colleagues, jonathan, and described by the fbi director in new york city and new york state law enforcement officials is a heightened threat environment, and they're concerned about an incident where somebody might take a vehicle or any sort of weapon and act out on their own because of obviously what we know is going on in the middle east with israel and hamas. so at this hour, again, still not clear whether or not this was some sort of an intentional act or just a bad accident. but officials are obviously taking it quite seriously. >> yeah, how quickly, obviously on scene and they have experts who are coming in or may already be there, how quickly would they be able to have at least a preliminary indication, if this was something that might have been untoward. >> right. so the first thing you do is you look at the license plate, the surveillance video, how was the vehicle driving in the moments leading up to its impact. did it look like somebody had

accidentally stuck on the accelerator, and so then that drove into this or were they intentionally aiming for it. were there any other vehicles we're trying to transit statement, that are suspicious. are those vehicles being checked out? those are some of the questions and some of the things they would be investigating, certainly if they can get a license plate or vin number off this vehicle, they may identify who owned it, whether it was stolen or not, the background of it. there's all sorts of questions in things they could start to investigate to determine of course if there's any identification they could find of the occupants that would be helpful as well. so those are the types of things they'll look at and run it against anybody's prior, you know, do they have any sort of prior interactions with law enforcement or is it somebody that may have a known medical condition, such as a heart issue or other issue that could have led to them becoming unconscious before this incident having their foot stuck on the accelerator, and obviously the end result in some of the images

that we have started to see. but obviously this border crossing is now closed and it certainly, again, given the fact that it's the day before thanksgiving, and given the environment that we're in has people concerned! . >> if you'll stay with us, i want to bring in carmen best, an msnbc law enforcement analyst. we know officials have converged on the scene, local, state, now fbi. talk about what could be going on right now, particularly with local law enforcement. >> well, as tom mentioned, it could be a whole host of different scenarios, but at this point, everyone's going to assume that it could potentially be the worst thing would be some sort of intentional attack or, you know, on the u.s. or a suicide mission. we're not sure. lone wolf person or maybe even a medical condition. certainly everybody is going to be on alert, as noted, the fbi the federal authorities, u.s.

customs and border patrol, local police will be there as well. trying to gather as much information. we see from the video there's a large explosion. what precipitated that explosion. who was the driver, you know, run the plates find out who the tags belong to, and start circling from that. have there been any recent threats. as tom, again, mentioned in this current environment we're in, you know, highly energized political environment. there's a whole lot of potential there. they're not going to leave any stone uncovered, and they're going to really work to see what exactly happened. >> tom, i understand you may have some new information for us? >> yeah, chris, i think we may have got our lines crossed a little bit. i was actually on the phone. i was making sure my mic was cut. i think we'll have more information shortly, and i'll hand it back to you and chief best, if that's okay. >> let me ask you first, tom, and i'll hand it over, but we're seeing what looks to be the

niagara falls police department there. when you have a situation like this that brings in state, federal, local officials, who's in charge, tom, how does that coordination work, and how quickly do they get that coordination going generally? >> it's a federal border crossing. it will be cvp, the fbi, certainly the local law enforcement there will be able to secure this crossing, as you clearly see that they're doing, the pictures that we're looking at, and obviously if they need to bring in a fire department that can be brought in for two reasons, if they have any sort of suspicious devices that they want to look at, you need fire to help out sometimes, and disrupting a potential second device. again, we haven't heard that, but i hope to have more information on that for you shortly here, chris. >> and in the post 9/11 environment, and again, we don't know that this is terrorism, we have no idea, carmen, what is happening here. what's the training like for local officials, and would you expect that it would be a high

level around niagara falls, just because it is right at a border crossing. >> absolutely. a high level of caution and training is that you assume that it could potentially be some sort of terrorist attack, and we want to make sure that we're doing all things that are trained to do. look for secondary devices, you know, ensure that there are threats. treated very seriously until the evidence shows something different. at this point, again, it's early on. lots of units converging on the scene. they're going to lock down the area, first and foremost, and then start working their way through what occurred. pull all the evidence that they can. start running, you know, if they can get information on the plates and the tag, where it came from, identify who the owners may be, if, in fact, there are other threats. they're going to be sharing that information, setting up a command post, safe access routes, making sure that all the

command information is following through and being shared with all the other interested stake holders. >> there's also, carmen, i assume, a secondary and important job that local officials will have, which is as we mentioned, it is thanksgiving weekend, it is a record setting weekend. tens of millions of people expected to be on the road. so they have a logistical nightmare as well that they'll need, probably all hands on deck for, wouldn't you think? >> yeah, absolutely. depending upon how long this closure is in place. and it could be significant. my understanding is that other bridges coming into that area have also been closed in abundance of caution since we don't know, this is some sort of coordinated thing or potentially where this could go. at a post 9/11 environment, we want to take off cautions early on. >> i want to bring in frank figliuzzi, counter assistant

director of counter intelligence on the fbi. we know the fbi is on scene. what are they doing precisely right now? >> chris, they're gathering every fact and shred of evidence. they're also working closely with their partners in canada. the fbi has a number of satellite offices throughout canada, including the closest one there in ottawa, so they will be looking at any knowledge of this car or the people in the car or who rented the car, purchased the car, et cetera, and, you know, when we're hearing reports of explosion of this size, this really speaks to explosives versus, say, a car malfunction. multiple reports across various media platforms, talking about a sizable explosion, potential injuries, even one main street media report, possibly cdt officer being injured. the other thing that's going to

happen automatically is they will operate from an assumption because they have to these days, that this is a terrorist attack. that's just the assumption that they'll act under just in an abundance of caution, so that they get it right. and they'll be listening to all kinds of source coverage throughout the u.s. intelligence community. see if there was any chatter, any clue that something was up here. and then writ large, there will be a concern if there are potentially other attempts being made throughout border crossings, so don't be surprised if we see other additional border crossings closed or enhanced security like jar jacks going to every car and checking, as opposed to random car checks. it might even ultimately involve nearby airports so that enhanced security is occurring. all on the presumption, temporarily that this could be

some larger attempt at terrorism. lastly, i'll just point out that, you know, it's not necessarily the bridge itself that would have been the target. although that would be, perhaps, a worthy target, but rather we have seen in the past actors who try to get into the united states in the hopes that they won't be part of a random pull over or random security check. they'll just be waived through. they'll show i.d., get through, and if that happens, they get through with explosives, and then they hit and head toward, perhaps, a larger planned target. but the secondary plan could be if we get stopped, if we get secondaried, we're going to detonate right here. that's all going through the fbi's mind right now. what happened, who did this, and why. >> so we were talking about surveillance video, and the

possibility of getting important clues from there. what will officials be looking for? i assume, frank, speed. did they breakthrough anything. all the normal things that would say, this wasn't just a car that was making its way across the bridge, that suddenly something happened to. >> yeah, indeed. the cameras will be extremely helpful, so, for example, they will also be looking at cars that might have been behind or in front of this vehicle. they will be going through footage for the entire day to see if similar cars, similar subjects might have come through that might have been associated with it. did one get through without being secondary, and specifically, with this vehicle, what caused this to happen. in other words, were they motioned to pull over by cbp? were they stopped and questioned? did these subjects get out of their vehicle? were there words exchanged?

were there weapons displaced? did a trunk get opened by a cbt officer, an accidental detonation occur. all of this might be on video. >> so given the idea that you have to consider all possibilities from best case scenario to worst case scenario, what kind of perimeter? what kind of security are they putting in place before they can determine whether this was a loan incident at least at this location, frank? >> yeah, so we're hearing, of course, reports that at least this bridge and border crossing is closed and that is very very smart. you don't even know with regard to the size of the explosion, whether there's been a physical compromise to the border crossing, whether it can function in the foreseeable future, and i think in close coordination with the canadians, you'll see the canadian government start enhancing security in terms of who's

coming, who's backed up in the line waiting to come if this reopens, and there will be investigative work done there, as i said, are there potential other suspects to come over as well. the perimeter is smart, i think you'll see it extended into canada, and i won't be surprised if other northern u.s./canada border crossings are subject to closure or enhanced security. >> how strong and how familiar is the relationship between officials here, the fbi, and their counter parts in canada, frank? >> oh, it is seamless, i actually can't think of another -- and remember the fbi has the liaison offices in something like 200 countries. i can't think of a seamless, daily type of contact interaction than fbi and the canadian authorities. i mean, they know each other. they know their kids' names, they're at lunch, and having a

beer every day. they're passing intel every day. the level of traffic, as you can imagine, between the two nations is constant. it's a seamless operation. >> so, frank, i want to get your take on a couple of things that are being reported by the niagara gazette. that obviously is the local newspaper. we do not have nbc confirmation of that, so i want to put that warning on it. they say that witnesses saw smoke and fire from the vehicle at the rainbow bridge. a car reportedly sped the wrong way into the inspection booths where the explosion occurred. in fact, a border protection agent, they report, was injured, although not seriously. he's been treated for nonlife threatening injuries at the niagara falls memorial medical center, but the car was speeding down one street on to the bridge plaza. went through a fence separating

inbound lanes to the outbound lanes toward the inspection lanes where it explode ed. that is according to law enforcement sources at the scene who were spoken to by the reporter at the "niagara gazette," your take on that, frank? >> look, we never say never with regard to the possibility that this was an accident, and that someone had a medical condition, and their foot got stuck on an accelerator. when you're talking about going the wrong way and accelerated speed, and apparent targeting of an inspection building or kiosk or booth, this tends to weight the scale over the targeted attack, and you think is this an iconic target? well, it is a government target. if you're truly aiming for a u.s. inspection facility, you are almost guaranteed to damage a u.s. government property, and even injure u.s. officials. we should be pleased at this

early state of information that perhaps only one cvb officer was injured. this could have been a whole lot worse. i'm back on my focus to the size of explosion to kind of negate the possibility of an accident. the car crashing into a building may or may not result in a sizable explosion. if you've got explosives on board, you're going to see a much larger explosion. >> let me go over to tom winter. i think he now has some of his own reporting on that. tom, what have you found out? >> right, chris. i'm including the reporting of my colleague, jonathan dienst and i. four senior law enforcement officials briefed on the matter tell nbc news that a vehicle apparently approached the check point or inspection building at a high rate of speed, hits that structure, catches on fire and explodes from there. however, i think this is quite important and of course this information is early, subject to change as evidence comes in.

an initial sweep of that vehicle did not indicate that there was a secondary device, so in other words, there's no indication at this point that there was a bomb on board this vehicle in any sort of way. so that's the first thing. the second thing that we're hearing from those officials is that there were two occupants of the vehicle. then there are two casualties as a result of this, and i think the pictures that are circulating that will hopefully be able to bring to you shortly will indicate why that's the case, the damage appears to be extraordinary. based on some things that are being sent to us at this time. we should have those for you shortly, and then the third thing is, they are trying to determine whether or not this incident was intentional. of course if it was intentional, what is the motive behind it, is it anti-government, terrific on behalf of a terrorist organization. it's too soon to say. hopefully we'll be able to share

that information with you shortly as authorities gather evidence. again, it's based on what they have been able to collect so far, chris. the initial indication, vehicle, high rate of speed, hits the structure. there's a fire, and then subsequent explosion. but authorities have not been able to find any sort of secondary device, so the feeling in law enforcement circles is it's not a veibd, which is a vehicle born improvised explosive device. so that's where this stands. as we get more, as we start to develop any sort of information from our reporting on the identities of these individuals, and what may have happened here. of course i'll jump back on with you in a way. >> thank you so much for that, frank. if the early indication or at least the initial indication is that there was not a bomb in the car, based on your experience, how likely is it that that is going to end up being final conclusion? what are they doing to make that determination? >> well, i think some clarity, excuse me, some clarity is needed because we've heard tom

say that authorities are reporting. they could not find a, quote, secondary device. secondary device means there was a first device. so i think we need some clarity on that. we're saying no secondary device found, but therefore no bomb. they're not mutually exclusive. so we don't know. again, i'm focused on the size of the explosion. certainly a full gas tank that, you know, was accompanied by a crash. especially with witnesses saying the explosion occurred after the crash. that explosion could be the result of the crash. and the gas tank catching fire. and that would rule out potentially terrorism. but it can't rule out the possibility that someone actually targeted that inspection station. so very early. tnes statements and video security, very important right d we're kind of at a point

where we just need more information. >> yeah, we got an initial post from new york governor kathy hochul, one of the first officials to announce that something had happened on the bridge. i have just been handed a statement from the senate majority leader chuck schumer who is from new york saying he's closely monitoring the situation on the rainbow bridge crossing between the u.s. and canada, affirming that federal, state and local law enforcement are there, and thanking brave first responders. i also want to bring in gabe gutierrez at the white house. what can you tell us from there? >> reporter: hi there, chris, we got a statement from the spokesperson for the national security council saying that the white house is closely monitoring the situation that law enforcement is on scene and investigating. right now, authorities are really taking great pains to caution what could be behind this, and whether this could or could not be, in fact, terrorism, they're cautioning us against that. i just got off the phone with an

official from customs and border protection who could not confirm details of this event, and perhaps whether any cvp officers might have been injured. so still very fluid at this point. again, chris, the white house saying that it is closely monitoring the situation, and essentially waiting for more information from local law enforcement on the scene. we understand the fbi is the lead agency down there, and you're looking at those live pictures. a massive law enforcement presence as the white house and local authorities and as you're hearing, officials from the state of new york are closely looking at this and hesitant to provide further confirmation about what may have happened as law enforcement investigates, chris? >> do we know if the president has been briefed on this yet, gabe? >> reporter: we asked that question. we have not heard back on whether president biden has been briefed. he is in nantucket for the thanksgiving holiday, but again, his national security team is monitoring the situation and we're awaiting word to hear if

president biden is being or has been briefed on this at its early stages. >> thank you so much, gabe gutierrez, i know you'll get back to us if you learn more about this. frank figliuzzi, let's me go back to you. obviously we're seeing what a heavy presence there is there. and i ask this obviously in the context of this is thanksgiving weekend. there is going to be extraordinarily heavy traffic today, tomorrow, sunday is expected to be the heaviest, potentially the heaviest of the year. how quickly could they get people on scene, get the investigating done that they need to get done. i assume make sure of the structural integrity of the bridge, and potentially get things moving again? >> i don't anticipate that this is going to take an inordinate amount of time if that there is a sizable fbi office right there in buffalo. they can easily call upon fbi

new york, the largest fbi office that will come out of manhattan. and of course the canadians may assist as well. with regard to department of transportation or other agency coming on and checking for integrity of the bridge itself, again, that's going to be a priority on this holiday weekend. i will say i'm taking some encouragement from the fact, and you know, we'll take what we can get, chris, the explosion reportedly happened after the crash. that's very different than a detonated device prior to a crash or because someone was secondary or because they're being confronted and that's good news if that's accurate, and i think investigators will fairly quickly be able to figure out who belongs to that car, who was in the car. it will be some i.d. that can be salvaged, hopefully license plates, vin numbers, serial numbers on the car, will all

come back to an innocuous situation or one that's much more troubling. if we were looking at a full blown serious attempt at terrorism, we'll be looking at explosives that detonate, little doubt that we've got explosion that's from a vehicle born ied, versus a crash. i'm actually slightly hopeful, we're dealing with something other than a car filled with explosives with a terrorist intent. >> i want to bring in msnbc national security analyst clint watt, a distinguished research fellow. i want to point out that obviously because this is a cpb area, a border crossing, this is an area of very high security. in the statement that kathy hochul put out, the state police are working with the joint terrorism task force but from a security standpoint, what do you

see? what's important to you that we have learned so far? >> i think some of the key things frank was touching on there, chris, that we should consider is was there some sort of motive or reason to believe it's terrorism? i'm not surprised that the fbi might be reacting that way immediately trying to identify if there was some sort of potential for it. because there are some outstanding factors. one, this is a border crossing. this is something that we've seen many times in the past. you might look back all the way to the millennium plot, something that came from canada to the u.s. from a terrorism standpoint, it's logical to jump to. we have an international crisis going on in israel and gaza, so there have been calls for things like global jihad that might inspire international terrorism, and you can add to that, any sort of domestic terrorism threats they might be considering, at the same point, frk ted, it seems like it's one vehicle and one explosion there's no indication, as tom

waying, that there was a secondevice or a secondary explosion of any type, suggesting it might be a multifaceted terrorism attack. the other part is there any sort of connections. i'm sure this is where the fbi and really, you know, both sides of the border here, remember the royal mounted canadian police, i'm sure is involved. they're also going to be looking to see, is this a vehicle, no, they will likely get to a license plate or vin number very quickly. you're already seeing surveillance camera footage come out. you might be able to identify the individuals associated with that vehicle. that would be a major step forward, and then they'll be wanting to see if this ties to anythi what we know about terrorism, and why they're likely approaching it as a terrorism event, significant dates are critical. ys areeyimes when these things tend to happen. all the right steps, i'm sure, ving forward. as frank noted, though, there's just a lot to learn at this point. we can't be for certain that

it's, you know, just not an actor acting alone. we have seen this in other situations. you might remember the christmas day bombing in nashville, where there was a major detonation, and turned out having no ties to any sort of ideological motivation. very early yet, and i think both scenarios are possible. >> if intel had been taking any kind of chatter, anything related to a bridge or crossing between the u.s. and canada, is it right to presu that there would have been a notification, a lookt, a heightened sense of ty even more than normal? >> that's right,is. usually if there was some sort of indication or early warning, you'd see department of homeland security and the fbi do some sort of joint bulletin where they would issue some warning regarding potential targets. if you remember back over the years they have done this with respect to airports, they have done this with respect to the amtrak corridor between new york and washington, d.c. many years

ago. so they've issued these kinds of warnings many times. >> i'm going to interrupt you for a second because justin trudeau is speaking about this. let's take a listen. >> we are in close contact with u.s. officials, and we'll continue to work closely with them. we will continue to be engaged we will provide updates. right now, there are four border crossings, right now closed. rainbow bridge, whirlpool bridge, and additional measures are being contemplated across the country. we're taking this extraordinarily seriously. i'll have to excuse myself to get further updates and work on this very serious situation. thank you, mr. speaker. [ applause ] [ speaking in global language ]

>> we only heard the end of that. this is a couple of key things we heard from them. he called it a serious situation. he also said there are four border crossings that are closed, additional measures are being contemplated. what does that tell you? >> yeah, chri you and i spoke minutes ago about the likelihood that other northern border crossings would be closed and we're hearing it again. from a very practical standpoint, obviously, a tremendous impact on holiday traffic and crossings. look, he spoke with a sound of urgency and gravity. that's understandable. the early phases of these, you must, as we talked about, assume the worst because that's how the investigation could proceed, until you rule out terrorism you've got to assume that it is. but there's still some

encouraging news here. the prime minister, of course, is subject to intelligence that we simply don't have. but the question is whether he's just acting out of what we all know right now, and he knows nothing more and whether he actually is in possession o intelligence that seems to lend a sense of gravi to his speech today. i think we'll have answers quickly. we have a known vehicle, people in the vehicle that will be identified in fairly short order. the question we all have is there intel, and you were talking with clint about this earlier. is there any possession, any intel possessed by any of the allied intelligence services, and canada is certainly part of what we call the five is nations that share intelligence. is there anything that would have pointed to this, and is that causing a sense of

increased concern? >> so we are getting a notifi from kathy hochul office, that's the governor of new york, of course, that there ikely to be a press conference later today. what we just heard from the canadian prime minister, trudeau, was the first that had heard officiallm anyone, again, just to reiterate, he called it a very serious situation. assuming there is a press conference that we are anticipating there to be an advisory, tom winter, what are the key qstions besides that one about whether or not there was any intel that we had or any of our allied intelligence agencies had. what are the key questions to be answered in your mind? >> the very unfortunate part of that is the terrorist attacks having covered most if not all of them, having studied all of them over the last ten years, very few of them have been predicated on some sort of a major plot or group of individuals working together in

a command control structure, a la 9/11. most of what we have seen or almost all of what we have seen have been attacked that have occurred as a result of individuals viewing various types of propaganda online and acting out as a result of that, often mixing different ideologies, different types of propaganda. this seems to have one specific stream, then those individuals act out, and they a out according to the ways the propaganda prescribes. one of the ways is to use your vehicle to conduct a ramming at it's very possible that there were no -- nothing that was known about these individuals in advance. sometimes individuals are known about in advance, law enforcement looks into those pe but because of our laws free speech, because of the fact that you can't a someone on a suspicion that they might do something at some point, that those individuals are not taken into custody, and a host of arrests of individuals that were taken in, charged and

successfully prosecuted before they were able to carry out an attack. of course all of that is under the column of whether or not we are actually looking at an intentional incident. there have been a number in this country. i can think on new jersey highways, individuals have had medical episodes and crashed into the booth. law enforcement is very clearly concerned here about the possibility that this is intentional and so at this point, both probabilities are in . i would like to know who these individuals are, what their background is, and if there's any sor of law enforcement documentatn on them. in the , i would like to know w they were headed into canada.ted states or headed i think it's perfectly understandable if i washe canadian prime minister, i would be ordering similar crossings in that area to be closed because of course you want to makee you can prevent the next thing if there was ever to be a next thing. i think it's important if this

is intential for folks to remember that one or two individuals werectg alone. the two casualties in the car, they're all that we have so far, and then our colleague, ken dilanian just sent a note in mome ago. ken has been able confirm according to a senaw enforcement official, a cvb at that check point, chris, was injured, but apparently, and this is some good news, that injury does not require hospitalization, so that's the latest reporting from kent. >> frank figliuzzi, one of the things you and i have talked about far too often is this idea of a lone actor, or in this case, there were two people in the car, even if they had ill intent, if this is not an accident, what are the chances that there is some background, what are the chances that there is any documentation. what does experience tell you given the facts that we know in this case so far. >> you know, tom winter made an excellentoint in this regard. my answer is different than it d ha been than say, a yea

or two ago, chris. if you recall the fbi director chs wray testifying most recently oitol hill just within the last several days, two weeks, he used language that was clearly elevated from the past with regard to the threat and risk that we're ng. he was clearly indicating to all of us that there is a very heightened security concern, and that the concern arising out of the hamas-israel conflict is an inspirational attack. it is not one that you would go, oh, yeah, we know who that is, we have that organization on file. we have picked up intercepts. we're living right now under a threat of inspirational acts just because of what's happening in the middle east, people are ge their news and inspiration from. that makes it much harder for laemt to say, yeah, we had this guy on our radar sc it's likely they may not have.

>>realking about an inspirl attack, and a common question this might rise would be what does driving across a bridge from niagara falls into niagara falls from canada to the u.s. have to do with pottially unhappiness, upset, unrest in their minds involving something that's happening in the middle east or elsewh >> sometimes we often find ourselves trying to apply logic to lunacy, but we do know that inspirational acts are based on what that person has the capacity to do to lash out at whatever is in front of them that seems to represent what's upsetting them, so the argument could be, and let's emphasize this is conjecture at this point, it is based on past smaller acts of inspired terrorism, which is to say this place represents the u.s. government to me. it's an inspection station. it's the border crossing. i'll get immediate television

coverage in at least two nations if i do this. and so it's something simple. it's not iconic. but it's what they can . you know, we can point, for example, on a domestic scene, in gentleman who walked into the fbi field office in cincinnati, not necessarily a target for international concern, and tried to breach security in the reception room, and ended up being shot and killed by law enforcement. to him, that's what represeed allt s wrong with the nation, and thahe closest thincoul find, and so that's wha we might be looking at h >> tom winter, let's go back and mi people of what we are look at here. there was a car, explosion. we do not know what caused explosion. your sources are telli you there's no initial indicatio of a bombn the car. let's go bk over whate ow

about the investi as it's going on right now, tom. >> this incident is approximately two hours and 20 minutes old. we don't know which direction this individual was definitively coming from, the u.s. side or the canada side or vice versa. we know that according to four senior law enforcement officials briefed on the matter to myself and my colleague jonathan dienst that the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed, hits this customs and border protection structure, the two individuals in the car described as casualties in that there was also an injured, according to our colleague, ken dilanian, injured cvp officer or official. that person is not expected to require hospitalization so that's a little bit of a good news and a search of the vehicle and a search of the fragments of the vehicle, and that is based on initial photos that we're still trying to confirm the fragments of the vehicle. there's no indication there was explosion, or excuse me, an explosive device inside the

vehicle. at some point, the vehicle does catch fire and that has explosion after the crash, but that does not appear to be a result of an explosive device. i understand that's maybe a little bit of a tricky distinction. but at this stage, there's no evidence, we are told from law enforcement officials that indicate that there was a separate bomb in the car to speak a little bit more clearly. that's what's been derived so far. motive, was it intentional. all up in the air at this point. we don't yet know why this happened. i will point out there are instances that we have had in the past where individuals have a medical episode, and as a result crash into these structures. sometimes they can cause the accelerator to be struck, but obviously given the environment that we're in, given the images that we've seen so far, the fact that this occurred and frank alluded to it with the fbi director's comments, a heightened threat environment,

there's obviously a lot of attention on whether or not this is intentional, and that's what the focus is. that's what investigators are clueing in on. the fbi buffalo division is there, they are on scene to help investigate, to determine whether or not there's any sort of criminality, and they just don't have any more information to share with us at this point. we have been checking in there, and obviously, chris, as we get anything new, we'll let you know, but we're continuing to track this. >> i'm not sure, tom, i assume that you're able to see the television right now. i don't know what carmen and frank's situation is if they're able to see. we just got new video in, and we want to let it play. there it is. you can see the size of the fire there. let's listen. >> oh, my gosh, it's getting worse. is something trying to put it out or? >> i don't know. >> i don't know.

>> it's just spreading by itself? >> my car is right on the side, oh, my goodness, it's spreading. >> tom winter, you can see the size of the fire. you can see the black smoke, apparently someone who is in a building very near the bridge, and is trying to take that video in between some shades, but what do you make of the size, and you mentioned before if anyone is seeing the situation there why both occupants of the car did not survive is obvious. >> if you notice, we're replaying it now. this is based on my experience. i like to be clear with everybody joining us this afternoon whether or not it's based on reporting from the scene or just my experience having covered all of this. my experience with fires and vehicles, you're seeing how the flame is kind of trailing from

left to right across your screen. that is typically associated with a gasoline leak, so if there's a fire involving a vehicle, you'll typically see as gasoline leaves that vehicle because of the damage that the fire will obviously follow that gasoline as it expands from the vehicle, so as you're seeing it and we're getting a better image now, it's below that kind of shaded off portion from the window. there it is, as it goes left to right, you're seeing where the fire is following the fuel. that's another indication to me that there was not an explosive on board this vehicle. if there was, it would have been a catastrophic, if it was a true vehicle born improvised explosive device, it would have been a catastrophic explosion, and would have seen damage to the panels that obviously are covering up this inspection or check point. again, i'm not that familiar with this area. i'm not familiar with it at all. i don't know whether this was a secondary inspection area or part of the primary crossing.

it's just information i don't know off the top of my head, but this is certainly indicative of a vehicle fire after some sort of a catastrophic incident, which is obviously what's occurred here with this, according to our reporting, vehicle crashing into the structure at a high rate of speed. >> so frank figliuzzi, i don't know if you're familiar. it's been many many years since i crossed this bridge between the u.s. and canada. but how much can you tell just from a picture, from video, about what may have happened there? >> i'm listening to tom's really on the point description of what he's seeing. i'm at a disadvantage and not able to see it. i have been across that bridge numerous times in my fbi career, and i can tell you that the video coverage is extremely helpful and positive description of what typically happens with a car fire makes sense to me based

on what he's saying he observed here. it's also going to be telling security cameras if they're very close up, and i think that capacity exists at this stop. they may see the passenger's occupants, it sound like there's two there. we're calling them casualties at this point, sadly. it may be apparent that you can see what's happening. you might be able to see someone pass out. you might be able to see surprise on a passenger's face about what's happening. that will be indicative that this is nothing that's planned. so there's a lot here. i understand all of the coverage and concern law enforcement has to do this with the times we live in, but as time goes on, it's looking a little more like this might not be a terror attack. it could be something else. and it, again, could be the only thing that this driver -- i keep vacillating back and forth because that's where this discussion has us right now,

chris, but, you know, if nothing else, it could be a driver who says i am doing this, i'm doing it deliberately. it's all i can do. and the other chance, quite frankly, is that this is a medical situation or a car that's lost control. >> let me go back to you because our local affiliate, wgrz reported on air that buffalo city hall has closed. they're saying it's out of an abundance of caution. is there a city in america that does not have a very specific plan in place given the world we live in about what to do in a situation like this. >> yeah, chris, absolutely, as you know, former chief and obviously still very associated with all that's around. every place is going to have a contingency plan for some time of event like this, particularly a higher sense of alert, due to the national events and

international events we're dealing with as well as, you know, the environment, it's a holiday, you know, often attacks happen around that time. so there's going to be contingency about walking through buildings down, you know, contacting personnel, there will be a lot of folks, even though it's a holiday, they will be on stand by, ready to act at any moment for something like this. so this is not unusual, they're going to lock down facilities, gain extra checks, linking to any intelligence information from the authorities on scene, see other residual things that can happen elsewhere in the area and the country. >> we're getting confirmation of what the picture suggested to us, although the official statement was there were two casualties inside the car. casualty can mean that someone was injured or seriously injured, both of the passenger and the driver in that vehicle did not survive, so we have two

people who died in the car, and then we do have the one person, the cvp agent who had minor injuries. we were told it was not a serious enough injury that they should have to be hospitalized. that is good. we have multiple statements from various government agencies, and i think it's important to share those from the tsa on a thanksgiving week that travelers can expect to notice an increased law enforcement and k-9 presence in the transportation system. tsa is operating at a heightened level of security as a result of world events and the current threat environment. tsa operates at a high level of security and constant state of vigilance and the agency has a risk based intelligence approach, multiple layers of security, seen and unseen. tsa and dhs are in close and ongoing touch with all of our partners and will continue to

monitor the situation, and may adjust security postures as or when necessary. that statement, it seems to me, tom winter, is an indication of the knowledge in this world that through social media, through all the means of communication, people see there's explosion on a bridge between the u.s. and canada. there's been no definitive motive, and no definitive cause for it. and anybody who's traveling might get nervous, right, so it's not surprising that the tsa would put out that statement or affirm they are at a high state of alert, given what's going on in the world and the fact this they have a high number of travelers this weekend. i think we've lost tom. let me bring in darvell harvin

on the faculty at georgetown university. i don't know if you heard what i read from the tsa talking about the high state of alert that they are under, the increased security given world events and the current threat environment. the fact that they timed the statement to come out as we're getting live coverage is a message, is it not, to people the literally tens of millions of people who will be traveling this weekend? >> absolutely. the federal government, we had the director of the fbi on the hill several times this month as well as secretary mayorkas warning individuals of potential for terrorist attack. not to say that this is related to anything that's going on in the middle east. but the holidays are always a time for americans particularly to be on a heightened sense of alert for, you know, these type of things, and you know, one of the things that we talk about in

homeland security is attacks on critical infrastructure, and this is clearly a piece of critical infrastructure. it's concerning. it's also notable that authorities have come out and give so many details so early. it's clear this is concerning and people should be during a busy holiday season on alert. >> we got a statement from dominic leblanc. he was asked about the current risk to public safety. his answer was canadians need to understand canadian security agencies are doing everything canadians would expect at this moment to ensure border crossings can operate safely, that their security is insured, that work happens in collaboration with our american counter parts, and that's why the prime minister and i will be briefed regularly. we actually took a bit of the statement of the prime minister justin trudeau earlier who said

this is a serious situation. frank figliuzzi was telling us early he doesn't know of a better working relationship. i was asking him about the fbi and their counter parts in canada, but what is the relationship in a situation like this from your experience between the u.s. and canada? >> it's pretty seamless. often when the u.s. deals with these type of incidents and other foreign governments, they have to go through interpoll. we share a lot of security agreements, particularly at the border with canada, as well as mexico, but our arrangements, the cross training that happens between dhs and the federal authorities is known throughout the industry. >> we got a statement from the secretary of transportation, pete buttigieg, he says he's been briefed by staff in new york state about the explosion and the related bridge closures at the u.s. canadian border, and is in touch with his canadian

counte part. he emphasizes that travelers should keep an eye out, check with instructions, updates from law enforcement and state officials because there could be travel impact. do we know anything new here, tom winter. i understand you have been working the phones? >> that's right, chris, and that's where i was before when you came to me. our understanding is that we'll be able to show you probably within the next 10 or 15 minutes or so, just as soon as we're able to get it together technology-wise, a video of this incident occurring. the vehicle was in the united states, so that's why i was cautious with you before that i would want to know where this vehicle was and where it was coming from. our understanding initially is the vehicle was in the united states, and speeds up to a very high rate of speed at some point the videos from a surveillance camera and has been obtained by nbc news and our colleague jonathan dienst, and so we'll be

able to show a little bit of the sequence of events here. it's important for folks to know the initial indication based on this video is that the vehicle did not come from canada or across the bridge but the vehicle was, in fact, already in the united states, which adds a little bit more to the mystery. you're looking at the after math of this incident, the video that we were talking about just moments ago, chris, which shows the fire that occurred after the wreck happened. and as i described what is typically, now we don't have this from officials at the scene, but typically we see that flame pattern, if you will, when fuel comes out of a vehicle, and kind of travels across the roadway, so that is similar to crashes that occur like this, and the obvious question was whether or not this was intentional, if it was intentional, then why did these individuals do this. we know that two passengers

killed inside the vehicle, according to multiple senior law enforcement officials to myself and my colleague jonathan dienst, and who those individuals are and their backgrounds, something that we were all trying to figure out, just as fast and accurately as we can. >> prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu on the deal that will mean 50 women and children who are being held hostage in gaza will be released. >> translator: i heard from you about this ongoing nightmare, the torment of uncertainty and the concern that knows no boundaries, and when i meet with you, you attach the pictures of your loved ones to your chest, to your heart, and my colleagues and i, we look at each and every picture. these pictures are a call for action. since the outbreak of the war,

we are, indeed, taking action constantly, in order to bring them back home. to bring them all back home, and when i say all, i mean all of them. and that includes ron and adele and abara and esham. we have defined the goals of this war very clearly to obliterate hamas, to release our hostages, and to guarantee that the day after hamas, gaza will no longer pose a threat on israel. we said we will do whatever we can in order to create the conditions for releasing the hostages. this is what happened, what paved the way for this deal is a combination of two great efforts, the first effort is massive military pressure. incessant pressure that we exert on hamas, and i would like to praise the idf and isa for their tremendous activities in order to create this pressure. the second effort is the great

diplomatic effort, and pressure that we're exerting for the release of the hostages. we were engaged in a very tough negotiations. we were very firm about it. and i just spoke with president biden a few minutes ago, and i thanked him for everything he did in order to improve the outline of the deal, and indeed, such an improvement was achieved. the combination of the military effort and the diplomatic effort. this is what made the conditions ready for the release of the hostages, and i believe that this combination will enable the return of more hostages in the next stages. the current outline will not include the release of murders and it does include the agreement of representatives of the red cross for their visits to the hostages and bringing medicines to them. and this is the explicit item in

the deal. the red cross will be allowed to visit the hostages and give them any medicine they need, and i do expect the red cross to do their jobs. citizens of israel, as the prime minister of israel, i often find myself in a position in which i need to make very difficult decisions between a hard choice and an even harder one. that is the case with the release of the hostages, the effort to bring them back home continues constantly, and at this point in time, we can achieve the release of babies and children, mothers and women with a sword literally at their neck. this is the releasing hostages and we have a great moral imperative to bring to their release. in the history of the state of israel, whenever it was possible, we released hostages through military campaign. we did that, even though we paid a price. and it even happened in this war

just a few weeks ago when we released in a very bold military operation the soldier megadish, and that is not always possible. this is why we are not waiting. we are seizing every opportunity to release our hostages because to bring them back home is a sacred mission. the idf and the entire security establishment support this deal, and they have clarified time and again yesterday in the government meeting that the safety of our forces will be guaranteed during the pause, the cease fire, and during this time, the idf will prepare for the continuation of the war, and in the wee hours of the morning, the government reached its decision, and i wholeheartedly believe along with my fellow ministers, this is the right decision, and my peers for joining me on this decision. minister of defense. chief of general staff, the

director of the isa, general and reserves and brigadier general in reserves, all the people who have helped and have acted in order to bring about this release as well as all the ministers. citizens of israel, i wish to be clear, the war continues. the war continues. and we are going to continue with this war, until we achieve all of our goals to bring back all of our hostages, to obliterate hamas, and to ensure the day after hamas, there won't be any agent, any organization that rules hamas, which advocates terrorism, participates in terrorism, and educates for terrorism. we are going to bring back safety and security both to the north of israel and to the south of israel. we are winning and we are going to continue to fight until we reach absolute victory, and we are doing so thanks to the courage of our brave troops, and

thanks to the sacrifice of our sons and daughters, the great heroes of this country, and i always remember, this victory, this triumph comes with a heavy price. our soldiers that are risking their lives for all of us, hero soldiers killed in order to protect their homes. this evening, i spoke with, their son vehr, from the paratroopers brigade was killed in action this week in gaza in the battle zone in gaza. i've known him for many years. he comes from the security establishment, and he told me that he wrote to his son, as you go to fight hamas, remember that there are 400 israeli citizens who were murdered brutally by a terrible enemy. they are all standing behind you. had asked me, and all the bereft parents that i spoke with asked for the same thing, carry this

through until you reach absolute victory. citizens of israel, i stand here this evening in order to say something very clear to you, this is exactly what we're going to do. we are going to fight together, and god willing together, we will win. >> translator: on october 7th, hamas started a war against the state of israel. they thought that they will be able to dismantle and break apart the state of israel this way and hoist the hamas flag at the center of the region that through the brutal murders and terrible atrocities, they will lead to a situation that the state of