Seaside Park comes to grips with bombing

SEASIDE PARK, N.J. (WPVI) -- Residents of Seaside Park, New Jersey continue to come to grips with bombing nearly one week ago.

The bomb was supposed to go off during the Marine Corps charity race on Saturday, September 17, but the race got off to a late start.

The man allegedly responsible, Ahmad Rahami, who was shot by police during his arrest. He is also accused of the bombing in the Chelsea neighborhood and an incident in Elizabeth, N.J.

At Ocean Avenue and D Street, locals have marked the spot where the bomb exploded.

"This is scary. This is an area where this doesn't happen. It's a safe area, it's kind of hard to wrap my head around it," said Linda Ulak of Brick.

The spot where that bomb exploded is now covered in American flags and has become something of a tourist attraction.

"We heard this is where they had put the bomb and it's very sad. But I just wanted to take a picture to show my support of the United States," said Pat Hughes of Chambersburg, Pa.

"I would never think that this is a target at all. It's a beach. It's very scary, very scary," said Brandon Pasco of Moscow, Pa.

At around the same time the bomb went off, Karen Kroon of Atco and her friends reported to police an unattended backpack in the boardwalk near the edge of town.

"It was just a regular size blue backpack but it was suspicious because it was jammed between these two garbage cans and there was nobody around it. And in this day and age if you see something you have to say something," Kroon said.

It turned out to be nothing, but that kind of vigilance is what law enforcement is encouraging.

Both Seaside Park and Seaside Heights have begun removing many of the garbage cans from the beach blocks for safety.

There's a big barbecue Festival in the Heights this weekend and the police chief there says security is being beefed up.

"We'll be doing undercover operations. We'll be doing before, after and during dog sniffs. We'll be bringing dogs in you won't even think are bomb dogs," Chief Tom Boyd said. "Definitely a very high vigilance right now

As people still try to make sense of all of this, officials tell us security is being stepped up at a number of shore towns as everyone reacts to a terrorist event so close to home.