Authorities investigate explosions in Pittsburgh

January 5, 2021 KT1 US 0

FBI investigators arrive in Thousand Oaks, California. (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 1:02 PM PT – Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Residents in Pittsburgh are left rattled after two explosions shook their houses on Sunday night.

According to a report Monday, authorities in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania are searching for a white pick-up truck. They believe an aerial firework was thrown out of the moving vehicle, igniting into flames and striking a parked car.

UPDATE: 01/04/21 9:52 a.m.

With respect to the incident on Dinwiddie St., residents reported feeling their homes shake and some type of odor in the air.

The Bomb Squad responded with explosives sniffing K9’s, but no evidence has been recovered.

The investigation is ongoing. https://t.co/N0nu48cNyl

— Pittsburgh Police (@PghPolice) January 4, 2021

While no injuries were reported, witnesses described the first explosion as “too close for comfort,” and added many children frequent that street and could have been injured.

“A truck actually showed up like 30 seconds after the explosion. It matched the pictures on Twitter earlier,” witness Jared Rackley said. “The house started to shake like, sort of inside its core. It was so loud, and the whole neighborhood just shook.”

After reviewing video footage, police said the first explosion did not appear to be a targeted attack because the object was “just thrown out the window.”

Further, authorities believe the second blast, which occurred in the Hill District about 90 minutes later, was also caused by a firework explosive.

While no arrests have been made nor is there a suspect, the FBI and Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are working with authorities to investigate both incidents. A potential relationship between the two eerily timed explosions remains unclear.