New York Police Report Finding Car Bomb in Times Square

May 02, 2010, 1:50 AM EDT

By Henry Goldman

May 2 (Bloomberg) -- A device that appeared to police to be a car bomb in a sport utility vehicle parked on 45th Street and between 7th and 8th avenues near the heart of New York City’s Times Square was dismantled without detonating, Deputy New York Police Commissioner Paul Browne said.

A mounted police officer first observed smoke coming from the vehicle, a Nissan Pathfinder SUV, and called for back-up. Bomb squad technicians, using a robotic remote bomb dismantler, took apart a crude propane explosive device that included an unidentified powder, gasoline accelerant and a possible timing device, said Browne, the department’s chief spokesman, in a telephone interview.

Police evacuated part of the heavily trafficked area, which includes the Manhattan theater district, at about 6:35 p.m. after police and the fire department responded to the report. There were no injuries and the bomb appeared to be unable to explode, Browne said.

“Police are still working at the scene,” Browne said. “We have no suspect and no motive associated with it. There are video cameras in the area and we believe there are witnesses who observed a man leaving the car.”

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who first assumed office in January 2002, weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center, was in Washington D.C. attending the White House Correspondents Association dinner.

He returned to the city upon hearing about the incident and arrived at the scene early this morning along with Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

--Editors: Mark Tannenbaum, Mike Millard.

To contact the reporter on this story: Henry Goldman in New York City Hall at hgoldman@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Tannenbaum at mtannenbaum@bloomberg.net

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Source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-02/new-york-police-report-finding-car-bomb-in-times-square.html



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