Return to Transcripts main page

NEW DAY SUNDAY

Surveillance Video Captures Chaos After Explosion; Mayor: Manhattan Explosion was an "Intentional Act"; Power: Emergency Meeting "A Stunt"; 29 Injured in New York Explosion, 1 Seriously; Obama Delivers Passionate Speech for Clinton; Clinton: Trump's Vision Will "Drag Us Backwards". Aired 7-8a ET

Aired September 18, 2016 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: We're always so grateful to have you unfold with us in the morning. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Thanks for staying with us.

And we're starting with the breaking this morning. New York is waking up after this massive blast rocked the Chelsea area.

[07:00:03] Investigators analyzing video footage right now of what they believe may show the suspect behind the explosion. We have new video coming in and we're trying to turn that around. But right now, here's what we have the moment of the blast. The window here, the door there, the glass shattering as the force blew many of the windows out, sending debris flying in all directions.

PAUL: And you can see the people who are running outside there once that blast happened in all different directions there. Officials say this bomb went off in or near a dumpster. There is the dumpster or what's left of it.

There was also a second device which looked like a pressure cooker. We have a picture of that here with you as well. There is wiring connected to it with duct tape around it. That device is being analyzed right now. It was found about four blocks from the blast area.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about some of these injuries. We know that dozens of people were injured, taken to hospitals there in New York.

PAUL: Yes, and some of the first people to get to victims were bystanders. They heard the blast. They ran to help these folks.

And I just want to give you a heads up. I know that it's Sunday morning, at 7:00. I don't want you to be caught off guard by the video we're going to be show you, because it could be disturbing to some.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My eye. My eye.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE; Come with me. Come with me. Come with me. I'm holding you, OK? Come with me. You're OK. Nothing's going to happen. OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My eye.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing's going to happen to you. Come on. There's the ambulance right here. I got you. I got you. Right here. One injured.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard the explosion and I fell. And my eye --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take you inside.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What does my eye look like?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's OK. You're OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you show me? Does my eye look OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our friend is around here somewhere. We don't know where she is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One second, ladies. One second, ladies. We've got some stuff going on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was a bomb. You heard?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, she's hurt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My friends are around here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen, you have minor injuries.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: You can tell there's so much confusion going on. As I was talking about earlier, when you're in a car accident, you know what happened. When you're attacked by somebody you know what happened and why you're injured.

In this particular case, they know there's a blast, which is all they know. It adds to some of the disorientation that some of these victims were seeing in addition to obviously the reason that they were on their way to a hospital, because they were fighting off injuries. BLACKWELL: Let's talk about what the officials and the investigators

know and don't know. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is saying there is no connection between the New York blast to an earlier -- with, rather, a New Jersey blast that went off on the route of a marine corps charity run. We're told that three pipe bomb type devices wired together were found near the boardwalk there on Seaside Park. No one was injured. An initial examination show the devices were rudimentary, with some type of timer and only one of them detonated.

Now, CNN, of course, is covering the New York explosion from angles. We've got Jessica Schneider at the scene of the blast. We have Cristina Alesci outside of Bellevue where some of the victims were taken, and we also have CNN law enforcement analyst Matthew Horace here to answer some of the questions as this investigation is now into hour nine or ten here.

We also have new video we want to show you. So, stand by, guys. This is outside of that area where this bomb exploded. You can see investigators there by the flashlights looking in garbage cans, looking for any other potential elements.

We know that at about 3:00 or 3:30 this morning, there was a report of an additional suspicious device in addition to that pressure cooker. That later turned out just to be garbage, but we know that in addition to the explosive device, investigators are still looking into who put together that pressure cooker device. We're not calling it a bomb because we have no confirmation yet from officials that there were any explosives inside.

But this is the new video coming in and we'll, of course, get you the latest video as we receive it or harvest from social media.

Now, let's go back to the panel. Jessica Schneider there near the scene of this blast.

Jessica, get us up to date on what you're seeing there as the sun comes up and the investigation.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, you know, a long and tense night for the NYPD. That explosion went off just down West 23rd Street here at the intersection of Sixth Avenue. And throughout the night, we've seen police teams scouring this area. They're armed with flashlights, also K9s. They're making sure that this area is now safe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[07:05:05] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huge explosion and I saw the back window of the SUV pop out. Like all the glass went into the street and my wife and I just looked at each other and we just ran up Sixth Avenue.

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): New York City on high alert after an explosion rips through Manhattan. Surveillance video obtained by MSNBC captures the chaos. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I felt like a lightning bolt struck the building.

It shook the ground. Everyone ran out of the restaurant into the street. The whole city was in the street.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK: We believe at this point in time this was an intentional act.

SCHNEIDER: The explosion happened around 8:30 p.m. in the Chelsea neighborhood and it was in or near a dumpster, according to a law enforcement source. Dozens of people were injured.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm willing to help. Come with me.

JAMES O'NEILL, NEW YORK POLICE COMISSIONER: We do have video and we see the explosion and we're going to use that to help us in our investigation.

SCHNEIDER: Several hours later, police cleared a suspicious package just four blocks away from the explosion site and they warned residents to stay away from their windows. Reporters had to move as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're OK for second. No, we're not.

SCHNEIDER: Officials say a second device appears to be a pressure cooker with wire sticking out and what looks like a cell phone attached and a piece of paper with some writing. Police confirmed the device was removed by the bomb squad for investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because it was not detonated, there might be fingerprints, there might be proof of purchase, there might be other things that can lead the investigation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: And police have been scouring this area all night. They've come up with surveillance video. In one of the videos, it does show one person near the explosion site. Police are now looking to ID that person, possibly find that person. The NYPD has also taken to Twitter people who were in this area who may have seen something to come forward to give them help in this ongoing investigation -- Victor and Christi.

BLACKWELL: All right. Jessica there near the scene of the blast -- thanks so much.

PAUL: And we are hearing from some of the victims who are injured in the blast. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know what hit me but I flew off my feet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You flew off your feet?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You landed on your back?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I landed on my elbow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You landed on your elbow?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How loud was it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very loud. I never experienced anything like it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: That man, as you heard there, knocked off his feet by the force of that explosion.

And look what happened afterwards. I mean, these are the moments that are so endearing and heartwarming in the midst of what we see happening there this morning. You see the child there who obviously is also injured. He gets up out of his feet and he's going to help this man who seems frail, maybe a little bit disoriented based on the fact that he was knocked off of his feet. He's going to help him into the ambulance and help him take a seat. Just a moment of compassion there that is definitely worth seeing on a Sunday morning when we're bringing you all of this other news this morning.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: Two dozen victims, by the way, were taken to New York hospitals. One of them we know was injured very seriously.

BLACKWELL: Yes, with at least one puncture wound.

Let's go now to the latest of the survivors of this blast. Cristina Alesci is there in New York.

Cristina, we know some people have been released. What do we know the latest about these victims?

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not much so far. We do know, as you guys said, 24 people have been taken to New York City hospitals. I'm in front of the one of the busiest, Bellevue Hospital, which is a level one trauma center. It's the highest level trauma center and oftentimes, it is a place where people go in situations like this, especially when they happened in midtown and in Chelsea.

And as you guys have been reporting all morning, this is a really busy area. I'm from New York. I'm often in that area shopping and going out to eat.

One of the busiest food markets in the city is located in this area. So, very possible and actually I was there last night, that is a crowded area at 8:30 in the evening. And not necessarily a tourist destination but definitely people in the streets that would have been impacted if they were close enough to the explosion where they could have been hit by shattered glass or, you know, any kind of debris that was being -- that resulted as -- that came out of the explosion.

Here is the thing now, what we are getting is we're getting bits and pieces from victims. One in particular spoke to my colleague Rachel Crane. He was actually driving, not walking, driving in a car and he lost control of his vehicle because he was very close to the explosion.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID MARTINEZ, BLAST SURVIVOR: I was driving in the car and next thing you know I felt an explosion and the car just tilted over. Happily it came back down. What happened was I just blacked out. Next thing you know I'm in an ambulance. You know, a little traumatized. I just thought about I was close to not seeing my son again. That was the scariest part of the night to me.

[07:10:01] RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What kind of injuries do you have? You are on crutches, I see.

MARTINEZ: Well, sprain and a little head injury and the knee somewhat. I've got to go back for more treatment for knee, to see how bad it is.

CRANE: And what about your car? Was it severely damaged?

MARTINEZ: Yes, the whole left side. Glass broke out and everything.

CRANE: And what about you? What are your injuries? I see you're also pregnant.

BRENDA ABERO, EXPLOSION SURVIVOR: The baby is fine. Everything is fine with the baby. Mild concussion I have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Boy, so glad they're all right.

Cristina Alesci, we appreciate it. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: All right. For some analysis, let's bring back Matthew Horace, CNN law enforcement analyst and retired ATF special agent in charge.

Matthew, we heard from Mayor de Blasio late last night that there is no connection between the explosion in Chelsea and that pipe bomb found in seaside park in New Jersey and he didn't speak specifically about a connection what was being investigated at the time, this pressure cooker. But I think people at home just find it difficult to believe that these devices are found in trash receptacles relatively close to one another.

What do you make of that assessment from the mayor and that one was a pressure cooker device and another was a series of pipe bombs? MATTHEW HORACE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, you know, we

talked about it earlier. The pipe bombs, very rudimentary device. There were three pipe bombs were found at a receptacle over in New Jersey. Pressure cooker, a little bit more complex and involved. So, it may or may not be the same people that made both devices.

What the mayor is basically saying is that there's no validating information connecting the three devices. Oftentimes in an investigation, we take the information we have through our intelligence and through physical evidence to draw a connection to the bomber and/or the devices.

PAUL: So, when we talk about all of the information that you're going to have, let's talk about the four block area between the explosion and the second device that was found that is now in the hands of authorities as they try to glean some information from that. There have to be, I can't imagine, countless surveillance videos or video cameras that are recording along that four blocks.

How long do you think it will be before authorities could comb through all of that video and make some sort of determination as to whether there is one, two people involved in this?

HORACE: Well, Christi, as you know, when things like this happened, we put hundreds of people, boots on the ground, to examine the scene, to examine video, to conduct interviews, to develop that important intelligence database that connects the dots and investigations like this.

But remember, when an explosion happens, when a bombing happens, pieces of that device can be found, hundreds of feet or thousands of feet or more throughout the area. So, investigators now are looking under cars, in buildings, on roofs because one of those pieces of that device may be the crucial link to telling us how the device was made, where the components came from and who's responsible.

And to the issue of terrorism, this incident has every characteristic of a terroristic incident, absent knowing for sure that there is a political motive. We have violence, we have intimidation and let's face it, New York is on heightened alert now.

BLACKWELL: But quickly, Matthew, how rare is it to find this type of pressure cooker device still intact?

HORACE: I know that it's rare. Either the device is going to be detonated or it's not, we were very fortunate to find it not detonated. And hopefully, we'll able to use that to our advantage to help bring four this thing to quick conclusion.

BLACKWELL: Would that suggests that it possibly malfunctioned, or that there are no explosions or is it too soon to lead for that conclusion?

HORACE: Well, there are three options here. It malfunctioned, the people who made it didn't know what they were doing, or in fact, it may have been a hoax device. We still don't know yet that it is, in fact, an improvised explosive device. It looks like one. It appears to be one. But we need to do some more investigation to determine that.

BLACKWELL: All right. Matthew Horace, thanks so much for your analysis.

PAUL: Thank you, Matthew.

HORACE: Have a great day.

BLACKWELL: Coming up, we're going to get you more of really chaos there. An eye witness describes the scene in the moments after that explosion. And you see the moment here, the bomb going off in the middle of Lower Manhattan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:17:50]PAUL: All righty. As we are talking to you this morning, investigators in New York are analyzing additional video footage from the scene of a blast in New York overnight. They're trying to figure out if the person that they can see on that video is connected to the explosion. That's one piece of video. This is another.

BLACKWELL: Yes. You see people, here running away moments after that explosion. Glass there shattering.

We want to warn you, we've got more video to show you and more coming in throughout the morning. This is a bit upsetting. You'll see people with blood stained clothes, really just shocked. They have no idea what just happened.

There's one woman that has metal lodged in her arm and she's asking about her friends. Right now, police are trying to make sure there are no other devices in the area. They've shutdown 20 blocks of Lower Manhattan. They're searching those garbage cans potentially, any other suspicious devices.

PAUL: Also telling CNN this morning that police increasing security across all five boroughs there in New York.

An important part of this story obviously is the eyewitness accounts that are coming in of the explosion, of course.

BLACKWELL: Yes, we heard from one man who was right around the corner in his apartment when he heard that loud bang and saw people running. Listen to some of his story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALDEN LESLIE, EYEWITNESS TO MANHATTAN EXPLOSION: And I heard obviously a loud explosion. It was abnormally loud. It was startlingly loud. And it was very, very scary. I heard the explosion and moments later, I heard debris falling on the ground like glass shattering and metal.

So, I ran out of my house. I ran to 23rd Street and I saw a ton of people coming -- going west. I was going east running actually toward the explosion or what I thought were -- you know, was the explosion.

And I saw people -- some people covered with debris, you know, soot, dust. There was smoke. There was lot of fire engines, a lot of police presence. I saw an elderly man, which was very hard to watch, but he had blood on his face.

[07:20:05] He had blood on his arm.

REPORTER: What were you seeing from people? Were people screaming, panicking?

LESLIE: Yes, it was a very chaotic situation. People were scared. People were on their phones. I mean, I was around for 9/11. I remember walking down the west side highway and seeing kind of -- obviously not to this scene, but it was very reminiscent of that kind of feel. People were scared and you could see it on their faces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: We're going to have more of these interviews, more of the video coming into CNN throughout the morning. But we have to talk about this as well, because Russia called a special U.N. Security Council meeting last night. This was in response to a U.S. airstrike in Syria that reportedly hit a wrong target. They thought they were hitting ISIS, they say. They may have hit Syrian troops.

Well, the U.S. ambassador was not happy about what the Russian ambassador was saying.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMANTHA POWER, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Seriously, they're calling this emergency meeting. Really?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: All right. If you're just joining us this morning, 29 people have been injured, none seriously except for one who suffered at least one puncture wound after this massive blast that rocked the Chelsea area in New York City.

PAUL: Yes, we're getting some new video I want to share with you into the CNN newsroom right now. This showing the aftermath of the explosion as police are trying to clear that area. You can see them with their flashlights trying to determine that there is no other threat in that area.

[07:25:03] You can see some of the damage done by the explosion. Two dozen people were treated at local hospitals. Most of them expected to survive their injuries, as Victor said. Only one person we understand seriously injured. But the video you see in this next piece is the force of the explosion. You can see how it shattered the window there. This is at a OrangeTheory Fitness Club in Chelsea. You see the debris, the glass that was flying and look at the people outside as they start running from that area.

Authorities are analyzing additional footage as well of what they believe may be the suspect behind the explosion. We do not have that video, I want to point out, because I don't want there to be any confusion about what you're looking at now.

But listen to the witness describe the force of the blast and the response from their perspective.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN BROOKS, BLAST WITNESS: I felt a loud explosion and I felt like a lightning bolt hit the building. It like shook the ground and everyone ran out of the building. The whole city was in the street. I've never seen so many cops drive the wrong way, fire trucks, undercover cops, cops driving the wrong way aggressively, like 20, 30 miles an hour, upstream, up 7th Avenue. Closed everything down. People smelled smoke.

First, we thought it was a building collapse, then we heard it was an IED and everything else. Everyone is on Twitter, but the whole neighborhood shut down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Here's another witness who said they saw the back window of an SUV pop out, all the glass went in to the street. "My wife and I just looked at each other and ran 6th Avenue."

So, it's in moments like this when you don't know what's happening, you hear the large blast and especially you're in New York -- the confusion and the chaos really take over.

BLACKWELL: And we'll bring you the latest video, new video, new details as we get it in.

But let's turn to the international front and a bit of breaking news there, this diplomatic face-off between the United States and Russia at the U.N. The U.S. is expressing regret over an airstrike that killed 83 Syrian government forces. The U.S. Central Command says they thought they were hitting ISIS targets.

The bombing prompted Russia to call an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council. And that caused tensions to flare between U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power and her Russian counterpart. Russia is now saying the incident could threaten the new U.S./Russian cease-fire agreement.

For more on how this standoff unfolded, let's go live to Richard Roth in New York, CNN senior United Nations correspondent.

And we heard let's call it a frustrated response from Samantha Power after this call for this emergency meeting.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Victor, the old Elton John song "When Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting", but if you're a resident of Syria, living through years for war, hundreds of thousands killed, you weren't pleased by what happened in New York. Nothing moved the needle towards resolving this long standing, complicated Syria dispute and war.

At the U.N., Russia called for this emergency meeting. U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power rarely speaks on camera before a session. She walked over while the Russian ambassador was inside starting to brief the Security Council about this unintended, says Washington, airstrike on Syrian soldiers supported by Russia.

So, the U.S. ambassador went to the microphone and ripped in undiplomatic language Russia's calling of this meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POWER: This said, even by Russia's standards tonight's stunt, a stunt replete with moralism and grandstanding is uniquely cynical and hypocritical.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: The U.S. Ambassador Power said, where was Russia calling emergency meetings when thousand died in airstrikes and attacks by the Assad regime backed up by Moscow?

The Russian ambassador, Vitaly Churkin was sitting in the room, heard about what Samantha Power was saying. When Power walked in to the council chamber, the Russian ambassador says -- Samantha Power said this is sad, didn't want to listen to him.

Churkin, the Russian envoy, comes out and then speaks to the media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VITALY IVANOVICH CHURKIN, RUSSIAN U.N. AMBASSADOR: In all my years in the United Nations, that is over ten years, and all my years in international life, I have never seen -- which is all of 40 years -- I've never seen such an extraordinary display of American heavy- handedness as we are witnessing today. As I was talking in the Security Council, sharing our analysis and the frustration of the situation of Syria, Ambassador Power chose to talk to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: Overnight, the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said, "Dear Samantha Power, in order to learn the meaning of shame, I would advise you to visit Syria and meet people there."

There is no word yet on the impact of all of this verbal fighting on whether the cease-fire will hold, especially through Monday, which was supposed to trigger more air military cooperation between Moscow and Washington -- Victor. BLACKWELL: All right. Richard Roth for us there in New York -- thank

so much.

[07:30:04] All right. Recapping our breaking news this morning. Investigators analyzing unreleased video footage from the scene of the blast in New York to see if a person seen in the video may be connected to the explosion. We'll have new video from the scene of the blast now. You can see here debris littered over the street. I wonder if we can drop that banner and get a better idea of what's on the street.

PAUL: This is video, as you can see, the police officers and authorities there with flashlights as they look to determine if there are any other devices that could be a threat in that area after the explosion. There was not, but four blocks away, there was another device found. That is in the hands of the authorities and they are analyzing that right now.

I want to show you some other video here from the moment of the blast. This is in OrangeTheory Fitness Center in Chelsea there, and you can see the people outside. The debris you can see that's in the air, the shattered glass in the front and then those people as some look like they're walking, now they're running because they're starting to perhaps understand what happened.

I do want to give you a quick warning here, because I don't want you to be caught off guard, 7:30 on a Sunday morning. But there is -- there are some things in this next video that could be upsetting to you. Dozens of people were injured there, this person who is bloodied. This was after the bomb went off in the dumpster.

But this woman is complaining about her eye. She was having problem with her eye and they did seem disoriented a bit. Not only are they trying to deal with their injury but trying to understand what happened and yet get themselves to the hospital or to get some of the help that they need.

BLACKWELL: Here's the picture of the second device, the pressure cooker removed from the area. There were wires coming out of it. Those wires taped to another device.

And New York Mayor Bill de Blasio says the explosion was an intentional act.

We're going to get more into that conversation, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:35:28] PAUL: So grateful to have you with us this morning. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell.

Right now, investigators are really combing through this video to try to determine if they have the image of the person responsible for the blast in New York late Saturday night. Now, we have video in. I want to be sure that we're clear about this.

The video you're seeing here is not the video that they are analyzing. So, we don't want you to assume that possibly one of these people is responsible for this. They're looking at other video, but this is surveillance video taken at the moment of the blast. You see the shattered glass and you can see there in the background people running.

PAUL: You're going to see that here in just a moment.

Let's bring in CNN law enforcement analyst and former FBI assistant director, Tom Fuentes.

Tom, we're hearing that police have increased their security across all five boroughs there in New York. I wanted to talk to you about something we had touched on earlier and I know you wanted to talk about, we couldn't get to it. The timing of this.

So, we've got one explosion in Chelsea. Four blocks away, we've got have a second device that's found that is now in the hands of authorities as they're analyzing it. But one week ago at this same time last week, we were sitting here talking about the anniversary of September 11th, the 15th anniversary. Tomorrow, you've got the U.N. General Assembly meeting.

What do you make of the timing of this?

TOM FUENTES, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I don't know that the timing is related. I mean, if the bomb was going to be related to the U.N., then why not explode it on the street near the United Nations. They don't have the entire security apparatus ramped up. You know, yesterday, it wasn't in place. So, I don't know that it would be related to the U.N.

As far as any relationship to the 9/11, you know, that was an al Qaeda tack 15 years ago. Most of the terrorists that we're dealing with today that -- if they are terrorists inspired by ISIS, they were about 5 years old at that time.

And ISIS would not want to give credit to al Qaeda. It's a rival organization. So, they would want their own anniversary date if they were going to pull a major attack.

But we don't know that it's ISIS. This could still be a domestic disturbance. It could still -- I mean, domestic terrorism, it could still be some other motivation, a disgruntled person. Garden variety psychopath.

There's a number of possibilities of what this might be at this. But I don't think any of the three events are related at this point.

BLACKWELL: All right. Tom, we have been waiting for the latest to come out from officials there, the mayor, fire and police officials after that news conference yesterday.

As you look at the details we have, what's the prime unanswered question as they try to figure out who's responsible that you have?

FUENTES: That's it exactly. Who's responsible and why? And, you know, the rest of it -- who assisted? Are there more attacks planned? Is this just -- you know, even though this one might not be related to New Jersey, there could be other possibilities related to this one.

We still don't have subjects in custody for either case. And I think if you're the mayor of New York, it's unsettling to welcome the world back to U.N. in session, and, oh, by the way, we're experiencing a major critical event even if we don't want to call it terrorism, I think the rest of the world that's arriving would understand what's going on.

PAUL: So, Tom, we have about 30 seconds left.

If you want to know who it is and why, how do they determine that based on what they have thus far?

FUENTES: Well, they're doing everything. They're contacting sources, they're, you know, scrutinizing social media, because usually someone goes on to take credit or someone had been on to make threats or putting information out prior to the attack, so they would be looking at that. And again, the devices themselves, they'd want the bomb techs to tell them how was the device created and what level of instruction went into the creation of the device. Was it something that's readily available on the Internet? Does it follow the formula of "Inspire" magazine, let's say, the al Qaeda magazine that had the initial pressure cooker bomb formula in a couple of years ago?

BLACKWELL: Yes, that was that article, make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom that many believe inspired the Tsarnaev brothers in the Boston bombing a couple of years ago.

Tom Fuentes, thanks for being with us.

We'll, of course, continue to lean on your analysis throughout the day.

FUENTES: Thank you.

PAUL: And we appreciate your expertise. Thank you.

And do stay close. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:43:22] PAUL: Well, this morning, as we're sitting here speaking, New Yorkers I'm sure waking up on edge after a blast rocked the city's Chelsea neighborhood last night. And investigators at this hour are analyzing much -- many different pieces of evidence, including some unreleased video footage as they try to determine if a person who is seen on that footage after the explosion could be a possible suspect.

BLACKWELL: This video is from the moment of the blast. Watch it. You see there the flash and then the shattering of the glass there. You'll see in a moment people running by. They at this moment have no idea what happened.

Dozens of people we know were injured. And investigators believe an explosive device went off in or near a dumpster. We have pictures of the dumpster. We'll show it to you later on the show.

But look at this photo, a second device, pressure cooker, we know there are wires, tape to it. There's another device that's connected to those wire. It was removed four blocks away from a garbage can.

And New York Mayor Bill de Blasio says that the explosion was an intentional act. Investigators are still looking into the details surrounding this device here.

PAUL: And to try to understand exactly what just happened, we just got some new video in. We want to sit here and watch it and listen to it together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go! Get off the street.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god.

(INAUDIBLE)

(SIREN WAILING)

[07:45:07] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you see what it was?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I was in my apartment but I --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: You can hear somebody crying there. Looked like there were people almost ducking behind cars --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: -- back and forth.

But imagine this. This is the thing. This is at 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue. This is a bustling area. You've got shops, you've got restaurants, you've got bars, you've got a residential area. It's 8:30 on a Saturday night and, all of a sudden, there is an explosion of some sort.

And then, four blocks away, you've got a second device found as we were talking about. So, today, again, that second device is in the hands of authorities and they're analyzing it and analyzing as well that video they have not yet released to us that does show somebody on there they find to be suspicious. We'll keep you posted as we continue to get more information on this.

Meanwhile, on the campaign trail, both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton reacting to the events in New York. Donald Trump quick to call the explosion a bomb. He spoke at a rally nearly two hours before New York officials had publicly confirmed any details.

But here's what Donald Trump said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I must tell you that just before I got off the plane, a bomb went off in New York and nobody knows exactly what's going on. But, boy, we are living in a time. We better get very tough, folks. We better get very, very tough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Hillary Clinton spoke to reporters hours later as well. She also characterized the explosion as a bombing.

BLACKWELL: Yes, she said she spoke to New York City officials but wanted to wait for more facts before making any conclusions. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Well, I think it's important to know the facts about any incident like this, that's why it's critical to support the first responders, the investigators who are looking into it trying to determine what did happen. I think it's always wiser to wait until you have information before making conclusions because we are just in the beginning stages of trying to determine what happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Well, the White House confirmed President Obama received a briefing about the explosion and the investigation. We'll bring you an official statement as soon as we receive it from the White House.

But before the briefing, President Obama spoke at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation gala, and he gave a passionate speech about the importance of this upcoming election and why African-Americans need to support Hillary Clinton.

The president also talked about his legacy and had some pretty harsh words for Donald Trump.

Let's talk about this event last night. I think we learned a lot. Let's bring in A. Scott Bolden, former chair of the Washington D.C. Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton supporter. And Paris Dennard, a Republican political commentator and Donald Trump supporter.

Good morning to both of you, gentlemen.

A. SCOTT BOLDEN, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: Good morning, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Let's start with just listening to a bit of what we heard last night and then we'll talk on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CLINTON: We can't let Barack Obama's legacy fall into the hands of someone who doesn't understand that, whose dangerous and divisive vision for our country will drag us backwards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Scott, we know that Hillary Clinton in order to win in November has to hold together the Obama coalition built in '08 and held together in 2012. The percentages in the polls look good for her campaign, but she has some trouble with the enthusiasm.

How did last night give us any indication of how she's going to try to excite the group she needs to excite to win?

BOLDEN: Well, I think Obama -- Barack Obama is going to be a big part of that. Last night, he made it personal. He put essentially the Clinton campaign, at least part of it on his shoulders, and said in October, we're going to be out there fighting.

But he made it personal by saying that so many people have fought for the right to vote. And while there may be so many Obama coalition that may not particularly excited about Clinton, that they ought to be excited about Clinton because Donald Trump is far too dangerous to drag us backwards.

I think between the two of them, they're going to be powerful campaigners in October. And if there's an ill wind blowing towards the Republican Party come October and his name is Barack Obama.

BLACKWELL: Paris, from your perspective, the impact of President Obama, the latest Gallup tracking poll has his approval rating amongst black voters at 91 percent. And having him out on the trail for Hillary Clinton could be powerful as Donald Trump still tries to make inroads.

PARIS DENNARD, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: Well, you are very correct. President Obama does have very high approval ratings, but what we have seen throughout this campaign and the general election campaign, we've seen that Secretary Clinton's unfavorables remain pretty high, as well as her enthusiasm does not seem to be on her side.

[07:50:06] And we are still waiting to see if the Obama coalition that was so successful in getting him elected and reelected is going to turn out for her. So far, that has not been the case. And "The New York Times" poll and study focus group show that African-American millennials were very -- they're not as enthusiastic and trusting and on board with Secretary Clinton, so this speech was something that she needed to do, she had to do to try to insure African-American millennials and the black community that she is the candidate.

But I don't necessarily believe that this speech last night or President Obama is going to do anything to increase the voter turnout for her, because the intensity is on the GOP side.

BLACKWELL: All right. Quickly, Scott. BOLDEN: Yes, Victor, if I may. I was at the dinner last night. And

there is nobody that connects to the African-American audience or communities of color like Barack Obama. It was electric, it was energizing.

And one point that he made and I'd be very quick about this is, it's simply not enough to support Hillary Clinton. He was pushing us to vote for Hillary Clinton, because nothing else matters despite your support whether you're enthusiastic or not. I think they'll get behind her because of Obama in part. He'll be a big part of this campaign leading up to November --

BLACKWELL: Yes, the president last night saying that you want to give me a good send off, go vote for me, making a essentially a vote for Hillary Clinton a vote for him --

BOLDEN: Exactly.

BLACKWELL: -- trying to make it very personal.

I apologize. This is -- we've got to keep this quick because of the breaking news coming in.

Scott Bolden, Paris Dennard, thank you both.

BOLDEN: Thank you, Victor.

PAUL: I want to remind you, the first big debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald is just about one week from today, on Monday, September 26th. We'll have it before, during, after, all of it right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:55:31] PAUL: All righty. This is some of the video that is just coming in to CNN.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

PAUL: So, a lot going on here. You hear the sirens, somebody crying. You hear police yelling to get off the street, get off the street. This after a bomb went off or a device went off, exploded in New York in the Chelsea neighborhood.

We know that 29 people were injured, two dozen taken to a hospital. And as we speak, investigators are analyzing all of the evidence they can from that area as well as four blocks away where a second device was found. It was not detonated and it is now in the hands of authority.

BLACKWELL: We know there were 24 people taken to hospitals. Some released. We know one person has serious injuries with a puncture wound. Of course, we'll get you the latest on that.

The president has been briefed on it. We're waiting on an update from them. And, of course, as soon as we get the latest from New York. We'll bring it to you.

Thanks for watching this morning.

PAUL: "INSIDE POLITICS WITH JOHN KING" is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)