Seaside Park, where 'nothing ever happens,' feeling lucky after bomb blast
The bombs were hidden in a garbage can just past the half-mile mark of Saturday's 5K race in Seaside Park, N.J., where more than 2,000 runners and spectators had gathered to raise money for wounded Marines.
The bombs were hidden in a garbage can just past the half-mile mark of Saturday's 5K race in Seaside Park, N.J., where more than 2,000 runners and spectators had gathered to raise money for wounded Marines.
The distance to the trash can: Five minutes for most runners. The explosion had the potential to injure, even kill, those closest.
But the event had lured more runners than expected. So race director Frank Costello pushed the 9:30 a.m. start time back a half-hour - a decision which, he says, prevented a "disaster."
One of three pipe bombs in the garbage can exploded at 9:35. The two others, for reasons unknown, did not. Some runners and organizers didn't hear the boom over the blare of speakers near the starting line.
Then came police on bullhorns. Get away from the boardwalk, they ordered. The crowds stepped back reluctantly, some thinking it was a temporary delay.
"At first, I don't think people realized the seriousness of it," said Christopher Raimann, 45, a race volunteer who also works at the Ocean County Sheriff's Department.
Then word spread. A bomb had gone off in Seaside Park, a tiny Shore borough of 1,500 that calls itself "the Family Resort," not a place someone would expect to be a terror target.
But that's exactly what authorities said it was Monday as they captured Ahmad Khan Rahami, who they said was responsible for the Seaside Park incident and a bombing in Manhattan, also Saturday, that injured 29 people.
"That would have been a disaster if that race had started on time," Costello said of the Semper Five Marine Corps Charity 5K.
"We definitely would have had casualties," said Toms River Mayor Thomas F. Kelaher, a retired Marine and one of the race sponsors. He was standing on a stage announcing runners' names when police stopped the event. He said he never heard the explosion.
Authorities are investigating why the race was targeted. Some volunteers and coordinators said they suspect it was because the annual event benefits injured Marines and their families.
The MARSOC Foundation, a nonprofit that receives the proceeds, funds rehabilitation and other programs for those Marines.
Costello said the race received news coverage a few days beforehand.
"It's a military event," he said. But as for a motive, he said, "I have no idea."
On Monday, the blast site on Ocean Avenue, an area of two-story homes and sandy beaches, was free of police tape and flashing lights as heavy rain fell. Some residents still felt shaken.
"This is a little town, and you don't expect anything like that. You feel safe, and it's no longer safe," said Faye Haring, 70, a retired Postal Service carrier who lives five blocks from where the bomb went off.
Toni Silvestri, 50, heard the explosion while working at Nino's Pizza, about six blocks away.
"I didn't think much of it," he said. "I mean, what happens around here? Nothing. Nothing ever happens around here."
Even Hurricane Sandy mostly spared the borough, though a fire devastated its boardwalk three years ago.
Before the explosion, an unattended backpack not far from the finish line also caused confusion Saturday. Kelaher asked twice from the stage for its owner to claim the backpack after a woman found it and told race officials.
When, a few minutes later, Kelaher heard police loudspeakers telling people to evacuate, he suspected the backpack - which turned out to be unrelated to the bombing - was the cause.
"I thought, 'Jesus, are we overreacting?' " he said.
Near the start line, Stacy Proebstle was stretching with other runners when authorities appeared. The runners were told to move, but little else, she said.
Then they heard police and fire sirens and got word of the bomb. Some runners tried to hurry toward their cars, while others huddled on side streets, she said.
"It was surreal," said Proebstle, a spokeswoman for Toms River Township. "It was like, 'Wow, you can't even sign up for a charity race anymore.' You really have to be vigilant."
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