The various emergency response teams all around the country have spent tons of money (ours) on equipment & toys. These incidents gives them a chance to bring all their stuff out and go into full response mode and play with their toys. Doing such justifies their expenditures and increases in future budgets.
Yep. Everyone profits from fostering a siege mentality among a frightened populace.
I don't even think they were trying to justify their budgets. I think they were just bored. Imagine: You're part of an "elite" squad, but you're rarely called into action. Your training is rarely effective, because it's all role-playing and academic. You have all kinds of government-provided toys to play with, but you can't take them out of the box. Wouldn't you jump at the opportunity to blow something up for real? I would.