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UPDATE: Gov. Hochul Says 'No Evidence at This Time' Explosion at U.S.-Canada Border Was Caused by Terrorist Attack

'It is still unfolding, but I didn’t want to leave the public with a lot more anxiety than they need to have at this time'

Published: November 22, 2023
  |   By Chris Karr
UPDATE: Gov. Hochul Says 'No Evidence at This Time' Explosion at U.S.-Canada Border Was Caused by Terrorist Attack

UPDATE: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said there is presently no evidence that the vehicular explosion on the Rainbow Bridge near Niagara Falls on Wednesday was the result of an attempted terrorist attack.


"This investigation will go on for a number of days. And that’s why we’ll not have any further answers at this time as to the individuals involved, the deceased, any motivation, there’s a lot of unanswered questions,” Hochul said during a press conference this evening. “But at this time, we just need to dial down the temperature right now.”

She added: “More information could arise, but based on the preliminary investigation, no sign of terrorist involvement in the horrific explosion that occurred here in western New York.”

Hochul said she based that assertion on a briefing she received from “experienced law enforcement, with the FBI, Homeland Security, and the Customs and Borders Protection.”

“They brought experts. They’re still analyzing this,” she said. “It is still unfolding, but I didn’t want to leave the public with a lot more anxiety than they need to have at this time."


Original Article:

The Rainbow Bridge near Niagara Falls at the U.S.-Canada border has been shut down due to a vehicular explosion.

Prior to the detonation, the vehicle pulled into a checkpoint on the U.S. side of the bridge, which connects Western New York to Ontario across the Niagara River.

The two people in the vehicle are dead and one border officer was injured, Fox News reports.


Sources told Niagara Gazette the officer is currently being treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center.

“Two witnesses who were present in the area when the incident happened told the Gazette that they heard a loud noise that sounded like an explosion and saw a large cloud of smoke near the inspections station on Wednesday morning shortly before police arrived on the scene,” the outlet reports.

A captain with the Niagara Falls Police Department who was directing motorists and pedestrians nearby declined to comment, but warned a reporter from the outlet to leave the area because it was a “dangerous situation.”

A bystander named Mike Guenther told NBC affiliate WGRZ-TV that he saw a vehicle speed into the crossing from the U.S. side before swerving to avoid another vehicle. Then, the vehicle crashed into a fence and exploded.

“It was a ball of fire like thirty, forty feet high,” he said.


Fox News cited unnamed sources who claimed the explosion was the result of an attempted terrorist attack.

The FBI Buffalo Field Office released a statement announcing their investigation at the bridge.

“The FBI is coordinating with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners in this investigation,” the statement said. “As this situation is very fluid, that’s all we can say at this time.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, there has been no official confirmation that the explosion was the result of an attempted terrorist attack.

The Niagara Falls Bridge Commission reported all four of its crossings, including Lewiston, Whirlpool and Peace Bridge, have been closed, per AP News.

Video footage posted to X showed Buffalo police blocking Niagara Street near Peace Bridge.


New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced in an X post that she directed state police to work with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force to monitor all points of entry in the state.

“I am traveling to Buffalo to meet with law enforcement & emergency responders & will update New Yorkers when more information becomes available,” she wrote.


This is a developing story. More information will be added as it becomes available.

Editor's Note: The previous subheading for this article read: "All points of entry into New York are being monitored by state police and the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force."

*For corrections please email [email protected]*

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