Owner of S.U.V. Holding Bomb Material Is Located
The police and F.B.I. investigators have tracked down the owner of the 1993 Nissan Pathfinder that contained the makings of a crude car bomb discovered in Times Square over the weekend, but that person is not considered a suspect, the police said on Monday.
Weve identified and spoken to the registered owner, said Paul J. Browne, the Police Departments chief spokesman, who stressed that the police had not yet identified a suspect or a motive. Nonetheless, the resolution of the vehicles provenance is a significant advancement in the 38-hour-old investigation.
Investigators continue to review surveillance footage from Saturday evening, when the car bomb was found, that showed a white man who appeared to be in his 40s walking away from the area as he looked over his shoulder and removed a layer of clothing. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. seemed optimistic in comments he made Monday morning. I think that we have made really substantial progress, Mr. Holder told reporters in Washington. We have some good leads."
Raymond W. Kelly, the New York City police commissioner, said on Sunday that officers found gasoline, propane, firecrackers and simple alarm clocks in the Nissan sport utility vehicle, as well as eight bags of a granular substance, later determined to be nonexplosive grade of fertilizer, inside a 55-inch-tall metal gun locker.
The bomb, Mr. Kelly said, would have caused casualties, a significant fireball.
The materials will be sent to the F.B.I. laboratory in Quantico, Va., on Monday for analysis, Mr. Kelly said in an interview Monday morning with WCBS Radio. Theyve got the top laboratory in the world to do these sorts of examinations, and well keep some samples here, he said.
Detectives flew by helicopter to Pennsylvania to interview a tourist who shot video that they believe show the same man who changed his clothing leaving the area near the S.U.V. We have seen the video and were looking to put that out, Mr. Kelly said. Asked if the video was important to the investigation, he said, It depends on what other people see in that video. Not so much what we see.
Speaking on the Today show, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg cautioned that the person on the tape may not become a suspect.
There are millions of people that come through Times Square, the mayor said. This person happened to be in a position which a camera got a good shot of him, and maybe he had something to do with it, but theres a very good chance that he did not. Were exploring a lot of leads.
Had the bomb exploded, said Mr. Browne, there was a good possibility of people being killed, windows shattered, but not resulting in a building collapse.
While the authorities said they were treating the failed bombing described as a one-off by Janet Napolitano, the homeland security secretary as a potential terrorist attack, they said there was no evidence of a continued threat to the city.
Additional patrols will be placed in Midtown, Mr. Kelly said, but no significant increase in the citys police presence is planned. Detectives conducted what is known as a 24-hour canvass on Sunday night and Monday morning, but Mr. Kelly did not divulge any new leads Monday morning. The police also planned to visit nearby businesses that were closed over the weekend to review footage from their cameras.
No motive had been determined in the attempted bombing, and federal and local officials said there was no evidence to support a claim of responsibility issued Sunday by a Pakistani Taliban group that has a reputation for making far-fetched attempts to take credit for attacks.
The police and F.B.I. officials are also investigating a separate tip received by a news organization, but Mr. Kelly said it had not turned up any suspects.
Investigators were reviewing surveillance footage that showed an unidentified man walking away from West 45th Street, where the Nissan Pathfinder had been parked. The police said the man was a person of interest. The man was seen in Shubert Alley, which runs between 44th and 45th Streets, looking furtively over his shoulder and removing a dark shirt, revealing a red one underneath, officials said. The man then stuffed the dark shirt into a bag, officials said.
We just felt that person warranted an interview, Mr. Kelly said. It could be perfectly innocent.
Asked if he considered the failed bombing the work of terrorists, Mr. Kelly said: A terrorist act doesnt necessarily have to be conducted by an organization. An individual can do it on their own.
All Broadway shows ran as scheduled on Sunday.
Two street vendors had flagged down a mounted police officer after they noticed smoke coming from the Pathfinder, which had been parked haphazardly at the curb with its engine running and its flashers on. The area was cleared so the police could examine the vehicle, which was first seen on video surveillance cameras at 6:28 p.m., heading west on West 45th Street.
The Pathfinder was brought to a forensics center in Jamaica, Queens, where investigators were scouring it for DNA evidence and hairs, fibers and fingerprints. No fingerprints had been found as of Sunday night, officials said.
Owner of Explosives-Packed Nissan Found in Times Square Is Located - NYTimes.com
