Police find clues in potential car bomb vehicle

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says a sport utility vehicle in Times Square had "bomb-making material."

Sunday, May 02, 2010

A T-shirt vendor who noticed smoke coming out of a dark green sport utility vehicle alerted police to what turned out to be a potential bomb placed in the city's iconic Times Square -- teeming with tourists and theater-goers on a balmy spring evening.

"We avoided what could have been a very deadly event," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg early Sunday morning. "It certainly could have exploded and had a pretty big fire and a decent amount of explosive impact."

The atmosphere at Times Square returned to normal Sunday, but questions remained about the contents of the vehicle.

Two federal officials said Sunday it was too early to tell whether the incident involved al Qaeda or another international terror group. The national threat level remained at yellow, or elevated.

"We're taking this very seriously," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union," noting that the New York police, FBI and federal Joint Terrorism Task Force were involved in the investigation. "We're treating it as if it could be a potential terrorist attack."

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