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."

President Obama, updated on the situation late Saturday night, said the federal government was prepared to provide support.

Police are combing through surveillance camera footage to determine who left the Nissan Pathfinder with its engine running and lights flashing on a street shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday.

Inside the Pathfinder, police found "gas cans and bomb-making materials," Bloomberg said.

Investigators removed three propane tanks, two filled five-gallon gasoline containers, two clocks with batteries, consumer-grade fireworks, and a locked metal box that resembled a gun locker.

The wiring around the device "looked amateurish," Bloomberg said.

A robot from the city police department's bomb squad smashed through the back window of the SUV and retrieved the box after several hours. It was taken to a bomb squad facility in the Bronx.

As of Sunday morning, the box was the only component found in the car that was not yet rendered safe, a police official told CNN. Authorities had not yet opened it, he said.

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