Was Rainbow Bridge Explosion a Terror Attack? Here's What Happened

An explosion at New York's Rainbow Bridge border crossing with Canada has been labeled a traffic incident by authorities after media outlets initially reported that it was a terrorist attack.

A vehicle exploded on Wednesday near the Rainbow Bridge, which acts as a border crossing between the Ontario and New York State sides of Niagara Falls.

Two people were found dead in the vehicle on the U.S. side of the crossing, the Associated Press reported. A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) worker was treated at a hospital for minor injuries and released, AP added. The Rainbow Bridge is currently closed as investigations are underway.

The CBP released CCTV footage showing a car traveling at high speed and flying into the air.

Videos from the scene showed a heavy law enforcement presence and large flames and smoke near a toll booth.

FBI Buffalo said in a statement on X, formerly, Twitter, on Wednesday evening that it was "investigating a vehicle explosion at Rainbow Bridge," adding "As this situation is very fluid, that's all we can say at this time," the national FBI office also encouraging the public to report tips.

The Buffalo office has posted an update since, concluding there was no evidence of terrorism and that it was treating the explosion as the result of a "traffic incident."

It stated: "FBI Buffalo has concluded our investigation at the scene of the Rainbow Bridge incident. A search of the scene revealed no explosive materials, and no terrorism nexus was identified.

"The matter has been turned over to the Niagara Falls Police Department as a traffic investigation."

New York Governor Kathy Hochul also released a statement confirming there was "no sign of terrorist involvement in the horrific explosion that occurred here in Western New York."

Earlier, prominent media outlets began suggesting it was a terrorist incident.

How 'Terror Attack' Line Spread

As clips posted online show, Fox News began reporting about 1:46 p.m. ET that according to "high-level police sources, the explosion was an attempted terrorist attack," adding that there were "a lot of explosives in the vehicle" whose occupants were heading to Canada.

Speaking to Republican primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, Fox host Trace Gallagher questioned whether the "people who perpetrated this attack" had "come into the country legally?"

"Did they come across illegally and claim asylum?" Gallagher added.

"Were they some of the nearly one million 'got-aways' who have come into this country? Were they radicalized in this country? Were they radicalized at all? Did they come into the country that way?

"There are so many questions yet to be answered but given, as you point out, the situation that we have with immigration in this country, you just don't know who's coming in."

Ramaswamy would not be drawn to comment on what immediately led up to the blast, but called it a "startling reminder" of the need for a tougher border policy in the north.

Fox News' reporting was quickly picked up by prominent commentators and politicians.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz from Texas wrote on X on Wednesday evening: "This confirms our worst fear: the explosion at Rainbow Bridge was a terrorist attack.

"Both attackers are dead," he added before thanking law enforcement officers.

Arizona senatorial candidate Kari Lake wrote: "This may have been an attempted terror attack along our northern border. If so, our worst fears are being realized.

"@JoeBiden is inviting this kind of chaos into our country. It was only a matter of time before bad people took him up on his offer."

Fox News has since changed its reporting, stating that its reporter "Alexis McAdams was told by sources that the explosion was so big and fierce, that authorities first thought it was a terrorist attack."

Newsweek has contacted Fox News for comment.

Western New York border crossings between the U.S. and Canada were closed following the incident until further notice.

Buffalo Niagara International Airport said it was increasing security system-wide, meaning that while the airport would remain fully operational, cars going to the airport would undergo security checks. These additional checks have since been lifted.

The initial reports of a terror attack come at a tense time with Israel and Hamas at war.

FBI chief Christopher Wray told senators on October 31, "the ongoing war in the Middle East has raised the threat of an attack against Americans in the United States to a whole other level."

"We assess that the actions of Hamas and its allies will serve as an inspiration the likes of which we haven't seen since Isis launched its so-called caliphate years ago," he said.