Car bomb found in Times Square: Update - Suspect arrested!!!

[Imzadi]

Our Mayor announced about 6 weeks ago that another terrorist attack is imminent in NYC in the next 6 months.

Last night at 6:30, a street vendor saw smoke coming out of an abandoned SUV on 45th St, [correction ->] right next to the The Lion King theatre, across the street from the Marriott Marquis Hotel, down the block from a pedestrian park usually filled with hundreds of tourists sitting at any time, & and on the same block as 6 other Broadway theatres.

One of the mottos of NYC has become, "If you see something (suspicious,) say something, (to the police.)" The street vendor alerted a police officer on horseback, who gave a preliminary search, saw the smoke coming out of the back seats, the engine still running. He started evacuating the area & called in for backup police, who brought in the Counter-Terrorism task force & the bomb squad.

On a Saturday night, it was estimated there are thousands of people in Times Square at that time. People getting ready to go to the Broadway theatres, having dinner, out on dates, taking pictures of Times Square, etc. The area was quickly & semi-calmly evacuated of the thousands of people and is still in lock down as the bomb squad is now removing the deactivated bomb components.

They said we were lucky that it didn't go off. The bomb was very crudely put together and not done very well. (Thank God!) Kind of like that Christmas, airline underwear bomber.

CNN has the latest news:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/05/02/times.square.closure/index.html?hpt=T1

 

[hereyago]

That is crazy.

You know, if people have a problem with us why not come over - or for our "homegrown terrorists" and duke it out? Bombs, guns, etc are a cowards way of doing things.

Hopefully since aren't there many cameras around that area they will see who did this.

 

[charming23]

That is scary. So glad they caught it in time and that no one was hurt.

 

[Imzadi]

Since the person parked the car around the corner, than on the main avenue, they haven't found anything on cameras yet. Apparently, the person got out of the SUV very calmly and walked away, without arousing suspicion. (It was the smoking SUV that aroused the suspicion.) Thank goodness that street vendor DID say something. The police are hoping that once all the surveillance footage has been put together, they may find out something. They are also hoping a tourist was taking pictures there, and someone may have caught the guy on camera.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Thank goodness it was found! Scary to think could have happened.

Thanks for posting this. I hadn't read anything about it.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Wow. I was just there about 4 weeks ago. Scary scary scary.

Glad all is okay.

 

[Jennasis]

Apparently an amateur terrorist. From the description of the items in the vehicle, it sounds like all that would have happened would have been a very large car fire. Propane tanks DO NOT EXPLODE...in fact, they just busted this myth on Mythbusters last week. All propane tanks have a pressure release valve that vents off the contents under pressure (I.e...during a fire).

Now IF the valves were removed/disabled...that would be bad. VERY bad.

But on the face of things...fireworks, gas and propane....sounds like a recipe for a large hot car fire. Still dangerous in a crowded area, but not an explosion.

I hope they find those responsible and punish them swiftly and severely. With all the surveillance in Times Square I can't imagine they have nothing to go on.

 

[LoraJ]

My parents are in town and are staying up the street from Times Square. We were walking down Broadway towards 44th to have dinner at Virgil's last night and when we hit 46th we were told we had to walk back up to 47th and walk over to 6th. Everyone was so confused, the cops weren't saying anything about what was going on and some were pretty rude to the panicked tourists.
At first we thought they were shooting a movie. We heard one cop say there was a fire, another cop said I kid fell and broke his arm. Then when walking down 47th some cop was saying there were two fires and the whole area was going to fill up with smoke and if he were us he would get the heck out of midtown. But the way he said it, no one was sure if he was serious.

When we got to Virgil's, no one there knew anything. We had a nice meal and when we left just after 9pm everything was still blocked off. I asked if anyone knew anything and that was the first time we heard the words "car-bomb". And that's when we high-tailed it out of there.

I wonder if they got the guy on video. It's all a bit unsettling. We're supposed to meet with my parents again today. Not sure I want to hang around the square. At least our dinner plans are more uptown tonight.

 

[Kimberle]

Wow, I go there often. I also take my 11 yo dd. That area is so CROWDED, I hope witnesses come forward, especially those with photo's.

 

[happygirl]

How scary, glad it was caught in time

 

[dislaney]

Glad the street vendor reported it! Scary stuff indeed.

 

[java]

What makes me most upset is the thought that this is trial run- you know the first attempt to see how to really pull it off.
Now I can once again be a nervous wreck. I hope this was just one crazy guy. And I hope this isn't what I fear. Didn't they just recently also stop one trying to go over the bridge? Like a month or two ago?

So glad that people are still reporting and the police are following through.

 

[Imzadi]

Apparently an amateur terrorist. From the description of the items in the vehicle, it sounds like all that would have happened would have been a very large car fire. Propane tanks DO NOT EXPLODE...in fact, they just busted this myth on Mythbusters last week. All propane tanks have a pressure release valve that vents off the contents under pressure (I.e...during a fire).

An FBI expert was on CNN and said, yes, the gas plus the propane would start an explosion. Not enough to take out a building, like on 9/11, but enough to knock out the glass on the first 2 floors of many storefronts.

Plus, most of the signs in Times Square are all neon. Sorry, I don't hold much faith in Mythbusters and their few experiments trying to prove or disprove something. Tell them to try standing on the curb, next to an exploding car on.

The FBI agent also said the rest of the area was locked down to look for secondary devices which might have also been placed around. So while one bomb may not have done a lot of damage, three car bombs within blocks of each other would have caused pandemonium. Also, there is always the danger that the secondary bombs are deliberated placed and detonated, not to kill the tourists, but the first responders.

Terrorists work to spread fear. This is one of the first really great, warm weekends we have had, kicking off the summer season. The weather yesterday was expected to reach 87 degrees. So many people would have been sitting around at that pedestrian park. ANY bomb going off in Times Square, no matter what the size, would have shut down our tourist industry for another several months as people change plans. Just one tourist walking by that car when it went off, getting killed, would have turned this place into a ghost town.

My parents are in town and are staying up the street from Times Square.

Just stay away from large touristy areas, landmark buildings, etc.

That bomb was next to the Marriott Marquis. On the news, they said no one was being let in or out of the Marriott for several hours. I wonder what all those people did, who could not go back in?

One or two Broadway shows completely shut down. A few others started late, around 8:30. And when the show ended, people were ushered right out and away from the area.

Glad the street vendor reported it! Scary stuff indeed.

He is a Vietnam vet who sells t-shirts, or something like that. I'm sure he will get the Keys to the City from Mayor Bloomberg for this.

What makes me most upset is the thought that this is trial run- you know the first attempt to see how to really pull it off.

Actually, this may be the second. This is my neighborhood, so I tend to follow the news about the Times Square area.

A few months ago, another mysterious, plain black van, with temporary, untraceable license plates was left parked at 47th & 7th ave, two blocks away. Again, some street vendor or store owner alerted the police it had been oddly parked there for a while. Again the area was semi-evacuated. (Not to yesterday's extent. Nothing was smoking inside the van. ) Nothing was found inside, but a pile of weird rubbish. The van was towed away.

The Mayor & the police chief dismissed it at the time. But, the way they dismissed it, stuck with me. I always wondered if they just didn't want to alarm us and tell us what really happened. I always wondered if that van wasn't purposely left there to find out what the response time would be to people noticing it and when the police would come & check it out.

We were lucky this time

because the SUV was smoking.

 

[LuvOrlando]

It broke my heart to read this story this morning. Why won't they just leave my beautiful city alone?

When I came across this story I stumbled across another very strange story in the LA Times about a guy titled "Suspect makes a Jason Bourne escape from LAPD..." revolving around the Federal Building in LA.

I don't know about anyone else but 2 incidents involving icons in the biggest cities on each coast within such a short period of time makes me a bit jittery.

 

[Nancy F]

We will be there Memorial weekend. We always stay at The Marriott Marquis in Time Square. So scary. Hopw the catch the knuckle head(s) and fry 'em.
Nancy

 

[Imzadi]

It broke my heart to read this story this morning. Why won't they just leave my beautiful city alone?

Yes, they constantly target NYC. It's always NYC. The Mayor blows it off by saying terrorists go after symbols, and internationally, NYC represents freedom & all the great things about the U.S. so they will be coming after us here. But, dang! Leave my city alone!

When I came across this story I stumbled across another very strange story in the LA Times about a guy titled "Suspect makes a Jason Bourne escape from LAPD..." revolving around the Federal Building in LA.

I don't know about anyone else but 2 incidents involving icons in the biggest cities on each coast within such a short period of time makes me a bit jittery.

Actually, it was reported last night that another bomb of some kind was found, and deactivated near Pensacola FL, too.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

And just out on the news -- the Pakistani Taliban is claiming it was their bomb. It's going to make going to work this week very interesting, to say the least.

Also there was apparently a suspicious package the end of the Pittsburgh marathon this morning, but they don't feel it was actually an explosive. Now every freaking idiot looking for attention is going to be doing crap like this.

 

[Imzadi]

I always wonder, "Why doesn't every terrorist group claim responsibility? Even if they didn't do it." Why NOT take credit for it?

What are they going to do, fight amongst themselves? "Excuse ME! That was our bomb."

There's honor amongst terrorists?

 

[rie'smom]

Apparently an amateur terrorist. From the description of the items in the vehicle, it sounds like all that would have happened would have been a very large car fire. Propane tanks DO NOT EXPLODE...in fact, they just busted this myth on Mythbusters last week. All propane tanks have a pressure release valve that vents off the contents under pressure (I.e...during a fire).

Now IF the valves were removed/disabled...that would be bad. VERY bad.

But on the face of things...fireworks, gas and propane....sounds like a recipe for a large hot car fire. Still dangerous in a crowded area, but not an explosion.

I hope they find those responsible and punish them swiftly and severely. With all the surveillance in Times Square I can't imagine they have nothing to go on.

Not true- I know of 2 instances:

1. A house with a propane tank blew up and killed the occupants. The tank did blow up. These were relatives of my housekeeper.

2. Last year, my friend, Jane, went into her shed. As she turned on the light, a spark-just the spark from turning on the light cause a propane tank to blow. She received 3rd degree burns on her legs and 2nd degree burns over much of the rest of her body. She pulled through after months of tortuous physical therapy and debridement.

 

[Imzadi]

They've got surveillance footage of a guy who they think is a suspect! Plus a tourist from PA might possibly have him on his videotape.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100502/ap_on_re_us/us_times_square_car_bomb

NYPD: Video has possible SUV bomb suspect in alley


By TOM HAYS and DEEPTI HAJELA, Associated Press Writers Tom Hays And Deepti Hajela, Associated Press Writers – 20 mins ago

NEW YORK – Police investigating a failed car bomb left in Times Square have videotape of a possible suspect shedding clothing in an alley and putting it in a bag and found a substance that resembled fertilizer in the parked SUV, Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Sunday.

The surveillance video shows a white man in his 40s taking off one shirt, revealing another underneath.

Kelly said officers were on their way to a Pennsylvania town to talk to a tourist who also might have recorded the suspect on his video camera.

The commissioner said there's no evidence that a Pakistani Taliban videotaped claim to the failed car bombing is valid.

Police found the SUV parked on one of the prime blocks for Broadway shows such as "The Lion King" on Saturday night. Thousands of tourists were cleared from the area for 10 hours. The bomb was dismantled, and no one was hurt.

The SUV contained three barbecue-grill-sized propane tanks, fireworks, two filled 5-gallon gasoline containers and two clocks with batteries, electrical wire and other components, police said. Timers were connected to a 16-ounce can filled with the fireworks, which were apparently intended to set the gas cans and propane afire, Kelly said.

"Clearly it was the intent of whoever did this to cause mayhem, to create casualties," Kelly said at a news conference at police headquarters. "It's just a sober reminder that New York is clearly a target of people who want to come here and do us harm."

He said New Yorkers are lucky that the bomb did not fully detonate because it "looks like it would have caused a significant fireball." He said the vehicle, which had Connecticut license plates that didn't match it, would have been "cut in half" by an explosion and people nearby could have been sprayed by shrapnel and killed.

"It wasn't an accident," he said. "It was somebody who brought this to the location to send a message to terrorize people in the area."

Police also found eight bags of an unknown substance in a gun locker that was in the smoking SUV, Kelly said. The substance "looks and feels" like fertilizer, he said, but tests were pending.

Kelly said surveillance video shows the vehicle entering the area at 6:28 p.m. Saturday, and a vendor pointed the SUV out to an officer about two minutes later, at the height of dinner hour before theatergoers head to Saturday night shows. He said the license plates on the SUV belong to a car that is being repaired in Connecticut.

Duane Jackson, a 58-year-old handbag vendor from Buchanan, N.Y., said he noticed the car and wondered who had left it there.

"That was my first thought: Who sat this car here?" Jackson said Sunday.

Jackson said he looked in the car and saw keys in the ignition with 19 or 20 keys on a ring. He said he alerted a passing mounted police officer.

They were looking in the car "when the smoke started coming out and then we heard the little pop pop pop like firecrackers going out and that's when everybody scattered and ran back," he said.

"Now that I saw the propane tanks and the gasoline, what if that would have ignited?" Jackson said. "I'm less than 8 feet away from the car. We dodged a bullet here."

Heavily armed police and emergency vehicles shut down the city's busiest streets, choked with taxis and people on one of the first summer-like days of the year. Times Square lies about four traffic-choked miles north of where terrorists bombed the World Trade Center in 1993, then laid waste to it on Sept. 11, 2001.