UPDATE:Commissioner Ray Kelly said during a press conference Sunday that the NYPD is analyzing a surveillance video showing a unidentified white male in his 40’s fleeing the scene. Kelly said the man is seen in the footage shedding a dark-colored shirt in an alley and putting it in a bag, revealing a red one underneath.
The police commissioner said that the identity of the vehicle’s owner has been confirmed, but he declined to release it. He also said that authorities are traveling to Pennsylvania on Sunday to examine video captured by a tourist that may contain footage of the suspect.
UPDATE:Pakistani intelligence officials on Sunday downplayed a purported Taliban claim of responsibility for the attempted car bomb attack in New York's Times Square as lacking credibility. More
UPDATE:Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says authorities are recovering evidence from the car bomb discovered at New York’s Time Square.
She tells NBC’S “Meet the Press” that officials are treating the incident as a potential terrorist attack. She says it’s too soon to tell who’s responsible.
Napolitano says that while investigators have no suspects, they have recovered forensic evidence, including fingerprints from the vehicle.
She also says there are a number of surveillance cameras in the area and they could yield valuable videotape.
Source
Original Post
Police have “rendered safe” the car bomb found inside a sport utility vehicle that triggered an evacuation of New York’s Times Square on Saturday night in an incident that the city’s mayor said early on Sunday could have turned into a very deadly event.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg also told a news conference that “we have no idea who did this and why.” He said the bomb appeared to have been made in an amateurish manner.
“We are very lucky. Thanks to alert New Yorkers and professional police officers, we avoided what could have been a very deadly event,” Bloomberg said.
He said an alert T-shirt vendor noticed “an unoccupied suspicious vehicle” and alerted a mounted New York police officer, who observed that the SUV had smoke emerging from vents near the back seat and smelled of gun powder.
Live monitoring of New York Times Square car bomb incident stream
Additional: Times Square – NYPD, FBI Investigate Failed Car Bomb
via Source | Reuters.
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This is a prime example of alert citizens and what they can do to keep us safe. The person who noticed the SUV was evidently a person who should be considered a hero. While many people walk around with their heads down, looking at the sidewalk in front of them, this person is the kind we need more of. Ladies and gentlemen, please take the time to look around while you are out walking your dog, or just out for a relaxing walk because it might save your life or the lives of others. Be aware of your surroundings, all the time and don’t hesitate to notify the police. If you ever report something to the police and they give you any crap, ask for their supervisor and tell the supervisor what happened. There is nothing worse than seeing something suspicious and failing to report it, especially if it turns out later to be catastrophic. The police are there to be the last line of defense between good citizens and criminals or terrorists. I am a former, (Ret.) police officer and nothing was ever reported to me that I felt was insignificant. Daily life is like a puzzle and at the end of the day all the pieces fit together. The goal of a police officer is to keep the public safe and go home alive at the end of their shift. A job worth doing is a job worth doing well. Any police officer who doesn’t like his job should quit and find another type of work because a whole lot of lives are saved, or lost, on the ability, dedication and devotion on the part of each police officer. I’ve worked with officers who were; fair, good, or exemplary at their job. Believe me, there are a lot of exemplary police officers out there on the job. As with military personnel, when you see them in uniform, take the time to thank them for what they do, without regard to their own safety. Remember…they too have Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and children of their own but they choose to put society, in general, above everything else. So, when I ask you to thank them, I sincerely mean that. God Bless our great country…the United States of America.