Small Starbucks bomb causes panicked residents to flee
A small bomb exploded outside a Manhattan coffee shop in the early hours of Monday, causing material damage but no injuries, as panicked residents fled their apartments fearing a terrorist attack, police said.
The blast struck near a Starbucks cafe in a residential neighborhood between 92nd Street and Third Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and shattered the shop’s windows and woke residents up.
"Police said it was unclear what the reason behind the explosion was as the shop was closed at the time, approximately 3.30 a.m., and said an investigation would be launched.
Although no one was injured in the Memorial Day blast residents said the loud sound terrified them and "felt like earthquake."
"I heard a giant noise, a big, giant noise, like a crash, and there was a flash," the New York Daily News quoted a resident as saying. "It made me jump up," said the student, who lives in an apartment above Starbucks.
It felt like an earthquake," the paper quoted another resident as saying. "We were all really scared."
Officers inspected the site and press reports said they were studying surveillance videos to find out if the bomb was placed by someone or taped to a bench outside the coffee shop.
"We don’t know the motive. Obviously it’s a cause for concern," press reports quoted New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly as saying. "We’re going to do an in-depth investigation."
Kelly also added that Starbucks branches have been targeted in the past by anti-globalization protestors and said police would be checking to see if there was link.