The 24-year-old driver of a rental car that exploded Wednesday in Pelham Bay was targeted, police say.
Police say the driver and his girlfriend pulled up to a stop sign on Roberts Avenue around 7 p.m. when one of two aerosol cans attached to his car was remotely detonated and exploded. A rear tire was blown out and the airbags deployed.
Neighbors say they could hear the explosion in a radius of several blocks.
The car was a rental from Ohio, and the two people inside were unharmed.
Police have not released the identities of the rental car's two occupants, but they do say that the driver has 11 prior arrests -- one for assault while the others are drug-related.
On Thursday evening in Parkchester, a meeting was held by the NYPD's 45th Precinct to address community concerns regarding the explosion. Police say it was an isolated incident and not terrorism.