Officials Investigate Blast at Synagogue

An explosion and fire gutted a synagogue in Syracuse, N.Y., and local and federal agents were attempting to determine whether the building had been bombed. No one was injured. Tension over violence in the Middle East was “in the back of everyone’s mind,” police Sgt. Joe Sweeny said. The fire that raced through Temple Beth El appeared to have started in an office at the rear of the synagogue, investigators said. “It was some type of an explosion, but we don’t know what caused it,” said Syracuse police Sgt. Norm Brown. “Nobody’s claimed any kind of responsibility and there were no threats prior to it.” Agents from the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms joined the investigation.