Times Square bomb scare

Post Staff Report

featured

May 2, 2010

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Around 6:30 p.m. last night, a T-shirt vendor, who is a Vietnam veteran, saw smoke billowing from a Nissan Pathfinder and alerted Police Officer Wayne Rhatigan (pictured here). Rhatigan investigated the smoldering vehicle, parked in front of an entrance to the Minskoff Theatre, home to “The Lion King” musical. He smelled gunpowder and called in the Fire Department, which put out the car fire. Seth Gottfried

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Crowds of pedestrians were quickly ushered away from the center of Times Square as the NYPD Bomb Squad arrived. Christopher Sadowski

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Police ultimately closed West 43rd to West 48th streets between Sixth and Eighth avenues, and West 45th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues, turning one of the city’s most bustling areas into a ghost town. Christopher Sadowski

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…except for the tourists who were evacuated from their hotels and nearby businesses like Toys ‘R’ Us and McDonald’s, which were closed all night. Many Saturday night theatergoers also missed their Broadway shows due to the street closures. Last night’s “Lion King” performance was cancelled. The bomb removal, however, provided another show for curious onlookers. Christopher Sadowski

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A Bomb Squad robot was used to handle the suspicious package in the back of the vehicle. Christopher Sadowski

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Here members of the NYPD bomb squad remove the gasoline cans from the vehicle, which bore Connecticut license plates that were actually registered to a Ford F-150. Christopher Sadowski

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Officials found a “box within a box,” a 2x2x4 black gun locker, Kelly said. Christopher Sadowski

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Above, a long-range shot of the Bomb Squad dealing with the “amateurish” homemade explosive device, which Kelly suggested was designed “to cause a significant ball of fire.” Officials dismantled the first device last night and took the second box to the NYPD firing range in the Bronx to render it safe. Christopher Sadowski

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One of the alarm clocks attached to the deadly device. NYPD

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Duane Jackson, the vendor who alerted police to the smoking SUV that was found to have a bomb inside, talks to reporters at his pocketbook and souvenir stand at 45th Street in Times Square on Sunday. Laura Cavanaugh

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Camera stills show the Nissan Pathfinder, which contained the bomb, as it travels to the location where the explosive was to be detonated. NYPD

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The Nissan Pathfinder (middle, moving from left to right) caught on tape. NYPD

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Police prepare to haul away the vehicle for further tests. G.N. MIller/NY Post

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Cops haul away the car Sunday. Seth Gottfried

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More onlookers watch Saturday’s events unfold in what became a desolate Times Square. Christopher Sadowski

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Both Kelly and Mayor Bloomberg were in Washington Saturday evening for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner but quickly rushed back to the city once news of the Times Square danger broke. They addressed the media at 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning, still wearing their formal attire. AP

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An eerie image of the abandoned Times Square late Saturday night. AP

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Kelly, backed by members of the FBI, holds a press conference at 1 Police Plaza. A group claimed the attempted attack was orchestrated by the Taliban in Pakistan, but Kelly doubts that. Matthew McDermott

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Meanwhile, life returned to normal in Times Square. Here, theatergoers pour out of a matinee showing of “The Lion King” at the Minskoff Theatre, site of the failed attack. AP

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Police beefed up their presence in Manhattan, but life went on. Laura Cavanaugh

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The license plates found on the Nissan were stolen from Kramer’s Used Auto Parts in Stratford, Conn. Robert Kalfus

Metro

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