The FBI are investigating a possible incident of domestic terrorism after an SUV filled with gasoline canisters slammed into a crowd outside a concert venue in Rochester, New York, early on New Year's Day, killing two people and injuring another five, CNN reported.
Two people were killed and five hospitalized after an SUV carrying “at least a dozen” gas canisters ... [+]
Early in the morning after New Year’s Eve, a Ford Expedition collided with a Mitsubishi Outlander outside a concert venue in Rochester, pushing both cars into a large group of pedestrians crossing the street at a crosswalk, Rochester Police Chief David Smith said.
The cars burst into flames after the crash—erupting into a blaze which took the Rochester Fire Department over an hour to put out.
First responders found “at least a dozen” gasoline canisters both inside and around the SUV, Smith said, causing the Rochester Police Department Bomb Squad to investigate the scene.
The FBI is assisting with the investigation, which they are now treating as a potential act of domestic terrorism, a source familiar with the investigation told CNN.
The Ford driver also reportedly left a suicide note and a journal in his hotel room, the source told CNN.
The deadly crash took place around 2 a.m. on New Year’s Day outside the Kodak Center, a large concert venue in Rochester. About 1,000 people gathered on New Year’s Eve for a performance by the band Moe., a Rochester-based jam band. Police were already at the concert venue to assist crossing pedestrians in front of the venue when the Ford SUV smashed into the Mitsubishi SUV. “The force of the collision caused the two vehicles to go through a group of pedestrians that were in the crosswalk, and then into two other vehicles,” Police Chief Smith said. The two occupants of the Mitsubishi were killed at the scene, while the driver of the Ford was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. Three more pedestrians on the street and another driver were struck by the cars—all were hospitalized, with one reportedly in life-threatening condition. Rochester Mayor Malik Evans asked for the public’s patience with the ongoing investigation, and also asked concertgoers and locals to come forward with any information they might have about the crash. “No piece of information is too small,” the mayor said.