3 cops, street vendor stop Times Square car bomb from detonating; Gas, clock found inside car

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Three heroic cops and a quick-thinking street vendor stopped a madman from detonating a car bomb in the heart of Times Square Saturday night, law enforcement officials told the Daily News.​

The T-shirt vendor - a Vietnam vet - told Officer Wayne Rhatigan there was smoke coming from a Nissan SUV on the southwest corner of 45th St. and Broadway about 7 p.m., sources said.

Rhatigan approached the car, saw the smoke, and sprang into action.
"I did a lap around the vehicle. The inside was smoking," Rhatigan told the Daily News Saturday night. "I smelled gunpowder and knew it might blow. I thought it might blow any second."

He grabbed two rookie female cops patrolling the area. Together, they pushed hundreds of people away from the scene as they called for backup, he said.

The Fire Department and bomb squad rushed to the scene.
What they found was stunning: a running SUV packed with three propane tanks, two red 5-gallon plastic jugs of gasoline, a clock, electrical components and a canister of gunpowder, police sources said.

"We are very lucky," Mayor Bloomberg said at an early morning press conference at the scene, still wearing a tuxedo and red bow tie. "Thanks to alert New Yorkers and professional police officers we avoided what could have been a very deadly event."

The two rookie cops reported seeing a man running away from the scene as they approached the car.

Police spokesman Paul Browne said cops were investigating a report that someone was seen running from the vehicle at some point and are reviewing security videotapes.

"It looks as if the perp was trying to light it up, and was interrupted by the cops, panicked and took off," a law enforcement source said.
"It looked like someone tried to detonate it and we got to it in time," a police source said. "This is a big deal. It has the makings of a real car bomb."

Cops began evacuating the Crossroads of the World as the bomb squad used a robot to get inside the car.

Tourists rushed out of the Marriott Marquis hotel and several Broadway shows.

Seven big shows went dark, including "Billy Elliot" and "The Lion King," which is located directly behind the would-be car bomb.

The curtain at "God of Carnage" and "Red" went up a half hour later than usual, but those shows were not canceled, said spokesman Adrian Bryan-Brown. Restaurants like Sardi's and TGI Friday's were also evacuated, witnesses said.

Police said the blue Pathfinder appeared to be stolen and had Connecticut license plates belonging to another car.

The man seen fumbling with the device vanished into the crowd and had not been found as of early this morning.

Cops closed a huge chunk of Times Square from 43rd St. to 49th Sts. on Seventh Ave. and all of 45th St. from Seventh Ave. to Eighth Ave.
They were pulling video footage from a number of security cameras in the area.

Times Square had been jammed with pedestrians all day.
Celebrities Halle Berry, Jessica Biel and Jessica Alba and thousands of women ran through Times Square in the afternoon for the EIF Revlon Run/Walk, which raises money for research to fight ovarian cancer.
"The death toll could have been enormous," a police source said. "It was a nice day and the Times Square area was completely packed."

Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly were in Washington, D.C., for the White House Correspondents dinner, but rushed back to the city when they learned what was going on.

Police precincts all over New York City were put on high alert and ordered to patrol sensitive areas, officials said.

The Homeland Security Department was aware of the situation, but the NYPD was the lead agency involved in the investigation, sources said.
"The matter is being taken seriously," said Paul Bresson, head of the FBI's public affairs office at bureau headquarters in Washington.

President Obama was notified at 10:45 p.m. of the situation in Times Square and commended the "excellent work by the NYPD," White House officials said.

"The federal government is prepared to provide support," a spokesman said. "\[We\] will continue to keep the President up to date on the investigation."
For his part, Rhatigan, 47, said he still plans to retire this year after 19 years of service.

"Of all the idiots in New York, I find this thing," he said. "I was almost a fireball.

"It's upsetting that someone tried to pull this off."
 
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Freaked when I read about this...my daughter who lives in Washington is now in New York City for a month...she is OK...
 

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It was on every news outlet here in the NYC area last night.
Times Square was sealed up like a drum.
 

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That was too close. They will find that cowardly bastard.

not before some other cowardly bastard gets the job done unfortunately with terrorist sympathizers in positions of power at the core of the us government
 

no stripes on my shirt but i can make her pu**y wh
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I hope they catch the idiot that tried to do this.

I Also found this interesting:

"Rhatigan, 47, said he still plans to retire this year after 19 years of service."

you can retire at 48 from NYPD?
 

no stripes on my shirt but i can make her pu**y wh
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Yes, if you join the force at 23, put in your 25 years, you can collect a nice pension at age 48.

Bill, is the pension tax payer funded or done through an investment/retirement system? I'm sure a high percentage of these guys live another 15 years +. that's quite a deal if being a cop is your calling.
 

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Plus most policemen after 25 years get the ending pay for the rest of their life. I say the average of a senior officer is around $70k a year across the USA. Not bad if you can pick up another gig and work for another 20 years and really retire at 68 with 2 pension checks.
 

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Plus most policemen after 25 years get the ending pay for the rest of their life.

Correct, same with the military.
My dad was a military engineer , did the thirty year nut, he collects his last years salary as his pension.

Same with the NYPD, your last years salary is your annual pension rate.
 

no stripes on my shirt but i can make her pu**y wh
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Very different here in CA. I know state employees can't retire, or at least get a retirement check til 55. City of LA in deep doo doo trying to keep up with pensions.

Back to the topic.. No doubt in my mind they catch this guy.. No way you pull a stunt like that in NY and get away
 

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Freaked when I read about this...my daughter who lives in Washington is now in New York City for a month...she is OK...

both of my babies living there, although I don't think they do Times Sq very often

We're probably in that neighborhood 6-10 times a year.
 

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very proud of the quick action of the police, and the retired Vet...people getting involved like that, can help stem alot of this cowardly crap..

many a time, they depend on the indifference of people to help get away with this stuff
 
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Will be easy for the NYPD & FBI to find out where the guy ran off to.

The Worst Place in NYC to Commit a crime is the Times Square area.
They have More surveillance Camera's around there, than any place.

Perfect example is, a few months Back...there was a Jewelry store robbery....the Guy also shot and killed one of the clerks. Of Course their Surveillance camera's were not working at the time. So Cops had no Leads....Until they went to the Surveillance camera's on the Streets.
Where they Spotted a guy throwing something in the Trash about 3 Blockks away.

Well they Followed the Camera's at each point, until they got a Clearer Picture of him. and they Found him within Days.

If it was a suicide Bomber, and the guy just sat there with the SUV...it would be a different story.
I feel they will catch this POS....or find out where he went.....All in due time.
 

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fuck stains

Pakistani Taliban claims NYC car bomb attempt

CAIRO, Egypt – The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the failed car bomb attack in Times Square in New York City.

In 1 minute video allegedly released by the Pakistani Taliban, the group says the attack is revenge for the death of its leader Baitullah Mehsud and the recent killings of the top leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq. Images of the slain militants are shown as an unidentified voice recites the message. English subtitles are at the bottom of the screen.

The video was uncovered Sunday by the U.S.-based SITE intelligence Group, which monitors militant websites.
 

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Will be easy for the NYPD & FBI to find out where the guy ran off to.

The Worst Place in NYC to Commit a crime is the Times Square area.
They have More surveillance Camera's around there, than any place.

Perfect example is, a few months Back...there was a Jewelry store robbery....the Guy also shot and killed one of the clerks. Of Course their Surveillance camera's were not working at the time. So Cops had no Leads....Until they went to the Surveillance camera's on the Streets.
Where they Spotted a guy throwing something in the Trash about 3 Blockks away.

Well they Followed the Camera's at each point, until they got a Clearer Picture of him. and they Found him within Days.

If it was a suicide Bomber, and the guy just sat there with the SUV...it would be a different story.
I feel they will catch this POS....or find out where he went.....All in due time.

I concur
 

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Will be easy for the NYPD & FBI to find out where the guy ran off to.

The Worst Place in NYC to Commit a crime is the Times Square area.
They have More surveillance Camera's around there, than any place.

Perfect example is, a few months Back...there was a Jewelry store robbery....the Guy also shot and killed one of the clerks. Of Course their Surveillance camera's were not working at the time. So Cops had no Leads....Until they went to the Surveillance camera's on the Streets.
Where they Spotted a guy throwing something in the Trash about 3 Blockks away.

Well they Followed the Camera's at each point, until they got a Clearer Picture of him. and they Found him within Days.

If it was a suicide Bomber, and the guy just sat there with the SUV...it would be a different story.
I feel they will catch this POS....or find out where he went.....All in due time.

When they hunt this scumbag down, there's hopefully one gunhappy guy included, who spares the American taxpayer some mone... :uzi:

...but I'm still looking forward to my NYC trip and the Yanks
 

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