Times Square Bomb Scare: Evacuation

A threat of a bomb scare led to panic in Times Square for the second time in the past six days. On Friday, a suspicious package in Times Square prompted an evacuation and raised alarms. It was later found that it was a false alarm: after a restless one hour or so, it was found that suspicious package was a green cooler containing only water bottles.

Bomb-squad technicians operated on the package for several minutes and pronounced the area safe after 90 minutes.
It was the second suspicious-package call and at least partial evacuation in the area today.

Three blocks were closed to pedestrians and traffic for a little more than an hour, starting about 1:15 p.m., after someone noticed the cooler near 46th Street and Broadway. The area, which last year was turned into a pedestrian mall outfitted with chairs, cafe tables and umbrellas, was crowded with people enjoying lunch outside on the warm afternoon.

An investigation of the package, including an X-ray, showed no danger.

It was the second major street evacuation in the city as a result of jitters since Saturday’s failed car bombing. Late Wednesday, the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, which links Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx, was closed after someone reported seeing a man fleeing from an abandoned U-Haul truck that smelled of gasoline. The bomb squad declared the vehicle safe and reopened the bridge hours later.

A stretch of Eighth Avenue between 44th and 45th streets was also closed briefly earlier today for a police investigation. And as today’s Journal reports, in the wake of last weekend’s foiled car bombing in Times Square, law-enforcement and security have been reacting with heightened sensitivity to anything even slightly amiss.

New York appears to be going through a severe case of the jitters. Since the botched bombing in Times Square, the number of suspicious package calls to the police have skyrocketed by nearly a third. Between Sunday and Wednesday, police have checked out 493 suspicious packages, compared with 381 in the same period last year.

Bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad remained in custody and did not appear in court Friday. Kelly said he continued to cooperate, while Gen. David Petraeus debunked theories that Shahzad had help, saying he apparently worked alone and did not have contact with foreign terror groups.