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A Citizen’s Eye View of Public Preparedness

Citizen ‘Seeing Something & Saying Something’ To New York City Police Leads To Discovery Of Times Square Bomb

May 2nd, 2010 · 4 Comments

A crude bomb was found in the back of a Nissan Pathfinder in the middle of Times Square Saturday night after a T-shirt vendor on the street reported the car to a police officer. According to a New York Times story:

a T-shirt vendor on the sidewalk saw smoke coming out of vents near the back seat of the S.U.V., which was now parked awkwardly at the curb with its engine running and its hazard lights on. The vendor called to a mounted police officer, the mayor said, who smelled gunpowder when he approached the S.U.V. and called for assistance. The police began evacuating Times Square, starting with businesses along Seventh Avenue, including a Foot Locker store and a McDonald’s.

Police officers from the emergency service unit and firefighters flooded the area and were troubled by the hazard lights and running engine, and by the fact that the S.U.V. was oddly angled in the street. At this point, a firefighter from Ladder 4 reported hearing several “pops” from within the vehicle. The police also learned that the Pathfinder had the wrong license plates on it.

The vendor, according to the Times, who wore a white fedora, had a limp and walked with a cane, was swarmed by television cameras as he tried to make his way to a taxicab on 44th Street. As he got into the taxi he was asked by a reporter what he had to say to his fellow citizens. His answer will be repeated a lot by the authorities in the days to come  – “See something, say something”.

The t-shirt vendor who ’saw something and said something’ to police about a suspicious car in Times Square yesterday. (credit: New York Times)

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Tags: See Something/Terrorism Tips

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