Morning Blast Shatters Windows In NYC Starbucks

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In this video frame grab image taken from WABC-TV via AP Television News, police respond at the scene
of an early morning explosion at a Stabucks coffee shop on Manhattan's Upper East Side in New York,
Monday May 25, 2009.

The explosion, which occurred at around 3:30 a.m., shattered the shop's windows, but no injuries were
reported. The shop was closed at the time. Police are trying to determine what caused the blast.


(AP Photo/
WABC-TV via APTN)

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                                   Morning blast shatters windows in NYC Starbucks






Deepti Hajela,
Associated Press Writer
– Mon May 25, 2009
NEW YORK

– An explosion early Monday morning on Manhattan's Upper East Side, possibly caused by a small
bomb made from fireworks, destroyed a sidewalk bench and shattered windows in a Starbucks
coffee shop.

No one was injured in the blast, which happened around 3:30 a.m.

Investigators were looking into the similarities between the explosion and others that have taken
place in the city over the last four years, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. The bomb went off
around the same time of day as an explosion at the British consulate in May 2005, another at the
Mexican consulate in October 2007 and one at the Times Square military recruiting station in March
2008.

In the previous bombings, a bicyclist was seen in the area prior to the explosions. No witnesses
came forward immediately Monday, and police still have to see what, if any, security camera
footage is available, Kelly said.

"We don't know the motive. Obviously it is a cause for concern, but we're going to do an in-depth
investigation," he said.

Kelly said the explosive appears to have been placed on the seat of the bench, but didn't know what
kind of container it was in. He said investigators would examine the remains to determine what kind
of explosive it was. He was it was possible it was some kind of firework.

Police also were looking at whether the Starbucks — at 92nd Street and Third Avenue, a few blocks
from the Guggenheim Museum — was the target.

Residents living above the coffee shop were evacuated for a time but were allowed to return to their
apartments later in the morning.

One of them, Jordan Kovnot, a 26-year-old law school student, told the Daily News, "I heard a giant
noise — a big, giant noise, like a crash — and there was a flash."

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