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Source: Reuters Online

Bomb Explodes on Wall Street, Markets Open

Story Filed: Friday, February 11, 2000 11:38 AM EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A bomb exploded in New York's financial district early on Friday, sending shattered glass onto Wall Street and disrupting the morning commute for brokers and bankers, but financial markets opened on time.

Police said the explosion, which caused one minor injury, occurred at about 4:40 a.m. EST in front of 75 Wall Street, a building owned by British banking group Barclays Plc (BARC.L). Barclays does not occupy the space but sublets offices to tenants including financial firms Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and J.P. Morgan (JPM.N).

``At 4:40 a.m. an explosive device detonated before 75 Wall Street,'' New York City Chief of Detectives William Allee.

``We've searched the area for other devices. We've used bomb sniffing dogs. We consider the area safe,'' Allee told reporters in a dawn press conference on the glass-strewn street.

The explosion also damaged 95 Wall Street across the street from the Barclays building. A passerby who suffered an ear injury from the blast was treated and released, police said.

The New York Stock Exchange, which is not far from the blast site, opened on time at 9:30 a.m. EST. Hussein Malik, Treasury market strategist at J.P. Morgan, said there was no disruption to the firm's New York trading operation.

Allee said New York City police as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation were investigating the blast and that no one had claimed responsibility.

Police spokesman Dennis Cirillo described the bomb as an ''improvised'' device. He told Reuters it was placed in a revolving door entrance to the building and blew out the door. The explosion scattered glass into the street, scorched a pillar and broke windows across the street.

He said police want to question a man who allegedly fled the scene after the blast. He was described as a light-skinned black male weighing 200 to 225 pounds and wearing a tan construction coat.

Kevin Grimes, a window washer who was working a block north of 75 Wall Street, said he saw a man wearing a yellow hard hat and a vest approach the building and then walk away. The explosion occurred shortly afterward, Grimes told reporters before being whisked away for police questioning.

About 70 police and fire officials, including members of a bomb squad, converged on the scene. The streets in the area were cut off to traffic, causing a rush-hour nightmare for workers in the financial district.

Witnesses reported hearing a large explosion in the early hours of a foggy morning in New York.

``It was the biggest explosion I ever heard. It seemed like the building would have come down,'' said Dennis Theodore, a vice president with Worldco, a brokerage in a building next to 75 Wall Street.

Theodore, who called 911, said the building he was in shook from the force of the explosion, which occurred on the street in front of the buildings.

The blast brought memories of the 1993 World Trade Center explosion rushing back for New Yorkers. That bombing, which killed six people and injured more than 1,000, occurred on a cold winter day as well.

``The word got out that there was a bomb down here and the first thing you knew people were exchanging stories about the World Trade Center bombing,'' said Raoul Nolan, a consultant for J.P. Morgan.

Police, including members of the bomb squad, work near the scene where a bomb exploded in New York City's financial district early Friday. The explosion, which caused one minor injury, occurred in front of 75 Wall Street, a building owned by British banking group Barclays PLC. (Peter Morgan/Reuters)

Police bomb squad members are visible through a window shattered by a bomb in New York City's financial district early Friday. The explosion, which caused one minor injury, occurred in front of 75 Wall Street, a building owned by British banking group Barclays PLC. (Peter Morgan/Reuters) NEW YORK (Reuters) - A bomb exploded in New York's financial district early on Friday, sending shattered glass onto Wall Street and disrupting the morning commute for brokers and bankers, but financial markets opened on time.

Police said the explosion, which caused one minor injury, occurred at about 4:40 a.m. EST in front of 75 Wall Street, a building owned by British banking group Barclays Plc (BARC.L). Barclays does not occupy the space but sublets offices to tenants including financial firms Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and J.P. Morgan (JPM.N).

``At 4:40 a.m. an explosive device detonated before 75 Wall Street,'' New York City Chief of Detectives William Allee.

``We've searched the area for other devices. We've used bomb sniffing dogs. We consider the area safe,'' Allee told reporters in a dawn press conference on the glass-strewn street.

The explosion also damaged 95 Wall Street across the street from the Barclays building. A passerby who suffered an ear injury from the blast was treated and released, police said.

The New York Stock Exchange, which is not far from the blast site, opened on time at 9:30 a.m. EST. Hussein Malik, Treasury market strategist at J.P. Morgan, said there was no disruption to the firm's New York trading operation.

Allee said New York City police as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation were investigating the blast and that no one had claimed responsibility.

Police spokesman Dennis Cirillo described the bomb as an ''improvised'' device. He told Reuters it was placed in a revolving door entrance to the building and blew out the door. The explosion scattered glass into the street, scorched a pillar and broke windows across the street.

He said police want to question a man who allegedly fled the scene after the blast. He was described as a light-skinned black male weighing 200 to 225 pounds and wearing a tan construction coat.

Kevin Grimes, a window washer who was working a block north of 75 Wall Street, said he saw a man wearing a yellow hard hat and a vest approach the building and then walk away. The explosion occurred shortly afterward, Grimes told reporters before being whisked away for police questioning.

About 70 police and fire officials, including members of a bomb squad, converged on the scene. The streets in the area were cut off to traffic, causing a rush-hour nightmare for workers in the financial district.

Witnesses reported hearing a large explosion in the early hours of a foggy morning in New York.

``It was the biggest explosion I ever heard. It seemed like the building would have come down,'' said Dennis Theodore, a vice president with Worldco, a brokerage in a building next to 75 Wall Street.

Theodore, who called 911, said the building he was in shook from the force of the explosion, which occurred on the street in front of the buildings.

The blast brought memories of the 1993 World Trade Center explosion rushing back for New Yorkers. That bombing, which killed six people and injured more than 1,000, occurred on a cold winter day as well.

``The word got out that there was a bomb down here and the first thing you knew people were exchanging stories about the World Trade Center bombing,'' said Raoul Nolan, a consultant for J.P. Morgan.

Police, including members of the bomb squad, work near the scene where a bomb exploded in New York City's financial district early Friday. The explosion, which caused one minor injury, occurred in front of 75 Wall Street, a building owned by British banking group Barclays PLC. (Peter Morgan/Reuters)

Police bomb squad members are visible through a window shattered by a bomb in New York City's financial district early Friday. The explosion, which caused one minor injury, occurred in front of 75 Wall Street, a building owned by British banking group Barclays PLC. (Peter Morgan/Reuters)

Copyright ) 2000 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

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-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), February 11, 2000

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Bomb Explodes on Wall Street

-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), February 11, 2000.