Four border crossings along the U.S.-Canada line were closed Wednesday after a car exploded near the Rainbow Bridge, killing two people.
There were initially conflicting reports about which direction the speeding car came from, but eyewitness accounts indicate it came from the American side. It hit the checkpoint structure and burst into flames before exploding and coming to rest with the two people inside it. One U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer at the checkpoint suffered minor injuries. Initial reports cited no evidence that the car was carrying an explosive device.
The White House and the New York governor’s office were immediately briefed. The explosion comes amid international tensions about the Israel-Hamas war and that soft targets are even more vulnerable during a holiday week.
“We are closely monitoring the situation,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a post on X. “State agencies are on site and ready to assist.”
Hochul, who headed to Buffalo, immediately ordered New York State Police and the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force to monitor all entries into the state. The Queenston-Lewiston Bridge, the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, and the Peace Bridge — all in the Buffalo and Niagara Falls area — also were closed, as well as the Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government was “taking this extraordinarily seriously” and called it “a very serious situation in Niagara Falls.”
The FBI apparently is taking the lead on the investigation but had little to say about it.
“The FBI is coordinating with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners in this investigation,” the agency posted in a statement on X. “As this situation is very fluid, that’s all we can say at the time.”
