Times Square Bomb Scare: A Close Call
Terrorist Car Bomb Attempt at Times Square in New York City Failed
Update Monday May 3, 2010: A man was arrested late Monday night in connection with the failed Times Square bombing, administration officials said. The suspect, Faisal Shahzad, a 30-year-old U.S. citizen from Pakistan, allegedly purchased the sport utility vehicle for cash on Craigslist that authorities found packed with explosives in New York on Saturday night. Shahzad was arrested attempting to leave the country on a flight to Dubai from JFK International Airport. Police said the bomb would have created a fireball that likely would have killed or wounded many people, making it the most serious bombing attempt in the United States since the Christmas Day attack aboard a commercial flight bound for Detroit.
Update Sunday May 2, 2010:
NYPD top police spokesman Paul Browne says more than 100 pounds of a substance found in the back of an SUV parked on a busy city street near a theater showing “The Lion King” was fertilizer. The odd thing is that unlike the ammonium nitrate grade fertilizer that has been used in terror attacks including the Oklahoma City bombing, Browne says this fertilizer would not have caused a massive explosion.
Original Story
As the rest of America enjoyed their first Saturday in May, New York City once again was targeted for an act of terrorism. This time as New Yorkers and tourists filled the busy streets a deadly plan was put into action. A failed car bomb attempt in the heart of the city’s most popular tourist spot, Times Square. Around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday evening. Luckily an alert street vendor noticed a Green Nissan Pathfinder with white smoke emitting from it’s interior. He immediately alerted a NYPD Police Officer that called for the bomb squad and back up after his initial investigation.
The Pathfinder contained 3 propane tanks, gasoline containers, fireworks, batteries, clocks, and a small black box. There was enough explosive components to create significant loss of life to any one within the blast zone. The bomb lacks sophistication, but still was capable of doing a lot of damage if the detonator would not have malfunctioned. It was close to 12 hours before the vehicle was removed from the site as the entire area was closed off to pedestrian and car traffic. The SUV was parked in the center of Times Square near a theater and among restaurants. It could have been disastrous if the bomb would have exploded during the busy time of evening with all the theaters, hotels and restaurants in the vicinity. This attack was meant to do maximum damage.
Even though there is no clues available to the news or public at this time, as the case is less than 12 hours, it is much more likely that it was an international terrorist attempt by a single radical or a terrorist cell than it would be an act by a domestic terrorist. A domestic terrorist would not likely target a location such as a tourist attraction. Domestic terrorists tend to direct their attention to symbols of government. International terrorists are much more likely to hit a tourist spot such as times square because of the desired result of the instillment of fear into the hearts and minds of Americans. It would have been a very messy event in one of America’s most popular tourist attractions.
Of interests to police and FBI investigators is that there are cameras throughout the area that can provide information about who conducted the failed car bombing attempt. The video accessed by authorities provided footage of the green Nissan Pathfinder driving down a street near by just minutes before it was parked and the detonation failed. The fact that the materials did not explode will provide many clues. Serial numbers and or bar codes on the items can provide clues as to where certain items were purchased. Hair samples and finger prints should be easily obtained through the investigation process as the terrorist would have assumed that he would have been successful and the evidence that is now available would have otherwise been destroyed in the explosion. It is failed attempts such as this that provides investigators and law enforcement authorities with the most insight in how terrorists plan and carry out their attacks.
What Does The Failed Car Bomb Terrorist Attack At Times Square Mean For America
It is interesting how lucky we have been in the latest of a string of failed or foiled terrorist attacks by internationalal groups mainly with direct links to al Qaeda groups. The foiling of the planned terrorist attack that was to take place in NYC on the anniversary of 911 attacks that tool place this past September in 2009 where Najibullah Zazi and others that were part of a terrorist sleeper cell were nabbed in the early operational stages of their failed attempt. Then again when a suicide bomber aboard a Detroit bound airliner on Christmas day failed in his attempt to blow the plane he was on when the bomb strapped to his leg failed to detonate. The fortunate luck continued today when the SUV failed to explode in Times Square. So what does this failed attempt demonstrate for the outlook of a future attack on American soil? It means in a nutshell that terrorist organizations are eagerly targeting us on a fairly consistent basis in the past few years and it will continue for years to come with possible increased regularity if recent events are any clue to the determination of these radicals.
The foiled bombing attempt by the Zazi cell mentioned above was attempting to use hydrogen peroxide as a major component to their bomb. Today’s bomb was composed of propane and gasoline as the main explosive components. Terrorists are using very simple ingredients that are readily available for purchase just about anywhere. It is more important than ever for the public, especially vendors, to be vigilant against terrorists getting their hands on large amounts of these rudimentary components that could be used to make explosives.
LaGuardia Airport, one of the busiest airports in the United States, serving about 26 million passengers a year, is so outdated that it should be completely demolished and rebuilt – said REUTERS.