NYPD: Car bomb suspected in Times Square

Area evacuated; federal official tells N.Y. Times it's not terrorist threat

Mario Tama / Getty Images Police keep watch after an incident involving a suspicious vehicle caused authorities to shut down parts of Times Square on Saturday in New York City.  View related photos

 

updated 7 minutes ago

NEW YORK - New York's Times Square was evacuated Saturday night after what appeared to be a car bomb was found, a police spokesman said.

New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said the device was found after a mounted policeman spotted a box smoking in the back of a sport utility vehicle.

"This appears to be a car bomb that the bomb squad is in the process of dismantling," police spokesman Paul Browne said. "We do not know the motive."

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Reuters quoted a New York Fire Department official as saying the vehicle was found to contain explosives, gasoline, propane and burned wires. The officer, who did not give his name because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said a man was seen fleeing the vehicle.

But the New York Times reported that a federal official said the incident was not considered a terrorist threat. The Times said the vehicle was a Nissan Pathfinder parked on 45th Street just west of Seventh Avenue.

Dozens of officers blocked access to the busy central Manhattan square, which is popular with tourists and theater-goers.

There was an unconfirmed report that someone was seen running from the vehicle, Browne said. A small fire was extinguished, he said.

A New York City firefighter who said he arrived early on the scene described the vehicle as a dark-colored SUV.

He confirmed the vehicle was smoking and also said he saw "a flash" from the back of the SUV between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

"The SUV was smoking. There was a flash and we put two and two together" and an evacuation was ordered, he said.

Other emergency personnel on the scene called the incident a "car fire."

The firefighter said the bomb squad remained at the scene as of 9 p.m., including a firefighter in a bomb suit. A robot was being used to investigate the suspicious SUV.

Reuters reporters on the scene said they heard an explosion from the area of the SUV around 9:15 p.m.

Two fire trucks were also at the scene, prepared to douse the vehicle with water if needed, the firefighter said.

The square itself was mostly evacuated by 8 p.m., according to Reuters reporters on the scene. Police had evacuated an area stretching from about 42nd Street up to 47th Street and including Seventh Avenue and Broadway.

But people dining inside the Blue Fin restaurant in a hotel at 47th and Broadway were allowed to continue and some people were being allowed in Broadway theaters in the area.