Suspected vehicle with bomb closes down parts of Times Square NYC

[BigB08822]

Anyone following this? It has been unusually under-reported online, IMO. It is picking up steam on the cable news channels, Fox News is talking about it at the moment. Apparently it was a car bomb but did not detonate. Someone noticed a smoking box in the back so the police were quickly alerted. There was also gasoline and propane stored in the vehicle, according to reports. This could have been a really horrible event, thank goodness for whomever noticed something was off.

[Buzz]

I heard this but did not realise it was in NYC! All I can say is thank god for the alert passerby who noticed the van and called the police.

[jenniferlyon]

One of my Facebook friends who lives in New Jersey posted about it. I haven't been able to find much more info.

[HisWeirness]

Police Find a Car Bomb in Times Square and Clear Area
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/ny...square.html?hp

The police discovered a car bomb in a smoking Nissan Pathfinder in the heart of Times Square on Saturday evening, prompting the evacuation of thousands of tourists and theatergoers from the area on a warm and busy Saturday evening. There was no explosion.

[BigB08822]

OMG! CNN has a headline that says, and I quote:

The buyer of the sport-utility vehicle used in a failed attempt to set off a car bomb in New York's Times Square is considered a potential suspect in the case, a law enforcement source said Monday.

Uh, you think? What's next, a headline that says "Person seen exiting vehicle and leaving scene of crime is a suspect?" I can't believe they have this as breaking news while they barely mentioned ANYTHING while the actual evacuations were going on.

[TygerLily]

Well, said suspect has now been taken into custody while trying to leave the country:

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/0...b-attempt.html

[MOIJTO]

Saw this on the news on Sunday. See something---Say something!

Thank goodness for dilligence and observance! Its the only way to thwart this kind of activity.

[FGRSK8]

Hopefully he will sing like a canary and lead the authorites to other potentail suspects.

Apparently the propane tanks and other items are loaded with fingerprints...

[Buzz]

He is claiming to have acted alone.

[GarrAarghHrumph]

I didn't post about this because it's the be-all, end-all to the local news here. I just figured everyone knew.

Faisal Shahzad, who is a naturalized US citizen originally from Pakistan, has said he did this one his own. People here aren't so sure, but we'll see how it plays out.

[GarrAarghHrumph]

The Pakistani authorities have just arrested one of Shahzad's friends in Pakistan.

[Buzz]

The US was one t-shirt vendor away from having it's first car bomb. This guy should get some sort of recognition especially since he is also a Vietnam veteran.

[skatingfan5]

The US was one t-shirt vendor away from having it's first car bomb. This guy should get some sort of recognition especially since he is also a Vietnam veteran.

I'm thinking you must have forgotten Timothy McVeigh -- who unfortunately knew a lot more about turning a vehicle into a devastating bomb than Faisal Shahzad apparently does (thank goodness).

BTW, there were two street vendors who were the first to notice the vehicle and report it to the police. One of them had kept to a more low-profile and didn't say much to the media in the first few hours of reporting.

[BigB08822]

Yes, this would definitely have not been the first car bomb in the U.S. Perhaps the first since 9-11? Wasn't a car bomb also responsible for the first attacks on the WTC?

[skatingfan5]

Yes, this would definitely have not been the first car bomb in the U.S. Perhaps the first since 9-11? Wasn't a car bomb also responsible for the first attacks on the WTC?

Yes.

[GarrAarghHrumph]

Due to the recent attempt, I learned that one of the first "car" bombings ever, anywhere, took place in NYC, on Wall Street, in 1920 (it was a horse-drawn wagon). There was another car bomb in 1927, in Bath Township, Michigan.

[Buzz]

1920?! Well I hope it is the last.

[silverstars]

Yes, this would definitely have not been the first car bomb in the U.S. Perhaps the first since 9-11? Wasn't a car bomb also responsible for the first attacks on the WTC?

I thought that they ended up discounting that and saying that it was just the planes? I might be misremembering, though.

I was a few blocks away from Times Square on Saturday evening...scary. I went farther uptown before anything happened, but the place was packed with people because it was a really nice night out. Small bomb or not, I bet it would have caused some damage. I love my city, but sometimes it's a scary place to live.

[BigB08822]

I thought that they ended up discounting that and saying that it was just the planes? I might be misremembering, though.

I'm referring to the attack in the 90's. I just looked it up, it was 1993.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_Wo...Center_bombing

[GarrAarghHrumph]

Here's info on the guy's background:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100505/...square_suspect

From a wealthy family in Pakistan, came to the US on a student visa, got a degree from a reputable, if low tier uni in Connecticut. Got his MBA there as well. Working a good job, owned a home. Then everything changed. Quit his job, abandoned the house, moved back to Pakistan with his family. Then returned here alone, leaving his family back in Pakistan.