Blasts strikes British Consulate in New York on UK General Election Day - 05th May 2005
Police spokesman said that the grenades had been placed inside a cement flower box outside the front door of the midtown Manhattan building (845 Third Avenue, New York), which houses the British Consulate in midtown Manhattan, New York City.
After piecing together the shrapnel, police determined the devices were toy grenades which had been altered to explode by the addition of black gunpowder. The blasts shattered a panel of glass in the building's front door and ripped a one-foot chunk from the planter. The department's bomb squad was at the scene and the road was closed for two blocks on either side of the building.
British Consul General Sir Philip Thomas later arrived on the scene and spoke to FBI officials and detectives.
The British Foreign Office said there were no provisions for Britons to vote at overseas consulates. Britain's diplomatic representation abroad has been targeted for terrorist attacks in the past.
In November 2003, a suicide bomb attack devastated the British Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Those who died in that incident included Consul General Roger Short, the UK's top envoy in Istanbul.
The New York consulate is in a nondescript office block on the city's well-heeled Third Avenue. It assists distressed Britons and can issue emergency British passports for a one-way journey to the UK. It handles visa applications, as well as issues for British citizens such as the legalization of documents and notices of marriage. Its press and public affairs department organizes exchange programs, seminars and conferences.
According to the consulate's Web site, its aim is to foster "political, economic and social understanding by establishing links between British and American government officials, academics, researchers and public policy organizations."
