Times Square Closed Due to Car Bomb Threat

New York, May 2, 2010. In what officials are saying could have been a deadly event, Times Square was closed last night after the discovery of an amateurish car bomb. A vendor, who is also a Vietnam vet, noticed the SUV smoking, and "it smelled like gun powder".

The vendor notified police and firefighters around 6 p.m., who by 8 p.m. had cleared Times Square and the surrounding buildings of thousands of tourists in the Theatre District. The scene was of crowds of people panicked, running away from the area near 42nd Street to 47th Street and Seventh and Broadway.

After dismantling the bomb, the police recovered fingerprints and other forensic evidence. Officials say that the bomb was intended to create a large fireball that would have incinerated partygoers.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said New York had avoided "what could have been a very deadly event (that) could have had a pretty big fire and a decent amount of explosive impact". In an area packed with tourists on a Saturday night, the explosion could have killed or injured a number of people.

In the SUV police found fireworks, three propane tanks, two filled 5-gallon gasoline containers, and two clocks with batteries and electrical wire. A black metal box as large as a gun locker was also found.

New York governor, David Patterson, considers the event an "act of terrorism". Officials say that Islamic militants have been using propane and compressed gas for years in explosive devices. Two instances in which propane was used were the 1983 attack on the Marines barracks at the Beirut airport in which 241 U.S. service members died, and the 2007 attack on the airport in Glasgow, Scotland.

The SUV has since been removed, and most of Times Square has been reopened this morning.