‘No indication of a terrorist attack’ in deadly Niagara Falls vehicle explosion on Rainbow Bridge border crossing: FBI

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — On the day before a national holiday, walking distance from Niagara Falls — one of the world’s natural wonders that draws millions of people annually — the peace was shattered by an explosion caused by a car crashing into an obstacle near a U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspection booth.

Law enforcement authorities did not know what caused the explosion on the Rainbow Bridge, and U.S. and Canadian officials shut down traffic in both directions to all four international crossings between Western New York and Canada as they looked into whether an act of terror was committed on Western New York’s doorstep.

Within six hours, local, state and federal officials gave the word: It was not.

Law enforcement personnel block off the entrance to the Rainbow Bridge on Wednesday in Niagara Falls, N.Y. The border crossing between the U.S. and Canada has been closed after a vehicle exploded at a checkpoint on a bridge near Niagara Falls.  

Derek Gee, The Buffalo News

Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a news conference that “there is no indication of a terrorist attack.” Erie County Sheriff John Garcia said the crash was “a very unfortunate fatal car accident.”

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Authorities said the cause of the incident was still under investigation.

The FBI’s Buffalo office said late Wednesday that it had concluded its investigation: “A search of the scene revealed no explosive materials, and no terrorism nexus was identified,” it said in a statement. “The matter has been turned over to the Niagara Falls Police Department as a traffic investigation.”

Security camera video released by the U.S. government showed the car race through an intersection on a wet road, hit a low median and vault high into the air in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection area just east of the main vehicle checkpoint. The car flew for yards, twisted, then crashed into a line of booths out of the camera’s view.

Video from the scene showed a fire quickly spreading in the plaza and a huge plume of black smoke billowing into the sky. Other images that circulated on social media appeared to show charred remnants of a shattered vehicle strewn about the plaza.

Two people inside the vehicle were killed and a customs officer was injured.

Debris is scattered about inside the customs plaza at the Rainbow Bridge border crossing Wednesday in Niagara Falls, N.Y.  

Derek Gee, The Buffalo News

The two people who died were a husband and wife, according to a person briefed on the investigation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information about the people who were killed.

A Customs and Border Protection worker in a checkpoint booth was treated at a hospital for minor injuries and released, Hochul said. Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center evaluated and treated “a single patient with non-life-threatening injuries” from the incident, said Sean Dwyer, the hospital’s marketing director. That patient, a border agent, was discharged from the hospital, Dwyer added.

“This vehicle basically incinerated; there is nothing left but the engine,” Hochul said, noting the investigation would likely take a long time. She also said authorities “identified that this is a local individual.”

According to two local law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation, the vehicle involved was a relatively new Bentley and the two occupants were from Western New York. Earlier in the day, they were at the nearby Seneca Niagara Casino, the sources said. They were traveling at a high speed as they approached the bridge. Investigators are looking at the possibility that the driver had a medical incident or there was a malfunction with the vehicle.

Fire damage is visible to the customs plaza structure at the Rainbow Bridge border crossing Wednesday in Niagara Falls, N.Y.  

Derek Gee, The Buffalo News

After the crash, U.S. and Canadian authorities shut down not only the Rainbow Bridge, but also the Peace Bridge, Lewiston-Queenston Bridge and Whirlpool Bridge. All but the Rainbow Bridge were reopened by about 5 p.m.

At Buffalo Niagara International Airport, flights continued but security was greatly heightened. NFTA police with K-9 units checked each car that entered the airport and passengers were subjected to extra screenings on one of the busiest U.S. travel days of the year.

The FBI Office in Buffalo was leading the investigation. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was aiding in the investigation, along with Homeland Security Investigations. Garcia told The News that his specialty teams are involved in the investigation as well.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that U.S. President Joe Biden was aware of the incident. “He and his team are closely following developments,” Jean-Pierre wrote.

In this photo taken from security video, a light colored vehicle, top left, travels toward the Rainbow Bridge customs plaza on Nov. 22, 2023, in Niagara Falls, N.Y.  

Customs Border Protection via AP

The state’s U.S. senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, were briefed by the FBI.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau received briefings and updated Parliament on the developments, saying officials were “taking this extraordinarily seriously.”

Paul Edwards of England and Gloria Fiorito of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, were on their way back from the outlets in Erie, Pa., shopping for holiday gifts for their grandchildren when they noticed the commotion at the Rainbow Bridge entrance.

“We went on a little getaway for the night. We were looking for deals, which we found,” Fiorito said. “We were really looking forward to being home today.”

The couple got out of their car after seeing emergency vehicles at the entrance to the bridge.

They approached reporters gathered at the corner of Niagara and Third streets and said they didn’t know at first why the bridge was closed.

The couple booked a hotel room for the night and said they would try again to cross the bridge Thursday. They were thankful to not be closer to the scene of the explosion.

“You never know what could have happened,” Edwards said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Read more:

Rainbow Bridge explosion kills 2 at U.S.-Canada border crossing in Niagara Falls

Law enforcement personnel block off the entrance to the Rainbow Bridge on Wednesday in Niagara Falls, N.Y. The border crossing between the U.S. and Canada has been closed after a vehicle exploded at a checkpoint on a bridge near Niagara Falls. The FBI’s field office in Buffalo said in a statement that it was investigating the explosion on the Rainbow Bridge, which connects the two countries across the Niagara River. 

Derek Gee, The Buffalo News

A Niagara Falls Police officer directs tourists Wednesday in Niagara Falls, N.Y., away from the Rainbow Bridge border crossing after a car exploded. All four international bridges between the United States and Canada in Erie and Niagara counties were shut down to traffic in both directions. The incident comes on the eve of Thanksgiving – one of the busiest travel days of the year in the United States.

Derek Gee, The Buffalo News

In this photo taken from security video, a light colored vehicle, top left, travels toward the Rainbow Bridge customs plaza on Nov. 22, 2023, in Niagara Falls, N.Y.  

Customs Border Protection via AP

Law enforcement personnel block off the entrance to the Rainbow Bridge on Wednesday in Niagara Falls, N.Y. The border crossing between the U.S. and Canada has been closed after a vehicle exploded at a checkpoint on a bridge near Niagara Falls. A source with knowledge of the situation, who asked not to be identified by name, told The Buffalo News that a vehicle approached the American side of the bridge at a high rate of speed while traveling in the wrong lane – the one in which vehicles from Canada would be entering the United States. The speeding vehicle then hit an obstacle near a U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspection booth.

Derek Gee, The Buffalo News

In this photo taken from video provided by WKBW-TV, emergency response vehicles block off a checkpoint at the Rainbow Bridge on Nov. 22, 2023, in Niagara Falls, N.Y. A vehicle exploded at a checkpoint on the American side of a U.S.-Canada bridge in Niagara Falls Wednesday, leaving two people dead and prompting the closing of four border crossings in the area, authorities said.  

WKBW-TV via AP

Law enforcement personnel block off the entrance to the Rainbow Bridge border crossing Wednesday in Niagara Falls, N.Y. The two deceased people were in the vehicle, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.  

Carolyn Thompson, Associated Press

Debris is scattered about inside the customs plaza at the Rainbow Bridge border crossing Wednesday in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Gov. Kathy Hochul said she is traveling to Buffalo after being briefed on the incident.

Derek Gee, The Buffalo News

Fire damage is visible to the customs plaza structure at the Rainbow Bridge border crossing Wednesday in Niagara Falls, N.Y.  The Buffalo Niagara International Airport also boosted security. Cars entering the airport are being searched and travelers should expect extra screening. Both the Buffalo and Niagara airports are fully operational, but travelers are being cautioned to allow for extra time.

Derek Gee, The Buffalo News

Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reads a statement about the situation at the border Wednesday in Ottawa, Ontario.  

Adrian Wyld, Canadian Press

Several lanes of the Rainbow Bridge border crossing between the U.S. and Canada are closed Wednesday in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Carlos Osorio, Canadian Press

Several lanes of the Rainbow Bridge border crossing between the U.S. and Canada are closed Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023, in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Carlos Osorio, Canadian Press

Several lanes of the Rainbow Bridge border crossing between the U.S. and Canada are closed Wednesday in Niagara Falls, Ontario, after a vehicle at a checkpoint on the American side of the bridge.

Carlos Osorio, Associated Press

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