What We Now Know About the Rainbow Bridge Explosion

What We Now Know About the Rainbow Bridge Explosion
By: PJ Media Posted On: November 24, 2023 View: 52

On Wednesday, PJ Media reported on an explosion at the Rainbow Bridge border crossing between the U.S. and Canada, at Niagara Falls. Initial indications suggested a potential terror link, and authorities even explored the possibility of a second vehicle's involvement. Fox News correspondent Alexis McAdams reported that "High level police sources tell me this is an attempted terrorist attack. Sources say the car was full of explosives. Both men inside dead.” 

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"Our most immediate concern is that violent extremists, individuals or small groups, will draw inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks against Americans going about their daily lives," said FBI Director Christopher Wray. A terror alert had just been issued a day prior, indicating the possibility of a terror attack targeting New York. 

Security footage of the car speeding before becoming airborne and crashing were eventually released: 

Despite initial reports, authorities no longer believe that the incident was at all connected to terrorism, and Alexis McAdams would walk back the claims made by her sources.

"We've been on heightened alert since October 7th. That's why it's so important for me to stand here and tell the world based on what we know at this moment -- and again, anything can change -- there is no sign of terrorist activity with respect to this crash. we have identified that this is a local individual, a Western New Yorker,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a press conference Wednesday afternoon. "Two individuals died in the vehicle. The Border patrol individual working in the booth was injured...they went to the hospital with minor injuries and have been released."

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On Friday, the occupants of the car were identified as Kurt P. Villani and Monica Villani, a husband and wife in their early 50s, who lived in Grand Island, N.Y., and reportedly own several businesses in Western New York. It is believed that the  couple had originally been planning to go to a Kiss concert in Canada that was canceled after member Paul Stanley caught the flu. The couple had previously been the Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino before heading to the border crossing.

On Thursday, the police department’s accident reconstruction team was tracing the couple’s journey from a casino downtown to the border crossing, examining surveillance video, the scene of the crash and other evidence collected by federal authorities.

A spokesman for the Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino, a towering gambling hall that dominates the city’s waterfront skyline, confirmed that the couple had been at the property for several minutes shortly before the crash.

From there, the car would have needed to travel a little more than a mile to the Niagara Falls International Rainbow Bridge, which straddles the Niagara River just downstream from the famous falls.

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This is a developing story. Stay tuned for more updates on PJ Media.

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