Chaos and confusion in Chelsea after explosion rocks neighborhood

CHELSEA, Manhattan (WABC) -- Witnesses described a scene of chaos and confusion after an explosion rocked a neighborhood in Chelsea Saturday night.

City blocks were shut down, there were choppers in the sky, and first responders, heavily armed NYPD counterterrorism officers, the bomb squad and the FBI all responded to the scene.

Witnesses said there was no doubt that what they heard was meant to cause damage. It was ten times louder than thunder, some said, rattling windows several avenues away.

"We heard this huge explosion, like the ground shook and windows shook, and there was this big flash of light," said one witness. "Pretty much everything shook and it was really loud."

At least two vehicles were caught in the path of the blast.

One woman said her 8-year-old son was hit with shattered glass, suffering minor injuries but clearly shaken up.