Attempted Times Square Bombing

By: Brandon Pang

Attempted Times Square Bombing

During the 1940’s, the Nazis were the problem. After that, the Russians and nuclear missiles were the problem. Now, terrorists are the problem. On the night of May 2, a car bomb was found in Times Square, which was determined as an attempted terrorist attack, but fortunately, it failed.

A Nissan Pathfinder was parked awkwardly on the curb and the police were notified of this. Soon, a bomb squad was called in and a robotic device was used to investigate the insides of the car. Inside the car were three canisters of propane, two 5-gallon cans of gasoline, fireworks, and two clocks with batteries. Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne, the police department’s chief spokesman, said, “It appeared it was in the process of detonating, but it malfunctioned.” Later, the car was traced back to a U.S. citizen with Pakistani descent named Faisal Shahzad, who was shortly arrested thereafter.

With new evidence after the car bomb was discovered, the senior White House officials said the Pakistani Taliban were behind the bombing. Although this was the first time this group was able to carry out an attack on U.S. soil, U.S. officials have downsized this event to decrease people’s panic levels. Still, more and more calls about suspicious items were sent in. On May 7, an abandoned water cooler and shopping bag were isolated by the bomb squad and X-rayed, but both turned out to hold ordinary items. Deputy Commissioner Browne said, “There were more than 145 reports on Wednesday alone”, but the police usually only received 90 to 100 reports a day.

Fortunately, the car bomb failed and nothing happened elsewhere in the U.S., but people remain more vigilant than ever to deter any further terrorist attacks.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-times-square,0,677749.story
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/nyregion/02timessquare.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/wire/sns-ap-us-times-square-probe,0,7208251.story

Headline: Attempted Bombing in Times Square
Headline: Nice Try, Terrorists!
Headline: Terrorists = FAIL!

Attempted Times Square Bombing

During the 1940’s, the Nazis were the problem. For a while after that, the Russians and nuclear missiles were the problem. Now, terrorists are the problem. On the night of May 2, a car bomb was found in the middle of Times Square and after analyzing the situation, it was determined as an attempted terrorist attack.

A Nissan Pathfinder was parked awkwardly on the curb and the police were notified of this. Soon, a bomb squad was called in and a robotic device was used to investigate the insides of the car. Inside the car were three canisters of propane, two 5-gallon cans of gasoline, fireworks, and two clocks with batteries. Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne, the police department’s chief spokesman, said, “It appeared it was in the process of detonating, but it malfunctioned.”

A U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent named Faisal Shahzad was arrested as the main suspect in the car bomb. Soon after, three other men, whose names were not released, were arrested for giving funds to Shahzad, but it has not yet been determined whether they knew of the bomb. There is “a growing body of evidence that the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, was deeply involved in the attempted bombing, the officials said. Shahzad revealed to officials that he came up with this idea himself, but convinced others and the Taliban to fund him.

Although this was the first time this group was able to carry out an attack on U.S. soil, U.S. officials have downsized this event to make sure people don’t panic. Still, more and more calls about suspicious items were sent in. For example on May 7, an abandoned water cooler and shopping bag were reported to the police because they look suspicious. Soon they were isolated by the bomb squad and X-rayed, but both turned out to hold ordinary items. Deputy Commissioner Browne said, “There were more than 145 reports on Wednesday alone,” but the police usually only received 90 to 100 reports a day.

Fortunately, the car bomb failed and nothing happened elsewhere in the U.S., but people remain more vigilant than ever to deter any further terrorist attacks.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-times-square-20100515,0,2936601.story
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/nyregion/02timessquare.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/wire/sns-ap-us-times-square-probe,0,7208251.story

Headline: Attempted Bombing in Times Square
Headline: Nice Try, Terrorists!
Headline: Terrorist = FAIL!