Thursday, May 05, 2005
NEW YORK — Two small makeshift grenades exploded outside the British Consulate early Thursday, Election Day in England, causing slight damage to the building but injuring no one, officials said.
The blasts happened at 3:50 a.m.
The grenades had been placed inside a cement flower box outside the front door of the midtown Manhattan building that houses the consulate, police spokesman Noel Waters said.
After piecing together the shrapnel, police determined the devices were toy grenades that had been filled with gunpowder. Officers estimated that one was the size of a pineapple; the other the size of a lemon.
The blasts shattered a panel of glass in the building's front door and ripped a one-foot chunk from the planter. The department's bomb squad was at the scene and streets were closed in the area.
In London, Britain's Foreign Office (search) said there were no provisions for Britons to vote at overseas consulates. No further information was immediately available, the spokesman said. Calls to the British Embassy in Washington went unanswered early Thursday morning.
Britain's national elections have been dominated by anger with Prime Minister Tony Blair's (search) support for the Iraq war.
The 14-story glass and metal building, on 3rd Avenue at 51st Street less than a mile from the United Nations headquarters, has retail shops on the lower level.
Authorities closed streets around the site, causing some rush hour disruptions. Trains on one subway line skipped the stop close to the site.
NEW YORK — Two small makeshift grenades exploded outside the British Consulate early Thursday, Election Day in England, causing slight damage to the building but injuring no one, officials said.
The blasts happened at 3:50 a.m.
The grenades had been placed inside a cement flower box outside the front door of the midtown Manhattan building that houses the consulate, police spokesman Noel Waters said.
After piecing together the shrapnel, police determined the devices were toy grenades that had been filled with gunpowder. Officers estimated that one was the size of a pineapple; the other the size of a lemon.
The blasts shattered a panel of glass in the building's front door and ripped a one-foot chunk from the planter. The department's bomb squad was at the scene and streets were closed in the area.
In London, Britain's Foreign Office (search) said there were no provisions for Britons to vote at overseas consulates. No further information was immediately available, the spokesman said. Calls to the British Embassy in Washington went unanswered early Thursday morning.
Britain's national elections have been dominated by anger with Prime Minister Tony Blair's (search) support for the Iraq war.
The 14-story glass and metal building, on 3rd Avenue at 51st Street less than a mile from the United Nations headquarters, has retail shops on the lower level.
Authorities closed streets around the site, causing some rush hour disruptions. Trains on one subway line skipped the stop close to the site.
Comment