Cops Find Suspected Car Bomb in Times Square

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times-squarePolice found a suspected car bomb in a smoking sport utility vehicle yesterday evening in Times Square, NYC, then cleared the streets of thousands of tourists milling through the landmark district so they could dismantle the device.

A white robotic police arm broke windows of the black Nissan Pathfinder to remove any explosive materials while heavily armed police and emergency vehicles shut down the city’s busiest streets, teeming with taxis and theatergoers on one of the first summer-like days of the year.

Investigators removed bomb-making materials, including propane tanks, explosive powders and a crude timing device, top police spokesman Paul Browne said.

“There were explosive elements, including powder, gasoline, propane and some kind of electrical wires attached to a clock,” Browne said early this morning. “No motive has been identified.”

An officer noticed smoke coming from the SUV around 6:30 p.m. and cleared the streets at the so-called “Crossroads of the World.” The area remained closed more than seven hours later.

Police are investigating a report that someone was seen running from the vehicle at some point and are reviewing security videotapes, Browne said. The Nissan Pathfinder’s license plates do not match the car’s registration, he said.

Police evacuated several residential and commercial buildings and cleared the streets of people. Police were deployed around the area with heavy weapons on empty streets in the heart of busy midtown Manhattan.

Some tourists reported hearing a small explosion hours after the car was first located.

The car was parked on 45th Street, and the block was closed between Seventh and Eighth avenues as a precaution, police said. 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.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg left early from the White House correspondent’s dinner last night. A news conference was planned in New York for early today.

President Barack Obama, who attended the annual gala, praised the quick response by the New York Police Department, White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said. He has also directed his homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, to advise New York officials that the federal government is prepared to provide support.

Brennan and others will keep Obama up to date on the investigation, Shapiro said.

The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York responded along with the NYPD, said agent Richard Kolko.

In December, a van without license plates parked in Times Square led police to block off part of the area for about two hours. A police robot examined the vehicle, and clothes, racks and scarves were found inside.

In March 2008, a hooded bicyclist hurled an explosive device at a military recruiting center in the heart of Times Square, producing a flash, smoke and full-scale emergency response. No suspect was ever identified.

In December, police evacuated thousands of holiday tourists from Times Square after finding a white van that had been parked there for days without license plates and blacked-out windows. No bombs were found, and police later said they overlooked the van because it contained a parking placard for a nonprofit police group.

Four separate shooting incidents and more than 50 arrests on a mile-long stretch of Manhattan last month around Times Square prompted the mayor to call the mayhem “wilding.”

{1010 WINS/Matzav.com Newscenter}


3 COMMENTS

  1. Times square is a makom tuma ad meod! No frum jew should ever be found over there! That was a warning sign from heaven!

  2. Continuation of Comment #1 from Yepbmhe: “No frum Jew should ever be found over there!” Of course, you also mean that NO human being should go over there; the wicked tuma things that very tragically exist there (and countless other places) are forbidden for ALL people to do!

    Yes, all people should realize that HaShem is warning us.

  3. Reb Yisroel, I’m sure you heard of the famous story of Reb Elchonon Wasserman Ztk”l who was being given a ride in the 1930’s passing through times square. Nebach things have only gotten worse!

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