Police
are searching for the boater who they believe is behind a blast that put a
crater on Fox Island off Suffolk’s South Shore.
Detectives
are not ruling out the possibility that Sunday’s incident may have been a test
run for something bigger. The Suffolk Police Department confirmed to News 12 on Monday that it is working with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force on the investigation.
Dina
Diroma, of West Islip, was one of hundreds of residents who heard and felt an
explosion just before 11 a.m.
“I
can't imagine if you were near the area, what would have happened to you,” she
said.
Ring
doorbell videos were activated by the blast, and there were dozens of 911
calls. The Town of Babylon's Public Safety Office received more than 500 calls.
“A
blast that size had to be something significant because it was felt as far east
as East Islip, in Sayville and as far west as…the Merrick area,” said Babylon Town Supervisor Richard
Schaffer.
Suffolk
police say the crater left behind was 4 feet wide and 2 feet deep.
Acting
Suffolk Police Commissioner Stu Cameron says investigators “didn’t
find any fragmentation” from the blast site. He was asked about concerns that
it could be someone doing a "test run" for terrorist activity.
“There
could be a variety of explanations, but that is a definitely a concern,” he
said. “We do know that when people produce homemade explosives, very often they
want to test those explosives to make sure they function as intended.”
Police
have released a picture of a 23-foot boat with stripes that was seen leaving
the island after the blast. They are urging the public to contact
them with any information about the incident.
So
far, police have ruled out a sonic boom by an aircraft or any type of aircraft
emergency.
Meteorologists
say the sound could have traveled as far as it did because of the weather
conditions.
“In
science, it's called an inversion, when we have a dense layer of clouds, a
temperature inversion occurs, and the temperature of air increases with height
and that can refract soundwaves back down to the ground,” said News 12
meteorologist Sam Augeri.