September 18, 2016 | No Comments
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mike Pence called Sunday for “prayer and vigilance” in the wake of an explosion in New York City on Saturday night that injured 29 people on the same day a pipe bomb exploded in New Jersey and a stabbing attack took place at a Minnesota mall.
“Obviously we’re all troubled, we’re all troubled in our hearts by the events that took place in New York last night, yesterday in New Jersey and yesterday in Minnesota,” Pence told a large crowd at the First Baptist Church Jacksonville, where he was attending church with his wife Karen after campaigning in Florida on Saturday.
“As a governor and a candidate for national office it would not be appropriate for me to comment on an ongoing investigation other than to say that we are thankful in our hearts that that there was no loss of life as a result of these horrific attacks.”
Pence encouraged prayers for the wounded, investigators and first responders. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has called the New York explosion an “intentional act,” though no link to terrorist groups has been established. Authorities found a second explosive device just blocks away.
“Prayer and vigilance is the order of the day,” Pence said. “And it is how Americans have ever bravely responded to such acts, whatever the cause — whether it was terrorist attacks, whether it was inspired by terrorists abroad as you experienced here in Florida not long ago, or whether it was home grown violence — we urge prayer and vigilance.”
Pence’s reluctance to characterize the attack comes after Trump told a crowd Saturday night that the explosion was caused by “a bomb” before officials issued a conclusive statement on the incident.
“I must tell you that just before I got off the plane, a bomb went off in New York and nobody knows exactly what’s going on. But, boy, we are really in a time — we better get very tough, folks,” Trump told a crowd in Colorado on Saturday night.
ISIL has claimed responsbility for the Minnesota attack, in which eight people were injured at a mall in St. Cloud. No one was injured in the blast in Seaside Park, New Jersey, which occurred shortly before a charity run.