to be intentional. At least 29 people were wounded, no one seriously except for one person. Sources say investigators are looking at surveillance video that appears to show a person near where the explosion occurred.
They're trying to determine, of course, if that person is connected to all of this.
We'll continue to bring you the very latest. You've been watching CNN live coverage. I'm Natalie Allen.
HOWELL: And I'm George Howell. A lot happening this night. We'll continue right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
