iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — An explosive device detonated in the New Jersey beach town of Seaside Park Saturday morning as thousands of people were getting ready to run a 5k charity race befitting U.S. Marines and sailors, officials said. Investigators suspect the blast was intended to impact the race.
Al Della Fave, a spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, said in an on-camera interview with News 12 New Jersey that the explosion came from multiple pipe bomb-type devices that were wired together. One of them went off, while the other did not. No additional devices have been found in the area, he said.
“It’s obvious it was meant to affect the run,” Della Fave told News 12 New Jersey.
The device exploded in a garbage can at approximately 9:35 a.m. ET along the route of a scheduled Semper Five race, the prosecutor’s office said.
During a press briefing Saturday afternoon, Della Fave told reporters that the explosive device or devices were contained to the one garbage pail and no other devices were found in any other areas of Seaside Park.
The start of the run was delayed due to the vast amount of participants. The race was cancelled after an unattended backpack was found, so there were not many people in the area when the explosion occurred.
“Out of extreme precaution, this year’s Seaside Semper Five has been canceled due to an unidentified suspicious backpack found at the race site,” organizers posted on the event’s website.
Della Fave told ABC News that the incident was not “a prank” because the device was too sophisticated. Investigators are trying to determine a motive.
“We don’t know what this individual’s agenda is,” Della Fave said.
According to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, there are no reported injuries or damages to surrounding structures from the blast. The area was evacuated and placed on lockdown as bomb dogs searched for additional devices. Various state and federal law enforcement agencies are investigating the explosion.
The Semper Five race benefits the MARSOC Foundation, which provides support to active duty and medically retired U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command (MARSOC) personnel and their families as well as to the families of marines and sailors who have lost their lives in service, according to its website.
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