Bomb damages Times Square military recruiting station

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Bomb damages Times Square military recruiting station; police seek

cyclist

1 hour, 23 minutes ago

By Tom Hays, The Associated Press

NEW YORK - 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 pedalling 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 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 said the device, though unsophisticated, could have

caused " injury and even death. "

" If it is something that's directed toward American troops then it's

something that's taken very seriously and is pretty unfortunate, "

said army Capt. Charlie Jaquillard, who is the commander of army

recruiting in Manhattan.

Witnesses staying at a Marriott hotel four blocks away said they

could feel the building shake with the blast.

" It shook the building. I thought it could have been thunder, but I

looked down and there was a massive plume of smoke so I knew it was

an explosion, " said Terry Leighton, 48, of London, who was staying on

the 21st floor of the Marriott.

Hassan, who operates a breakfast cart across the street, said

he was in the area when the explosion happened.

" I saw smoke and there was a loud boom, " he said. " I was scared. I'm

still shaky. "

The military's 1,600 recruiting stations countrywide were alerted and

advised to use extra caution, said , spokesman for the

army recruiting command.

Pentagon spokesman Whitman said no official higher state of

alert had been issued. " We do get occasional vandals at our

recruiting stations, " Whitman said. " It's unfortunate but it happens

from time to time. "

The office recurits for the navy, marines, air force and army. New

York recruiters will temporarily work out of their Union Square,

Whitman said.

Members of the police department's bomb squad and fire officials

gathered outside the station in the early morning darkness, and

police cars and yellow tape blocked drivers - most of them behind the

wheels of taxicabs - from entering one of the world's busiest

crossroads. Police began allowing some traffic through around the

start of rush hour.

Authorities were still trying to determine exactly what kind of

device was used. When investigators went through the evidence, they

found a metal ammunition box that is believed to have contained the

explosive. It was being sent for testing. said the box was

readily available in army-navy surplus stores.

" Whoever the coward was that committed this disgraceful act on our

city will be found and prosecuted to the full extent of the law, "

Mayor Bloomberg said.

The recruiting station, located near the theatre district on a

traffic island, is surrounded by chain stores and restaurants and

several TV studios, has occasionally been the site of antiwar

demonstrations, ranging from silent vigils to loud rallies.

In October 2005, a group of activists who call themselves the Granny

Peace Brigade rallied there against the Iraq war. Eighteen activists,

most of them grandmothers with several in their 80s and 90s, were

later acquitted of disorderly conduct.

The recruiting station was renovated in 1999 to better fit into the

flashy ambiance of Times Square, using neon tubing to give the glass

and steel office a patriotic American flag motif. For a half century,

the station was the armed forces' busiest recruiting centre. It has

set national records for enlistment, averaging about 10,000

volunteers a year.

Police said it was too early to say if the blast may have been

related to two other minor explosions in the city.

In October, two small explosive devices were tossed over a fence at

the Mexican consulate, shattering three windows but causing no

injuries. No threats had been made against the consulate, and no one

took responsibility for the explosion, police said.

At the time, police said they were investigating whether it was

connected to a similar incident at the British consulate on May 5,

2005.

In that incident, the explosions took place in the early morning

hours, when Britons were going to the polls in an election that

returned Prime Minister Tony Blair to power.

In both cases, the instruments were fake grenades sometimes sold as

novelty items. They were packed with black powder and detonated with

fuses, but incapable of causing serious harm, police said.