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FBI agents rushed to respond Wednesday to a vehicle explosion on the Rainbow Bridge connecting Canada to Niagara Falls, N.Y. — an incident that comes on one of America’s busiest travel days and as U.S. security officials have expressed heightened concerns about possible attacks.
In a statement, the Buffalo office of the FBI said it is “investigating a vehicle explosion at the Rainbow Bridge” and “coordinating with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners in this investigation.”
Many details about the explosion were not immediately clear, and the FBI cautioned that the situation is “very fluid.” Jim Suitor, director of public safety and emergency management at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, said the hospital received one person from the scene, who had sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
The incident happened as the vehicle approached the border security screening area, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the early stages of the investigation.
On Nov. 22, a vehicle exploded on the American side of a U.S.-Canada bridge in Niagara Falls, N.Y. (Video: Reuters)
One eyewitness told local television station WGRZ that the car was speeding and swerving as it approached the border from the U.S. side. Shortly after it passed another car, it suddenly went careening toward the U.S. security checkpoint.
“We could hardly see it, it was going that quick,” said Mike Guenther. “He was flying… There was a car in front of him, he swerved out, went in front of the car, hit the fence, and went flying up in the air.”
Guenther said there was “a ball of fire, like 30, 40 feet high. I’ve never seen anything like it, it was really incredible.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said in a statement on social media that she had been briefed on the incident and is “closely monitoring the situation. State agencies are on site and ready to assist.”
The governor said she is traveling to Buffalo, which is close to the scene of the incident, to help coordinate the state response. She also said state authorities are coordinating with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force “to monitor all points of entry to New York.”
Shortly after the incident, federal officials stopped vehicle traffic entering bridge crossings in the western New York area, and announced extra security measures for air travel in that area.
In Ottawa, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told lawmakers that it was “a very serious situation” and said officials are working “to get answers as rapidly as possible.”
Four border crossings in the Buffalo area are now closed, Trudeau said, and he added that “additional measures are being contemplated” at all U.S.-Canada border crossings.
Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister of Public Safety, called the incident “violent” and said officials are taking it “very seriously.”
“But to speculate on the origin of this particular circumstance, the reasons why this may have happened, is simply not responsible,” he added.
LeBlanc said people should know that the country’s security agencies “are doing absolutely everything that Canadians would expect at this moment to ensure that the border crossings can operate safely.”
FBI director says U.S. must be vigilant on threats amid Israel-Gaza war
In recent weeks, FBI officials have said they have seen a significant increase in threat reporting, much of it in reaction to the violence in the Middle East, particularly the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel and Israel’s extensive military strikes in Gaza.
From his restaurant Niagara Tandoori Hut, just a couple of blocks from toll gate for the Rainbow Bridge, Raghu Bhattarai said he heard a loud boom around the time of explosion. He described it as a “big sound.”
When he looked out the window, he saw smoke rising from the direction of the bridge.
Shortly after, police began arriving.
Bhattarai closed his restaurant, but remained there to offer the bathroom to police. The smoke had dissipated, he said.
“We are not going outside,” he said. “A lot of the officers are coming and using the restroom; that’s why we are here. We have to help them, whatever we can do.”
This is a developing story. It will be updated.