Police Discover Car Bomb in Times Square and Clear Area
May 2, 2010 · 0 Comments
By AL BAKER and WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM – FROM The New York Times
A crude car bomb of propane, gasoline and fireworks was discovered in a smoking Nissan Pathfinder in the heart of Times Square on Saturday evening, prompting the evacuation of thousands of tourists and theatergoers on a warm
and busy night. Although the device had apparently started to detonate, there was no explosion, and early on Sunday the authorities were still seeking a suspect and motive.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, with Gov. David A. Paterson and Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, spoke at a news conference in Times Square early Sunday.
“We are very lucky,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said at a 2:15 a.m. press conference. “We avoided what could have been a very deadly event.”
A large swath of Midtown — from 43rd Street to 48th Street, and from Sixth to Eighth Avenues — was closed for much of the evening after the Pathfinder was discovered just off Broadway on 45th Street. Several theaters and stores, as well as the South Tower of the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel, were evacuated.
Mr. Bloomberg was joined by Gov. David A. Paterson, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and other officials at the early morning press conference to give a chronology of the van’s discovery, its disarming, and the investigation that has been launched. The mayor and police commissioner had returned early from the annual White House correspondent’s dinner in Washington.
At 6:28 p.m., Mr. Kelly said, a video surveillance READ FULL ARTICLE http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/nyregion/02timessquare.html?hp
