Kathleen Hopkins, Erik Larsen, and Austin Bogues

Asbury Park Press

SEASIDE PARK - A pipe-bomb-style device detonated in a garbage can at the start of the route of a Marine Corps charity race Saturday morning, injuring no one, but sparking a massive law-enforcement response and suspicions of terrorism.

The FBI said it was "unaware of any known threat" to public safety, in an early-evening press conference that lasted about two minutes. Brad Cohen, the special agent in charge of the Newark FBI office, said the agency's Joint Terrorism Task Force was taking the lead in investigation into the explosion. He said the agency was working to make sure there was "no stone left unturned" in the probe.

Multiple agencies are investigating the incident and whether the motive was terror, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office..

"You would have to assume that at a military-type event, the U.S. Marines, a device is placed along the route of a charity event, it would be hard to think it would be anything else,’’ Della Fave said.

The device went off about 9:35 a.m. at Ocean Avenue and D Street, where the Seaside Semper Five 5K race had been scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m., Della Fave said.

Problems with registration for the race delayed its start and possibly spared people from injury, he said.

“When it went off, there was nobody in the area,’’ Della Fave said.

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Attack failed

Della Fave said multiple explosive devices were enclosed in the trash can, designed to send shrapnel flying, but because only one of them detonated, “it appears it didn’t do the damage it was supposed to.’’

Police sources say there were as many as three inside the trash can.



Remnants and residue from the bomb are being sent to an FBI lab for analysis, a law-enforcement source said.

A number of questions remain unanswered as of Saturday night: how the bomb was detonated; what type of explosive was used; and if any surveillance camera caught a suspect planting the device.

Della Fave said there were about 3,000 people assembled at the registration area for the race when the pipe-bomb detonated.



A four-block area surrounding D Street was evacuated as law-enforcement swept the area for more explosive devices, but none aside from those in the one garbage can were found, Della Fave said.



Francis Larkin, chief of police for Seaside Park, said residents could return home starting at 6 p.m. Saturday, but that residents of C, D and E streets would have to produce identification to gain entry. Larkin said beaches would remain closed in the area of C, D and E streets.

Traffic across the Thomas A. Mathis Bridge was shut down around 12:30 p.m., but the bridge reopened about an hour later.

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The arson unit of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office initially was leading the investigation into the incident, aided by the New Jersey State Police bomb squad, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Exposives, but Della Fave said the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office would be taking over the probe.

A State Police helicopter hovered over Seaside Park, while emergency vehicles flooded the streets, and bomb-sniffing dogs made the rounds. Police officers walked the streets carrying long guns.

A barbecue festival in Seaside Heights went on as planned, but the mayor of Point Pleasant Beach decided to cancel its annual seafood festival because of the day’s events, Della Fave said.

“The New Jersey State Police will ascertain the level of sophistication of the explosive device and its timing device,’’ Della Fave added.

Gov. Chris Christie was briefed on the incident by Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino, and Col. Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, according to a news release.

“Working with the FBI and ATF, we are taking every step to ensure the safety of the public and to determine who was responsible for this explosion, which occurred at a time when runners in this charity race could have been in harm’s way,” Porrino said in a news release. “We are grateful that nobody was injured, but this is a serious act of violence against the people of New Jersey. We will not rest until we find the person or persons responsible.”

Seaside Park residents received an emergency alert call Saturday afternoon from police, asking residents to report any suspicious packages, and notifying them to be aware there will be a long-term police presence in town.

Terrorism comes to the Shore?

If it is proven to be terrorism, the Jersey Shore would join other communities that have experienced acts of terrorism. For some, it evoked disquieting memories of the Boston Marathon bombing more than three years ago, when two pressure cooker bombs exploded, killing three and wounding more than 260. Several officials publicly acknowledged how lucky it was that the Seaside Park race was delayed, possibly sparing runners from any injuries in the blast.

Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-New Jersey, who represents Seaside Park in the U.S. House of Representatives, went to the scene Saturday evening to thank first responders and make certain Ocean County and Seaside Park officials were satisfied with the federal response.

"I don't know that," MacArthur answered when asked whether terrorism had come to the Shore. "They're running down leads, they have a pretty good handle on what happened and how it got placed and where, and even some sense of when. But I just don't think I should be speculating at this point on what the motives of the attackers were."

Whoever was behind Saturday's bombing in Seaside Park — one or more terrorists, or an individual who is simply "unhinged" — this is the world we live in today, MacArthur said.

"And we have to be vigilant, that's why it's so important to support law enforcement, that is why I came (here) ... the local police or the county, there are even other towns and counties that are here. They need to know how much we appreciate what they do because they're protecting us every day."

Confusion over race delay

Throughout the day Saturday, there were two explanations offered by authorities and event organizers as to what caused the start of the Seaside Semper Five Marine Corps Charity 5K to be delayed, perhaps inadvertently saving lives and avoiding injuries.

Cathy Howath, 50, of Upper Saddle River, and her sister, Janie Murphy, 52, of Bridgewater, were among those who signed up to run in the 5K.

But before the race was supposed to go off, the discovery of a backpack near a media tent sent off a repetitive announcement over a bullhorn, Howath said.

“They kept making the announcement, ‘There’s an unclaimed, blue backpack by the News 12 tent and the radio station tent. If this is your backpack please come and claim it.’ It was said repeatedly,’’ Howath said.

Eventually, a student from Donovan Catholic High School in Toms River claimed the backpack, Murphy said. She and her sister said they believe this also delayed the start of the race and spared participants from injury.

“It was a blessing in disguise, because the pipe bomb would have gone off when the 5K was going,’’ Howath said.

An earlier fun-run for children had already started, however, and people participating in that reported hearing the explosive detonate, Howath said.

"We never heard it,’’ she said. “They just started moving people (away from the boardwalk.) We still didn’t know why.’’

By afternoon, Howath and Murphy, like other runners, were stranded on Central Avenue, unable to get back to their car.

“We’re stranded – no phone, no money, nothing,’’ Howath said, who said she was supposed to be at work at 1:30 p.m. at a garden center in Woodcliff Lake.

Larry Migliorisi, of Toms River, a volunteer for the event with the Marine Corp League’s local Cpl. William H. Smith Detachment of Lacey, waited for news on a sidewalk about two blocks west of the beachfront, also unable to retrieve his car.

“Our vehicle is right by the Boardwalk and we’re not allowed to go up there,” Migliorisi said. “They told us to keep moving out (away from the beachfront) because there might be other explosive devices.”

Like Howath and Murphy, he did not hear any explosion, he said, but he explained there were actually two delays at the start of the race that might have prevented injuries or fatalities.

The first delay was the result of an unexpected surge in on-site registration for the event, Migliorisi said. The turnout resulted in organizers needing more time to accommodate everyone who had lined up to participate and get their materials for the race.

“The nine o’clock race – the one mile – did not go off on time, it went off at about 9:15,” he said. “And the 5K was supposed to be going off at 9:30 which would’ve been delayed. But at that point in time, when they found (the) backpack, they announced that its owner come and get it. They made that announcement on numerous occasions and when nobody claimed it, they evacuated us all out.”

'It's a terrible thing'

Stephen Rumbolo, 18, of Ortley Beach, said he arrived on D Street soon after the bombing after a friend told him something had exploded.

"We saw everybody roll up, all the squad cars, the ATF, they all came up, there were big guns everywhere. I had to move my car out of the way — they had a bunch of cars. They were making us move from corner to corner," Rumbolo said.

Mary Rizzon of Bridgewater was staying at the Desert Palm Inn on Ocean Avenue in Seaside Park, the last leg of what was supposed to be a tranquil post-Labor Day trip up the Jersey Shore that began in Cape May. On Saturday afternoon, Rizzon stood in front of the motel with a look of shock on her face. “It’s a terrible thing,” Rizzon repeated. “A lot of people heard the explosion. … There were all military people here.”

An Ocean County sheriff’s vehicle drove slowly along Ocean Avenue instructing pedestrians over its loudspeaker to take shelter.

“They won’t let us on the beach,” Rizzon said. Some people had nowhere to go. A few of the runners, still wearing their race bibs could not get to their vehicles because they were parked inside the evacuation zone.

Jacqueline O'Hara, 75, had the opposite problem. She had made the trip Saturday from her primary residence in Verona to her second home in Seaside Park, with a quick stop at the ShopRite on Route 37 in Toms River to pick up a few groceries. Upon trying to enter the barrier island in the afternoon, O'Hara discovered that not only could she not get across the bridge, but that her house on D Street near Ocean Avenue was near ground zero of the failed attack.

"Eighteen Dannon Coffee Yogurts, a gallon of milk and carrots," O'Hara said, explaining that she turned around and went back to the supermarket to return the perishables. "At 12:30, one o'clock, we were told we weren't going to be able to come in and get to our house."

Other municipal officials on the Shore said they were monitoring the situation in Seaside Park.

Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty said on Twitter that police had inspected and cleared all garbage cans and would bring them in overnight in response to the explosion in Seaside Park.

Asbury Park Mayor John Moor said that the city's police department was aware of the situation and "taking any necessary steps."

In Tinton Falls, the borough police department sent out a "CodeRED" email blast ahead of the town's "Hustle4Hannah 5K & Kids Fun Run," scheduled for Sunday.

There would be no overnight parking allowed on the streets in the vicinity of its race and added precautions were to be implemented in the area of the Monmouth Regional High School campus, the alert read. "Participants and spectators will be prohibited from bringing personal bags into the area. All personal bags must be left in your vehicles. Police will knock on doors to have vehicles removed off the streets. ... All violators will be towed."

MacArthur, who serves on the House Committee on Armed Services, said each town must do what it believes to be in the best interests of public safety. However, the congressman added that it is the disruption of normal life and the effectuation of public fear that is the objective of those who commit these acts.



