Four border crossings between western New York state and Canada were shut down on Wednesday after a car blew up at a tollbooth used to enter the US via the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls. According to authorities, Fox News was informed that the incident was an attempted terrorist assault.
The news site claimed that explosives were discovered in the car as it attempted to enter the border officer facility.
In a post on X (previously Twitter), the FBI’s Buffalo Field Office stated that it is working with local law enforcement to investigate what it called a “vehicle explosion” and described the situation as “very fluid.”
The car sped the wrong way into the border crossing’s inspection booths, witnesses said the local news site the Niagara Gazette, and it exploded.
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According to reports, a 27-year-old male was admitted to Niagara Falls Memorial Hospital with minor wounds and back pain. One border officer was hurt, and the two occupants of the automobile that exploded are reportedly no longer alive.
The Niagara International Transportation Technology Coalition reports that the event happened on the American side of the bridge around 11:51 a.m. local time.
To further investigate the event, authorities closed Whirlpool Bridge, Peace Bridge, and Lewiston-Queenston Bridge in addition to Rainbow Bridge. Ahead of Thursday, the US Thanksgiving holiday, border crossings were exceptionally congested. Authorities with Fox News claim that nearby government facilities have also been evacuated.
According to a statement from her office, New York Governor Kathy Hochul is on her way to Buffalo to speak with law enforcement and first responders. She stated that the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and the New York State Police are “actively working with each other to monitor all points of entry into New York.”
