Wall Street bombingThe
Wall Street bombing was a
terrorist incident that occurred at 12:01 p.m. on
September 16,
1920, in the
Financial District of
New York City. It was the deadliest bomb attack on
American soil for seven years, until the
Bath School disaster. Thirty-eight were killed and 400 persons were injured by the blast.
[1]Attack
At noon, a
horse-drawn wagon passed by lunchtime crowds on
Wall Street in New York City. The wagon then stopped across the street from the headquarters of the
J.P. Morgan Inc. bank at
23 Wall Street, on the Financial District's busiest corner. Inside, 100 pounds (45 kg) of
dynamite with 500 pounds (230 kg) of heavy cast-iron slugs exploded in a timer-set detonation, sending the slugs tearing through the air. The horse and wagon were vaporized. Dozens of bodies littered the street, and the bomb caused over $2 million in property damage, wrecking most of the interior spaces of the Morgan building. An
automobile was hurled into the air, and glass was shattered for blocks (the damage can still be seen on the buildings today
[1]). Later a janitor may have swept glass out of a broken window, further adding to the injuries. Word soon spread that another bomb was nearby, creating further panic.
Shortly before the bomb exploded, a warning note had been placed in a mailbox at the corner of Cedar Street and Broadway. The warning read:
Remember we will not tolerate any longer. Free the political prisoners or it will be sure death for all of you. American AnarchistFighters.
The bomb failed to kill any high government officials, instead claiming mostly messengers, stenographers, clerks and brokers as its victims.
[2](For the entire article, click the headline)
