Times Square Security Scare Over
A van parked in the heart of Times Square with tinted windows, no license plates and a bogus law enforcement placard led the police to briefly evacuate the tourist hot spot and send in a bomb squad on the day before the area's New Year's Eve gathering.
No explosive devices were found inside the white van Wednesday afternoon, and the area was reopened to traffic about two hours after the incident began.
The van was spotted by patrol officers around 11 a.m. Wednesday on Broadway between 41st and 42nd Streets, and counterterrorism and bomb squad crews responded. The area was blocked off and two high-rise buildings home to Nasdaq and publishing company Conde Nast were partially evacuated but allowed back in around 1 p.m.
Nasdaq said its trading was unaffected. Conde Nast was in the process of evacuating when the order was lifted.
There were no corresponding terror threats involving the vehicle, said chief NYPD spokesman Paul J. Browne.
But police take extra care around New Year's Eve when the ball-drop celebration draws hundreds of thousands of revelers to the heart of Times Square from around the world. Squads routinely patrol for suspicious vehicles and do sweeps in garages before the annual event.
"Its presence in Times Square just before New Year's Eve causes us concern, and that's why we're taking extra precautions," he said.
The 1992 Dodge van was parked in a row of cars beneath some of the large billboards that ring the square. Police used a robot to examine the vehicle, then approached on foot and peered in the windows. The van was opened and clothing was discovered inside, along with a temporary registration. Police were looking for the van's owner.
Shouting and putting up wooden barricades, police began clearing several blocks, directing thousands of Times Square tourists to move south. Investigators also towed a parked car several yards from the van. A tarp partially covered the van, and the placard said "detective's crime clinic, New York/New Jersey area," a nonexistent law enforcement agency.
The city's transit agency said several train lines were bypassing 42nd Street, reported WCBS. The crosstown shuttle train was also suspended.
It wasn't clear how long the van had been parked there, although New Yorkers who work in the area said the van had been there at least two days. A similar-looking van in the same location appeared on Google Street View in warmer weather, which suggests it could have been there for a while.
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. No explosive devices were found inside the white van Wednesday afternoon, and the area was reopened to traffic about two hours after the incident began.
The van was spotted by patrol officers around 11 a.m. Wednesday on Broadway between 41st and 42nd Streets, and counterterrorism and bomb squad crews responded. The area was blocked off and two high-rise buildings home to Nasdaq and publishing company Conde Nast were partially evacuated but allowed back in around 1 p.m.
Nasdaq said its trading was unaffected. Conde Nast was in the process of evacuating when the order was lifted.
There were no corresponding terror threats involving the vehicle, said chief NYPD spokesman Paul J. Browne.
But police take extra care around New Year's Eve when the ball-drop celebration draws hundreds of thousands of revelers to the heart of Times Square from around the world. Squads routinely patrol for suspicious vehicles and do sweeps in garages before the annual event.
"Its presence in Times Square just before New Year's Eve causes us concern, and that's why we're taking extra precautions," he said.
The 1992 Dodge van was parked in a row of cars beneath some of the large billboards that ring the square. Police used a robot to examine the vehicle, then approached on foot and peered in the windows. The van was opened and clothing was discovered inside, along with a temporary registration. Police were looking for the van's owner.
Shouting and putting up wooden barricades, police began clearing several blocks, directing thousands of Times Square tourists to move south. Investigators also towed a parked car several yards from the van. A tarp partially covered the van, and the placard said "detective's crime clinic, New York/New Jersey area," a nonexistent law enforcement agency.
The city's transit agency said several train lines were bypassing 42nd Street, reported WCBS. The crosstown shuttle train was also suspended.
It wasn't clear how long the van had been parked there, although New Yorkers who work in the area said the van had been there at least two days. A similar-looking van in the same location appeared on Google Street View in warmer weather, which suggests it could have been there for a while.
Popular on CBSNews.com
- Young victims of deadly Okla. tornado 8 Photos
- Tsarnaev friend implicates dead brother, self in murders 163 Comments
- Boy Scouts to vote on allowing openly gay members
- Clean-up efforts underway in Okla. 29 Photos
- Minn. park landslide leaves 1 child dead, 1 missing
- Hard recovery in store after Okla. tornado's devastation
- Up-close video of Moore, Okla., tornado Play Video
- Body of child recovered from deadly Minn. landslide
When it is time for fear or anger to be directed at certain covered entities we'll never hear a thing. It is invisible. But when it is time for Americans to be made afraid by those who benefit, we'll hear an endless stream of BS.
http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/fiveisraelis.html
Obama doesn't play and makes Bush look like chicken little.
We all remember what Obama did when the Somali pirates took the American hostage and they didn't even hurt him.
As the saying goes "If you attack the US now, God have mercy on your soul because Obama won't"
From CBS NEWS-
"Deadly Jellyfish Stings "Best Job" Winner Deadly Jellyfish Stings "Best Job" Winner (who was given painkillers and sent home)".
Now we have terrorist jellyfish!
It was DEADLY! Deadly I tell you! Wow that guy must really be thankful he survived the attack of the DEADLY killer jellyfish.
By the way, do those things actually qualify as a fish? I don't see it.
9/11 is still very real to us New Yorkers. Y'all can guffaw about a van blowing up if you want to, but you're laughing because it wasn't parked in your backyard.