Small Bomb Explodes Outside New York Starbucks
May 25, 2009 by national
Filed under Incident Reports
A small improvised explosive device detonated outside an Upper East Side Starbucks early Monday morning, shattering the coffee shop’s windows and raising fears of terrorism.
The bomb tore a hole in a wooden bench outside the coffee chain’s outpost at Third Ave. and E. 92nd St. when it exploded at 3:30 a.m.
No one was injured in the blast, but it terrified residents who had been fast asleep early on Memorial Day.
“I heard a giant noise — a big, giant noise, like a crash — and there was a flash,” said Jordan Kovnot, 26, a law student who lives above the Starbucks. “It made me jump up.”
“It felt like an earthquake,” said Adrianna Ebans, 28, who was among more than a dozen residents evacuated from the apartments above the Starbucks. “We were all really scared.”
Scores of detectives are crawling over the blast site, looking for surveillance video and trying to determine the nature of the low-grade explosive device, which investigators believe was either placed on or taped to the bench.
“We don’t know the motive. Obviously it’s a cause for concern,” said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. “We’re going to do an in-depth investigation.”
No one had claimed credit for the blast, nor was it called in ahead of time, said Kelly.
