This is a perfect way to lock down the British Consulate in New York 2 days before the UK National Elections.
I wonder who might be interested in doing *that*?
wonder wonder wonder...
AP via IndyMedia(?!)
http://nyc.indymedia.org/feature/display/149515/index.php
Two Small Grenades Explode Outside British Consulate on 3rd Ave Little Damage Reported by from the AP wires (No verified email address) 05 May 2005 (from the AP): Two small makeshift grenades exploded outside the British Consulate early Thursday, causing slight damage to the building but injuring no one, officials said. The blasts occurred at 3:50 a.m. and originated inside a cement flower box outside the consulate in midtown Manhattan, said police department spokesman Noel Waters.
In Britain, voters were voting in national elections, a heated race in which Prime Minister Tony Blair's fight for a third term could be hampered by public anger over the Iraq war. It was not known whether the explosions were related to the elections.
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.
The building has retail shops on the lower level.
The spokesman said one device was the size and shape of a pineapple and the other was the size and shape of a lemon. They detonated within a minute of each other.
Police said the devices were both toy grenades that had been altered to explode by the addition of black gunpowder, The Associated Press reported. Police made the conclusion after piecing together the shrapnel.
"It was one of those things you light and then run," a police spokesman told PA.
Witnesses described hearing two loud blasts just seconds apart.
Santos Figuroa was working down the street and said he heard "two loud bangs" that "sounded like thunder."
The consulate is located at 845 Third Avenue, between 51st and 52nd streets, police said. The building houses other offices in addition to the consulate.
Video from the scene showed New York City bomb squad personnel examining a car with shattered windows parked on the street in front of the consulate.
The road was closed for two blocks on either side of the building, which was surrounded by police and bomb squad experts.
Police were investigating whether there was any security camera footage of what happened, PA reported.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We can confirm that there have been two small explosions outside the British Consulate. There are no casualties. New York police are investigating. We have no further information at this stage."
British Consul General Sir Philip Thomas later arrived on the scene and spoke to FBI officials and detectives, PA reported.
The Foreign Office said there were no provisions for Britons to vote at overseas consulates, AP reported. <...>