NEW YORK — Investigators have found similarities between a bomb that exploded in Seaside Park, New Jersey, and the explosive devices in New York City — including the use of cellphones to detonate the devices — according to multiple law enforcement officials, but authorities Sunday said they have not concluded the incidents are connected.
New York City Police Commissioner James O’Neill said Sunday afternoon that at this point investigators do not see a connection between the New Jersey bomb and the New York City devices, and that the investigation is ongoing.
Earlier, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the two devices in New York — a bomb that exploded Saturday night in the Chelsea neighborhood and an unexploded pressure-cooker device found nearby — were similar to one another.
Officials told CNN the two devices in New York City both used a cellphone as a timing device.
The phones were also similar in design, officials said.
Three devices along a charity-race route in New Jersey — only one of which exploded — were also rigged to detonate using a cellphone as a timer.
The devices in New Jersey contained black powder, which is an easily attainable explosive ingredient, several law enforcement officials told CNN.
The FBI is planning to take the New York pressure-cooker device to its lab in Quantico for further analysis. None of the devices are very sophisticated, but they show enough know-how to be lethal, officials said.
