New York police officers with the bomb squad unit
NEW YORK (AP) — A small bomb caused minor damage to a landmark military recruiting station in the heart of Times Square before dawn Thursday, and police were searching for a hooded bicyclist seen on a surveillance video pedaling away.
The video shows the bicyclist getting off a bike at 3:40 a.m. Thursday and walking toward the building. A minute or so later, the person returned to the bike and rode away. A brief flash and a cloud of white smoke follows.
A bike, believed used in the crime, was later found in the trash on West 38th Street, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
The blast left a gaping hole in the front window and shattered a glass door, twisting and blackening its metal frame. No one was hurt, but Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the device, though unsophisticated, could have caused “injury and even death.”
Update: washingtonpost.com
Federal authorities said today there is no apparent link between the bombing of a Manhattan military recruiting station and a man who mailed rambling letters to Congress that featured the building.
The timing amounts to “an amazing coincidence,” one law enforcement official said.
About 100 congressional Democrats received identical antiwar letters in recent days that declared: “We did it,” and included photos of a man standing in front of the U.S. military’s iconic recruiting center in the middle of New York’s Times Square, officials said. That same center was the target of a crude bomb that authorities believe was placed by a person riding a bicycle early yesterday morning.
Well there goes McCains talking points that the war on terror has been a success because there have been no terror attacks in the US since 9/11.
Damn, now they have to replace a perfectly good piece of glass because some gutless pussy didn’t have the intestinal fortitude to go to the White House with his little protest.
Oh no Marshal Law… Oh wait, too early?
No one killed. Home grown weenie upset that the military makes things go boom. Wanted to show that his boom is bigger than theirs…
#4
“upset that the military makes things go boom”
Could have been an Ali-baba type…
It will turn out to be a Obama or Clinton supporting anti-war kook.
Oh and # 3 it’s martial law.
Tempest in a Teapot.
ah! here come the presidential elections. Havn’t we just had a case of some harmless poison in LasVegas? The Terrorists are everywhere and committing amazingly harmless attacks. That’s good for anyone who wants to claim to fight against terrorism!
pj
#10 – clearly not foreign terrorism. Although, if they find this guy I hope he resists so the cops can get in some target practice…
#11 Absolutely, and not even a very good domestic terrorist. Probably some anti-war kook who forgot the 60’s are over.
OR.. Putting my tin hat on… Some McCain supporter who wants to give him something to talk about while the Dem’s take all the news coverage!
By the way, I’ll be seeing you all in about a week. I’m going to the hotbed of free speech… China!
[Say hello to TIHZ-HO. – ed.]
What is not mentioned, is that the absolutely useless NYPD have a mini precinct approx 75 feet from the explosion. The place (times square) is full of cops during the daytime, but as soon as rush hour hits, police presence is reduced to about 95% of what it was.
Hey pj
Why don’t you take a line of that harmless poison in LasVegas and snort it. Let us know how you make out.
More liberals showing how they love the military.
I would say a bigger problem is that they have the videos of the whole city.
new report as of 4pm PST
a letter was sent to congress claiming responsibility for the act.
http://www.nysun.com/article/72469
and another story that includes the possibly that it may not be an isolated incident is here
Ya got it all wrong. It was just Gulliani’s Presidential campaign coming back to New York.
15-
‘liberals’ did this? What in god’s name are you talking about? It couldn’t possibly be someone who desperately wanted to join the military, but was denied for medical reasons (i.e. unfit mentally?)
The lack of objectivity by people like you is disturbing.
How come when the government bombs a city and kills children and innocent people its ok, or acceptable losses at least?
Now why is that if a person takes a stand against a brutal, greedy, profit driven system that it is considered terrorism?
Where is the difference?
This was not an act of terrorism. If it had been intended to hurt someone it would have been done in the middle of the day. In fact its not even violence, sorry to inform you but windows and property otherwise do not feel pain. It was however an act of active resistance to this disgusting capitalist system.
It’s about time someone stepped up resistance to this horrible profit driven war.
p.s. This was act not directed against the troops and in fact the saboteur probably supports the troops more than anyone who supports them fighting over seas.
#19
I just wonder how you set the bomb off with out getting hurt?
This is the predictable outcome of a government betraying the public trust to start a war.
Expect worse until that trust is restored.
# 15 MikeN said, More liberals showing how they love the military.
How do conservatives show their love the military?
They put a bumper stickers on their cars and then vote for politicians who defund programs for veterans.
Wow. Do I actually agree with you, Pedro?
The bombing was half-arsed and minor, but I think it qualifies as terrorism.
#23, pedro,
Sorry, you screwed the pooch on this one. Think … raised a very good point on this one. For as long as I can remember the police have had this nasty habit of exaggerating things. Such as how 30 grams of pot could be worth $5,000, or, in this case, how serious the explosion could be. It is quite obvious the person who put the device there did so to cause a minimum of human casualty.
A troll is one who makes unsupported comments solely in order to upset others. Just like your comment in #23. No basis. No argument. No point. Just an unsupported comment.
When they find this kid, they should take an identical explosive and detonate in his ass. This is not the same thing as “peaceful protest”.
Back in the ’60’s, this would have been considered a minor act of protest. Bombings like this were taking place all over the country. But we weren’t hiding under our desks in terror. It was when innocent people got hurt or killed because they “weren’t supposed to be there at that time of day” that sympathy for “the cause” was lost. All acts of violence are acts of terrorism – just ask the target(s). I have to ask, why is it that recruiting offices are targeted? Why not the manufacturers of weapons of war?
Tell that to the kids who were murdered by the government at Kent state. Ooops… you can’t. They’re all dead for doing absolutely nothing!
Every generation has its irrational hysteria. This generation is no different.
Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.
Must he be reminded of what we have all learned in Star Wars?
#27, pedro,
A bomb is not a bomb is not a bomb. Why? Because all bombs are not created equally. Second, maybe or could do not mean something did happen.
Legally a stun grenade is a bomb, but the police and military won’t call it that. A stun grenade would cause about as much damage as this explosive.
Put some firecrackers in a can and set them off.
Blow some flammable dust up around a flame. A trick we used to do in High School. Put a small hole in a 1 gallon/4liter paint can. Insert a rubber tube through the hole so it reaches halfway into the can. Put about 1”/2cm of wood dust or flour in the can. Place a 4” high lit candle in the center of the can. Close the lid tight. Blow into the tube. Did I mention to leave at least four or five feet of tube outside the can?
How about a personal land mine. Hey, that could take your leg off.
How about one of those “Daisy cutters”. You know, one of those bombs that can indiscriminately kill everything in a square kilometer.
Or a “bunker buster” that can get you no matter if you hide. No matter if you are guilty. No matter if you are fighting the invaders. No matter if you are 10 months old or 89 y/o.
And lastly, how about a nuclear bomb.
The timing amounts to “an amazing coincidence,” one law enforcement official said.
Nothing to see here, folks. Just move along.
Yeah, right!
Anti military vandalism, no different from the protests and vandalism at the Marine recruiting station in Berkley, California, except this one went “boom”.
At least the loons in Berserkly have imagination. Then again, they live in an imaginary world…
Probably a lone militant pacifist too looney to see the irony.