Blast At Recruiting Station Closes Times Square

CALL 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION REGARDING THIS BOMBING. WITNESS REPORTS INCLUDE A MAN LEAVING THE SCENE ON A BICYCLE.

Photo Courtesy AP

Cars and police tape blocked vehicles from entering the area.

The explosion appeared to have taken place near a military recruiting centre in the square in central Manhattan, reports say.

Members of the police department's bomb squad and fire department officials were at the scene.

Source: BBC News

NEW YORK (CNN) -- New York police were investigating a reported explosion in Times Square early Thursday, police said.

Two witnesses, a man and a woman, each told a local TV station they heard a "huge bang" from their hotel rooms, but there were no police or fire reports of serious damage or injuries.

"I was on the 44th floor and I heard it. I can feel it from up there," a woman told WABC-TV.

Police and fire squads cordoned off part of an area around Times Square. They gathered outside a military recruiting station with a large hole in the front window, The Associated Press reported.

Source: CNN

I'll have more after I get to the office around 8am. If it was lefty radicals...it was a very stupid move.

The Cityroom Blog has an update:

The New York City police just issued a statement describing the source of the explosion as an “improvised explosive device” and putting the time of the blast at 3:43 a.m. Subways and traffic are running normally through Times Square.

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**updates**

8.06am Gateway Pundit has coverage of the event.

9.52am Atlas Shrugs has commentary, and some links, noting that the unhinged left is saying it was righties to gin up hate for the lefties. Riiight! if all else fails, play the victim card.

9.51am Cityroom Blog again: The police have attributed the blast to an improvised explosive device, and Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said the device had been placed in an ammunition box like the kind that can be bought at a military supply store. Mr. Kelly spoke with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg at a news conference at 9:30 a.m. in Times Square. The authorities are looking into a possible connection to two earlier bombings at foreign consulates in Manhattan, in 2005 and 2007. Officials said that in today’s attack, a man in a gray hooded sweatshirt was seen leaving the scene on a bicycle. Subways and traffic are running normally through Times Square.

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