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Clinton cautions against drawing conclusions on the New York explosion before facts are in

September 18, 2016 at 12:32 a.m. EDT
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said it was "wiser to wait" for information on the blast in New York City September 17. (Video: Reuters)

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said late Saturday night that it is important to “know the facts” before drawing conclusions about incidents such as the explosion in New York City.

Clinton told reporters in the back of her campaign plane en route from Washington to New York state that she had been briefed on the episode, which she referred to as a bombing, wanted to be supportive of first responders and was praying for victims.

Asked what she thought of her Republican opponent Donald Trump immediately referring to the explosion as a bomb earlier Saturday night, Clinton said: “I think it’s important to know the facts about any incident like this.”

Trump says ‘bomb’ went off in New York before details of explosion confirmed

“That’s why it’s critical to support the first responders, the investigators, who are looking into it, trying to determine what did happen,” she said. “I think it’s always wiser to wait until you have information before making conclusions, because we are just in the beginning stages of trying to determine what happened."

Trump made his comments shortly after getting off a plane at a rally held in a hanger in Colorado Springs, Colo.

"I must tell you that just before I got off the plane, a bomb went off in New York and nobody knows exactly what's going on," Trump told the crowd, saying the episode underscored a need to "get very tough."

Clinton was in Washington for fundraisers and an appearance at an annual Congressional Black Caucus Foundation dinner. Both she and President Obama addressed the gathering.