Last Saturday at a run to support the military, a man with intentions to hurt people went into Seaside Park and put a pipe bomb in a trash can. Luckily, the race was delayed and runners missed the actual blast of the bomb. He was later connected to similar incidents in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan on Saturday night and in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The man, Ahmad Khan Rahami, was caught after a shootout with police on Monday morning. With his run of terror done, the tristate and the Jersey shore took a deep breath. However, a week after the 15th anniversary of 9/11, the area was once again scared and on alert as the police and FBI were searching out for the man causing all the alarm. Even though we were a little inconvenienced, most went on with their day at school and work.
For the most part, I believe that we have to keep on with our daily lives. On Saturday, night I was in Queens watching the New York Mets when I got another news alert — "Dumpster explodes In Chelsea." My first reaction was to hope everyone was OK. Then I thought about how I was taking the subway home and hoped it was running normally. I still got on the train with happy Mets fans — the Mets won on a walk-off homer in the twelfth inning. Everything seemed fine in midtown and I continued to the train home back to New Jersey. During my time on the train, I caught up on the latest news and hoped everyone was safe.
It is hard to find someone in the area who wasn't on edge Sunday into Monday morning, including myself; we all were looking at our phones and thinking, "what could happen next?" It was not until late morning that the news came down that the man was caught after a shootout with police and was taken to a hospital after getting shot. Even after he was caught, some people were still worried about another attack and would not be going into the city anytime soon. I believe we must keep living out lives — just remember that if you see something, say something.
This year has seen several violent incidents around the world. Attacks have hit many countries including our own. This time, it was in the area that I love and live in and it felt personal. I know that when I saw the words "Seaside Park" and "bomb" together, I was shocked and had to put two and two together. It was a breaking news story I would never expect to see and hope to never again. For now, we must stay strong and watchful. Also, we should have trust in the police knowing they are out there to protect us from the ones trying to hurt us.
